Is Christ speaking to the non-Christians? The Scripture states He is addressing "the angel of the church in Thyatira." He is not addressing non-Christians. Christ is addressing the members of the church in Thyatira through the angel (spirit) of that church.

Christian preachers and teachers have carried the concept of imputation (assigned righteousness) far, far beyond what God intended. The result has been a frightful crop of immorality and disobedience.

But, we may ask, what does it matter if we do not receive the rewards designated for the victorious saints? What if we are not in this exalted Church, the Wife of the Lamb, the Body of Christ, the eternal Tabernacle of God? At least we are saved from wrath?

A dangerous position on two counts.

First, the kingdom principle is: to whom much has been given, of him will much be required. If we have been invited to be a member of the Church, Christ will judge us from that standpoint. He will not judge us as a person who never has been called into the Church, He will judge us as a member of the elect. We will be beaten with many lashes if we do not use diligently the talents that have been given to us. We are not held to account for the abilities and opportunities that have been given to someone else.

Second, the rewards assigned to the victorious saints are not frills. They are the necessary steps to the first resurrection from among the dead. Whoever does not gain these rewards will not be raised from the dead and ascend to meet the Lord when Christ appears. Only the saints who have lived in victory will be raised when the Lord comes. Those who have gone down to defeat will have their portion at the end of the thousand-year period, as we understand the Scriptures (Revelation 20:5).

The first reward is to eat of the tree of life (Revelation 2:7). To eat of the tree of life is not a frill, it is to gain immortality in our flesh and bones. It was immortality that Adam and Eve lost through their disobedience to God.

The opportunity to eat of the tree of life never will be given to any human being on the basis of imputed righteousness. We must, through Christ's grace, overcome the temptations of life before God will entrust us with eternal life in our flesh and bones.

The nonvictorious saints, the defeated, never will be given to eat of the tree of eternal life that is in the midst of Paradise. To eat of the tree of life is not a luxury that a handful of super-Christians will enjoy. Rather, to eat of the tree of life is the "everlasting life" promised in John 3:16. It is the essence of the Christian redemption.

The second reward is the crown of life (Revelation 2:10). The crown of life is the commission to rule the creation of God by the authority and power of eternal life. To rule the creation is the role of the Church, the Wife of the Lamb, the new Jerusalem. No nonovercomer, no defeated believer, will be commissioned to rule the creation of God. He cannot rule now. How would he rule then? The idea of a defeated believer ruling the nations of the earth with a rod of iron is preposterous.

To be continued.