Journal: Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society
Volume: JETS 38:2 (Jun 1995)
Article: “To Him Who Overcomes”: A Fresh Look At What “Victory” Means For The Believer According To The Book Of Revelation
Author: Stephen L. Homcy

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JETS 38:2 (June 1995) p. 193

“To Him Who Overcomes”: A Fresh Look
At What “Victory” Means For The Believer
According To The Book Of Revelation

Stephen L. Homcy*

We live in a world of power struggles. Nation rises against nation, as Jesus said they would. Political parties vie for influence. Individuals seek to assert themselves and to shape the world around their ambitions and objectives. For those who wrestle in these arenas, victory is variously defined. Politicians “win” elections and votes on critical legislation. Nations “win” wars. Despots seek to “win” the hearts of people who buy into their truth system and consent to their authority, or they simply crush those who refuse to do so. Victory apparently means many different things to different people.

The book of Revelation is about a confrontation of powers. The power and majesty of the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb of God are described with forceful images of both severity and beauty. The authority and devastating work of the devil and his forces are cast in bold, dark portraits throughout the drama of the book. These powers clash with thunder that resounds throughout heaven and earth.

The victory of the Lamb is, of course, the assured conclusion of the book. Chapters 19–22 expound the final triumph of the King of kings over all other rulers and peoples. They also declare the full manifestation of his rule throughout creation. Indeed, all this is but the capstone of the building whose foundation was laid at Calvary: The Lamb who rules is the Lamb who was slain. Jesus’ victory consists in his triumph over the power of sin, death, and the devil at the cross1 and the full expression of that triumph at the consummation of the world.

But the book of Revelation was not written simply to inform believers about the victory of the Lamb. Revelation is not only an apocalyptic portrait of the Lamb’s triumph but also a prophetic exhortation for his followers to triumph in him. “To him who overcomes” is the refrain of Jesus himself in his exhortations to the churches. It is “he who overcomes” that will inherit the blessings of the Lamb’s victory (21:7). But what does Jesus mean by “overcome”? The overcoming or victorious life means different things to different Christians. What kind of victory does the book of Revelation prescribe for believers?

* Stephen Homcy is associate professor of New Testament and Greek at Messiah Biblical Institute and Graduate School of Theology, 15 East Deer Park Drive, Gaithersburg, MD 20877.

JETS 38:2 (June 1995) p. 194

I. Called To Overcome: Promises Of Victory

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