Revelation 12:11.
And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb,
and because of the word of their testimony;
and they loved not their life even unto death.
Let us have a short word of prayer.
Dear Lord, as we gather here this morning, our hearts bow in worship. How can You, the Holy One, love people such as we are, the chief of sinners? And yet, Lord, You have done it. You have bought us with such a tremendous price, even Your blood, Your life.
Lord, we are forever grateful. As we gather here this morning, we pray that Your Spirit will open Your Word to us. Speak to our hearts, that we may be transformed and be conformed to Your image.
Lord, we give this time back to You. Whatever You desire to speak to us, speak. Your servants hear. We ask in Your precious name. Amen.
Brothers and sisters, I would like to ask you a question: Do you know what time we are living in today?
According to the Word of God, we are living at the end time. All the prophecies in the Bible that precede the second coming of our Lord Jesus have been fulfilled.
You do not, and you cannot, find any prophecy in the Bible before the coming of the Lord that has not been fulfilled. It is true that there are still many prophecies to be fulfilled, but these prophecies will be fulfilled at the coming of the Lord and after His coming.
So, brothers and sisters, we are living in a very special time. Even in the first generation, those who loved the Lord were waiting for the Lord’s return, because the Lord said, “I am coming back to receive you unto Myself.”
So, in the first generation, those who loved the Lord waited for His return. But the Lord delayed—not in the sense that He did not want to come back to receive His own, but only for the reason that His own had not been prepared.
This happened century after century, and we are now in the twenty-first century. We thank God that all the prophecies preceding the coming of the Lord have been fulfilled, and we are at a very crucial time.
You know, brothers and sisters, the Lord may come back today. It is possible. The problem is: are we ready to meet Him?
If the Lord should come now, brothers and sisters, what will happen to us? Will we be raptured to the throne, to become the welcoming party to receive our Lord Jesus as He comes back to earth? Or will we be left behind and go through the great tribulation?
So, brothers and sisters, this is the time when we have to be serious. We cannot afford to be loose and not seek earnestly after the Lord.
Now, how will the Lord come back? How do we know that He is coming back? What is going to happen next?
There are still many prophecies that need to be fulfilled at His coming and after His coming. But, brothers and sisters, we can assure you that all the prophecies preceding the coming of the Lord have been fulfilled.
So do not try to look for something that is going to happen, and then wake up and say, “Now I have to prepare myself to meet the Lord.” No. He can come now.
But what will happen when He comes? You remember Matthew 24. The Lord Jesus said that as it was in the days of Noah, so shall be the days of the coming of the Son of Man.
In the days of Noah, everything was as usual. There was no sound of big wind. There was no sound of rain. Everything was as usual.
But then, suddenly, God called Noah and his family to enter into the ark, and the Lord shut the door. As the door was shut, suddenly rain came upon the earth. The springs broke out, until the whole world was under water. Only Noah and his family were saved.
So, brothers and sisters, He said, “When I am coming, two will be walking in the field; two will be grinding at the mill.” And then Luke tells us that two were sleeping. But suddenly one was taken and one was left.
Now, we know the two stand for the Christians who will be living at the time of His coming. That is to say, it refers to us who are here.
But one will be taken and one will be left. Oddly, they were doing the same thing. You could not see the difference, but the Lord knows who really is His. He will make no big mistake.
You know, the earth is round. That is the reason why the Scripture says two were sleeping at midnight, two were grinding in the early morning, and two were in the field at noontime. That is to say, all over the world, suddenly one is taken.
Brothers and sisters, do you hope you will be among those taken? Or would you rather stay behind for the great tribulation of three and a half years?
The problem is, how can we be those who will be taken? What is the difference between the taken and the left? Outwardly, they were doing the same thing. You could not see the difference, but the Lord knows.
Now, maybe you will say, “The number of the church is twelve, is it not? Where are the other ten, then?”
If you read the Bible in the next chapter, Matthew 25, you remember there are ten virgins. So ten and two make twelve, the perfect number.
The ten virgins represent those who are the Lord’s throughout the centuries. They have been waiting for the Lord. The Bible says they took their torches and went out to meet the Lord, but the Lord delayed, so they all fell asleep.
Now, here sleeping means they all died. But then suddenly a voice said, “The Lord cometh.” They all woke up—they were resurrected.
But the five wise virgins had extra oil. They poured it into their torches, so they could go forward to meet the Lord. But the five foolish virgins, in their vessels, put other precious things. They thought there was something more precious than the indwelling Holy Spirit, the fullness of the Holy Spirit.
So they put other things in their vessels, but these other things could not make the torch bright.
Brothers and sisters, that is the way of the coming of the Lord.
So this morning, I would like to share with you, dear brothers and sisters, on Revelation 12.
Revelation 12 refers exactly to this time. Here you see a woman. She was clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and above her head a crown of twelve stars.
Now, who is that woman? That woman is the church—the church of the centuries.
Clothed with the sun: the sun is Christ Jesus. In other words, the church belongs to Christ. The moon under her feet represents the law. She is related to the law too.
Above her head is a crown of twelve stars. That refers to the patriarchs, like Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. So this is the woman of the centuries.
But here she is at the end time, and she is in travail to give birth. In other words, the church is going through trouble.
But these troubles really are birth pains. Brothers and sisters, look at the world today. The world is full of trouble. There is no place that is safe.
But as the church goes through these troubles, she gives birth. Something is going to be born out of all these troubles. So this woman represents the church in the last days—that is, in our days.
Then you find another vision: the vision of a great red dragon. Of course, by its description, we know that it refers to Satan.
Satan was there before this woman. But strangely, Satan did not seem to care about that woman. You know, the church is the enemy of Satan, because the church belongs to Christ, follows Christ, and testifies of Christ.
So the church should be the target of Satan. But strangely, here Satan did not seem to care about that woman. Why? Because that woman had lost her testimony.
But he was interested in the womb of that woman, because he knew that which comes out of her womb would be the end of his days.
She is going to bring forth a man child. So the dragon was waiting there for the man child to be born, and as soon as he was born, he wanted to swallow him.
Now, who is that man child? We know that there are many different interpretations, and I am not going to go through all these different interpretations. I will only share with you what I believe is the right interpretation.
Some people say the man child refers to Christ, but it cannot be. Because after Christ was born, He was not immediately taken back to heaven. If that should happen, we would have no hope.
But our Lord Jesus stayed upon this earth through thirty-three and a half years, suffering and eventually being crucified. Oh, thank God, on the third day He arose, and now He is seated at the right hand of the Father.
So He cannot be the man child, because this man child, after he is born, is immediately raptured to heaven.
Now, who is this man child? As you read on to verse 11, you find the word there concerning those who are raptured to heaven. So the man child is a collective term.
In other words, the man child does not refer to one person. The man child can refer to a number of people. The man child is a “they.”
They are the overcomers of the last days.
Brothers and sisters, by the grace of God, in their lifetime they overcame Satan. Their life is a witness and a testimony to Jesus Christ. They are faithful to the testimony of Jesus.
Because in their lifetime they overcame Satan, therefore when the call came, they were raptured to heaven, to the throne.
Now, if you want to be raptured to the throne, you have to pass through the air. What is the air? We know the air is where Satan has his headquarters.
So whoever is able to get through the air to heaven shows that he has overcome Satan already. In his lifetime, he has overcome God’s enemy.
So, brothers and sisters, what will happen next? What are you going to look for next?
Suddenly, without notice, some Christians all over the world will disappear. Brothers and sisters, this is the sign of the coming of the Lord.
They have been taken to the throne, to become the welcoming party to the Lord, to prepare the way for the Lord to return to this earth.
And I believe every one of us here will want to be a man child. Do you want to be left behind? If you do, enjoy the world today to the uttermost, because you do not have much time anymore.
But if you really love the Lord, I believe you all want that when the Lord calls, you will respond and be able to be raptured, even to the throne.
These are the overcomers of the last days. They overcame Satan by what?
Number one: by the blood of the Lamb.
Brothers and sisters, do not think that the blood of the Lamb is only good at the time you are saved. You were a sinner. You needed Christ to save you.
He shed His blood for you on Calvary’s cross. He shed His blood for us to the last drop, because after He died, the soldier came to make sure that He had died.
So one soldier thrust his spear through His side to His heart, and there came out blood and water.
Scientists and doctors tell us that if a person dies of a broken heart, the last drop of blood in his heart will be separated into blood and water.
Our Lord Jesus died on the cross with a broken heart.
But thank God, His blood cleanses us from all sin. There is no sin that is too great for the shed blood of our Lord Jesus.
Do not think that you need the blood of the Lord Jesus only at the time you are saved. You realize you are a sinner, you have sinned, and you need the blood of the Lord Jesus to cleanse you.
When our Lord Jesus was crucified on the cross, He took our sins in His own body, and there He died for us. But this is just the beginning.
Throughout our Christian life, we need the blood of the Lamb, because we are not perfect.
Whenever we fall, we sin. Do not allow the sin to continue on and accumulate in your life. But confess your sin and claim the cleansing of the blood of the Lamb.
We are told that the sins of believers need the blood more than anybody else. We are told that even the tears of our repentance need the cleansing of the blood.
We do not know how much, throughout our life, we need the blood of our Lord Jesus. You never leave the blood of the Lord Jesus. Every day, every moment, we need the cleansing of the blood of the Lamb.
And these are the overcomers. Do not think that the overcomers are perfect people. No. The overcomers are people just like we are.
They have weaknesses. They have failures. They need the blood of the Lamb. But they avail themselves of the blood of the Lamb.
Brothers and sisters, do you think that you have gone beyond the need of the blood of the Lamb? If that is the case, it shows that you are deep in sins and transgressions. You make light of what sin is.
We need the blood of the Lamb throughout our life.
Thank God. You may think the overcomers are perfect. No. The overcomers are people just like we are. We have our failures. We have our weaknesses. We fall.
But thank God, His blood avails for us—the precious blood of our Lord Jesus.
When we are at the table of the Lord, we drink the cup. It reminds us of the blood. We need Him every day, every moment.
So, brothers and sisters, do not have the false idea that an overcomer is a perfectionist. There is no perfection. We are all sinners saved by grace.
So number one: they are overcomers not because of their perfection, but because of the blood of the Lamb.
Does that give you hope? It does me. I thank God for the blood.
Number two: by the word of their testimony.
These overcomers have a testimony. And, brothers and sisters, what is our testimony? Our testimony is the testimony of Jesus.
We do not have any testimony of our own. That is to say, we have nothing to boast of. But thank God, we have a testimony: it is the testimony of Jesus.
We can boast of Him—how He is our Savior, how He saves to the uttermost, how He will never leave us nor forsake us, and how He intercedes for us unceasingly.
Brothers and sisters, we testify of our Lord Jesus. Are we ashamed of Him? No. We are proud of Him. We witness to people of our Lord Jesus. He is everything to us.
They have that testimony, just like in the early days. You find in Antioch those believers, Gentiles as well as Jews.
They were saved, and they prayed to the Lord Jesus. They worshiped the Lord Jesus. They testified for the Lord Jesus. When they opened their mouths, it was the Lord Jesus.
So the people in the world looked at them and said, “Who are they? They are not all Jews—mostly Gentiles. Now, who are they?” They could not figure it out.
But because they always mentioned the Lord Jesus—everything was the Lord Jesus—they said, “You are Christians: Christ-men.”
You know, “Christian,” in the beginning, was a sarcastic word. Today we take it as a glory, but when the word “Christian” was given, it was a sarcastic thing.
But, brothers and sisters, are we worthy to be called Christians? Oh, what a shame to be ashamed of being a Christian.
The word of their testimony.
You know, there is a funny story in the Book of Acts. When Paul was in Ephesus, there were seven sons of a Jewish high priest, and they did the work of exorcists. They tried to drive out demons.
But when they saw Paul drive out demons in the name of the Lord Jesus, and he was so successful, they tried to use the name preached by Paul.
So, as they were exorcising people, they said, “In the name of Jesus preached by Paul, I cast you out.” And the demon said, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?”
And the demon overcame the two of them, and they had to flee naked. This thing was known all over Ephesus.
Brothers and sisters, if we want to testify of the Lord Jesus, the word of the Lord Jesus has to be real. If it is not real, it does not work. On the contrary, it may work otherwise.
The Antioch believers lived for the Lord Jesus, so their testimony was true. When they mentioned the Lord Jesus, there was power there, and the devil would be cast out.
Number three: they loved not their lives even unto death.
The life there is soul-life. They are willing to give their life for the Lord.
Not because they are protecting their life do they give up Christ. No. They love not their soul-life even unto death. They are willing to let their soul-life die, that the life of Christ may grow in them.
And, brothers and sisters, these are the overcomers. So do not have the wrong idea that an overcomer is a perfectionist. No. They are far from that. They need the blood of the Lamb.
Only by the grace of God are they able to witness and testify of Christ, and they are willing to give up their life for the Lord.
Now, does that give us a little hope? I hope so.
So, dear brothers and sisters, as we are living at this critical time, let us learn the secret. Because it is the will of God that He wants every one of us here to be an overcomer, because He is the Overcomer.
So may the Lord help us. Let us pray.
Dear Lord, our hearts worship You. We praise and thank You for loving us to the uttermost. You know that we are not perfect, but thank You, Lord, that Your blood is ever available.
Teach us how to treasure Your blood. Teach us how to depend on You, Lord, for our life. Teach us how to be faithful today.
Teach us how to deny ourselves, take up the cross, and follow You.
Lord, we are waiting for Your imminent return. It is the prayer of our hearts: Come, Lord Jesus, come. Amen.