Revelation 3:12

Revelation 3:12. We have now the promise to him that overcometh, which is divided into three parts, not two. (1) Him will I make a pillar in the temple of my God. He shall not merely be a living stone in the temple, but something much more beautiful and glorious. It may be doubted if the idea of stability ought to be introduced here in connection with the word ‘pillar.' That idea seems to be drawn from the words immediately following, which have been improperly associated with those before us. The thought of the pillar is rather that of ornament and beauty to the building of which it is a part. (2) And he shall in no wise come forth any more. These words are not to be taken in the sense of, he shall be in no danger of being thrust out or of falling away. They rather form, when rightly viewed, a remarkable illustration of the unity of thought between the Apocalypse and the fourth Gospel, as well as of that close identification of the believer with his Lord which is so prominent in each. The verb ‘come forth,' as used of Jesus in the fourth Gospel, expresses not only His original derivation from the Father, but His whole manifestation of Himself as the ‘sent' of God (John 8:42; John 13:3; John 16:30; John 18:1 and note there). It includes, therefore, the thought of all His suffering and sorrow, of all His humiliation and self-sacrifice until He returned to the Father. In a similar sense it seems to be used of the believer here. The Lord is now exalted in glory, and ‘comes forth' no more; the believer, when crowned with his glory, shall in like manner be safe from all future trial. (3) And I will write upon him, etc. Three things are to be written, not upon the pillar, but upon the victorious believer first, the name of my God. Considering the manner in which one part of the Apocalypse enlarges and explains another, it is hardly possible not to take this part of the promise as an enlargement of what has already met us in chap. Revelation 2:17. We are thus led to think again of the inscription upon the forehead of the high priest. Secondly, the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God. The Jerusalem referred to is not the earthly but the heavenly city, the city now with God, but which is hereafter to descend (chap. Revelation 21:2; Revelation 21:10). Thirdly, my new name, that is, a name of Christ in His character as Redeemer. All three things mentioned refer to the blessings of the covenant. They express in one way or another the relation of the believer to God as his Father, to Christ as the Revelation of the Father, and to the privileges and joys of citizenship in the kingdom made known to us in the Father and the Son. They thus appear not substantially different from the promise of Revelation 2:17, but rather an expansion of the ‘new' name there spoken of. They contain a fuller statement of its contents, and bring to view alike the Lord whom His people serve, and the spirit in which they serve Him. We may note the correspondence, too, between witnessing to the name of Christ in Revelation 3:8, and the bestowal of the name mentioned in the promise. May it also be that there is a correspondence between the description of the Lord in Revelation 3:7 as ‘He that is holy,' and the ‘name' here given to him that overcomes? If so, we shall be the more led to think of the inscription upon the forehead of the high priest as the basis of the description of Revelation 3:12.