Dividing the Spoil With the Strong, Part I

Part II

"To Him That Overcometh..."
Let's read the promises to overcomers, found in Revelation:

...To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God. Revelation 2:7

...He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death. Revelation 2:11

...To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it. Revelation 2:17

And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations. Revelation 2:27

He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels. Revelation 3:5

Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name. Revelation 3:12

To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne. Revelation 3:21

He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. Revelation 21:7.

These are all promises, and every one of them is to overcomers.

Let us consider the promise to the church at Ephesus: ...To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God. Revelation 2:7. I am sure all our minds go quickly to the Garden of Eden and the tree of life and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

Revelation is written in symbolic language and it takes us right back to the garden of God's favor. Before there were ever heresies among God's people, man lived in the garden of God's favor, but when man sinned, God cast him out--lest he eat of the tree of life and become immortal and live forever in his sin. God does not want you living forever in your sins. This is the real reason He drove Adam and Eve from the garden. Had they been allowed to remain, they could have eaten of the tree of life and lived forever in their sins. Such was not the case; God cast them out of the garden--sinful man was not allowed to eat of the tree of life.

In Revelation 2:7, God speaks to the church at Ephesus (and maybe to some of us): "To him that overcometh...". Overcomes what? The evil of the church at Ephesus was that they had left their first love. They apostatized. Here is where apostasy sets in. Who is our first love? Jesus Christ. We love Him because He first loved us. He is our first love, but when we leave Him, we apostatize from Him.

How do we overcome it? He tells us to ...Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works... (Revelation 2:5). The first works were the works of love. Too many of us have fallen to the place of duty. We are not doing the first love, the first works. What we do has become duty, not out of love or concern or compassion.

Please notice that in addressing every one of these churches, the first thing He said was, "I know thy works...". It is NOT what we believe, it is what we are doing (working) that counts!

The promise to the overcoming Ephesians was to eat of the tree of life. You cannot eat of the tree of life and remain weak. It will put an end to the deadness, the weakness, and the coldness. Sin STILL separates from God. We cannot retain sin and obtain help. There is only ONE Who can give life and give it more abundantly: Jesus Christ.

"Hear What The Spirit Saith..."
In Revelation 2:11, He speaks to the church at Smyrna: He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death. Just as they were to be tried and tested, so are we. We as the church are going to go through trials, but if we will overcome through the power and Grace of God, He will give us a crown of life and we will not be hurt with the second death. This lets us very plainly know that if we are not overcomers, we are going to be hurt with the second death.

The first death is separation from God for a time. God told Adam and Eve that in the day they ate of that tree, they would surely die. They lived and raised a family after that, but they fell under the power of the first death, separation from God. They were driven from God's presence.

Understand this: EVERYone in SIN is under the power of the first death: they are separated from God. Jesus Christ came and paid the price to bring each of us back from the power of that first death, through His resurrection. Salvation brings us back to a right relationship with God. Friend, if you fail to accept Christ's salvation and physical death comes upon you, you will be hurt of the second death, which is FINAL separation from God for all time and eternity!

To Pergamos, Jesus said, He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it. Revelation 2:17. According to verse 13 of that chapter, Pergamos was in a terrible trial. They were situated right where Satan's seat was, right where the power of Satan was operating in its greatest degree. They were, if you will, living right in the "headquarters" of evil: But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication. So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate. Revelation 2:14,15. Yet even in those conditions, God said, I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, even where Satan's seat is: and thou holdest fast my name, and hast not denied my faith, even in those days wherein Antipas was my faithful martyr, who was slain among you, where Satan dwelleth. Revelation 2:13.

You know what happens today--when one Christian backslides in the church, it's not unusual for them to take three or four with them. God wants your experience with Him to be one of where you can stand, even should you have to see one of your Christian brothers or sisters meet martyrdom before your very eyes. We thank God for corporate unity, but we have no real Bible unity until we have a people who can stand alone for God, NO MATTER what happens! When you bring such a people together, you have a force that can stand! There is too much leaning on one another: we need to learn to lean on JESUS.

There was every kind of doctrine floating around Pergamos. The basis of the doctrine of Balaam was going against God and His Will for a reward. Also in their congregation were the Nicolaitans. The essence of the Nicolaitan's teaching was that since "the Law" was done away with, they could live just as they wanted to. [Oh my, there are many "Nicolaitans" around today! They think (and teach and preach) that since Jesus came, "the Law" has been done away with and all they have to do is believe in Jesus and they, too, can live just as they please!] Yet, the facts are, Jesus FULFILLED the law and nailed it to the cross. Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. Matthew 5:17. The Nicolaitans taught that since "the Law" was done away with, they were without restraints of any kind, which is the same doctrine that many are being led astray with today! People have their own way of thinking about things, regardless of what God's Word says.

His promise to the overcomers of Pergamos was the privilege of eating of the hidden manna. That hidden manna is that special sustenance that we gather from God's Word. It's not too difficult to know those who are partakers of that hidden manna--it shows through in the victory of their lives!

More Promises
And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations: And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father. And I will give him the morning star. Revelation 2:26-29. This was the promise to the overcomers in the church at Thyatira, which was another congregation that needed a housecleaning!

Christ appeared to them with flaming eyes and feet of brass, standing in the fire of judgment. He was stirred because that preacher (pastor) was allowing Jezebel, a woman who called herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication. Some folks today believe that if an unsaved person has certain talents or a certain type/degree of education, then it's perfectly all right to let them teach/preach to God's people. Let me warn you: if you bring in an unbeliever to teach, he (or she) will seduce God's people, just as did this Jezebel. They will not teach the Word of God, but they will teach their ideas and opinions and interpretations. They will teach God's people to commit spiritual fornication with the world and with Babylon. God's people are STILL a called-out, separate people. God's command is to come out and touch not or have anything to do with Babylon.

Thyatira allowed this Jezebel, false teaching, to come in and the depths of Satan was working in that congregation. Satan does not ask for a BIG opening--just a "foot in the door". A very small way, such as through a teaching that leads toward the world and makes room for worldliness. Let me tell you, Satan does not stand around, insisting that the church allow BIG things in--all he needs is for someone to allow something small in. It will grow in and of itself once it is allowed in!

Jesus said in verse 26 of Revelation 2: And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations. If we will keep His Word, keep His Work, and live as HE wants us to live, the power of the nations cannot affect us! We know what the cry is, that the day in which we are living has affected the church. I am glad we can have power over the nations. God ordained that we, the church, set the standard for the world. God NEVER intended for the world to set the standard for the church!

We read in Revelation 3:5, He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels. Now this was addressed to the church of Sardis, but it still applies to us today. And just as it applied to Sardis, which was dead while sustaining a reputation for being alive, we find many of our churches of today doing the same thing!

The church of Sardis had gained a great reputation for being a flourishing church. They boasted in the purity of doctrine and the unity between the members, but when Jesus looked with those eyes of fire, He pointed out that they were not what they claimed to be. Well, are WE really what we claim to be? As the searching eyes of God look down through the crust of our professions, are we REALLY what we claim to be? Now we can lie and put on a front to others around us and to the world, but there is not one thing hidden from God! Only if we are overcomers can we walk with Him in white, and not have our names blotted out.

Let NO Man Take Your Crown!
To the church at Philadelphia, He said: Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name. Revelation 3:12. Here is established Christianity. If you lay hold of this experience and live for God, you will become a pillar in the church. A pillar is a support. You stand on the truth and hold up the truth and you will be a pillar of support to the ministry of the church.

Philadelphia was a church with an open door, or a church with opportunity. He reminds us in that eighth verse that it is Christ who opens and shuts: I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it... Don't ever try to go into any circumstance to work unless Christ opens the door. When He opens the door, you won't have to butt it down. You won't have to get hold of the committee and try to get them to unlock it. You won't have to exert political influence through four or five preachers talking for you. What is the lesson, again? Christ opens the door, and when HE opens it, no man can shut it. And when He shuts it, no man can open it!

The other side of that lesson is, go through the door while it is open. Why does He warn us that way? Verse 11 of Revelation 2 tells us: Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown. When God gives you the opportunity, people of God, arise quickly and take advantage of it! And see that part of that verse about the crown? ...hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown; How can mankind take your crown? There are many folks who have lost their crowns through fear of man. Some lose out with God because they are afraid to testify, or afraid to witness. Man, the fear of man, and the influence of man will take your crown.

God opens an individual door--He deals with individuals. Nobody else may ever see it. Nobody else may ever have that same opportunity in that same context. And if you are not careful, you'll go to asking people their opinions. The influence of people may keep you from going through the door that God has opened for you.

He also promised the overcomers of the church at Philadelphia, I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem... Revelation 3:12. "New Jerusalem" is made up of established Christians who are STRONG. She is an army with banners flying. What are those banners? Victory, Victory, going forth conquering and to conquer. The church has conquered everything she has run into, and is ready to conquer whatever is ahead of her. The church of God is not a hospital where sick, weak Christians are nursed. It is an ARMY where STRONG men and women have God's name written on their foreheads and right under that, "New Jerusalem".

The name denotes character. God does not write His name just on any character. The believer who remains true and is obedient will have the character, and character has to be built (developed). Confidence has to be built. You cannot expect people who do not know you to have confidence in you. They can have faith in you, but you have to live before them and build confidence by your faithfulness, day after day. God doesn't give you character--YOU build that. He gives you the right heart, the right spirit and the strength, but you have to build character by being faithful, day after day. God will make a pillar out of you.

Be Strong In The Lord
How do men come up with the conclusion that they can live weak lives, be overcome by every trial that comes along, and still inherit the great blessings of God? Friend, He divides the spoil with the STRONG. Literally deceived, thousands upon thousands think they can eat of the tree of life although they are repeatedly overcome by trials. Even though they've succumbed to the powers of evil, they don't think they will be hurt of the second death. Preachers are supposedly preaching sinners into Heaven, telling them no matter how they live here, they will someday walk in white with Jesus. I've got a news flash for you: you will NEVER walk in white with Jesus unless you live an overcoming life here.

Every benefit of these promises are to be enjoyed NOW. We walk in white with Jesus NOW. White is symbolic of a sinless experience. Make no mistake, there's no such thing as second-class citizenship in Heaven. You might can go second-class on the airplane or bus or ocean liner, but there is NO second class in Heaven. Brother and Sister, if you make it in, you are going to have, as Peter said in II Peter 1:11, an abundant entrance: For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

Paul said in Ephesians 6:10, Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. If you start living according to God's might, you'll look at life differently and you will live differently. I Corinthians 16:13 tells us, Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong. Paul instructed Timothy in II Timothy 2:1 to Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.

And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power...And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it. Colossians 2:10, 15. We read in Ephesians 4:8, ...When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. I say again, He only divides the spoil with the STRONG.

Can you say that you are STRONG in the Lord? Friend, if you can't, you are missing out on what a lot of other people are enjoying. God wants you to enjoy it. There is nothing wrong with admitting your weakness. If you will press your claim to be STRONG, God is ready to give forth divine strength.