Revelation 2:12-17
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Introduction:
If you have your Bibles let me invite you to open with me to the book of Revelation chapter 2.
We will begin reading in verse 12 and we will read through verse 17.
This is the third letter in the book of Revelation
spoken by the Lord Jesus
to the apostle John,
this time to be sent to the church in Pergamum.
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.’
Lets Pray
To the church in Ephesus, Jesus introduced himself as the the one who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands.
This communicated his sovereignty over the church and his presence with the church.
To the church in Smyrna, Jesus introduced himself as the first and the last, who died and came to life.
This communicated Jesus Sovereignty over all of history, and especially his victory over death itself. It was hope inspiring, and comforting.
but here…, Jesus’ introduction has a sharper edge to it.
He introduces himself as the one who has the two-edged sword.
We immediately recognize the imagery, because we were told what the sword is in Jesus’ self-revelation of chapter 1.
16 In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength.
Jesus’ sharp two edged sword proceeds from his mouth.
This means that the sword in reference, his Jesus’ words.
In the introduction of this letter…. Jesus aims to introduce himself by communicating something about his word.
Truth #1 His Word is Sharp
Truth #1 His Word is Sharp
What does Jesus mean by sharp?
What does he mean by speaking words like a sword?
Well these words do something when they are spoken.
They are not spoken simply to be heard...,
they are spoken to accomplish something in the hearer.
They are not like a blunt blade unable to do the work of cutting and slicing.
Jesus words are powerful.
They accomplish what they are sent to accomplish.
This morning we are reading the words which came from the mouth of Jesus.
And they function like a sword in this room.
They act, not as if they are in a peace time endeavor…,
they act in the midst of a spiritual war.
They cut through the schemes of the devil…,
Jesus’ words either pierce hearts with conviction and lead to repentance.
Or they harden hearts for coming judgment.
The book of Hebrews says it this way.
12 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
13 And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.
The word of God cuts through the religious show that everyone else sees and they pierce into the heart…
they go straight into the intentions of a person….
they go straight into the thoughts… the reality of a person. ..
The word of God surgically removes the cancer of sin that is in the bones of a person…
And it is good.…
But not only does the word of God cut us for our healing….
The word of God equips us for all forms of spiritual attack.
Paul identifies the sword of Jesus’s word as a weapon that we ourselves wield in the spiritual fight.
16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one;
17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God,
Jesus writes to the church in Pergamum and reminds him of his sharp two-edged sword in part because they have found themselves engaged in a serious spiritual battle.
Look at verse 13.
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.
Truth #2 His Word Sustains Through Spiritual Attack
Truth #2 His Word Sustains Through Spiritual Attack
verse 13 begins with a familiar phrase that Jesus apparently believes we need to hear over and over again.
Revelation 2:13 “I know where you dwell”
Jesus’ has consistently emphasized this in each letter thus far.
“I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance” (2:2)
“I know you are enduring patiently” (2:3)
“I know your tribulation and your poverty” (2:9)
“I know where you dwell”(2:13)
Perhaps you need reminding again this morning.
Jesus knows your situation.
He knows what you have endured.
He knows what you are enduring.
He knows where you dwell.
He knows the late nights of cyclical thoughts that plague you, the spiritual depression, the crippling anxiety, the difficult home life, the seemingly hopeless marriage, the dead end job, the physical pain…
He knows where you dwell.
In the case of the church in Pergamum, they dwelled where Satan’s throne is, where Satan dwells.
Strong language with various historical ties.
Pergamum was the first city in Asia Minor to build a temple for emperor worship and thus became the leading center of emperor worship throughout the province.
Additionally, Pergamum was a center for the cult of Asklepios, the god of healing, whose symbol was a serpent. Members of this cult called Askelpios “savior”
A symbol that the medical field in the United States actually adopted in the early 1900’s
Beyond that, Pergamum was home to a massive altar to Zeus on top of the mountain that dominated the city. The legs in the sculpture were serpent’s tails wrapping around the massive throne like structure.
Just from the historical context, you can begin to see why Pergamum could be described as the place where Satan’s throne was.
Living as a Christian in such a place would have been difficult.
Imagine living in a place where you were expected to pay homage to false god’s in all aspects of life, from politics, to health, to the weather. Every wedding, funeral, birthday party, and business deal called for you to engage in idol worship.
Jesus’ knows where they dwell.
And he knows how the church as a whole had held fast to the name of Jesus even when the opposition got violent.
Jesus commends them for clinging to his name,
and refusing to deny the faith,
even when one of their own, Antipas was murdered for his faith.
We aren’t given any the information about Antipas.
We don’t know him,
but the church in Pergamum certainly did.
That name triggered real memories of a real church member who followed in the foot steps of Jesus.
Remember how Jesus was described in the opening doxology of the book of Revelation.
5 and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness…
That word witness is the word from which we get our english word Martyr.
Jesus Christ was the faithful martyr.
He was faithful unto the very end, till the moment of death.
And now Jesus remembers Antipas, a Christian who followed in his footsteps, clinging to his name, until he himself was put to death in Pergamum.
I wonder what happened in the hearts and minds of the church members in Pergamum when this letter was read aloud and Jesus himself remembers Antipas.
certainly a flood of emotions would overwhelm some.
humbled that Jesus would remember him
inspired to be faithful as he was faithful
encouraged that Jesus really knows the specifics of what they have endured and the spiritual war they were fighting…
Jesus is the one with the sharp two-edged sword…,
but I want you to take note that His sharp two edged sword was not for going to physical war with the Roman authorities in Pergamum who persecuted the church.
The battle was a spiritual one with physical realities.
The war is most ultimately with Satan, not Ceasar.
And the weapon given to us for holding fast to the name of Jesus, and not denying the faith…, is the sword of Jesus’ word which sustains in the spiritual battle…. just as it sustained the believers of Pergamum.
Let me pause here…, and just ask…
Do you see the spiritual element of your current tribulations and hardships?
Pergamum’s context was unique, but Pergamum is not the only place in human history where Satan dwells.
Their spiritual war is our war.
We don’t live in spiritual neutral zones.
12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
9 Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.
Do you see your world, your circumstance, your current place in life through the lens of a spiritual war raging around you…,
And do you see the sharp two-edged sword of the word of Jesus given to us in the pages of Scripture…, as the primary weapon for being sustained in this cosmic conflict.
I was convicted as I meditated upon this,
how little attention I have given over the last few years to memorizing God’s word so that i might readily use it in the spiritual battles I face.
Truth #2 His Word Sustains Through Spiritual Attack
Truth #2 His Word Sustains Through Spiritual Attack
and Jesus commends the church at Pergamum for their perseverance in the fight…,
The church had survived the attacks from without…, but the attacks from without are not the only kinds of attacks on a local church.
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.
Pastor and preacher H.B. Charles says it this way:
“If Satan can’t kill a church, he will join it.” - H.B. Charles
Thats what’s happened in Pergamum.
It’s not the whole church, but some how, some way, “some” are now in the midst of the church who hold the teaching of Balaam
This is an Old Testament reference meant to help us understand the situation in Pergamum.
Its an illustration to give us a sense of the problem, but for most of us, we aren’t familiar enough with the Old Testament story, to know what Jesus is speaking about when he references Balaam.
Balak was the king of Moab in Numbers chapter 22.
Balaam was a prophet.
Balak hired Balaam to speak prophecies of curse over Israel.
King Balak promised great honor and wealth to Balaam if he would speak out and prophecy against God’s people…,
But Balaam was unable to do so.
Balaam couldn’t speak a prophetic curse over God’s people for the King of Moab.,
but instead, he began to influence the people to break God’s law from within.
Jesus in verse 14, says that Balaam taught Balak exactly what to do.
To put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel from within.
1 While Israel lived in Shittim, the people began to whore with the daughters of Moab.
2 These invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and bowed down to their gods.
3 So Israel yoked himself to Baal of Peor. And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel.
16 Behold, these, on Balaam’s advice, caused the people of Israel to act treacherously against the Lord in the incident of Peor, and so the plague came among the congregation of the Lord.
The King of Moab wanted to war against the people of God with the backing of a false prophet, but his plan failed.
So the strategy shifted.
Infiltrate the people of God with compromise and corruption.
If Satan can’t kill a church, he will join it.
This is the kind of thing Paul warns against in Acts 20.
29 I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock;
30 and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them.
This is happening in Pergamum, but what are the false teachers teaching?
They are teaching compromise.
They are teaching compromise that will keep them from persecution.
Not to outright deny that Jesus is the resurrected one.
Not to outright reject all of the teachings of Christianity.
but just participate in the idol worship of the city.
eat the food sacrificed to idols at the feasts with the people worshipping false gods.
practice sexual immorality like the rest of the culture.
That was the teaching of the Nicolaitans.
They taught a gospel of compromise.
They taught that you could come to Christ and be freed to sin without consequence.
Thus Jesus speaks, and John writes, to expose the compromise.
Truth #3 His Word Exposes Compromise
Truth #3 His Word Exposes Compromise
Now there are two kinds of compromise happening here.
There are those within the church who are teaching these false views.
There are those within the church who are participating in the pagan activities.
But this is a rebuke for the whole church, not just the some who are in the church.
The second kind of compromise happening, is how the whole church is not protecting the true doctrine.
The compromise is how the whole church is not paying careful attention to the flock, they are not holding anyone accountable, they are not addressing the situation.
Notice who Jesus is talking to… He is not speaking to those false teachers directly, he is speaking to the whole church directly.
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.
This is very important.
Jesus doesn’t address the pagan culture with rebuke in this letter.
Nor does he directly address the false teachers within church.
He addresses the true people of God in Pergamum.
Judgment starts at the house of God.
The local church has a responsibility to protect sound doctrine,
to protect the people of God within the church with loving and courageous accountability.
Jesus has this against the church in Pergamum, they are simply turning a blind eye to the false teachings and the false lives of those in their midst.
God’s word exposes compromise,
but it is God’s word on the lips of his people in Christian community with one another.
This is very much a ministry of the word,
that Jesus has entrusted to us,
to speak the sharp two edged sword for the good of the Christian community,
to the fight against the allure to compromise and
the false freedom to sin and to destroy ourselves by assimilating with the world around us.
This is my job as a pastor to equip the saints for the work of the ministry in our church.
14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.
15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ,
Be careful,
be watchful,
be sober-minded,
Satan’s scheming will not primarily come from the outside of the church…,.
it will come from within.
So what do we do?
16 Therefore repent. If not, I will come to you soon and war against them with the sword of my mouth.
Truth #4 His Word Calls for Repentance
Truth #4 His Word Calls for Repentance
This call to repent is a gracious call.
Jesus does not have to be so gracious as to sound the alarm.
He does not have to give us opportunity to turn from our self-destruction.
But to the church in Pergamum he sends the grace of his word…,
the grace of his sharp two-edged sword piercing the heart of sin…,
so that repentance can happen.
Repentance means to have a change of mind, to turn from the direction you are going.
It is always the two-sided coin of faith.
Faith is the trusting of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.
But genuine faith always produces repentance.
It changes our direction.
Jesus wants the church at Pergamum to repent, but notice again who he is speaking to.
He is speaking to the church as a whole, not to the false teachers directly.
he is holding the whole church accountable for the presence of false teaching.
16 Therefore repent. If not, I will come to you soon and war against them with the sword of my mouth.
So who needs to repent…, the false teachers certainly need to repent…,
but its the church that Jesus addresses who needs to repent of their compromise and their lack of accountability.
Jesus urges the whole church to repent, lest the false teachers continue in false religion and thus receive the wrath of God.
Why should the church in Pergamum repent from overlooking and ignoring the presence of these religious phonies…,
well, in part, because they are on their way to judgment, lest someone warn them and call them to repentance.
The call to repentance is a gracious call.
It is a gracious call when Jesus calls us to repent…,
and it should be a gracious call when we call our brother and sister to repent.
The sword of the word cuts, but for the repentant, it is a healing wound.
6 Faithful are the wounds of a friend; profuse are the kisses of an enemy.
I would much rather face the sword of the word of God’s word when it comes in the hand of a friend to act as a surgeon’s scoupel cutting out the unrepentant sin in my life…,
than I would face the sword of God when it comes to war against the enemies of God.
repentance is the gracious call of God’s word to those who will hear it.
17 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches….
This phrase is repeated at the end of all seven letters to the churches.
It comes from the prophet Isaiah, when he was commissioned to preach to people who would refuse to listen.
9 And he said, “Go, and say to this people: “ ‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’
10 Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and blind their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.”
There is a very sad effect that the word of God can have on people.
It can simply add to the judgment they deserve.
It can make the heart dull, the ears heavy, the eyes blind.
It can have a hardening effect.
It can increase the travesty of your rebellion, when you are exposed to the word over and over again yet refuse to listen.
Those who have ears to hear are truly God’s people.
They hear God’s word, believe God’s word, and respond to God’s word.
Those who do not have ears to hear are not God’s people.
They hear words, but they do not listen.
They hear words, but they do not believe.
They hear words, but they do not respond.
Beware of hearing sermons every week, but never listening.
It is a dangerous place to be.
but for those who truly hear this word, believe this word, respond to this word with faith…, unimaginable blessing awaits.
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.’
Truth #5 His Word Promises Eternal Reward
Truth #5 His Word Promises Eternal Reward
The temptation in Pergamum is to participate in the pagan feasting and the parties full of food sacrificed to idols and sexual immorality.
firstly, The promise of the resurrected Christ is hidden manna….
a reference to the heavenly, the miracle bread that God provided his people to sustain them in the wilderness.
Jesus promises to sustain his people with what they need,
He will be the source of their forever feasting,
He will be set an eternal table for them to find satisfaction and joy even in the midst of what feels like the wilderness.
The food sacrificed to idols are a cheap substitute compared to the miracle provision of the eternal God who sets table for us in his presence.
33 For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”
34 They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.”
35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.
secondly, the promise of his word is a white stone
there are a couple historical possibilities for the significance of this stone.
The first century readers would have recognized the reference.
White stones were used in the deliberation of a council of judges…
White stones were tossed into a pile for a vote of innocence.
While black stones were given for a vote of guilty.
It is possible that Jesus is promising what the gospel assures…, innocence in the eyes of God because of the substitutionary sacrifice of Jesus.
Jesus will give you a white stone of righteousness which declares you not guilty in God’s eyes.
Another possibility, is the way in which white stones were used as tickets of entry into events, or shows, or feasts.
Jesus could be indicating that they have an eternal invitation to the heavenly banquet with their name written on it.
Both those possible interpretations are certainly true…,
the point is, any degree of exclusion or shame placed upon you from the city of Pergamum where Satan dwells will pale in comparison to the invitation you have received to sit guiltless at the feast of our God forever and ever.
The new name, I personally think is an allusion to what happened to Daniel and Shadrach, Mishak, and Abednego with wicked empire of Babylon.
When Babylon took captive the young men from Israel, they completely changed their names to Babylonian names in an attempt to seperate them from their old identity as Jews.
They wanted them to move away from their allegiance to the home land, and to assimilate with Babylonian culture.
Jesus says, I will give you a new name.
I will take you from the place where Satan dwells…, and I will bring you into the place where God dwells….
And I will give you a new name, and a new identity, never to be tempted to assimilate with that old devilish world every again.
How sweet are the promises of his word?
Have you ever wanted a fresh start?
To be freed from the shame of your past?
To have a new identity free from the stain of your mistakes and your sin?
Have you ever just wanted to feast at a table where you are truly known and truly loved?
Jesus offers you that.
Believe in him.
Trust him.
Hear his words and repent of your sin, that is turn to him.
and join God’s people now as we devote ourselves to his word every day until these promises are fully and finally fulfilled.
#1 His Word is Sharp
#2 His Word Sustains Through Spiritual Attack
#3 His Word Exposes Compromise
#4 His Word Calls to Repentance
#5 His Word Promises Eternal Reward
17 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
Lets pray
