This is an article in the series on Revelation 12. Unless otherwise indicated, all quotes are from the NASB.
SUMMARY
Revelation 12:7-10 describes the victory that Michael and his angels gained over Satan and his angels in the war in heaven. But then Revelation 12:11 continues:
“And they overcame himbecause of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony … even when faced with death.”
Since this also refers to a victory over Satan, it may seem as if “they” refer to angels. However, for the following reasons, “they” refer to God’s people on earth:
Death – Angels are not “faced with death” (Rev 12:11). In Revelation, it is always people that are killed for their testimony. –
Brethren – The immediate antecedent of “they” is “our brethren” who were accused by Satan (Rev 12:10). In Revelation, “brethren” always refer to God’s people. –
Overcome – “They overcame” and in Revelation, it is God’s people who “overcome” (e.g. Rev 3:12).
This creates an apparent contradiction, for it might imply that the victory in the war in heaven (Rev 12:7-10) was actually won on earth by God’s people (Rev 12:11). To solve this, it is proposed that these are two different victories:
Revelation 12:11 refers to the everyday experience of God’s people as they overcome Satan’s accusations.
The victory in the war in heaven, as described in Rev 12:7-10, was a specific event after Christ’s ascension in which Satan was defeated.
OVERCOME THE ACCUSER BY THEIR TESTIMONY
According to Revelation 12:11, two things are required for “our brethren” to overcome:
The blood of the Lamb and
The word of their testimony.
Why is the “testimony” of God’s people, “even when faced with death” required to overcome Satan’s accusations? Why is the blood of the Lamb not sufficient? This is addressed by the series on the seven seals. In Revelation 5, Christ died to gain the right to open the book of God’s judgments (Rev 5:5 – see, Book of Life), but the book remains sealed. A process is required to open the book. This process involves “the word of their testimony … even when faced with death.”
– END OF SUMMARY –
WHO ARE THEY?
Revelation 12:7-10 describes the victory that Michael and his angels gained over Satan and his angels in the war in heaven. As argued in a previous article, Christ’s victory on earth enabled Michael to gain victory in heaven. Rev 12:10 describes the outcome of that victory:
“The accuser of our brethren has been thrown down,
he who accuses them before our God day and night.“
Revelation 12:11 continues:
“And they overcame himbecause 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.”
The first question in this article is: Who are “they?” Are “they” people or angels?
THEY ARE ANGELS.
The following may indicate that “they” could refer to angels:
Immediate context – Revelation 12:11 refers to some victory when it says, “they overcame him.” “Him,” in the context, refers to Satan. Since “they” overcame Satan, and since Michael’s angels defeated Satan in the immediate context (Rev 12:7-10), this may imply that “our brethren” refers to Michael and his angels. –
Blood of the Lamb – As previously argued, the angels gained the victory “because of the blood of the Lamb.” Now Rev 12:11 says the same of “our brethren.“
THEY ARE PEOPLE.
The following indicates that “they” are God’s people on earth:
Death – As far as we know, angels are not “faced with death” (Rev 12:11). In Revelation, it is always people that are killed for their testimony; never angels, for example: –
“Those who had been slain … because of the testimony which they had maintained” (Rev 6:9; cf. 12:17).
“Those who had been beheaded because of their testimony of Jesus” (Rev 20:4). –
Brethren – The immediate antecedent of “they” is “our brethren” who were accused by Satan (Rev 12:10). It is in Satan’s nature to deceive and accuse (Rev 12:9-10). He certainly must have attempted at least to deceive and accuse Michael and his angels “before our God.” For that reason, “our brethren” arguably include angels. However, elsewhere in Revelation, “brethren” always refer to God’s people (Rev 6:11; 19:10; 22:9). –
Overcome – “They overcame” and in Revelation, it is God’s people who “overcome” (e.g. Rev 3:12).
APPARENT CONTRADICTION
The evidence seems stronger that verse 11 describes God’s people on earth, but this creates an apparent contradiction, for it might imply that the victory in the war in heaven (Rev 12:7-10), in which Michael’s angels won the victory, was actually won on earth and by God’s people (Rev 12:11).
To solve this apparent contradiction, it is proposed that these are two different but related victories:
Revelation 12:11 refers to the everyday experience of God’s people as they overcome Satan’s accusations.
The victory in the war in heaven, as described in verses 7-10, was a specific event after Christ’s ascension in which Satan was defeated.
Christ’s victory on the earth (that He remained faithful to God to the end, even under the most excruciating torment – “even when faced with death“) forms the foundation of both these victories.
OVERCOME THE ACCUSER BY THEIR TESTIMONY
However, according to 12:11, two things are required for “our brethren” to overcome:
“They overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because ofthe word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death.”
The Lamb is Jesus (e.g. Rev 5:6). Both “the blood of the Lamb” and “the word of their testimony” are required for God’s people to overcome Satan. Their willingness to die for what they believe is not a third requirement but indicates the strength of their testimony. The testimony that overcomes Satan is a testimony that is proven real when one’s life is in danger. Satan said to the LORD, “all that a man has he will give for his life” (Job 2:4), but these people prove him wrong, for they are willing to die for their faith.
BLOOD OF THE LAMB
The first requirement is “the blood of the Lamb.” How the blood of Christ purchased men for God has been discussed in the series on the seven seals. (See, The book which not even God can open.)
THEIR TESTIMONY
But the question is: Why is the “testimony” of God’s people, “even when faced with death” required to overcome Satan’s accusations (Rev 12:10-11)? Why is the blood of the Lamb not sufficient? This is also addressed by the series on the seven seals. Revelation 5 and 12 are parallel in the sense that both describe the consequence of Christ’s victory on earth:
Revelation 5 shows that Christ was accepted as the true witness and, therefore, received the right to open the book of God’s judgments (the book of life). –
Revelation 12 shows that Satan was proven to be a liar and he was thrown out of heaven in his capacity as “the accuser of our brethren” (Rev 12:10).
To come back to the question: Why is the “testimony” of God’s people, required to overcome Satan’s accusation; Christ died to gain the right to open the book of God’s judgments (Rev 5:5), but the book remains sealed. A process is required to open the book. This process involves “the word of their testimony … even when faced with death.” Please see the article series on the seals for further discussion.
This is an article in the series on Revelation 12. Unless otherwise indicated, all quotes are from the NASB.
SUMMARY
As discussed in the previous article, the victory in heaven was won AFTER Jesus was “caught up to God and to His throne” (Rev 12:5). This implies that Michael won the victory in the war in heaven through the Cross. Talking about His approaching death, Jesus similarly said, “Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out” (John 12:27, 31). The question in this article is: How did the Cross defeat Satan?
WHAT WAS THE PROBLEM?
To answer this question, we must first determine what problem had to be solved. What is the nature of the war in heaven?
Evil originated in heaven. In the beginning, Lucifer was blameless in his ways. He probably was or is the most brilliant mind ever created, but he became proud (Ezek 28:17) and desired to receive an honor equal to like the Son of God. Later, when God created humans, Satan led Adam and Eve into sin, and through sin, obtained control over the human race.
Satan became “the accuser of our brethren” (Rev 12:10). He does not accuse all people; he specifically accused God’s people. In this way, Satan effectively accused God of arbitrary judgment when He forgives some people their sins but condemns others. Satan is not trying to make sure that God justifies the right people. His real purpose is to defend himself against God’s judgment, for he has been condemned to the “eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels” (Matt 25:41).
Due to Satan’s extremely clever and informed arguments, he convinced many of God’s beautiful and mighty angels to side with him (Rev 12:4, 7). And, for the same reasons, the heavenly beings that remained faithful to God were unable to refute Satan’s charges and to show conclusively that God’s judgments are perfect. That is the problem that Christ’s death had to solve.
HOW DOES GOD SOLVE THIS PROBLEM?
Revelation reveals Satan’s weapons as deception and accusations (Rev 12:9-10). This explains the nature of the war in heaven. God does not solve this problem using force. He addresses Satan’s charges with two techniques; the death of His Son and the testimony of the brethren (Rev 12:11). According to Romans 3:25-26, God displayed Christ Jesus publicly “to demonstrate His righteousness.” In other words, to refute Satan’s charges, God provides evidence of “His righteousness” by means of demonstrations. Jesus, by remaining faithful to God to the end (His death) provided evidence to show that Satan’s accusations were false.
HOW CHRIST’S DEATH REFUTED SATAN’S ACCUSATIONS
BY CHRIST’S LIFE
The Bible says that people are saved by Christ’s blood. Many people believe that there was some magic in His blood, or that His death saves people by satisfying the wrath of an angry God, or that justice demands that somebody must suffer infinite punishment, and only an infinite person is able to suffer infinite punishment. There is much that we have to unlearn:
Firstly, His “blood” is merely a symbol of His death. There is no magic in His literal blood.
Secondly, the evidence of God’s righteousness was not provided by Jesus’ death, but by His life. If Jesus sinned, His death would have been without value.
The Bible emphasizes His death because the days and hours before He died were the highest test that He had to pass and because His death was the end of His test.
BY VALIDATING THE BASIS OF GOD’S JUDGMENTS
But the question remains, what evidence did Christ’s death provide that refuted Satan’s accusations? HOW did the “blood of the Lamb” overcome Satan?
Over the centuries, many people have overcome Satan’s temptations, but the accuser of our brethren was always able to point out sins in their lives. Not one ever remained without sin. –
Jesus became a human being. He was a sinless man in a corrupted world and had to resist the maximum possible provocation and temptation, but never sinned. In this way, He demonstrated that human beings are able to remain faithful to God under the most severe circumstances. –
This implies that Satan claimed that it is not possible to remain faithful to God under all circumstances and that the fault, therefore, lies with God’s law, and therefore with God. –
But Christ showed that there is nothing wrong with God’s requirements and laws and that God, therefore, is just when He condemns hardened sinners and justifies sinners selectively.
Revelation 12:7-10 describes the war in heaven as a war between two groups of angels and indicates that archangel Michael and his angels defeated Satan and drove him out of heaven. Previously, they were unable to refute Satan’s clever arguments, but Christ’s death provided the evidence they needed. Now they were convinced that God is just in His judgments and that Satan is the father of lies. With this evidence, they drove Satan and his angels out of the courtrooms of heaven:
“There was no longer a place found for them (Satan and his angels) in heaven” (Rev 12:8).
CONCLUSIONS
The fact that evidence was required implies that the war in heaven is similar to a courtroom, where evidence is brought, and the jury decides. This is a war of deception and accusations, and evidence is required to refute the accusations. –
God condemned Satan and his angels, but because the angels did not completely understand what Satan did wrong, the angels would not have understood if God executed His judgment on Satan and his angels before the allegations against God were clarified. Doubt would have remained, providing the seed for a future rebellion. Because God wants His intelligent beings to understand, He allowed Satan to continue until the nature and consequences of Satan’s ways are understood by all. –
All of this implies that God’s creatures have freedom.
CHRIST’S DEATH WON THE VICTORY.
As indicated by the following, Michael won the victory in the war in heaven through the Cross:
Main Concepts – Two of the main concepts in Revelation 12 are Christ’s ascension (verse 5) and the victory in the war in heaven (verses 8-12). The emphasis that Revelation 12 places on these two events imply a causal relationship. –
The Chronological sequence of events, as discussed in the previous article, shows that the victory in heaven was won AFTER Jesus was “caught up to God and to His throne” (Rev 12:5). –
Blood of the Lamb – In the context, the loud voice from heaven announces that “our brethren …overcame him (Satan) because of the blood of the Lamb” (Rev 12:10-11).
The Bible also elsewhere teaches that God overcame Satan through Christ’s death and resurrection:
Talking about His approaching death, Jesus said, “Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out” (John 12:27, 31). –
“Since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil” (Heb 2:14). –
God “disarmed the rulers and authorities” when He “canceled out the certificate of debt” by nailing it to the Cross (Col 2:14-15). Rulers and Authorities are supernatural beings that oppose God.
Michael, therefore, won the victory in the war in heaven through Christ’s death. The vertical movements in Revelation 12 are an indication there-of: After Christ was caught up from earth to God’s throne (Rev 12:5), Satan went down from heaven to earth.
HOW DID THE CROSS DEFEAT SATAN?
Then the question is: How did the Cross defeat Satan? To answer this question, we must first determine what problem had to be solved. What was or is the nature of the war in heaven?
EVIL ORIGINATED IN HEAVEN.
In the beginning, Lucifer was blameless in his ways. As discussed in the article on the Origin of Evil, Lucifer probably was or is the most brilliant mind ever created. He was a covering cherub (Ezek 28:14), which means he served in God’s immediate presence. The angels trusted, loved, and admired him.
But Lucifer became God’s enemy. God said to him, “Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty; You corrupted your wisdom by reason of your splendor” (Ezek 28:17). Lucifer became the selfish and proud Satan, who desired to receive an honor equal to like the Son of God (Isa 14:14, compared to John 17:5).
Later, God made the humans in His likeness (Gen 1:26), and “the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy” (Job 38:7). Although Satan already was God’s adversary, God allowed him access to Adam and Eve. Satan appeared to Eve in the form of a talking serpent. Through deception, he led Adam into sin, and through sin, he obtained power over the human race: “The whole world lies in the power of the evil one” (1 John 5:19; cf. Genesis 3).
SATAN ACCUSED GOD OF ARBITRARY JUDGMENT.
Satan became “the accuser of our brethren” (Rev 12:10). He does not accuse all people; he specifically accused God’s people (cf. Zech 3:1; Job 1:11). In this way, Satan effectively accused God of arbitrary judgment when He forgives some people their sins but condemns others, such as Satan himself and his angels (See Book of Life). This is confirmed by Romans 3:25-26:
“Christ Jesus; whom God displayed publicly … in His blood … to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed … so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus” (Rom 3:25-26).
Many theologians explain this passage as that God’s righteousness demanded that sins cannot be forgiven; that someone had to pay. However, the text explicitly tells us why God had to demonstrate His righteousness, namely “because … He passed over the sins.” In other words, He had to demonstrate His righteousness because He selectively forgave some sinners their sins. This supports the conclusion that Satan questioned God’s righteousness He forgave some people their sins.
Satan is not trying to make sure that God justifies the right people. His real purpose is to defend himself against God’s judgment, for he has been condemned to the “eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels” (Matt 25:41).
He probably argues that all people have sinned (Rom 3:23) and that sin cannot be forgiven; if he is to be condemned, then the entire human race must also be condemned. And if God’s people are “justified as a gift by His grace” (Rom 3:24), then he and his angels must also be justified. In other words, Satan uses the sins of human beings to convince the universe that God judged him and his angels unfairly.
THE ANGELS DO NOT UNDERSTAND.
As stated, Satan was possibly the most brilliant being ever created. As discussed in the article series on the seven seals, due to Satan’s extremely clever and informed arguments, he convinced many of God’s beautiful and mighty angels to side with him (Rev 12:4, 7). And, for the same reasons, the heavenly beings that remained faithful to God were unable to refute Satan’s charges and to show conclusively that God’s judgments are perfect. Revelation symbolizes this lack of understanding of God’s judgments as a book that is sealed with seven seals (Rev 5:1; see Book of Life).
That is the problem that Christ’s death had to solve.
GOD PROVIDES EVIDENCE.
Many people understand the war in heaven as physical in nature; not fought with earthly weapons, but by supernatural physical means; using powerful physic-spiritual energies of which we have only vague intimations; energies that can move mountains and change planetary orbits. If this war is to determine who has the most physical power, Satan would never have started this war. See, Why Satan thought he could win.
Rather, Revelation reveals Satan’s weapons as deception and accusations (Rev 12:9-10). This explains the nature of the war in heaven. God, also, does not solve this problem by means of force. He does not use His infinite power to stamp out resistance.
God addresses Satan’s charges with two techniques; the death of His Son and the testimony of the brethren (Rev 12:11). According to Romans 3:25-26, God displayed Christ Jesus publicly “to demonstrate His righteousness.” In other words, to refute Satan’s charges, God provides evidence of His righteousness by means of demonstrations. Jesus, by remaining faithful to God to the end (His death) provided evidence to show that Satan’s accusations were false.
The same applies to the testimony of our brethren. God was accused of unfair judgment, and through Jesus, and through the testimony of our brethren, God provided evidence to show that His judgments were fair.
SEALED SCROLL
This conclusion is supported by the sealed scroll of Revelation 5. Before Jesus’ death “no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the book or to look into it” (Rev 5:3). It was a time of extreme sorrow in heaven (Rev 5:4). But then Jesus appears as “a Lamb … as if slain” (Rev 5:6), and the heavenly beings sang a new song, saying to Jesus:
“Worthy are You to take the book and to break its seals; for You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation” (Rev 5:9).
A closed book symbolizes concealed information. The sealed scroll of Revelation 5 is the Book of Life. In other words, before Jesus died, nobody was sure who will be saved. But through His death, Jesus provided the evidence required to open the book.
SAVED BY CHRIST’S BLOOD
The Bible says that people are saved by Christ’s blood, for example:
“Justified … through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 3:24). The next verse explains this redemption by saying that Jesus was “displayed publicly … in His blood.”
Similarly, in Revelation 12:11, the accuser of our brethren was overcome “because ofthe blood of the Lamb.”
Many people believe that there was some magic in His blood, or that His death saves people by satisfying the wrath of an angry God, or that justice demands that somebody must suffer infinite punishment, and only an infinite person is able to suffer infinite punishment. There is much that we have to unlearn:
Firstly, His “blood” is merely a symbol of His death. There is no magic in His literal blood.
Secondly, the evidence of God’s righteousness was not provided by Jesus’ death, but by His life. If Jesus sinned, His death would have been without value. His entire life was a test. At the beginning of His ministry, “Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil” (Matt 4:1).
The Bible emphasizes His death because the days and hours before He died were the highest test that He had to pass and because His death was the end of His test. “He said, ‘It is finished!’ And He bowed His head and gave up His spirit” (John 19:30).
But the question remains, what evidence did Christ’s death provide that refuted Satan’s accusations? HOW did the “blood of the Lamb” overcome Satan? Three categories of evidence are proposed:
God’s laws are just.
God is trustworthy, and
God is love.
GOD’S LAWS ARE JUST.
Over the centuries, many people have overcome Satan’s temptations, but the accuser of our brethren was always able to point out sins in their lives. Not one of them remained without sin.
Jesus became a human being. He was a sinless man in a corrupted world and had to resist the maximum possible provocation and temptation, but never sinned. “He humbled Himself by becoming obedient (without sin – Heb 4:25) to the point of death” (Phil 2:8); “even when faced with death” (Rev 12:11).
In this way, He demonstrated that human beings are able to remain faithful to God under the most severe circumstances. This implies that Satan claimed that it is not possible to remain faithful to God under all circumstances and that the fault, therefore, lies with God’s law, and therefore with God. But Christ showed that there is nothing wrong with God’s requirements and laws and that God, therefore, is just when He condemns hardened sinners and justifies sinners selectively (For a further discussion, see, The book which not even God can open).
GOD IS TRUSTWORTHY.
The serpent said to the woman:
“You surely will not die! For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil” (Gen 3:4-5).
In other words, Satan said that God did not tell the truth. If Satan did this with Eve, then we can assume that one of Satan’s basic strategies is to tell lies; including lies about God. Jesus, in contrast, revealed the truth about God (John 1:18). Jesus is the exact representation of God’s nature (Heb 1:3). He is “the image of the invisible God” (Col 1:15) and His life on earth confirmed Him, and therefore God, as the “true Witness” (Rev 3:14). In other words, Jesus showed that God is trustworthy.
GOD IS LOVE.
The cruelty of the accuser, as displayed in his malicious persecution of the only begotten Son of God who became a vulnerable human being, demonstrated Satan’s nature and the consequences of his principles. This is in contrast to Jesus Christ, who did not use His power to protect Himself. As “the image of the invisible God,” by becoming a slain lamb (Rev 5:5, 6), He revealed God’s nature. Jesus showed that God is love.
ANGELS DROVE SATAN OUT OF HEAVEN.
The importance of evidence explains why Satan was overcome by Jesus, but driven out of heaven by Michael and his angels.
Revelation 12:7-10 describes the war in heaven as a war between two groups of angels and indicates that archangel Michael and his angels defeated Satan and expelled him from heaven. Why would God’s loyal angels drive Satan out of heaven if he was defeated by Jesus’ death?
The answer is that they, previously, were unable to refute Satan’s clever arguments, but Christ’s death provided the evidence they needed. Now they were convinced that God is just in His judgments and that Satan is the father of lies. With this evidence, they drove Satan and his angels out of the courtrooms of heaven.
Perhaps Satan was not physically thrown out of heaven, but he was driven out in a figurative sense in that nobody believes him any longer. Michael and his angels now understood and were fully convinced of God’s justness. Satan was no longer able to accuse God’s people before God.
“There was no longer a place found for them (Satan and his angels) in heaven” (Rev 12:8).
IMPLICATIONS
DECISIONS ARE MADE IN HEAVENLY COUNCILS.
The fact that evidence was required implies that the war in heaven is similar to a courtroom, where evidence is brought, and the jury decides. This is a war of deception and accusations, and evidence is required to refute the accusations. For example:
In Revelation 5, it was not God, but the council’s decision that Jesus is “worthy … to take the book and to break its seals; for You were slain” (Rev 5:8-9).
In Daniel 7, “the court sat, and the books were opened” (Dan 7:10).
Satan brought his charges against the humans in the meetings of the “sons of God“ (Job 1:6).
GOD ALLOWS TIME FOR HIS INTELLIGENT BEINGS TO UNDERSTAND.
In consequence of his rebellion, God cast Satan “as profane from the mountain of God. And I have destroyed you, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire” (Ezek 28:16). God condemned Satan and his angels to “the eternal fire” (Matt 25:41). But because the angels did not completely understand what Satan did wrong, the angels would not have understood if God executed His judgment on Satan and his angels before the allegations against God were clarified. Doubt would have remained, providing the seed for a future rebellion. Because God wants His intelligent beings to understand, He allowed Satan to continue until the nature and consequences of Satan’s ways are understood by all.
GOD’S INTELLIGENT BEINGS HAVE FREE WILL.
The requirement for evidence means that physical power is not decisive. God did not set Satan’s criticism and questions aside by physical force. Satan deceives, accuses, and slanders. “Our brethren” respond, not by physical force, but with a testimony that is so strong that they are willing to die for what they believe (Rev 12:11). God has all power, but the outcome of the war in heaven is not determined by who has the most physical power.
Since physical power will not settle this dispute, but evidence, it implies that God’s creatures have freedom. Based on this principle, God grants Satan time and allows His judgments to be tested. God even became the accused and the universe became the judge.
FINAL CONCLUSIONS
Michael won the victory in the war in heaven through the Cross.
Satan accused God of arbitrary judgment when He forgives some people but condemns others.
Due to Satan’s extremely clever arguments, God’s loyal angels were unable to refute Satan’s charges.
God does not solve this problem by means of force. He provides evidence of “His righteousness” by means of demonstrations.
Satan claimed that it is not possible to remain faithful to God under all circumstances and that the fault, therefore, lies with God’s law, and therefore with God. Jesus, by remaining faithful to God to the end, showed that Satan’s accusations were false.
Revelation 12:7-10 describes the victory that Michael and his angels gained over Satan and his angels in the war in heaven. But then Revelation 12:11 continues:
In the beginning, Lucifer was blameless in his ways. As discussed in the article on the 
The fact that evidence was required implies that the war in heaven is similar to a courtroom, where evidence is brought, and the jury decides. This is a war of deception and accusations, and evidence is required to refute the accusations. For example: