The Blood of the Lamb
Today’s passage: Revelation 12
Focus verse: They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony. (Revelation 12:11)
The phrase “the blood of the Lamb” only appears in the book of Revelation and then just twice. We referred to the first occurrence in “17: Survivors of the Great Tribulation.” This passage is the second mention. Here’s what happens:
A woman is in labor. Near her stands a dragon who opposes her and her son. Yet God protects the woman and her newborn baby, thwarting the dragon’s intention to kill her child.
A supernatural war breaks out in heaven with Michael and his angel army fighting against the dragon and his angels.
The outmatched dragon faces defeat and is hurled out of heaven, along with his minions. He can no longer appear before Father God to accuse us.
In this passage John gives us a key to better understand his vision. He clarifies that the dragon is the ancient serpent, implicitly the one who caused Adam and Eve to sin.
This dragon is also known as the devil and Satan. This means that the dragon, the serpent, the devil, and Satan are various names for the same evil spiritual being that opposes Father God, Jesus, and us.
After the dragon’s ouster from God’s presence, a loud voice booms from heaven. It declares that salvation, the kingdom of God, and the authority of Jesus have now come in full at last. The enemy has been defeated.
This occurs because of the blood of the Lamb, that is, because of Jesus’s sacrificial death.
The concept of the need for spilt blood occurs throughout the Bible, in both the Old and New Testaments. We get the first allusion to the shedding of blood when Abel offers an animal sacrifice to God.
The concept fully develops when God decrees the need for yearly animal sacrifices to make the people right with him (Leviticus 16:34 and Hebrews 10:3–5).
This is to cover their mistakes (their sins), with an animal dying in their place. In doing so, God atones for their shortcomings; he redeems them.
This need for ongoing sacrificial deaths occurs throughout the Old Testament.
But Jesus, the Lamb of God, comes to fulfill that requirement once and for all. He spills his blood when he dies to make us right with his Father in heaven and prepare us to live with him there forever.
This is what the blood of the Lamb has done—and will do—for us.
Thank you, Jesus, for your sacrificial death that gives us eternal life.
Questions:
- How should we understand a supernatural war?
- If we follow Jesus, how should we view our sins?
- What does the blood of the Lamb mean to us?
- What should be our response to Jesus dying in our place?
- When have we last thanked Jesus for saving us and giving us life?
[Discover more about the blood of Jesus in Romans 5:9, Ephesians 1:7–8, Hebrews 9:11–28, 1 Peter 1:18–19, and 1 John 1:7.]
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Read more in Revelation Bible Study: Discover Practical Insights from John’s Epic Vision.
Discover practical, understandable insights from the book of Revelation.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
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