The Victorious Power of the Blood Dear Friend, Whether it is bloodshed in the streets and in the classrooms, or families being ripped apart along with the fabric of democracy, everywhere we look we see the need for victory over the powers of darkness. Revelation 12 explains why we are witnessing the grapes of wrath, which are more bitter than ever, now being harvested across the land. Revelation 12:12 (NIV) declares, “Therefore rejoice, you heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has gone down to you! He is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short.” Revelation 12:17 (NIV) goes on to say that Satan makes war with the people of God, “who keep God’s commands and hold fast their testimony about Jesus.” This war is explained further in Ephesians 6:12 (NIV) where it says, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” One of the most effective weapons these powers of darkness use is fear. Because Jesus has defeated Satan we do not need to fear. “For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.” (2 Timothy 1:7 NIV). “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” (James 4:7 NIV). Revelations 12:11 (NIV) tells us how to make Satan flee from us as he engages in all outward warfare to defeat and destroy us. Verse 11 says, “They triumphed over Him, by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.” In order to understand the power of the blood, we need to go back to the first Passover. The tenth and final plague was about to strike Pharoah resulting in the death of the first born in the families of the Egyptians. To keep the angel of death from striking their households, the Israelites were to take a lamb without blemish, kill it and put the blood of this lamb on the doorposts of their homes (Exodus 12).
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