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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadBob Utley You Can Understand the Bible - Revelation 12:10 - 12:12
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This Chapter Verse Commentaries:
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Rev_12:10-12
10"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, he who accuses them before our God day and night. 11"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. 12"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."
Rev_12:10-12 This is the message of the one with the loud voice in heaven.
Rev_12:10 "the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come" This is a literary equivalent to Rev_11:15-18. The end is already present and God is victorious! This was very helpful to a group of believers who were suffering extreme persecution, even death.
▣ "for the accuser of our brethren" This shows that the voice of Rev_12:10 was not an angel, but apparently believers, possibly the martyrs of Rev_6:9-11.
The Hebrew term Satan means "accuser." We see Satan in this role in Job_1:9-11 and Zec_3:1.
▣ "he who accuses them before our God day and night" Satan is cast out of heaven yet he still accuses the faithful before God. This is the fluidity of this genre. His power is broken, but he is still active (however, limited by God, cf. Job 1-2).
Rev_12:11 "And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony" The victory has already been won by the substitutionary atonement of God's Messiah (cf. Rev_1:5; Rev_7:14; 1Pe_1:18-19; 1Jn_1:7). This atonement involves both
1. the grace of God through Christ's sacrificial death (cf. Mar_10:45; 2Co_5:21)
2. believers' required faith response (cf. Rev_6:9; Mar_1:15; Joh_1:12; Joh_3:16; Act_3:16; Act_3:19; Act_20:21) and their sharing of that faith (i.e., lifestyle and verbally)
This phrase is much like Rev_14:12. There is great similarity between Rev_12:11; Rev_12:17. Revelation 11 seems to describe salvation, while Rev_12:17 seems to describe Christian maturity and perseverance. Notice Christ's victory occurs at Calvary, not the millennium.
NASB "and they did not love their life even to death"
NKJV "and they did not love their lives to the death"
NRSV "for they did not cling to life even in the face of death"
TEV "they were willing to give up their lives and die"
NJB "because even in the face of death they did not cling to life"
First century believers and their families faced horrible deaths (as do many in every age). They were sealed and protected by God, but still they are subject to persecution by unbelievers. Their faith in Christ was stronger than their fear of death (cf. Rev_2:10; Mar_8:35; Mar_13:13; Luk_14:26; Joh_12:25).
Rev_12:12 "rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them" This is a present middle imperative (cf. Rev_18:20). It may be an allusion to Psa_96:11 or Isa_49:13. Heaven is to rejoice because Satan has been cast out, but woe be unto the earth!
The plural "heavens" is used in the OT to denote (1) the atmosphere above the earth (cf. Genesis 1) and (2) the place where God dwells. In this context it is #2.
The term "dwell" (NASB, NKJV, NRSV) or "live there" (TEV, NJB) is from the noun "tabernacle." It implies a permanent residence with God (cf. Rev_7:15; Rev_12:12; Rev_13:6; Rev_21:3 and Joh_1:14 of Christ with us).
▣ "wrath" See full note at Rev_7:14.
▣ "knowing that he has only a short time" This seems to refer to the period of time between the Ascension of Christ (cf. Act_1:9-11) and the Second Coming which John and the first century Christians thought would be in a short period of time. It has been almost 2,000 years now; every generation has the hope of the any-moment return of the Lord. Believers were warned of this delay in 2 Thessalonians and Mat_24:45-51. Be careful that the delay does not reduce faith (cf. 2Pe_3:3-4).
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