They have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony. And they did not love their lives so as to shy away from death.
Parallel translations
- WEB They overcame him because of the Lamb’s blood, and because of the word of their testimony. They didn’t love their life, even to death.
- KJV And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.
- NKJV 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.
- NASB And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death.
- NLT And they have defeated him by the blood of the Lamb and by their testimony. And they did not love their lives so much that they were afraid to die.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The believers conquered the dragon by the Lamb's blood and their faithful testimony, not loving their lives unto death. Victory over Satan comes through Christ's cross and steadfast witness.
Overview
This is the gospel core of the chapter: the saints overcome the accuser "because of the Lamb's blood"—the atoning death of Christ that silences every accusation. Their part is faithful testimony and willingness to die rather than deny Christ. Their victory is won not by power but by clinging to the cross and bearing witness. It shows how every believer shares in the dragon's defeat through faith in the crucified Lamb.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 33
- 2 Cor 10:3–5For though we live in the flesh, we do not wage war according to the flesh.
- John 16:33I have told you these things so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take courage; I have overcome the world!”
- 1 Jn 5:5Who then overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.
- Rom 16:20The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
- 1 Cor 15:57But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!
- Acts 20:24But I consider my life of no value to me, if only I may finish my course and complete the ministry I have received from the Lord Jesus—the ministry of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.
- Rev 2:26And to the one who overcomes and continues in My work until the end, I will give authority over the nations.
- Heb 2:14–15Now since the children have flesh and blood, He too shared in their humanity, so that by His death He might destroy him who holds the power of death, that is, the devil,
- Rom 8:33–39Who will bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies.
- 1 Jn 4:4You, little children, are from God and have overcome them, because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.
- 2 Tim 4:7–8I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.
- Rev 3:5Like them, he who overcomes will be dressed in white. And I will never blot out his name from the Book of Life, but I will confess his name before My Father and His angels.
- Rev 3:12The one who overcomes I will make a pillar in the temple of My God, and he will never again leave it. Upon him I will write the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God (the new Jerusalem that comes down out of heaven from My God), and My new name.
- Rev 2:7He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who overcomes, I will grant the right to eat from the tree of life in the Paradise of God.
- Rev 3:21To the one who overcomes, I will grant the right to sit with Me on My throne, just as I overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.
- Rev 2:10–11Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Look, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison to test you, and you will suffer tribulation for ten days. Be faithful even unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.
- Eph 6:13–18Therefore take up the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you will be able to stand your ground, and having done everything, to stand.
- Rev 20:4Then I saw the thrones, and those seated on them had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image, and had not received its mark on their foreheads or hands. And they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.
- Luke 14:26“If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be My disciple.
- Rev 7:10–14And they cried out in a loud voice: “Salvation to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”
- Rev 14:1–4Then I looked and saw the Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with Him 144,000 who had His name and His Father’s name written on their foreheads.
- 1 Jn 2:13–14I am writing to you, fathers, because you know Him who is from the beginning. I am writing to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one. I have written to you, children, because you know the Father.
- Rev 1:2who testifies to everything he saw. This is the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ.
- Rev 15:2–3And I saw something like a sea of glass mixed with fire, beside which stood those who had conquered the beast and its image and the number of its name. They were holding harps from God,
- Rev 11:7When the two witnesses have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up from the Abyss will wage war with them, and will overpower and kill them.
- Acts 21:13Then Paul answered, “Why are you weeping and breaking my heart? I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.”
- Rev 6:9And when the Lamb opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony they had upheld.
- Rev 19:10So I fell at his feet to worship him. But he told me, “Do not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers who rely on the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”
- Rev 2:13I know where you live, where the throne of Satan sits. Yet you have held fast to My name and have not denied your faith in Me, even in the day when My faithful witness Antipas was killed among you, where Satan dwells.
- Rev 2:17He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who overcomes, I will give the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone inscribed with a new name, known only to the one who receives it.
- Rev 1:9I, John, your brother and partner in the tribulation and kingdom and perseverance that are in Jesus, was on the island of Patmos because of the word of God and my testimony about Jesus.
- Rev 12:17And the dragon was enraged at the woman, and went to make war with the rest of her children, who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus. And the dragon stood on the shore of the sea.
- Heb 11:35–38Women received back their dead, raised to life again. Others were tortured and refused their release, so that they might gain a better resurrection.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Revelation ends the story with the slain-yet-standing Lamb who is worthy, the Lion of Judah, the Alpha and Omega, the returning King who makes all things new and dwells with his people forever.
How Revelation 12:11 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.