Revelation 3:21
in Revelation 3To the one who overcomes, I will grant the right to sit with Me on My throne, just as I overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
He that overcometh, I will give to him to sit down with me in my throne, as I also overcame, and sat down with my Father in his throne.
KJV
To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.
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This verse in Revelation 3
Commentary
20 notes on this verseFor to this battle our Lord, as with the trumpet of His Gospel, stimulates us when He says, "He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth his own soul more than me is not worthy of me. And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me." And again, "Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed shall ye be, when men shall persecute you, and hate you.
This site's exposition
sit with me in my throne
on Revelation 3:21-22
The last and highest of the seven promises grants to him that overcometh to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne, the Son's own pattern of overcoming through suffering into glory now shared with the weakest of the seven churches. The letters close as they opened, he that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches, the Spirit's word never confined to the one congregation first named, and the church-age vision of the book gives way to the throne room already glimpsed in this closing promise.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers5 voices
To the one who overcomes, He says, I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, that is, he will reign with Me. For it has been said by the most wise Paul, "if we suffer with Him, we shall also reign with Him." …
A commentator
Hippolytus of RomeHippolytus Refutation of All Heresies Book X · Written before 235.
proposed
And thou shalt receive the kingdom of heaven, thou who, whilst thou didst sojourn in this life, didst know the Celestial King. And thou shalt be a companion of the Deity, and a co-heir with Christ, no longer enslaved by lusts or passions, and never again wasted by disease. For thou hast become God: for whatever sufferings thou didst undergo while being a man, these He gave to thee, because thou wast of mortal mould, but whatever it is consistent with God to impart, these God has promised to bestow upon thee, because thou hast been deified, and begotten unto immortality. This constitutes the import of the proverb, "Know thyself; "i.e., discover God within thyself, for He has formed thee after His own image. For with the knowledge of self is conjoined the being an object of God's knowledge, for thou art called by the Deity Himself.
A commentator
Hippolytus of RomeHippolytus Dogmatical and Historical Fragments · Written before 235.
proposed
But give me now your best attention, I pray you, for I wish to go back to the fountain of life, and to view the fountain that gushes with healing. The Father of immortality sent the immortal Son and Word into the world, who came to man in order to wash him with water and the Spirit; and He, begetting us again to incorruption of soul and body, breathed into us the breath (spirit) of life, and endued us with an incorruptible panoply. If, therefore, man has become immortal, he will also be God. And if he is made God by water and the Holy Spirit after the regeneration of the layer he is found to be also joint-heir with Christ after the resurrection from the dead. Wherefore I preach to this effect: Come, all ye kindreds of the nations, to the immortality of the baptism. I bring good tidings of life to you who tarry in the darkness of ignorance. Come into liberty from slavery, into a kingdom from tyranny, into incorruption from corruption. And how, saith one, shall we come? How? By water and the Holy Ghost. This is the water in conjunction with the Spirit, by which paradise is watered, by which the earth is enriched, by which plants grow, by which animals multiply, and (to sum up the whole in a single word) by which man is begotten again and endued with life, in which also Christ was baptized, and in which the Spirit descended in the form of a dove.
A commentator
Victorinus of PettauCommentary on the Apocalypse of the Blessed John · Written before 304.
proposed
And because, if in these ways men return out of great destruction to great repentance, they are not only useful to themselves, but they are able also to be of advantage to many, He promised them no small reward,-to sit, namely, on the throne of judgment.
For avoiding it, remedies cannot be lacking; since, even if they be lacking, there remains that one by which you will be made a happier magistrate, not in the earth, but in the heavens.
13 more voices on this verse
The Church Fathers2 voices
"He sitteth at the Father's right hand " -not the Father at His own.
[In the image of the Son] sitting with [the Father], he shows that the Son participates in the power of the Father. For what else does it mean that he is seated on the throne of the Father than that he is of one and …
The Medieval Church4 voices
"The throne" indicates the kingdom and the rest of the coming age. Therefore he says that those who have conquered the enemy "will be glorified with me and will rule with me." When he says, "as I myself have conquered," he is speaking in a …
To him who overcomes, I will grant to sit with me on my throne. He says he will make the confessor a participant in power and judgment. He has made us sit together, he says, in the heavenly places in Christ.
As I also conquered, and sat down with my Father on his throne. The Lord, having conquered, sat on the throne with the Father, because after the struggles of the passion, after the victory of the resurrection, He more clearly showed Himself to all that …
To him that shall overcome, I will give to sit with me in my throne: as I also have overcome, and am set down with my Father in his throne. The Lord victorious sits in the Father's throne because, after the Passion and Resurrection, he …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
I will give him to sit with me on my throne - In unspeakable happiness and glory. Elsewhere, heaven itself is termed the throne of God: but this throne is in heaven.
To him that overcometh,....
The Nineteenth Century5 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
To him that overcometh - See the notes on Rev 2:7. Will I grant to sit with me in my throne - That is, they will share his honors and his triumphs. See the notes on Rev 2:26-27; compare the notes on Rom 8:17. Even as I also overcame - As I gained a victory over the world, and over the power of the tempter. As the reward of this, he is exalted to the throne of the universe Php 2:6-11, and in these honors, achieved by their great and glorious Head, all the redeemed will share.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
The Eastern throne is broad, admitting others besides him who, as chief, occupies the center. The order of the promises in the seven epistles corresponds to that of the unfolding of the kingdom of God its first beginnings on earth to its consummation in heaven. To the faithful at Ephesus: (1) The tree of life in the Paradise of God is promised (Re 2:7), answering to Ge 2:9.
‘Unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God; I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.
‘Unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God; I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and [that] the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.’’Rev. 3:14-21 No Scripture ever wears out. The epistle to the church of Laodicea is not an old letter which may be put into the waste basket and be forgotten; upon its page still glow the words, ‘He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.’ This Scripture was not meant to instruct the Laodiceans only, it has a wider aim. The actual church of Laodicea has passed away, but other Laodiceas still exist’indeed, they are sadly multiplied in our day, and it has ever been the tendency of human nature, however inflamed with the love of God, gradually to chill into lukewarmness. The letter to the Laodiceans is above all others the epistle for the present times. I should judge that the church at Laodicea was once in a very fervent and healthy condition.
To sit with me in my throne - In every case it is to him that overcometh, to the conqueror, that the final promise is made. He that conquers not is not crowned, therefore every promise is here made to him that is faithful unto death. Here is a most remarkable expression: Jesus has conquered, and is set down with the Father upon the Father’s throne; he who conquers through Christ sits down with Christ upon his throne: but Christ’s throne and the throne of the Father is the same; and it is on this same throne that those who are faithful unto death are finally to sit! How astonishing is this state of exaltation! The dignity and grandeur of it who can conceive? This is the worst of the seven Churches, and yet the most eminent of all the promises are made to it, showing that the worst may repent, finally conquer, and attain even to the highest state of glory.
The words behind it
24 Greek wordsEvery Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Greek | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ὁ | ho | The [one] | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| νικῶν, | nikon | overcoming, | G3528 → | 28 times |
| δώσω | doso | I will give | G1325 → | 412 times |
| αὐτῷ | auto | to him | G846 → | 5565 times |
| καθίσαι | kathisai | to sit | G2523 → | 44 times |
| μετ᾽ | met᾽ | with | G3326 → | 461 times |
| ἐμοῦ | emou | Me | G1473 → | 839 times |
| ἐν | en | on | G1722 → | 2738 times |
| τῷ | to | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| θρόνῳ | throno | throne | G2362 → | 62 times |
| μου | mou | of Mine | G3165 → | 1936 times |
| ὡς | hos | as | G5613 → | 500 times |
| κἀγὼ | kago | I myself also | G1473 →G2532 → | 839 times |
| ἐνίκησα | enikesa | overcame | G3528 → | 28 times |
| καὶ | kai | and | G2532 → | 9120 times |
| ἐκάθισα | ekathisa | I sat down | G2523 → | 44 times |
| μετὰ | meta | with | G3326 → | 461 times |
| τοῦ | tou | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| πατρός | patros | Father | G3962 → | 410 times |
| μου | mou | of Mine | G3165 → | 1936 times |
| ἐν | en | on | G1722 → | 2738 times |
| τῷ | to | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| θρόνῳ | throno | throne | G2362 → | 62 times |
| αὐτοῦ. | autou | of Him. | G846 → | 5565 times |
ὁThe [one]
hoG3588 →19766 times
νικῶν,overcoming,
nikonG3528 →28 times
δώσωI will give
dosoG1325 →412 times
αὐτῷto him
autoG846 →5565 times
καθίσαιto sit
kathisaiG2523 →44 times
μετ᾽with
met᾽G3326 →461 times
ἐμοῦMe
emouG1473 →839 times
ἐνon
enG1722 →2738 times
τῷthe
toG3588 →19766 times
θρόνῳthrone
thronoG2362 →62 times
μουof Mine
mouG3165 →1936 times
ὡςas
hosG5613 →500 times
κἀγὼI myself also
ἐνίκησαovercame
enikesaG3528 →28 times
καὶand
kaiG2532 →9120 times
ἐκάθισαI sat down
ekathisaG2523 →44 times
μετὰwith
metaG3326 →461 times
τοῦthe
touG3588 →19766 times
πατρόςFather
patrosG3962 →410 times
μουof Mine
mouG3165 →1936 times
ἐνon
enG1722 →2738 times
τῷthe
toG3588 →19766 times
θρόνῳthrone
thronoG2362 →62 times
αὐτοῦ.of Him.
autouG846 →5565 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
John 16:33I have told you these things so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take courage; I have overcome the world!”
it leads to
- John 14:27
Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled; do not be afraid.
- 1 John 5:4
because everyone born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world: our faith.
- 2 Thessalonians 3:16
Now may the Lord of peace Himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you.
- 1 John 4:4
You, little children, are from God and have overcome them, because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.
- Philippians 4:7
And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
- John 14:27
Through
Revelation 2:7He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who overcomes, I will grant the right to eat from the tree of life in the…
it leads to
- Revelation 2:17
He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who overcomes, I will give the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone…
- Revelation 2:11
He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who overcomes will not be harmed by the second death.
- Matthew 11:15
He who has ears, let him hear.
- Revelation 2:17
Where this verse is studied
About Revelation

This page draws on 18 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Alcuin of York, COMMENTARY ON REVELATION; Andreas of Caesarea, COMMENTARY ON THE APOCALYPSE 3:21-22; Bede, Commentary on Revelation; Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 1185: “An Earnest Warning about Lukewarmness” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); Cyprian, Epistle XXV; Hippolytus of Rome, Hippolytus Refutation of All Heresies Book X; Hippolytus of Rome, Hippolytus Dogmatical and Historical Fragments; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Oecumenius, Commentary on Revelation; Tertullian, On Idolatry; Tertullian, Against Praxeas; Ticonius, COMMENTARY ON THE APOCALYPSE 3:21 and Victorinus of Pettau, Commentary on the Apocalypse of the Blessed John.
