Characteristics of Victory

To all who buy Heavenly goods from the Faithful Witness and are zealous in studying them, opening their doors to the Lord, Jesus promises His throne. In Revelation 3:21, we read: "To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat down with my Father on his throne." This promise speaks of a reward for the victor. And every reader of these lines involuntarily imagines themselves as such a person. But the Lord provides an explanation: "Just as I was victorious." But how did Christ win? Whom did He defeat? What does this have to do with me?

Understanding the answers to these questions is just as important as understanding the meaning of Heavenly goods. If I do not know how the Lord was victorious, I will invent my own war and victory and believe in it so much that when I encounter reality, I will be very surprised at how different it is from my imagination. We cannot describe with mathematical precision all the details of the upcoming battle and its sequence, but we are able to see some main principles that will give the right direction to our thoughts.

All these answers are contained in the life and death of Jesus Christ. He went through this struggle and defeated the enemy. And in all subsequent confrontations, He declares Himself the Victor, giving us hope that the outcome of the war is already predetermined.

The culmination of Christ's victory occurred with His dying cry: "It is finished!" This word is very deep in its content. The essence of Jesus' struggle was a confident confrontation of good and righteousness to evil and sin, where Satan and his army were allowed to use any methods and tactics to achieve their victory.

The enemy of the soul's goal was to incline Christ to sin or divert His gaze from the Father, so that He would rely on human efforts. The temptations and pressure that fell upon the Savior were as great as He was more perfect than us.

We cannot comprehend all of Jesus' experiences, but we can imagine what Satan felt when the King of kings entered the arena of universal struggle as a helpless infant, born and developing according to all human laws. The fallen angel's mind could not contain such a sacrifice and such humiliation. His selfish mind did not understand such a battle tactic, so it brought Satan and his entire army into horror of an inevitable catastrophe.

The plan of salvation was truly grandiose. Even holy angels could not understand all the twists and turns of this war. God became human! How could this happen? What kind of God is this who allows Himself to be so humiliated?

Jesus grew, being a perfect human Child, experiencing all stages of development and formation that all people go through. From the inside, with a human mind, He experienced everything we encounter and knows personally what influence the surrounding world has on us.

God the Father surrounded the Infant Christ with His care, using people responsive to the Holy Spirit's influence. Child Jesus was taught by God-fearing parents to fear and love God and be obedient to all His laws and commandments, and the Holy Spirit wrote these life rules in the open heart of the young Man, establishing Him in truth.

From childhood, Jesus was taught to overcome all temptations by the word of God, and always guided by these principles, remembering the studied passages of Scripture.

Christ's victory was not in some final statement or decision, but in constantly choosing good in opposition to evil throughout His life in a human body. Step by step, He won small victories in this universal confrontation of Satan against God and sin against good. Day by day, He struck the enemy in the head, bringing another victory to the Universe's treasury. Satan's fury knew no bounds. He understood that he was losing his power and his subjects and would never again be able to return those who had clung to Christ.

The peculiarity of the spiritual war was that Jesus could fall, and He was taking a great risk living in a sinful world among wicked people. One careless word or wrong decision, or doubt, or a small concession to the enemy would have made the Son of Man a sinner, and He would no longer have been able to become our Savior but would have died for His own sins. The enemy of the soul knew this and therefore did not weaken in his attacks, wanting to use all his experience of seduction in his attacks on Christ. But Jesus overcame every temptation, being tested in everything. He never knew sin within Himself but resisted it with the power of the Holy Spirit, which is also available to us. His victory was complete and perfect.

The hour of the final test by death came, which the Lord could have avoided if He had wanted. But He decided to drink this cup instead of me, to give me the right to life. The Majesty of Heaven kneels before the Father, asking that this cup pass by, not to drink it. Jesus asked for another way of saving people, but God had no other plan, and the Savior knew this and, in humility, entered the final battle, on the outcome of which the fate of all of us depended. Eternal death breathed in Jesus' face, and He voluntarily entered its embrace. The Lord could have left everything and gone to Heaven, leaving this earth to Satan, but He chose death to tear this sting from the enemy's hands and give us life. Christ's decision was final, and He entered where no one had returned before.

All the enemy's fury descended upon Christ's body and soul. Finally, Satan received power over Jesus' flesh and could show the entire Universe what he would have done with God and all the heavenly beings if he had been allowed to remain in Heaven and have power.

The devil was sure that Christ's flesh would not withstand the cruelty that would be shown to Him and that He would refuse to save His tormentors, surrendering them and the entire Earth to Satan's power. But Love decided to save the sinner from the torments of eternal death, sacrificing His Eternal life. Besides bodily torment, God's Son experienced separation from the Father and drank the cup of God's wrath. We cannot understand these sufferings, and it is better not to experience them. Unrepentant sinners will have to drink this cup themselves. But God's children will receive the victor's crown and receive the power of victory from the One who went this path and triumphed over all evil.

Looking at Christ, reflecting on Him, believing in Him, communing with Him, spending time with Him, I acquire the character of a Victor and can resist all evil as He did. I am simply walking the Victor's path already laid out for me. God strengthens every decision of mine to be with Him and keep faith in His law. The enemy's goal is to divert my gaze from Christ and direct my thoughts to the earthly and impure, offering sin in a beautiful package. What will I choose? To whom will I be obedient?

But I am not left alone in this war. Jesus advises me to buy what I will pass through the final battle and win a true victory. And anticipating my victor's joy, the Lord promises to give me what He promised to no one else. This will not be just my victory, but the final triumph of God in me over universal evil, and through my behavior and faithfulness in the last battle, God will be glorified for all remaining centuries. For some reason, this is how the Lord desires to end the history of this world, and He has already won, but He waits for me to give me this victory, leading me through the valley of death.

Questions for Reflection on this Chapter

1. Please read John 16:33; 1 John 5:4-5; 1 Corinthians 15:54-58; Revelation 2:7,11,17,26; 3:5,12,21; Exodus 32:18; Romans 12:21; Hebrews 11:32-40; 12:1-4; 2 Peter 2:18-22; Proverbs 21:31; Matthew 12:17-21; 1 John 2:12-17; 4:15-19; Revelation 12:10-11; 15:2; 17:12-14; 21:7 in light of this chapter.

2. What did you understand from this chapter?

3. Who is a victor in God's eyes?

4. Why does God give rewards and promise Heaven's blessings only to victors?

5. If I do not understand who a victor is in the light of the Bible, what danger will I be in?

6. How can I become one who wins victories?

7. Can someone who has fallen but got up and continued fighting on Christ's side be called a victor? Is there a difference between such people and those who fell and stopped fighting?

8. Who and what should we defeat?

9. Should I wait for the last battle to win in it, and for now, it is enough to be at peace with everyone?

10. Will those victors who will meet Christ alive be able to avoid the test of death? (Psalm 22:4)

11. In what place are victories and falls accomplished? (Genesis 6:5)

12. Who do you plan to be? And what are you doing for this?

13. Is a weapon for victors sold in Revelation 3:18? Will it be possible to stand in the last battle without what Jesus advises to buy?

14. Is this School preparing candidates for victory, or are we just considering possibilities? (Luke 12:42-44)

15. Are you a victor in the light of the Bible? If not, why do you think so, and can something be changed?