“They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death” (Revelation 12:11).
“They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb” traces our victory over evil back to the Cross of Christ. Our spiritual enemy was not only defeated in this chapter by the archangel, but he is conquered by believers as well. Our testimony means that we have embraced the Cross and bear personal witness to what Jesus Christ has done for us. We have experienced the power of the Cross.
A translation of the end of this verse could be “In their love of life they shrank not from death” (NCV). In our love of life, we realize that life doesn’t end with physical death but is eternal. Our victory isn’t just something that will happen in the future, it is directly connected with the Cross. We aren’t waiting for the battle to be decided. We already experience victory through the death of Christ and our willingness to bear witness to what He has done.
Jesus described the victory and our participation in it in Luke 10. When His disciples came to Jesus excited because they were able to drive out demons in His name Jesus told them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you” (Luke 10:18-19).
God has won the victory for us through the Cross of Christ. All that is necessary for us is our witness to that victory by our faith in Jesus and what He has done. The apostle John, who wrote this book, also wrote in his Gospel that “anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life” (John 12:25). Because of Jesus, life extends far beyond our present physical existence. It lasts forever—because of what Jesus did for us on the Cross.
