Letters From God: to the Church in Pergamum
Pergamum: Revelation 2:12-17
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, not 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: There are some among you who hold to the teaching
of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin so that they
ate food sacrificed to idols and committed sexual immorality. 15 Likewise, you also have those
who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans. 16 Repent therefore! Otherwise, I will soon come to you
and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.
17 Whoever has ears, let
them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is
victorious, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give
that person a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to the
one who receives it.
Humans were created to worship. Even when someone has rejected God, they
inevitably find themselves worshiping something. We build great temples to what
we worship – we worship sport, so we build Independence Stadium. We worship
wealth and build great cities full of skyscrapers. We worship science and we
build great universities. The city of Pergamum, called “by far the most
distinguished city in Asia” was a wealthy Roman city and a center of worship, of
four major deities: Zeus, Athena, Dionysos, and a healing god called Asklepios
(who they designated “savior”) whose shrine attracted people from all over the
world.
This was also the Asian center of
emperor worship – the first place in Asia given permission to build a temple to
worship a living leader. It was also the place where the church was most likely
to come into conflict with Rome. In this provincial capital, the proconsul was
granted the “right of the sword” – the power to execute at will – we see Christ
introduced as him who has the sharp,
double-edged sword. This would remind the threatened congregation that
ultimate power over life and death belongs to God.[1]
We often forget that God has ultimate power over life and death, especially when we live in places where everything else is worshiped. And Revelation 2 describes Pergamum as “where Satan has his throne.”
Throughout the Book of Revelation, we
see Rome portrayed as the center of Satan’s activity in the West (cf. 13:2;
16:10), so Pergamum had become his “throne” in the East.[2]
But in these difficult conditions, the church in Pergamum had remained true to
the name of Christ. They hadn’t denied their faith by yielding to the pressure
of burning incense to the emperor and declaring “Caesar is Lord.” Not even in
the days of Antipas, who was put to death in their city, did they renounce
their faith.[3] Interestingly enough, this
Antipas, about whom little is known, is given the Lord’s own title from Rev
1:5—“faithful witness.” [4]
Last week we saw a contrast between
the riches of Smyrna and the poor Christians, and this week, the contrast is
between where the Christians live and where Satan lives. The same place is home
to two contrasting groups. When Christians live “where Satan lives” it is not
surprising that Christians are being martyred.
In societies such as ours, people
often hold two contrasting worldviews simultaneously. One can proclaim to be a
Christian while still holding on to traditional spiritual beliefs that actually
contrast with Christianity. And this was true in Pergamum as well. Even though
the church had remained faithful in the midst of persecution, they were guilty
of allowing within their number some who held the teaching of Balaam. This
teaching was related to Balaam’s activity in advising the Midianite women how
to beguile the Israelites into acting treacherously against the Lord, which led
to the Israelites turning to worship Midianite gods and participate in their sacred
meals.[5]
Unfortunately, in Pergamum, some
within the church had decided that accommodation was the wisest policy. They
taught the way of compromise. This is where the United Methodist Church in the
United States is leading. There are multiple recommendations on line for
General Conference that compromise solid biblical teaching in order to
accommodate sinful culture. While it was only part of the church who had
allowed false teachings to corrupt them, still, even those who do not speak up
are guilty because every Christian has the responsibility to keep one another
accountable, to exhort and encourage one another.
Verse 16
has the harshest language we’ve seen. Jesus tells them to Repent therefore! Otherwise, I
will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth. Actually those are somewhat
comforting words, as Ephesians 6:17 says that the sword of the Spirit is the
word of God. And listen to Hebrews 4:12: For
the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any
double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints
and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.
The prospect of being judged by God’s
Word is actually a comfort, because God’s Word never changes. Sometimes human
expectations change – you can be asked to do a certain task but then instead
you are asked why you didn’t do something else. But God’s expectations do not
change. God’s commands do not change. So when culture demands that we change to
match culture, we can say, “sorry, God’s word hasn’t changed.” When American
groups try to change the discipline of the church to match ever-changing
American culture, to accept sin as normal and normative, the African delegates
to General Conference need to stand firm on the unchanging Word of God. We all
have a duty as Christians to refute false teachings in the church. Otherwise we
stand as guilty as those who are spreading the false teachings.
So to the victorious, those who stand
firm in the face of persecution and of false teachings, God makes a promise. He
promises them manna – you remember that manna was how God fed the Israelites
when they were wandering in the wilderness for forty years. God miraculously
provides for his people. However, in this context, we see manna as a contrast
to the food sacrificed to idols supplied by the false teachers.[6] It is the food of the
heavenly banquet, the entry ticket to which is the white stone, engraved with a
new name, given by God. Like God called Gideon “mighty warrior” and renamed
Simon “Peter” – the Rock, God has a new name for each of his faithful children.,
including for you. You are no longer defined by the world. You are defined by
God. Now live for him.
[1]
Mounce, R. H. (1997). The Book of
Revelation (p. 79). Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.
[2]
Mounce, R. H. (1997). The Book of
Revelation (p. 79). Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.
[3]
Mounce, R. H. (1997). The Book of
Revelation (p. 80). Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.
[4]
Mounce, R. H. (1997). The Book of
Revelation (p. 80). Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.
[5]
Mounce, R. H. (1997). The Book of
Revelation (p. 80). Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.
[6]
Mounce, R. H. (1997). The Book of
Revelation (p. 82). Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.
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