Lessons from the Letters – Pergamos

Introduction – Some time ago (last November to be exact) we began a Bible study series that I referred to as a spiritual hearing test, based on the statement, “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches” in the letters to the 7 churches in the book of Revelation. · That series was put on hold during my recovery after we finished the first two letters. · We will resume that series today with the church at Pergamos · I would now like to re-title the series, “Lessons from the Letters.”

Revelation 2:12-17 12 ¶ " And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write, ' These things says He who has the sharp two-edged sword: 13 ¶ "I know your works, and where you dwell, where Satan's throne is. And you hold fast to My name, and did not deny My faith even in the days in which Antipas was My faithful martyr, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells. 14 "But I have a few things against you, because you have there those who hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit sexual immorality. 15 "Thus you also have those who hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate. 16 'Repent, or else I will come to you quickly and will fight 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 him who overcomes I will give some of the hidden manna to eat. And I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written which no one knows except him who receives it." ' 12) the church in Pergamos – also known as Pergamum (neuter counterpart)

· Cultural info: “…concentration of pagan religion had its centre in Pergamum. There was the worship of Athene and Zeus, with its magnificent altar dominating the city; there was the worship of Asclepios, bringing sick people from far and near; and above all there were the demands of Caesar worship, hanging for ever like a poised sword above the heads of the Christians” (The Daily Study Bible by Barclay). These things says He who has the sharp two-edged sword – significance?

· “Roman governors were divided into two classes--those who had the ius gladii, the right of the sword, and those who had not. Those who had the right of the sword had the power of life and death; on their word a man could be executed on the spot. Humanly speaking the proconsul, who had his headquarters at Pergamum, had the ius gladii, the right of the sword, and at any moment he might use it against any Christian; but the letter bids the Christian not to forget that the last word is still with the Risen Christ, who has the sharp two-edged sword. The power of Rome might be satanically powerful; the power of the Risen Lord is greater yet” (The Daily Study Bible by Barclay). Revelation 1:12-16 12 ¶ Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands, 13 and in the midst of the seven lampstands One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band. 14 His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes like a flame of fire; 15 His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and His voice as the sound of many waters; 16 He had in His right hand seven stars, out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength. NLT Revelation 19:15 From his mouth came a sharp sword to strike down the nations.

· The sword referred to was not long and narrow like a fencer's blade; it was a short, tongue-shaped sword for close fighting. NKJ Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. · “It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires” (NLT).

· “It is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (NRS).

· Intent = “that which is intended or purposed as the result of thinking, a particular manner or way of thinking - 'way of thinking, disposition, manner of thought, attitude.' (Louw-Nida lexicon).

· “The symbolism tells us of the penetrating quality of the word of God. If we listen to it, no shield of self-deception can withstand it; it strips away our self-deludings, lays bare our sin and leads to pardon” (The Daily Study Bible by Barclay). 13a) "I know your works, and where you dwell, where Satan's throne is. · dwell = katoike,w: to live or dwell in a place in an established or settled manner. · “The principle of the Christian life is not escape, but conquest. We may feel it would be very much easier to be a Christian in some other place and in some other circumstances but the duty of the Christian is to witness for Christ where life has set him” (The Daily Study Bible by Barclay). NLT John 17:15 I'm not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one.

· “Pergamum was the administrative centre of Asia. That meant that it was the centre of Caesar worship for the province. ... "It was organized with a provincial centre and an administration like that of a presbytery or diocese. The point here is that Pergamum was the centre of that worship for the province of Asia. Undoubtedly that is why Pergamum was Satan's seat; it was the place where men were required on pain of death to take the name of Lord and give it to Caesar instead of to Christ; and to a Christian there could be nothing more Satanic than that” (The Daily Study Bible by Barclay). 13b) And you hold fast to My name, and did not deny My faith even in the days in which Antipas was My faithful martyr, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells. · Antipas may have been a title, rather than a personal name, of someone who was martyred for refusing to acknowledge Caesar as a god. 14-15) …you have there those who hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit sexual immorality. 15 "Thus you also have those who hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate.

· “The name Nicolaos (GSN3532), the founder of the Nicolaitans, could be derived from two Greek words, nikan (GSN3528), to conquer, and laos (GSN2992), the people. Balaam (HSN1109) can be derived from two Hebrew words, bela, to conquer, and ha'am (HSN5971), the people. The two names, then, are the same and both can describe an evil teacher, who has won victory over the people and subjugated them to poisonous heresy” (The Daily Study Bible by Barclay). NLT Numbers 25:1-3 ¶ While the Israelites were camped at Acacia Grove,1 some of the men defiled themselves by having2 sexual relations with local Moabite women. 2 These women invited them to attend sacrifices to their gods, so the Israelites feasted with them and worshiped the gods of Moab. 3 In this way, Israel joined in the worship of Baal of Peor, causing the LORD's anger to blaze against his people. NKJ Numbers 31:16 "Look, these women caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to trespass against the LORD in the incident of Peor, and there was a plague among the congregation of the LORD. · The Israelites were seduced into illegal and sacrilegious unions with Moabite women and into the worship of Baal-peor due to the evil influence of Balaam. · Balaam in Hebrew history stood for an evil man who seduced the people into sin. 14) …to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit sexual immorality.

· This was in direct violation to the Jerusalem decree. NLT Acts 15:28-29 "For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay no greater burden on you than these few requirements: 29 You must abstain from eating food offered to idols, from consuming blood or the meat of strangled animals, and from sexual immorality. If you do this, you will do well. 15) …you also have those who hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate.

· Irenaeus says of the Nicolaitans that "they lived lives of unrestrained indulgence."

· What could have been their reasoning? They may have confused Christian liberty with unchristian license. NLT Galatians 5:13 ¶ For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don't use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love. They may have had a perverted concept of grace. NKJ Romans 6:1 ¶ What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? They may have bought into the Gnostic concept of spirituality. · They reasoned that flesh and spirit are total opposites, so what one did physically had no bearing on their alleged spirituality, so indulging fleshly appetites was considered acceptable.

· This false reasoning is likely the reason behind Paul’s delineation of the fruit of the spirit vs. works of the flesh. NLT Galatians 5:19 When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, 21 envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God. 22 But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. 25 ¶ Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit's leading in every part of our lives. 16) 'Repent, or else I will come to you quickly and will fight against them with the sword of My mouth.

· Christ can and will expose the true motives and intent of this destructive heresy. 17a) He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. What lessons are in this for us?

· What is the one word that sums up the main point of this letter?

· Idolatry is certainly a major theme. · But the spiritual lesson is to avoid compromising with God’s law and way of life by falling for seductive heresies based on false reasoning or falling prey to temptations that appeal to lust and result in what Galatians 5 refers to as works of the flesh that are contrary to the spiritual work that God is performing in us. Satan is still promoting sinful indulgence of the flesh, more so now than ever before via modern technological media.

· TV “sick coms” – sexual inuendos · X-rated movies · Internet porn · Even commercials using sex to sell products He is also still busily engaged in seeking to undermine the teachings of the church. · Are you being seduced in any way that is causing you to compromise with the truth of God in any area of your life? · If so, the lesson for you from this letter is to repent.

· If you are not aware of any such problem, you can ask God to reveal to you any sins or areas of compromise that you might not be aware of. NLT Psalm 69:5 – David prayed, “O God, you know how foolish I am; my sins cannot be hidden from you.” TNK Psalm 90:8 You have set our iniquities before You, our hidden sins in the light of Your face.

· “God's face is compared to a light or lamp that exposes the darkness around it” (NET notes). NKJ Proverbs 28:13a He who covers his sins will not prosper, …

· This means refusing to acknowledge them in confession, and perhaps rationalizing them away (NET notes). NKJ Proverbs 28:13b But whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy. Remember that the word of God is like that sharp two-edged sword. NLT Hebrews 4:12-13 For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires. 13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes, and he is the one to whom we are accountable.

· Again, the point of this passage is “the penetrating quality of the word of God. If we listen to it, no shield of self-deception can withstand it; it strips away our self-deludings, lays bare our sin and leads to pardon.” NLT Hebrews 4:14-16 ¶ So then, since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe. 15 This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. 16 So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.

· And I might add, without compromise…. 17b) To him who overcomes I will give some of the hidden manna to eat. And I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written which no one knows except him who receives it." '

· Manna = given to OT Israel to teach them to obey and trust God to provide food for them rather than resort to human reasoning.

· For this reason, we have often referred to the Sabbath as a test commandment.

· In John 6 Jesus compares and contrasts manna with “feeding on” him as the bread of life. John 6:35 35 ¶ And Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst. John 6:57-58 57 "As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me. 58 "This is the bread which came down from heaven -- not as your fathers ate the manna, and are dead. He who eats this bread will live forever." White stone

· According to Barclay, In the ancient law courts white and black stones, ere used for registering the verdict of juries, black for condemnation, white for acquittal.

· The meaning for us is obvious. NLT 1 John 1:5-10 5 God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all. 6 So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness; we are not practicing the truth. 7 But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. 9 But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts.

· White is the color of purity.

· We are to be “holy” which means to be separate from the evils of the world. 2 Corinthians 6:14 - 7:1 14 ¶ Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? 15 And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? 16 And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said: "I will dwell in them And walk among them. I will be their God, And they shall be My people." 17 Therefore "Come out from among them And be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, And I will receive you." 18 "I will be a Father to you, And you shall be My sons and daughters, Says the LORD Almighty." NKJ 2 Corinthians 7:1 ¶ Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. NLT 2 Corinthians 7:1 ¶ Because we have these promises, dear friends, let us cleanse ourselves from everything that can defile our body or spirit. And let us work toward complete holiness because we fear God. 17b) and on the stone a new name written which no one knows except him who receives it."

· Inscribed stones also were used in the culture of the day as a symbol of victory and as an invitation to a pagan banquet—like a ticket for admission to the banquet.

· For us, the victory is the victory of “overcoming” and the banquet would be the great marriage supper at the return of Jesus Christ.

· The Bible records many examples of individuals whose name was changed to reflect their new status and/or successful accomplishments in life.

· What new name does God have in store for you? · That depends largely on how you hear and heed the lessons and exhortation in this letter to the church at Pergamos.

Conclusion – He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.