Revelation 2:26–27

Two things make a person an overcomer in Thyatira. The first is holding fast what they had, despite the corruption of Jezebel, keeping their separation, and walking in the path of obedience to the word of God. The second is keeping Christ's works to the end. These are the works praised in verse 19: love, faith, service, patience, and works.

It is as if the Lord would leave no question about what it means to overcome this fearful system. In the gross darkness of a system that takes the Word of God from believers, the Lord does not seem to expect the overcomer to stand out for deep knowledge of His Word. But this at least He does look for: that they live in practical godliness, and so keep His works until the end.

"My works" is an unusual expression. It recalls Paul's words: "Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus." In his daily walk the believer should be, as it were, a reproduction of Christ… There is a contrast, too, between the works of Christ and those of Jezebel. The Lord threatens judgment on those seduced by Jezebel unless they repent "of her works." He promises reward to those faithful to Christ if they keep "His works."

This promise of authority over the nations is large, grand and public. It goes beyond anything in the earlier promises to the overcomers in these messages. This is the very thing that was the goal of the corrupt Church in the Thyatiran period… What the corrupt Church seeks by her own power, Christ promises to the overcomer. That overcomer walks apart from evil and takes the place of reproach now.

What makes it all the more notable is that the rod of iron is promised to us, not the sword. We are given the dignity of reigning. We are not given the work of judgment pictured in the terrible symbols used of the Lord Himself.

There we read: "Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage… You shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel." Clearly the Lord refers to this scripture… He is really giving the overcomer His own power, the power He received from the Father. It means being joined with Him when He comes to deal in judgment with the nations of the earth.

Remember His temptation in the wilderness. The devil showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and said, "All this authority I will give you… if you worship me, it will all be yours." But He answered, "It is written, You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only shall you serve." He overcame the tempter by staying faithful to Him whose will He had come to do. He refused everything from the hand of Satan and received only from the Father.

The apostle says the Church's time to rule has not come. It comes when all the saints reign together, and reign with Christ. So any claim to rule in the meantime is false by its very nature… And yet the word "rule" here shows the peculiar character of it… It is the rule of a Shepherd. The rod may be iron, a rod of unstoppable power, but in the Shepherd's hands it will always recognise that He is contending for the flock.

It is striking that the Father grants authority over the nations to Christ alone (Psalm 2). Yet the same unlimited authority and rule is promised to the conqueror who presses on until the end. The overcomers are to share the Son's public place and portion. The Father gives the nations, the peoples, and the earth to its farthest limits to His Son. The Lord uses those very words to give His overcoming people their public portion.

"Ask of Me," Jehovah says, and He has not asked; He is still sitting in patience... His long-suffering is now salvation. When that patience is over, delay would no longer be blessing or long-suffering, but weakness. Then He takes the ends of the earth for His possession with the rod of iron — not, as people imagine, with the gospel... The gospel has been going out for centuries and had no effect in converting the mass of mankind. When the Lord comes, this alliance of the nations against Him will be showing itself in full, just as the psalm describes. They will be saying more than ever, "Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us."

The rod is the sign of power — "the rod of your power" (Psalm 110:2). Here it is in the shepherd's hands, and the shepherd is the very picture of royalty according to God. Even the iron rod with which Christ will smite His enemies is still represented as in a shepherd's hands. In all these passages it truly reads, "He shall shepherd them with an iron rod." However hard the blow, love guides it. How dreadful for those whom everlasting love must strike in this way!

The saints' authority over the nations is as wide as Christ's own, and it lasts the full 1000 years. The overcomer shall rule, or shepherd, the angry and rebellious nations with an iron rod. Their will shall be broken, their pride humbled, their glory laid in the dust like brittle vessels crumbling to pieces.

This wicked Jezebel not only persecuted the true saints of the Lord, but sought universal supremacy — a world-wide dominion over souls. The Lord tells them in effect to have nothing to do with her, and He will give the true power when He takes it Himself. Let them stay in the place of patience, even though there is tribulation — and there must be, if they are content to endure for Christ's sake now.

It is as if the Lord would leave no question as to what it means to overcome this dreadful system. A system like this takes the Word of God away from believers. In that thick darkness, it seems the Lord does not expect the overcomer to have a deep knowledge of His Word. But this at least He does look for: a life marked by practical godliness, keeping His works until the end.