Now we must see His promises to the overcomers in the seven churches. The Lord does not promise us a big mansion, a good car, a high promotion, or good children. His sevenfold promise is much more wonderful than any of these things. To the church in Ephesus this all-inclusive, wonderful One promises to give the overcomers to eat of Himself as the tree of life. This is the divine life. To the church in Smyrna He promises to give the overcomers the crown of life. The eating of the tree of life is inward for supply and the crown of life is outward for glory. These promises are wrapped up with the divine life. This life first must be our food and then it will be our expression and our glorification as the crown of life.
The Lord also promises the overcomers in the church in Smyrna that they will not be hurt of the second death (2:11). The second death is the lake of fire (20:14). This means that since you are enjoying life to such an extent, death can never touch you. The lake of fire, the second death, is the totality of death. If someone has not received the Lord, his spirit is dead and then he will die in the body. All the sinners will be thrown into the lake of fire, which means they will die in their soul. The second death, which is the lake of fire, is the totality of death. If you enjoy Christ as the tree of life, you will enjoy the crown of life and the totality of death has nothing to do with you and cannot touch you.
The Lord promises to give the overcomers in the church in Pergamos to eat of Himself as the hidden manna (2:17). The hidden manna is deeper than the tree of life. The open manna was revealed in Exodus 16, but the hidden manna is something particular and specific for your enjoyment. This specific thing is still Christ Himself. When you enjoy this specific portion of the divine life, you will receive a white stone for building (2:17). This promise reveals both life and building. Life and building are the structure of the sevenfold promise. Life for our enjoyment and experience will result in the building. You will be a white stone, which means a justified and acceptable stone. The color white in the Bible signifies justification and acceptance. You will be a stone which is so acceptable to Him and which is altogether justified in His searching eyes. This stone is for His building.
The fourth promise is to the overcomers in Thyatira. They will be given the authority over the nations to shepherd them with an iron rod and they will also enjoy Him as the morning star (2:26-29). The morning star appears when the night becomes darkest. This shows us that at the darkest time, within us there is a star shining. This indicates that in addition to life and building we also have the light. The sevenfold promise is wrapped up with life, building, and light. As an overcomer the totality of death cannot touch you, you will be full of life, you will be the precious material for God’s building, and you will enjoy the particular light, the morning star.
The fifth promise is to the church in Sardis where the Lord promises to give the overcomers to be clothed in white garments and not to have their names erased out of the book of life but confessed by Him before His Father and His angels (3:5-6). Sardis is a figure of the reformed church, the Protestant church. The overcomers will be clothed with white garments. White garments signify the walk and living which is unspotted by death and which will be approved by the Lord. These white garments mean that the overcomers will be entirely justified. Also, their names will not be erased out of the book of life but will be confessed by Him at His second coming.
The overcomers in the church in Philadelphia will be kept out of the hour of the great tribulation (3:10). This means that before the great tribulation the overcomers will be raptured. 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. While the other believers are suffering in the tribulation, the overcomers will be enjoying His presence. This is a reward of enjoyment to the ones who are full of life.
Also, these overcomers will be pillars in the temple of His God with the name of His God and the name of the city of His God, the New Jerusalem, which descends out of heaven from His God; also, His new name will be written upon them (3:12). Now the overcomers are not merely stones, but they are built into pillars. This means that no one can pull them out of the temple. Some of the saints came into the church life and after a couple of months they left. They left because they had never been built in. It is very hard to pull out the steel beam of a building. In the same way, the overcomers of the church in Philadelphia all have been built into the temple and are the pillars in the temple. These overcomers bear three names: the name of God, the name of the holy city, New Jerusalem, and the new name of this wonderful One. We do not know what this new name will be because it is a secret. The main point is that the overcomers experience the enjoyment of life and the building into God’s temple as their reward.
The final promise to the overcomers in Laodicea is to feast with Him and to sit on His throne (3:20-22). The Lord promises to dine with the one who opens the door to Him. To dine is not merely to eat one food, but the riches of a meal. This may refer to the eating of the rich produce of the good land of Canaan by the children of Israel (Josh. 5:10-12). To sit with the Lord on His throne will be a prize to the overcomer that he may participate in the Lord’s authority in the coming millennial kingdom.
We can see that the sevenfold promise is wrapped up with life, with building, and with light, and the issue is the sitting on His throne and the authority to rule over the nations. Regretfully, all the aspects of the sevenfold promise are not being taught today in Christianity. Thank the Lord, however, that by His mercy we do have a burden to see such a promise. We overcome the world by such a promise. We need to be those caring for the eating of the tree of life. We should not care for riches, for position, or for a name, but for the eating of the hidden manna. We care to feast with Him, we care for the crown of life, we care to be a piece of white stone, and to be built into a pillar in God’s temple. We care to sit on His throne with Him and to be rewarded with His authority to rule over the nations. Our eyes need to be opened to see this wonderful One and to see His marvelous promise. This promise is full of life, light, and building, and the issue is that we will sit on His throne to be His co-kings to rule over the nations. Today we are enjoying Him as our food—He is our tree of life and our hidden manna.