Revelations

Revelation 3:21
“To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.”

“You keep using that word; I do not think it means what you think it means.” A great line from The Princess Bride, and an appropriate statement to use here. The word to which I am referring is overcome.

Now, don’t start with the opinion that I think Christ doesn’t know what He is talking about; that is not at all accurate. What I am saying, however, is that in translating the word overcome, or rather using the word overcome, a meaning has been implied that isn’t necessarily true.

Whenever I read the word overcome, my mind instantly goes to thoughts of conquering and battle. The idea of overcoming an opponent and winning the battle puffs up my ego; it makes me feel powerful and mighty. But is that really what Jesus is telling me? Is Christ telling me, telling us, that we have to fight, battle, and overcome the enemy in order to have what He has already promised us?

I’ve said it before and I guess it needs repeating, the translation from original text to English (yes, even the king’s English) sometimes gives us the wrong impression. Take this word, overcome, which is Strong’s word number 3528, the Greek word nikao. While it’s true that it does in fact mean to conquer and be victorious, that’s only one of its meanings. The fact is that there are three meanings to this word and two of them directly relate to Christ and His followers (Christians). The first, in reference to Christ, means exactly what we thought, conquering and victorious. The second, however, which is in reference to Christians, means “to hold fast to faith even through persecutions and trials”.

What I’m getting at here is Christ isn’t telling us to fight, wage war, or go out as if to conquer; He already did that for us at the cross. He’s telling us to remain faithful, to hold on to hope (a joyful expectation of eternal salvation), and to allow that hope to produce the faith which is what will bring us to the grace that saves. (Ephesians 2:8)

Christ is saying that our victory through faith in His work will enable us to sit with Him on His Father’s throne. It is not our ability to overcome the enemy that will enable Christ to grant us this privilege; it is our faith in His ability!