11, 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.
To get straight to the point ( at least one of them,) anyone who is imagining that they can overcome the accuser of the Brethren without the Blood of the Lamb, will obviously never overcome the accuser of the Brethren.
The Blood of Christ is so clearly (Acts 20:38, Rom. 3:25; 5:9, Eph. 1:7, Col. 1:14, Heb. 9:22, 1 John 1:7) stated throughout the Bible as that which is necessary for the remission of sin, that for someone to believe otherwise would be a very sad thing indeed.
However, this scripture also says a couple of other things about overcoming the accuser.
First, they also overcame the accuser by the word of their testimony.
So, what is the testimony which is being addressed here? To put it simply; the testimony which they are speaking of, is actually the testimony which speaks, “The Blood of Christ is that which has cleansed me of sin.” This is their Faith put into words. In other words the testimony spoken, comes about because of ones Faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ, and that testimony actually is a proclamation of what the Blood of Christ has accomplished for you (the forgiveness of sin, justification, sanctification, and the receiving of Gods Righteousness).
So now we see that to overcome the accuser, we must have the Blood of the Lamb applied to our lives (Rom. 10:9-10). We must also confess (your testimony), that we have the Blood of the Lamb applied to our lives.
To put it in a more simple way, “We must believe that Jesus Christ was crucified, shed his Blood, gave his life, and rose from the dead, so that we could be redeemed; and our testimony should mirror that belief. As a matter of fact the Holy Spirit is saying through the Apostle John that the ones who overcome the accuser will do so in precisely this way.
There is one more thing which this scripture in Revelation says about those who overcame the accuser of the Brethren.
“They loved not their lives unto death.”
This may very well pertain to Christians not changing their testimony of the Cross of Christ, and what he accomplished thereon, “even till death.” This is a point not to be overlooked ( for not changing that testimony is indeed crucial), however, I believe there is a little more to it.
Loving their lives, speaks of a desire to accomplish things or get things for ones self. Colossians 3:17, says, “and whatsoever you do in word or deed, do all in the Name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by Him.” In other words, whatever you do, do it for the Lord and not for yourself. To much concern for ones SELF will eventually pull anyone into sin. (We are to walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit, Rom. 8:1).
