Aiyah! I am alive, I must earn money! If I earn money, I must hold on to this job! This is being controlled, living in fear. Actually, it is because you have not seen through things, so it is easy to be deceived by the devil. Why are you deceived? Because you are afraid of death! The dragon’s work is that ancient serpent, also called Satan, or the devil, which deceives all the dark forces in the world.

Brothers and sisters overcome it 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. (Revelation 12:11) The key to our victory in spiritual warfare is not caring about our own lives! The greatest deception of man is not having spiritual eyes, not seeing through life and death! It is the Spirit who gives life; man shall not live on food alone, nor on work, nor on people... but on every word that comes from the mouth of God. This is the way of God's eternal life.

Today we examine Revelation chapter 12. This chapter gives us an important revelation: the key to victory in spiritual warfare. The concept of victory is crucial; whether you like it or not, victory is a must. If you do not overcome, God will train you to overcome. Today, many of our brothers and sisters cannot overcome. Why? Because they are entangled by too many things, either indulging in the flesh, or discerning good and evil, or failing to see through life and death.

Spiritual people can see through everything

Brothers and sisters, do you know that 100% of the people in this world will die? No one has lived from two thousand years ago to today. Even Lazarus, who was resurrected from the dead, later died. You have not seen Lazarus alive today, and no one has lived for more than 2000 years. If we all see through these things, living becomes a very simple matter, and victory is also a very simple matter. Why can't people overcome? It is because they have not understood things clearly.

Today, on my way back, I received a call from a brother who was very troubled and distressed. Why? Because a loan of 200,000 was about to expire, and if he couldn't repay it, he would lose his credit. After listening to him, I asked, What happens if you lose your credit?” He said, Actually, nothing much. If you are not even afraid of death, what are you afraid of losing credit for? Some people may feel that what I said is not right. I believe that compared to death, many things become minor.

If a person borrows 20 million, do you know what will happen? The bank will be afraid of his death, because if he dies, the debt is gone. So, if death is not a big deal, then nothing else is a big deal. Then you ask, Pastor, do you really think so? What about my business? Business is not as important as life and death. Then you say, How can you say that! If you see through things, that's how it is. If you see through things, many things are not a big deal.

Some people cannot see through things, and it is so painful. They want to work hard to live, care about many things, but live miserably. Today we are talking about the key to victory in spiritual warfare, which is:

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. (Revelation 12:11)

These words are well said! But who can do it? As long as you see through things, everyone can do it.

The spiritual man makes judgments about all things, but he himself is not subject to any man's judgment. (1 Corinthians 2:15-16)

Why can the spiritual man see through everything? Because the spiritual man stands at a different height. If a person's height is not high enough, he stands at the height of this life. Whether you like it or not, you will only live for seventy or eighty years, maybe ninety years. If you are already in your fifties, in a few years you will be sixty, and in a few more years you will be seventy or eighty. Anyway, one day you will leave this world. If you cannot see through this, then I can only say sorry. The beginning of this chapter says:

A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head. She was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth. Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on his heads. His tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth. (Revelation 12:1-4)

Reading this makes one confused. What is this about? Don't worry if you don't understand for the moment. Actually, it doesn't affect your grasping the theme. As you read on, you will read, They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony. Many people stop here, but no, there is another half sentence: they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death. It turns out that this chapter is about victory. So what is victory all about?

The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that he might devour her child the moment it was born. She gave birth to a son, a male child, who will rule all the nations with an iron scepter. And her child was snatched up to God and to his throne. The woman fled into the desert to a place prepared for her by God, where she might be taken care of for 1,260 days. (Revelation 12:4-6)

In other words, this passage is actually talking about the issue of victory. Why do I say that? Because the child was snatched up to God and to his throne, which is a sign of victory.

And there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. The great dragon was hurled down--that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him. (Revelation 12:7-9)

Continuing to read, you will find that from Revelation chapter 1 to here, it is all about victory. We, brothers and sisters, must know what the theme of this chapter is. When we read the Bible, we often encounter things we understand and things we don't understand, just like doing scholarship and learning knowledge. No one can say, I understand everything. Even if you are a computer expert, you may not understand everything; there are always things you don't understand.

Today, we want to learn a method of reading the Bible, to know that it is normal to understand some things and not understand others. But some people, when they don't understand something while reading the Bible, they say they don't understand anything at all. Actually, there are many people who don't understand some things. I am also not qualified to lead everyone in studying the Bible today. According to your standard, there are many things I don't understand. You ask me: Who is the woman? I don't know, because the Bible does not say. Who is the boy? I am also not very clear; saying it is just guessing.

Then you say: Then how do you lead in studying the Bible? We will study those things that we can understand. Don't say that, this is my advantage. My advantage is that I often have things I don't understand, but it doesn't matter! Anyway, knowing God is endless, and I am quite good at comforting myself. For example, studying Genesis, many years ago I led everyone to study Genesis, and many years later I am still studying Genesis, but the understanding before and after is different. Because I didn't understand it originally, but it doesn't matter if I didn't understand it, I will share what I understand. Whether it is the method of learning, the method of doing things, or the method of reading the Bible and believing in the Lord, there are always some things we understand and some things we don't understand.

A person's best strength is knowing: I don't understand. Knowing that there is a lot I don't know, continuing to learn, and constantly progressing. But some people deceive themselves, and think they know what they don't know, which is troublesome. For example, driving a car, when backing out of a parking space, you don't know there is a car, and you step on the gas and come out, bang! A car crash! Whose fault is it? Because you thought you knew, but you didn't know, you thought no car would come, but a car just happened to come.

When coming from a small road to a main road, you must pay attention to looking around. I am talking about road safety. But I am not just talking about road safety, but talking about a principle, which is knowing that there are things you don't know, and that is an advantage. It doesn't matter if you don't know, you can slowly learn and know, can't you? You acknowledge that you know the things you can know, which is very important. If you are prepared to talk about this matter, you can say that I know this matter. So Jesus taught us:

Simply let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No'; anything beyond this comes from the evil one. (Matthew 5:37)

If you know it is yes, but say it is no, and you know it is no, but admit it is yes, then it is troublesome. Today I received an article from a business owner, who is also a good friend of mine. After reading this article, I was asked to talk about my feelings. Many people have read it and did not understand it themselves, were confused, but thought it was well written. After reading it, I felt that I did not understand it, but I also have a characteristic, that if I don't understand it, it doesn't mean I don't understand it at all, but I feel that what he wrote is a bit chaotic. So I replied to this friend with a letter, saying that after reading this article, I felt it was a bit chaotic, but I could roughly grasp a thread.

He was talking about a moral concept. So I made a comment, saying that the Bible is not actually a book of morality. My implication was very obvious, because he was talking about moral ethics, and I was talking about God's salvation, God's power, kingdom, and authority. I brought this back, don't think that things you don't understand are good things. After you understand it, you make a judgment on what you can understand. Today, reading Revelation chapter 12, I found that I don't understand what it means for the dragon to be hurled down? What are the woman who is persecuted and gives birth to a son? I boldly guess that this boy is Jesus and the church. Why does this talk about Jesus and the church? Her child was snatched up to God and to his throne.

Why do I say this? The previous chapter of Revelation talked about the sounding of the last trumpet and the rapture of the church, and these two things can be linked together. The church is raptured because the church has overcome. The church and Jesus are the ones who will rule all the nations on earth in the future, but the remaining children were not raptured, which means that those who overcame were raptured, and those who did not overcome were not raptured. Of the remaining churches, some churches were raptured, and some were not raptured; some brothers and sisters were raptured, and some brothers and sisters were not raptured. So those who overcame were raptured, and those who did not overcome were left behind. So it says here: Woe to the earth and the sea, those who remain will have woes. Because the dragon was hurled down from heaven, knowing that its time is short. This is my bold guess, you can accept it or not, this is the victory I know.

The key to victory lies in the blood of the Lamb, and the word of our testimony

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. (Revelation 12:11)

This verse in the Bible is well said. You say, Do you understand it clearly? I understand it clearly. The phrase they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death we understand clearly and read clearly. The key to the brothers and sisters' victory lies in the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony. What we testify is the powerful gospel of Jesus Christ. If this powerful gospel is turned into a gospel without power, then what do we testify? We cannot testify to anything.

They did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death These words are very good, and I like these words very much. Some people like to challenge me and say, Really? Then I'll try to kill you! If you kill me, I must thank you! I have long been tired of living, I have long wanted to die, but I cannot commit suicide. Because my death and life are in God's hands. If I am really killed one day, I think I should thank God! Finally ending the toil and sorrow of this world.

Is life really interesting? If you see through it, you will feel that it is not so interesting. If you feel that in this world there is buying and selling, eating and drinking, marrying and being given in marriage, and you still feel pretty good, when bad days come, you will cry to heaven but it won't answer, and cry to earth but it won't respond.

A few days ago, a sister's mother was about to die. That sister prayed and fought, and woke her mother up. This sister's mother is a very cultured and rational person, but does she really understand? It is very sad if she is around eighty years old and still has not understood life and death. Thank God, I feel that after my teaching, they should start to see through things. Therefore, if we want to overcome, we should not cherish our lives. Because whether you cherish it or not, it is not up to you, because your word does not count!

For a period of time, my mother asked me how to arrange things after she dies. I said that after you die, you cannot arrange things, you cannot say what I should do, right? So don't arrange anything now, because it is useless to arrange. Some people cannot see through things! They have to ponder over this and ponder over that. Those old people shed tears every day when they get old. Why? Because they have not seen through things, so they cannot overcome.

This is talking about the theme of this chapter, the first point. It took so long to talk about the theme of this chapter. Why? Because there are some things I also did not understand. If I understood it, I understood it, and if I didn't understand it, I didn't understand it. I just made a little foreshadowing.

I understood what victory is all about, but what haven't I understood yet? The visions of the woman, the boy, and the dragon are really not easy to understand. You have to understand me, I am a relatively practical person, because if I understand it, I will tell you that I understand it, and if I don't understand it, I will tell you that I don't understand it. I don't fool you. If I don't understand it, but I insist on telling you that I understand it, then I am fooling you.

Once upon a time, I used to go to a church in Singapore often, and sat under the stage listening to people preach. I was a member of that church, and went to church every week to listen to sermons. As a result, one day, a sentence came down from the pulpit that he found very displeasing. The preacher stood on the stage and said: As long as what I preach on the stage comes from God. Aiyah! He said that what he preached came from God. At that time, I felt that something was not right. Therefore, I want everyone not to be fooled. I don't fool you, and you don't fool others either.

Prayer: Building your Spiritual Life

The Bible speaks of the dragon being cast down from heaven, a vision seen by old John. Honestly, as we examine this today, I haven't actually seen this dragon being cast down from heaven. The Bible says: Angels and the dragon fought in heaven. I understand this heaven to be the spiritual world; heaven is spiritual. When there is warfare in heaven, it is related to the prayers of the saints in the church. Why do I say this? Because old John said:

And the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, ascended before God from the angel’s hand. Then the angel took the censer and filled it with fire from the altar and threw it on the earth, and there were peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning, and an earthquake. (Revelation 8:4-5)

What is being said here? The prayers of the saints reach the presence of God. If you are a sermon connoisseur, listening to many pastors preach online, including my own sermons and Bible studies, the act of listening to sermons alone cannot reach the throne of God. It is the prayers of the saints that reach the throne of God. The church we build must be a praying church, and as Christians, we must be praying Christians.

A sister told me the other day that praying in the spirit for one or two hours feels very short. This is because prayer becomes a habit, and prayer is key! Because this is a spiritual battle, the prayers of the church can propel the forward development of human history. It's crucial to have an important concept: As Christians, do not just be sermon-hearing Christians; be praying Christians.

So how do we pray? The Bible teaches us to pray in the spirit and with understanding. Praying in the spirit brings power. Jesus said this in the Book of Acts:

In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach, until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” (Acts 1:1-5)

A Christian who does not pray in the spirit will not have power. These disciples were obedient and hid in Mark's house, where one hundred and twenty people prayed together in tongues in the spirit, and were filled with the Holy Spirit. Later, Paul's epistles did not negate this event, but some interpretations of Paul's epistles have negated it. Jesus' disciples waited together, and as a result, the Holy Spirit came down, and Peter did one thing: he made a man lame from birth walk. Wherever he went, Peter cared about being filled with the Holy Spirit and praying in tongues.

Why do we say that we do not love our lives even unto death? Because not loving our lives even unto death can bring us into spiritual victory, and earthly prayers determine events in the spiritual realm. In fact, God could have struck down the dragon from heaven thousands of years ago, before creating Adam. Why didn't He strike it down? Because God is waiting for the prayers of the saints to bring victory in spiritual warfare, and this victory allows God's children to share in God's victory and glory! Of course, this is my view.

God Wants His Children to Be Victorious

God deeply desires us to enter into a unified relationship with Him, sharing in victory together. This is the truth that God has revealed in the Bible. Today, as we read this passage, the casting down of the dragon is closely related to the prayers of the church. The victory of the brothers and sisters in the church is due to the blood of the Lamb, and because they loved not their lives unto the death”. Peter denied the Lord three times before being filled with the Holy Spirit. When he was filled with the Holy Spirit, he was willing to be martyred for the Lord and was crucified. Victory is related to not loving one's life and to spiritual power.

Brothers and sisters truly need to pray in the spirit for long periods, because praying in the spirit is speaking to God, speaking of all kinds of mysteries in the spirit. Praying in the spirit edifies oneself, empowering you. Peter is the best example, and so is Paul. Paul prayed in tongues more than anyone else, so the ministry of the Apostle Paul was a powerful ministry.

Some people say: I don't want to edify myself; I want to edify the church. I am puzzled when they say such things. If you cannot edify yourself, how can you edify the church? Why do I say this? Because of the results of Peter's and Paul's practices. What is the casting down of the dragon related to?

And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. (Revelation 12:9-10)

Those who are victorious are raptured and cannot be accused; there is no longer a place for them in heaven. Why were they thrown down?

And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death. Therefore, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short!” (Revelation 12:11-12)

The Key to the Victory of the Brothers: Not Caring About Their Own Lives

The work of the dragon is that of the ancient serpent, also called Satan and the devil, who deceives the whole world. The greatest deception of mankind is not seeing through life and death! If a person cannot see through life and death: Oh, I must live, and to live, I must earn money; to earn money, I must keep my job; to keep my job, I must fear my boss. This is being controlled.

In reality, it is terrible if you have not seen through it. The boss hasn't even thought about doing anything to them, and they are already scared to death. You cannot work well if you work like this. Because your boss knows that you are afraid of him, he deliberately bullies you. If you are bullied at work in the future, I only have one sentence for you: you deserve it. Because who told you to be afraid! If you are afraid, you attract these things.

If people are not afraid of death, living is a simple matter. This way, you will surely be victorious, and nothing can control you. You can be victorious in heaven and in the spiritual realm, and even cast down the great dragon, Satan, and the ancient serpent from the spiritual realm. What happens to those who are victorious? When the last trumpet sounds, you will be taken up to heaven; when the earth and the sea have woes, it won't matter much to you. Therefore, rejoice, O heavens, that is, everyone in the spiritual realm is happy, because our brothers and sisters are victorious! This is the key.

Because the blood of the Lamb has been shed for us, and the eternal way of God has been given. Jesus Christ has become flesh and come into this world, crucified for us on the cross, and died, was buried, and rose from the dead on the third day, opening a path to eternal life for us. Since He died and rose again, death is no longer a problem. Are you still afraid of death? We can live forever and ever, and nothing can separate us from the love of God. This is the key to victory.

If you are victorious, it will be difficult for the devil to deceive you. Why can it deceive you? Because you are afraid of death. If you are not afraid of death, it will not be easy to deceive you. It threatens you: If you don't listen, I will take away your job. You are afraid, and you certainly cannot be victorious. It is not food or work that allows people to live; there are many things that do not allow people to live, and even parents cannot decide the life and death of their children.

It is the Spirit that gives life, not relying on food, work, or people, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God. This is the eternal way of God. If people do not see through it, they will die miserably; if they see through it, they will live well. This is the key to victory. What happens if people do not see through it and are left behind? When the last trumpet sounds, when the dragon is thrown down to the earth:

Then the dragon became furious with the woman and went away to make war on the rest of her offspring, on those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus. (Revelation 12:17)

You must be victorious! What if you are not victorious? Read Revelation 12-14 carefully. If one day you wake up and find that many people have disappeared, and the phone cannot get through, and many people go to the police station to report that family members are missing, and then search for people all over the world, you will remember reading Revelation 12-14. Many years ago, someone told me during a Bible study to read it, and you will only have one choice, which is to be victorious.

on those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus.” And he stood on the sand of the sea. (Revelation 12:17)

The last trumpet has not yet sounded. If you do not choose to be victorious today and are controlled by this and that, living miserably, if you stay on earth, you must know that you only have one choice: the dragon will definitely try to kill you. It knows who the children of God are, even if they are not victorious. If the devil attacks you at this time, it is also a good sign. You are still a child of God. If you are a child of God, choose martyrdom. If you are victorious today, you can be raptured in the future.

Those Who Love Their Lives Have Little Time Left

If Jesus comes while we are still alive, we will be raptured. If Jesus does not come while we are alive, we still thank God. If Jesus comes while we are alive and we are not raptured, there is only one choice, which is not to love our lives. Those who love their lives have little time left. How long is that time? Three and a half years. Choosing to live three and a half years longer is like the devil being thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur, suffering eternal death. Either live three and a half years less, and then live forever.

So do not love your life, do not lose the big for the small. If you live a few years or decades less for eternal life, it is nothing great. My words will give you great benefit, which is to live without worry. Also it was allowed to make war on the saints and to conquer them. At this time, you have no chance of victory, the church has been raptured, and you can only be defeated by the devil.

If anyone is to be taken into captivity, to captivity he goes; if anyone is to be slain with the sword, with the sword must he be slain. Here is a call for the endurance and faith of the saints. You can only choose martyrdom. If you do not have the mark, you cannot do business and cannot use anything. If you do not choose martyrdom, you cannot do anything.（Revelation 13:10）

that they should feed her there for 1,260 days. She was nourished for a time, and times, and half a time. (See Revelation 12:6, 14) Today, we must learn to see through, and seeing through is really good and joyful, without entanglement.

Summary

The key to victory is through the word of testimony of the blood of the Lamb, and not loving one's life even unto death. The blood of the Lamb is the Lord Jesus being crucified for us. The word of testimony is the gospel that testifies to the power of God. Do not believe in a powerless gospel; if it is without power, it is not the gospel.

But I will come to you soon, if the Lord wills, and I will find out not the talk of these arrogant people but their power. For the kingdom of God does not consist in talk but in power. (1 Corinthians 4:19)

The words we speak, the message we preach, are not with wise and persuasive words, but with the power of God. If we believe in the power of God and restore the power of Paul's time, the powerful truth can make us victorious, enabling us to fight the most intense spiritual battle with the demons in heaven and in the spiritual realm. Even unto death, I do not care. Let us live into eternal life, so that it is no longer I who live, but Jesus Christ who lives in us. Not living in the world, but living in the spiritual realm.

The key to victory is to have a pair of spiritual eyes that can know that the way we believe in this life is the way of eternal life. Life and death are no longer what we consider; what we consider is victory, fighting until the devil is cast down from heaven; fighting until we are taken up to heaven by the Lord and be with the Lord. From now on, live a victorious life, completely dealing with those worldly bad habits.