Have you ever wondered why Revelation starts out with Christ talking to seven churches? (If you have time, you might want to read Revelation 1-3 to get an overview what Christ said.) While all of the churches had strengths and/or weaknesses that Christ pointed out, there was one common thread throughout his discourse–”He who overcomes…” Sometimes, I think we take those words too lightly when they could be some of the most important words for us to hear in regards to the return of Christ. You see, along with the reality of God’s absolute love prevailing over the kingdom of evil, another major theme during the saga of Christ’s second coming is the ability of the human race to overcome that same kingdom of evil.

     Let’s take another look at Revelation 15:2, “And I saw something like a sea of glass mixed with fire, and those who had been victorious over the beast and his image and the number of his name, standing on the sea of glass, holding harps of God.” Now, I know some people think these words visualize a scene in heaven, but let’s reason this verse out and see if we come up with a different understanding. These people standing on the “sea of glass mixed with fire” won the victory against the beast, his image, and his number. Or, in other words, these people won the victory against Satan and the kingdom of evil. What is Satan’s express purpose towards the human race?  To steal, to kill, and to destroy (John 10:10). Everything he has planned against the human race is designed to completely wipe out God’s creation. So, in order to win the victory over the kingdom of evil, the people in Revelation 15:2 had to overcome the loss, death, and destruction that Satan brought against them. 

     Earlier in Revelation, John had already discussed how these people overcame the kingdom of evil, so let’s backtrack to that description in Revelation 12:11 (NKJV), “And they overcame him (Satan) by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.” Let’s start with the last statement first because, on the surface, those words sound like the people who overcame ended up dead which is exactly what Satan wanted them to be. What a contradiction–let’s see if we can clarify what John’s words mean. Let’s start with Hebrews 9:27, “And insamuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment…” and with Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.” I propose that the death that John talks about is the same death that Galatians 2:20 talks about. This is the beauty of God’s plan; when people accept Christ, the sin (unbelief) that ruled their lives from the inside of them dies. Sin is dead, period! Because their sin is dead and because they have been made the righteousness of God (II Corinthians 5:21), believers can come to God and go through judgment to get rid of every iota of the effects of sin in their lives (aka the baptism of fire). So, not loving their lives to the death may simply mean they did not hold onto unbelief. (Remember the first words of Revelation 21:8, “But for the cowardly and unbelieving…”) And, because these believers defeat the kingdom of evil through faith, they are able to put on immortality the instant Christ returns.

     Now, let’s go back to the first two statements that John made in Revelation 12:11–believers overcame Satan by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony. I think many times when we think about Christ’s death on the cross, we focus on the forgiveness of our sins. Again, Christ’s death on the cross accomplished so much more than just the forgiveness of sins (remember, under the Mosaic law, the offerings that were set up also provided for the forgiveness of sins). I believe the blood of the Lamb covers everything that Christ accomplished on the cross. He obliterated the dividing wall between God and us, and then made the way for us to become full sons of God through the new birth, the baptism of the Holy Spirit, and the baptism of fire. Those believers who are victorious over the kingdom of evil have taken full advantage of what Christ has accomplished through his cross. And, the word of their testimony–the words they speak–reflects their position as sons of God. These words are particularly important in their prayer closets as they seek knowledge, understanding, and wisdom from God and use what He gives them to bind the kingdom of evil and loose the kingdom of God (Matthew 18:18). Of course, these believers also live in love through their deeds and through finding truth in their own lives (I John 3:18), thus their testimony among their fellow human beings is one of being faithful.

     Before we end this week’s post, I want to broach the topic of the unforgiveable sin, the blaspheme of the Holy Spirit. In Mark 3:28-29, Jesus spoke these words, “Truly, I say to you, all sins shall be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they utter; but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin.” Mark added a comment in verse 30 that the reason Christ spoke these words was because people were saying Christ had a unclean spirit, but I propose that the meaning of Christ’s words goes much deeper than just the words people speak. Let’s begin with Hebrew 6:4-6:

   For in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame.

Again, on the surface, these verses seem to imply that it is fairly easy to blaspheme the Holy Spirit–the words “tasted” and “have been made partakers” seem to infer actions that have little depth to them. However, due to the power of God’s absolute love,  I propose that it is almost impossible for any of us to have already blasphemed the Holy Spirit. In order to understand this, let’s go back to when Satan was Lucifer. This angel was created in truth, good, life, light, and spirit; Lucifer was completely free from the Wrath of God. Now, because he created sin by looking at his own beauty, he let go of God and of truth–in a sense, he blasphemed God because it was impossible for him to repent. Now, in John 14-16, Jesus talked about the Holy Spirit being the spirit of truth. I propose that the only people who can blaspheme the Holy Spirit are those people who have been totally set free from all deception and who have overcome the kingdom of evil. In a sense, these people would be in the same position as Lucifer before he fell. If, at that point, any believer willingly chooses to let go of God like Lucifer did, then there is no second chance.

     Do I think any one will blaspheme the Holy Spirit–absolutely not because unlike Lucifer, we do not start out in truth, good, life, light, and spirit. We are physically born as captives of the kingdom of evil and only become free of that captivity as God ministers to us through the Holy Spirit. I do not believe that anyone who has fully experienced the absolute love of God will choose to let go of Him. However, because God is love, He will never remove our freedom of choice, so the blaspheme of the Holy Spirit will remain possible until the White Throne Judgment is complete. 

     All scriptures are taken from the NASB unless otherwise noted.

     ©2009-2010 by Patricia Zell. All rights reserved.