Letter to the church in Pergamos (Part 2)
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Intro: Last week in our study we focused on the seat of satan and the foundation of his religion on the earth. We spent time at looking at his counterfeit religion centered around a “holy mother” and her “son”. How her son was born at the time of the winter solstice because he was the seed of the sun god. His birth historically has been celebrated in a remarkably similar way that the world celebrates Christmas today. This mother and son combo represented love, and life. Often times historically they are refereed to as the gods of love and fertility . There was even a counterfeit resurrection that took place after 40 days of his mother weeping over her dead son. This celebration took place in the spring, and is actually the Easter mentioned in Acts 12:4. The central focus of this celebration is “love” (Valentines Day) and “fertility” (Easter). One represented on or near the time of “Ash Wednesday” and the other of course is on “Easter.” This time of weeping is also where “lent” comes from… All of this celebrated 1000’s of years before Christ came. The tower of Babel religion, was full of ritualistic prayers, and prayer beads, that included a tau on the end of the beads. A tau in our language today a lowercase “t”.
I share all of that to begin today not because I think we should stop celebrating birth and the resurrection of our Saviour, but for us to understand that a counterfeit is a look alike. So much a look a like that it would be easy to get them confused....
The angel of the church in Pergamos write:”
The city of Pergamos - Historical Application (90 A D.)
Pergamos was the _____________ city of the Roman government in Asia.
Prior to the Roman takeover it was the capital of the Kingdom of Pergamon. It was a city full of idolatry with temples for Egyptian gods, as well as its own. Along with its temples it also had altars were sacrifices to their gods were made. It’s largest structure being the Pergamon Altar, believed to be the altar of Athena. Pergamos also had the worlds second largest library at this time.
Last week we looked at Babel and Babylon, which both served as a great headquarters for Satan to use… but, when Babylon’s glory began to fade, he looked for another headquarters for the Babylonian system of religion, and the place he chose was _____________________.
“…thou dwellest, even where Satan’s ________________... (Rev. 2:13)
“… where Satan ____________________.” (Rev. 2:13)
I think we all understand that Satan doesn’t live in hell. I know the world has created an image of this not so bad, guy in red that is the king of hell…
Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
The Bible tells us that hell was the place prepared for the devil and his angels. Notice it was not the place prepared for man… God’s plan was that man would dwell where HE was!
And the Lord said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the Lord, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.
Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.
The city of Pergamos - Prophetical Application (325-500 A D.)
This is the period of time where Satan moves his “throne” (Isaiah 14:13 “For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:” ) or his “___________” over the Babylonian Religion and moves it to _____________. Where it is today and will remain until the Great Tribulation Period.
To put it all together in one paragraph. The Pergamos Church Period is that time in history when Satan establishes a “seat” of “authority” in Rome… in a counterfeit ________________… and through a human _____________… supposedly speaks “infallibly”… out of the ___________________!” (Or, “ex-cathedra.”)
He accomplished this through a man by the name of ___________________________ around 325 A.D.
Stan has two key modes of operation:
As a “___________________________.” (1 Peter 5:8)
As an “________________ of _____________.” (2 Cor. 11:14)
It is during this time that Rome forced their pagan religion upon the world and for those who refused they were killed. Many of which were tortured and many were brought into the arena and killed by lions…
We see this mode of operation described in history, as the blood of the martyrs being the seed of the church.
In this period of time we also see operation as an “angel of light”. When you can’t beat them, join them… Setting aside the lion figure for a time, he became the hope of “Christianity” to the whole world and he did that in Rome, through that man named Constantine.
The Result”
The great “Christianization” of ___________________ Or,
The great “Paganization” of ___________________,
Either way you slice it you come up with a harlot version of Christianity. I used that term on purpose, because it is the name that God gives this system later on in Revelation.
And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.
The reason that it is called “the ______________” is because it will spawn many other “Christian” churches.
The Pagan worship of Rome, became the __________ worship of Rome...
The Pagan Roman god “Artemis” became St. Artemidos.
The Pagan Roman god “Brighit” became St. Bridget.
The Pagan Roman god “Cheron” became St. Ceranos.
The Pagan Roman god “Dionysus” became St. Dionysus.
The Pagan Roman god “Victoria” became St. Victoire.
And Stan did it! He marries the church to the world, to come up with his own counterfeit… What is historically called the Roman Catholic church. Meaning “_______________” Christianity.
And just like that, the pagan religion of Rome, became the worlds pagan “christian” religion.
Closing:
What we must never lose sight of, and what we must understand is that although we see his “success” here through human government, he failed… He failed to remove Christianity from his earthly kingdom, and he failed to corrupt it completely through the marriage of the church and state.
Throughout history God has always had a remnant of believers that stayed commited to the faith of Christ!
And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
Sir Isaac Newton ”The Baptist are the only body of known Christians that have never symbolized with Rome.”
Mosheim “Before the rise of Luther and Calvin, there lay secreted in almost all the countries of Europe persons who adhered tenaciously to the principles of modern Dutch Baptists.”