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“Conquer, Overcome” Word Study Last revision January 20, 2022
© 2022 by Greg Clements Permission is granted to copy and distribute this document as long as no fee of any kind is charged and this copyright notice is included in the document.
This is an independent and more condensed study on overcoming than the study I wrote in 2008.
INTRODUCTION
The word “conquer” is used often in the book of Revelation. This prompted me to do this word study. The Greek word is also translated as “overcome.” How does a person overcome? What takes place after a person overcomes?
RESOURCES
I used http://www.biblegateway.com/ Bible Gateway to search various translations of the Bible, Nave’s Topical Bible, etc.
NET (NET) Bible. THE NET BIBLE, NEW ENGLISH TRANSLATION, COPYRIGHT © 1996 BY BIBLICAL STUDIES PRESS, L.L.C. This Bible is a free download from www.bible.org. The First edition without notes is free from https://netbible.com/download. The second edition with notes is $4.95 download as of 2018. The NET 2nd edition can be read online for no cost at https://netbible.org/bible/Romans+1 (starts at Romans Chapter 1).
(VINES) Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary 1996 Thomas Nelson Publishers
(NBC) The New Bible Commentary Revised 1970 Eerdmans Publishing Co.
(Quest) The Quest Study Bible 1983 Zondervan
(glc) Thoughts from Greg Clements … I put this (glc) in this document sometimes to emphasize that the following are my thoughts. I tried to reference the material I pulled from other sources (Morris, NBC, Vine, etc).
Some of the Bible studies I create are posted on www.gpclements.com .
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(VINES)
The Greek word that is translated as overcome is nikaw. Vines dictionary gives the meaning as conquer or overcome.
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conquer = ‘ “who is victorious”; traditionally, “who overcomes.” ‘ From the NET bible online notes.
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REVELATION - THE MESSAGES TO THE CHURCHES
(glc) The messages to the churches in Revelation chapters 2 and 3 give a summary of what the churches are doing right and what they need to change … to overcome. A good start to “overcoming” is to listen to the messages the Holy Spirit is giving to the churches and to you.
Revelation 2:7 “ 7 The one who has an ear had better hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers, I will permit him to eat from the tree of life that is in the paradise of God.’” (NET)
(glc) From the preceding verses we are taught that we should overcome our complacency with God. The people of Ephesus had “departed from your first love!” (NET) We should strive to daily keep God in our thoughts and heart. We should admit to God that we have not stayed as committed to him as we should and we should strive to draw closer to God. Overcome your tendency to not make time for God. Give him the praise and love he deserves!
v7 “The ‘conqueror’ depicts the Christian as a faithful warrior for Christ, ‘the victorious member of the Church,...(NBC page 1283…Swete).
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(glc) I was prompted to insert a small side study on “tree of life.” all quotes are (NET)
Genesis 2:8 “The Lord God planted an orchard in the east, in Eden; and there he placed the man he had formed. 9 The Lord God made all kinds of trees grow from the soil, every tree that was pleasing to look at and good for food. (Now the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil were in the middle of the orchard.)”
Genesis 3:22 “ And the Lord God said, “Now that the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil, he must not be allowed to stretch out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.””
Genesis 3:24 “When he drove the man out, he placed on the eastern side of the orchard in Eden angelic sentries who used the flame of a whirling sword to guard the way to the tree of life.”
Proverbs 13:12 “a longing fulfilled is like a tree of life.” Proverbs 15:4 “Speech that heals is like a life-giving tree” Proverbs 3:18 “She (wisdom in v. 15) is like a tree of life to those who grasp onto her, and everyone who takes hold of her will be blessed.”
Revelation 22:1,2 ” Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life—water as clear as crystal—pouring out from the throne of God and of the Lamb, 2 flowing down the middle of the city’s main street. On each side of the river is the tree of life producing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month of the year. Its leaves are for the healing of the nations.”
Revelation 22:14 “Blessed are those who wash their robes so they can have access to the tree of life and can enter into the city by the gates.”
Revelation 22:19 “And if anyone takes away from the words of this book of prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city that are described in this book.”
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Revelation 2:11 “11 The one who has an ear had better hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who conquers will in no way be harmed by the second death.’” (NET)
(glc) From the preceding verses we are taught that we should overcome the distress and poverty that may be in our lives. Our riches in Christ (Read the book of Ephesians) far surpass the riches of the world. Don’t let the slander of others against you rule your thoughts. What they say has no eternal importance. And overcome persecution and suffering. Keep your faith in Jesus strong, don’t give up.
v11 “This was meant to encourage the believers in Smyrna, some of whom faced physical suffering and death through persecution. They would be spared the more frightening spiritual death. “ (QUEST page 1712)
Revelation 2:17 “ 17 The one who has an ear had better hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers, I will give him some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, and on that stone will be written a new name that no one can understand except the one who receives it.’” (NET)
(glc) From the preceding verses we are taught that we should overcome false teaching that would lead you to worship idols and commit sexual immorality. God created our sexuality and also set proper boundaries for our sexuality with the institution of marriage …marriage between a man and a woman…Genesis 2:24,25; 1 Corinthians 6:16-20; Ephesians 5:31-33.
Revelation 2:25,26 “25 However, hold on to what you have until I come. 26 And to the one who conquers and who continues in my deeds until the end, I will give him authority over the nations—” (NET)
(glc) From the preceding verses we are taught that we should overcome replacing God with idols (Jezebel’s sin). Again, we are instructed to overcome sexual immorality. Ask God for his direction in dating and marriage. Don’t let your hormone-directed thinking or the teachings of the world lead you astray from God’s plan for sexual behavior. God will bless you if you follow his plan for your sexual behavior.
v26 “The conqueror is here defined as he who keeps my works until the end.” (NBC page 1285)
Revelation 3:5 “. 5 The one who conquers will be dressed like them in white clothing, and I will never erase his name from the book of life, but will declare his name before my Father and before his angels. “ (NET)
(glc) From the preceding verses we are taught that we should overcome thinking too highly of ourselves (Romans 12:3). Our good deeds are not the means to our justification in God’s sight. We obtain right standing with God based on our faith in Jesus (John 14:6; Romans 4:1-7;Galatians 2:16;Ephesians 2:8-10). We are to do good works, but these works come after we have put our faith in Jesus. Also, overcome forgetting the message of the gospel. Remember it and obey it. Put your full faith in Jesus.
Revelation 3:12 “ 12 The one who conquers I will make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he will never depart from it. I will write on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God (the new Jerusalem that comes down out of heaven from my God), and my new name as well. “ (NET)
(glc) From the preceding verses we are taught that we should overcome our lack of strength by remaining faithful to God. Be prepared for a time (or times) of testing. God will not tempt you to sin (James 1:12,13). God let Job be subjected to trials and God blessed Job and restored his life after the trials. I believe God will keep Christians from experiencing the worst trials of the coming tribulation period. (1 Thessalonians 4:16-18;... Genesis 4 God spared Noah from the flood; Genesis 18 God spared Lot from the destruction of Sodom). Hold on to your faith in Jesus.
v12 “The conqueror is to be a pillar in the temple of the new age: 21:22 makes it clear that there is to be no Temple other than God and the Lamb in the heavenly Jerusalem. The promise here given is thus an assurance of inseparable unity with God in the eternity that is to be. “ (NBC page 1286)
Revelation 3:21 “21 I will grant the one who conquers permission to sit with me on my throne, just as I, too, conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne. “ (NET)
(glc) From the preceding verses we are taught that we should overcome lack of commitment and reliance on earthly wealth. You can’t take earthly goods to heaven but you can take your soul to heaven if you put your faith in Jesus. God provides true, eternal, riches to us as a free gift! These verses tell us to prepare for eternal life while we are living on Earth. The reward for conquering (overcoming) is fellowship with Jesus (God) in heaven.
v21 “...the Lord will invite him, if he endures to the end, to share the throne given Him by the Father in the ages that are to be. “ (NBC page 1287)
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REVELATION OTHER PASSAGES
Revelation 12:7-11 “Then war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. 8 But the dragon was not strong enough to prevail, so there was no longer any place left in heaven for him and his angels. 9 So that huge dragon—the ancient serpent, the one called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world—was thrown down to the earth, and his angels along with him. 10 Then I heard a loud voice in heaven saying, “The salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the ruling authority of his Christ, have now come, because the accuser of our brothers and sisters, the one who accuses them day and night before our God, has been thrown down. 11 But they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives so much that they were afraid to die. “ (NET)
(glc) We have the ability, the authority, to overcome the devil because of Jesus’ shed blood on the cross for our sins. The devil’s accusations are empty and powerless for those who have accepted Jesus and believe his sacrifice paid the price for their sins. Part of our overcoming is to keep our testimony strong, to remain faithful to Jesus in word and deed.
v11 “The redemption of Christ is the prime cause of the saints’ victory…” (NBC page 1295)
v11 “Through Christ’s sacrificial death Christians are forgiven by God, so Satan can no longer accuse them of Guilt. The blood of Christ is the only hope of escaping the deadly power and guilt of sin” (QUEST page 1722)
Revelation 13:7,8 “7 The beast was permitted to go to war against the saints and conquer them. He was given ruling authority over every tribe, people, language, and nation, 8 and all those who live on the earth will worship the beast, everyone whose name has not been written since the foundation of the world in the book of life belonging to the Lamb who was killed.” (NET)
Revelation 15:2 “Then I saw something like a sea of glass mixed with fire, and those who had conquered the beast and his image and the number of his name. They were standing by the sea of glass, holding harps given to them by God.” (NET)
(glc) Revelation 13 describes that the beast had the upper hand over Christians for a period of time. Persecution and trials do come into the life of Christians. But there was no lasting conquering of those whose names are written in the book of life. These people did not worship the beast instead of worshiping God. Those people are those who have faith in Jesus for salvation. These people are described again in Revelation 15 as being in heaven singing songs to God. They conquered (overcame) the beast because they belonged to God.
Revelation 21:1-7 “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and earth had ceased to exist, and the sea existed no more. 2 And I saw the holy city—the new Jerusalem—descending out of heaven from God, made ready like a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying: “Look! The residence of God is among human beings. He will live among them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death will not exist any more—or mourning, or crying, or pain, for the former things have ceased to exist.”
5 And the one seated on the throne said: “Look! I am making all things new!” Then he said to me, “Write it down, because these words are reliable and true.” 6 He also said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the one who is thirsty I will give water free of charge from the spring of the water of life. 7 The one who conquers will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be my son.
“ (NET”
(glc) There are rewards for conquering, for overcoming. Those who conquer will be in God’s family in heaven and will drink from the spring of the water of life (v6). They will be freed from persecution and trials and death (v4).
v7 “A final encouraging promise to the Christian who endures is given; the blessings of the holy city in the millennium and in the new creation, will be his inheritance. “ (NBC page 1307)
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ROMANS
Romans 6:12-14 “12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its desires, 13 and do not present your members to sin as instruments to be used for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who are alive from the dead and your members to God as instruments to be used for righteousness. 14 For sin will have no mastery over you, because you are not under law but under grace.” (NET)
(glc) We have the ability to conquer (overcome) but we must make the choice to conquer sin and the ways of the world. Sin only controls us if we let it control us.
Romans 12:2 Do not be conformed to this present world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may test and approve what is the will of God—what is good and well-pleasing and perfect. 3 For by the grace given to me I say to every one of you not to think more highly of yourself than you ought to think, but to think with sober discernment, as God has distributed to each of you a measure of faith.” (NET)
Romans 12:9 “Love must be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil, cling to what is good. “ (NET)
Romans 12:21 “ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” (NET)
(glc) You should read Romans chapter 12. This chapter instructs us to think and act in line with God’s principles for our lives. The conclusion is that we can overcome evil by aligning our thinking with God’s thinking and aligning our actions with God’s actions. I would recommend that you read the Gospels to see how Jesus acted on Earth. Let the Bible coach you on how to think and act.
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1 JOHN
1 John 2:12-14 “I am writing to you, little children, that your sins have been forgiven because of his name. 13 I am writing to you, fathers, that you have known him who has been from the beginning. I am writing to you, young people, that you have conquered the evil one. 14 I have written to you, children, that you have known the Father. I have written to you, fathers, that you have known him who has been from the beginning. I have written to you, young people, that you are strong, and the word of God resides in you, and you have conquered the evil one.” (NET)
(glc) Those who have faith in Jesus have conquered the evil one. You will be helped in your conquering if you keep the word of God active in your life.
1 John 4:1-4 “Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to determine if they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses Jesus as the Christ who has come in the flesh is from God, 3 but every spirit that refuses to confess Jesus, that spirit is not from God, and this is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming, and now is already in the world.
4 You are from God, little children, and have conquered them because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. “ (NET)
(glc) We don’t have the ability to conquer the devil on our own. But, our faith in Jesus links us with him and his power gives us the ability, and the right, to conquer the devil and spirits aligned with the devil.
1 John 5:1-5 “Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been fathered by God, and everyone who loves the father loves the child fathered by him. 2 By this we know that we love the children of God: whenever we love God and obey his commandments. 3 For this is the love of God: that we keep his commandments. And his commandments do not weigh us down, 4 because everyone who has been fathered by God conquers the world. This is the conquering power that has conquered the world: our faith. 5 Now who is the person who has conquered the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?
(NET)
(glc) Those who believe in Jesus become part of God’s family and come under his protection and authority. This enables us to conquer the world and its evil ways. Our faith in Jesus is the conquering power.
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Romans 8:37 upenikaw “more than a conqueror” “to gain a surpassing victory”
Romans 8:31-39 “What then shall we say about these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 Indeed, he who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, freely give us all things? 33 Who will bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is the one who will condemn? Christ is the one who died (and more than that, he was raised), who is at the right hand of God, and who also is interceding for us. 35 Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will trouble, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? 36 As it is written, “For your sake we encounter death all day long; we were considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” 37 No, in all these things we have complete victory through him who loved us! 38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor heavenly rulers, nor things that are present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (NET)
(glc) There will be those who are opposed to Christians and bring accusations against Christians. Satan accuses and is against Christians. But they are insignificant compared to God and to the victorious life provided to those who trust in Jesus for their salvation. v35 Nothing that comes against us can separate a Christian from Jesus. Jesus has given us the overwhelming and complete victory.
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JESUS CONQUERED (overcame) …
John 16:33 “I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. In the world you have trouble and suffering, but take courage—I have conquered the world.”” (NET)
Rev 3:21 “ I will grant the one who conquers permission to sit with me on my throne, just as I, too, conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne.” (NET)
Revelation 5:1-5 “Then I saw in the right hand of the one who was seated on the throne a scroll written on the front and back and sealed with seven seals. 2 And I saw a powerful angel proclaiming in a loud voice: “Who is worthy to open the scroll and to break its seals?” 3 But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or look into it. 4 So I began weeping bitterly because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or to look into it. 5 Then one of the elders said to me, “Stop weeping! Look, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David, has conquered; thus he can open the scroll and its seven seals.”” (NET)
Revelation 17:14 “ They will make war with the Lamb, but the Lamb will conquer them, because he is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those accompanying the Lamb are the called, chosen, and faithful.”” (NET)
(glc) Jesus remained faithful and obedient to God the Father, and by doing so, he conquered the world and evil.
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CONCLUSION
Many people and forces come against Christians. There are temptations that would lead Christians away from their relationship with God. But, Jesus encourages us to persevere and to follow God’s desire for how we live on Earth. Jesus encourages us to overcome and to conquer. AND, Jesus has made it possible for us to persevere and follow God’s desire for how we live on Earth! Each Christian has received forgiveness for sins and continues to receive forgiveness for confessed sin. Each Christian is connected to the power and authority of God to overcome the misleading ways of the world and of Satan. Continue in prayer, Continue in reading God’s Word, Continue to seek God, Keep the Faith, and you will be called an OVERCOMER!
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