Revelation for Now & Future Part 6
Revelation for Now & Future • Sermon • Submitted
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We spoke about the church at Ephesus two weeks ago.
We spoke about the church at Smyrna last week.
We also spoke of the order that each of the letters is written in:
Greeting
Omniscience
Praise
Rebuke
Command
Warning
The One Who Conquers
With Ephesus, they had left their first love.
With Smyrna, they were struggling with persecution and poverty.
Today we pick up reading in Rev. 2:12-17.
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.’
Greeting to Pergamum
Greeting to Pergamum
Pergamum...
West in what is now Asiatic Turkey.
Pagan Worship Prominent Zeus, Athena, Dionysus, and Asclepius.
In particular were:
Dionysus- god of wine and merry making
Asclepius- god of healing
Capital City of Asia
Asclepius- has a symbol of a serpent. Where the medical symbol comes from (serpent on a stick).
Omniscience “I know”
Omniscience “I know”
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.
What does He know?
They live in a city over looked by “Satan’s Throne”
“Satan’s Throne” —The acropolis of Pergamum contained an altar to Zeus at its top.
“Satan’s Throne”— a second possibility is the many temples set up to worship emperors.
Be mindful of the comparison between Smyrna and Pergamum...
The “synagogue of Satan” =Jewish
VS.
The “throne of Satan” = Pagan
Much like the Lord spoke to Smyrna about those who persecuted them, He speaks to Pergamum about the pagans of whom the struggle.
Adulation - “Yet”
Adulation - “Yet”
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.
You hold fast
You don’t deny
Even in martyrdom
We know little of Antipas, except the Lord commends him as a “faithful witness”.
Rebuke - “But”
Rebuke - “But”
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.
You permitted “The teaching of Balaam”...
False teaching for financial gain
Idolatry & Immorality
4 because they did not meet you with bread and with water on the way, when you came out of Egypt, and because they hired against you Balaam the son of Beor from Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse you.
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.
There was a mingling with the culture to an intense depth.
The Lord was warning against the increased compromise.
We can compare this to the toleration in Thyatira next week.
Just as Israel was encouraged to fornicate spiritually and physically so were the Christians in Pergamum.
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.
Nicolaitans — one who overcomes people
Most likely referring to the taking captive those by false teaching.
Repent — Stop!
Repent — Stop!
16 Therefore repent. If not, I will come to you soon and war against them with the sword of my mouth.
The book is written for revealing and renewing.
Agree and Turn
Consequence — “If Not”
Consequence — “If Not”
“I will come”
War— battle/destroy
“The sword” - The Word
He will come and judge the world, but also the church.
“Overcomes...”
“Overcomes...”
Hidden manna = food to be consumed at the marriage supper of the Lamb (Rev. 19:9)
32 Moses said, “This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Let an omer of it be kept throughout your generations, so that they may see the bread with which I fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you out of the land of Egypt.’ ”
33 And Moses said to Aaron, “Take a jar, and put an omer of manna in it, and place it before the Lord to be kept throughout your generations.”
34 As the Lord commanded Moses, so Aaron placed it before the testimony to be kept.
35 The people of Israel ate the manna forty years, till they came to a habitable land. They ate the manna till they came to the border of the land of Canaan.
White Stone = could represent admission into the supper, but also the righteous significance of white.
Pagan tradition would have white stones that were used for admission to public festivals.
2 The nations shall see your righteousness, and all the kings your glory, and you shall be called by a new name that the mouth of the Lord will give.
15 You shall leave your name to my chosen for a curse, and the Lord God will put you to death, but his servants he will call by another name,
Walking Today:
Demonic stronghold still exist: Do not fall for them or compromise towards them.
Compromising the truth will always lead away from Christ. He is sufficient.