Rev 2:12-17 A Little Leaven
Notes
Transcript
12 “And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write: ‘The words of him who has the sharp two-edged sword.
13 “ ‘I know where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is. Yet you hold fast my name, and you did not deny my faith even in the days of Antipas my faithful witness, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells. 14 But I have a few things against you: you have some there who hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, so that they might eat food sacrificed to idols and practice sexual immorality. 15 So also you have some who hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans. 16 Therefore repent. If not, I will come to you soon and 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 the one who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it.’
There seems to be a progression in these middle three letters. The first of the three, to Pergamum, addresses a church that holds to false teaching, but they are not explicitly rebuked for false teaching and sexual immorality. The second of the three, to Thyatira, rebukes the church for tolerating Jezebel, who teaches the Lord’s servants to commit sexual immorality and to eat food offered to idols. The third letter, to Sardis, addresses a church that is dead. Do you want to know how a church dies? I would suggest that we have a hint here. It starts with false teaching, which leads to idolatry and immorality, which kills the church.
Just as these three churches seem to be at different points on the spectrum, so today there are churches at different points of the spectrum. As Jesus addresses the church at Pergamum, the believers there seem to be flirting with evil. They are not openly embracing immorality and idolatry but are not closing the door to it either. Jesus calls them to repent of the teaching of the Nicolaitans, which is false teaching, before it is too late.
12 “And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write: ‘The words of him who has the sharp two-edged sword.
In this letter Jesus introduces himself to the church in Pergamum as the one “who has the sharp two-edged sword” (2:12). Back in 1:16 John had seen Jesus in glory, and “from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword.” When Jesus returns in glory in chapter 19, we read that “From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations” (v. 15). So we know that this “sharp two-edged sword” is probably an image of judgment. Rather than envisioning Jesus with a sword-shaped tongue, we should probably understand this to mean that Jesus will speak decisive words of judgment. The sword was certainly used in judgment in the Roman world, so this introduction contains a threatening image. John’s audience knows that Rome wields the sword of judgment, but the authority of Jesus and the sword of judgment that comes from his mouth will strike down the idolatry of Rome.
Whose judgment do you fear? The Christians in John’s audience could avoid the sword of Rome by doing things that would put them in danger of the sword of Jesus. We will all face situations where what the world judges to be right conflicts with what Jesus judges to be right. Whose sword do you respect in that moment? The sword of the world and the judgment the world might inflict, or the sharp two-edged sword in the mouth of the Son of man?
13 “ ‘I know where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is. Yet you hold fast my name, and you did not deny my faith even in the days of Antipas my faithful witness, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells.
Jesus begins his address to the church in Pergamum with a strong commendation of the church. This commendation is made even stronger by the way it is presented. What the church has done right is framed by statements acknowledging that the church is in a very bad neighborhood. Revelation 2:13 opens with the words, “I know where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is,” and the last words of that verse are, “among you, where Satan dwells.”
Between these references to Satan’s throne and dwelling in Pergamum, Jesus commends the church because, in spite of the bad influence of their neighborhood, he says, “Yet you hold fast my name, and you did not deny my faith even in the days of Antipas my faithful witness, who was killed among you” (2:13).
So in spite of their proximity to Satan’s throne, they “hold fast” to the name of Jesus. That they hold fast to Jesus’ name means that they are conducting themselves for Jesus’ glory. We can see that Jesus’ own glory matters to him by the way he mentions it over and over to these churches:
• 2:3, “you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name’s sake.”
• 2:13, “you hold fast my name.”
• 3:8, “you have kept my word and have not denied my name.”
• 3:12, “I will write on him the name of my God … and my own new name.”
Jesus cares about his name, his glory, his reputation.
The church in Pergamum has held fast to the name of Jesus, and they have not denied the faith, even though the “faithful witness,” Antipas, was killed, apparently for the faith (2:13). To deny the faith in the face of death would be to declare that one believes life in the here and now is better than Jesus, better than having the life he promises, which cannot be defeated by death. By holding to Jesus’ name and not denying the faith, even when Antipas was killed for the faith, the Christians in Pergamum declare that Jesus is better than life.
The references at the beginning and end of this verse to “Satan’s throne” and the place “where Satan dwells” seem to reflect the status of Pergamum as “the religious capital of the province of Asia.” Even if other cities were more prominent, and some suggest Ephesus was, Pergamum was “the site of the first and most important temple to the deified Augustus.”
These Christians in Pergamum were holding up well in the satanic stronghold in which they lived, but as we see from ensuing verses, they needed to repent of their toleration of false teaching.
14 But I have a few things against you: you have some there who hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, so that they might eat food sacrificed to idols and practice sexual immorality. 15 So also you have some who hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans. 16 Therefore repent. If not, I will come to you soon and war against them with the sword of my mouth.
In this case Jesus says, “But I have a few things against you: you have some there who hold the teaching of Balaam” (2:14). But before we look at the brief recap of what Balaam taught in the rest of verse 14, notice that the phrasing of verse 15 parallels the first part of verse 14 exactly: “So also you have some who hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans.” The “so also” that begins verse 15 introduces the comparison between what happened in history when Balaam introduced idolatry and immorality in Israel and the way that the teaching of the Nicolaitans will introduce idolatry and immorality in the church in Pergamum.
The incident referenced in the mention of Balaam is explained in the rest of 2:14: “… Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, so that they might eat food sacrificed to idols and practice sexual immorality.” So it seems that whoever the Nicolaitans were (and we saw in 2:6 that the Ephesian church was commended for hating their teaching), and whatever the particular nuances of their teaching were, their teaching would lead to sexual immorality and idolatry, just like Balaam’s.
We can also observe that this idolatry and immorality threatening the church in Pergamum is probably connected to the references to “Satan’s throne” and the place “where Satan dwells” in 2:13. The church was probably facing pressure from the Roman Imperial Cult in Asia Minor. This cult included homage paid to the emperor and the gods that would be inescapably idolatrous, and there is no shortage of evidence that Roman celebrations could degenerate into drunken orgies. So the teaching of the Nicolaitans probably validated a certain level of participation in civic life, the celebrations of the city of Pergamum, which would have been idolatrous and immoral in nature.
Are ideas circulating in our culture that we could liken to “the teaching of the Nicolaitans” (2:15)? Ideas that would result in our thinking it right to gratify our sinful desires? Ideas that would result in our thinking it right to give worship to something other than God alone? And more specifically in line with what this text is teaching, are there people who put themselves forward as Christian teachers, pastors, or authors of Christian books who advocate a lifestyle that results in idolatry and immorality?
As a body of believers, we have to be theologically and culturally sensitive enough to recognize when someone is teaching us to minimize sin, to avoid too much talk about who God is or what the Bible says, and to enjoy the good life here in America. This kind of thing is not what we need.
We need to be taught to value Christ, to honor God, to celebrate God’s mercy in Christ’s death on the cross for our sins, to celebrate even the teaching of human sinfulness because it highlights God’s grace in sending Jesus to die for us “while we were still sinners” (Romans 5:8). We hate sin, but we love the Bible’s telling us the truth, and we love to see that “where sin increased, grace abounded all the more” (Romans 5:20).
We have to be able to recognize the difference between faithful preachers, teachers, and authors who help us boast in God and glory in the cross and so-called preachers, teachers, and authors who teach us to minimize human sinfulness, avoid talking too much about God, and all the while are teaching us to value what Americans value, to love what the world loves, to measure success the way the world measures success. Where you have false teaching, idolatry and immorality are close behind.
Let me observe at this point that often what drives sexual immorality and idolatry is not only the sinful appeal of idolatry and immoral behavior. The illicit appeal of objects of lust and of false gods is combined with the fact that these objects and behaviors provide what we might call love-substitutes. Often what is really at the root of idolatry is the mistaken conclusion that this false god is going to provide for me. Similarly, what might be at the root of sexual immorality is a longing for intimacy. False thinking about what will provide for us and give us the intimacy we desire leads to immorality and idolatry.
In 2:16 we have another correspondence that also contributes escalation. Jesus says, “Therefore repent. If not, I will come to you soon and war against them with the sword of my mouth.”
The judgment that Jesus threatens has to do with the sword that comes from his mouth, which he announced in the opening of this letter to the church in Pergamum (2:12; cf. 2:16). Just as the Lord struck down those who yoked themselves to the Baal of Peor, and 24,000 died (Numbers 25:9), so Jesus threatens to “war against them”—apparently those holding to the teaching of the Nicolaitans.
It is interesting to observe that the command to “repent” is in the second person singular, as in, “you must repent,” and the address is representatively made to the angel who represents the church. But if the church does not repent, Jesus threatens to make war on “them.” This seems to indicate that repentance is to take the form of the church pursuing a process of discipline with those who are holding to the teaching of the Nicolaitans. And this process of discipline is motivated by a desire to keep Jesus from making war on those who are holding to the false teaching. We call people to repent because we love them and want to keep them from judgment. And if they do not repent, we are to follow the steps prescribed in Matthew 18:15–18 because we love them and want to keep them from judgment.
17 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it.’
This letter closes with the call for those who have an ear to “hear what the Spirit says to the churches” (2:17). Again I would observe that “churches” is in the plural, even though it is the church in Pergamum that has been addressed in this letter. We are not the church in Pergamum, but Jesus is speaking to us by the Holy Spirit. We can also observe that there is a tension between the singular and the plural in this call and in the promised reward. “He who has an ear, let him hear” is singular—individuals are called to hear and respond. The tension comes in the next phrase, “what the Spirit says to the churches.” “Churches” is plural, and a church is a group of believers.
Then there are the promises made to him who conquers. Notice that “the one who conquers” is in the singular. It seems to me that the back and forth between the singular and the plural points to the way that as members of the church we have both individual responsibility for ourselves and a corporate responsibility for the other members of the body.
Why would Jesus promise “hidden manna” and “a white stone, with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it” (2:17) at the conclusion of this letter to the church in Pergamum? I think these promises are meant to meet the needs that people seek to meet through idolatry and sexual immorality. I suggested earlier that idolatry arises from the desire to have our needs met. Jesus promises to meet those needs. Jesus offers the provision of “hidden manna,” which is a better provision than any idol offers. He tells us we don’t need to go to other gods.
Similarly, I suggested that sexual immorality arises from a longing for intimacy. The promise of “a white stone, with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it” is a promise of intimacy. Whatever else it means, this promises that there will be a private communication between God and the one who overcomes. Surely God knows the name on the stone, and the one who receives the stone knows the name. And that exclusive knowledge, that private interaction that no one else shares, is the essence of intimacy. Jesus is arming us with weapons for the war on lust.
Do not flirt with the teaching of the Nicolaitans. Sin makes promises it does not keep. The words of Jesus are meant to remove the false beauty of sin, so that we see sin as it is. It is ugly, vile, disgusting. It promises nourishment and intimacy, but what it delivers is only a cheap imitation of real blessings. Sin never satisfies.
Do you have ears to hear what the Spirit says to the churches? Fight the good fight. Overcome. Feed your soul on the manna Jesus gives. Enjoy the intimacy he promises. He knows you as you are, and he loves you. There is no love better than his.