Jesus was the victorious one

JESUS WAS THE VICTORIOUS ONE
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
Revelation3:21 21To the one who is victorious, I will
give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I was
victorious and sat down with my Fatheron his throne.
BIBLEHUB RESOURCES
Pulpit Commentary Homiletics
The Saviour, The Soul, And Salvation
Revelation3:20
S. Conway
Behold, I stand at the door, etc. These words, so welt knownand much loved,
howevertheir primary intention may have had regard to a sinful community
like the Church at Laodicea, nevertheless lendthemselves so aptly to the
setting forth of Christ's dealing with individual sinful souls, and have been so
often used in this way, that once more we employ them for the like purpose.
They supply three vivid pictures.
I. OF OUR SAVIOR "Behold, I stand," etc.;and they revealhim to us in all
his grace, he is represented:

1. As in constantnearness to the soul. He stands at the door. He does not come
for once and then depart, but there he continues.
2. And he knocks at the door: not merely stands there. The soul is like a great
palace that has many doors. And Christ knocks sometimesatthe one door
and sometimes at another. There is:
(1) The door of the intellect. To this he comes with the evidence of the
reasonableness ofhis faith and claims.
(2) Of the conscience. To this he shows the goodness andrighteousness ofthat
which he asks;how he ought to be obeyed.
(3) Of love. He wakes up, or seeksto wake up, the spirit of gratitude in
response to all he is and has done for the soul.
(4) Of fear. The alarm of the awakenedconscience, the fearful looking for of
judgment, are the means he uses.
(5) Of hope. The blessedprospectof eternalpeace and purity and joy.
3. And he knocks in many ways.
(1) Sometimes by his Word. As it is quietly read in the sacredScriptures, some
text will arrest and arouse the soul. Or, as it is faithfully, lovingly, and
earnestlypreached: how often he knocks in this way! And
(2) sometimes by his providence. Sickness;bereavement;loss of wealth, or
friends, or other earthly good;disaster;the approachof pestilence;nearness
of death; trouble of mind, body, or estate;- all are the Lord's knockings. And
(3) sometimes by his Spirit. These more often than any. "The Spirit... says,
Come."
4. And we know that he does this. Have we not been conscious ofhis appeals
againand again?
5. See whatall this reveals ofhim.
(1) His infinite patience. How long he has waitedfor some of us, year after
year, and is not weariedyet!

(2) His gracious condescension. Thathe, our Lord and Saviour, should thus
deal with us.
(3) And, above all, what infinite love! Behold, then, this portrait of our all-
gracious Saviourand Lord, and let it draw your hearts to him as it should.
II. OF THE SOUL - the soulof eachone of us. Our text shows the soul:
1. As the objectof Christ's anxious concern, He would not else be thus
standing and knocking at the door of our hearts. And the reasonis that he
knows:
(1) The soul's infinite value and preciousness. He knows its high capacities -
that it can love and worship, resemble, and rejoice in God.
(2) Its terrible peril. Were it not so, there would not be need for such anxious
concern. It is in peril of losing eternallife and of incurring eternal death. It is
nigh unto perishing - a lost sheep, a lost piece of silver, a lost child.
2. As exercising its fearful Tower. Refusing Christ, keeping him outside the
soul. Many other guests are admitted freely, but not Christ.
(1) The soul has this power of refusal. None other has. Not the stars of heaven,
not the mighty sea, not the raging winds, not the devouring fire. All these
obey. But the soul can refuse.
(2) And here it is exercising this power. That Christ is kept outside the soul is
the testimony of:
(a) Scripture. Texts innumerable tell of the estrangementof the human heart
from God.
(b) Conscience.Doesnot the ungodly man know that Christ does not dwell
within him, that he has no room for him - howeverit may be with other guests
- in his soul? And the strange, sadreluctancy to speak for Christ to others
shows how partial is his possessionofeven Christian souls.
(c) Facts. See whatmen are and say and do; mark their conduct, their
conversation, their character;examine the maxims, principles, and motives
which regulate them, and see if Christ be in all or any of them. And this, not

only in men brought up in ungodliness, but often in those trained in pious
homes, and from whom you would have expectedbetter things.
(3) And this is the soul's own doing. It voluntarily excludes Christ. When his
appeal is heard, and very often it is, men divert their thoughts, distract them
with other themes; or deaden their convictions, by plunging into pleasure,
business, sin; or delay obedience, procrastinating and putting off that which
they ought promptly to perform. Ah, what guilt! Ah, what folly!
(4) And this is the sin "againstthe Holy Ghost, which hath never forgiveness."
Not any one definite act, but this persistentexclusionof Christ. The. knocking
of the Lord is heard more and more faintly, until at length, although it goes
on, it is not heard at all. The sin has been committed, and the punishment has
begun. But the text contemplates also the happier alternative.
3. The soul claiming its greatestprivilege - opening the door to Christ. He
says, "If any man will open," thereby plainly teaching us that men may and
should, and - blessedbe his Name - some will, open that door.
(1) The soul can do this. It is part of its greatprerogative. It could not say,
"Yes," if it could not say, "No;" but because it cansay, "No," it can also say,
"Yes."
(2) And the opening the door depends upon its saying, "Yes." This is no
contradiction to the truth that the Holy Spirit must open the heart. Both are
essential;neither can be done without. It is a cooperative work, as
consciousnessandScripture alike teach. But the Spirit ever does his part of
the work;it is we only who fail in ours. May we be kept here from!
III. SALVATION. The result of such opening the door is this, and the picture
that is given of it is full of interest.
1. Christ becomes our Guest. "I will sup with him." Now, if we invite any one
to our table, we have to provide the feast. But what have we to setbefore
Christ that he will care for? Ah, what? "All our righteousnesses" - will they
do? Notat all. In this spiritual banquet that which he will most joyfully accept
is ourselves, coming in contrition and trust to restupon his love. "The

sacrifices ofGod," etc. (Psalm51.). Let us bring them; they, but naught else,
will be well pleasing to him. But the scene changes.
2. Christ becomes our ]lost. "He with me." Ah! now what a difference!
"BlestJesus, whatdelicious fare!
How sweetthine entertainments are!" This we shall soonrealize.
(1) There is full, free pardon for every sin.
(2) Next, the assurance ofhis love, that he has acceptedus.
(3) Powerto become like him - renewing, regenerating grace.
(4) His peace, so that in all trial and sorrow we may "rest in the Lord."
(5) Powerto bless others, so that they shall be the better for having to do with
us.
(6) Bright hope, blessedoutlook to the eternal inheritance.
(7) And at last, in due time, that inheritance itself.
Such are some of the chief elements of that banquet at which Christ is the
Host; and all the while there is sweet, blessedintercourse, hallowed
communion, with himself. He is "knownto us in the breaking of bread."
CONCLUSION. How, then, shall it be? Shall we still keepthe door of our
hearts barred againsthim? May he forbid! We cando this; alas!some will.
But we can open the door. Do that.
"In the silent midnight watches,
List! thy bosomdoor!
How it knocketh- knockethknocketh-
Knockethevermore!
Say not 'tis thy pulse is beating:
Tis thy heart of sin;

Tis thy Saviour knocks and crieth,
'Rise, and let me in.'
"Deathcomes on with recklessfootsteps,
To the hall and hut;
Think you, Deathwill tarry knocking
Where the door is shut?
Jesus waiteth- waiteth - waiteth
But the door is fast;
Grieved, awaythy Saviour goeth:
Deathbreaks in at last.
"Then 'tis time to stand entreating
Christ to let thee in;
At the gate of heaven beating,
Waiting for thy sin.
Nay - alas!thou guilty creature;
Hast thou then forgot?
Jesus waitedlong to know thee,
Now he knows thee not." S.C.

Biblical Illustrator
To him that overcomethwill I grant to sit with Me. &&&
Revelation3:21
The Christian raised to the throne of Christ
W. Arthur, M. A.
I. "TO HIM THAT OVERCOMETH";THIS SUPPOSESA CONFLICT.
1. You must contend againstyourself. The main battle is fought on the field of
your own heart. Your closestfoes are the affections which struggle there.
2. Allied with your heart and habits stands the world. God has so mercifully
made us that we hail as a light upon our path the beam of kindliness in the eye
of a fellow man. Even this will be turned againstyou.
3. But self and the world are but visible weapons ofan invisible hand. Behind
them, setting their edge and thrusting them home, is your greatadversarythe
devil. Watchful when you are drowsy, plotting when you are unsuspicious,
laying snares when you are tripping heedlessly, bending the bow when you are
exposing your breast, he is ever going about seeking to devour.
II. HERE WE HAVE A PROMISE TO STIMULATE US TO OVERCOME.
1. Whateverthis promise means, it must mean at leastthat the faithful
Christian will be received into the immediate presence ofhis Lord. And this is
a thought you must set well before you.

2. But as you linger on these words of promise your heart feels that they tell of
more than merely of the abundant entrance. "I will grant to sit with Me in My
throne." Ah I this seems, you think, to saythat you shall be wondrously close
to Him.
3. This seems to declare also that, if faithful, you shall share at last in the very
honours which Invest your adorable Head.
4. But, lingering still on this rich promise, your heart gathers from it another
assurance, andone that to us in our struggles is wondrous sweet. "InHis
throne," you repeat, "in His throne," what foe can approachme there? In this
wide world I can find no inviolable rest. But "on His throne," surely eternal
repose dwells there.
III. HERE YOU HAVE THE EXAMPLE SET BEFOREYOU FOR YOUR
ENCOURAGEMENT.
1. Your Captain does not lead you to a warfare in which He is a stranger. You
will meet no foe whom He has not met.
2. Consider, then, the example of Him who passedthrough every kind of
temptation which can assailyou, and in a degree ofaggravationto which it is
not possible that you should be liable. His victory is the pledge of yours, for
His strength is your strength, and your only foes are His vanquished
assailants.
(W. Arthur, M. A.)
The condition of celestialkingship
T. McCullagh, D. D.
This is the promise of the ascended, victorious, crowned, and almighty
Saviour to men whom He would have imitate and reproduce the life which He
lived while upon the earth. This promise implies that life is a struggle with
foes which assailit for the mastery. This truth has its illustrations in all forms
and spheres of life. Many fail where one succeeds.The higher you rise in any

sphere in life the smaller do the classes become. There are more Canadian
thistles than Yosemite pines. There are more ants than eagles.There are more
men who canread and write than can weighthe planets in scales andcall
them by name, paint a Madonna, build a Parthenon, write an epic. So there
are more men who succeedin temporal pursuits than attain grand Christian
characters andlive a Christlike life. The first greattruth implied in our text
is, if men would live that higher life which is governed by the principles of the
gospeland in the eternal world sit down with their Lord and Masteron His
throne, they must resistthe temptations which assailthem, vanquish the foes
which would destroy them. The dangers which beseteachone in this life-
battle are special. The rock on which your neighbour struck, the reef on which
your friend lies stranded, may not imperil your safety because youare
steering in another direction. There are men whose integrity money could not
buy, in whose keeping the uncounted millions of the mints and treasury of the
nations would be safe. But there are others who are ready at any moment to
part with reputation, character, aye, selltheir very souls for its possession.
Take spirituous liquor. There are some to whom in any form it is as distasteful
as vitriol, as poisonous as crotonoil. There are others — God pity them! — in
whom the appetite is so fierce, powerful, overmastering, that if they saw a
glass ofrum on one side of the mouth of hell, and they stoodon the other side,
they would leap across, atthe risk of falling in, to getit. There are two things
which differentiate and specialise eachhuman being's danger. The first is
natural constitution. No one denies the law of heredity, that physical
resemblances, mentalaptitudes, and moral qualities are transmissible, and
sometimes travel down family and national lines for centuries. But while a
man may inherit tainted blood and receive a legacyof disabilities from his
progenitors, it does not relieve him from personalresponsibility. What are the
weak points in your character? In the presence ofwhat temptations do you
most easilysurrender? Along what lines does your constitutional
predisposition to wrongdoing lie? As you confront these weaknesses the
command of the greatSaviour of souls is, "Overcome." Onthis your salvation
depends. The secondthing which differentiates and specialiseseachman's
peril is providential circumstances. JohnStuart Mill was carefully trained by
his father in childhood and boyhood in the principles of atheism. Young Mill
had no voice in determining the characterof his childhood instruction. But

did that fact relieve the future philosopher of responsibility in adhering to and
teaching others the principles of atheism? Your greatestperil may lie
wrapped up in some providential event which you had no voice in shaping and
which you must meet. It may be money. It may be family alliances. It may be
socialrelationships. It may be a business crisis — such a business crisis as
sometimes reveals the whole moral mechanism of the man. I know not
whether your inherited qualities of mind and moral aptitudes are helps or
hindrances to you in life's battle. I do not know the revealing tests to which a
searching Providence may subject you. But I do know that specialdangers lie
along your pathway and menace your eternal well-being; dangers which you
must conquer if you would enter yonder pearly gate and sit down with your
Lord on His throne. The text affords glorious encouragementin the blessed
assurance thatit is possible for men in this life-battle to overcome. The success
possible in the text rests on surer foundations than human resources or
individual reserve power. It rests on the truthfulness and sincerity of Jesus.
He does not mock men by laying down impossible conditions of salvation.
That God is on the side of the man who is struggling to preserve his purity,
maintain his integrity, and vanquish what is wrong both within him and
without him, is a truth taught with increasing clearnessfrom Eden to Calvary.
Observe the greatnessand grandeur of the reward of him who overcomes:
"To him that overcomethwill I grant to sit with Me in My throne." Can you
conceive ofa greaterincentive to be offered man than this promise of eternal
participation in the regalsplendours of heaven? Turning to the practical
suggestionsofthis subject, notice that religionis a personalmatter which has
to do with individual character. Eachone must overcome the obstacles which
lie in his pathway. Yea cannever understand how much Christ is to men until
you realise your danger, feelyour helplessness,and experience His saving
power. You can never appreciate the towering sublimity of His peerless life
until you attempt to walk in His footsteps and regulate your life by the same
principles which controlled His life. The essenceofthe Christian religion is
life, life shaped and controlled by supreme love to God and love for fellow-
men equal to the love cherishedfor self.
(T. McCullagh, D. D.)

The conqueror's reward
American National Preacher.
I. THE CHARACTER OF THE CHRISTIAN. It is that of a soldier — a
successfulsoldier. His life is a warfare. It was such unquestionably in the days
of the apostles. And what is the case now? The antipathy of the carnal mind
may be restrained or softenedby the influence of knowledge andthe force of
conviction, but the factis still patent that we must take up our cross if we will
win the crown. Our enemies within, whatever they may be without, am
neither few nor weak. And to subvert our eternalsalvation is the one thing in
which they are all united. We have, therefore, the greatestneedof caution and
courage. One thing must be ever borne in mind, namely, our constant
dependence upon God. As long as we abide beneath the wing of Omnipotence
we are secure.
II. THE REWARD WHICH SHALL BE ADJUDGED TO THE
SUCCESSFULWARRIOR. He shall sit down with the Saviouron His throne.
1. The promise may be understood to shadow forth the future dignity of the
conquering Christian. He shalt sit down with his Lord, and on the same
throne. The faithful unto death shall thus be exalted above the angels of God.
2. The imagery in the promise is intended to indicate the future holiness of the
saints. Wherever Godis there is purity itself.
3. The promise before us is expressive of the future happiness of believers.
There we shall behold a skywithout a cloud, light without shadow, and
flowers without a thorn.
(American NationalPreacher.)
The victory and the crown
H. Bonar, D. D.
I. THE BATTLE. Common life in this world is a warfare.

1. It is inner warfare, private, solitary, with no eye upon the warrior.
2. It is outer warfare. The enemies are legion.
3. It is daily warfare;not one great battle, but a multitude of battles. The
enemy wearies not, ceasesnot, nor must we.
4. It is warfare not fought with human arms.
5. It is warfare in which we are sharers with Christ.
II. THE VICTORY. Here it is spokenof as one greatfinal victory, but in
reality it is a multitude. As are the battles so are the victories.
III. THE REWARD.
1. A throne. Not salvationmerely, or life, but higher than these — glory,
honour, dominion, and power. From being the lowesthere they are made the
highest hereafter.
2. Christ's throne. He has a seaton the Father's throne as the reward of His
victory, we have a seaton His as the reward of ours. We are sharers or
"partakers with Christ" in all things. We share His battles, His victories, His
rewards, His cross, and His crown.
(H. Bonar, D. D.)
The greatvictory
I. A LIFE OF CHRISTIAN HOLINESS IS POSSIBLE.
II. IT IS NOT TO BE SUSTAINED WITHOUT VIGOROUS AND
PERSEVERING EFFORTS.
1. The natural inaptitude and aversionof the unrenewedheart to the things of
God and eternallife.
2. The world is againstus.
3. The life of man is often the scene ofdistress.

III. THE ENCOURAGEMENTSTO A HOLY AND CHRISTIAN LIFE held
out to us in the religion of Jesus are manifold and great.
1. In this arduous undertaking we are not left without assistance.
2. Multitudes of our fellow-men have already accomplishedsalvation, and are
for everwith the Lord.
3. Whateverof warfare and pain may attend the Christian life they who
maintain it are already the happiest of men.
4. Viewedaright it is matter of encouragementthat the strife will soonbe
over.
5. What a vast reward awaits the faithful. (James Bromley.)
The Christian conqueror
Abp. Benson.
The word used here for "conqueror" does not imply one who has conquered.
It is literally, "He that is conquering I will give to him to sit with Me." While
the battle is raging he shall have My peace, while he is but starting he shall be
at the goal — as the boy has his prizes and his scholarships not because he is a
finished scholarbut because he is longing and learning to be one. And as this
continues all through life to be the law of life, so in the kingdom that is coming
effort is victory and victory is only encouragement.
(Abp. Benson.)
Overcoming
W. Martin.
"To him that overcometh." There is a tendency very common which these
words may be takento warn us against — that of settling down to the daily
round of our lives without appeal to anything high or holy in purpose. Do not

listen for a moment to those who tell you that the struggle is not worth
engaging in. "To him that overcometh." Menhave tried different ways to
accomplishthis. A favourite way in the history of the early Christian Church
was to withdraw actually from the world, to seek the solitude of some cave or
monastery. Others who would think it very wrong to do this, spend the
greaterpart of their leisure in attending religious meetings and reading their
Bibles, and tell you that the chief end of man in this world is by these methods
to prepare for the next. Both of these attempts to overcome the world are
basedon a misconception. The text says to us that we are to overcome the
world even as I (JESUS)overcame. Now in what way did our Saviour
overcome the world? Notafter the manner of the religious ascetic.His life was
in the main lived among ordinary men and womenin the ordinary vocations
of life. If the life of Jesus had been that of a hermit or a monk, He would never
have been calleda friend of publicans and sinners. If, again, He had been a
constantattendant at religious meetings, noonday, and evening, or had
divided His life betweenkeenness forthis world's successin money-making
and eagerness forthe salvation of His soul for the next, He would never have
been put to death. No, it was because He was so zealous to overcome the world
— the world of religious selfishness andof worldly selfishness alike — it was
because He was devoting Himself amid the ordinary pursuits of life to bring
about the kingdom of God. It is, of course, not to be forgottenthat there are
means, such as the reading of the Bible, attendance on public worship, prayer,
and fellowshipwith those who are like. minded, which, if rightly used, will
help us for the battle we have to fight. It is by forgetting that these are only
means that men become hypocrites, and the form of religion becomes the all
in all. When we realise what Christ meant by "the world" and what He meant
by the kingdom of God, we will take a more enlightened view of what our duty
is, and we will strive more eagerlyto achieve the victory. Think of how many
men and womenare hindered from overcoming the world — that is, sin in all
its forms — by the conditions under which they are made by a selfishsociety
to live. How canmen and women hope to realise the Christlike life if they are
forcedto toil from morning to night, and then to sleepin badly ventilated
houses, only to rise againto the same round of unrelieved drudgery? Those
who to-day are endeavouring to bring about a better state of affairs, who are
trying to realise to some small degree that part of the kingdom of God which

consists in better houses and more healthful surroundings for the toilers in
our midst are doing quite as much to enable men to overcome the world — the
world of vice, of drunkenness, of coarseness — as those who attend to what
are consideredmore strictly the needs of the soul. There is another idea in the
text: "To him that overcometh." That is the battle. The reward follows: "I
will give him to sit down with Me in My throne." It was because Christ had so
completely overcome — had so unreservedly rendered up His own will to the
will of His Heavenly Father — that we find such a royal, kingly sense of self-
conquestpervading His entire life. Jesus Christ could not have brought so
much of the kingdom of Godinto this world, He could not have foreseenwith
so much confidence a time when it would be universally established, had He
not had it reigning within Himself. Throughout His life there was an air of
kingly majesty that makes Him as secure as if He sat and reignedupon a
throne, while all around Him seemedto indicate defeatand disaster. Whence
did this come but from His oneness with the Father? Whence can we hope to
receive it but from the same high, never-failing source?
(W. Martin.)
A commonwealthof kings
J. Spencer.
When Cyneas, the ambassadorof Pyrrhus, after his return from Rome, was
askedby his master, "Whathe thought of the city and state," he answered,
"that it seemedto him to be a state of none but greatstates. men, and a
commonwealthof kings." Such is heaven — no other than a parliament of
emperors, a commonwealthof kings: every humble faithful soul in that
kingdom is co-heir with Christ, hath a robe of honour, and a sceptre of power,
and a throne of majesty, and a crownof glory.
(J. Spencer.)
The future dominion of victors

Sunday SchoolChronicle.
"So you intend to be a reformer of men's morals, young man," said an aged
peer to Wilberforce. "That," and he pointed to a picture of the crucifixion,
"that is the end of reformers." "Is it? I have read in an old Book this, 'I am
He that liveth, and was dead; and behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and
have the keys of hell and of death.' That is the end, not death, but dominion.
And if we be faithful, doing our duty, the end shall not be exhaustion, but 'sit
with Me on My throne.'"
(Sunday SchoolChronicle.)
The Christian promise of empire
George Matheson, D. D.
"To him that overcomethwill I grant to sit with Me on My throne." These
words bear the stamp of their environment. They were written at a time when
the ideal of all men was the possessionofa throne. Alike to the Romanand to
the Jew the dream of life was the dream of dominion. The son of Israel
contemplated his Messiahwho should make him ruler over all nations. The
son of Rome was eagerto complete his almost finished work of universal
empire. But from another point of view it was in striking contrastto both.
Who were the men that claimed to be the recipients of this promise? A baud
of obscure slaves. To the proud Romanleading his armies to victory, to the
proud Jew counting his ancestors by hundreds, there must have been
something almostgrotesque in the claim. Must it not to the age in which they
lived have appearedthe presumption of insanity? Nor is it only to a Roman
age that the claim of this passageseems to suggestthe idea of presumption.
Must it not appear so at all times to every man? The throne, as I have said, is
a throne of judgment. How can any human soul aspire to such a seat? Is not
the state of the Christian one of humility? Does not the amount of the humility
increase in proportion as the Christianity grows? Have not the most purely
spiritual souls been preciselythose most consciousoftheir sin? It is in the
incipient stages ofthe Christian life that we find ambition. But let us look

deeper. I think we shall find that we have altogethermistakenthe meaning of
the passage,and that the John of the Apocalypse is nowhere more like the
John of the Gospelthan in his present claim to Christian empire. So far from
being influenced by the old feeling of presumption, he is actuatedby the direct
desire to avoid that feeling. His position is that, instead of being presumption
to claim a seaton God's judgment throne, it is presumption that prevents the
Church of Laodicea from having a right to claim it. If that Church would
adopt more humility, it would be more entitled to a place on the throne.
"Thou sayest, I am rich, and increasedwith goods, and have need of nothing;
and knowestnotthat thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind,
and naked." What is the state of mind here indicated? It is poverty
unconscious ofitself. It is the description of a Church which has no elements
of strength within it, but which believes itself to be strong just because it has
never been tried. Accordingly in verse 18 He says, "I counselthee to buy of
Me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayestbe rich." Nothing could revealthe
weakness but exposure to the fire And first, let us considerthat, as a matter of
fact, every man has seatedhimself on a throne of judgment. The difference
betweenthe Christian and the non-Christian is not the occupationof a throne.
It is that the occupationof the one is legal, and the occupationof the other
usurped. Every man by nature has constituted himself the judge of other men.
But to all such the seerof Patmos exclaims, "Come down from that throne;
you have no right to be there; you have not overcome."He tells them that
until they have felt the temptations of their own nature they are in no
condition to judge others. Now, the next question is, what would be the effect
of what is here called overcoming — of vanquishing the temptation? It would
clearly be to transform a throne of judgment into a throne of grace. For, be it
observed, the value of overcoming is not the victory but the struggle. There
are two ways in which a man may reachfreedom from temptation — by
innocence or by virtue, by never having knownor by having knownand
vanquished. If mere freedom from temptation were the goal, we ought to be
content with the first. What makes the overcoming better than the innocence
is the factthat in struggle we learn our weakness, and that in learning our
weakness the throne of judgment becomes a throne of mercy. And now the
passagetakesa remarkable turn. To the inspired earof the seerof Patmos the
Christ who offers the conditions of empire is heard declaring that He Himself

has reachedempire by conforming to these conditions, "even as I also
overcame and am setdown with My Father on His throne." There is
something startling here. There seems atfirst sight to be no analogybetween
the case ofChrist and the case of ordinary men. Now, Jesus was tempted; that
is one of the cardinal features of the gospel. He was tempted in such a way as
to make Him feel the inherent weaknessofhumanity; that is one of the
cardinal features of the Epistle to the Hebrews. But He was tempted also
"without sin." The idea clearly is that His right to judge others rests morally
on the fact of His ownstruggle the struggle with the thought of death. In His
dealings with man He acknowledgesno power but the sympathetic. And what
is the root of universal sympathy? Is it not universal experience? If I would
have sympathy with all nations, I must know experimentally the weakness
with which all nations contend. Jesus emerges fromthe conflict with death
wider in His human capabilities, strongerin His hold on man. He is able to
promise rest to the labouring and the heavy-laden because He has knowna
kindred labour and felt an analogous ladenness.He has made the law of the
Christian life the law of His own spirit: "I also have overcome, andam set
down with My Fatheron His throne."
(George Matheson, D. D.)
COMMENTARIES
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
(21) To him that overcometh... .—He will share Christ’s throne as Christ
shared His Father’s throne. Here are two thrones mentioned. My throne, saith
Christ: this is the condition of glorified saints who sit with Christ in His
throne. “But My Father’s (i.e., God’s) throne is the power of divine majesty.”
Herein none may sit but God, and the God-man Jesus Christ. The promise of
sharing the throne is the climax of an ascending series ofglorious promises,
which carry the thought from the Garden of Eden (Revelation2:7) through

the wilderness (Revelation2:17), the temple (Revelation 3:12), to the throne.
The promise bears marked resemblance to the language ofSt. Paul to the
Ephesians (Ephesians 2:6). This crowning promise is made to the most
unpleasing of the churches. But it is well that thus the despondencywhich
often succeeds the sudden collapse ofself-satisfiedimaginations should be met
by so bright a prospect. Though their religion has been proved an empty
thing, there is a hope which may welldrive away despair. “The highest place
is within the reachof the lowest;the faintestspark of grace may be fanned
into the mightiest flame of divine love.”
MacLaren's Expositions
Revelation
VII. - THE VICTOR’S SOVEREIGNTY
Revelation3:21.
The Church at Laodicea touchedthe lowestpoint of Christian character. It
had no heresies, but that was not because it clung to the truth, but because it
had not life enough to breed even them. It had no conspicuous vices, like some
of the other communities. But it had what was more fatal than many vices - a
low temperature of religious life and feeling, and a high notion of itself. Put
these two things together - they generallygo together - and you get the most
fatal condition for a Church. It is the condition of a large part of the so-called
‘Christian world’ to-day, as that very name unconsciouslyconfesses;for
‘world’ is the substantive, and ‘Christian’ only the adjective, and there is a
greatdeal more ‘world’ than ‘Christian’ in many so-called‘Churches.’

Such a Church needed, and received, the sharpest rebuke. A severe disease
requires drastic treatment. But the same necessitywhich drew forth the sharp
rebuke drew forth also the loftiest of the promises. If the condition of
Laodicea was so bad, the struggle to overcome became proportionately
greater, and, consequently, the rewardthe larger. The leastworthy may rise
to the highest position. It was not to the victors over persecutionat Smyrna, or
over heresies atThyatira, nor even to the blameless Church of Philadelphia,
but it was to the faithful in Laodicea, who had kept the fire of their own
devotion well alight amidst the tepid Christianity round them, that this climax
of all the sevenpromises is given.
In all the others Jesus Christstands as the bestowerofthe gift. Here He
stands, not only as the bestower, but as Himself participating in that which He
bestows. The words beggarall exposition, and I have shrunk from taking
them as my text. We seemto see in them, as if looking into some sun with
dazzled eyes, radiant forms moving amidst the brightness, and in the midst of
them one like unto the Son of man. But if my words only dilute and weaken
this greatpromise, they may still help to keepit before your own minds for a
few moments. So I ask you to look with me at the two great things that are
bracketedtogetherin our text; only I venture to reverse the order of
consideration, and think of -
I. The Commander-in-Chiefs conquestand royal repose.
‘I also overcame, and am set down with My Fatherin His throne.’ It seems to
me that, wonderful as are all the words of my text, perhaps the most
wonderful of them all are those by which the two halves of the promise are
held together- ‘Even as I also.’The Captain of the host takes His place in the
ranks, and, if I may so say, shoulders His musket like the poorestprivate.
Christ sets Himself before us as pattern of the struggle, and as pledge of the
victory and reward. Now let me saya word about eachof the two halves of

this greatthought of our Lord’s identification of Himself with us in our fight,
and identification of us with Him in His victory.
As to the former, I would desire to emphasize, with all the strength that I can,
the point of view from which Jesus Christ Himself, in these final words from
the heavens, directedto all the Churches, looks hack upon His earthly career,
and bids us think of it as a true conflict. You remember how, in the sanctities
of the upper room, and ere yet the supreme moment of the crucifixion had
come, our Lord said, when within a day of the Cross and an hour of
Gethsemane, ‘I have overcome the world.’ This is an echo of that never-to be-
forgottenutterance that the agedApostle had heard when leaning on his
Master’s bosomin the seclusionand silence ofthat sacredupper chamber.
Only here our Lord, looking back upon the victory, gathers it all up into one
as a past thing, and says, ‘I overcame,’in those old days long ago.
Brethren, the orthodox Christian is tempted to think of Jesus Christ in such a
fashion as to reduce His conflicton earth to a mere sham fight. Let no
supposedtheologicalnecessitiesinduce you to weakendownin your thoughts
of Him what He Himself has told us - that He, too, struggled, and that He, too,
overcame. Thattemptation in the wilderness, where the necessitiesofthe flesh
and the desires of the spirit were utilized by the Tempter as weapons with
which His unmoved obedience and submission were assailed, wasrepeated
over and over againall through His earthly life. We believe - at leastI believe
- that Jesus Christwas in nature sinless, and that temptation found nothing in
Him on which it could lay hold, no fuel or combustible material to which it
could set light. But, notwithstanding, inasmuch as He became partakerof
flesh and blood, and enteredinto the limitations of humanity, His sinlessness
did not involve His incapacityfor being tempted, nor did it involve that His
righteousness was notassailed, norHis submission often tried. We believe - or
at leastI believe - that He ‘did no sin, neither was guile found in His mouth.’
But I also reverently listen to Him unveiling, so far as may need to be
unveiled, the depths of His own nature and experience, and I rejoice to think

that He fought the good fight, and Himself was a soldierin the army of which
He is the General. He is the Captain, the Leader, of the long processionof
heroes of the faith; and He is the ‘perfecter’of it, inasmuch as His ownfaith
was complete and unbroken.
But I may remind you, too, that from this greatword of condescending self-
revelation and identification, we may well learn what a victorious life really is.
‘I overcame’;but from the world’s point of view He was utterly beaten. He
did not gather in many who would listen to Him or care for His words. He was
misunderstood, rejected;lived a life of poverty; died when a young man, a
violent death; was hunted by all the Church dignitaries of His generationas a
blasphemer, spit upon by soldiers, and execratedafter His death. And that is
victory, is it? Well, then, we shall have to revise our estimates ofwhat is a
conquering career. If He, the pauper-martyr, if He, the misunderstood
enthusiast, if He conquered, then some of our notions of a victorious life are
very far astray.
Nor need I saya word, I suppose, about the completeness, as wellas the
reality, of that victory of His. From heavenHe claims in this great word just
what He claimedon earth, over and over again, when He fronted His enemies
with, Which of you convinceth Me of sin? ‘and when He declaredin the
sanctities of His confidence with His friends, ‘I do always the things that
please Him.’ The rest of us partially overcome, and partially are defeated. He
alone bears His shield out of the conflict undinted and unstained. To do the
will of God, to dwell in continual communion with the Father, never to be
hindered by anything that the world canpresent or my sins cansuggest,
whether of delightsome or dreadful, from doing the will of the Father in
heaven from the heart - that is victory, and all else is defeat. And that is what
the Captain of our salvation, and only He, did.

Turn for a moment now to the other side of our Lord’s gracious identification
of Himself with us. ‘Even as I also am setdown with My Father in His
throne.’ That points back, as the Greek originalshows evenmore distinctly, to
the historicalfact of the Ascension. It recalls the greatwords by which, with
full consciousness ofwhat He was doing, Jesus Christ sealedHis own death-
warrant in the presence ofthe Sanhedrim when He said: ‘Henceforth ye shall
see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power.’It carries us still
further back to the psalm which our Lord Himself quoted, and thereby
stopped the mouths of Scribes and Pharisees:‘The Lord said unto My Lord,
sit Thou at My right hand till I make Thine enemies Thy footstool.’He laid
His hand upon that greatpromise, and claimed that it was to be fulfilled in
His case. And here, stooping from amidst the blaze of the central royalty of
the Universe, He confirms all that He had saidbefore, and declares that He
shares the Throne of God.
Now, of course, the words are intensely figurative and have to be translatedas
best we can, even though it may seemto weakenand dilute them, into less
concrete and sensible forms than the figurative representation. But I think we
shall not be mistakenif we assertthat, whateverlies in this greatstatementfar
beyond our conceptionin the present, there lie in it three things - repose,
royalty, communion of the most intimate kind with the Father.
There is repose. You remember how the first martyr saw the openedheavens
and the ascendedChrist, in that very hall, probably, in which Christ had said,
‘Henceforth ye shall see the Sonof man sitting at the right hand of power.’
But Stephen, as he declared, with rapt face smitten by the light into the
likeness ofan angel’s, saw Him standing at the right hand. We have to
combine these two images, incongruous as they are in prose, literally, before
we reach the conceptionof the essentialcharacteristic ofthat royal restof
Christ’s. Forit is a repose that is full of activity. ‘My Father worketh
hitherto,’ said He on earth, ‘and I work.’And that is true with regard to His
unseen and heavenly life. The verses which are appended to the close of

Mark’s gospeldraw a picture for us - ‘They went everywhere preaching the
Word ‘: He satat ‘the right hand of God.’ The two halves do not fuse
together. The Commander is in repose;the soldiers are bearing the brunt of
the fight. Yes! but then there comes the word which links the two halves
together. ‘They went everywhere preaching, the Lord also working with
them.’
Christ’s repose indicates, not merely the cessationfrom, but much rather the
completion of. His work on earth, which culminated on the Cross;which work
on earth is the basis of the still mightier work which He is doing’ in the
heavens. So the Apostle Paul sets up a greatladder, so to speak, which our
faith climbs by successive stages, whenhe says, ‘He that died - yea, rather that
is risen again- who is even at the right hand of God- who also maketh
intercessionfor us.’ His repose is full of beneficent activity for all that love
Him.
Again, there is set forth royalty, participation in Divine dominion. The highly
metaphoricallanguage of our text, and of parallel verses elsewhere, presents
this truth in two forms. Sometimes we read of ‘sitting at the right hand of
God’; sometimes, as here, we read of ‘sitting on the throne.’ The ‘right hand
of God’ is everywhere. It is not a localdesignation. ‘The right hand of the
Lord’ is the instrument of His omnipotence, and to speak ofChrist as sitting
on the right hand of God is simply to castinto symbolical words the great
thought that He wields the forces of Divinity. When we read of Him as
enthroned on the Throne of God, we have, in like manner, to translate the
figure into this overwhelming and yet most certain truth, that the Man Christ
Jesus is exalted to supreme, universal dominion, and that all the forces of
omnipotent Divinity rest in the hands that still bear, for faith, the prints of the
nails.

But againthat sessionof Christ with the Fathersuggests the thought, about
which it becomes us not to speak, ofa communion with the Father - deep,
intimate, unbroken, beyond all that we can conceive orspeak. We listen to
Him when He says, ‘Glorify Thou Me with the glory which I had with Thee
before the world was.’We bow before the thought that what He askedin that
prayer was the lifting of one of ourselves, the humanity of Jesus, into this
inseparable unity with the very glory of God. And then we catchthe wondrous
words: ‘Even as I also.’
II. That brings me to the secondof the thoughts here, which may be more
briefly disposedof after the preceding exposition, and that is, the private
soldier’s share in the Captain’s victory and rest. ‘I will grant to sit with Me in
My throne, even as I also.’
Now with regard to the former of these, our share in Christ’s triumph and
conquest, I only wish to say one thing, and it is this. I thankfully recognize
that to many who do not share with me in what I believe to be the teaching of
Scripture, viz., the belief that Christ was more than example, their partial
belief, as I think it, in Him as the realized ideal, the living Patternof how men
ought to live, has given strength for far nobler and purer life than could
otherwise have been reached. But, brethren, it seems to me that we want a
greatdeal more than a pattern, a greatdeal closerand more intimate union
with the Conquerorthan the mere setting forth of the possibility of a perfect
life as realized in Him, ere we canshare in His victory. What does it matter to
me, after all, except for stimulus and for rebuke, that Jesus Christ should
have lived the life? Nothing. But when we canlink the words in the upper
room, ‘I have overcome,’and the words from heaven, ‘Even as I also
overcame,’with the same Apostle’s words in his epistle, ‘This is the victory
that overcomeththe world, even our faith,’ then we share in the Captain’s
victory in an altogetherdifferent manner from that which they do who can see
in Him only a pattern that stimulates and inspires. For if we put our trust in
that Saviour, then the very life which was in Christ Jesus, and which

conquered the world in Him, will pass into us; and the law of the spirit of life
in Christ will make us more than conquerors through Him that loved us.
And then the victory being secured, because Christlives in us and makes us
victorious, our participation in His throne is secure likewise.
There shall be repose, the cessationofeffort, the end of toil. There shall be no
more aching heads, strained muscles, exhaustedbrains, weary hearts,
dragging feet. There will be no more need for resistance. The helmet will be
antiquated, the laurel crown will take its place. The heavy armour, that rusted
the garment over which it was braced, will be laid aside, and the trailing
robes, that will contractno stain from the goldenpavements, will be the attire
of the redeemed. We have all had work enough, and weariness enough, and
battles enough, and beatings enough, to make us thankful for the thought that
we shall sit on the throne.
But if it is a rest like His, and if it is to be the rest of royalty, there will be
plenty of work in it; work of the kind that fits us and is blessed. I know not
what new elevation, or what sort of dominion will be granted to those who,
instead of the faithfulness of the steward, are calledupon to exercise the
activity of the Lord over ten cities. I know not, and I care not; it is enough to
know that we shall sit on His throne.
But do not let us forget the last of the thoughts: ‘They shall sit with Me.’Ah!
there you touch the centre - ‘To depart and to be with Christ, which is far
better’; ‘Absent from the body; presentwith the Lord.’ We know not how.
The lips are lockedthat might, perhaps, have spoken;only this we know, that,
not as a drop of wateris absorbedinto the oceanand loses its individuality,
shall we be united to Christ. There will always be the two, or there would be
no blessedness in the two being one; but as close as is compatible with the

sense ofbeing myself, and of His being Himself, will be our fellowship with
Him. ‘He that is joined to the Lord is one spirit.’
Brethren, this generationwould be a greatdeal the better for thinking more
often of the promises and threatenings of Scripture with regardto the future.
I believe that no small portion of the lukewarmness ofthe modern Laodicea is
owing to the comparative neglectinto which, in these days, the Christian
teachings on that subjecthave fallen. I have tried in these sermons on these
sevenpromises to bring them at leastbefore your thoughts and hearts. And I
beseechyou that you would, more than you have done, ‘have respectunto the
recompense ofreward,’ and let that future blessedness enteras a subsidiary
motive into your Christian life.
We may gatherall these promises together, and even then we have to say, ‘the
half hath not been told us.’ ‘It doth not yet appear what we shall be.’ Symbols
and negations, and these alone, teachus the little that we know about that
future; and when we try to expand and concatenate these, Isuppose that our
conceptions correspondto the reality about as closelyas would the dreams of
a chrysalis as to what it would be when it was a butterfly. But certainty and
clearness are notnecessarilyunited. ‘It doth not yet appear what we shall be,
but we know that when He shall appear we shall be like Him.’ Take ‘evenas I
also’for the key that unlocks all the mysteries of that glorious future. ‘It is
enough for the servant that he be as his Master.’
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary
3:14-22 Laodicea was the last and worstof the sevenchurches of Asia. Here
our Lord Jesus styles himself, The Amen; one steadyand unchangeable in all
his purposes and promises. If religion is worth anything, it is worth every
thing. Christ expects men should be in earnest. How many professors of
gospeldoctrine are neither hot nor cold; except as they are indifferent in
needful matters, and hot and fiery in disputes about things of lessermoment!
A severe punishment is threatened. They would give a false opinion of

Christianity, as if it were an unholy religion; while others would conclude it
could afford no real satisfaction, otherwiseits professors wouldnot have been
heartless in it, or so ready to seek pleasure or happiness from the world. One
cause ofthis indifference and inconsistencyin religion is, self-conceitand self-
delusion; Because thousayest. What a difference betweentheir thoughts of
themselves, and the thoughts Christ had of them! How careful should we be
not to cheatour owns souls!There are many in hell, who once thought
themselves far in the way to heaven. Let us beg of God that we may not be left
to flatter and deceive ourselves. Professorsgrow proud, as they become carnal
and formal. Their state was wretchedin itself. They were poor; really poor,
when they said and thought they were rich. They could not see their state, nor
their way, nor their danger, yet they thought they saw it. They had not the
garment of justification, nor sanctification:they were exposedto sin and
shame; their rags that would defile them. They were naked, without house or
harbour, for they were without God, in whom alone the soul of man can find
rest and safety. Goodcounselwas given by Christ to this sinful people. Happy
those who take his counsel, for all others must perish in their sins. Christ lets
them know where they might have true riches, and how they might have them.
Some things must be parted with, but nothing valuable; and it is only to make
room for receiving true riches. Part with sin and self-confidence, thatyou may
be filled with his hidden treasure. Theymust receive from Christ the white
raiment he purchased and provided for them; his own imputed righteousness
for justification, and the garments of holiness and sanctification. Let them
give themselves up to his word and Spirit, and their eyes shallbe opened to see
their way and their end. Let us examine ourselves by the rule of his word, and
pray earnestlyfor the teaching of his Holy Spirit, to take away our pride,
prejudices, and worldly lusts. Sinners ought to take the rebukes of God's word
and rod, as tokens of his love to their souls. Christ stoodwithout; knocking, by
the dealings of his providence, the warnings and teaching of his word, and the
influences of his Spirit. Christ still graciously, by his word and Spirit, comes
to the door of the hearts of sinners. Those who open to him shall enjoy his
presence. If what he finds would make but a poor feast, what he brings will
supply a rich one. He will give fresh supplies of graces andcomforts. In the
conclusionis a promise to the overcoming believer. Christ himself had
temptations and conflicts;he overcame them all, and was more than a

conqueror. Those made like to Christ in his trials, shall be made like to him in
glory. All is closedwith the generaldemand of attention. And these counsels,
while suited to the churches to which they were addressed, are deeply
interesting to all men.
Barnes'Notes on the Bible
To him that overcometh- See the notes on Revelation2:7.
Will I grant to sit with me in my throne - That is, they will share his honors
and his triumphs. See the notes on Revelation2:26-27;compare the notes on
Romans 8:17.
Even as I also overcame - As I gaineda victory over the world, and over the
powerof the tempter. As the reward of this, he is exaltedto the throne of the
universe Philippians 2:6-11, and in these honors, achievedby their greatand
glorious Head, all the redeemedwill share.
And am set down with my Fatherin his throne - Compare the notes on
Philippians 2:6-11. That is, he has dominion over the universe. All things are
put under his feet, and in the strictestunison and with perfectharmony he is
united with the Father in administering the affairs of all worlds. The
dominion of the Father is that of the Son - that of the Son is that of the Father;
for they are one. See the notes on John 5:19; compare the Ephesians 1:20-22
notes;1 Corinthians 15:24-28 notes.
Jamieson-Fausset-BrownBible Commentary
21. sit with me in my throne—(Re 2:26, 27; 20:6; Mt 19:28;20:23; Joh17:22,
24; 2Ti2:12). The same whom Christ had just before threatened to spue out of
His mouth, is now offered a seatwith Him on His throne! "The highest place
is within reachof the lowest;the faintest spark of grace may be fanned into
the mightiest flame of love" [Trench].
even as I also—Twothrones are here mentioned: (1) His Father's, upon which
He now sits, and has sat since His ascension, afterHis victory over death, sin,
the world; upon this none can sit save God, and the God-man Christ Jesus, for
it is the incommunicable prerogative of God alone; (2) the throne which shall

be peculiarly His as the once humbled and then glorified Son of man, to be set
up over the whole earth (heretofore usurped by Satan)at His coming again;in
this the victorious saints shall share (1Co 6:2). The transfigured electChurch
shall with Christ judge and reign over the nations in the flesh, and Israel the
foremostof them; ministering blessings to them as angels were the Lord's
mediators of blessing and administrators of His government in setting up His
throne in Israelat Sinai. This privilege of our high calling belongs exclusively
to the present time while Satanreigns, when alone there is scope for conflict
and for victory (2Ti 2:11, 12). When Satanshall be bound (Re 20:4), there
shall be no longerscope for it, for all on earth shall know the Lord from the
leastto the greatest. This, the grandestand crowning promise, is placedat the
end of all the sevenaddresses, to gatherall in one. It also forms the link to the
next part of the book, where the Lamb is introduced seatedon His Father's
throne (Re 4:2, 3; 5:5, 6). The Easternthrone is broad, admitting others
besides him who, as chief, occupies the center. Trench notices;The order of
the promises in the sevenepistles corresponds to that of the unfolding of the
kingdom of God its first beginnings on earth to its consummationin heaven.
To the faithful at Ephesus:(1) The tree of life in the Paradise ofGod is
promised (Re 2:7), answering to Ge 2:9. (2) Sin entered the world and death
by sin; but to the faithful at Smyrna it is promised, they shall not be hurt by
the seconddeath(Re 2:11). (3) The promise of the hidden manna (Re 2:17) to
Pergamos brings us to the Mosaic period, the Church in the wilderness. (4)
That to Thyatira, namely, triumph over the nations (Re 2:26, 27), forms the
consummation of the kingdom in prophetic type, the period of David and
Solomoncharacterizedby this powerof the nations. Here there is a division,
the sevenfalling into two groups, four and three, as often, for example, the
Lord's Prayer, three and four. The sceneryof the lastthree passesfrom earth
to heaven, the Church contemplated as triumphant, with its steps from glory
to glory. (5) Christ promises to the believer of Sardis not to blot his name out
of the book of life but to confess him before His Father and the angels at the
judgment-day, and clothe him with a glorified body of dazzling whiteness (Re
3:4, 5). (6) To the faithful at Philadelphia Christ promises they shall be
citizens of the new Jerusalem, fixed as immovable pillars there, where city and
temple are one (Re 3:12); here not only individual salvationis promised to the
believer, as in the case ofSardis, but also privileges in the blessedcommunion

of the Church triumphant. (7) Lastly, to the faithful of Laodicea is given the
crowning promise, not only the two former blessings, but a seatwith Christ on
His throne, even as He has sat with His Father on His Father's throne (Re
3:21).
Matthew Poole's Commentary
To him that overcomethwill I grant to sit with me in my throne; I will give
him greathonour, dignity, and power;he shall judge the world in the day of
judgment, 1 Corinthians 6:3, the twelve, tribes of Israel, Matthew 19:28;he
shall be made partakerof my glory, John 17:22,24.
Even as I also overcame, and am setdown with my Fatherin his throne; but
they must come to my throne as I came to it. I overcame the world, sin, death,
the devil, and then ascended, and satdown with my Father in his throne: so
they that will sit down with me in my throne of glory, must fight the same
fight, and overcome, and then be crowned, sitting with me in my throne.
Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible
To him that overcometh,.... The lukewarmness, andself-confidence, and
security of this state:
will I grant to sit with me in my throne; at the close of this church state, which
will be the lastof this kind, consisting of imperfect saints, Christ will descend
from heaven with the souls of all the righteous, and raise their bodies and
unite them to them; which, with the living saints, will make one general
assemblyand church of the firstborn, all perfect souland body; among these
he will place his tabernacle, and fix his throne; and they being all made kings
as well as priests to him, shall now reign on earth with him, and that for the
space ofa thousand years:and this is the blessing promised the overcomers in
the Laodiceanstate, that when Christ shall setup his kingdom among men,
and reign gloriouslybefore his ancients, they shall sit on the same throne with
him, or share with him in his kingdom and glory; see Revelation5:10,
even as I also overcame;sin, Satan, the world, death, and hell:

and am set down with my Fatherin his throne; in heaven, at his right hand;
which is expressive ofequality to him, distinction from him, communion with
him, and of the honour and glory he is possessedof;but it is not on this throne
that the saints will sit, only Christ sits on the same throne with the Fatherin
heaven; it is on Christ's throne on earth, or in his personal reign there, that
the saints shall sit down with him; and which honour they shall all have, all
that are more than conquerors through him, and are made kings by him. And
when this reign is over, then will follow the secondresurrection, or the
resurrectionof the wicked, when will come on the judgment of the people, as
Laodicea signifies;and when these, with the devils, will form themselves into
the Gog and Magog army, and attack the belovedcity, the church of glorified
saints on earth, under Christ their King, which will issue in the everlasting
destruction of the former; and thus these seven churches bring us to the end
of all things.
Geneva Study Bible
{15} To him that overcomethwill I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I
also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.
(15) The conclusion, consisting ofa promise, as in Re 2:26 and of an
exhortation.
EXEGETICAL(ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)
Meyer's NT Commentary
Revelation3:21-22. Cf. Revelation2:26-27. The νικᾶν embraces the
temptations and perils lying in the peculiar circumstances ofthe
Church,[1635]but is not limited thereto, so that it can correspondto the
Lord’s conflictand victory in suffering.[1636]
The promised reward ΔΏΣΩΑὐΤῷ ΚΑΘΊΣΑΙ, Κ.Τ.Λ., i.e., participation in
Christ’s royal dominion,[1637]is here, just as at the close ofall the epistles, to
be expected as the victory over the world, sin, and death,[1638]only in
eternity, and not in this life, since the ἘΚΆΘΙΣΑ, Κ.Τ.Λ., has occurredto the

Lord through his ascension.[1639]Entirely wrong is Calov.’s distinction
betweenthe throne of God the Father, whereonChrist sits, and the throne of
Christ, whereonthe believer is to sit with him, The throne of Godand of the
Lamb is one;[1640]the glory of the victor is communion with the Fatherand
the Son.[1641]The promise to the victor is here made so strong, not because
the struggle which the Laodiceans hadto maintain againsttheir own
lukewarmness is regardedthe most severe,[1642]but because it is natural and
suitable, that, in the last of the seven epistles, sucha promise should be
expressedas would combine all the others, and designates the highest and
most proper goalof all Christian hope, and the entire Apocalyptic prophecy.
[1635]Revelation3:16 sq.
[1636]Cf. Revelation5:5.
[1637]Cf. Revelation1:9, Revelation22:5; 2 Timothy 2:12.
[1638]Vitr.
[1639]Cf. Hebrews 12:2; Php 2:9.
[1640]Revelation22:1.
[1641]Cf. John 17:22;John 17:24.
[1642]Ebrard.

Expositor's Greek Testament
Revelation3:21. δώσω κ.τ.λ., To share Christ’s royal power and judicial
dignity it a reward proffered in the gospels,but Jesus there (cf. Mark 10:40)
disclaimed this prerogative. God’s throne is Christ’s, as in Revelation22:1.
νικῶν = the moral purity and sensitiveness(cf. Revelation3:18 and on
Revelation2:7) which succeedsin responding to the divine appeal. The
schema of God, Christ, and the individual Christian (cf. on Revelation2:27) is
characteristicallyJohannine (f. John 15:9 f., John 17:19 f., John 20:21),
though here as in Revelation3:20 (contrastJohn 14:23) the eschatological
emphasis makes the parallel one of diction rather than of thought.
The scope and warmth of the promises to Laodicea seemrather out of place in
view of the church’s poor religion, but here as elsewhere the prophet is
writing as much for the churches in generalas for the particular community.
He speaks ταῖς ἐκκλησίαις. This consideration, togetherwith the close
sequence ofthought in Revelation3:19-21 forbids any attempt to delete
Revelation3:20-21 as a later editorial addition (Wellhausen) or to regard
Revelation3:20 (Revelation3:21) as an epilogue to the sevenletters (Vitringa,
Alford, Ramsay)rather than as an integral part of the Laodiceanepistle. Such
a detachment would be a gratuitous breach of symmetry. But, while these
closing sentencesare not a sort of climax which gathers up the menaces of2–
3., Revelation3:21 (with its throne-reference)anticipates the following visions
(Revelation3:4-5.). To the prophet the real value and significance ofChrist’s
life were focussedin his sacrificialdeath and in the rights and privileges which
he securedthereby for those on whose behalf he had suffered and triumphed.
This idea, alreadysuggestedin Revelation1:5-6; Revelation1:17-18, forms
the centraltheme of the next oracle.
The ἐκκλησίαι now pass out of sight till the visions are over. During the latter
it is the ἅγιοι who are usually in evidence, until the collective term πόλις is
employed in the final vision (cf. Revelation3:12). John knows nothing of any
catholic ἐκκλησία. To him the ἐκκλησίαι are so many localcommunities who

share a common faith and expect a common destiny; they are, as Kattenbusch
observes, coloniesofheaven, and heaven is their mother-country. Partly
owing to O.T. associations, partly perhaps on accountof the feeling that an
ἐκκλησία (in the popular Greek senseofthe term) implied a city, John
eschewsthis term. He also ignores the authority of any officials;the religious
situation depends upon the prophets, who are in direct touch with God and
through whom the Spirit of Godcontrols and guides the saints. Their words
are God’s words; they canspeak and write with an authority which enables
them to say, Thus saith the Spirit. Only, while in the contemporary literature
of Christianity the prophetic outlook embraces either the need of organisation
in order to meet the case ofchurches which are scatteredovera wide area and
exposedto the vagaries ofunauthorised leaders (PastoralEpistles and
Ignatius), or contention among the office-bearers themselves (a sure signof
the end, Asc. Isa. iii. 20f.), John’s apocalypse stands severelyapart from either
interest.
NOTE on Revelation1:9 to Revelation3:22. We have no data to show whether
the sevenletters or addresseseverexisted in separate form, or whether they
were written before or after the rest of the visions. All evidence for such
hypotheses consists ofquasi-reasons orprecarious hypotheses basedon some
a priori theory of the book’s composition. The greatprobability is that they
never had any rôle of their own apart from this book, but were written for
their present position. As the Roman emperors addressedletters to the Asiatic
cities or corporations (the inscriptions mention at leastsix to Ephesus, seven
to Pergamos, three to Smyrna, etc.), so Jesus, the true Lord of the Asiatic
churches, is representedas sending communications to them (cf. Deissmann’s
Licht vom Osten, pp. 274 f.). The dicit or λέγει with which the Imperial
messages opencorresponds to the more biblical τάδε λέγει of Revelation2:1,
etc. Eachof the apocalyptic communications follows a fairly generalscheme,
although in the latter four the appealfor attention follows (instead of
preceding) the mystic promise, while the imperative repent occurs only in the
first, third, fifth, and seventh, the other churches receiving praise rather than
censure. This artificial or symmetrical arrangement, which may be tracedin
or read into other details, is as characteristic of the whole apocalypse as is the

style which—when the difference of topic is takeninto account—cannotbe
said to exhibit peculiarities of diction, syntax, or vocabulary sufficient to
justify the relegationof the seven letters to a separate source. Evenif written
by another hand or originally composedas a separate piece, they must have
been workedover so thoroughly by the final editor and fitted so aptly into the
generalscheme of the whole Apocalypse (cf. e.g. Revelation2:7 = Revelation
22:2; Revelation22:14;Revelation22:19; Revelation2:11 = Revelation20:6;
Revelation2:17 = Revelation19:12;Revelation2:26 = Revelation20:4;
Revelation2:28 = Revelation22:16;Revelation3:5 = Revelation7:9;
Revelation7:13; Revelation3:5 = Revelation13:8, Revelation20:15;
Revelation3:12 = Revelation21:10, Revelation22:14;Revelation3:21 =
Revelation4:4; Revelation3:20 = Revelation19:9; etc.), that it is no longer
possible to disentangle them (or their nucleus). The specialtraits in the
conceptionof Christ are mainly due to the fact that the writer is dealing here
almost exclusivelywith the inner relation of Jesus to the churches. They are
seldom, if ever, more realistic or closerto the messianic categories ofthe age
than is elsewhere the case throughout the apocalypse;and if the marjoram of
Judaism or (as we might more correctlysay) of human nature is not wholly
transmuted into the honey of Christian charity—which is scarcelysurprising
under the circumstances—yetthe moral and mental stature of the writer
appears when he is setbeside so powerful a counsellorin some respects as the
later Ignatius. Here John is at his full height. He combines moral discipline
and moral enthusiasm in his injunctions. He sees the central things and urges
them upon the churches, with a singular powerof tenderness and sarcasm,
insight and foresight, vehemence and reproach, undaunted faithfulness in
rebuke and a generous readiness to mark what he thinks are the merits as
well as the failings and perils of the communities. The needs of the latter
appear to have been twofold. One, of which they were fully conscious, was
outward. The other, to which they were not entirely alive, was inward. The
former is met by an assurance that the stress of persecutionin the presentand
in the immediate future was under God’s control, unavoidable and yet
endurable. The latter is met by the answerof discipline and careful
correction;the demand for purity and loyalty in view of secreterrors and
vices is reiterated with a keensagacity. In every case, the motives of fear,
shame, noblesse oblige, and the like, are crownedby an appealto spiritual

ambition and longing, the closing note of eachepistle thus striking the keynote
of what follows throughout the whole Apocalypse. In form, as well as in
content, the sevenletters are the most definitely Christian part of the book.
The scene now changes. Christin authority over his churches, and the
churches with their angels, pass away;a fresh and ampler tableau of the
vision opens (cf. on Revelation1:19), ushering in the future (Revelation6:1 to
Revelation22:5), which—as disclosedby God through Christ (Revelation
1:1)—is prefacedby a solemn exhibition of God’s supremacy and Christ’s
indispensable position in revelation. In Apoc. Bar. xxiv. 2 the seeris told that
on the day of judgment he and his companions are to see “the long-suffering
of the MostHigh which has been throughout all generations, who has been
long-suffering towards all those born that sin and are righteous.” He then
seeks ananswerto the question, “But what will happen to our enemies I know
not, and when Thou wilt visit Thy works (i.e., for judgment)”? This is
preciselythe course of thought (first inner mercies and then outward
judgments) in Revelation2-3, 4 f.; although in the former John sees in this life
already God’s greatpatience towards his people, The prophet is now admitted
to the heavenly conclave where (by an adaptationof the rabbinic notion) God
reveals, or at leastprepares, his purposes before executing them. Chapter 4
and chapter 5 are counterparts; in the former God the Creator, with his
praise from heavenly beings, is the centralfigure: in the latter the interest is
focussedupon Christ the redeemer, with his praise from the human and
natural creationas well. Chapter 5 further leads overinto the first series of
events (the sevenseals, 6–8)whichherald the dénouement. Henceforth Jesus is
representedas the Lamb, acting but never speaking, until in the epilogue
(Revelation22:6-21)the author reverts to the Christologicalstandpoint of 1–3.
Neither this nor any other feature, however, is sufficient to prove that 4–5
representa Jewishsource edited by a Christian; the whole piece is Christian
and homogeneous (Sabatier, Schön, Bousset, Pfleiderer, Wellhausen). Chapter
4 is a preliminary description of the heavenly court: God’s ruddy throne with
a greennimbus being surrounded by a senate of πρεσβύτεροι and mysterious
ζῷα. Seventorches burn before the throne, beside a crystal ocean, while from

it issue flashes and peals accompaniedby a ceaselessliturgy of adorationfrom
the πρεσβύτεροι and the ζῷα, who worship with a rhythmic emotion of awe.
Cambridge Bible for Schools andColleges
21. To him that overcometh]The constructionis as in Revelation2:26,
Revelation3:12, “He that overcometh, I will give him.” For the sense,
compare the former of these passages;but the promise of sharing Christ’s
inheritance (Romans 8:17) is even more fully expressedhere.
as I also overcame]See St John’s Gospel, John 16:33.
with my Fatherin his throne] See Revelation5:6, Revelation7:17. In the
JewishCabbala (of which the oldest parts are ascribedto a date little later
than St John, and perhaps embody still older traditions, though it receivedits
present form quite late in the middle ages)we hear of Metatron, apparently a
Greek word Hebraisedfor “Nextto the Throne,” or perhaps “in the midst of
the Throne,” a sort of mediator betweenGod and the world, who is identified
with the four Living Creatures of Ezekiel’s vision. The Cabbala as it now
exists has more affinity with Gnostic mythology than with scriptural or
Catholic Christianity: but it is deserving of notice, as the outcome of
tendencies in Jewishthought that might have developed, or found their
satisfaction, in the Gospel. St John’s Lamb “in the midst of the Throne” is
perhaps just as far comparable with the Cabbalistic Metatron, as his doctrine
of the personal“Word of God” is with Philo’s. It is hardly wise to ask whether
“My Throne” and “His Throne” are quite identical; for the doctrine that the
faithful stand to Christ in the same relation as He to the Father, see St John’s
Gospel, c. John 17:21-23, and 1 Corinthians 3:23; 1 Corinthians 11:3.
Pulpit Commentary
Verse 21. - To him that overcomethwill I grant to sit with me in my throne,
even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Fatherin his throne. The

climax of the promises made to the sevenChurches (cf. Revelation2:7, 11, 17,
26-28;Revelation3:5, 12). There are two points to be noticed in this promise:
(1) the position promised to the conqueror, "in my throne;"
(2) the two thrones mentioned.
(1) Note the expression, "in my throne" (not ἐπὶ, but ἐν τῷ θρόνῳ), which
occurs nowhere else. The mother of St. James and St. John had requestedfor
them a place on the right hand and the left of our Lord - the highest dignity
which she could conceive. The twelve apostles are promised to sit on twelve
thrones, to judge the tribes of Israel. But Christ offers a yet higher honour,
viz. to sit in his throne; placing us in the closestrelationshipwith himself, and
exalting us to his own glory.
(2) The throne promised is not that which Christ now occupies with his
Father, but his own. Christ is now sitting on his Father's throne, mediating for
his Church on earth, and waiting till his enemies be made his footstool(Psalm
110:1). To that throne there is no admissionfor humanity, though Christ
shares it in virtue of his Godhead. But when his enemies have been made his
footstool, and death, the last enemy, is destroyed (1 Corinthians 15:26), and
the necessityfor his mediation exists no longer, since the Church militant will
have become the Church triumphant, rhea will be erectedChrist's own
throne, which glorified man may share in common with him who was man,
and who has so exaltedhumanity as to render such a condition and such a
position possible.

PRECEPT AUSTIN RESOURCES
Revelation3:21
overcomes
See Who is the Overcomer?
sit with Me
They will sit with Him and share His rule in the same wayHe sits at the right
hand of the Father and shares His rule. See commentary on Revelation2:26
and Revelation2:27.
on My throne
An amazing manifestationof grace. Those who were about to be spewed from
his mouth are invited to sit with Him on His throne.139
The promise . . . is an extension of the promise Christ made to the Twelve
while on earth that they would not only eatand drink with Him in His
kingdom, but also sit upon twelve thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel
(cf. Mat. 19:28;Luke 22:29-30). Paulexpanded the promise to include all
Christians as rulers and the broadeneddomain of the world, not just Israel
(cf. 1Cor. 6:2).140
Jesus clarifies a point which is often confusedtoday: He is not now sitting on
His throne, but is seatedatthe right hand of the Father on the Father’s
throne.
There is a most important dispensationalteaching in this verse. There are
those who think that the Church is the kingdom and that there is to be no
literal kingdom on earth. Here the Lord says that at the present time He is not
upon His own throne.141

Jesus taught that there would be a delay in the coming of His kingdom (Mat.
6:10; Luke 11:2; 19:11-15;Acts 1:6-7). Its arrival is yet future and will be
indicated by signs (Luke 21:31). It occurs afterthe Antichrist has his day
(Dan. 7:11-14‣ , 21-22‣ , 25-27‣ ;Rev. 19:20‣ ), afterthe seventh angelsounds
his trumpet (Rev. 11:15-17‣ ), afterSatanis castdown (Rev. 12:10‣ ), when
Christ returns to judge the sheep and the goats (Mat. 25:31;2Ti. 4:1), in the
regenerationwhen the apostles will rule over the tribes of Israel(Mat. 19:28;
Luke 22:29-30)and believers co-rule (Rev. 20:4-6‣ ), when He drinks wine
and eats the Passoveragainwith His followers (Mat. 26:29; Mark 14:25;Luke
22:16-18).
This passage, in harmony with Luke 1:32, 33;Mat. 19:28;Acts 2:30, 34, 35;
15:14-16, is conclusive that Christ is not now seatedupon His own throne. The
Davidic Covenant, and the promises of God through the prophets and the
Angel Gabriel concerning the Messianickingdomawait fulfilment.142
Severalfactors indicate that David’s throne is separate and distinct from
God’s throne in heaven. First, severaldescendants ofDavid have saton his
throne, but only one of his descendants eversits on the right hand of God’s
throne in heaven. That descendantis Jesus Christ (Ps. 110:1; Heb. 8:1; 12:2).
Second, David’s throne was not establishedbefore his lifetime (2S. 7:16-17).
By contrast, since God has always ruled over His creation, His throne in
heaven was establishedlong before David’s throne (Ps. 93:1-2). Third, since
God’s throne in heaven was establishedlong before David’s throne and since
God’s throne was establishedforever(Lam. 5:19), then it was not necessary
for Godto promise to establishDavid’s throne forever(2S. 7:16) if they are
the same throne. Fourth, David’s throne was on the earth, not in heaven.
David and his descendants who saton his throne exercisedanearthly, ruling
authority. They never exercisedruling authority in or from heaven. By
contrast, as noted earlier, the Bible indicates that God’s throne is in heaven.
Fifth, the Bible’s consistentdescriptionof David’s throne indicates that it
belongs to David. When Godtalked to David about his throne, God referred
to it as “thy throne” (2S. 7:16; Ps. 89:4; 132:12). When God mentioned
David’s throne to others, He referred to it as “his throne” (Ps. 89:29;Jer.
33:21), “David’s throne” (Jer. 13:13), and “the throne of David” (Jer. 17:25;

22:2, 4; 22:30). By contrast, the Scriptures’ consistentdescriptionof the
throne in heaven indicates that it belongs to God the Father. 143
According to Trench, this is a greaterposition than the role given to the
apostles overthe tribes of Israel(Mat. 19:28).144
He is currently seatedto the right hand of the Father on the Father’s throne.
In the Millennium, He will take up his throne (Mat. 25:31). In the eternal
state, it appears the two thrones become synonymous (1Cor. 15:24-25;Rev.
22:1‣ , 3‣ ).
as I also overcame
It is by Jesus’identity as the overcomerand their identification with Him that
believers are overcomers. SeeWho is the Overcomer?.
satdown with my Father on His throne
After His ascension, Jesussatdown at the right hand of the Father. This is his
present position (Mark 16:19; Rom. 8:34; Eph. 1:20; Col. 3:1 Heb. 1:3; 8:1;
10:12;12:2; 1Pe. 3:22). Jesus told the high priest that he would see the Son of
Man “sitting at the right hand of the Power” (Mat. 26:64). He stoodup at the
death of His witness Stephen (Acts 7:55-56), but this was not yet the time to
receive the kingdom and return to rule for He must remain seateduntil His
enemies are made His footstool(Ps. 110:1;Mat. 22:44). Eventually, He will be
presentedbefore the Ancient of Days to receive the kingdom (Dan. 7:13-14‣ )
initiating His return and subsequent rule from the throne of David (Luke
1:33; Mat. 5:31-32;Rev. 19:11-21‣ ;20:4-6‣ ).
This, the grandestand crowning promise, is placed at the end of all the seven
addresses,to gather all in one. It also forms the link to the next part of the
book, where the Lamb is introduced seatedon His Father’s throne (Rev. 4:2‣ ,
3‣ ).145
http://www.spiritandtruth.org/teaching/Book_of_Revelation/commentary/htm
/chapters/03.html#Revelation%203%3A21

BRIAN BELL
Revelation3:14-22 7-12-06 “Nakedas a Jaybird!”
1. Intro: 1.1. Tonight’s approach: 1.1.1. ApproachHis Word with our
analyticalknife sharpenedto dissectit into tiny pieces for scrutinizing &
labeling? 1.1.1.1.Oftenwe canname all the right parts & miss the personal
message. 1.1.2. I’ve sought to filet a fish before, & ended up filleting my own
finger. 1.1.3. Listenfor God. Let the swordof His Word cut you, quit trying to
cut it!
1.2. In his book, The Yoke of Christ, Elton Truebloodquotes a letter from a
schoolgirl who probes the depth of her soul. She writes, "I've been thinking
much this year about the importance of caring, of the passionof life. I've often
realized that it takes courageto care. Caring is dangerous. It leaves you open
to hurt and to looking like a fool. And perhaps it's because theyhave been
hurt so often that people are afraid to care. You can't die if you're not alive.
And then who would rather be a stone? I have found many places in my own
life where I keepa secretstore of indifference as a sort of self-protection."
1.2.1. That's a penetrating insight -- a secretstore of indifference. 1.2.2. We're
to care, because Christcared -- even though it means a cross.
1.3. C.S. Lewis is the highly provocative The Screwtape Letters saidin
Wormwoods job description: "I, the devil, will always see to it that there are
bad people. Your job, my dear Wormwood, is to provide me with the people
who do not care."
2. NAKED! (14-22)2.1. Don’tread text up front! 2.2. Background:2.3. What
is Murrieta known for? Temecula? 2.3.1. Now,imagine if you knew what a 1st
century writer knew about this city of Laodicea.

2.4. Wealth- Laodicea was a wealthy & independent city. - They were able to
rebuild their city after an devastating earthquake in A.D. 61 “without the help
of Rome!” 2.4.1. Tacitus writes:“One of the most famous cities of Asia,
Laodicea, was in that same year over-thrown by an earthquake and without
any relief from us covereditself by its own resources”(Tacitus:Annals
14:27)1 2.4.2.It was one of the wealthiestcities in the world! 2.5. Medical
Center - It was a medical center knownfor an ointment for treating ears, & a
powder for the eyes.
1The Revelationof John : Volume 1. 2000, c1976 (W. Barclay, lecturerin the
University of Glasgow, Ed.). The Daily study Bible series, Rev. ed. (138).
Philadelphia: The Westminster Press.
2 2.6. Location- Laodicea was locatednearHierapolis (where there was
famous Hotsprings) & near Colossae (knownfor its pure Cold water). 2.6.1.
Trade route - hfghfgh 2.7. Banking & financial center - It was also knownas a
banking & financial center. 2.8. Sheep - And for their glossyblack woolcloth!
2.8.1. Jesus will use eachof these images for His points to the church! (18)
2.9. JESUS!(14) 2.10. Faithful - He won’t Dilute the Truth! 2.11. True - He
won’t Distort the Truth! 2.12. Beginning of the creationof God - Indicating
His priority overall creation! 2.12.1. Beginning = origin; to have 1stplace;to
hold the chief place!
2.13. Thoughoutwardly the church appearedstrong & prosperous, the lord
finds nothing to COMMEND! 2.13.1. Thoughthey were busy commending
themselves!
2.14. HE CONDEMNS4 THINGS: (15-17)2.15. [1]INDIFFERENCE!
(15,16)- Lukewarm, not Hot nor Cold. 2.15.1. In the Christian life there are 3
temperatures: 2.15.2. [1]A Burning Heart [zestos/boiling hot] (on fire for
God) 2.15.2.1. Lk.24:32 “And they said to one another, "Did not our heart
burn within us while He talkedwith us on the road, and while He openedthe
Scriptures to us?" 2.15.3.[2]A Cold Heart - Mt.24:12 “And because
lawlessnesswill abound, the love of many will grow cold.” 2.15.4.[3]A

Lukewarm Heart - Comfortable & complacent!2.15.4.1. If they were cold
they would have at leastfelt it! 2.15.4.2. Jesus says, “Give me all your Hate or
all your Heart, but don’t offer Lukewarm Love!” 2.15.4.3.A lukewarm
person is tepid, lacking enthusiasm, halfhearted about what he or she believes.
They may possesssome senseofduty to the church, but lack true conviction&
commitment! 2.15.4.4. Imagine a Salesmanlukewarmabout sales!An
Electricianlukewarmabout electricity!A Fighterlukewarm againsthis foe!
Imagine a Doctorlukewarmabout disease!- Imagine a Church lukewarm
about Christ? It makes as much sense!2.15.4.5. Puke, vomit, barf, hurl…/
2.15.5.Q:Are you “on fire” for Jesus?
2.16. [2]PRIDE!(17a) - Obviously a boasting church, basking in their own
effort, “I’m rich, wealthy & independent!” 2.16.1.Theysaid, “We’re in need
of nothing”; Jesus said, “W/o me you can do nothing!”
3 2.17. [3]SELF DECEPTION!(17b) - “Theydid not know !” 2.17.1. This
church didn’t even know how bad off they were! 2.17.2. Smyrna thought itself
poor, but they were rich! (Here Laodicea was opp.)2.17.3. Theysaid, we’re
Wonderful; He saidyour Wretched! They said, we’re Marvelous;He said
your Miserable! They said, we’re Prospering;He said your Poor! They said,
we’re Beholding; He saidyour Blind! They said, we’re clothedfrom
Nordstrom’s; He said you’re Nakedas a Jaybird!
2.18. [4]SPIRITUAL POVERTY!(17b) - wretched, miserable, poor, blind, &
naked. 2.18.1.We laugh at the story of the Emperor w/no clothes! - 2 guys
who bamboozled the king with invisible clothes that “any fool could see”. He
paraded himself in his skivvies’, while all the people were saying look at his
clothes one boy shouted the king has no clothes! 2.18.1.1.Jesus waslike the lil
boy who yelled, “Laodicea has no clothes”. They’re “nakedas a jaybird”
spiritually!
2.18.2.Nakedspeaks ofshame, humiliation: 2.18.2.1. 2 Sam. 10:4 “Therefore
Hanun took David's servants, shavedoff half of their beards, cut off their

garments in the middle, at their buttocks, and sent them away. When they
told David, he sent to meet them, because the men were greatly ashamed. And
the king said, "Wait at Jericho until your beards have grown, and then
return.”
2.19. “Icounselyou” (18,19) - He is our Wonderful, Counselor!2.20. We not
only need to be honestwith ourselves, but allow God to be honest with us!
2.20.1.Ps.16:7 “I will bless the LORD who has given me counsel.”
2.21. Theywere exhorted to grab God’s:Gold, Garments, & Goop! 2.21.1.
Gold - They had fools gold! They needed gold refined by fire! 2.21.2.
Garments - Unfeigned Purity(White garments)2.21.2.1.The Laodicean’s
could easily go to market & buy their beautiful black woolgarments, but they
needed God’s white garments of rt.! 2.21.3.Goop - They were famous for their
“Phrygian powder” mixed w/oil for an eye salve! 2.21.3.1.Theyneed some
eye salve so they could see their true sp. condition! 2.21.3.2.Is your spiritual
vision 20/20? - See 2 Pet.1:5-9
2.21.4.Jesus willmake them spiritually rich, cover their nakedness,& heal
their blindness!
4 2.22. As many as I love, I rebuke & chasten(19) 2.23. After all this…He
loved these lukewarm saints!2.23.1. Enoughto chastenthem, not throw them
away! 2.23.2.He would chastenthem as proof of His love! 2.24. Repent-
From their Pride & humble themselves before the Lord. 2.24.1. Theyneeded
to fire up that inner flame & cultivate a burning heart!
2.25. PROMISES!(20-22)2.26. 1ST PROMISE – FELLOWSHIP!(20) 2.27.
Hear & Open…I’ll Come & Dine! 2.27.1.Canbe used in both applications for
Bel. & unbel. 2.27.1.1. 1stto Luke-warmers!2.28. It’s spokento the
individual, “if anyone…!” (put your name in the blank tonight!) 2.29. He

knocks through circumstances,He calls thru His Word for Fellowship&
Communion! 2.30. “Iwill come in to him” - He enters the bel.’s heart &
makes it his home! 2.30.1. Some people let you in their house, others make it
feel like it’s your own home! (grandma’s house) 2.30.2.Have you just let Jesus
in, or has He been able to make it His home? 2.31. “Iwill Dine with him” -
Have some goodspiritual food & fellowship!2.31.1. The Greekshad 3 meals
in the day: 2.31.2. ακριτισμα -Breakfast, breaddipped in wine. 2.31.3. ριστάω
[aristao /ar·is·tah·o/] Picnic snack onthe go. 2.31.4.δειπνέω [deipneo
/dipe·neh·o/] (used here) - Evening meal, people lingered & sat long & talked
over it! 2.32. “And he with Me!” - If we open our heart’s to Him, He’ll open
His home to us! 2.32.1. Enjoythe pleasure of His company!
2.33. Q:What does this tell you about your Savior? About His amazing love
for you? 2.33.1. Jesusisn’t eagerto condemn, to spit us out of His mouth.
2.33.2.No, His love compels Him to care, confront, & call us back to Him.
2.33.3.Callus back for punishment? - No, for clothing, healing, nourishment,
companionship. ForLove!
2.33.4.No other religion has the vision of a seeking God. 2.33.5.Montefiore,
the greatJewishscholar, saidthat one thing which no Jewishprophet & no
JewishRabbi ever conceivedof is the “conceptionof God actually going out in
quest of sinful men, who were not seeking Him, but who were turned away
from Him.” 2.33.5.1. It would be greatenough to think of a God who
acceptedmen when they came back; it was beyond belief to think of a God
who actually went out & searched!” (Barclay)
5 2.33.6.Eventonight He will not kick the door down for fellowship, though
He could. He gently knocks & keeps knocking(lit.). 2.33.6.1. He won’t huff &
puff & blow your door down! 2.33.6.2. Openup, choose to come out of
seclusion!2.33.6.3. It doesn’tmatter what you’ve done, or how far you’ve
fallen! 2.33.6.3.1.Lovecango no further than that!!!

2.34. 2ND PROMISE – INHERITANCE!(21) 2.34.1.A promise of true
exaltation w/Christ in His Millennium rule! 2.34.2. Wow, the privilege of
sitting w/Him on His throne! 2.34.3.Letting Him in lets love in, with all its
risks. 2.34.3.1. Butnote the end of His love is NOT the shakysecurity of this
world, but a place next to Jesus in the next!
2.35. As I also overcame – Christ overcame by the power of the cross, & set
this pattern for His followers. (LeonMorris)
2.36. 7thtime “he who has an ear…hearwhat the Spirit says” – 2.36.1. When
churches stop listening to the voice of the Spirit, through the Word, is when
they’re in trouble.
2.37. END:Laodicea had a Framework of church, but not Fruit! 2.37.1. Does
your fruit hang like ornaments that we tie on our X-mas trees? Or, like a
pinecone attachedto the limb, relying on its source for its very life?
Dr. S. Lewis Johnsondiscusses the seventh letter to the churches of Asia
Minor, the famous admonition againstLaodicea.
SLJ Institute > Revelation> The Curse of the Happy Medium
Readthe Sermon
Transcript
[Message]The Scripture reading today is from Revelationchapter 3, verse 14
through verse 22. This is the last of our Lord’s letters to the churches. And
incidentally, while we are thinking about it, the term church itself is found
againin the Book ofRevelationin only one other place. And it is found then in
chapter , in verse 16, not representing teaching that our Lord gives to the

church, but rather, a statement that this book as a whole has been given by
our Lord for the churches. So, in one sense, ourLord’s messageto the church
ends at this point. So, it’s significant from that standpoint as well. But
beginning in verse 14 now, John writes,
“And unto the angelof the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith
the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creationof God;
I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold
or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will
spue thee out of my mouth. Because thousayest, I am rich, and increasedwith
goods, and have need of nothing; and knowestnot that thou art wretched, and
miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: (That in the original text is
written in such a way that we could translate it this way, all of those adjectives
belong to that one person or church in view, “and knowestnot that thou art
the wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and nakedone.”)I counselthee to buy of
me goldtried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that
thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear;
and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayestsee. As many as I love, I
rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. (One rather interesting
thing is that the word for love here is the word that generallyis regarded as a
weakerwordthan the stronger word agape, whichrefers to the love of the
directed will. This one is a term that emphasizes the sharing of common
interests and therefore it commonly can be translated, affection. “As many as
I have affectionfor, I rebuke and chasten. Be zealous therefore and repent.”)
Behold, I stand at the door, and knock:if any man hear my voice, and open
the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. To him
that overcomethwill I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also
overcame, and am set down with my Fatherin his throne. He that hath an ear,
let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.”
May the Lord bless this reading of his word, and we bow togethernow in a
word of prayer.
[Prayer] Father we are thankful for the word of God, and we are thankful for
these messages thatour Lord has given to the churches. As we reflectupon
them we see how important they are for us in the end of the 20th Century. For

the same trials and difficulties and sins and other things that characterize
believing individuals are things that are characteristic ofus. Lord, forgive us
for our lack of zeal, of concern, of zealous activity for the gospelof our Lord
and SaviorJesus Christ. We too are so often lukewarm. And we pray Lord,
that by Thy grace, through the Holy Spirit, Thou wilt stir us to be more
whole-heartedlyinterested in working in the spreading of the goodnews
concerning the Lord Jesus Christ. We pray Thy blessing to that end, not only
upon our congregationand our church, but upon other true churches of our
Lord and SaviorJesus Christ as well. May the whole body be renewedin these
difficult days in which we are living.
We pray for Believers Chapeland its ministries, Lord, bless them. May Thy
hand be upon them for spiritual good. May the tape ministry and the radio
ministry and the written ministry and the Bible classes andother forms of
outreachin which we are engagedindividually and as a church, may the Holy
Spirit use these things to glorify our Lord Jesus Christ.
And Father, we pray particularly for those who are ill and sick and have
requestedour prayers for various reasons, minister to them by Thy grace
through those who serve them as physicians or family or friends. Bless and
give healing as it should please Thee. We thank Thee that we can turn to Thee
and know that Thou dost hear our petitions at this very moment. Heaven
listens to the petitions of the weakestofthe saints and Father we pray for our
greatcountry, for our president, for his tasks in these days. Especiallywe
pray for him and may if it please Thee again, there be continued peace as far
as this country is concernedand a possibility of the proclamationof the gospel
freely, may that continue.
And Lord we would particularly pray as a congregation that Thou would
work in our hearts to stir us to be more faithful in our Christian testimony.
Deliver us from the lethargy, and indifference, and lack of concernthat so
often characterizes us, characterizesme. And Lord we pray that by Thy
grace, Thouwilt enable us to fervently serve our Lord. And Lord, too, we
pray that Thou wilt enable us to be fruitful and interest others in the gospelof
our Lord Jesus whichmeans so much to us. We pray Thy blessing upon all of
the ministries here, upon our elders and deacons, andthe members and

friends and the visitors here today particularly, Lord, encourage them
through the word of God. Build them up, as well, in the truth that concerns
our Lord Jesus Christ, as we listen to the Scriptures for Jesus sake.Amen.
[Message]Fromtime to time in our expositionof the Book of Revelation, and
specificallythe messagesto the seven churches, I’ve made reference to an
interpretation of these chapters, the messagesto the seven churches, that has
suggestedthat these letters as they unfold, first the letter to the church at
Ephesus, the final one to the church at Laodicea, that those sevenletters
representessentiallysevenperiods of time betweenthe two comings of our
Lord, and that we may expectthe church to manifest the characteristics that
these letters representthrough this now approximately two thousand year
period of time.
I have suggestedthat I doubt that that is really what our Lord and John have
in mind in this, but there are some interesting coincidences. Otherwise, good
men would not have suggestedthat that may be one of the intent of these
letters. We have tried to stress the fact that these are historicalchurches and
they are written to the historicalchurches just as the apostles, forexample,
wrote to Rome and to Corinth. These letters are to be taken in a similar way.
But at any rate, according to this view which we will call the historical view,
Laodicea being the last of the letters would represent the last stage of
Christianity on the earth betweenthe two comings of our Lord. And so since
the Lord’s coming is thought by those who hold this view to be relatively near,
and we have reasonin Scripture to saythat his return is relatively near, then
this would represent presentday Christianity, the epistle that our Lord wrote
to the Laodiceans, the last phase prior to our Lord’s return. And certainly as
one looks around you can see certainresemblances betweenthe conditions of
the church at Laodicea and the conditions of the church today. Laodicea
represents a kind of church that is in essencea compromising church.
One of the men that I used to listen to and whom I have read through the
years, once wrote a paragraph like this, he was writing on the subject of
lukewarmness and he said, “The Laodiceans must have prided themselves on
being tolerant, broad-minded, middle-of-the-roaders. One can almosthear
them say, ‘We’re not extreme radicals, nor ultra conservatives. We are

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