For more in depth study:
There are a few notable passages in the New Testament that I find very
valuable when learning about Jesus and learning his overall instruction not just to
the body of Christ but to the people of the earth. There is much revelation in these
passages. The first passage is the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew chapters 5-7.
The second passage is the Upper Room discourse in John 13-17. The third being
each of the last gospel chapters and the first chapter of Acts which are Jesus
teaching in a resurrected body. Matt. 28, Mark 16, Luke 24, John 20-21, Acts 1.
The fourth passage is a couple of chapters that are written to the
‘Overcomers’. The whole purpose of these chapters is to inspire endurance through
the difficult times and persecutions, with the promise of rewards on the other side.
Just like Jesus endured the cross for the joy set before him, the ‘Overcomers’ in
Revelation 2 and 3 are those specifically promised amazing rewards. In these
chapters these rewards are for a church facing extreme difficulties. They are
promised the highest rewards that are apparently available in the heavenly realms
and into eternity.
We can pursue and ‘unpack’ these high rewards as a way to find hope and
endure difficulties and persecutions in life. When we focus our minds on heavenly
things, we become of some ‘earthly good’. We will become those who can actually
manifest the extreme love and endurance Christ manifested even by going to the
cross.
Go pursue the journey of the ‘Overcomer’ and you will receive their rewards.