He who overcomes shall inherit all things.

He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son. Rev 21:7

‘Overcome’ implies a battle or a struggle.  It may be a long struggle.  It may be a hard struggle, one that many people do not make it through. What is this struggle? It’s life in a sin-filled earth that is filled with temptation and evil.  Our struggle is against sin, we are fighting the good fight of faith. The fight can be tough, but if you persevere and overcome the rewards are great.

Revelation 21 and 22 lay out the good thing that God has for those who overcome.  He says, “Behold, I make all things new!”   John, in his vision, saw the things that God has prepared for those who overcome. He says, “I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away.”

This earth has an expiration date. The earth is waxing old and is toiling under the abuses that sinful men have abused it with. God says that the day is coming in which the first earth will be destroyed with fire.  Everything old will be burned up and gone.  Not only will the first earth be gone, but all that is in it will be burned up as well.  All the pain, all the hurts, all the abuses, all the sicknesses, all the death.  In the book of Isaiah God says that even the memory of the old things with be burned up: “For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; And the former shall not be remembered or come to mind.” Isa 65:17.

The bible says that ‘eye has not seen, nor ear heard, neither has it entered the heart of man, the things that God has prepared for those who love Him.’ 1 Co 2:9.  What God has prepared for us is too big and too great for our human minds or hearts to understand.  We can get a little glimpse of it here and there through the Word, but the sum of it we will not know until we get there.

God says that He will wipe away every tear from our eyes. There shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain.  There will be fountains of living water to drink from and the tree of life to eat from.  The great city will be 1400 miles square.  There will be walls surrounding the city that are held up by twelve foundations made of precious stone and they will keep out anything that is evil or defiled. Each gate to enter the city is carved out of one giant pearl and the street that you step on will be made of solid, pure, translucent gold. Running through the city will be a river, the clearest and purest you’ve ever seen. In the new earth, the wolf and the lamb shall lay down together, and a young child will play with vipers, because there will be nothing that hurts or causes pain. You’ll hear joy and laughter and singing in that city, but you won’t hear the sound of crying or the sound of weeping. There will be rows of mansions, the most beautiful you have ever seen.  Each one custom built by the Master Carpenter.  They are the houses of the saints, the dwelling places of the ones who have overcome.

The bible says, “Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city.” Rev 22:14

This is why we must overcome.  You don’t want to miss your opportunity to enter through the gates of that beautiful city.  You don’t want to miss walking on the streets of gold. You don’t want to miss swimming in the crystal river,  or eating the fruit from the tree of life, the same tree that Adam and Eve were banned from.  Remember these things when you are tempted to give up or tempted to do evil.  The reward is great for those who overcome!