Telling Verses from REVELATION:  And he said unto me, these sayings are faithful and true: and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angel to show unto his servants the things which must shortly be done. Rev 22:6 

 

 

PART 3: MARTYRS and OVERCOMERS

 

Rev 2:7  He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.

 

Rev 2:10 -11  …be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.

       He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.

 

Rev 2:17  He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.

 

Rev 2:26 - 28  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; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father.

       And I will give him the morning star.

 

Rev 3:5  He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.

 

Rev 3:12  Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name.

 

Rev 3:21  To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.

 

After warning the churches, the end of times is described. The Lamb of God, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the root of David, is recognized in heaven and he begins to remove the seals of the Book. The fourth seal brings Death and Hell to earth. They kill with the sword, hunger, and with the beasts of the earth. And the opening of the fifth seal reveals the altar of those slain for the word of God and the testimony they held.

 

Rev 6:10 - 11  And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?

And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.

 

Rev 7:9 - 10 After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.

 

Rev 7:13 - 14  And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they?

And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

 

During that time, two powerful figures emerge to have great authority.  Identified as the beast and the dragon, they convince the masses of people that they are invincible. But the beast has the name of blasphemy. The dragon has miraculous powers and great deception.

 

Rev 13:7  And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.

 

  The beast will persecute the saints but its power over them is only temporary.

 

Rev 13:9 -10  If any man have an ear, let him hear. He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.

 

Those that refuse to worship the image of the beast will be killed. As a ruler the beast initiates a new system of commerce, requiring its mark.  But God’s people are warned not to take the mark of the beast.

 

Rev 14:12 -13  Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.

And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them.

 

Rev 12:10 - 12   And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, "Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God.

 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.1

Therefore, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short!"

 

We see the martyrs of this time in heaven worshiping even as God’s angels prepare to deliver his wrath to earth targeted against the beast and all who bow before him.  And the martyrs proclaim:

 

Rev 15:4-  Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? for thou only art holy: for all nations shall come and worship before thee; for thy judgments are made manifest.

 

Despite the plagues displaying the power of God, the beast and those deceived do not repent, but become even more enraged. They gather for battle at the place called Armageddon.

 

Jesus returns as a great warrior and conquers the beast, the dragon, the Devil and Satan. The saints, those who did not turn away from faith in Christ, the martyrs who stood at the dawn of eternity and faltered not, are rewarded by the Great King and Conqueror.

 

Rev 20:4 - 6 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and 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.

But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.

Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

 

Rev 7:15 - 17  Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them.

They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat.

For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.

 

Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book. Rev 22:7 

 

 

MARTYR  THEOLOGY:

 

The Lord hasn’t called each of us to be a martyr,

but He has called all of us to walk with a martyr mentality,

and a martyr spirit, and to embrace a martyr theology,

which says: Jesus is worth more than anything I could gain in life

and worth more than anything I would lose in death.

 

 

FOOTNOTE: 

 

1 From the great Bible commentator, Matthew Henry:

 

"The triumphant song that was composed and used on this occasion, Rev_12:10, Rev_12:11. Here observe…

How the victory was gained. The servants of God overcame Satan, [1.] By the blood of the Lamb, as the meritorious cause. Christ by dying destroyed him that hath the power of death, that is, the devil.

 

[2.] By the word of their testimony, as the great instrument of war, the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, - by a resolute powerful preaching of the everlasting gospel, which is mighty, through God, to pull down strongholds, - and by their courage and patience in sufferings; they loved not their lives unto the death, when the love of life stood in competition with their loyalty to Christ; they loved not their lives so well but they could give them up to death, could lay them down in Christ's cause; their love to their own lives was overcome by stronger affections of another nature; and this their courage and zeal helped to confound their enemies, to convince many of the spectators, to confirm the souls of the faithful, and so contributed greatly to this victory."

 

 Please my friend, keep reading and keep the faith!

 

Alan Updyke