“And They Overcame Him…”

Maybe you’ve had one of those days.  The car wouldn’t start.  Some bad news came your way, perhaps at work or at the doctor’s.  To a large degree or a small degree, it seems like everyday can be “one of those days.”

As we come near the end of our New Testament challenge, we find ourselves in the heart of the book of Revelation.  Maybe this is your first journey through this sometimes perplexing book.  “What are all of these plagues about?” you may ask.  “Locusts?  Hail mingled with blood and fire?  What is going on here?”  It can be easy to get lost in the vast panorama that takes place here.  What can I take away from this week’s reading into my everyday, car-breaking down, kids’ screaming, sometimes disappointing life?

I hope you didn’t miss it when you read last week in Revelation 1:3, “Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy”.  Even right there, simply reading and digesting this book brings a blessing with it.  But beyond that, in this week’s portion, in the midst of the fire and locusts and various beasts, we read these encouraging words: “Now salvation and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren…has been cast down.  And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death” (Rev. 12:10-11).

Beloved, maybe you’ve lost sight of it, but let me remind you, there is a kingdom that you have been called to be a part of.  It is a kingdom of salvation and strength and perfect righteousness, overseen by our Lord Jesus Christ.  It is a kingdom administrated with absolute power and justice.  And, believe it or not, it will one day be a literal reality.  You can count on it.  The servants of Christ have the assured reality of overcoming.  You can read it right there in black and white.

If you don’t feel much like an overcomer today, be encouraged.  If you feel like you’re under the accuser’s relentless glare, be encouraged.  That time will come to an end, and the kingdom will be the Lord’s.