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Rev 2:26-29 I Will Give Him the Morning Star

Rev 2:26  And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations:
Rev 2:27  And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father.
Rev 2:28  And I will give him the morning star.
Rev 2:29  He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

Introduction

Rev 1:3  Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.

This third part of the spirit’s admonition to the angel of the church at Thyatira has only to do with the blessings of repenting of “suffering that woman Jezebel to teach and seduce us to commit spiritual fornication, and to eat things offered to idols.”

Rev 2:20  Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou [ angel of the church in Thyatira] sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols.

Jezebel, adultery, fornication and things offered to idols are one and all the tolerating of false doctrines within our hearts and minds. False doctrines always lead to lives of sin. If we teach that grace is simply God’s favor without pointing out the truth of Titus 2:11-12, then we are turning the grace of God into lasciviousness:

Tit 2:11  For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,
Tit 2:12  Teaching [Greek: paideuo, chastening] us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;

That is just one example of what the desire to be accepted produces when it supersedes the fear of God, which is the love of God, which is obedience to God’s commandments.

1Jn 5:2  By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments.
1Jn 5:3  For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.

It is spiritual fornication, spiritual adultery and spiritual things offered to idols, which have produced the false doctrines of the trinity, the immortal soul, the doctrine of an eternal ever-burning hell and all the rest of the false doctrines of Jezebel’s Babylon, which have grown and prospered within the angel of the church of Thyatira within us, as we come to see that “the time is at hand to… keep the things written therein.”

The incentives to repent also are very great, and Lord willing, the angel of the church of Thyatira within us will be moved to strive for that mark of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

Rev 2:26  And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations:

Will we slip back into the outward, dispensational application of God’s Word as we read these words to the angel of the church of Thyatira within us? Or will we remember the admonition to “do the things which are written therein?” To help us to stay focused on the fact that we are speaking of inward events, let’s look at what Christ says in Matthew 24:

Mat 24:3  And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?
Mat 24:4  And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.
Mat 24:5  For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.

This chapter is full of the things Christ tells us will precede His coming and the end of the age. The very first thing Christ warns us of to let us know that His coming is “at hand, even at the door” is false Christs and false prophets who would deceive “the whole world.” He gives us this warning first to let us know that His coming, in the sense in which He is speaking, is “at hand, even at the door.” What are we instructed to do with these “many who will come in My name deceiving many?”

Rev 12:9  And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

“His angels” are the doctrines of Balaam, the deeds of the Nicolaitans and the teachings of that woman Jezebel. With these the Adversary has “deceived the whole world” and must be “cast out of [our] heavens.”

Then Christ goes on to say:

Mat 24:6  And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all [these things] must come to pass, but the end is not yet.
Mat 24:7  For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
Mat 24:8  All these [are] the beginning of sorrows.
Mat 24:9  Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake.
Mat 24:10  And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.
Mat 24:11  And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.
Mat 24:12  And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.
Mat 24:13  But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.
Mat 24:14  And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.
Mat 24:15  When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)

You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, nation shall rise up against nation and kingdom against nation and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines and pestilences and earthquakes in different places. All of this, so far, is said to be just “the beginning of sorrows.” Sorrows for whom? Then they shall deliver you up to be afflicted and shall kill you: and you shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake. Again, Christ repeats, “Many false prophets shall rise and shall deceive many, and the love of many [which means the desire to obey God (1Jn 5:2-3)] will wax cold because greasy grace and false doctrines shall abound.

Now notice what is being taught by our Lord in the next two verses 14-15:  ‘This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness to all nations, and then the end will come.’ To make this point clearer, our Lord then adds, “When you therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place (whoso readeth, let him understand).That phrase “whoso readeth, let him understand,” tells us that very few indeed will read and understand. That is why the words of this prophecy we know as the book of Revelation, is bracketed in with that same parenthetical remark in Rev 1:3 and 22:7, and it is couched in the same “the time is at hand, even at the door” language we find here in Mat 24:

Mat 24:33  So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, [even] at the doors.

So we will see the abomination of desolation and the kingdom of God preached to all nations, and then the end will come. This is all very clear to those who read and understand:

2Th 2:3  Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
2Th 2:4  Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.
2Th 2:5  Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?
2Th 2:6  And now ye know what withholdeth [ Greek, restrains] that he might be revealed in his time.
2Th 2:7  For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, [Same Greek word translated ‘witholdeth’ in verse 6] until he be taken out of the way.
2Th 2:8  And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:
2Th 2:9  Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,
2Th 2:10  And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
2Th 2:11  And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:
2Th 2:12  That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

This is all very clear to those who read and understand:

Pro 8:9  They [God’s Words] are all plain to him that understandeth, and right to them that find knowledge.

For the next 19 verses we hear more of what will precede the coming of Christ.

Mat 24:16  Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains:
Mat 24:17  Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house:
Mat 24:18  Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes.
Mat 24:19  And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days!
Mat 24:20  But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day:
Mat 24:21  For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
Mat 24:22  And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened.
Mat 24:23  Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here [is] Christ, or there; believe [it] not.
Mat 24:24  For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if [it were] possible, they shall deceive the very elect.
Mat 24:25  Behold, I have told you before.
Mat 24:26  Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, [he is] in the secret chambers; believe [it] not.
Mat 24:27  For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
Mat 24:28  For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together.
Mat 24:29  Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:
Mat 24:30  And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
Mat 24:31  And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
Mat 24:32  Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer [is] nigh:

Mat 24:35  Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.

Flee to the mountains and take nothing out of your house with you. Woe to the immature and those with child for then will be the greatest tribulation the world has ever seen, or ever will see. For the third time we are warned of false prophets saying Christ is here or there; “Believe it not, because the son of man’s coming will be like the lightning shining from the east to the west. After that great tribulation, the sun will be darkened and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken, and the all the tribes of the earth will mourn and they will see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory, and He will send His angels, with the great sound of a trumpet, to gather together His elect from the four winds.

When will all this happen?? It all sounds so very sequential and organized and so literal. Is it literal in its primary application? Is it literal in its primary application? When does this very prophecy tell “plainly” tell us “all these things” will happen???

Pro 8:9  They are all plain to him that understandeth, and right to them that find knowledge.

The whole orthodox Christian world believes this chapter to be the chronological blue print for prophetic events, which are presumed to be “even at the door.” The words “It is near, even at the door,” were written two thousand years ago with the same sense of urgency which we see all throughout the Word of God.

Mat 24:33  So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.

Rev 1:3  Blessed [is] he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.

Mar 1:14  Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God,
Mar 1:15  And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.

Where was that kingdom which was at hand?

Luk 17:20  And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation:
Luk 17:21  Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.

Christ certainly is not saying that His kingdom was within those Pharisees, but He was saying that it was within he that reads and understands.  So here we have the same question asked twice. Here in Matthew 24 it is His own disciples, and in Luke 17 it is the Pharisees. However, the answer is the same in both cases: “The kingdom of God is within you.” Where does Christ say this is all within in Matthew 24? He says it in this verse:

Mat 24:33  So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.
Mat 24:34  Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.

What does all of this have to do with our verse here in Revelation 2?

Rev 2:26  And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations:

When we see what are “the nations” of Matthew 24 then we will understand what are “the nations” of Rev 2:26, and when we know what is “the end” of Matthew 24; then we will understand what is “the end” which is under consideration in Revelation 2:26.

Deu 2:25  This day will I begin to put the dread of thee and the fear of thee upon the nations that are under the whole heaven, who shall hear report of thee, and shall tremble, and be in anguish because of thee.

Deu 7:1  When the LORD thy God shall bring thee into the land whither thou goest to possess it, and hath cast out many nations before thee, the Hittites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, seven nations greater and mightier than thou;

Deu 7:22 And the LORD thy God will put out those nations before thee by little and little: thou mayest not consume them at once, lest the beasts of the field increase upon thee.

In the gospels we are told that the kingdom of God is within you, and we are to endure to the end in order to be saved. “This generation will not pass, till all these things shall be fulfilled,” tells us that the gospel going to the nations; the great tribulation, the abomination of desolation, and all these things, are within us and must be experienced and kept within, before we will be classified as “overcomers” prepared to be “given power over the nations” without.

Rev 2:27  And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father.

How can this possibly be part of “the things written therein” which we are to “keep?”

Rev 1:3  Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.

Here is how that is kept within those in whom is the kingdom of God:

Deu 20:16  But of the cities of these people, which the LORD thy God doth give thee for an inheritance, thou shalt save alive nothing that breatheth:

Our inheritance is the land of our enemies, and our enemies and all of their lands and nations are all within:

Mar 7:14  And when he had called all the people [unto him], he said unto them, Hearken unto me every one [ of you], and understand:
Mar 7:15  There is nothing from without a man, that entering into him can defile him: but the things which come out of him, those are they that defile the man.
Mar 7:16  If any man have ears to hear, let him hear.
Mar 7:17  And when he was entered into the house from the people, his disciples asked him concerning the parable.
Mar 7:18  And he saith unto them, Are ye so without understanding also? Do ye not perceive, that whatsoever thing from without entereth into the man, [it] cannot defile him;
Mar 7:19  Because it entereth not into his heart, but into the belly, and goeth out into the draught, purging all meats?
Mar 7:20  And he said, That which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man.
Mar 7:21  For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders,
Mar 7:22  Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness:
Mar 7:23  All these evil things come from within and defile the man.

So once again we see that “the cities of these people… the nations… and the lands” are all as the kingdom which will one day engulf them “within you.”

Deu 2:25  This day will I begin to put the dread of thee and the fear of thee upon the nations that are under the whole heaven, who shall hear report of thee, and shall tremble, and be in anguish because of thee.

If we can rule those nations with a rod of iron and as a potter’s vessel, break them to shivers and save alive nothing that breaths and do so “to the end,” then we will be found worthy of being called an overcomer, worthy of ruling the outward nations in the same fashion.

Deu 11:23 Then will the LORD drive out all these nations from before you, and ye shall possess greater nations and mightier than yourselves.

Jos 23:3 And ye have seen all that the LORD your God hath done unto all these nations because of you; for the LORD your God [ is] he that hath fought for you.

Psa 79:1 An Asaphic Psalm O Elohim, the nations have entered Your allotment; They have defiled Your holy Temple; They have turned Jerusalem into rubbish heaps.”

… even as I received of my Father.

Christ was made flesh which was “the seed of Abraham… and David, according to the flesh.”  Abraham and David were both sons of Adam, as was Christ.

Luk 3:38  Which was the son of Enos, which was the son of Seth, which was the son of Adam, which was the son of God.

Adam was, like Christ, “the Son of God”. The nations, lands, principalities and powers with which we all struggle; all immaculate conception lies to the contrary, were and are all “in Christ and also all within the flesh of Christ. He received of His Father the commission to come to this earth in that same sinful flesh, and yet He was commissioned never to commit sin while in that sinful flesh:

2Co 5:21  For he hath made him [to be] sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

Joh 15:2  Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.

Christ was not defiled by anything that came out of His heart, unlike every other man who has contended with this beast which we all are. The only reason Christ was not defiled by what came out from His heart, is the fact that it was given Him of His father to conquer His flesh at every turn. The temptations He endured were the same temptations of the sinful flesh with which we struggle, but where every time we fail, Christ succeeded in overcoming that flesh. Christ was the original “overcomer… even as He received of His Father.”

Heb 4:15  For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.

Heb 2:17  Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.

Rev 15:2  And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God.

Joh 10:17  Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again.
Joh 10:18  No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.

Dying to the flesh and giving up this physical life, is the rod of iron with which Christ was ruling over his own flesh, “even as He had received of His Father.”

Rev 2:28  And I will give him the morning star.

What is this “morning star,” which is promised to “he that overcometh” in the angel of the church in Thyatira? The angel of the church of Ephesus is promised “to eat of the fruit of the tree of life.” The angel of the church of Smyrna is promised that he will be “given a crown of life, and not to be hurt of the second death. The angel of the church in Pergamos is promised “to eat of the hidden manna, a white stone and a new name.”

Now we come to the angel of the church in Thyatira, and if He overcomes the beastly passions within Him, he is promised rulership over the nations, and “the morning star.” What is this morning star? This Morning Star is the same thing as being the Ruler over the nations. It is the same as “the hidden manna… the white stone, and a new name?” It is the same thing as the “crown of life and not being hurt of the second death.” Being promised this Morning Star is the same thing as promising the angel of the church in Ephesus to eat of the fruit of the Tree of Life.

What is this morning star? Here is what we are told this morning star is:

Rev 22:16  I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.

That is right, it is all Jesus. He is our reward.

Col 3:24  Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ.

Our reward is of Him, and it is Him. He is our inheritance. There is no error in Christ, who is our reward:

2Jn 1:8  Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward.

All our works and all of our righteousness is of Him:

Rev 22:12  And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.

If Christ is in us, then our reward is secure because it is “with Him.”

Rev 2:29  He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

We have covered this in every church thus far, and have seen that “he that hath and ear,” is a phrase which prepares us to know that very few indeed will ever, in this life, understand what is being said.

Conclusion

Rev 2:26  And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations:
Rev 2:27  And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father.
Rev 2:28  And I will give him the morning star.
Rev 2:29  He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

We have seen that the promise of power over the nations is part of  “the things written therein” and must therefore be kept by anyone with ears to “hear what the spirit is saying to the churches.” We saw that in Mat 24 and in Luk 17, we are told that “all these things will come to pass in this generation,” and that “the kingdom of heaven is at hand, and that the kingdom of God is within you.”

So then, the primary point which we who have ears to hear must see is that this ‘power’ and these ‘nations’ over whom we first exercise this power, are both within us at this time.

Psa 22:28  For the kingdom is the LORD’S: and he is the governor among the nations.

We saw that the ‘rod of iron’ and the ‘breaking in shivers’ is the same as “destroy everything that breaths,” in the land of the nations we are given to conquer. We saw that the conquest and the battles are all within the heart and minds of God’s elect, and we saw that the time is “near at hand, even at the door.”

We have seen that Christ “received of His Father” a command to lose His fleshly life that He might find eternal life, which flesh and blood cannot inherit. In other words Christ received of His Father the same commission we all have been given:

Mat 10:39  He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.

We have seen that all the promises to all the churches are really all centered around being promised to have Christ in us the hope of glory. Christ is the fruit of the tree of life. He is the hidden manna…. the white stone, the new name.” Christ is the “crown of life and not being hurt of the second death.”  Christ is the fruit of the Tree of Life, and finally, He is also the Bright and Morning Star. Christ is our reward and our inheritance. It is all Him and it is all in Him.

Rom 11:33  O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!
Rom 11:34  For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor?
Rom 11:35  Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again?
Rom 11:36  For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.

Col 1:19  For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell;

Next week, Lord willing, we will see what the spirit has to say to the angel of the church of Sardis:

Rev 3:1  And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead.
Rev 3:2  Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God.
Rev 3:3  Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.
Rev 3:4  Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy.
Rev 3:5  He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.
Rev 3:6  He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.