Revelation 12:11 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death.

NIV: They triumphed over 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.

NASB: And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death.

CSB: They conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; for they did not love their lives to the point of death.

NLT: And they have defeated him by the blood of the Lamb and by their testimony. And they did not love their lives so much that they were afraid to die.

KJV: And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.

NKJV: And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.

This verse focuses on believers on earth during the second half of the Tribulation. Although all believers are overcomers (Romans 8:37; 1 John 5:4–5), believers in the Tribulation are especially targeted by the Devil, but they conquer him "by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they loved not their lives even unto death" (Revelation 12:11).

All believers are redeemed by the blood of the Lamb (1 Peter 1:18–19). This transaction removes them from Satan's kingdom of darkness and places them in Christ's kingdom (Colossians 1:13). Believers' testimony also assists in conquering the Devil. He cannot defeat us if we resolutely confess our faith in Jesus—though the Bible does not guarantee that "victory" will come in the form of earthly success or prosperity. Even the martyrs of the Tribulation are conquerors. Death is the believer's ultimate victory. Paul explained that to be "away from the body" is to be "at home with the Lord" (2 Corinthians 5:8). When facing the possibility of martyrdom, he confessed, "For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain" (Philippians 1:21).

Revelation 12:7–12 describes a war in heaven which breaks out between Michael and his angels and the Devil. Prior to this expulsion, the Devil has access to heaven, where he accuses believers. Job 1 confirms this fact. However, he cannot prevail in his war on Christ and His followers. Genesis 3:15 prophesies his violent opposition to the virgin-born Son of God, and Revelation 20:1–10 reveals his ultimate defeat and eternal punishment. Revelation 13 unveils the Devil's two henchmen, the beast and the false prophet, who assist him in persecuting Israel.

This chapter relates several highly symbolic visions, which introduce figures critical to the end times. First is a woman, representative of Israel. Second is a red dragon, identified with Satan. Third is a male child, who is Jesus Christ. The red dragon seeks to devour the woman's male child, but God caught the child to His throne, referring to the ascension of Jesus after His resurrection. The passage then continues to describe a war in heaven between Michael and Satan—here Satan becomes the fourth key figure—which results in Satan's complete and total eviction from heaven. Satan attempts to destroy Israel, most likely through an armed invasion, which is supernaturally defeated by God through an earthquake. The fifth main figure is the collective ''offspring'' of the woman. These events are given further details in passages such as Ezekiel chapter 38.

Preceding verses have brought us to the middle of the tribulation, after the seal judgments and very near the end of the trumpet judgments. Now, the focus shifts to symbolically introduce a series of important figures. These are mentioned in various eras, not as part of the earlier chronology of Revelation. This passage relates to Matthew 24:15–26 and Isaiah 16:1–4. Ezekiel 38 and Joel 1 describe an invasion into Israel from the north, and Revelation 9 identifies the invading army as demon inspired. Revelation 13 continues to describe major end-times figures, focusing on ''the beast,'' also known as the Antichrist, and the False Prophet.

The word ''revelation'' means ''an unveiling or disclosure.'' This writing unveils future events such as the rapture, three series of judgments that will fall on the earth during the tribulation, the emergence of the Antichrist, the persecution of Israel and her amazing revival, as well as Jesus' second coming with His saints to the earth, the judgment of Satan and his followers, and finally, the eternal state. This content, combined with the original Greek term apokalypsis, is why we now refer to an end-of-the-world scenario as ''an apocalypse.''