Thirsty Conquerors
Dirt and Stone for Flesh and Bone - Part 9
Thanks for reading the YESTERDAY section of my Substack, where I share Sunday’s sermon notes on Monday, which I adapt slightly for better reading. Your comments are coveted.
In our series on heaven, which I’ve called Dirt and Stone for Flesh and Bone, we have been rocked by more than a few revelations. The title reveals perhaps the biggest surprise: Heaven, as in the place we spend eternity after Christ returns, is not an immaterial, solely spiritual place but a literal, newly refashioned earth made of dirt and stone. And our resurrection bodies, just like Jesus’, will be physical, made of flesh and bone.
Last week, we began unpacking John's visions in the final chapters of Revelation, where he saw the new heaven and earth. We only made it four verses in, but they were full of glorious truths about the future, eternal age to come.
1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, 4 and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain. The first things passed away.” Revelation 21:1–4 (LSB)
In the end, we don’t go up to heaven to live with God; God comes down to live with us! And in that new existence, we rejoice that the first things have passed away: tears, death, grief, and pain. This new world is the one we all long for, including the non-religious and the atheists. It is, in fact, the one we were made for.
As we move on in this chapter today, we are overjoyed to know how certain this future is.
5 And He who sits on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” And He said, “Write, for these words are faithful and true.” 6 Then He said to me, “They are done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end… Revelation 21:5–6a (LSB)
Bible scholar Richard Bauckham writes: “God precedes all things, as their Creator, and he will bring all things to [end times] fulfillment. He is the origin and goal of all history. He has the first word, in creation, and the last word, in new creation” (Theology, 27). The flow of the visions discloses the character of God, who makes all things new (21:5).”1
The sovereign, faithful God of all creation guarantees these things are true. That carries credibility no human, organization, government, or earthly kingdom can match.
This hope is exclusive, however. It is not for everyone. God tells us who experiences this bright and certain future.
6 … I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost. 7 “He who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son. Revelation 21:6b–7 (LSB)
Only the thirsty get to drink from the spring of the water of life that flows from God’s throne. To understand this better, we have to look ahead to chapter 22.
1 Then he showed me a river of the water of life, bright as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb, Revelation 22:1 (LSB)
Rivers have their source in a spring. God’s throne is the spring from which the river of life flows in the new heaven and earth. It’s also the Lamb’s throne. Jesus is the Lamb of God. This makes me think of Jesus’ encounter with the woman at the well.
13 Jesus answered and said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again; 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never thirst—ever; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.” John 4:13–14 (LSB)
When I was a boy, I cut a lot of grass. Maybe that’s why I hate doing it now. I can remember pushing that lawn mower, roasting in the hot Alabama sun, and getting so thirsty. There was only one thing I wanted: water. And the best water was the kind that came straight out of a garden hose.
Just as there is physical thirst, there is spiritual thirst. People are parched spiritually, looking for purpose, meaning, and happiness. Their many longings make them thirsty for satisfaction, and they end up trying to quench their desires with religion or no religion at all. They search for it in relationships, drugs, sexual intimacy, careers, cars, boats, and houses. But none of those things truly satisfy. Jesus says he offers living water that becomes in a person an overflowing spring that always satisfies and wells up to eternal life. Eternal life is a quality of life in this world, but it’s also a reality of the next world.
So the thirsty referred to in regards to the new heaven and earth are those who realized in the old heaven and earth they were spiritually dehydrated to the point of death and looked to Jesus. They called on him. They took him up on his offer, an offer that can only be given, not earned or bought, because it’s too costly. Look back at verse 6.
6 … I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost. Revelation 21:6 (LSB)
The offer of eternal life in the new heaven and earth is without cost yet still unimaginably expensive. Jesus, the Lamb who was slain, provided payment for this extravagant grace gift. And He did that by living the life of perfect obedience we should have lived and dying the death we should have died for our disobedience.
Verse 7 declares this truth from another angle that at first seems to contradict what comes before it.
7 “He who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son. Revelation 21:7 (LSB)
Those who overcome or conquer will have this as their heritage. The word overcome is from the root Greek word nike, which means to be victorious and is actually the name of the Greek goddess of victory. It’s also related to something modern we are familiar with: the brand of shoes. Athletes compete for victory; they conquer. Just do it, because it’s up to you. Conquerors earn their victory with hard work and mad skills and all that. You get the idea.
However, these two groups—the thirsty versus the conquerors—seem opposed. One concerns vulnerability, deep-seated need, and the inability to experience the new heaven and earth apart from God’s grace. The other implies picking ourselves up by the bootstraps and being victorious in our own efforts to work our way into God’s forever heavenly home.
Are there two ways to the new heaven and earth? This might confuse or worry us, but digging deeper into the Scriptures brings relief. The Greek word used for overcome here, and the notion that goes with it, was special to John, the writer of Revelation. Of the 34 times we come across the root word, nike, in the NT, 24 are in the Apostle John’s writings (17 in Revelation alone). Look at what John records Jesus as saying in,
I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” John 16:33 (ESV)
The word overcome in this verse is a Greek word used only here in all the Bible, but its root word is, you guessed it, nike. Jesus says I have overcome the world, as in the present tense, which is odd considering that at the time, he had not conquered sin and death on the cross and risen from the tomb. He must have said it in the already-and-not-yet sense we see so much in the Bible. Jesus had already been overcoming the world with what he taught and the miracles he performed. He had already demonstrated his present authority over the wisdom of this world and the powers of darkness that set themselves up against the kingdom of God. That pointed forward to the not yet ahead: the war being won for good when he died on the cross and rose from the dead. That, too, is an already but not yet pointing forward to Jesus’ return at the end of the age, as we see here in the last two chapters of Revelation.
Jesus is the ultimate conqueror. He is far above the goddess Nike herself, having overcome her and all the false gods of this world. But how does this give us peace? Jesus is the victor, but how does that apply to us?
Look at what John wrote in his letter ( which would have been written to the seven churches in Revelation).
4 For everything that has been born of God overcomes the world; and this is the overcoming that has overcome the world—our faith. 5 Who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? 1 John 5:4–5 (LSB)
Guess what Greek root word is found four times here? Nike. According to John, in what way are we overcomers? Is it by works or by just doing it? No. John says it's by faith. Overcomers are those who put their faith and trust in Jesus, the One who overcame the world.
How does that work? Look at what Paul wrote the Colossian Christians.
1 Therefore, if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. 3 For you died and your life has been hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is our life, is manifested, then you also will be manifested with Him in glory. Colossians 3:1–4 (LSB)
As a believer, my life is hidden with Christ in God. My identity, my true self, is bound up in Jesus, so whatever is true of him is true of me. I am an overcomer because he conquered all. John wasn’t the only NT writer who got this. Paul wrote,
31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? 32 He who indeed did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him graciously give us all things? 33 Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies; 34 who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us. 35 Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will affliction, or turmoil, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 Just as it is written, “For Your sake we are being put to death all day long; We were counted as sheep for the slaughter.” 37 But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:31–39 (LSB)
Did you catch it in verse 37? Overwhelmingly conquer is derived from two Greek words: hyper (above or over as in hyperactive or hypersensitive) and nike. Paul called believers hyper-conquerers.
This has nothing to do with our spiritual prowess, how many verses we’ve memorized, or how good we are at keeping the rules because Paul makes it clear we are hyper-conquerors through Jesus who loved us. It has all to do with how good our God is and how strong Christ’s love for us was in living the life we should have lived and dying the death we should have died. This spurs us on to good works, by the way; it doesn’t give us license to sin and sit back waiting for the end!
The idea of overcomers wasn’t just important to John and Paul; it was a big deal to Jesus. Look at what he said to believers at the end of every letter to the seven churches.
EPHESUS
7 ‘He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will grant to eat of the tree of life which is in the Paradise of God.’ Revelation 2:7 (LSB)
SMYRNA
11 ‘He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes will never be hurt by the second death.’ Revelation 2:11 (LSB)
PERGAMUM
17 ‘He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, to him I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, and a new name written on the stone which no one knows but he who receives it.’ Revelation 2:17 (LSB)
THYATIRA
26 ‘And he who overcomes, and he who keeps My deeds until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations; Revelation 2:26 (LSB)
SARDIS
5 ‘He who overcomes will thus be clothed in white garments, and I will never erase his name from the book of life, and I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels. Revelation 3:5 (LSB)
PHILADELPHIA
12 ‘He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the sanctuary of My God, and he will never go out from it anymore. And I will write on him 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. Revelation 3:12 (LSB)
LAODICEA
21 ‘He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. Revelation 3:21 (LSB)
NT Wright, in his commentary on Revelation, asks,
Why do the letters emphasize the importance of ‘conquering’ (verse 7)? Putting together all the references in the book, we get a clear answer. The main challenge the young churches face is the threat of pagan persecution. Indeed, these seven letters seem to be written as part of the Lord’s preparation of these churches for worse to come. They are to ‘conquer’, not by fighting back, but by following Jesus himself, who won the victory through his own patient suffering.2
All the privileges listed for those who overcome relate to the new heaven and earth, and are given in and through and by Jesus. They are not based on performance but relationship, a heritage reserved for God’s sons and daughters. So there are not two ways to heaven (one by works and one by faith) but one.
A striking and sobering contrast to all this is found in verse 8.
8 “But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and sexually immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.” Revelation 21:8 (LSB)
People who exhibit those behaviors give evidence that they never found their identity in Christ; they never became overcomers through him. They lived only according to this life, rejecting the reality of the next.
Remember how Revelation 21-22 tie into all of Scripture more so than any other text? Look at Isaiah 55 as we close and see how that’s true.
1 “Is anyone thirsty? Come and drink— even if you have no money! Come, take your choice of wine or milk— it’s all free! 2 Why spend your money on food that does not give you strength? Why pay for food that does you no good? Listen to me, and you will eat what is good. You will enjoy the finest food. 3 “Come to me with your ears wide open. Listen, and you will find life. I will make an everlasting covenant with you. I will give you all the unfailing love I promised to David. 4 See how I used him to display my power among the peoples. I made him a leader among the nations. 5 You also will command nations you do not know, and peoples unknown to you will come running to obey, because I, the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, have made you glorious.” 6 Seek the Lord while you can find him. Call on him now while he is near. 7 Let the wicked change their ways and banish the very thought of doing wrong. Let them turn to the Lord that he may have mercy on them. Yes, turn to our God, for he will forgive generously. 8 “My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. 9 For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts. 10 “The rain and snow come down from the heavens and stay on the ground to water the earth. They cause the grain to grow, producing seed for the farmer and bread for the hungry. 11 It is the same with my word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it. 12 You will live in joy and peace. The mountains and hills will burst into song, and the trees of the field will clap their hands! 13 Where once there were thorns, cypress trees will grow. Where nettles grew, myrtles will sprout up. These events will bring great honor to the Lord’s name; they will be an everlasting sign of his power and love.” Isaiah 55:1–13 (NLT)
So the thirsty and those who overcome in our text today are the same people. They experience the joy of living in the new heaven and earth for the same reason: utter dependence upon and faith in Jesus. Tim Keller blessed the end of last week’s message, and he will do so today as well.
Who gets into [the new heaven and earth]? The courageous? The bold? The moral?…
Who gets into the city? The thirsty. “Well, what do you mean?” You just have to say, “I’m empty.” Not “Look at what I’ve done. Look at how I’m living. I’ve cleaned up my life. I’ve stopped my shady business practices. We stopped cheating on each other.” No, no. It’s those who know they need to be saved by grace. It’s those who just say …
Nothing in my hand I bring
Simply to thy cross I cling
Naked, come to thee for dress
Helpless, look to thee for grace.
Do you want to have this hope? Do you want to make it yours? Then say, “Father, save me by grace.”3
A place in the new heaven and earth is exclusive, as I said, because it’s reserved only for those who take God up on his offer, for those who overcome in Christ. But it’s incredibly inclusive in that the invitation is for anyone based not on our goodness but God’s.
As quoted in Koester, C. R. (2014). Revelation: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary. (J. J. Collins, Ed.) (Vol. 38A, p. 807). New Haven; London: Yale University Press.
Wright, T. (2011). Revelation for Everyone (p. 14). SPCK; Westminster John Knox.
Keller, T. J. (2015). The End of History. In The Timothy Keller Sermon Archive, 2014–2015 (Re 21:1–22:5). Redeemer Presbyterian Church.