There is encouragement for us right to the last book in the Bible! It is generally accepted (and this has been alluded to elsewhere in this issue) that the seven assemblies mentioned in Revelation, chapters 2-3, are not merely random descriptions of assemblies that existed in that day. Taken in consecutive order, they give us a panoramic history of the various epochs of the professing church, from the time that the apostles were taken home until the Lord’s coming.
Christ As Overcomer
The last assembly mentioned is Laodicea, showing us the condition of things that will exist among much of Christendom just before the Lord comes. It is a rather dismal commentary on man’s pride — a pride that shuts out Christ and exalts self. Yet, as with the other assemblies, there is a word of encouragement to the overcomer, for there is always the opportunity for those who wish to be faithful to rise above the surrounding conditions. However, there is a peculiarly touching character to the appeal to the overcomer here, for Christ is brought in as an overcomer — something that is not done in the addresses to the other six assemblies. This gives a very poignant quality to the call, for there is One who has walked the pathway before us and who has been victorious. Having once walked through this same world as we, He overcame and is now on the Father’s throne. What an encouragement for those who seek to be faithful in these last days!
But in what way was the Lord Jesus an overcomer? In the other six assemblies mentioned, overcoming is connected with the professing church and its condition at that particular time. Doubtless this type of overcoming was needed in Laodicea too, but we must remember that the path of the Lord Jesus on earth is in view, and at that time the formation of the church was still future. His overcoming was in an area more fundamental and which transcends any particular era in the church’s history. Here His overcoming has a direct and practical voice for us today.
If we turn to the Gospels, we find two direct references to the Lord Jesus as an overcomer. In Luke 11:21-2221When a strong man armed keepeth his palace, his goods are in peace: 22But when a stronger than he shall come upon him, and overcome him, he taketh from him all his armor wherein he trusted, and divideth his spoils. (Luke 11:21‑22), we read, “When a strong man armed keepeth his palace, his goods are in peace; but when a stronger than he shall come upon him, and overcome him, He taketh from him all his armor wherein he trusted, and divideth his spoils.” The reference clearly is to the temptations of the Lord Jesus by Satan, before He began His earthly ministry. At that time Satan assaulted the Lord Jesus with all of the means which he had used on fallen man so successfully — the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. Rather than using His power as God to deal with Satan, the Lord Jesus overcame him simply by quoting the Word of God, and Satan was compelled to depart from Him for a season.
Implicit Trust in God’s Word
This has a real lesson for us today, when man’s wisdom is exalted and the Laodicean spirit of boastfulness and pride is so rampant. As we find the world, and especially Christendom, going tangentially farther and farther from God’s Word, it is important for believers to be more and more familiar with Scripture and to use it unswervingly as their guide. We note that when the Lord Jesus was presented with the various temptations, He did not discuss them with Satan or seek to reason with him; the Word of God was enough. An old brother, now with the Lord, used to remind us, “We are never wiser than Scripture.” Another brother, also with the Lord, used to exhort us, “Read the Word of God until you become so saturated with it that you think in the language of Scripture.” Just as the Lord would not leave the path of dependence, so we must trust implicitly in the wisdom of God’s Word and not rely on human wisdom.
New Armor
In saying this, we realize that the world is constantly changing and that new challenges continually present themselves. This was the case in David’s time. As a young man he had killed Goliath, but in his later life, one of the sons of the giant was “girded with new armor” (2 Sam. 21:16 JND), and David was evidently not familiar with it. As a result, David’s nephew Abishai had to come to his aid and kill the giant for him. So each generation must meet new difficulties, and we need fresh wisdom and grace from the Lord to do so. However, all this only emphasizes the need for God’s Word, for it is always fresh, living and up-to-date.
As morality declines in these last days, worldliness may insidiously creep into our thoughts and lives, and we can easily adopt attitudes and practices that are in keeping with the Laodicean spirit. There is no doubt that many of the problems that face believers collectively today have their roots in a lifestyle that is characterized by giving in to the temptations of Satan, instead of resisting them. Many of the difficulties in which believers find themselves today are directly related to a lack of obedience to God’s Word, rather than a lack of knowledge of the truth of the church. Familiarity with and obedience to God’s Word will be our safeguard against this.
A Better World
We find the Lord Jesus speaking of Himself as an overcomer once again, just before He went to the cross. In John’s Gospel, in the so-called “upper room ministry,” the Lord Jesus said to His disciples, “In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” The Lord Jesus was about to suffer, die, rise again and ascend back to heaven, and the disciples would be left in this world. He had promised them “the Comforter,” the Holy Spirit, who would come down, but then He uses the example of Himself to encourage them even more.
What does He mean by saying that He had overcome the world? Satan attacks us in two ways. Sometimes it is by temptations, as He used on the Lord Jesus in the wilderness. He will use whatever is needed, all the way to “all the kingdoms of the world” (Luke 4:55And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, showed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. (Luke 4:5)), if necessary, to seek to turn us aside. This might be referred to as his seduction of the believer. But if seduction is not effective, he also works by direct attack — by tribulation — and this may take various forms. In some cases there is savage persecution of believers — imprisonment, loss of property, physical suffering, and even martyrdom. This has been the lot of many believers down through the ages, and even today, many thousands give up their lives every year for the name of Christ. All this is calculated to cause the believer to give up, or at least to compromise his faith.
Grace for Tribulation
However, there are other forms of tribulation. In James 1:1212Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him. (James 1:12), we read that the man who endures temptation “shall receive the crown of life” — the same crown as is promised to the martyr in Revelation 2:1010Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life. (Revelation 2:10). Some must endure constant problems in their secular work in this world, and Satan uses all this to seek to discourage the believer. He tempts us to seek an easier path by compromise, to avoid the tribulation. Others are perhaps beset by family difficulties, and it is a constant exercise to cope with them in a godly way, for the pressure to conform to this world is very strong. Then, too, Satan brings in difficulties among the people of God collectively, and these sometimes seem to follow one another, like waves of the sea. The constant barrage of such things can “wear out the saints” (Dan. 7:2525And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time. (Daniel 7:25)), as Satan will seek to do to the godly ones in Israel in a future day.
How did the Lord Jesus overcome the world? He did so by accepting everything from His Father and by taking everything to His Father. If we resent our circumstances or chafe under them, we will be hindered in taking them to the Lord. But if we humble ourselves “under the mighty hand of God” (1 Peter 5:6), we will be able to cast all our care upon Him, as we find in the next verse. The tribulation may not be taken away, but we will find the needed grace, not only to bear it, but to be like Paul, who could say, “We glory in tribulations also” (Rom. 5:33And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; (Romans 5:3)). God will give us the grace, not only to accept the tribulation, but to learn from it, to be overcomers, and to glorify Him in it. We have His assurance that the affliction that seems so hard is really “light affliction” and that it works for us “a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory” (2 Cor. 4:17).
The Lord Jesus has already overcome and is now on His Father’s throne. Shortly He will take His rightful place and sit on His own throne. But He will not take that place until He takes us to be with Himself, and then we shall sit on that throne with Him. As the hymn reminds us, “It will be worth it all, when we see Jesus.”
W. J. Prost