Today we finish our visit with the church at Pergamos or Pergamum. Let’s refresh our memory about the words of Jesus concerning this church.
Revelation 2: 12 – 17 (NIV)
12 “To the angel of the church in Pergamum write: These are the words of him who has the sharp, double-edged sword.
13 I know where you live–where Satan has his throne. Yet you remain true to my name. You did not renounce your faith in me, even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness, who was put to death in your city–where Satan lives.
14 Nevertheless, I have a few things against you: You have people there who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin by eating food sacrificed to idols and by committing sexual immorality.
15 Likewise you also have those who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans.
16Repent therefore! Otherwise, I will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.
17 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to him who receives it.
Commendations by Jesus to the Church
- The believers at the church in Pergamum had suffered persecution, yet remained true to the Lord in the face of pervasive emperor worship and the threat of death if you failed to worship the emperor.
- They were maintaining their faith even though they dwelt where Satan’s throne existed. The reference to Satan’s throne could have been an altar in the temple of Zeus, the Temple of Aesculapius, or the massive amount of emperor worship in the city.
Rebukes of the Church by Jesus
- There were two groups of people in the church at Pergamos who lived lives of compromise and followed the doctrines of Balaam and the Nicolatians. Christ hated those doctrines, but take care to note that He did not hate the people.
- The teachings of Balaam were those that encouraged sexual immorality and the worship of pagan gods.
- Nicolatians taught that Christians could participate in pagan orgies. They seduced the church with immorality and idolatry.
- Although the majority of the Christians at Pergamos probably did not participate in the false doctrine, apparently this church refused to practice church discipline with those who followed the false teachings. By tolerating this, they shared the guilt of those who did participate.
Promises Made by Jesus to the Church
- Verse 16 – Christ promised to use His Sword on those who did not repent. This speaks of a personal judgment, and the exposing of sin that comes to a church when it is disobedient to the Word of God.
- Hidden manna represents Jesus Christ, the Bread of Life who came down from heaven.
- White stone – in ancient times a white stone was placed into a container and used by a judge to vote ‘not guilty’ for a person on trial. It was also given to the winner in an athletic contest. The white stone was used like a ‘ticket’ to gain admission to a feast celebrating the winner of the athletic contest. Both of these uses apply to the believer in a spiritual sense: he has been declared righteous and not guilty through faith in Christ, and he feasts with Christ today (Rev. 3:20) and will feast with Him in glory.
- New name known only to the overcomer – suggests not only the authority of Christ over the believer, but also an intimacy between Christ and the believer.
The Takeaway for the Church in 2013
- Christians should not form intimate alliances with unbelievers. 2 Corinthians 6: 14-17
- Worldliness can be defined as “any preoccupation with or interest in the temporal system of life that places anything perishable before that which is eternal.” (John MacArthur New Testament Commentary – Revelation p. 82) Romans 12: 2; Titus 2: 12; James 1: 27; 4:4; 1 John 2: 15-17. We can’t have it both ways. Either we are a Christian or we are not. We cannot wallow in the mud with pigs, and compromise our faith, without getting mud on us. 1 Peter 2:11
- Those who appear to speak for God, but really are greedy and seek self-promotion, are going to be judged harshly by God.
- This area of compromise is where ‘seeker sensitive’ churches are missing the boat. They seek to make everyone feel ‘good’ about themselves. If a person is living in sin, coming to church should not make them feel good about that sin. The church needs to gently, lovingly, yet firmly deal with the topic of sin and God’s provision for forgiveness and repentance.
- The church today, and every Christian, is part of the bride of Christ. Christ is coming back for a pure bride, not one who has compromised their faith with the world in order to avoid persecution, or for any other reason. We must remain pure in our faith and devotion to Christ. We must not tolerate evil in any form. Leviticus 11: 44-45; Ephesians 1: 4; 1 Thessalonians 3: 13; 1 Peter 1: 15-16
The church at Pergamos is one that should cause us to pause and examine our faith and motives. Compromise with the world, while claiming to walk with Christ, will not be tolerated by Jesus. He desires for our hearts to be wholly devoted to Him. We can, through the help of the Holy Spirit, walk in this world without compromise.
