Overcomer or
loser?
And they overcame
him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their
testimony, and they did not love their lives to the
death. (Revelation 12:11)
I love the book of
Revelation. Not for all the complexities and things I do
not understand, but for that which I can understand.
What I do understand about the book is it’s bottom-line
message: Jesus Wins! That’s the message. Jesus wins in
the end and “out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that
with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself
will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the
winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.
And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written:
KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS: (Revelation 19:15,16).
What a wonderful message!
I also love the
book because it tells me that in spite of all our
present problems, those who are faithful will also win
and rule and reign with Him. It’s just a pity that many
who claim to be ruling with him now spoil the picture.
If ruling with Him means still being beset by an aging
body and having to fight for every inch of ground, if it
means being subject to the ridiculous and unjust laws of
men where the wealthy can buy whatever they wish
including absolution from the law, then you can keep
that kind of kingdom. I am looking for a Kingdom that
will not fade away and where I will have real power and
where the Kingdom will be one of justice and
righteousness. A Kingdom where the King does not speak
like a politician and where His promises are all
fulfilled. I am looking for a Kingdom where the just
will prosper and the lawbreaker will be punished and
above all where we Christians will no longer be the
offscouring of the earth but co-rulers with the Lord.
But the book also
warns that this is only for those who overcome now. In
fact seven times Jesus says to the churches “to him who
overcomes”. So we need to overcome now as He overcame,
that we may rule as He will rule. And that’s just the
problem. It seems to me that not very many Christians
are overcomers, but rather that they are being overcome
by the world, the flesh and the Devil. Oh, we all want
to be victorious, but very few are. There is no secret
formula, as the “six steps to success” books would have
you believe. Jesus has won the victory at the cross; all
we need do is stand on the ground that has been won for
us at Calvary. There is not much we can do to add to that
victory. So why are so many living lives of defeat?
Because they willingly surrender to the enemy without
even putting up a fight.
There are many
accounts in scripture and in human history of small
defeated armies putting to flight a much stronger
opponent by bluffing and charging as though they were
the victors. Much of military strategy is about
deceiving the enemy and that is exactly what the devil
does. He acts as though he is the winner and scares us
into taking flight instead of standing as per Paul’s
instructions to the Ephesians. Some even change sides
because it seems the wicked are winning and the
righteous are the losers. Is that not the message that
the Devil is preaching all the time through the news
media and the entertainment industry? Has he not
succeeded to a large extent into convincing us that he
is winning and we will never win? Is that not why so
many Christians have gone into hibernation mode, simply
hoping to hide and somehow not be noticed and so escape
the assault? Yes, I believe many Christians have been
beaten into submission by the Devil and it is sad to see
them cower like a beaten dog when they should be facing
the attacks with courage and boldness.
Many believers and
preachers who stand for truth have been so browbeaten
that they no longer open their mouths. There are those
who have changed sides (or maybe they never were on the
right side) and are now preaching the doctrines of
devils and, who, strut their stuff in front of their TV
audiences and deceived multitudes. Sad as that may be,
worse still are believers and preachers who look at
these shows with envy and despair as they think of their
own little flocks of struggling believers, wondering how
they too, can get on the bandwagon. And so they tremble
and are defeated in the light of the apparent success of
the hordes of hell. We so easily forget that it is all a
scam and that the Devil and his messengers are already
defeated and that Christ and His faithful are the
victors waiting for the final reveal.
We may be in
tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or
nakedness, or peril, or sword. We may be killed all day
long for His sake and we may be accounted as sheep for
the slaughter. (Romans 8:35,36) BUT in all these things
we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.
(Romans 8:37). Remember the heroes of the Old Testament
who: “were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that
they might obtain a better resurrection. Still others
had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains
and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in
two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They
wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being
destitute, afflicted, tormented – of whom the world was
not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, in
dens and caves of the earth. (Hebrews 11:35-38) The
Devil thought he had them beaten, but they were never
defeated and will rule with Christ.
Did Jesus not say
“These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may
have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but
be of good cheer, I have overcome the world”? (John
16:33) Yes, He wins and we will also be victorious with
Him, in Him and through Him if only we do not loose
heart.
“Oh, sing to the
Lord a new song! For He has done marvelous things; His
right hand and His holy arm have gained Him the
victory.” (Psalm 98:1)
Anton
Bosch
antonbosch@sbcglobal.net
www.abcd.co.za/offi
www.abcd.co.za/plumbline
Tel 818 846 5520
Fax 818 846 4357
3310 West
Magnolia Blvd
Burbank, California
91505-2907
USA