When the overcoming believers participate in the coming kingdom, they will inherit eternal life and thereby have a fuller enjoyment of the divine life (Matt. 19:29). To inherit eternal life is to be rewarded in the coming age (Luke 18:29-30) with a fuller enjoyment of the divine life in the manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens. In the church life today we are enjoying the divine life, the eternal life, but this enjoyment is not in full. In the manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens the overcomers will enjoy the eternal life in a fuller way.
To inherit eternal life is to be rewarded with the crown of life. In Revelation 2:10 the Lord Jesus said, “Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.” A crown in New Testament usage always denotes a prize that is in addition to salvation. The crown of life, as a prize to the overcomers, denotes the overcoming strength that is the power of the resurrection life (Phil. 3:10). It also signifies that the overcomers have attained to the out-resurrection from the dead, that is, the outstanding resurrection (v. 11). To be rewarded with the crown of life in the coming kingdom will surely be a fuller enjoyment of eternal life.
To participate in the coming kingdom is also to be rewarded to eat of the tree of life in the Paradise of God. Revelation 2:7 says, “To him who overcomes, to him I will give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the Paradise of God.” Strictly speaking, to eat of the tree of life in the Paradise of God refers to the particular enjoyment of Christ as our life supply in the New Jerusalem in the coming millennial kingdom, because this is a promise of reward made by the Lord to His overcomers. The enjoyment of Christ as the tree of life in the New Jerusalem in the new heaven and new earth will be the common portion of all God’s redeemed people, whereas the particular enjoyment of Christ as the tree of life in the New Jerusalem in the coming millennial kingdom will be a reward given only to the overcoming believers. If we overcome all the distractions in the church’s degradation to enjoy Christ as the tree of life in the church today, we will be rewarded with the eating of the tree of life in the Paradise of God in the coming age. This will also be a fuller enjoyment of the eternal life.
The believers’ participation in the coming kingdom also includes their being rewarded to have their names remain in the book of life. Revelation 3:5 says, “He who overcomes will be clothed thus, in white garments, and I shall by no means erase his name out of the book of life, and I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.” That a name is erased out of the book of life indicates that that name has already been written in the book of life. The book of life is a divine record of the names of those who partake of the blessings that God has prepared for them. The names of all the saints chosen by God and predestinated to partake of these blessings are written in this book (Luke 10:20).
The blessings that God has prepared for His chosen ones are in three stages: the church, the millennial kingdom, and eternity. The blessings in the stage of the church, such as forgiveness, redemption, regeneration, eternal life, and the divine nature, are the initial portions. All God’s chosen ones whose names are written in the book of life have a share in these initial portions to begin their spiritual life. If we cooperate with God’s supplying grace, we will mature in life in the church age, and this earlier maturity in life will constitute a prize with which the Lord will reward us at His coming back. That reward will be the entrance into the millennial kingdom and participation in the divine blessings in that stage, such as the joy and rest of the Lord (Matt. 25:21, 23; Heb. 4:9-11) and reigning over the nations (Rev. 2:26-27; 20:4-6). However, those believers who will not cooperate with His grace to mature in life in the church age will not be ready at the Lord’s coming back to enter into the millennial kingdom and share in the divine blessings of that age as a prize. Therefore, during the millennial kingdom their names will be erased from the book of life. After being disciplined by the Lord and growing in life unto maturity during the millennial kingdom, they will share in the divine blessings in the stage of eternity, such as the eternal priesthood with God’s eternal presence, the eternal kingship (22:3-5), the New Jerusalem, the tree of life (v. 14), and the water of life (v. 17). Then their names should again be written in the book of life. This means that all God’s chosen ones whose names are written in the book of life and who have been brought into the participation of the divine blessings in the stage of the church will “by no means perish forever” (John 10:28); that is, they will by no means lose the divine blessing of eternity. But some, who will not cooperate with the Lord in the church age, will be dispensationally disciplined by the Lord during the millennial kingdom and will miss the divine blessings in that stage. However, the names of those who have lived an overcoming life in the church age will remain in the book of life during the coming age of the millennial kingdom.
The Lord’s word concerning the crown of life, the tree of life, and the book of life in Revelation indicates that in the manifestation of the kingdom the overcoming believers will enjoy the different aspects of eternal life in a fuller way. This enjoyment of eternal life will be fuller than the enjoyment that we have in the church life today.