“And he who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations…”

And he who overcomes

We come to the promise portion of the epistle to Thyatira.

An overcomer is a person who wins a victory over sin, the flesh, the world, and spiritual failure, and thus who conquers spiritually.

and keeps My works until the end

Jesus challenges this church to keep His works, that is, to be true to that He stands for. The “works” here are the standards that Christ compels us to keep, in contrast to what Jezebel teaches (Re 2:22).

The “end” here is until the time when Jesus comes (Re 2:25).

to him I will give power over the nations

Those who are true to Jesus will receive rewards. Jesus now gives the nature of the reward for being true to truth. He gives victors authority over nations in the millennium.

The words “give power over” indicate that Jesus gives believers who conquer authority to rule in the millennium, the thousand-year reign of Christ on earth (v.27). The word “power” means authority.

Principle:

When Jesus reigns over this earth, those who lived victorious lives will reign with Him.

Application:

Christians will reign with Christ during the millennium. The decree of the individual Christian’s rule in the millennium will depend on the extent of victory during the church age.