<p>12:11 <em>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 to death</em>- This may imply that their testimony to others is related to their victory against the dragon. The language of overcoming is applied to us all in the letters which opened Revelation. The faithful overcome by the blood of the lamb- by what is done for them- and also by the word of their preaching, as if the act of preaching and witnessing against a hostile persecuting system was what helped maintain their faith. Preaching is a spiritual exercise for the benefit of the preacher. Through their work of witnessing, the persecuted believers overcome their tribulation. Witness is therefore not because God is in need of it, but for the personal spiritual benefit of the witnesses. The testimony made by the &quot;brothers&quot; is that of the two witnesses in 11:7. It is the final witness amidst tribulation that is resolved by the coming of Jesus and the establishment of the Kingdom. See on Mt. 24:14. It is this fearless Christian witness which provokes the beast of chapter 11 to ascend out of the pit to make war with them; and the dragon likewise goes to make war with the woman and the remnant at this&nbsp;time in chapter 12. As the two witnesses are killed at the end of their witness, so here it is during their work of witness that &quot;they loved not their lives unto the death&quot;.</p>