Message Eight

The Overcomers
(2)
The Lord’s Reward to the Overcomers

Scripture Reading: Rev. 2:7, 10b, 11b, 17, 27-28;
3:5, 10, 12, 20-21

1. The subject of the New Testament is the Triune God—the Father, the Son, and the Spirit— working together to obtain a corporate, overcoming bride for the Son—Rev. 19:7-9; 21:2, 9-10; cf. Gen. 24.
2. All the believers must be manifested before the judgment seat of Christ to be judged by Him, not concerning their eternal salvation but concerning their dispensational reward—2 Cor. 5:10; 1 Cor. 4:4-5; 3:13-15:
   1. In order to enter into the Lord’s joy and receive the Lord as our exceeding great reward in the next age, we need to gain Him and faithfully enjoy Him today in this age—Matt. 25:21b, 23b; Phil. 3:8-9; Gen. 15:1.
   2. If we do not faithfully enjoy and experience Christ as the reality of His promises today, we will not participate in their fulfillment in the kingdom age; the principle is that what we are will become our reward—1 Cor. 9:24-27.
3. The Lord’s promises at the end of each of the seven epistles in Revelation 2 and 3 refer both to the present enjoyment of the overcomers and the reward to them in the coming millennial kingdom:
   1. The overcomers will be given to eat of the tree of life, which is in the Paradise of God—2:7:
      1. That God is our food, signified by the tree of life, means that we must depend on God continually; in the eyes of God the greatest sin is independence—Gen. 2:9; cf. Matt. 14:19; John 10:30; 5:19, 30; 7:18.
      2. Eating the tree of life, that is, enjoying Christ as our life supply, should be the primary matter in the church life.
      3. The overcomers will participate in full in the rich supply of Christ in the New Jerusalem in its freshness as the Paradise of God for one thousand years—Rev. 20:4, 6.
   2. The overcomers will be given the crown of life and will not be hurt by the second death—2:10b, 11b:
      1. Christ’s love makes the believers martyrs for Him—Acts 1:8; Rev. 12:11; Rom. 8:35-37, 18.
      2. The crown of life, a prize in addition to salvation, denotes the overcoming strength that is the power of resurrection and that the overcomers have attained to the out-resurrection from the dead—Phil. 3:10-11.
      3. The believers who overcome will also be rewarded with not being hurt, disciplined, by the second death, the lake of fire—Rev. 20:14; 1 Cor. 3:15.
   3. The overcomers will be given the hidden manna and a white stone with a new name—Rev. 2:17:
      1. While the church goes the way of the world, the overcomers come forward to abide in the presence of God in the Holy of Holies, where they enjoy the hidden Christ as a special portion for their daily supply.
      2. If we do not follow the worldly church but enjoy the Lord in the proper church life, we will be transformed into justified and approved stones, with a new name, for God’s building.
      3. If we enjoy Him as our special portion today in the church life for our transformation, He will be a reward to us in the coming kingdom.
   4. The overcomers will be given authority over the nations and the morning star—vv. 26-28:
      1. Because the Lord Jesus submitted to the authority of God the Father and kept the position of order, He obtained authority and is able to reign for God—Matt. 8:9; John 5:19; Rom. 5:17, 21.
      2. In the coming kingdom Christ will give the overcomers His authority to rule over the nations—Luke 19:17, 19; Matt. 25:21, 23.
      3. To those who watch and wait for the Lord’s coming back, He will appear to them privately as the morning star—cf. Mal. 4:2.
   5. The overcomers will be clothed in white garments and will not have their names erased out of the book of life—Rev. 3:5:
      1. The overcomers have white garments, signifying a walk and living that are unspotted by death and that will be approved by the Lord— Num. 6:6-7, 9.
      2. The name being erased out of the book of life indicates that the name was already written in the book of life, a divine record of the names of those who partake of the blessings God has prepared for them—Luke 10:20.
      3. The names of those who have lived an overcoming life in the church age will remain in the book of life during the coming kingdom age.
   6. The overcomers will be kept out of the great tribulation to be a pillar in the temple—Rev. 3:10, 12:
      1. We need to keep the Lord’s word and not deny His name, experiencing the endurance of Christ (2 Thes. 3:5) to do our best for Him with what we have—Rev. 3:8.
      2. We need to be perfected to be a pillar in the house of God in this age so that we can become a pillar in God as the temple in the next age—Gal. 2:9; 1 Kings 7:21; Rev. 21:22.
      3. While the entire earth is suffering under the great tribulation, the overcomers will be taken away into the parousia (Gk.), the presence, of the coming One.
   7. The overcomers will feast with the Lord and will sit on His throne—3:20-21:
      1. We need to enjoy the Lord as our feast today so that we can participate in the feast of the kingdom of the heavens in the next age— Matt. 8:11; 26:29.
      2. To have the throne, or to arrive at the throne, is to allow the Lord to have the highest and most prominent position in our Christian life—Ezek. 1:26; Rev. 5:6; 7:17; Col. 1:18b.
      3. The overcomers will be co-kings with Christ ruling over the whole earth in the coming millennial kingdom—Matt. 19:28; Rev. 20:4.