Overcoming brings vengeance on God's enemies. God is glorified!

Remember back in the chapter titled "Jesus' Mission Statement," we emphasized the "day of vengeance of God" as a part of the overcoming process. You may recall that Jesus' mission statement as He gave it in Luke chapter 4 stopped short of the day of vengeance because, as we pointed out, He had not yet been to the Cross. We pointed out that the vengeance spoken of is vengeance on Jesus' enemies, demons, devils, and ultimately Satan himself. We further explained that as we overcome difficulties and afflictions in our lives that a by-product is that various wicked spirits are dislodged from our lives and the lives of those in our realm of influence. Perhaps they are more than dislodged; perhaps they go to an early retirement to the pit.

If you have been following the process of the overcoming process, you may or may not be in the season of being a conqueror just yet. Overcoming comes in many forms, sizes and shapes, and we need to trust God to bring us our lot in life. Our job is to continue to:

1. Seek to know who we are in Christ and to seek His promises. SIT. His Cross.

2. Seek to walk a life worthy of the Lord, in living fellowship with Him. WALK. Our cross.

3. Continually speak words of warfare against our spiritual enemies. STAND. The word of our testimony.

Continuing to live life in this manner will ultimately bring glory to God because you will be a fruit bearer. "By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples" (John 15:8).

Overcoming glorifies God and makes your life worth living. It does something to defeat God's enemies in the way of vengeance. It brings God's purposes into your life.

A conqueror takes the enemy's spoils.

A conqueror is a person or a corporate entity like a nation that through battle defeats its foe. Part of conquering is taking the spoils of the enemy and putting the enemy into subjection. In many Biblical battles the Israelites took the spoils of the enemy they defeated. This is also true in modern history. We have shown many times in this book how, as overcomers, or conquerors (synonymous terms), we not only are set free from the "junk" that has plagued us and our children, but that we also dislodged some demonic beings that have been authorized to terrorize our families, cities and nations. It was customary to break out the teeth of a conquered enemy as a sign of their future impotence. "Break their teeth in their mouth, O God! Break out the fangs of the young lions, O LORD!" (Psalms 58:6). Our overcoming has broken the teeth of our enemy!

We, as overcomers, have been set free from curses in our lives. We have turned our "junk into jewels" for God's Kingdom. We took even took the enemy's spoils including "the souls of men. As I mentioned this manifests itself in as many different shapes and sizes as there are individuals. God deals with us each so personally. He desires to restore our individual personalities, and to restore us to "normal human beings."

In the previous chapter we discussed spiritual capital, or fruit bearing. I believe that fruit is a result of the Word of God working in our hearts during the afflictions and sufferings of or lives. I believe that as we allow God to turn our junk into jewels that His Kingdom is expanded, not only in our personal lives, but we will see fruit in ministry to others.

Continuing our journey through Revelation let us look at chapter 20 again.

The day of vengeance!

As I have continually stated about the Book of Revelation, I am not saying the events do not represent some great historic events in the future. I am saying that if that is the only way you interpret it, that you are missing out on the wonderful personal application of the book of Revelation.

Revelation chapter 18 describes the fall of our enemy in a personal, the world system, and lists its spoils. Revelation 18:11-13 says, "And the merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her, for no one buys their merchandise anymore: merchandise of gold and silver, precious stones and pearls, fine linen and purple, silk and scarlet, every kind of citron wood, every kind of object of ivory, every kind of object of most precious wood, bronze, iron, and marble; and cinnamon and incense, fragrant oil and frankincense, wine and oil, fine flour and wheat, cattle and sheep, horses and chariots, and bodies and souls of men."

The events in this chapter take place after the defeat of the "world" spirit in chapter 18 and 19, and after Jesus comes on His white horse for our victory in our overcoming process. The next event as shown in chapter 20 is an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. He laid hold of the spiritual beings who were deceiving the nations (gentiles, or unbelievers) and bound them for 1,000 years, representing a period of rule and dominion.

When my wife and I completed a certain overcoming season in our lives, we had granted spiritual dominion over demons that were holding people captive in countries we had never visited. Eventually we did visit these countries, and still visit them, but the work being done there is due to dominion gained through overcoming, through suffering, through turning junk into jewels. It is wonderful to sit on the front row of God's history and watch Him do what He does, and to be privileged to see His Kingdom advance in a personal way. He receives all the glory. What we have seen has nothing at all to do with our abilities, our ministry skills, or anything in us at all. We are witnesses to His work!

Authority leads to ministry.

Revelation chapter 22 is interesting from a personal point of view. John saw a pure river proceeding from the throne of God and the Lamb similar to the prophetic picture in Ezekiel chapter 47. In Ezekiel the waters eventually flowed into the Dead Sea and caused the dead things therein to live and to be healed. The sea has normally represented humanity, the Dead Sea represents dead humanity, the lost and hurting.

Revelation chapter 22 is parallel to Ezekiel 47. This living river has the tree of life bearing fruit, which is said to provide the "healing of the nations." Nations means gentiles, people who are not saved, it does not mean geo-political division on earth.

"And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him" (Revelation 22:1-3).

Notice this Scripture says, "no more curse." As you have overcome afflictions and curses, you will be able to break the bondages of others who are suffering under curses.

The apostle Paul lived out this precept.

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through Christ. Now if we are afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation, which is effective for enduring the same sufferings which we also suffer. Or if we are comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation" (2 Corinthians 1:3-6).

There is a noticeable difference in Paul's emphasis for ministry between 1 Corinthians and 2 Corinthians. In 1 Corinthians he emphasizes the gifts of the Spirit as the primary ministry force. In 2 Corinthians he emphasizes his suffering leading to the healing of others.

"For we who live are always delivered to death for Jesus' sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So then death is working in us, but life in you" (2 Corinthians 4:11,12).

This was Jesus' path to our salvation. His suffering brought our salvation. Participating in our share of His suffering will transfer our salvation to those who have not yet experienced it.

This precept is based upon godly wisdom. "However, we speak wisdom among those who are mature, yet not the wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory, which none of the rulers of this age knew; for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory" (1 Corinthians 2:6-8).

If the rulers of this age had known that your affliction would put them in chains, they would have never afflicted you.

What can it mean to be more than a conqueror?

The word "nikao" means overcomer or conqueror, or to overcome. The word hupernikao means more than a conqueror, or "hyper-conqueror." It infers that it is excessively over and beyond being a conqueror. Another way to say is would be "hyper-overcomer." The only place I can find hupernikao used in the Bible is in Romans 8. "Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us" (Romans 8:37).

What more can there be besides conquering? I continued to ask the Lord this question when I knew that He was directing me to name this last chapter Hupernikao, more than a conqueror.

In looking at Romans chapter 8 one can make the following observations of what Paul meant when he used the term "more than a conqueror."

1. In Romans chapter 6 Paul laid out the facts, the finished work of what the death and resurrection of Jesus did for us. This is a tremendous revelation!

2. In Romans chapter 7 Paul admitted to his weaknesses in actual living out this victorious life.

3. In Romans chapter 8 Paul reconciled the differences between the facts and his experience.

He said that we should walk, or live, according to the Spirit and to keep our minds focused on the Spirit and the true facts outlined in Romans chapter 6, rather than to walk or live in the flesh and be carnally minded.

Suffering to glory!

He also stated in Romans chapter 8 that as we walked according to the Spirit we would go from "suffering to glory." "For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us" (Romans 8:18). Paul talked about this glory in other places as well. He said in Colossians 1:27, "To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory."

What is our glory?

We have written of this word "glory" in previous chapters of this book. The word is multi facetted. To glorify is to reveal the true character and worth of a thing or being, like when Christ was glorified at His crucifixion. Looking at the original Greek word it also contains the meaning of "the glorious condition of blessedness into which is appointed and promised that true Christians shall enter after their Saviour's return from heaven." If you have been following our thought in this book, we believe that Christ is not only returning to Earth in the traditional sense, but He also returns in our lives as we are going through the overcoming process. He returns bringing us the victory for which we have been standing through tribulation.

So we can conclude that Paul was speaking of a condition of blessedness for us when he spoke of glory in Romans chapter 8. This is the very opposite of what we have been overcoming, that is curses.

In Romans chapter 8 he continues to describe this pathway to glory and for us. In 8:26-28 Paul talks of our infirmities, but that all these things will work together for good. In 8:30 he talks about our pathway to being glorified, "Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified" (Romans 8:30). Then in 8:35-36 he talks about the kind of situations that potentially could harm us, but because of Christ they cannot. "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written: 'For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter'" (Romans 8:35,36).

Then in Romans 8:37 he says, "Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us." All what things? All of the sufferings and afflictions we have been through during the overcoming process. The suffering and affliction together with our overcoming lifestyle in the face of them, has made us are more than conquerors!

To put it all together I could paraphrase it this way. All of the sufferings and afflictions you have been through during your overcoming process have given you glory, which is a condition of blessedness that you did not enjoy previously.

The following are the two things that I believe this new and deeper condition of blessedness includes:

1. A greater manifestation of Christ in you.

2. A greater manifestation of Christ upon you.

Yes, the enemy has been overcome, but more than that, I have snuggled up to my King in a new level of intimacy, the status of a bride. That is my more!

1. A greater manifestation of Christ in you. As we discussed in a previous chapter, the Ark of the Covenant is in your heart. Now that you are more than a conqueror, the benefits of the contents of the Ark will be enhanced. That includes the Law of God is worked out in your character, the Manna of God is providing for your needs, and Aaron's Rod is bringing ministry fruit into your life.

You are now what Paul calls a "fragrance." "For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing" (2 Corinthians 2:15). This closer union with Jesus together with your broken life that allows for the pouring forth of His life has caused you to spread His fragrance wherever you go.

As you have been overcoming, you have been wounded, broken, and hurt. Often it has been all you could do to hang on. You perhaps have been misjudged and misunderstood. The result has been less of you and more of Christ. Less of your false nature and more of His nature now prevails. A clay vessel needs to be broken in order to allow the sweet oil to flow out. You have been broken, and now His sweet anointing oil flows out to others. You no longer trust in your own abilities but only in the life of Christ in you, you no longer desire anything that is offensive to Jesus, and all you want for your life is His plan. You now think of others more than you do yourself. You now wish to worship rather and ask for anything. You have wasted yourself on Jesus and He has honored you has he honored the woman when she broke her alabaster box.

"And being in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper, as He sat at the table, a woman came having an alabaster flask of very costly oil of spikenard. Then she broke the flask and poured it on His head. But there were some who were indignant among themselves, and said, 'Why was this fragrant oil wasted? For it might have been sold for more than three hundred denarii and given to the poor.' And they criticized her sharply. But Jesus said, 'Let her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a good work for Me. For you have the poor with you always, and whenever you wish you may do them good; but Me you do not have always. She has done what she could. She has come beforehand to anoint My body for burial. Assuredly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her'" (Mark 14:3-9).

You have become one of God's jewels!

2. A greater manifestation of Christ upon you.

You will experience a more real and lasting abiding in deep communion with God in His presence. Now that you are a conqueror, becoming more intimate and closer to Jesus is the "more."

In Revelation chapter 19, when Jesus returns on His white horse to deliver us, we are also told of a very special love relationship that is consummated. "Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready. And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. Then he said to me, 'Write: 'Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!'' And he said to me, 'These are the true sayings of God'" (Revelation 19:7-9).

Being "more than a conqueror" is more of Jesus in your life!

While I am not totally sure what the marriage supper consists of, this I know, it speaks of a very deep level of intimacy and oneness. I believe at this point in your life, your relationship with Jesus is deepened to new levels. I believe that there are new levels of trust on both sides. I believe that your access to God is different than it was previously. A bride has the right to make demands on her husband that no other person can make. A bride, who has consummated her marriage, has the right to depend upon security of many types, including financial security and emotional security. She has access to her Husband that no one else has. Esther is an example.

Visit this scene with me into Revelation chapter 19.

First visualize what Paul quoted from Psalm 68 when he was writing Ephesians 4:8 when he said, "Therefore He says: 'When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, And gave gifts to men'" Ephesians 4:8). Leading captivity captive was an old tradition exercised by conquering kings. They would chain their defeated enemies and line them up behind the king and his soldiers to display the bounty. The defeated foes would be on foot, chained to one another. This is a picture of a past tense event. We are to be one of the townspeople standing at the side of the road shouting and praising the king for his victory, perhaps victory over generational curses, failures, anger, addictions, poverty, etc.

Now if the rest of this picture stretches Scripture a little, please just take it as my imagination. All of a sudden the King stops. It is King Jesus riding on His white horse as in Revelation chapter 19. He looks at you with an intense gaze of love, and He says, "Come, you have participated in this victory, you should not be down there with those people, here is your white horse, ride with Me." As you ride with Him into the royal courtyard, He looks at you once more and says, "Come, now you are more than a conqueror, you are my bride. I have a feast prepared for you."

Jesus' final testimony to the churches in Revelation is about intimacy when He talks about the Tree of Life and says, "And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last. Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city" (Revelation 22:12-14).

The wise and foolish virgins.

An example for the positive and negative side of this blessedness is the parable of the wise and foolish virgins in Matthew 25. All of the virgins were waiting upon the consummation of the wedding, which is another way of saying that all of them were in the overcoming process. However, the five foolish were not prepared to stay for the long haul. The foolish ones were half hearted. The wise virgins were determined to stay until the bridegroom arrived, no matter how long it took and no matter how bad things looked. They may have said, "I know the character of my Bride Groom, He will not stand me up, He can be trusted, therefore I will sell everything I need to sell to purchase whatever I need to purchase to stay here until He comes for me."

"Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish. Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight a cry was heard: 'Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!' Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise, 'Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.' But the wise answered, saying, 'No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.' And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut. Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, 'Lord, Lord, open to us!' But he answered and said, 'Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.' Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming" (Matthew 25:1-13).

We have noticed that when this "more" takes place, it is manifested as an effortless blessing. We also have experienced what Psalm 126 speaks about. That is we have been in a warfare-overcoming mode for so long, it is hard to imagine that we are actually experiencing a blessing now.

"When the LORD brought back the captivity of Zion, We were like those who dream [it seemed so unreal]. Then our mouth was filled with laughter, And our tongue with singing. Then they said among the nations, 'The LORD has done great things for them.' The LORD has done great things for us, And we are glad. Bring back our captivity, O LORD, As the streams in the South [are restored by the torrents]. Those who sow in tears Shall reap in joy. He who continually goes forth weeping, Bearing seed for sowing, Shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, Bringing his sheaves with him" (Psalms 126:1-6 - bracketed comments from Amplified Bible).

Does this mean that we can now relax, that our overcoming days are over, and can just sit around and enjoy blessings? I do not think so! I submit that it means that now we are qualified to do greater works for the Kingdom of God and that we can be trusted with new overcoming assignments. But the "more" it produces will be well worth the effort!

One final thought.

I believe that as we overcome, as we turn our "junk" into "jewels," that we touch the very heart of God by adorning His Son Jesus with jewels.

As the last few chapters of Revelation describe the Kingdom of God, it is interesting to note that the foundations of the city were adorned with all kinds of precious stones. "The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with all kinds of precious stones: the first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald" (Revelation 21:19).

The City described is made of gold, representing the good ordained works of man. However the Foundation, who is Jesus, is adorned with jewels, representing the fruit of suffering. Also the entire City has a luster resembling a rare and most precious jewel, like jasper, shining clear as crystal. In addition the very wall of the City was made of jasper.

Jesus is the foundation Who is adorned with our jewels. "For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ" (1 Corinthians 3:11).

"Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each one's work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one's work, of what sort it is. If anyone's work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. If anyone's work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire" (1 Corinthians 3:12-15).

"He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go out no more. And I will write on him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God. And I will write on him My new name" (Revelation 3:12). Pillars stand on the underground and unseen foundation. They are the manifested portion of the invisible foundation of any building.

"He who testifies to these things says, 'Surely I am coming quickly.' Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus! The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen" (Revelation 22:20,21).