12/11/S – Conquering The Accuser

NT: “Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say, The salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have now come, because the accuser of our brothers and sisters, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been thrown down. 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. Therefore rejoice, you heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has come down to you with great fury, because he knows his time is short. When the dragon saw that he had been thrown down to the earth, he persecuted the woman who had given birth to the male child. The woman was given two wings of a great eagle, so that she could fly from the serpent’s presence to her place in the wilderness, where she was nourished for a time, times, and half a time. From his mouth the serpent spewed water like a river flowing after the woman, to sweep her away with a flood. But the earth helped the woman. The earth opened its mouth and swallowed up the river that the dragon had spewed from his mouth. So the dragon was furious with the woman and went off to wage war against the rest of her offspring  — those who keep the commands of God and hold firmly to the testimony about Jesus.” (‭‭Revelation‬ ‭12:10-17‬ ‭CSB)

To some degree (we are not clear as to how much) Satan has had access to heaven; and he has used that access to accuse people to God. We see that in Job 1:6-11 and Job 2:1-5, where Satan stands before God after roaming the earth and accuses Job of unrighteousness. At some point, after the resurrection and ascension of Christ, Satan (along with his fallen angels) is cast down to earth and locked completely out of heaven. The heavens rejoice over Christ’s victory over Satan the accuser, but woe comes to the earth as a furious and desperate Satan does all he can to destroy God’s people and plans, and maintain his power and position. In his anger and fury, Satan uses all his resources to try and destroy God’s covenant people, and wages war against the faithful in Christ.

There are different schools of thought on when these events actually occur. Some believe that Satan was cast down and began waging war at the moment Christ ascended into heaven. Others believe that Satan still had access to heaven as the church was caught up in the midst of the tribulation, and stood before God and Christ to accuse them at the judgement seat of Christ. We will probably never have clarity on all of this until after Christ comes again. The important truth, regardless of what school of thought you fall into is this: 1) Satan is a defeated foe and his days are numbered, 2) in his rage and desperation, he has waged war against those who hold firmly to the testimony of Christ, and 3) we conquer Satan the accuser through the blood of the Lamb, the word of our testimony, and our willingness to sacrifice our lives for the sake of the kingdom.

Satan is the accuser of the brethren – those who are children of God and brothers and sisters in Christ. Just as he has accused people before God in heaven, he does the same here on earth – attempting to destroy the word of our testimony to the people of the earth. The great flood that Satan spewed from his mouth could very well be a great flood of accusation, slander, and misinformation levied against those who call themselves followers of Christ. Christ said that the world would know that we are His through the love that we have for one another – yet, increasingly, Christians are accused of being hateful, unforgiving, intolerant people that need to be canceled. Who are we now, and who will we be in the midst of that great flood that is spewed against us? Do we, through the things we say and do, give credence to Satan’s accusations? Or do we walk by the blood of the Lamb in complete integrity of heart? Do we willingly lay down our lives… our desires… our comforts… our preferences for the sake of showing the love of God to others? Do we hold fast to our testimony of Christ without wavering? If we walk in all that Christ’s blood has afforded us… if we hold fast and sincerely walk according to the word of our testimony… if we do not love our lives even to the point of death, Satan will have no power over us and we will come out the other side as conquerors.

Prayer: Lord, I thank You that You are my victorious Savior. You have conquered Satan the accuser. Through Your victory, the power of God and the authority of Christ has been released in my life. Though Satan has waged war against me, I know that in You and through You, I am able to more that conquer. Help me to live my life by the blood of the Lamb, hold fast to my testimony, and not love my life even to the point of death. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.