Overcoming

Rev 2:7 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.

We all have ears to hear, but yet we don't hear! 

Isa 12:2 Son of man, thou dwellest in the midst of a rebellious house, which have eyes to see, and see not; they have ears to hear, and hear not: for they are a rebellious house. 

This is where Old Testament prophecy meets New Testament revelation. We all are endowed with communication abilities, but only those who allow the truth to be heard will know the truth. It is knowing the truth which sets us free (John 8:32). The age old question asked of all philosophers is: what is truth? There are various philosophical theories of truth. We don't care about theoretical truth but absolute truth. For the Christian, "truth" is what God says. It is close to philosophy's epistemic theory:  knowledge, belief, acceptance, verification, justification, and perspective. However, divine truth can't be verified this side of Heaven. It is based on faith.

Heb 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Thus, there is a strong evidence that there is much truth out there which cannot be seen, heard, or otherwise sensed, except perhaps by the human soul. Just as the flesh is the antenna of the world, the soul is the receptor of the Spirit. I believe the soul is mankind's "ear" to "listen" to God's truth. Truth is presented to the soul by the Holy Spirit whose Voice is "the Word" - Jesus.  In other words, Rev. 2:7 is "hearing" what Jesus says through his Holy Spirit. Those who can "hear" Spiritual truth have discernment.

Heb 4:12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

Back in the first chapter of Revelation, Jesus held a two-edged sword in his mouth. We see from the verse preceding that the two-edged sword represents the Word of God (i.e.; truth). Truth comes from Holy Scripture - all of it. We cannot pick and choose, and doubt God. 

2 Tim 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness...

To "hear" the truth, one must accept this passage. The writers of Holy Scripture were inspired by God to write down truth! If you doubt that, then with your spiritual ears, you will fail to understand what is in Revelation. (Clue: read the gospels first!) I don't get my commentary of this complex book from others, although I could merely repeat their analysis with different words. I use Holy Scripture to comprehend Revelation. It is written above that  scripture is "profitable for instruction". Thus, my commentary is instruction from scripture; the reader's ears to hear.

Heb 4:12 says the Word, spoken in truth, "is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." Thus, scripture is the knowledge revealed by God for the heart to receive. Think of "the heart", not as an organ of the body, but the character of the soul. The physical heart just pounds to the beat of the music emanating from the soul - the vibralto of "piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit". 

So let's hear it for the truth! "To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God."

Scripture is patriarchal. Feminists do not like truth for that reason. "Him" means "whosoever" from John 3:16. (Is that better?) 

One should ask: Overcometh what? Falsehoods as the Church of Ephesus was guilty in believing! That Church believed falsely and practiced Nicolaitane doctrine. Nicholas's doctrine was from "the law of sin".

Rom 7:25 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.

Thus, those who "overcome" reject the law of sin, and serve the law of God.  The "law of God" boils down to loving God and others. Christians need to be well-aware of this Law because that's where we fail on all counts! (Mat 22:36-40). 
The truth is that we must love God and others. It's not optional! We have some who we would like to exclude but we are to love even our enemies. Most of us fail there but we must overcome hatred. We think of hatred as despising. It is not even that severe! It's placing self-desires over the well-being of others. For the Church at Ephesus, and for us, they did what they willed, rather than God's will! That we must "overcome"! 

For those who overcome hatred, lasciviousness, self-edification, and the like will be rewarded: "I give to eat of the tree of life..." I have written much about the Tree of Life. "The Tree" represents the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The unseen root is God, the Living Water which too us unseen nourishes it's growth, and the Tree itself is the Son - to be called Jesus! The fruits of the tree are twelve:

Rev 22:12 In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.

Thise "fruits" will be enumerated later. However, Jesus is the Healer. Thus, our reward will be deliverance from sin, pain, and anguish which is one place - Paradise. I have written several times in my commentaries that just as Jesus ascended, heaven did too because it will come down (Rev 21:2). Our reward is living again in a divine paradise on earth called "New Jerusalem", where Jerusalem once stood, it being "the foundation of peace".

Scripture speaks of our reward:

Rev 3:12 Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name. 

We will discuss this reward when we get to chapter 3. However, our reward for overcoming is readily seen as a place in the City of God called "New Jerusalem".