1. According to the Bible, this world is divided into two kingdoms: the kingdom of darkness and the kingdom of light.
2. The kingdom of light has a revelation from God, and those who are citizens of this kingdom lovingly obey this revelation.
3. On the other hand, those who are in the kingdom of darkness do not obey God’s Word. They are blinded by the Prince of Darkness, referred to here in Rev.12:9 as "the great dragon," "that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world."
4. A couple of weeks ago, I preached on this subject and pointed out that the devil is a liar and a deceiver (I Tim.2:14; Rev.12:9).
5. He has deceived some here today, about the importance of the local church, and tithing, and soulwinning, etc.
6. And most importantly, he has deceived some people into putting off salvation. One lady came here for months and told one of our members that she was "just an observer." Well, observers do not get into heaven – only believers do. Please remember, Hell is full of observers.
7. But thank God, not every one is deceived by the devil. When John says that the devil has deceived "the whole world" (Rev.12:9), he means the whole unsaved world (cf. Rev.3:10; 6:10; 8:13; 11:10; 12:12; 13:8,12,14; 14:6; 17:8).
8. You and I need the power of God in our lives if we are to overcome the devil. And here in Rev.12:11, we see how this is done.

I. THEY OVERCAME HIM BY THE BLOOD OF THE LAMB (Rev.12:11).

1. The devil is a false accuser. He is called here "the accuser of our brethren" (Rev.12:10). But his accusations are nullified by the blood of the Lamb.
2. The blood of the Lamb is one of the great themes of the Book of Revelation (cf. 1:5; 5:6,9,12; 7:9-17).
3. "The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin" (I John 1:7).
4. But there is another important theme that runs through the Book of Revelation, and that is "the wrath of the Lamb" (6:12-17). Unsaved friend: are you ready for the wrath of the Lamb?
5. If you repent of your sin and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, then your sins will be washed in His precious blood. I remember working on a construction job with an unsaved fellow who mocked salvation by the shed blood of Christ.
6. I heard a story about a new pastor who was asked if he would preach too often about the blood, and he replied that one could never preach too often on the blood of Jesus Christ.
7. The accusations of Satan are nullified by the blood of the Lamb which washes away our wicked sins and gives us the spiritual victory we need.
8. "Cling to the cross, for there you are out of the reach of the old serpent’s venom; he may hiss, but he can do no more" (CHS).
9. I mentioned earlier the two kingdoms. These kingdoms are in a fierce conflict and will continue to be in a fierce conflict until our Lord casts the devil into the lake of fire (Rev.20:10).
10. In the meantime, we can overcome him by the blood of the Lamb.

II. THEY OVERCAME HIM BY THE WORD OF THEIR TESTIMONY (Rev.12:11).

1. The Bible does not say that they overcame the devil by their intelligence or by their education, but only by "the word of their testimony."
2. The devil and his followers are deceiving the masses. People are constantly being bombarded with the devil’s propaganda – in the public schools, and even in some Christian schools, through the media, through rock music, even in the museums (evolution, pagan viewpoints, etc.).
3. Bro. Brown told me that in Washington DC, they are blasting away all the Scripture verses off of the monuments and buildings. The devil has been very busy in our nation’s capitol!
4. So we are surrounded on every side by the deceptions of Satan, and what are we to do? We are to overcome him by the word of our testimony. We are to preach the pure Gospel of God’s grace. We are to take our stand upon the Word of God and the Word of God alone. {It is not, the Bible plus tradition, other books, etc.}
5. God’s Word is powerful, powerful enough to overcome the deceptions of Satan. I cringe whenever I hear someone give a so-called testimony and they leave out the Lord Jesus Christ, they leave out the blood of Christ, and they even leave out the Word of God altogether. One can never overcome the devil that way – "They overcame him by…the word of their testimony" (12:11).
6. Oftentimes when we think of a word of testimony, we think of standing up in a meeting like this and giving your testimony. But that is not what this means here. The place to give your testimony is out in the world where all the sinners are.
7. The world needs to hear your testimony – on the job, on the bus, in the subway, in your neighborhood, etc. Then you will overcome the devil by the word of your testimony.

III. THEY OVERCAME HIM BY THEIR LOVE FOR GOD – "and they loved not their lives unto the death" (Rev.12:11).

1. What it all boils down to is this – either you love God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength, or you just love yourself. Do you really love God?
2. Our Lord said, "For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it" (Matt.16:25).
3. In the early days of Christianity, many Christians were martyred for their faith in Christ. And throughout history many dedicated Christians were killed rather than deny their Lord (e.g. the Inquisition).
4. But we do not see this kind of dedication here in America today. Most Christians in America would not even risk losing their job, never mind their life. There is a deadness, a coldness, a worldliness, and a complacency that is killing many churches.
5. The Greek word martus literally means "witness." Yet so few Christians are effectively witnessing these days. They are too cozy with the world, too concerned with what their worldly friends think.

CONCLUSION:

1. We see two different reactions when the devil is cast out of heaven (Rev.12:9-12). There is rejoicing in heaven, because this horrible, malignant, treacherous, dangerous, deadly serpent is thrown out. But then there is woe on earth (12:12). The devil has "great wrath" because he knows he hath but a short time (12:12).
2. Satan’s days are numbered and he is going to try to destroy as many people as he can before he is finally cast into the lake of fire.
3. Many lost souls are being deceived by him, and those that continue in their folly will wind up some day in the lake of fire (Rev.20:15; 21:8).