AM Bible Study Group; January 13, 2016 from Revelation 2:12-17
Theme: The Lord Jesus warns that, when His church in the world begins to behave like the world, He will take action.
(All Scripture is taken from The New King James Version, unless otherwise indicated).
One of the great challenges that the church of Jesus Christ faces is how it is to interact with the lives of lost people without, at the same time, falling into the trap of embracing their ungodly values or adopting their sinful behavior practices. In other words, the church must touch the world with the love of Christ while remaining markedly distinct from the world in its devotion to Christ. It must have “contact” with the world without becoming “conformed” to the world.
The church in Pergamos had, apparently, failed to maintain this distinction. There were, in the midst of this church, those who professed to be followers of Christ—but whose belief systems and life-style practices were indistinct from those of the paganistic culture that it was called by Christ to reach. This was—and always is—an intolerable situation to the Savior. In this third of the seven letters, Jesus confronts the church that failed to make a distinction between itself and the paganistic culture around it. It was the church that looked like the world.
I. BACKGROUND ON THE CHURCH AT PERGAMOS.
A. Pergamos was, politically, a very important city. It was, in fact, the capital city of Asia Minor. It was also important as a great cultural center; and was considered “the finest flower of Greek civilization”. It had a huge library of 200,000 books (which were, of course, all hand-written scrolls) that competed with the legendary library in Alexandria, Egypt, for prominence. The chief official of the city, Eumenes, once attempted to lure the famous librarian, Aristophanes, away from Alexandria and to the library in Pergamos; and it caused such a scandal that Egypt cut off all supplies of papyrus (the paper-like material, made from the pith of papyrus reeds, that was used for book-making) from Pergamos so that they couldn’t make any more books. (Imagine a time in history when an attempt to lure a librarian from one city to another would cause an international incident!) As a result, Pergamos invented the use of “parchment” (a material made from the skins of animals) as a replacement material for making books.
B. Not only was it a center for Greek culture in Asia Minor; it was also a center of pagan religion. Significant temples were built there for four main deities: Zeus, Athena, Asklepios, and Dionysos; and these temples attracted worshipers from all over the world. The altar of the temple of Zeus stood on a huge platform on a terraced hill behind the city. It was surrounded by a large colonnade that made it look like an enormous throne. Animal sacrifices were offered on it all hours of the day; and the smoke and the smell continually reminded everyone in the city of the worship of Zeus. Another one of the many gods that were worshiped there, whose name was Asklepios, was honored as the god of healing. This god was represented by a snake. The temple built in honor of this false god was filled with snakes that freely slithered across the temple floor; and any ailing worshiper who laid on the floor of the temple—and had the “good fortune” being touched by such a snake as it slithered by—was considered to be guaranteed of a full healing.
C. But its political, cultural and religious characteristics all came together in the fact that it was the center in Asia of the religion of emperor worship. It was the first city to have built a temple to a living emperor (Augustus). And whereas Christians throughout Asia Minor were in danger for their lives at least once a year (when it was compulsory that citizens throw a pinch of incense into the fire in worship of the emperor), the Christians in Pergamos were in danger every day and all year round. We can only imagine what a spiritually oppressive and hostile environment Pergamos must have been for this band of Christians!
II. THE LORD’S INTRODUCTION (v. 12).
A. We’ve considered in previous studies how the Lord makes reference—throughout these letters—to the things that John saw of Him in Revelation 1:10-16. Note how the Lord does so at the beginning of this letter, calling Himself the One who has the sharp two-edged sword (see Revelation 1:16, 19:15, 21). The word used for “sword” here refers, not to the small, precision sword used in hand-to-hand combat or for personal defense. Rather this refers to the large broadsword—a very destructive battle weapon. This sword’s basic purpose is to separate things, and to produce a practical “distinction” between them (see Hebrews 4:12).
B. When we—as Jesus’ Church—fail to keep ourselves distinct and separate from the world’s values and behaviors, He—as the holy Lord of His Church—will come and make that separation Himself with the sword of His mouth! (See James 4:1-10).
III. THE LORD’S COMMENDATION (v. 13).
A. The Lord says that He knew of their works. But in addition, He says that He knew where those works are being performed—that they who performed them dwelt where “Satan’s throne is”. This may be a reference to the throne-like altar of Zeus. But it may be indicating that, in a spiritual sense, Satan had indeed set up a main base of operations in Pergamos, from which he sought to afflict all of Asia with paganism and the worship of false gods. Jesus here uses an unusual word for Christians in the world. Whereas Christians are typically referred to in the Scriptures as “sojourners” or “pilgrims”, here Jesus uses a word that means that they had “settled down” and “permanently taken up residence” in that place where Satan’s throne is.
B. Notice that, even though they dwelt where Satan’s throne is, Jesus says, “You hold fast to My name.” His “name” is a metaphor for all that He is as the Son of God. To “hold fast” to His name, or cling to it, meant that they held fast to all that He is and does. And here, Jesus uses a form of the verb in the original language (the present active) that suggests that the Christians in Pergamos held fast to His name as a continual, ongoing practice of their lives—in spite of the harsh opposition they felt.
C. Jesus says to them, “You . . . did not deny My faith even in the days in which Antipas was My faithful martyr, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells”. History tells us very little about this man Antipas except that, as tradition had it, he was roasted to death in a brazen bowl during the reign of Emperor Domitian. But Jesus called him “My witness” or “martyr”. Jesus also calls him, “My faithful one.” Whoever he was, his story was well known—to the encouragement of the believers in Pergamos—as that of a witness for Christ who remained faithful in that city in which Satan “took up residence”; and who willingly paid the ultimate price for his devotion to His beloved Savior.
IV. THE LORD’S REBUKE (vv. 14-15).
A. But all was not well with the Christians in Pergamos. They were definitely in the world; but were not careful to keep separate from the world. Jesus had this against them: that they “have there those who hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the children of Israel”. When Satan cannot stop the witness of the church through persecution (as he attempted with the church in Smyrna; see verses 8-11), he will seek instead to destroy the church’s integrity slipping false teaching and sin into its midst. Balaam’s story is told to us in Numbers 22-25 (see also 2 Peter 2:15-16 and Jude 11). The false prophet Balaam apparently counseled the Moabite king Balak (Numbers 31:16) to encourage the Israelites to join in with the Moabites in a feast before one of their gods. The Scriptures tell of how the people of Israel fell into grievous sin as a result of this conformity to the people around them; and of how God brought a devastating judgment upon them as a result (25:1-9).
B. These Christians in Pergamos—like those in Ephesus (2:6)—also had some in their midst who held to the destructive teaching of the Nicolaitans. Apparently, they were placing “stumbling blocks” before the people of God. They were somehow encouraging the people of God to conform to the culture around them—tempting them to “fit in” by embracing its ungodly values and participate in its sinful practices. As a result, some of the people of the church in Pergamos were eating meat served to idols, which involved them in the worship of the false gods of the Pergamian culture; and in turn, they were falling into the sexually immoral practices associated with that worship. (The original language may even suggest that those who taught the doctrine of Balaam and the Nicolatans were the same group.) They were living in the midst of spiritually lost and sinful people; but instead of impacting them for Christ by living distinctly from them, they were conforming to their practices and becoming indistinguishable from them. They had ceased to be a separate people. They had grown to look like the sinful and ungodly people of the world.
V. THE LORD’S COMMAND TO REPENT (v. 16).
A. The Lord commands them to repent; warning that, if they do not do so, He would quickly come and fight against “them” (that is, the false teachers in their midst) with “the sword of My mouth”. If they would not separate themselves, He Himself would separate them.
B. Notice here that our Lord specifically calls His people—and not the false teachers or the people of this world—to repent. He’s calling the church to take serious His call to be a separate and distinct people. He’s calling the church to stop compromising with the world system, to stop accommodating itself to the sinful patterns of the culture in which lit lived, and to be His truly distinct people—to be “in the world” but not “of the world”.
VI. THE LORD’S PROMISE (v. 17).
A. The Lord promises that the one who “overcomes” would receive “hidden manna”. Manna was the food from heaven that God gave to the Israelites as they wandered in the wilderness for forty years. It’s “hidden” perhaps in the same sense that Jesus once spoke of when sitting at the well in Samaria. He had just testified of Himself to a woman that had come to draw water there; and when the disciples came later and found Him, and offered Him some of the food they had bought in town, He said that He had food to eat that they do not know about (John 4:32); and explained that His food was to do the will of Him who sent Him and to accomplish His work (v. 34). Perhaps the “hidden manna” Jesus speaks of is this very same “food”—that is, the fulfilling joy and satisfaction that comes from having faithfully served God as His witnesses in the world. That’s quite a ‘spiritually appetizing’ alternative to ‘meat served to idols’!
B. Our Lord also promised the overcomer a “white stone, and on the stone a new name written which no one knows except him who receives it”. The Christians in Pergamos would have most likely understood this to be similar to the sort of ‘tokens’ that the Roman government would distribute to people that it wanted to favor. This “white stone” would have given them a free pass to many benefits—such as free food, or entry into important civic events. It was a mark of honor for a citizen to be given such a token. It might have been that Christians who refused to participate in the worship of the false gods of their culture, or to worship the emperor, were denied such “tokens” in their culture—along with the other benefits awarded other citizens. But Jesus promises to favor His faithful “overcomers” with a free pass to the “marriage supper of the Lamb” (Revelation 19:9). The new name attached to that stone was probably promised because they had “lost their name” in the sense of losing their rights and privileges as citizens. But Jesus promises a “new name” known only to them and, of course, Jesus Himself; and with that new name comes all the privileges and benefits that accompany being a citizen of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ.
* * * * * * * * * *
What a lesson it is, then, that this letter has to teach us today! As the apostle Paul wrote to the church in Corinth—another community of believers that often failed to live distinctly from this world:
Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? 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.”
Therefore
“Come out from among them
And be separate, says the Lord.
Do not touch what is unclean,
And I will receive you.”
“I will be a Father to you,
And you shall be My sons and daughters,
Says the Lord Almighty.”
Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God (2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1).