Revelation 12:11 also tells us that we can overcome Satan because of the word of our testimony. The word of our testimony is the word testifying that the Devil has been judged by the Lord. Whenever we sense the Devil’s accusation, we should verbally testify how the Lord has already dealt with him. We must declare the Lord’s victory over him with the uttered word. We must declare what the Lord has accomplished, the victory of the cross, the attainment of resurrection, and the position of ascension. This is not a matter of preaching but of testifying.
The blood is the fact, and the word is our testimony. The blood implies the fact that our sins have been forgiven and taken away, that we have been crucified, that Satan has been judged, and that his head has been bruised. When we apply the blood, we apply all these facts. After applying the blood, we must declare the facts to Satan. This is the way to overcome the enemy.
Revelation 12:11 tells us that those who overcome the Devil do “not love their soul life even unto death.” Due to Adam’s fall, Satan has joined himself to man’s soul life, man’s self (Matt 16:23-24). Hence, to overcome Satan we should not love our soul life but rather hate it and deny it (Luke 14:26; 9:23). We should not love our soul life unto death, that is, even unto the point of being martyred. Those who do not love their soul life are willing to be martyred.
If we would overcome Satan, we must have no self-love or self-care. Loving ourselves and caring for ourselves will cause us to lose the position of warfare and to be unable to fight against the enemy. Therefore, in order to overcome Satan, we must not love our soul life. As long as we love our soul life, we are dust, good to be food for Satan. But if we do not love our soul life, our self, there will be no dust, and Satan will be killed. When our soul life is killed, Satan is killed also. This is the way for us, through experiencing the dispensing of the divine Trinity, to overcome Satan.
James 4:7 says, “Be subject therefore to God; but withstand the Devil, and he will flee from you.” To be subject to God is to be humble toward God (James 4:10; 1 Pet. 5:6). To be proud toward God is to side with God’s enemy, the Devil. To be humble toward God, that is, to be subject to God, is to withstand the Devil, that is, to stand against the Devil. This is the best strategy to fight God’s enemy; it always causes him to flee from us.
First Peter 5:8 and 9 say, “Be sober; watch. Your adversary, the Devil, as a roaring lion walks about, seeking someone to devour; whom withstand, firm in the faith.” Literally, the word “adversary” in Greek means an opponent in a lawsuit. Here this word refers to Satan, who is our accuser. An adversary is different from an enemy. An enemy is an opponent who is objective to us, outside of us. An adversary is a subjective opponent, an opponent within us. Satan is not only the enemy outside of us; he is also the adversary within us.
Peter says that the Devil is as a roaring lion walking about, seeking someone to devour. The word “roaring” indicates that this lion, the Devil, is howling in hunger. The words “walks about” indicate the Devil’s constant and aggressive activity in seeking prey. There is a proverb which says that the Devil never sleeps. He is always busy and aggressive, seeking someone to devour.
Peter charges us to withstand our adversary, the Devil. In verse 9 to withstand does not mean to resist or to struggle against. Rather, it is to stand firmly as a rock on the ground of our faith before the roaring Devil. In this verse “the faith” actually means our faith. It refers to the believers’ subjective faith, their faith in God’s protecting power and loving concern.
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