Aramaic Word Study – Overcomers – Zeka – זכא Zayin Kap Aleph

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Revelation 12:10-11: “And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. (11) And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony, and they loved not their lives unto the death.”

In John 16:33 Jesus says that we may have tribulations in this world but He has overcome the world.  Then we learn in I John 5:4 that if we are born of God we will then overcome the world. The word “world” in both verses is the word kosmos in the Greek which refers to the wordly affairs, its inhabitants, and its attractions. The Aramaic word includes not only this but the entire natural universe. It is the word ‘olam that speaks not only of the attractions and inhabitants of this world but the power and strength of this world and the secret plotting of this world. 

I have a woman who rides my disability bus, she is living on disability, while her sister is living in luxury. Her sister is eating at the finest restaurants and taking vacations to foreign lands and tropical islands.  In the meantime, I drive this woman to the Dollar Store to make merger purchases with her disability income.  The thing is, that when her parents past away they left an inheritance well into the seven figures.  The sister, who had once been arrested for forgery, managed to remove this woman’s name as one of the beneficiaries of a half-million dollar life insurance policy and then got her name removed completely from her parent’s will.  This poor woman has a good case but the world system, as it is, means she must hire an attorney, which she cannot afford, while her sister can afford the best attorneys to keep her from her inheritance. I would call that a victim of the world system, the inhabitants of this world, and worldly affairs.  Yet, she is an overcomer and she is at peace with this matter as the worldly attractions which only money can buy, do not interest her and Jesus has overcome the kosmos or ‘olam so she lives with peace. She has been informed by friends that know her sister that her sister is one very angry and unhappy person in her life.  Her friend’s observations are, of course, subjective but it would not surprise me if they were true. 

You see, Jesus does not promise that overcoming the world means we will always come out on top and not be victims of the world system. He only promises to bring us perfect peace.  Today in many repressive nations where Christians are being persecuted, arrested, tortured and even put to death for their faith in Jesus, even under this distress, that are rejoicing, and praising the Lord. When the United States pulled their military forces out of Afghanistan the terrorist immediately started to target Christians who were persecuted and tortured for no other reason than loving Jesus. Missionary organizations offered to bring these Christians out of Afghanistan and find a home in the free world where they could worship God without fear. However, there were many refused to leave.  They said that if they left who would remain to spread the news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. So they remain and many have suffered even unto death for their efforts to spread the love of Jesus. Those are the overcomers, the ones that overcame through the blood of Jesus Christ.  They may appear to be the losers, but they knew their home was not in this kosmos or ‘olam. 

That is only half the story.  We learn that we are not only overcomers of this kosmos or ‘olam, but also overcomers of the accuser. Revelation12:10-11 tells us that this accuser  stands before God day and night accusing us. The word for accuser in Greek is kategoros for a prosecutor. In the Aramaic it is also a legal term. The word for accuser is a masura which is one who surrenders a guilty person to the authorities. In Greek it is the prosecutor in Aramaic it is the police officer  but in first century thought, it is one who plays both role. In fact this prosecutor is also known in Hebrew as a mesit, an influencer of evil.  In Hebrew we find in Job 1:6 that this accuser is none other than hasatan.  Bet you recognize that word without the definite article ha.  It is not a proper name. A proper name in Hebrew would not have a definite article, hence this prosecutor is simply called an accuser.  The Hebrew text will not even give the old buzzard a proper name. 

So the old goat is standing before God day and night accusing us of all our sins and demanding prosecution. The Great Judge of the Universe simply replies: “Not guilty due to the blood shed by my Son on the cross.”  The prosecutor replies; “Oh yeah, what evidence is there that this person has sincerely accepted your Son’s gift of redemption?”  Our Judge then presents the evidenced of our testimony.  The word testimony in Aramaic is sahada, which means an eye witness. In other words God will reply that the works of the individual prove his surrender to God, up to the point of even dying for the sake of the Gospel. This is the evidence of their sincerity in surrendering his life to Jesus and accepting his redemption.  The greatest evidence of all is that they did not love their life over their life in Jesus Christ even unto death itself. 

The kategoros or masura’ can only hang his head, tuck his tail behind him and admit defeat.  This believer has overcome his accusations. The word overcome in Aramaic is  zeka, which really means to declare you are innocent, to be acquitted. We are made innocent through the blood of Jesus Christ of any pollution and corruption that this world may put upon us. That is a true overcomer. 

I mentioned the believers in Afghanistan who are overcomers and overcome the accusations of the masura’ with their testimony.  God just flashes their testimony on the screen and the enemy watches these believers who are facing persecution, torture and death for their faith and the masura’ can only shake his head and admit defeat.  But then he turns his attention to the Western church: “Well, about your church in the United States, what is their testimony?”  Is the witness going to show that these Western Christians pay their tithes in hopes that God will bless them with material wealth from the kosmos or ‘olam?  Will the witness testify that these Western Christians were ready to compromise over the abortion issue and gender issues to win favor with the kosmos or ‘olam?  That they were ready to compromise over governmental mandates that opposed God and His kingdom? 

Has the prosecution enough evidence to prove you were not sincere in your surrender to God, that you only used God to enhance you life here in the kosmos or ‘olam? Matthew 7:22-23: “Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”

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