What Have We Become 6

Fighting From Your Life

The Compromising Church

Text: Revelation 2:12-17

Introduction

When someone make some very severe mistakes in life, it is often said, “Well, give her/his raising, they didn’t have much hope.” Or, when it comes to children born and raised from parents of past addiction, the question comes up, “nature or nurture?”

Whatever or whomever has influenced you to where you are, LISTEN…what we learn from the letter to this church is this: Every born-again believer does not carry with them the label of many on their soul…JESUS HAS GIVEN YOU A NEW NAME AND A NEW LIFE TO FIGHT FROM!

I want us to focus on a couple of main points…There are attacks without & attacks that creep within. Is there deliverance from both spheres of attacks?

Christ is mentioned in verse 12

Commendation mentioned in verse 13

They refused to deny their personal faith before local or Roman authorities while knowing what it might cost them.

Concern — Doctrine of Balaam and the Nicolaitanes

1) Attacks From The Outside

A. Facts about Pergamum

Pergamus or Pergamum, an important city in Mysia, in northwest Asia Minor. It was the center of several cults: Zeus Soter, Asclepius Soter, and Athena Nicephorus had famous temples here. It was also a center of the imperial cult; as early as 29 b.c. the provincial assembly erected a sanctuary to Augustus and Roma. Christians seem to have been persecuted here at an early date. William Arndt et al., A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000), 797.

The city was built on a hill. (Satan has always wanted to be elevated)

2nd largest library in the known world 200,000 parch. scrolls.

Pergamos was also the official capital of the province, and so the residence of the Roman proconsul. Proconsuls enforced their rule with the “right of the sword”—the authority to execute whomever they pleased. Gwyn Pugh, “Commentary on the Book of Revelation,” in 1, 2, 3 John & Revelation, ed. Robert E. Picirilli, First Edition., The Randall House Bible Commentary (Nashville, TN: Randall House, 2010), 176.

It was very difficult for Christians to live out their faith.

Mandatory emperor worship, the presence of unbelieving Jews, and the essential interconnection between idolatry, economics, and citizenship made it truly difficult to practice Christianity. Gwyn Pugh, “Commentary on the Book of Revelation,” in 1, 2, 3 John & Revelation, ed. Robert E. Picirilli, First Edition., The Randall House Bible Commentary (Nashville, TN: Randall House, 2010), 176.

Jesus said this is the headquarters of Satan.

Opt1 — built the first temple in all the active world to a Ceaser (shorty before the birth of Jesus). Imperial worship began there. There were more than one temple worshiping men they declared as Ceasers. (Possible why called the throne of Satan.

Opt2 — City built on hill. On one hill a temple built for zues. He was the god of all God’s. They built multiple temple to multiple gods.

Opt3 — One temple for the false god for healing (Aesculapium). They called this god the savior. He had a symbol; the snake (white marble stone).

Quote — William Barclay said, “Suffering people were allowed to spend the night in the darkness of the temple. In the temple there were tame snakes. In the night, suffering might he touches by one of these tame and harmless snakes as it glided over the ground on which he lay. The touch of the snake was held to be the touch of the god himself, and the touch was held to bring health and healing.

Think about the deception of Satan (form of a snake) to deceive Adam and Eve away from the one true God.

Jesus attributed “the throne of Satan” to the saturation of idolatry throughout the entire city. This created a culture where all confidence was in these false gods.

APP — How much of our culture has become like that? It’s just like you can’t escape the filth of this world.

2) Attack From The Inside

Some in the church advocated compliance and compromise.

Balaam

Jesus was referring the people back to Numbers 31:16 “16 Behold, these caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to commit trespass against the Lord in the matter of Peor, and there was a plague among the congregation of the Lord.”

Balaam was hired by Balak to curse the Israelites but was unable to do so, finally blessing them instead. However, under his influence the Israelites sinned by committing whoredom with Moabite women, bringing severe judgment from God (Num. 25:9). The end result was the one Balak originally sought. The “stumblingblock” (v. 14) is two-sided: eating meat offered to idols coupled with sexual immorality. Balaamism as a term apparently evolved to symbolize those who advocated similar behaviors. Gwyn Pugh, “Commentary on the Book of Revelation,” in 1, 2, 3 John & Revelation, ed. Robert E. Picirilli, First Edition., The Randall House Bible Commentary (Nashville, TN: Randall House, 2010), 177.

Some taught that participation in local festivals (involving eating meat offered to idols), indulging in sexual immorality with temple prostitutes, or confessing Caesar as Lord were acceptable, perhaps “necessary evils.” There was no other choice, they said, in order to survive economically or otherwise. Others might have advocated indulging the flesh, based on an erroneous view of Christian liberty. Gwyn Pugh, “Commentary on the Book of Revelation,” in 1, 2, 3 John & Revelation, ed. Robert E. Picirilli, First Edition., The Randall House Bible Commentary (Nashville, TN: Randall House, 2010), 179.

Nicolaitanes — Membership in trade guilds required sacrifice to pagan deities and often involved immorality

What was creeping in to some of the believer’s personal lives?

(1) Idolatry at the table

Eating and drinking in your home was more than a simple meal. It was a covenantal act between you and your gods.

You would invite your false god to have a seat at your table; the guest of honor. It was a ritualistic bonding time. It was an activity of demonic.

What may seem as something that is ignorant, childish or neutral, THINK AGAIN! Any form of idolatry will NEVER have a neutral impact on your life! (give example:)

The devil wants nothing more that to skew our perception of reality!

(2) Sexual imorality

The devil had teachers teaching this: Your soul is sacred and your body is not. Who care what you do with your body. As if one did not affects the other. (refer to Rev. 22)

Statement today: “If it feels good, DO IT” or “No one should have the right to tell you what to do with your body”

Not all sin affects the body the same. It is probably safe to say, sexual immorality is the worse thing you can do with your body. Paul said to “flee fornication & sexual immorality.” It is a sin of your body.

A pastor gave this illustration to the kind of damage this kind of sinful activity does to one’s soul and emotions:

It is like creating a wound and then it scaring over. Every place there is a scare, there is lost feeling. Sexual immorality is like creating a multitude of scars on your soul of which causes you to lack a deeper intimate connection with the one who is to be (or currently is) your spouse.

3) Repent (correction)

Jesus’ answer to this church — REPENT! Jesus picks up the sword and fights with you!

changing the way you perceive sin in your life.

Stop minumizing your sin.

Hidden manna ??? (maybe give some thoughts about Jesus’ statement about Him being the Bread of Life comparing to bread in wilderness)

White stone — Cultural; if someone healed, find a priest in town, he would chisil their name and desease in a white stone.

Conclusion

Jesus is showing us something that only he can do with someone who is stained by sin; call you clean, give you a new name and a new destiny!