Revelation of Victory: Overcoming the Accuser

Well, tonight we're in the book of Revelation, right? Revelation chapter 12,

Revelation 12:10–12

verses 10 through 12 is where we're going to pick up tonight.

And I'll tell you, I really love this because tonight we're talking about the celebration.

Well, let's listen to God's word. It says, then I heard a loud voice in heaven

saying, now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority

of his Christ have come for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down,

but he who accuses them before our God day and night,

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.

For this reason, rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them.

Woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has come down to you,

having great wrath, knowing that he has only a short time.

So church, the defeat of Satan and his demon host and the cleansing of their

foul presence from heaven forever will trigger an outburst of praise there.

And such sudden outbursts frequently really punctuate the prophetic narrative

of Revelation. We've seen this back in chapter four. We've seen it in chapter

5. We saw it in chapter 11, chapter 7.

We'll see it in chapter 18 and 15 and 19 as we go ahead in the book.

But the identity of those here whom John heard crying out with a loud voice

in heaven is not really stated to us.

The collective voice there as the use of that plural pronoun,

R, indicates it can't be angels.

How do we know that? It cannot be angels he's talking about.

Well, one way is since angels cannot refer to humans as their brethren, right?

As it talks about in this passage, the Bible describes angels as believers'

fellow servants, right?

In fact, in this book in chapter 19 and chapter 22 as fellow servants,

but never as brethren, as their brethren.

And so these worshipers then are most likely who?

The redeemed, right? The glorified saints in heaven, right?

That they're rejoicing over this. The saints actually begin by rejoicing that what?

The salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come.

Salvation is to be understood here, y'all, in its broadest sense, okay?

It encompasses not only the redemption of individual believers,

you and I, but also, what else?

The deliverance of all creation from the ravages of sin's curse and the power of Satan.

All creation being restored. And it talks about this in Romans chapter 8,

Romans 8 · chapter mention

But power here speaks of God's omnipotence.

Do you remember that attribute of God that we talked about a while back?

His omnipotence, his triumphant, his sovereign power that crushes all opposition,

and it will establish his kingdom.

He stated that back in chapter 11, verse 15. But they rejoice,

look at it here further, that the authority of Christ has come.

The rule of Christ is by authority from who?

From Almighty God, right? Psalm 2 verse 8 talks about this, Matthew 28 18, John 17 2.

Psalms 2:8

So certain is the establishing here, so certain is the establishing of the kingdom

and the rule of Christ that though yet future here, they are spoken of in the past tense.

As if they'd already happened. That's how certain it is, right?

I mean, the heavenly worshipers rejoice that the first step that we see here

in this passage, Satan's defeat and his final ejection from heaven has already taken place.

And they know that having been expelled from heaven to earth,

that he will be shortly cast from the earth into the abyss.

And it'll talk about that and we get there in chapter 20, and then from the

abyss into his ultimate destination, which will be the lake of fire in chapter 20.

And so the event, though, that will cause the kingdom and authority of Christ

to be established is the expulsion of Satan from heaven.

So the saints offer praise here that the accuser, it says, of our brethren has been thrown down.

And it goes on to add, we talked about this a little bit the other week as well,

goes on to add that he accuses them before our God, how often? Day and night.

In other words, there's that it just never stops. I mean, that's what he does.

That's what Satan does. He accuses the brethren.

And so as redeemed and glorified individuals, there was nothing that Satan could

legitimately accuse them of, right?

Nor you if you know the Lord still it must have grieved them that their suffering

brethren on earth were subject to the devil's slanderous accusations right.

But Satan's defeat here will put an end to those relentless accusations.

Numerous passages talk about this. Job 1.11 talks about this.

In 2 verse 5, Zechariah, 1 Peter 5.8.

The heavenly worshipers, though, also offer praise here in this passage because

of events on earth where their brethren overcame Satan. Did you see that in the passage?

So he's ejected from heaven. Satan and his hellish host, if you will,

will vent their full fury on God's people on earth.

We saw that in verse 6 of chapter 12, verses 13 through 17.

And there too, though, however, they'll suffer defeat.

Again, speaking of a future event here in the past tense, because of why?

Because of its certainty, right?

I mean, when God says something, y'all, it settles it forever,

right? I mean, it's over. The battle's been won.

And so the inspired apostle John here sees the victory that's already won.

He knows that the believers that are alive and on earth, they overcame Satan,

though it's not yet to happen.

How they did this, though, is most instructive, I think, to us,

because they did not defeat him, according to this passage, by means of incantations,

exorcisms, ritual formulas,

you know, doing the salt circle.

You know, sorry, Damon and Sam, that's not how it happened, right?

By binding or rebuking him.

Satan being more powerful than any human, he's just impervious to such fleshly

tricks and gimmicks, right?

Nor was it through their own personal power that they had that the tribulation

believers defeated Satan, according to this passage.

To the Corinthians, if you remember, Paul actually wrote, For though we walk

in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh.

For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for

the destruction of fortresses.

We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge

of God and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of who? Christ.

2 Corinthians 10, 3 through 5. So the apostle John gave the only basis for victory

over Satan when he wrote this, you are from God, little children,

and had overcome them because greater is he who is in you than he who is in the world.

That's 1 John 4, 4. So it's only through God's power, church,

that any believer in any age can defeat Satan.

And accordingly, the tribulation believers here overcame Satan,

first of all, what does it say in that passage?

Because of what? Because of the blood of the Lamb.

Like their martyred brethren already in heaven, they washed their robes,

scripture says, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb, Revelation 7, 14.

You were not redeemed, scripture says, with perishable things like silver or

gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, wrote Peter.

But he said this, he said, but with precious blood as of a lamb unblemished

and spotless, the blood of Christ.

In 1 Peter 1, 18 and 19. So these suffering believers here, they knew the forgiveness

that Paul wrote of in Romans chapter 4.

Romans 4 · chapter mention

Blessed are those whose lawless deeds, think of this church,

have been forgiven and whose sins have been covered.

Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will not take into account. Amen.

I mean, that's cause for rejoicing, Miss Martha.

I'm just telling you. the truth that there is now no condemnation to those who

are in Christ Jesus, according to Romans 8.1.

That applied to them. No accusation against the suffering saints of the great

tribulation will stand, just

as no accusation they would against any believer in any age will stand,

because the Lamb's blood was shed for all of their sins.

The Lamb of God covers our sins.

And the first and foremost important key to defeating Satan's assaults is to take what?

Remember the helmet of salvation, Ephesians 6, 1 Thessalonians 5,

8, the unshakable foundation of all spiritual victory, church,

is Christ's purchase of redemption at Calvary.

You see, a second way, though, that these tribulation saints overcame Satan's

assaults was, what else does it say? Yeah, through the word of their testimony.

Think about it. Despite all the persecution, even martyrdom, right, they suffered.

They will remain faithful witnesses to Jesus Christ. All that they suffered.

They're still faithful.

Their testimony never wavers.

The suffering tribulation saints also were able to fend off Satan's onslaught

because they did not love their life even when faced with death.

It says in scripture here, their faithfulness extended all the way to where?

To death, all the way to the death, to the grave, right?

Their faithfulness extended there. They willingly paid the ultimate price for

their loyalty to Christ.

They knew that all martyrdom could do to them was actually usher them into the

eternal bliss of Christ's presence.

Come on, church. I mean, do we believe this? To live is Christ and to die is

gain. I mean, how can you threaten a Christian with heaven?

Come on. I mean, that's like glory. Come on. I mean, it's like,

man, it's a win-win, right?

To live is Christ, to die is gain.

Because their faith was genuine here, it not only justified and sanctified them,

but also it enabled them to actually persevere all the way to what Scripture

calls glorification, right?

When we're like Christ, we're in his presence. And so it leads them all the way.

And a sure mark, by the way, and I know you know this, but a sure mark of a

true believer is that they continue in the faith even to death.

Even to death, 1 John 2, 19.

In the words of Jesus, actually, the one who endures to the end,

he will be saved, Matthew 24, verse 13.

Matthew 24:13

So the passage here concludes with a final note of praise, though.

He says, for this reason, because of the defeat of Satan and the triumph of the saints here,

the heavenly course calls on the

heavens and all who dwell in them here to rejoice rejoice

i mean come on celebrate have that

party right that joyous note is

followed by that sobering warning though right what does

it say there in scripture in that passage again it says woe to

the earth and the sea because the

devil has come down to you having great

wrath knowing that he has only

a short time in greek that thumos

wrath it refers to this it's like a

a violent outburst of rage they

have rage rooms have you ever heard of these rooms brother ronnie

called rage rooms people pay money to

go into what they call a rage room and they

go wild i mean i don't know bats whatever they have and they just go nuts in

the room just to vent all their frustrations and rage right did anybody know

they had those okay just the rage room but satan is going to be talking about fury you talk about rage.

The word here depicts a turbulent emotional fury rather than actually a rational anger.

In other words, sometimes it's like, hey, anger is a natural emotion, right?

I mean, God gave us the ability to get angry, and there are times we should get angry.

But he says in your anger, don't sin, right? The righteousness of God,

you know, the anger of man doesn't work the righteousness of God.

But here, Satan here is going to be full of fury, and it's all going to be pointed towards who?

The believers, right? The saints, specifically as well, Israel, right?

And so John Phillips actually wrote, one of the commentators on Revelation wrote this.

He said that Satan is now like a caged lion, enraged beyond words by the limitations

now placed upon his freedom.

He picks himself up from the dust of the earth, shakes his fist at the sky,

and glares around, choking with fury for ways to vent his hatred and his spite upon humankind.

That's from his commentary on Revelation, his book he wrote called Exploring Revelation.

Satan's rage, though, y'all, is all the more violent because why?

Because he knows that he only has how long?

Specifically, how long does he have?

Three and a half years, right, at this point. Only a short time,

the remainder of the tribulation, for his final assault on God's people.

So his actual time, like we said, would be three and a half years of the reign of Antichrist.

It's during that reign. It talks about this in chapter 13, the next one we're

getting to, verse 5, who Satan actually is going to place in power,

by the way, immediately after he is cast down from heaven.

That's next. And it's the same period that's referred to in verse 6 of chapter 12 and verse 14.

It's that short time because Jesus Christ, as you know, will return to establish

his earthly millennial kingdom.

And how long will that kingdom last? How many years?

Well, the millennial kingdom, a thousand years, right?

And no matter how desperate their situation looks, no matter how furiously Satan

rages against them, the believers, they take comfort in knowing that his ultimate defeat is certain.

In fact, I think of the words of Martin Luther's magnificent hymn.

Y'all know this one probably. A mighty fortress is our God. You know that hymn, right?

His verse that says, the prince of darkness grim.

We tremble not for him. His rage we can endure For lo, his doom is sure.

One little word will fail him.

You talk about shouting ground, Brother Ronnie. You talk about victory,

right? That's celebration.

They overcame him by the blood of the lamb, by the word of their testimony.

They persevered to the end.