When reading chapters two and three of Revelation you will soon see a pattern which is followed in each letter. First, Jesus commended each church for their good works. Then He rebuked them for their evil works. Next came the command to repent, followed by a promise to those who overcome. Let's look at these promises.

1] To Ephesus. [2:7] "...to him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life,"

2] To Smyrna. [2:11] "...He that overcometh shall not hurt of the second death."

3] To Pergamos. [2:17] "...To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna..."

4] To Thyatira. [2:26] "...And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations: And he shall rule them with a rod of iron..."

5] To Sardis. [3:5] "...He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot his name out of the book of life..."

6] To Philadelphia. [3:12] "...Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God..."

7] To Laodicea. [3:21] "...To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne,..."

In these letters Jesus did not go into detail about what He meant by overcoming. However, we find the answer later in the book.

Revelation 12 11 And they overcame him [Satan] by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.

Christians will overcome Satan and the Antichrist by not denying the Lord Jesus Christ, even when faced with certain death.

Revelation 14
12 Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.
13 And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors; and their works do follow them.

Revelation 7
14 ...These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

Revelation 20
4 ...I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.

To overcome, means to overcome Satan, Antichrist, and the world system. In Revelation, Jesus warned the churches to overcome, and then went on to show them what they must overcome, in chapters four through eighteen. Then, in chapters nineteen through twenty-two, we see the final rewards for the overcomers, the glorious coming of Christ, the Kingdom which follows, and the New Jerusalem. In chapter twenty-one, after all the events of the tribulation are described, we find this promise.

Revelation 21
7 He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.

Jesus expects His Church to overcome Satan and Antichrist. This is the message of Revelation to us today.

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