The “Overcomer” from the Book of Revelation
Since the advent of sin into this world, life has become a battle for mankind. In this battle of life, one is either an overcomer or a victim. My prayer for you is that you will live the rest of your life as an overcomer in Jesus’ Name.
However, before you can overcome by calling on the Name of the Lord, you need to first believe in the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ and in His finished work on the cross at Calvary and you have to confess all your sins , and receive His forgiveness. . When you believe this and you confess so with your mouth, you become “born of God”.
In the book of Revelation, chapters 2 and 3, we find that the Holy Spirit gives recognition to a group of wholehearted and faithful believers whom He calls "Overcomers", in the midst of a church. These are the ones who overcome sin and worldliness and the problems that the specific churches faced and who stand faithfully for the Lord in the midst of the spiritual decline around them.
The Bible has a lot to say about being an overcomer. However the term overcomer is especially prominent in the book of Revelation, where Jesus encourages His people to remain steadfast through trials (Revelation 2:26; 3:21; 21:7)
The promises to the overcomer in Revelation 2 and 3 present us with some important, but difficult questions that need to be answered in order to properly interpret and apply these promises to our life.. But as is so often the case with difficult passages, we are divided on the answers. The main questions as I see it are:
(1) who is the overcomer
((2) what is the nature of the promises?
(3) Are these warnings against the loss of salvation as some have advocated?
(4) Is “overcomer” a title for all believers because of initial faith in Christ? In other words, does 1 John 5:5 also define the overcomers of Revelation 2 and 3?
(5) Or is the overcomer equivalent to a special name for genuine believers because of the ultimate triumph of their faith?
(6) Is this a warning against false profession or is it a challenge and motivation to all believers to faithfulness for rewards?
These seven passages of Revelation 2 and 3 are not the only passages that touch on the issue of overcoming or victory over the conflicts and adversaries that we face in this life. However it will be beyond the scope of this study to discuss all the portions of scriptures dealing this term. We will be confining ourselves only to the verses in chapter 2 and 5 of the book of Revelation
The term “overcomer” means “to conquer, prevail, triumph, overcome.” This verb is found 28 times in 24 verses in the New Testament. This presupposes and calls attention to the presence of war, contests, battles, and conflicts in man’s struggle with evil. The New Testament clearly teaches us that we are in a conflict, indeed, a holy war, with specific adversaries. Even after salvation the conflict still rages in and against the life of the Christian. This is everywhere evident in Scripture and so obvious in life that one has to deny reality to ignore or disclaim it. Two key passages that illustrate the nature of our conflict with evil are Ephesians 2:1-2 and 6:12:
Eph. 2:1-2 And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.
Eph. 6:12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.
These conflicts comes from:
(1) Satan, our chief adversary, the devil: 1 Pet. 5:8-9; Eph. 6:12; John 16:11; Col. 2:15; but note 1 John 2:13-14.
(2) The world, a system and arrangement of the affairs of men and government under the control of the evil one and opposed to God and His purposes for man: John 16:33; 1 John 5:4; Eph. 2:2.
(3) Indwelling sin or the flesh and all its corrupting power and life dominating patterns: Rom. 7:15; 8:4-8, 13; Gal. 5:16-26.
(4) Other forms stemming from the above three: darkness (Col. 1:13), blindness (2 Cor. 4:3-4), death (Rom. 8:4f; Rev. 2:11), evil (Eph. 5:16), disobedience (Eph. 2:1), rebellion in every conceivable form (2 Tim. 3:1f).
However scripture tells us that Christ is the Overcomer - the ultimate source and means of victory is the great message of Scripture and everywhere evident in its pages. Note the following passages:
John 16:33 These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.
2 Cor. 2:14 But thanks be to God, who always leads us in His triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place.
Closely related to Christ’s victory through His person and work on the cross is another aspect of the means of our victory, the work of the Spirit in regeneration and indwelling.
Compare the following verses:
1 John 5:4 - For whatever is born of God overcomes the world.
We should note the emphasis in 1John 5:4 .does not say, “He that overcomes,” as the NIV translates, but “everything or whatever is born of God.” In John 5:4 “overcoming” is specifically non-personalized in order to stress a point: it is never the man that overcomes, but his new- birth from God and what that brings into his life; this is that which overcomes or gives capacity to overcome the world.
So, 1 John 5:4-5 gives us some insightful principles regarding those who overcome the world, namely:
(a) the source of victory is the new birth and the new life that it brings, “For whatever is born of God overcomes the world”;
(b) the method for appropriating victory is faith, “and this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith”;
(c) the object of faith must be Jesus Christ because He is the real victor, “And who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?”
Nevertheless, victory requires our cooperation with God’s operation. It means discipline, diligence, commitment to draw near to God and to act on His promises and provision by faith. Note also 1 Corinthians 15:10; Philippians 2:12-13.
Now coming to the word “overcomer” in Revelation , It appears that there are four primary views of the overcomer passages of Revelation 2 and 3:
(1) The loss of salvation view: According to this interpretation, the promises are written to believers to encourage them to overcome lest they lose their salvation. To fail to overcome is to lose salvation.
First, the term “ Christian” must be defined. A “Christian” is not a person who has said a prayer or walked down an aisle or been raised in a Christian family. While each of these things can be a part of the Christian experience, they are not what makes a Christian. A Christian is a person who has fully trusted in Jesus Christ as the only Savior and therefore possesses the Holy Spirit (John 3:16; Acts 16:31; Ephesians 2:8–9).
A Christian is a new creation. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” (2 Corinthians 5:17). A Christian is not simply an “improved” version of a person; a Christian is an entirely new creature. He is “in Christ.” For a Christian to lose salvation, the new creation would have to be destroyed.
The loss of salvation view contradicts the clear teaching of Scripture that believers are kept secure by the finished work of Christ. It is His record that keeps us not ours. A large portion of the New Testament demonstrates that such a view to be wrong. The following passages illustrate this truth: concerning believers, Jesus said, “and I give eternal life to them, and they shall never perish; and no one shall snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand” (John 10:28-29), they “shall not come into judgment” (John 5:24), and “have [already] passed from death into life” (John 5:24).
The apostle Paul declared that “neither death nor life … nor things present nor things to come … shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom 8:38-39). “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast” (Eph 2:8-9). He even told the believers at Thessalonica that “whether we wake or sleep , we should live together with Him” (1 Thess. 5:10).
Two common objections to the belief that a Christian cannot lose salvation concern these experiential issues:
1) What about Christians who live in a sinful, unrepentant lifestyle?
2) What about Christians who reject the faith and deny Christ?
The problem with these objections is the assumption that everyone who calls himself a “Christian” has actually been born again. The Bible declares that a true Christian will not live a state of continual, unrepentant sin (1 John 3:6). The Bible also says that anyone who departs the faith is demonstrating that he was never truly a Christian (1 John 2:19). He may have been religious, he may have put on a good show, but he was never born again by the power of God. “By their fruit you will recognize them” (Matthew 7:16). The redeemed of God belong “to him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God” (Romans 7:4).
(2) The perseverance or ultimate triumph of the saints view: According to this view all believers persevere and overcome the world by living godly and obedient lives.
There is a major problem with this interpretation. The Bible does not promise that all believers will live victorious, holy lives. Believers may have more than temporary setbacks and bouts with sin. It is also sadly possible for believers to backslide terribly and to remain in that backslidden state until death. Certainly the church at Corinth was hardly a picture of believers experiencing ultimate victory over sin in their lives (cf. 1 Cor 3:1-3; 11:30; see also Gal 6:1-5; Jas 5:19-20; and 1 John 5:16)
I’m not saying that eternal security is not true… What I am saying is that there is no guarantee in Scripture that believers will live overcoming, victorious lives here and now. Believers can fail. The comments made at the end of item (1) is relevant here too.
It should be noted that some of the Christians at Corinth had died in a state of carnality as a direct result of God’s judgment which Paul carefully defined as God’s disciplinary action.
(3) The view that all believers are overcomers: According to this view, all believers become overcomers the moment they believe in Jesus Christ. The very act of believing overcomes the world: “Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?” (1 John 5:5). Faith, not faithfulness is the primary focus point in this position.
An overcomer is not someone who has some special power in the Christian life or someone who has learned some secret of victory. John himself defined an overcomer as a believer in Christ (I John 5:4-5). Thus every Christian is an overcomer, though the various promises in these seven letters are addressed particularly to each local believing group, and tailored to the special circumstances found in each church.
Note that a special word is spoken to the “overcomers” in each church (2:7, 11, 17, 26; 3:5, 12, 21). These “overcomers” are not the “super-saints” in each church, a special group that will receive special privileges from Christ, but the true believers in each of these churches.
We dare not assume that every member of every local church in every period of history is a true child of God. In every period of history, there have been true saints in the professing church . Christ speaks a special word of encouragement to them, and certainly we may apply these words to ourselves today.
It is true that 1 John 5: 4-5 teaches that our faith overcomes the world. While it is necessary for faith to be present It is a mistake, however, to conclude that because John so used that expression in one place, he must have used it the same way in all other places. The contexts in which the expression is found in Revelation 2-3 are greatly different than the context of 1 John 5: 4-5.
The messages to the seven churches in Revelation 2 and 3 present very different contexts than that of 1 John 5. 1 John 5:4 teaches us that the means of victory over the world is “our faith.” Then verse 5 declares that the only ones who can overcome the world by faith are those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God. Why? Because only these have experienced the new birth of God in spiritual regeneration and it is that regeneration that gives the power for victory (vs. 4a).
But the context of the seven letters suggests that John is there admonishing believers to overcome specific trials and temptations by faithful obedience through faith in their new life in Christ. Consider the following examples from each of these messages:
(i) Revelation 2:7b reads, “To him who overcomes I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the Paradise of God.” But the context for this is the admonition in 2:5 which reads, “Therefore remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first …”
ii) The admonitions “Do not fear …” and “Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life” (2:10) form the immediate context for the promise, “He who overcomes will not be hurt by the second death” (2:11).
(iii) The call to repent in 2:16 precedes the promise to the overcomer in 2:17.
(iv) “Nevertheless what you have, hold fast until I come. And he who overcomes, and he who keeps My deeds until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations” (2:25-26). Again, the promise is in a context of two admonitions for faithfulness. While some versions leave out the “and” that begins verse 26, the Greek text contains this connecting particle and shows a relationship exists between the promise and the admonition.
(v) The promise of 3:5 is directly connected to the concept of faithfulness described in 3:4. “But you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their garments; and they will walk with Me in white; for they are worthy. He who overcomes shall thus (or will be like them – niv ) clothed in white garments; …”
(vi) Again, an admonition, “Hold fast what you have, so that no one will take your crown” (3:11) forms the context for the promise of 3:12, “He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, …”
(vii) Finally, the last promise to the one who overcomes (3:21) is set against the context of the Savior’s invitation for fellowship (3:20). Believers cannot overcome without dining intimately with the Savior in daily fellowship.
(4) The rewards view: According to this view, the overcomer passages are promises of rewards given to believers to encourage them to overcome the trials of life through faithfulness.
The promise is to “the overcomer.” Now are all believers “overcomers”? Let him think twice who would answer a dogmatic “Yes” to this question. The letters to the seven churches, at least, suggested otherwise to an unprejudiced reader. Our standing in Christ is no artificial position of immunity. As there are degrees of punishment [in hell] so there are degrees of rewards [in heaven]. One is made ruler over ten cities, another over five. The promises to the overcomer is promises of rewards for faithfulness.’
Some have said that eating from the tree of life was the equivalent of receiving eternal life, but this is most evidently a false interpretation. Eternal life is the prerequisite for membership in the true Church. Eating of the tree of life is a reward that shall be given to the overcomer in addition to his salvation.
All believers are overcomers in one sense, in the sense they have become children of God, have been translated out of darkness into the glorious light of Christ, have been taken out of Adam and placed into Christ. In this glorious position, they have become identified with Him as to His person and work, etc., and enjoy many other marvelous blessings in Christ (Eph. 1:3; Col. 2:10). Every believer is an overcomer in that sense (1 John 5:4-5)\
But all believers do not overcome absolutely. Christians can fail to live for the Lord and overcome the desires of the flesh (1 Cor. 11:28f; 1 John 5:16-17). Furthermore, while the failure to overcome may be an indication of false profession, the fact a believer does not overcome the struggles of life, does not automatically prove they are not true Christians. If they have truly believed in Christ, they cannot lose their salvation, but they will lose rewards as the Lord warns in Revelation 3:11 and the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 3:12-15.
The rewards view would say the overcomer passages are promises given to believers to encourage and kindle love and obedience in view of who they are in Christ and what they posses in Him. These are not warnings against the loss of salvation, nor necessarily warnings against false profession. Furthermore, they are not statements affirming the preservation of the saints. Instead, they are guarantees of special blessings or rewards for faithful service and lives of faith.
Does 1 John 5:4-5 define who the overcomers are in Revelation 2 and 3? In other words, do the overcomer promises apply to all believers regardless of the kind of lives they live? At this stage in my study of the issues here, I have become convinced that 1 John 5:4-5 is not synonymous with the statements of Revelation 2 and 3.
The differences are such that they suggest that the references to overcoming in Revelation 2 and 3 are not defined by 1 John 5.
In Revelation, however, the overcomer concept is restrictive within the realm of the daily conflicts and battles of the Christian life according to the context of each of the seven letters. Here are illustrations of the battles that believers must overcome and for which rewards are promised for overcoming. “But this is a long way from saying that all Christians live ultimately victorious lives. In fact, that is something the New Testament does not say.
When we turn to Revelation 2 and 3, we find each church with its own particular conflict and problems with specific rewards that are in keeping with or somehow related to the problem faced. No two Christian’s lives are the same in terms of their struggles and triumphs. The basis of victory is the same, faith in the person and work of Christ and our blessings in Him, but the struggles are different and it seems that God tailors the rewards accordingly.
These letters do not present victory as a certainty, but rather as a goal which each individual should pursue. The Savior’s words are never to “them “ who overcome, but to “him” who overcomes. Victory is not a collective right, but an individual attainment.
An investigation of the promises in Revelation 2 and 3 will show that these are not promises all believers experience because every believer is an overcomer, but that these promises are special rewards to believers who overcome specific conflicts in the Christian life through faith and obedience in their daily walk.
There is evidence within the letters themselves which restrict the meaning of the word “overcomer”.
(1) In Revelation 2:26 the Greek text contains the conjunction “and” at the beginning of this verse. It reads, “And he who overcomes, …” (KJV)This links the promise to the overcomer back to verse 25 and the statement, “Nevertheless what you have, hold fast until I come.” (KJV) This both connects overcoming to the preceding admonition and makes it dependent on holding fast.
(2) In Revelation 2:26 overcoming is also connected to what follows or to keeping Christ’s works until the end. The Lord says, “And he who overcomes and he who keeps My deeds until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations.” (KJV) This clearly shows that the overcomer here is not only a believer, but one who keeps the Lord’s deeds in contrast to the evil deeds promoted by the Jezebel like false prophetess being tolerated in the church at Thyatira.
(3) In Revelation 3:5, the promise to the overcomer is tied into verse 4 by the word “thus,” “in the same way” “the same shall be clothed” (different versions). This shows us that the overcomer is restricted to those who have not defiled their garments in their earthly walk and are thus worthy of reward—the reward of being clothed in white garments. This is not the garment of salvation or the imputed righteousness that comes through faith in Christ.
In support of this, let’s compare Revelation 19:8. This verse shows that the wedding garment mentioned in this verse consists of the “righteous acts of the saints.”. It should be evident, then, that the white garment in 3:5 is a reward for works of righteousness that occur after salvation.
(4) In Revelation 3:11 the promise to the overcomer is again connected to a crown of reward for holding fast at least by implication or location. And this fits with the thrust of 2:25-26 where the overcomer reward is specifically linked to holding fast by the word “and”
The context of the letters restricts the meaning of the overcomer to rewards to faithful believers who overcome in the specific conflicts of their lives. Each letter without exception moves from an address to the church as a whole, to the individual believer with a personal appeal to the one who has an ear and to the one who overcomes.
To apply these promises to all believers seems to rob them of their force as promises.
Evidence from the analogy of Scripture is consistent with the teaching of the New Testament in other places; a Christian may lose or gain rewards according to what he does with the stewardship God has given him (1 Cor. 3:11f; 9:27; 2 Cor. 5:10; Luke 19:11-26). In fact, if the promises of Revelation 2 and 3 are not restrictive, then we have what appears to be a contradiction between Luke 19:11-27 and Revelation 2:26 and 3:21
True, some of the promises are hard to explain and understand as rewards and not as general gifts that go with eternal life, but because of the above evidence we should give strong consideration to the view that these are promises that pertain to rewards.
The apostle Paul wrote eloquently of overcoming in Romans 8:35–39. He summarizes the power believers have through the Holy Spirit to overcome any attacks of the enemy. Verse 37 says, “In all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.”
The overcomers in each church do so, not by their actions—rather their actions are an indication of their identification as an Overcomer,
