CLICK To Find Out Who Are The Ones Who Do NOT Overcome
The Overcomer
In those verses the two groups of people and their final destinies are mentioned. First, all those who comprise the group consisting of he who overcomes will inherit the things listed from Revelation 21:1-6, which are the:
new heaven
new earth
new Jerusalem
Furthermore, he who overcomes will be the blessed recipient of this:
He [God] will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away (Rev. 21:4).
So if you ever wondered what is heaven like, Rev. 21:4 is a just partial description! What a mind-blowing promise it is since the only thing that mankind has experienced since Adam's fall has been the horrible effects of this cursed age we are now living in. Everything has been adversely affected by Adam's sin: the vegetable kingdom, the animal kingdom and, of course, man. Our bodies and minds have been greatly weakened by the Fall. All this, however, will change one day for the overcomer! MUCH better days are coming for him! One day there will be no more thorns or thistles! One day there will be perfect peace in the animal kingdom (Isa. 11:6-9)! One day the righteous will have sharp minds, like Adam did before the Fall when he named all the animals! Furthermore:
... the meek will inherit the land and enjoy great peace (Psa. 37:11).
The word inheritance, as defined in a secular dictionary is non-biblical:
Anything acquired or possessed by descent or succession; something which is or can be inherited, as property or title acquired by an heir at the owner's death.
The Biblical definition is much different! The inheritance for he who overcomes means such a blessed person (an overcomer) will be the recipient of the Kingdom, but has nothing to do with an automaticacquiring of it based on another's death as occurs in families. Ponder Jam. 2:5:
Listen, my dear brothers: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him?
Those who love God will inherit the kingdom and other verses declare our love for God is revealed by obeying him (Jn. 14:15,23,24). In Psalms, we learn more about the people who inherit the kingdom:
Those who hope in the LORD will inherit the land. (37:9)
The
righteous will inherit the land and dwell in it forever (37:29)
love God
hope in the LORD
are righteous
are meek (or humble)
Their inheritance will never perish, spoil or fade (1 Pet. 1:4). Paul used the adjective glorious to describe this inheritance (Eph. 1:18). What a contrast to an earthly inheritance, which will certainly perish, spoil and fade over time! Other passages specifically apply to this subject. Jesus said:
He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes will not be hurt at all by the second death. (Rev 2:11)
He who overcomes will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out his name from the
book of life, but will acknowledge his name before my Father and his angels. (Rev 3:5)
Rev. 2:11 is a promise only for he who overcomes, but it is about what he won't get—namely hurt by the second death (or lake of fire)! Rev 3:5 is different and tells those who had already been saved, if they overcome they will be dressed in white and will never get their name blotted from the book of life. Additional Scriptures declare, he who overcomes will be heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ (Rom. 8:17). Why? Because he has decided to deny himself, take up his cross daily and follow Jesus (Lk. 9:23). He who overcomes endures the persecutions and doesn't get lethally deceived by false teachers. He also brings forth good fruit and holds firm to the end the confidence he had at first (Heb. 3:14).
The overcomers get as their inheritance all of the above, including God himself! God will be their God and they will be his sons forever (Rev. 21:7). Other parts of the bible say they will:
have eternal glory, honor, immortality, peace (Rom. 2:7-10)
not marry and can't die (Lk. 20:35,36)
have a glorious, imperishable body of flesh and bones like the one Jesus resurrected in and ascended into heaven with (Phil. 3:21 cf. Lk. 24:39)
have the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God (Rev. 2:7)
have authority over the nations and get the morning star (Rev. 2:26-28)
get a crown of life, hidden manna, and a white stone with a new name written on it (Rev. 2:10; 2:17 cf. James 1:12)
will be made a pillar in the temple of God, the Lord Jesus himself will write on him the name of God, the name of the city of God and his new name. (Rev 3:12)
see God (Mt. 5:8)
be acknowledged by Jesus before God and the angels (Rev. 3:5)
No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever. (Rev 22:3-5)
He Who Does Not Overcome
The group who do not overcome and does get hurt by the second death (lake of fire) are shown to consist of:
... the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars (Rev. 21:8)
That, however, is not an all-inclusive listing! The following verses expand upon who is not of the group of he who overcomes. Ponder it carefully:
Do you not know that the unrighteous
will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor
drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God. (1 Cor. 6:9-11, NASB)
The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. (Gal 5:19-21)
See also Eph. 5:5-7; Mk. 7:20-23; Rev. 21:27; 22:15, 19,20; etc.
Such unrighteous wicked people will not inherit God's kingdom and therefore will go to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. That couldn't be more clear and shows there is no universalism (all people will be saved).
He Who Overcomes Is Blessed
God himself informs us that all people will NOT spend eternity with him. In other words, they will NOT inherit the Kingdom, but the blessed will and they will get the kingdom:
Then the King will say to those on his right, “Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.” (Mat 25:34)
Christians need to remember: We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God (Acts 14:22). We must crucify the flesh and live holy. In spite of the problems, much better days are ahead for the overcomer. They include everlasting joy (Isa. 61:7) and a Paradise environment (Lk. 23:43; 2 Cor. 12:4; Rev. 2:7) for he who overcomes on top of all of the aforementioned!
OTHER TOPICS:
Skull And Crossbones Awards For False Prophets And False Teachers
The Plan Of Salvation
Your Approaching Death
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Wonderful and thrilling promises are held out for he who overcomes. All of those phenomenal promises for the overcomers are out of this world! Let's start at the end of the Bible before we focus on the specific promises in more detail:
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