Jesus’ Letter To The Church In Pergamum: Be Courageous!

Jesus’ Letter To The Church In Pergamum: Be Courageous! Revelation 2:12-17

Introduction:

If you have your Bible you can turn to Revelation 2:12-17

As we walk through our text this morning, there is one truth I want you to keep in mind throughout the message

Faithfulness to Christ demands we embrace every aspect of His truth without compromise!

in other words, we have to be willing to embrace the parts of God’s word that may not make sense

maybe they go against cultural norms

even the parts that don’t make us feel good, and at times even scare us because we know what obedience will cost us

I would say most of us here this morning would likely acknowledge that we believe Jesus has done everything necessary to save us

Most of us would say we believe in Jesus

Yet, at the same time (if we’re honest) we likely struggle with the implications of what that means

It can be a struggle to live this way in our everyday lives

Our work place, our sexuality, in our families, etc...

But faithfulness to Christ demands we live this way!

If the Ephesian church was guilty of elevating truth above love, the church at Pergamum had elevated love above truth

Nothing will poison the body of Christ like the poison called compromise

With your Bibles open please stand as we read the Word of the Lord!

Revelation 2:12-17

Revelation 2:12–17 ESV

“And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write: ‘The words of him who has the sharp two-edged sword. “ ‘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. 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. So also you have some who hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans. Therefore repent. If not, I will come to you soon and war against them with the sword of my mouth. 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.’

Pray...

Last week we looked at

Christ is the living one

and this week He is the double edge sword

2:1 - Jesus is in control = Sovereign Imminent Presence

so Love as Christ love

2:8 - Jesus is in control = Omnipotent resurrected Lord

Suffering proves the authenticity of that love

look at v.12 “And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write: ‘The words of him who has the sharp two-edged sword.

Jesus is in control = Holy Judgement in truth

The sword of God lays bare both our sin and our need

It slices away our pretense that we have it all together

and places us all equally before the cross and in need of His mercy

We have no weapon against Satan other than this Sword

The sword is the Word of God!

Because it is God’s word it is true and trustworthy, inerrant and infallible.

And here, it is coming from the mouth of Christ!

His word is authoritative and sure

This idea is rooted in the messianic prophecy of Isaiah 11:4 where Messiah, “will discipline from His mouth.”

This is a verbal announcement from the exalted Christ.

“Anyone who has ears should listen” (v. 17).

The sword is sharp and double-edged.

It is not dull; it cuts quick and clean. Double-edged, it hurts and heals.

It cuts and cures.

This statement recalls Hebrews 4:12 where the Bible says, “For the word of God is living and effective and sharper than any double-edged sword, penetrating as far as the separation of soul and spirit, joints and marrow.

It is able to judge the ideas and thoughts of the heart.” This sword of Christ conveys absolute authority

The Roman proconsul exercised the power of the sword from his judgment seat in Pergamum.

He had the power of persecution, but he did not have ultimate power.

Only Christ is the ultimate wielder of absolute power and when he uses his sword it is always based on Truth.

This is the sword the church should fear

This is the sword we should respect

The common theme:

The church is under pressure yet they are called to hold fast.

To what do we hold fast?

Under pressure, this can seem hard to see, harder still to act on.

Let me give you a practical example

Example:

The tornados - There you were your spouse and all your stuff - 

if all was being torn away and you could hold to one thing what would it be?

Can you see how clear that is in the moment but how hard it is to see in every day life?

And so the first three churches have taught us to hold fast to truth in love.

Or we hold fast to Christ through loving God with all we have

and loving others as ourselves especially under pressure.

Main Idea: The Lord attends His church in Pergamum and commends them for their devotion to Christ in the midst of religious hostility while He calls on gospel compromisers to repent for their reward is at stake.

The Lord Commends His Church For Their Faithfulness v.13

Revelation 2:13

Revelation 2:13 ESV

“ ‘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.

The church was faithful in the face of persecution

To be a Christian in this culture, that experienced opposition and persecution would’ve been hard

even deadly

We must be encouraged that the Sovereign King knows what we are facing

He is aware of our circumstances in intimate detail

This was the situation at Pergamum, and so our Lord commends them for their faithfulness, and seeks to comfort them

They held the name of Jesus

Jesus begins by telling the church at Pergamum that he knows where they live.

In other words, he understands the pressures (v 13) and temptations (v 14–16) they face.

And “where you live” is also “where Satan lives” (v 13).

Pergamum was a religious centre, full of pagan temples dominated by a massive altar to Zeus on the hill above the city.

The first ever temple in honour of a living emperor, Emperor Augustus, was built at Pergamum in 29 BC.

This may explain the reference to Pergamum being where Satan lives and has his throne (v 13)

there were other temple’s to the Greek god of healing, whose symbol was a snake, echoing Satan (12:9)

Look at Revelation 12:9 And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him

Above all, Pergamum was a center of Caesar worship

Yet, Jesus commends the church for remaining true to his name in the face of persecution.

The word translated “martyr” originally meant “witness”, but because witness for Christ often led to death, its meaning became “one who dies for a cause”.

They did not deny the faith

Smyrna could be described as a martyr’s church (2:8-11)

So could Pergamum.

Jesus says you are holding (pre. tense) on to My name.

You did not deny your faith in me where Satan’s throne is...where Satan lives

A couple of sermons back I mention a guy by the name of Domitian

during this same time period Domitian was the Roman emperor in power

He was a harsh and wicked man.

In fact, while studying this passage I learned of an account of Domitian that described a Gladiator competition that he attended.

The team of gladiators that he was cheering for lost the competition.

But there were others in one of the sections of the stadium that were cheering for the others. Domitian had them arrested and killed.

The church at Pergamum was right in the center of this.

Everyday they were faced with the pressure of proclaiming Caesar is Lord and faced the very real consequence of being put to death

Anitpas kept the faith to the point of death

Which is exactly what happened to Antipas who was a martyr for the Christian faith...

v.13 b “​yet you did not deny my faith in the days of Antipas my faithful witness.​ ”

Their faithful witness had resulted in the martyrdom of one of their own: Antipas.

We know nothing about him.

Some speculate he may have been their pastor.

A tradition says he was roasted inside a “brass bull” during the reign of Domitian

Note how Jesus describes Antipas: “my faithful witness”

This is the exact same description that is applied to our Lord in Rev. 1:5 and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth.

To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood

Christ was God’s faithful witness unto death and Antipas was Jesus’ faithful witness unto death!

The Son honored His Father in death and Antipas honored his Lord in death

In this context Jesus commends them for their faithfulness in the midst of extreme persecution

Application: This is a reality somewhere in the World!

Somewhere Christians are dying for Jesus.

Christian women are being raped

Christian children are being sold into slavery

Christian brothers and sister are being imprisoned, persecuted, and tortured

We should not be surprised or caught off guard by the persecution and trials we’re going to face as believers

do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as if though something strange were happening to you​.”

“​80% of all religious discrimination worldwide is against Christians​.”

Violence, death...90% of all people killed on the basis of religious beliefs in the world today are Christians

Now we know that most of this is outside of the US and many are experiencing this type of persecution right now.

And although most of us won’t face the threat of death, many of you have suffered as a result of your faith...

Societal discrimination, Institutional discrimination, employment discrimination, rejection,​ etc

Some of you have experienced that firsthand but don’t miss what Jesus says to the church in the midst of all they are experiencing:

“​I know where you dwell,​”

In the midst of your suffering and persecution He’s saying He’s there!

He’s present and He’s keenly aware of all that you’re going through. - NO EMERGENCY PLANNING SESSIONS IN HEAVEN

I hope this will be of comfort to you, but Satan can do nothing without the permission of God

I do not always know and understand why God allows suffering and persecution to happen.

Turn to DEUTERONOMY 29:29 The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.

I may not always know why persecution is happing but what I do know is....Jesus was crucified, buried, and resurrected

and if this is the extent to which He would love me and satisfy the wrath of God toward me then He can be trusted with whatever situation I may face in my life.

This is why I can claim the promise that He will work all things together for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.

I CAN SAY LIKE PAUL: “TO LIVE IS CHRIST / TO DIE IS GAIN”

So, if you suffer IN Christ, be strengthened by remembering that you also suffer WITH Christ!

But there is also a warning. He says to the church...

The Lord Condemns His Church For Their Compromise vv.14-15

Revelation 2:14-15

Revelation 2:14–15 ESV

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. So also you have some who hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans.

The believers in Pergamum are commended for their continued devotion to Jesus Christ, but they are also indicted for compromising

Their problems differed from Ephesus, however.

In Ephesus, the entire church seemed to be involved in its cold orthodoxy.

In Pergamum there were two groups creating problems.

One group was verging on apostasy with its backing of eating food offered to idols and spiritual fornication, participating in the worship of other gods.

The rest, who appeared not to participate in this activity, were nonetheless tolerant of those who did

This element of the community said let’s go along to get along.

The church was now doing what the world would applaud

They compromised, and Christ was not pleased

Two areas in particular were infected with this disease of compromise, and it should be a waring for us this morning

We must not compromise our morality v.14

Revelation 2:14 “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.”

Some at Pergamum hold the name of Jesus

Some at Pergamum “hold to the teaching of “Balaam”

We read of Balaam in Numbers 22–24.

God has delivered the people of Israel out of bondage in Egypt and they are making their way, slowly but surely, to the promised land God has for them.

He’s giving the people great favor and they’ve just experienced a ​massive victory over the Amorites​

Balak, King of Moab, had solicited Balaam to curse the children of Israel who were preparing to cross over into the promised land.

But God intervened

Every time Balaam spoke, words of blessing came forth

Moved by greed for the reward Balak offered him

Balaam advised Balak that Moabite women should seduce the men of Israel by inviting them to partake in their idolatrous feasts

which invariably led to sexual immorality

Balaam knew that this would provoke the judgment of God against his people.

which is precisely what happened

Pagan food and pagan women led to spiritual compromise and adultery on the part of the people of God!

Compromise and accommodation often go together

They attempted to serve God but in the process allowed the prevailing cultural norms to shape both their thinking and their lifestyles

They had neglected the truth of Romans 12:2

Turn to Romans 12:2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect

Stumbling here isn’t a mild misstep

it refers to losing one’s final reward by falling away from the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Those who follow false teachers will be judged by the words of Jesus (Rev. 2:12, 16) if they don’t repent

Pergamum means “thoroughly married.”

Here we see a church thoroughly married to the world

Faithfulness to Christ demands we embrace every aspect of His truth without compromise!

God has called us to be distinct so that we can show to the world that Christ is better

We must not compromise our morality, and.....

We must not compromise our theology v.15

Revelation 2:15 “So also you have some who hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans.”

Some at Pergamum hold the name of Jesus.

Some at Pergamum hold the name of Balaam.

Some at Pergamum hold the name of the Nicolaitians

The Nicolaitans were mentioned in v.6, which says, Yet this you have: you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate

We see the church of Ephesus rejected them

The teaching of Balaam and the Nicolaitians are closely related, if not identical

Theology and doctrine matter very little, and behavior matter less

the distinction between the church and the world become more blurred and less clear

The lifestyle of one was barely distinguishable from the other

One commentary said it like this: Worldliness, compromise and tolerance had rushed into this church like a flood and she was on the verge of drowning.

What an apt description of the Church in the Western world today!

What a gross misunderstanding of grace and the gospel we suffer from today

The Lord Corrects His Church With a Warning v.16

Revelation 2:16 “Therefore repent. If not, I will come to you soon and war against them with the sword of my mouth.”

let me ask a question: Does truth mater?

Truth must Confront indifference

The Complaint is against both them who teach and those you who tolerate them within the church

The call is for biblical church discipline.

This is a wholesale failure of the church today where nice has thrown out holiness

and the church has not only tolerated corruption from within but has ruined her reputation without.

Unless the church repents, Christ will come and fight against them with the sword of his mouth.

This promise is for those who practice false teaching and those who tolerate it.

Example: Mega preacher teaching the OT doesn't matter and is irrelevant to believers today.

He is guilty and must repent but so does his church who tolerates this unbiblical teaching.

The entire church is summoned to repent for a sin of which only a few were actually guilty.

The sin of the Ephesians was harsh intolerance; the sin of the Pergamum church was tolerance and an unbiblical view of Christian freedom

This is...

The merciful Call to repentance

This coming can be either or both now and not yet.

He will come to his church to discipline now and he will come then to separate the invisible and visible church

let me give you some definitions

The visible church is easily identified by its religious trappings:

church buildings, ministers or clergy, calendars, ordinances, ceremonies, denominations, etc. When someone says, “I go to Such-and-such Church,” he is referring to the visible church

To identify with the visible church is to accept the label of “Christian,” but, without a spiritual transformation initiated by the Spirit of God, it’s simply a label

The invisible church, comprised of all the redeemed, is spiritual and heavenly and not of this world (John 18:36).

As Jesus explained, “The coming of the kingdom of God is not something that can be observed, nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is among you” (Luke 17:20–21).

Turn to Matthew 25:31-46 ““When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to yo…”

Those who follow false teachers will be judged by the words of Jesus (Rev. 2:12, 16) if they don’t repent.

Repent from what to what?

Who’s responsible for the church?

For what it teaches and how it loves, lives and serves?

This is why we must get understand and embrace a biblical leader structure

WG is congregationally ruled.

The answer is a biblical one. We Are!

Elders/pastor are undershepherd concerned with truth and the patient, tender care of its people

But discipline begins by taking your brothers and sisters to coffee because you care for them.

To lay down your life to save a friend.

We are accountable to Christ for His church.

This means meaningful church membership is critical in your life and ours.

We must repent of our indifference to the importance of the church in the mission of God and the life of God’s children.

We must repent of loving selfishly and taking a wishy-washy approach to doctrine.

I love you because he first loved me, and that means I must be willing to pour my life out for you as He did for me!

A cry to restore our first love and our love for that love in Truth even if it means confrontation

The imminent judgment

Failure to repent will have dire consequences, for Jesus is coming soon and will judge those who persist in sin

Sinning believers should be made to feel miserable in the fellowship and worship of the church by being confronted powerfully with the Word of God.

Neither is the goal of the church to provide an environment where unbelievers feel comfortable;

it is to be a place where they can hear the truth and be convicted of their sins so as to be saved

Romans 10: 13-17 For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

14 How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? 15 And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” 16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?” 17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ

Gently, lovingly, graciously, yet firmly, unbelievers need to be confronted with the reality of their sin and God’s gracious provision through the sacrificial death of the Lord Jesus Christ

Error will never be suppressed by compromising with it.

Today’s non-confrontive church is largely repeating the error of the Pergamum church on a grand scale, and faces the judgment of the Lord of the church

The victorious reward

Revelation 2:17 “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.’”

The words of the risen Christ are also the words of the Spirit of God, containing an earnest message for all the churches.

John concludes with a promise to the one who conquers.

This is both a promise and a demand, for all must overcome and triumph to receive the reward.

Jesus will give “hidden manna” to those who conquer

which means this is a promise that Jesus will be all satisfying

Manna, described as bread from heaven (Ps. 78:24), was given as sustenance to Israel in the wilderness (Ex. 16:31, 33, 35)

It seems, then, that manna here designates heavenly reward for the faithful

The manna now hidden will be given them at the marriage supper of the Lamb (cf. Rev. 19:9)

Turn to Revelation 19:9 And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God

The “white stone” is another way of describing the same reward

Those who triumphed in games were given white stones for entry into celebratory banquets.

Such stones were used also in court cases to signify deliverance

Those who overcome will enjoy the messianic banquet and stand clean before God forever!

In the ancient world and the Old Testament, to know someone’s name, especially that of God, often meant to enter into an intimate relationship with that person

and to share in the person’s character or power.

To be given a new name was an indication of a new status.

Therefore, believers’ reception of this name represents their final reward of complete identification and unity with Christ in his kingdom and under his sovereign authority, FOREVER!

[T]he “new name” is a mark of genuine membership in the community of the redeemed

without which entry into the eternal “city of God” is impossible.

It stands in contrast to the satanic “name” that unbelievers receive, which identifies them with the character of the devil and with the ungodly “city of man.

So What?

Will you contend for the truth?

Jude 3 “Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints.”

The first three church give us two commands and a context

The context is suffering

The command Love God, Love each other & Love the truth that has been given to us through the word of God

The command - Contend =struggle

Struggle for the name

Struggle for the faith

Struggle for the holiness of the Lord’s Bride

The weapon of the Sword of the Spirit

Jude 20-23 “But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. And have mercy on those who doubt; save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh.”

We are called to exercise such boldness and courage

God is to be first in our affections and actions.

Nothing must displace Jesus in our lives, whether it be family, health, wealth, comfort, work, or success.

But we are to resist such temptations because we now belong to Jesus Christ, who is to be supreme in our affections

Faithfulness to Christ demands we embrace every aspect of His truth without compromise!