Letters From the Lord: "Pergamum"

Introduction:

We are continuing our series in Revelation 1-3 today.

In chapter 1, we got a very detailed description of our glorified Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

As we enter into chapters 2-3, we begin reading the seven letters to seven churches, authored by Jesus and written down by the Apostle John.

The letters from the Lord were for the churches of that day but they still apply to us today.

In these letters we see what Jesus desires for His church.

We learn what things in the church make the Lord glad and bring glory to Him and what things in the church grieve Him.

Jesus has some good things to say about His church but also some hard things that can sting. But He tells them and us these things because He loves us and wants the best for us.

Last week we read the letter to the church of Ephesus. Ephesus was a church that worked hard. They were solid of doctrine and theology and were big on righteous living and holiness. But they had lost their love for Jesus.

Today we are going to read the letter from the Lord addressed to the church in Smyrna. Smyrna is one of the two churches that Jesus only has good things to say about. Let’s take a look...

[Read Text]:

Revelation 2:12–17 (NASB)

12 “And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write: The One who has the sharp two-edged sword says this: 13 ‘I know where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is; and you hold fast My name, and did not deny My faith even in the days of Antipas, My witness, My faithful one, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells. 14 ‘But I have a few things against you, because you have there some who hold the teaching of Balaam, who kept teaching Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols and to commit acts of immorality. 15 ‘So you also have some who in the same way hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans. 16 ‘Therefore repent; or else I am coming to you quickly, and I will make war 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, to him I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, and a new name written on the stone which no one knows but he who receives it.’

We must affirm the truth of CHRIST.

(v. 13) 13 ‘I know where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is; and you hold fast My name, and did not deny My faith even in the days of Antipas, My witness, My faithful one, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells...

Two key phrases:

“you hold fast My name [Jesus]”

“[you] did not deny My faith...”

They affirmed the truth of Christ. They kept the faith. They didn’t deny Jesus even then people in their midst were being killed because of their devotion to Christ.

We have to affirm what the Bible says about Jesus. If you don’t agree with what the Bible says about Jesus, you are not part of His church. The only way to be right with God is through faith in Christ Jesus. And not your version of Jesus. It is the Jesus of the Bible.

John 14:6 (NASB)

6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.

1 John 2:22–23 (NASB)

22 Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son. 23 Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father; the one who confesses the Son has the Father also.

Matthew 10:32–33 (NASB)

32 “Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven. 33 “But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven.

Based on the testimony of Jesus, the were certainly some in the church of Pergamum that were true believers of Jesus Christ. They had saving faith because they affirmed the truth of Christ.

But there were others in the church that never

(v. 14-15) 14 ...you have there some who hold the teaching of Balaam, who kept teaching Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols and to commit acts of immorality. 15 ‘So you also have some who in the same way hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans.

These didn’t affirm the truth of Christ, they were holding to the teaching of Balaam.

You can come live morally, join a church, come to church every Sunday, serve in the church, do ministry in the church, look like a Christian, AND still be lost and headed straight for hell. Because none of those things save us from our sins. Jesus is the only one that saves and you have to place your faith and trust in Him!

Romans 10:9–10 (NASB)

9 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; 10 for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.

Even though there were some true believers that affirmed the truth of Christ, Jesus still had a few things against them.

(v. 14) 14 ‘But I have a few things against you...

Because you can have truth saving faith and be living out of the will of God.

We must teach the whole COUNSEL of God.

(***Define “the whole counsel of God”***)

The whole counsel of God is the entirety of the Scriptures. Not just the parts we like. Not just the New Testament. Not Just the Gospels. Not just the red letters (because it is all red letters!)

Teaching the whole counsel of God does not make you saved nor does it keep you saved. Every aspect of salvation is wrapped up in Christ Jesus. Now, for those that are saved, God has expectations. He gives us His commands and principles to practice and obey. Ephesians 2:10 even tells us God has good works for us to walk in. And one of those things God expects from His church is that we teach the whole counsel of God.

(v. 12, 16) 12 “And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write: The One who has the sharp two-edged sword says this: ...

16 ‘Therefore repent; or else I am coming to you quickly, and I will make war against them with the sword of My mouth.

The sword in the mouth of Jesus is His word. It is like His tongue is the sword.

Ephesians 6:17 (NASB)

17 ...the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

Hebrews 4:12 (NASB)

12 For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

So the word is the sword. And we need to teach all of it, nit just the parts we like or the things that are popular. It is all God’s word. It all applies. It is all beneficial. We need to be teaching the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help us God. It is critically necessary!

2 Timothy 3:16–17 (NASB)

16 All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; 17 so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.

The way Jesus is described at the introduction of each letter is a sign of what the problem in that church or the danger that church is facing...

Revelation 2:1 (NASB)

1 “To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: The One who holds the seven stars in His right hand, the One who walks among the seven golden lampstands, says this:

Revelation 2:8 (NASB)

8 “And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: The first and the last, who was dead, and has come to life, says this:

(v. 12) 12 “And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write: The One who has the sharp two-edged sword says this:

Jesus comes at the church of Pergamum with His sword because they were not teaching the whole counsel of God. They were right about Jesus but wrong in how they approached His word in some areas…some members of the church were straight up rejecting His word and others twisting to say what they wanted it to say.

(v. 14) 14 ‘But I have a few things against you, because you have there some who hold the teaching of Balaam, who kept teaching Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols and to commit acts of immorality. 15 ‘So you also have some who in the same way hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans.

What is the teaching of Balaam?

Balaam counseled Balak, an enemy of God’s people, to lure God’s people into sin, thus weakening them. He did this through seduction, using Moabite and Midianite women to tempt the God’s people into sexual sin and pagan practices.

Why did Balaam do that? For personal gain.

The teaching of Balaam is the attitude that one can be cooperate with the world and still serve God at the same time. The doctrine of Balaam compromises the word of God, wanting Christians to forget what God says about certain things. It ignores what God says or even straight up contradicts it by teaching the opposite.

Many today shy away from teaching the whole counsel of God. They don’t want to offend someone. But you know what?!?! They are offended God!

They church needs to follow the Apostle Paul’s example:

Acts 20:27 (ESV)

...for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God.

Others are so arrogant that they will straight up teach things that are in direct opposition to the truth of Scripture. They are false teachers, wolves in sheep’s clothing, and the Judge is coming with His sword.

We must affirm the truth of Christ and we need to teach the whole counsel of God.

We must COMBAT false teaching.

(v. 14-15) 14 ‘But I have a few things against you, because you have there some who hold the teaching of Balaam, who kept teaching Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols and to commit acts of immorality. 15 ‘So you also have some who in the same way hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans.

On the surface it might seem like teaching the whole counsel of God is combating false teaching. And it can be, but sometimes more is needed.

The church in Ephesus Combated false teaching by testing what was being said in the Scriptures and then putting the false teachers out of the church.

Revelation 2:2, 6 (NASB)

2 ‘I know your deeds and your toil and perseverance, and that you cannot tolerate evil men, and you put to the test those who call themselves apostles, and they are not, and you found them to be false…

6 ‘Yet this you do have, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.

They put them out! The false apostles and false teachers were not welcome in Ephesus. So they departed Ephesus.

Apparently the Nicolaitains, after they were kicked out of Epehsus, just skipped Smyrna or were there so short a time because they aren’t mentioned at all when Jesus addresses them. Smyrna was in between Ephesus and Pergamum. The Nicolaitains had to pass through Smyrna to get to Pergamum. Smyrna was a church Jesus had nothing against. They affirmed the truth of Christ, they taught the whole counsel of God AND they combated false teaching. So the Nicolaitains much have passed on by Smyrna and went straight on to Pergamum. In Pergamum they found a place to belong.

Why? They were tolerated in Pergamum.

14 ‘But I have a few things against you, because you have there some who hold the teaching of Balaam, who kept teaching Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols and to commit acts of immorality. 15 ‘So you also have some who in the same way hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans.

Their teaching was not just allowed in the church, in some cases, it was even embraced.

When we tolerate false teaching, we are putting a stumbling block in the way of people putting faith in Christ or we are hindering people from faithfully following Christ in loving obedience to His word.

God expects His church to both preach the truth and combat the lies that attack the truth.

What was the false teaching that was being embraced in Pergamum?

“...eat things sacrificed to idols and to commit acts of immorality.”

This was in direct disobedience to essential commands the Holy Spirit directed the Jerusalem council to give to the Gentiles.

Acts 15:28–29 (NASB)

28 “For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay upon you no greater burden than these essentials: 29 that you abstain from things sacrificed to idols and from blood and from things strangled and from fornication; if you keep yourselves free from such things, you will do well...

Not only were they not keeping themselves from these things, they were openly embracing them.

2 Timothy 4:3–4 (NASB)

3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, 4 and will turn away their ears from the truth...

What was Timothy supposed to do?

2 Timothy 4:2 (NASB)

2 preach the word [the whole counsel of God]; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction.

Jesus was serious about His people combating false teaching. The very next words out of His mouth were...

16 ‘Therefore repent; or else I am coming to you quickly, and I will make war against them with the sword of My mouth.

God will not tolerate His church tolerating false teachers.

Jesus makes war with false teachers.

We must CONFORM to the will of God.

(v. 16-17) 16 ‘Therefore repent; or else I am coming to you quickly, and I will make war 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, to him I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, and a new name written on the stone which no one knows but he who receives it.’

John 6:38–40 (NASB)

38 “For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. 39 “This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day. 40 “For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.”

If we truly have faith in Christ Jesus and believe in Him, then we are going to conform to His will.

John 14:15 (NASB)

15 “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.

Luke 6:46 (NASB)

46 “Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?

One day, everyone will conform…

Philippians 2:10–11 (NASB)

10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Romans 14:11–12 (ESV)

11 for it is written, “As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.” 12 So then each of us will give an account of himself to God.

(v. 17) 17 ‘He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

(v. 16) 16 ‘Therefore repent; or else I am coming to you quickly, and I will make war against them with the sword of My mouth.

James 5:9 (NASB)

9 ...the Judge is standing right at the door.

When Jesus came the first time, He was the Suffering Servant and the Sacrificial Lamb.

When Jesus comes the second time, He’s coming at the Righteous Judge with a sharp double edged sword.

Psalm 95:7–11 (ESV)

7 Today, if you hear his voice, 8 do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah, as on the day at Massah in the wilderness, 9 when your fathers put me to the test and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work. 10 For forty years I loathed that generation and said, “They are a people who go astray in their heart, and they have not known my ways.” 11 Therefore I swore in my wrath, “They shall not enter my rest.”

Are you ready?

Have you affirmed the truth of Christ in your own life?

You can, right here, right now, as I pray, you pray, and get it right with Jesus today.

Let’s pray.

Memory Verse of the Week:

Acts 20:27 (ESV)

...for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God.

Discussion Questions:

What does this Scripture teach us about God?

What does this Scripture teach us about man?

Do you see any commands to obey or principles to apply?

Do you see any promises to claim or blessings to enjoy?

Do you see any truths to meditate on or Gospel messages to share?

Did anything else in the passage stick out to you?