Pastor Rick and I represented Grace Church at a conference on Friday in Phoenix. And I want to tell you, I'm going through culture shock. We got back in about an hour ago and this morning had breakfast out into the blue sky with palm trees all around us at the hotel. And a little different than that here tonight. A little different. But we're glad to be back. Well, I'm glad to see my family again. Let's put it that way.
Yesterday we had the day free to visit some churches in the Phoenix area to see facilities and get a sense of what's happening in some of those ministries, which was very interesting. We had the extra day because as you well know, if you go by airplane anywhere, it costs so much if you don't stay over Saturday night that it's almost worth it to extend your stay. And so we did that. And had the extra day and this morning in the city. Yesterday we also visited a church in Tucson.
These churches are doing a work for God in that part of the country. We went to the North Phoenix Baptist Church. Some of you have heard their choir on the radio. Perhaps you have recordings of them. The church of 21,000 members. The pastor, Dr. Jackson, is retiring. Just announced his retirement and today celebrated his 25th anniversary in the church. We also visited Bethany Bible Church in Phoenix.
The first assembly, which is probably the fastest growing church in Phoenix and has a setting for a church campus that you just can't imagine with mountains around it and overlooking beautiful scenery around there. And then we visited the Christ Community Church in Tucson yesterday. This morning we attended services at Grace Community Church in Tempe, which is a suburb of Phoenix as you know, and enjoyed the ministry there. Dr. Larry Finch.
But it's good to be back here with you tonight to talk about other churches than these that I've just named. I've been reminded in the last 24 hours of how each church is different. Each church has its own personality. Each church has its own way of looking at the mission that God has given to us. God is doing something different in each of the five churches that we expose ourselves to. And it's all good. It's wonderful. We give God praise and glory for what He's doing.
In Revelation chapters 2 and 3 we have Jesus speaking to seven churches that existed 2,000 years ago. And I'll tell you this today. Jesus writes a letter through John to each of the seven churches of Asia Minor. Each of the letters has a basic format that is the same. Can you see that all right? There we go. I think you have perhaps in the back of your Bible this chart that we've filled out in weeks past. And we've gotten all the way down to the challenge is what we're looking at tonight.
Each of these seven letters closes with a personal promise or challenge from the Lord Jesus to the overcomers. We need to understand who the overcomers are as we turn to that text. There are some who feel that they are the super saints, that they are the believers who are walking with God and doing very well in their lives, overcoming the devil and the world and therefore they're called overcomers.
I think however that in the context of John's writings, overcomers are not super saints but they're every saint. For every saint overcomes in the sense that John uses that term. For example in 1 John, just turn back a few pages and look at his epistle with me. In 1 John chapter 5 verse 4 he says, for whatever is born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, our faith. Who is he who overcomes the world but he who believes that Jesus is the son of God?
So in John's language the overcomer is the true believer and because he is a true believer there is evidence of that in his life. John uses this term again in chapter 2 verses 13 and 14 of overcoming the wicked one. He uses it in chapter 4 and verse 4 of overcoming the false teachers that were infiltrating the churches by the end of the first century. But in his language the overcomers are those who are genuine believers.
So as we come to Revelation 2 and 3 we would understand that John's use of that term and Jesus' use of it through John would have the same meaning. To each of these churches a promise is given to the genuine believers within it. And I put it that way because some of these churches may have had majorities that were not genuine believers. But every church seems to have had a remnant, even Laodicea, a remnant of genuine believers and Jesus speaks to them as he closes these letters.
In Ephesians chapter 2 verse 7 we have the word of challenge or I think a better word really is the word of promise to the church at Ephesus. He who has an ear let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. You'll notice that phrase in each of these letters by the way. He says to him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life which is in the midst of the paradise of God. Each of the promises that Jesus gives in the seven letters is metaphorical or symbolic.
Jesus is using a figure here with a deeper meaning to it. Some of the figures are difficult to interpret as we will see. I have a hunch that had we lived in that day and been a part of the particular church mentioned that we would have understood clearly what Jesus was saying to the overcomers. But we don't have that kind of archaeological or historical information today for each of these churches. Some of the figures come out of scripture.
Some of these symbols or metaphors seem to have come out of the culture in which the churches existed. Each of these promises points to a future and it correlates with some aspect of Revelation chapters 21 and 22. Not everything that's said can be found back there in those chapters but every promise in some way relates back to the end of this very book. And it's interesting that several of them also echo from Genesis chapters 2 and 3.
This one for example, the tree of life, where have you seen that before? Genesis, right? Chapter 2, it's first mentioned in fact is in chapter 2 verse 9 of Genesis, the garden of Eden. And so there is an echo here in this promise that goes all the way back to Genesis but it's really pointing to the future. You say, well why does he go back and seem to echo things from Genesis? It seems that Jesus is trying to underscore in our minds that what we lost in Adam, we regain in Christ, the last Adam.
What was lost in Adam to the human race because of Adam's sin has been regained for the human race, the redeemed of the human race by the last Adam, Jesus Christ, and his great act of obedience and redemption at the cross. Now Jesus gives the promise here that the overcomers will eat of the fruit of this tree which he says is in the midst of the paradise of God. The very last mention of this tree is in chapter 22 verse 2 of Revelation. So it goes from Genesis 2 all the way over to Revelation 22.
It is said to be in the New Jerusalem, in the paradise of God here. The word paradise is another name for heaven. It originates in the Persian language, this word paradise. It is a word that Paul uses in 2 Corinthians 12, 4 when he talks about having been caught up to the third heaven, to paradise, and there seeing things that he could not talk about.
It's the same word that Jesus used when at the cross he said to the thief who repented and believed on him, this day you will be with me in paradise. That Persian word means a park or a garden. So we have just a glimpse of what heaven is like in this word. This hotel that we stayed at for the last couple of days was beautiful. The courtyard inside was well manicured with lovely green grass and all kinds of tropical plants and palm trees. It was beautiful to be there.
It was like a little park inside the hotel. But heaven, you see, is that way and the size of it is immense. It's nearly half the size of the United States of America, at least according to the dimensions given to us later in this book. All of it is a park. It is a well manicured, well kept paradise of God and there in the midst of it is this tree and Jesus says that those who are genuine believers will be able to pluck fruit from that tree and eat of it.
Symbolically meaning, I mean literally I believe there is a tree there. But symbolically what Jesus is saying is that true believers will be there and will have eternal life in that place that God has prepared for his own. Now as we move ahead to the next church, we come to verse 11 and we have the promise or the challenge given to Smyrna, the suffering church, you may recall. Verse 11 he says, he who overcomes shall not be hurt by the second death. Notice again the forward look of this verse.
Shall not be touched by, shall not be hurt by the second death. This is one of those occasions when there are two negatives put together. John does this, remember back in the gospel when he says about Jesus sheep, he quotes Jesus as saying, and they shall not never perish. Which means they shall not ever by any means perish and the same thing is said here by our Lord. He who overcomes shall not by any means whatsoever be hurt by the second death.
The term second death is found in rabbinical literature in the days of the New Testament. The rabbis spoke of the second death as that death which the wicked will endure in the next world. That's what they meant by the second death. But the book of Revelation tells us clearly and exactly what our Lord means by the second death. Let's turn over to chapter 20 of the book of Revelation.
In verse 14, we have here the account of the great white throne judgment when all the wicked are brought before the Lord. And after they are dealt with, it says in verse 14, then death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. So the second death in the terms of the New Testament is being cast into the lake of fire. And he says in verse 15, and anyone not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
Again in verse 8 of the next chapter it says, but the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderer, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death. Death is the outcome of Adam's sin, and it culminates with eternal separation from God in this place of punishment that is called the lake of fire, or the second death. The Lord Jesus Christ, however, has reversed this for his own.
He says for those who are his, those who are the overcomers, this experience will not be theirs in any shape or form. He says there is no way that the second death, that is the lake of fire, will ever have any impact or influence or any affectation upon those who are the overcomers, the genuine believers, a promise that God gives.
That undoubtedly was a comfort to these people of Smyrna who were facing the likelihood actually of martyrdom, of death, like the famous Polycarp who was a pastor there and gave his life. These people endured one death, but Jesus says never the second death. They're the overcomers. Now moving down to verse 17 of Revelation 2, we come to the next promise, that given to Pergamum. Here Jesus says to him who overcomes, I will give some of the hidden manna to eat.
I will give him a white stone, on the stone a new name written which no one knows except him who receives it. The hidden manna, what is that? We understand Jesus to be speaking about himself as the bread that comes down from heaven, John chapter 6. Jesus is saying here that those who are the overcomers will be sustained and provided for forever with that hidden manna, the unseen manna to the world, which is very real, the spiritual sustenance that is found in him.
The word hidden reminds us of a tradition that is recorded in the book of 2nd Maccabees, not a part of the Bible, but a part of the Apocrypha. In that book there is a tradition that says that the pot of manna that was preserved in the Ark of the Covenant was taken out of that Ark in Jeremiah's time before Jerusalem was overrun by Nebuchadnezzar. That pot of manna was hidden underground on Mount Nebo to the east of Jerusalem across the Jordan River.
Tradition says that that pot of manna will be recovered when Messiah comes and he will take it back to the Messianic temple that will be established in the Kingdom. I repeat, that is merely a tradition, not a prophecy of the Word of God. But it's interesting that the word hidden is used here and undoubtedly to those Jewish believers who received this promise, they were reminded of that tradition that had been penned by that time and they were aware of it.
The hidden manna that is in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. Then we have this white stone that is mentioned. This is one of those mysteries. No one knows for sure what the white stone is. A number of guesses and some are better than others. For example, some say the white stone represents the precious stones that were upon the high priest as he did his work in the tabernacle and in the temple.
Remember, he had a beautiful breastplate and on the breastplate a stone, a precious stone, each one representing the twelve tribes of Israel and the name of the tribe engraved upon that stone. There are some who say, well this stone reminds us of that.
There are others who look to the tradition of jurors in that ancient day, 2000 years ago, who when they were involved in a trial and who when they wished to cast a vote for innocence on the part of the party being tried, they would put into the plate a white stone. That was their way of saying this one is innocent.
Others say no, it represents, the white stone represents a token that was common in that day to important banquets and social events and that the white stone is given to the overcomer as his ticket, so to speak, into heaven. It is his badge of entrance. It is his way of proving that he is a part of this party and his name is written on it, a new name that no one knows. But what we really don't know is what the white stone means. But it is a promise of the Lord Jesus.
That will be clear, by the way, one day when we will be in these scenes when that trumpet has sounded and the roll call has been given. Well we come now to the next of the promises, verses 26 to 29. It is the longest. It is to Thyatira, one of the most difficult of the letters. He says, and he who overcomes and keeps my works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations. Tell me to stop for a moment, I want you to notice that phrase that follows overcomes here.
He who overcomes and keeps my works until the end. Is Jesus saying that we not only have to believe but we have to hang on to the end to be saved? That's not what he is saying. This is an appositional phrase. It means that the overcomer is proven by the fact that he endures, he keeps my works, Jesus' works until the end.
You see the evidence that one is a genuine believer is not that his name is written down on a church roll or that it is in the back of a Bible somewhere saying on this day I prayed to receive Christ. I am not putting that down. I think it is good to write things down like that. But the real proof that one is an overcomer is found in the continuance of his life. It is in the faithfulness of his life, keeping on with God.
Not that he can't stumble, not that he can't for a time transgress, get out of the way. He will be brought back, he will come back. The one who is the true believer proves that by his life. To that one, Jesus says, he shall rule them with a rod of iron as the potter's vessels shall be broken to pieces as I also have received from my Father. And I will give him the morning star. You will notice here this quotation of our Lord from Psalm 2.
If you have studied your Bible, you know that Psalm 2 really is a messianic Psalm and this verse there points to him as the one who will rule with a rod of iron. Jesus takes that same verse now and he reapplies it, not to himself but to overcomers. That is, overcomers will rule with him is the point in his coming kingdom. And the word rule here is not the word for a death spot, it's the word for shepherd. Well shepherd over, be a shepherd to the nations. Be a shepherd with a rod of iron.
The picture there may be of the staff that belonged to a shepherd and at the end of it had a tip of iron that was attached to make it more of a weapon that the shepherd could use. Well the promise is that the overcomer will reign with Christ, we'll see that again in just a moment. And Jesus also says, I will give him the morning star. The morning star that appears just before the dawn.
And again this is mysterious, we're not sure exactly what this means although Jesus calls himself the morning star, chapter 22 verse 16. But there are other kinds of interpretation of this verse as well, some say it stands for the beginning of immortality. The one who is the overcomer will have the morning star and immortality then will dawn for him as the eternal day.
The promise will be made clear one day, but again it's a promise that points to the future for those who are the children of God. We've come to chapter 3 and the fifth of the churches, verses 5 and 6 give us the promise to the church of Sardis. He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, I will not blot out his name from the book of life. I will confess his name before my father and before his angels.
Here the Lord Jesus gives the promise that those who are his will be clothed with garments that are said to be white. Elsewhere in Revelation the white garment is symbolic of righteousness. So it may well be that Jesus is saying that one who is an overcomer will have this garment that is appropriate to who he is in Christ. A garment representing the purity, the righteousness that he is in Christ. Dr. Mounts says it represents the attire appropriate to the heavenly state, whatever that means.
It will be clothing he says that is appropriate that we will wear forever and forever. Saturday won't be wash day in heaven. It will be our clothing forever in that resurrection body. And then he says that he will not blot out the name of the overcomer from the book of life. The book of life is found six times in the book of Revelation. Here then in chapter 13 verse 8, chapter 17 verse 8, chapter 20 verse 12 and verse 15 and then again in chapter 21 and verse 27.
In the ancient days cities kept a log of their citizens. Those names were recorded in the registers of the city and were kept there until death. And we are told that at death the names were then removed as citizens of the city. There are those who say well Jesus is threatening, he is implying here that there are some who may have their names taken out of the book of life. John Walvard says correctly that what the verse really does is to affirm that that will never happen.
While a threat may be implied by some what the verse really says, not what it implies, what it says is that the overcomer will never have his name removed from the book of life. He will always be a citizen of the heavenly city, the new Jerusalem. And Jesus says I will confess him before the courts of heaven is the real thought here. I will give testimony before my father, before his angel that this one is my own. It is a great thought isn't it?
It follows up what Jesus said in Matthew 10-32 where he promises the same thing to those who are not ashamed to confess him before men. Then as we come to chapter 3 verses 12 and 13 we have the promise to the church of Philadelphia.
He says he who overcomes I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God and he shall go out no more and I will write on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from my God and I will write on him my new name. You will notice that he says here that the overcomer will be a pillar in the temple of God.
This may remind us of Paul's words in Galatians 2 where symbolically he called James and Peter and John pillars in the church of Jerusalem. What he meant was that they were men who were reputedly stable and sound and a part of the very foundation of that local church in Jerusalem. That may be what Jesus has in mind here.
We are also told that the city of Philadelphia was prone to earthquakes and that because of that there were architectural specialties done in the temples that were in the city of Philadelphia, the pagan temples, so that in case of an earthquake the temples might stand. Jesus may have been drawing upon that picture and saying here that the overcomers will be kept stable and secure and safe in the midst of the earthquakes, the shakings of life and of persecution in the world.
And there are those who say also that in that day citizens of some cities were honored by the erection of a pillar in the pagan temple. Their name was placed in the pillar. It was sort of like a plaque that was put there in public to remember what this citizen had done. And again that could be the symbolic meaning. Jesus is saying that those who are overcomers will be remembered in heaven. Their works will go before them. They will be rewarded and be publicly acknowledged as pillars in heaven.
And he says that he will write on him the name of God, the name of the new Jerusalem, the city of God. The idea seems to be here that those who are the overcomers will be clearly marked and designated forever as those who belong to that glorious place that Jesus is preparing for his own.
But in that new creation, the new heavens and the new earth that's coming, those who are the overcomers will be designated forever with the honor of being citizens of the new Jerusalem and have the very name of God written upon them in some way. And then we close with the promise to the church at Laodicea in chapter 3 verses 21 and 22, to him overcomes I will grant to sit with me on my throne as I also overcame and set down with my father on his throne.
And so again the promise that the overcomer will reign with the Lord Jesus Christ and will sit with him on his throne. I want you to remember that seven times Jesus has said these words, he who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. Who are those that have ears? Well, I believe again it's those whose ears hear the voice of the shepherd. Those whose ears have been opened by the Lord, those who are the overcomers, the true believers.
And he says, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. Jesus is probably saying here, let those who are true believers understand the personal application of these words by the Spirit to their lives. You see, these words are not merely written to believers who have been dead 2,000 years, but they're written to us also. They are written for our encouragement to remind us that in Christ we too are overcomers. And the future is ours and all that God has promised is ours in Christ.
Everything is ours in Christ. And with him we will reign forever and forever. And so let's let our ears hear that and let our hearts rejoice in that truth and let the Spirit of God apply these promises to our lives. We come to the table of the Lord and we always speak of its meaning. We are remembering, we're looking back when we come to this table. We are reminding ourselves of what he did for us at the cross when he laid down his life on our behalf.
But tonight, let's do that, but let's also remember the future. Let's remember what this Lord who gave himself for us has promised us. Let's remember that we have a glorious, wondrous future before us. Hey, you need to be reminded the world doesn't come to an end if your candidate doesn't get elected Tuesday. It doesn't mean that somehow the end of the world has come. God is on the throne, the future is ours in Christ. Let's be encouraged in that.
And as we partake of these elements, let's remember that Jesus said for us to do this until he comes. And one day he's coming. And we will no more celebrate communion. We will sit down and eat with him and have a wonderful meal at the Lamb's table. If you are a believer in Jesus Christ and an overcomer, we invite you to share with us tonight in this table.
If you are walking in obedience to Jesus Christ, if he is Lord of your life, he invites you to come and partake and remember and also rejoice in the future and what's coming. Let's bow together in prayer. I'm going to ask those who are serving to come and join me here in the front as we give thanks to the Lord. Lord Jesus, we want our ears to hear. We don't want to be deaf. In the din and the noise of the world, open our ears to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit.
And may that word that we've looked at tonight be applied to our lives just like you wanted it to be. As we partake of these elements, we give thanks for the bread, reminding us of your sacrifice at the cross, reminding us that you are the hidden manna, that you are the sustenance of our souls. We partake of you tonight as we eat and we anticipate that day when we will be changed and made like you and be with you. Amen.