To the victorious ladies. The one who wins
There are Bibles in which the words of Jesus Christ are highlighted in red. If you have such a Bible, then you will notice that in the Acts and Epistles of the Apostles there are very few verses highlighted in red, unlike the four Gospels. The writing of Acts and the epistles of the apostles was inspired by the same Holy Spirit, but here the story is not told from the face of Jesus Christ. The situation changes in Revelation, last book Bible. Here again Christ speaks on behalf of himself. Therefore, in this section, I would like to draw your attention to some truths from the second and third chapters of the book of Revelation. These chapters record an appeal to seven churches in Asia Minor. Jesus Himself dictated the letters to the apostle John, which He ordered to be sent to these churches along with the entire book. It is surprising how little attention is given to these messages of Jesus. I am familiar with the theory that these messages of Christ and the entire book of Revelation do not refer to us, but to future believers who will have to understand the meaning of what is written. We may not attach much importance to these messages and the book, since they are given to us only for our information. In the third appendix of this book, I give reasons why I believe this theory is false.
Continuing the theme of the letters themselves, I want to draw your attention to the fact that all seven letters end with a promise for those who overcome. Let's read these promises:
Revelation 2:7:
"To him who overcomes, I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God."
Revelation 2:11:
"He who overcomes will not be harmed by the second death."
Revelation 2:17:
“To him who overcomes I will give to eat the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone and a new name written on the stone, which no one knows except the one who receives it.”
Revelation 2:26-28:
« Who overcomes and keeps my works to the end to him I will give power over the Gentiles, and he will rule them with a rod of iron; like earthenware they will be broken, just as I have received authority from my Father; and I will give him the morning star.”
Revelation 3:5:
“He who overcomes will put on white clothes; and I will not blot out his name from the book of life, and I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels.”
Revelation 3:12:
“He who overcomes I will make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he will not go out any more; and I will write on it 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 my new name.”
And Revelation 3:21:
“To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, just as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.”
It is amazing what promises were given to him who overcomes, who keeps the commandments of Christ, who keeps the works of the Lord and endures to the end. However, many people believe that they do not need to win anything. They are convinced that everything has already been done in the distant past - at the moment of acceptance of faith. They also believe that the race of faith not only started the moment they believed, but also ended the moment they believed. If this were true reality, then Jesus would not need to talk about those who overcome. However, the Lord insists on the need to overcome. There will also be those who WILL NOT overcome, forfeiting the promised promises.
Take, for example, the promise recorded at Revelation 3:5:
“He who overcomes will put on white clothes; and I will not blot out his name from the book of life, and I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels.”
Jesus promised that our names would not be removed from the book of life if we were victorious. Therefore, our names will be removed if we do not win. Inscribed in the book of life are the names of those to whom eternal life awaits (Philippians 4:3). They will dwell forever in the new Jerusalem (Rev. 21:27). Those who are not entered in the book of life will be thrown into the lake of fire (Rev. 20:15). In other words, only those people whose names are entered in the book of life will receive eternal life. Jesus makes it clear that new names can be written in the book of life, and the names of those who do not strive to overcome, who retreat, can also be removed. Thus, the entry of our names in the book of life does not mean that it cannot be removed. Anyone who does not overcome, backslide, and does not repent of it (see the subsequent study of Hebrews 6) will not be found in the book of life. I know that many are unwilling to hear this simple truth of God's Word. Personally, I am not ready to ignore her and try to justify my innocence.
He who has an ear, let him hear. - All people have a bodily ear, but only a spiritual person acquires a spiritual ear; such, for example, was the prophet Isaiah (8, 5). Such a person, who overcomes the temptations of demons, promises to give to eat from tree of life, that is, to make a partaker of the blessings of the future age. − The tree of life allegorically means eternal life; and both are Christ, as Solomon and the same Apostle said in another place: the former, speaking of Wisdom, said that she is belly tree(Prov. 3, 18), and the latter speaks of Christ like this: "Toy is true god and eternal life(I John 5:20). - If we want to achieve it, then, I pray you, we will correct life, and we will conquer passions. For in any case, rewards will follow for labors, according to the grace and love of mankind of our Lord Jesus Christ, with whom to the Father, together with the Holy Spirit, glory now and forever and forever and ever. Amen.
St. Methodius of Patara
He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches: To him who overcomes, I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.
<…>foolish fell into error, not understanding (what is said here) about tree of life which formerly grew in paradise, but now the Church has grown for everyone, which brings forth the beautiful and beautiful fruit of faith. This is the fruit we must bear when we come on the first day of the feast to the Judgment Seat of Christ. If we do not have this fruit, then we will not celebrate with God and, according to John, let us not have part in the first resurrection(Revelation 20:6) . For tree of life is the firstborn of all Wisdom. She is- says the prophet, - tree of life for those who acquire it(Proverbs 3:18), and a stronghold for those who lean on it as on the Lord; a tree planted by streams of water, which bears its fruit in its season(Ps 1:3) : that is, teaching and wisdom delivered at the proper time to those who come to the waters of redemption. And the one who did not believe in Christ, who did not know that He is the beginning and the tree of life, who cannot show God his tabernacle adorned with the most beautiful of beautiful fruits, how will he celebrate? how will you have fun? Do you want to know the beautiful fruit of this tree? Look at the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, how they are more beautiful than the words of men? Beautiful fruit sprouted through Moses - the law; but it was not as beautiful as the Gospel; for that was only a type and shadow of future things, but this is the truth and grace of life. The fruit of the prophets was beautiful, but not as beautiful as the fruit of incorruption cultivated from this (Gospel).
Feast of ten virgins.
Shmch. Viktorin Petavisky
He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches: To him who overcomes, I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.
Apringii
He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches: To him who overcomes, I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.
He spoke about the work of the Church and gave a description of the perversity of the heretics. Now, exhorting the weak to repentance, He promises those who overcome the reward for their labor, so that when they enter Paradise, they can freely eat from the tree of life, because of which Adam was expelled from paradise so that he would not eat anything from him. Therefore He says: which is in the midst of the paradise of my God where the spirit breathes life, where mysteries are in power, and where God produces the fruit of the tree of life, eternal and unfading.
Treatise on Revelation.
Tertullian
He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches: To him who overcomes, I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.
By whom is the competition held, if not by those who set up the wreath and awards? Read about the announcement of such a contest in the Apocalypse; for these rewards He calls to victory especially those who have actually triumphed in the persecution, having overcome when they have actually fought not against flesh and blood, but against the spirits of wickedness. Acknowledge, therefore, that the Organizer of the competition and the Judge who calls for the reward are one and the same. All that is achieved in persecution is the glory of God, who approves and condemns, uplifts and casts down.
About fleeing during persecution.
Tikoniy
He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches: To him who overcomes, I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.
Let the overcomer eat from the tree of life that is, from the fruit of the cross, which, as He says, is in the paradise of my God. And under paradise one can understand the Church, for everything was brought into an image, and, according to the teaching of the apostle, Adam preceded the Coming One by a shadow. Indeed, tree of life- the wisdom of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, who was hanged on the cross, who both in the Church and in the spiritual paradise gives the faithful life food and the sacrament of Heavenly Bread, about which you can read: She is the tree of life for those who acquire her.(Proverbs 3:18) .
Fragments.
Ecumenion
He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches: To him who overcomes, I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.
having an ear, that is, obedient and obedient to divine laws, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He said Spirit, either because under the influence of the Spirit the visions of the book of Revelation arose, or he called Christ the Spirit, since He is God and is recognized by God, just as He [does not] reject the name Son of Man, since He is a man and is recognized as a man. For according to the universal affirmation, Divinity is Spirit, as the Lord Himself said to the Samaritan woman: God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth.
I once heard a preacher give various examples of how he thought we should overcome temptation. “Suppose,” he said, “that you have a drinking problem. You drive up to a liquor store and buy a bottle of wine. Then you return to the car, open the bottle and bring it to your mouth. And suddenly you realize that you have fallen into temptation!”
That's for sure!
The preacher continued, “Suppose now that you are addicted to drugs. You meet with a drug dealer and buy a pack of the strongest drug from him. Then you return home, take out the syringe, heat the mixture, and as soon as you are about to stick the needle, you suddenly realize that you have fallen into temptation. What will you do?
Possibly one of our most big problems the temptation is that we wait for the moment described by this preacher, and only then try to decide what to do. But it's too late! If sin is born in the mind, in the assumption that we have ceased to trust Christ and our connection with Him is lost, then the temptation has already taken place and we have succumbed to it much earlier. If sins are not only unrighteous actions, but also unrighteous thoughts, intentions, and desires (as we have already discussed in previous chapters), then we succumbed to temptation even before we went to the liquor store or to the drug dealer and. Temptation became sin at the moment of agreeing with it in thought. The planning of sin and its actual implementation followed as the inevitable result of the sin that had already taken place.
The book “The Sermon on the Mount of Christ” says the following: “When a person falls into a serious sin at the moment of temptation, he only reveals and makes clear the evil that for the time being was hidden from the eyes in the depths of his soul. “What are the thoughts in his soul, such is he”; for from the heart are "the fountains of life" (Prov. 23:7; 4:23)."
If you failed in a math exam, the reason for this was that at one time you did not care about studying the multiplication table or neglected everyday problem solving. If you suddenly discover a shortage in your bank account, then in reality the problem occurred when you either added or subtracted incorrectly when writing checks. If you're drowning in the deepest part of a swimming pool, it's because you haven't learned to float by swimming at shallow depths.
The strong man uses all sorts of ways to resist sin at the moment of temptation. The weak one tries the same tricks and finds that they are all equally useless. It's not about finding the right words during temptation, or the right prayer or a suitable psalm. The most important thing is to find the Source of strength, so that at the moment of temptation the Spirit of the Lord will stand up for your protection.
Any attempt to squeeze the right behavior out of ourselves at the critical moment of temptation leads to focusing on ourselves, which leads us to a dead end. The only way to resist sin and the devil is to look to Jesus and not to yourself. Even strong people find that when they are separated from Christ, all they can hope for is control over their actions. They cannot change the desires of their heart.
When Jesus approached His disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane and found them sleeping, He told them, "Get up and pray that you do not enter into temptation" (Luke 22:46). Were they tempted at that moment? Perhaps they were tempted to sleep. But the reason for their failure during the temptations was that they neglected the power available to them from above. And when the decisive moment came, it was precisely because of this neglect that they all left Him and hid.
In Hebrews 4:16 we find the advice to come "with boldness to the throne of grace, that you may receive mercy, and find grace to help in time of need." How often do we just talk about it instead of coming boldly to the throne of grace at the right time. Indeed, Jesus always accepts us whenever we turn to Him, but only through striving to find His mercy at the throne of grace now will we have grace to help later when it is needed. He always offers forgiveness of sin, but if we are delivered from sin, it is only because we come to Him for His power before temptation arises. We win because we learn to abide in Christ day by day, every moment.
Epistles to the churches: Ephesus (1-7), Smyrna (8-11), Pergamon (12-17) and Thyatira (18-29), consisting of an appeal, praise and rebuke, exhortation, and a promise of reward.
. Write to the angel of the Ephesian church: thus says He who holds the seven stars in His right hand, Who walks in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks:
I know your deeds, and your work, and your patience, and that you cannot bear the perverse, and I tested those who call themselves apostles, but they are not, and found that they are liars;
You endured a lot and have patience, and for My name you labored and did not faint.
From the second chapter begins the exposition of the very epistles that St. John was to write and send to the churches of Asia Minor. All seven epistles in their external form are very similar to each other and equally consist of an inscription, introduction, main part, appeal and reward. The inscription indicates the name of the church; in the introduction, the Lord appears to John with an attribute corresponding to the state of this church; the main part talks about its advantages and disadvantages; in the appeal - a call to a perfect life, the reward is the retribution for this life.
In the first place among the seven churches, Ephesus was placed, as the closest to Fr. Patmos. Ephesus is a glorious ancient city on the coast of the Icarian Sea between Smyrna and Miletus. - The Lord addresses the Primate (Angel) of the Ephesian Church, pointing to His attributes: seven lamps and seven stars, and says: I know your deeds, that is, all your life, as the discovery of your soul; I know your efforts to stand at the height of moral perfection; I also know your patience with which you endure all persecution and oppression from the pagans. The Ephesians are praised for their attitude towards depraved, that is, people of bad morals, and those uncalled and malicious preachers. And the Ephesians, with their obviously not quite clear Christian dogmatic knowledge, needed a lot of love and devotion - Ap. Paul and John, in order to remain with their former Christian teaching and not change it.
. But I have against you that you left your first love.
. So remember where you fell from, and repent, and do the former works; but if not, I will quickly come to you, and I will remove your candlestick from its place, unless you repent.
Obviously, before their love, manifested in works of mercy, was incomparably stronger than now. And since nothing can replace love, the Ephesians are advised to leave the pride of their Christian knowledge and work, to repent of their present coldness and return to their former deeds of love. In 5 st. The Lord threatens the Ephesians with His punitive visitation, threatens with deprivation of His saving grace. The candlestick in question here is with its archpastors and gifts of grace. All this the Lord threatens to take away from the Ephesians, transfer to another place. - Now, on the site of the ancient magnificent Ephesus, a small village of Aia-Soluk rises from behind a heap of ruins, where there is a mosque built from the former church of I. Theologian. Thus this lamp of primitive Christianity is moved from its place.
. However, it is good in you that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.
But comforting and encouraging the Ephesians, the Lord expresses praise to them for their indisposition to the heresy of the Nicolaitans, descended from the Antiochian proselyte Nicholas, one of the seven deacons. Jerusalem church. In Ephesus, the Nicolaitans were hated and expelled, because in their teaching of licentiousness they represented the exact opposite of the prudent restraint of the Ephesian Christians, who generally did not tolerate depraved people.
. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches: To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.
The proclamation that joins the epistle of the Ephesian church is the usual one in St. Scripture calls for attentiveness (; ). It is not Jesus Christ that is exposed, but the Holy Spirit, because the Holy Spirit is that power that enlightened the Old Testament prophets, apostles, and now John himself, as well as every believer in general, when assimilating revelation. – The award is quite consistent with the previous depiction of the virtues of the Ephesian Christians. For their strict temperance and hatred of the intemperate Nicolaitans, they are promised the fruit of the tree of life as a reward. With regard to this tree of life, it can be taken for that blessed tree, which in future life in the New Jerusalem will be one of the conditions and sources of bliss, just as in the first paradise the tree of life () was such.
. And write to the Angel of the Church of Smyrna: thus says the First and Last, who was dead, and lo, he is alive:
The city of Smyrna is one of the oldest cities in Asia Minor. Smyrna arose after 70 years. Smyrna still retains the dignity of a metropolis and in its outward state surpasses all the ancient Christian cities of this region. To the bishop of this church, perhaps to St. To Polycarp, the Lord addresses His revelation. In His words is an indication of Jesus Christ as the Almighty, who in Himself indicates the purpose of existence. The Resurrection of Jesus Christ assures Christians of the possibility of obtaining eternal blessedness after the general resurrection and judgment.
. I know your deeds, and sorrow, and poverty [however, you are rich], and slander from those who say about themselves that they are Jews, but they are not, but a bunch of satanic.
In the words of 9 tbsp. The Lord raises the Smyrna to the thought of His providential omniscience. He sees human sorrows and material poverty; but he values both patient Christian hope and devotion to God, which are here called Christian wealth. The Apocalypse calls the Jews a satanic congregation, thereby making it clear that he means the Jews who have become decisively hostile to Christianity. And their synagogue government made the Jews especially strong and harmful in this case ().
. Do not be afraid of anything that you will have to endure. Behold, the devil will cast from among you into prison to tempt you, and you will have tribulation for ten days. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.
The people of Smyrna in the near future were to undergo great sorrows, special misfortunes and persecutions. But now the people of myrrh hear that the Lord Almighty looks upon them with His all-seeing eye. The main consolation and encouragement here lies in the fact that the main culprit of these sufferings, their purpose and their duration are indicated. The persecution of Christians and the imprisonment of many of them in prison will occur at the instigation of the devil (). But God, having allowed the devil to start a persecution against the Smyrna Christians in the near future, will limit his activity to a short time. For Christians, death itself should not be terrible, which will be the lot of some of them during persecution. - This will only be a transition to a new blessed and eternal life: the crown is a symbol of reward and glorification (;).
. He who has an ear [to hear], let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches: He who overcomes will not suffer harm from the second death.
After the usual appeal to mindfulness, the Smyrna Christians are given the promise of a reward: deliverance from the second death. The second is precisely Gehenna (;). She is death and the second and other (special). It occurs only for those who undergo the first death, that is, the separation of soul and body, and consists in the final deprivation of man of divine grace. Liberation from this eternal death, in other words, from eternal torment, is what the Lord promises to the Christians of Smyrna who are persecuted for their faith.
. And write to the Angel of the Church of Pergamon: thus says He who has a sword sharp on both sides:
Pergamum, to the Angel of whose church the Lord addresses in the 12th century, in ancient times was the main city of Media and for some time even the capital of the Kingdom of Pergamon. The Christian in Pergamon, although surrounded by the darkness of superstition, did not overshadow her faith; and this lamp of ancient Christianity still shines with the pure light of Christian teaching. In the expression of the Lord's appeals to the Bishop of Pergamum, a special property of the Divine word is indicated, which is manifested in admonition, in warning and in the call of a person to repentance and self-correction.
. I know your deeds, and that you live where the throne of Satan is, and that you keep My name, and did not renounce My faith even in those days in which you, where Satan lives, my faithful witness Antipas was killed.
In words: "Satan's Throne" refers to the special position of Pergamum in the spread of pagan religion. In Pergamon, at the temple of Aesculapius, an extensive scientific and religious society was formed - an institution where the priests were exceptional doctors of all diseases. The serpent, being a sacred symbol of the Pergamon god and usually kept alive in his temple, was for Christians an object of disgust, as a symbol of the prince of darkness, the culprit of paganism. So the city of Pergamum itself can be called, for the most part, the throne of Satan. The Lord praises the Christians of Pergamon because, despite their unfavorable position among the most rude and fanatical pagan population, they remained true Christians. Specifying a private historical fact the martyrdom of Antipas is a clear confirmation of the firmness of the faith of the Christians of Pergamon. - Antipas, who occupied the place of the Bishop of Pergamon, was martyred about the year 93, being burned in the inside of a red-hot bull.
. But I have a little against you, because you have there the teachings of Balaam, who taught Balak to lead the children of Israel into temptation, so that they eat idolater and commit adultery.
So you have those who adhere to the teachings of the Nicolaitans, which I hate.
To the praise for merit is added a reproach, which consists in reproaching the Christians of Pergamon for their condescending attitude towards the Nicolaitans, who are likened to Balaam in their licentiousness. The Nicolaitans did not properly belong to the Christian community of Pergamon; they were apparently excommunicated from him, although they lived in the same city.
. Repent; but if not, I will quickly come to you and fight with them with the sword of my mouth.
The warning, the call for a stricter attitude towards the Nicolaitans, refers only to faithful Christians. In relation to heretics, a more severe threat is pronounced. If they do not repent, then the Lord will visit Pergamon with His punishing right hand and strike the heretics with the sword of His mouth. Under this sword one can understand the extraordinary action of the providence of God, which sometimes strikes the wicked according to one utterance of His almighty word.
. He who has an ear [to hear], let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches: To him who overcomes I will give to eat the hidden manna; and I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written, which no one knows except he who receives it.
The comparison of the two rewards - the hidden manna and the white stone - clearly indicates that these reward items are only symbols. Under the sacred manna, one can understand the body and blood of Jesus Christ, which believers partake in the sacrament of the Eucharist. So this reward applies not only to the future life, but also to the present, consisting in the teaching of the mysterious Divine grace. - The white stone with the inscription should remind the readers of the Apocalypse of the pebble that was given out both in court to indicate an acquittal or accusation, and during a competition at games as an expression of a reward. And below it is symbolically depicted the verdict of God's judgment on every Christian, according to which verdict he receives either punishment or reward. Here, on earth, and there, in heaven, this reward is special for everyone (no one knows, except for the one who receives), as a blissful state of his spirit.
. And write to the Angel of the Church of Thyatira: thus says the Son of God, whose eyes are like a flame of fire, and whose feet are like chalcoleban:
Thyatira, where the fourth message of the Lord is assigned, is a small Lydian town in Asia Minor, and was a Macedonian colony. It is currently a Muslim town; the number of Orthodox Christians is not numerous, and the only one of them stands in the middle of the cemetery and has almost completely grown into the ground. In his address to the Thyatira Christians, with his epithet, the Lord points to the properties of His Divine nature: fire combines in a candle both the beneficial property of warming and life-giving (the goodness of God), and the property of purification and destruction (God's Justice).
. I know your works, and love, and service, and faith, and your patience, and that your last works are greater than the first.
The Lord praises the Thyatiraians 1) for their mercy and love for their neighbors; 2) for the conscious assimilation of dogmas Christian faith; 3) for the patient enduring of earthly misfortunes and sorrows, and 4) for the Christian striving for greater perfection in the virtues.
. But I have little against you, because you allow the wife of Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, to teach and mislead My servants, to commit adultery and eat things sacrificed to idols.
For the Thyatiraans at their pure Christian life condescension to Jezebel's wife was a moral danger. Under this wife one can see both the figurative designation of the Nicolaitan heresy, and historical figure, famous woman Jezebel, who falsely posed as a prophetess. inclined Christians to acts contrary to Christian morality, to the heresy of the Nicolaitans. Possessing the authority of a prophetess, she all the stronger, bolder and more successfully inclined many Christians to a depraved life and to the neglect of Christian discipline (there is sacrificial to idols), and all churches will understand that I am the one who searches hearts and inwards; and I will render to each of you according to your deeds.
The Lord gave time to repent for both Jezebel and the Thyatira, but in vain. Repentance did not follow, and therefore in 22 st. the threat of the coming judgment of God is expressed. Judgment and execution begin with Jezebel as the perpetrator of wickedness; she is stricken with an illness that binds her to bed. Those who committed adultery with her, and, according to her teaching, contain heretical teaching, the Lord threatens with great sorrow.
. But to you and to others who are in Thyatira, who do not adhere to this teaching and who do not know the so-called depths of Satan, I say that I will not place any other burden on you;
. just what you have, keep it until I come.
Speech to the faithful of the Thyatira church. “Here, by others we mean Christians who have not yet been carried away by the false teachings and temptations of the Jezebel sect. The Lord characterizes them as being alien to the teachings of this false prophetess and not knowing the so-called satanic depths. By the depths of Satan here one must understand the most philosophical system heresy of Gnosticism, which should be called the depth of Satan, the highest manifestation of the actions of the devil. The Gnostics boasted of their system of philosophy and regarded as pitiful ignoramuses all those who had no part in it. But the Lord notices that the Thyatiraians should not be embarrassed, for for their salvation, even that law of God, God's revelation, following which they have already achieved significant moral perfection, is sufficient.
. Whoever overcomes and keeps my works to the end, to him I will give power over the Gentiles,
. and he will rule them with a rod of iron; like earthenware they will be broken, just as I have received authority from my Father;
The reward will be awarded only to those who remain victorious in enduring suffering and labor until the end of their earthly career. Power over the pagans, as a reward to the Thyatiraians, will be expressed in herding them with a rod of iron and in crushing them like earthen vessels. An iron rod is a symbol of firm power, clay vessels are a symbol of weakness and insignificance. By pagans one must understand in general people who do not belong to the Kingdom of God. Power over the pagans (actually rewards) means the high position of the righteous in front of all other people, both still here on earth (in the sense of the authority of their moral strength), and especially after death, when they, as glorified ones, act on the living with their prayers and intercession before the throne of the Most High.
Art. 21-22 To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with me on my throne, just as I also overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches
Throne signifies the kingdom and peace of the future age; wherefore he says that those who overcome the enemy will be glorified and reign with Him. - Like and Az victorious- said for humanity for the sake of accepting the flesh. For God the Word did not receive the kingdom as a reward for virtues, but as the Eternal One had it from time immemorial. If it were otherwise, then He could not associate others with it; meanwhile, according to the words of the Theologian, the son of Gromov, He, “out of his fullness he gave it to all the saints”(John 1:16; 1 Tim. 6:17), for the same reason he said to the holy Apostles that they "They will sit on twelve thrones and judge the twelve tribes of Israel"(Matt. 19:28; 1 Cor. 6:2). Since He, God and the Eternal King, became a man for us and, apart from sin, took on everything that is characteristic of human nature, He also gave His own to the conquerors of the devil, insofar as it is possible for people to accept this. Therefore He, who made the clouds the chariot of ascent into heaven in His ascension, He will catch up to His meeting and the Saints in the clouds, as the Apostle affirms (1 Thess. 4:17). Having come in the form of a Judge, as the Creator and Lord of creation, He will give the Saints the power to judge those who despised and rejected the Divine, truly, and the most blessed slavery. “Don’t you know, like angels(i.e. chiefs of darkness) we will judge"(1 Cor. 6, 3), says the Apostle. - So, having such a philanthropic Judge, let us try not to be deprived of His graces and good deeds by the unswerving fulfillment of the God-inspired words of Solomon: “at all times may your garments be white”(Eccl. 9, 8), i.e. not defiled by evil deeds. Therefore, having adorned our souls like a bride, let us present ourselves worthy for union with the immortal Bridegroom and King; and then, having united with Him in virtues, we will receive heavenly blessings from their giver Christ our God, with whom to the Father, together with the Holy Spirit, glory, honor and worship now and ever and forever and ever. Amen.
St. Innokenty (Borisov)
“To the overcomer I will give to sit with Me on the Throne”. It is obvious that this Throne is not any sensual throne, for it is similar to the one on which God Himself sits: “As I also conquered and sat with My Father on His Throne”, - and the infinite Deity cannot have a sensual throne. Thus, by the name of the Divine Throne one must understand the state of dominion, power and glory, like that which God Himself enjoys: the state is therefore so majestic and blissful that we, in our present earthly imprisonment, cannot even imagine it in full and exact form. The very prophets and apostles, when they want to portray him, use for that comparison, borrowing them from what we know best, such as: from royal majesty and glory (Rev. 3:11), from the light of the sun (Matt. 13:43 ), from the lost bliss of paradise (Rev. 2:7), from the perfections of the Angelic world (Matt. 22:30). Moreover, using various comparisons in order to depict the future bliss of the righteous, the sacred writers decisively declare that the very object is higher than these images, that the righteous, or, in the words of our text, the winners, are destined for what “eye does not see, and ear does not hear, and to the very heart” never ascended (1 Corinthians 2:9), and which therefore cannot be depicted by any human language (2 Corinthians 12:4). And this incomparable, unimaginable, inexpressible Divine state is promised to every conqueror! - as much for the very last of the slaves as for the very first of the kings!
The word on the day of the accession to the throne of the most pious sovereign Nikolai Pavlovich, said in the Kiev-Sophia Cathedral on November 20, 1833.
Shmch. Viktorin Petavisky
To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, just as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.
Right. John of Kronstadt
To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, just as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.
Conquer, man, your passions, so that you deserve the crown of truth. The struggle with sin and passions is inevitable in this life; if you yield victory over yourself to the devil, the flesh, or the world without a fight, you are guilty, you are your own enemy; you will not see the kingdom of heaven if you do not try to win.
And in order to defeat your enemies, for this you need to practice wrestling and manage to find the means to victory. Nothing is given as a gift.
A diary. Volume I. 1856.
Tikoniy
To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, just as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.
He shows that the Son, by assumption, has a share in the authority of the Father. However, what else does it mean to sit on the throne of the Father, if not that He is one and the same substance [with the Father]? And how He overcomes the devil and sits on right hand from the Father, then he who overcomes will sit with him. For God the Son is the sovereign, who is everywhere in the Father and fills heaven and earth according to his own power.
Fragments.
Lopukhin A.P.
To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, just as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.
Under throne God means to be with Christ in His Kingdom. The property and greatness of the reward, obviously, lies in the promise of possible closeness to the Lord God as to the source and giver of every good. Jesus Christ was honored from God the Father with the fullest glorification of His flesh, so the Christian will be glorified if he follows the path of repentance and the cross after the ascetic Jesus Christ.
