ARE YOU AN OVERCOMER?

The word, "overcome," in some form, appears in eight verses in the Book of Revelation.  Perry Stone mentioned that he thought the first seven are not only related to the victory of the faithful in the seven churches, but that they may also be an overview of human history. 

*  Ephesus - In the Garden of Eden - "eat of the tree of life" (Rev. 2:7).
*  Smyrna - After the Fall - "shall not be hurt of the second death" (Rev. 2:11).
*  Pergamum - Israel in the wilderness - "eat of the hidden manna" (Rev. 2:17).
*  Thyatira - The Millennium - "power over the nations" (Rev. 2:26).
*  Sardis - The Great White Throne Judgment - "clothed in white raiment" (Rev. 3:5).
*  Philadelphia - The New Jerusalem - "a pillar in the temple of My God" (Rev. 3:12).
*  Laodicea - The New Jerusalem - "sit with Me on My throne" (Rev. 3:21).

The eighth time the Apostle John used the word, he sort of defined what it means to be an "overcomer," by contrasting it with what it is not.  He wrote: 

"He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be My son.  But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death" (Rev. 21:7-8).

In John's first epistle, he defined an "overcomer" this way: 

"For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.  Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?" (1 Jn. 5:4-5).

When we look at the biblical definition from both a positive and a negative perspective, we could say that a born again believer (Jn. 3:3-8; 1 Pet. 1:23), by his or her faith in Jesus Christ, the crucified, buried, resurrected, and ascended Son of God (Acts 1:9; 1 Cor. 15:3-4), has overcome the world, the flesh, and the devil (1 Jn. 2:16).

We are overcomers when we are in Christ!