Nothing Overlooked By Christ

Transcript

GR 1988
01/15/2017
Nothing Overlooked By Christ
Revelation 2:12-17
Gil Rugh

We’re going to return to our study of the book of Revelation so if you’d turn to Revelation chapter 2 in your Bibles. This is the closing revelation from God given to His people, the book of Revelation, the revelation of Jesus Christ. John the apostle is used as the penman. It was written about 95 A.D. A tremendous book as God gives His final word to His people. It began in chapter 1 with a vision that John had of the resurrected glorified Christ. Then in chapters, two and three Christ is addressing letters to each of seven churches. We’ll mention more about that in a moment. Then in chapters 4 and 5, we will be transferred to heaven. There we’ll have a heavenly scene of what is taking place in the presence of God’s glory in heaven. Then beginning with chapter 6 to chapter 19 God will unfold for us the events that are going to take place on the earth in the seven years climaxing with the return of Jesus Christ to the earth in Chapter 19. We will have a millennium kingdom, the last judgment of Scripture and then chapters 21 and 22 will talk about the eternal phase of the kingdom and what it will be for us in eternity on a new heavens and a new earth. So a book of great importance.

It’s also especially important to us as a church that we pay attention to the letters written to the seven churches. We noted these seven churches in chapters 2 and 3 were seven individual churches in existence at that point in history. The church had been established in Acts chapter 2 about sixty years earlier. So we’ll see something of what has taken place in the churches and their condition as we work through these. Christ has selected these seven churches in an irregular circular pattern in Asia Minor, basically, modern day Turkey and we noted that this would have been the old postal route so these letters would have been delivered to each of these churches in about this order.

These seven are selected. They’re not the only churches in this area. Some significant churches are not mentioned like the church at Colossi. A letter to the Colossians was also in this region but it’s not included in the seven churches here. These seven are selected by the Spirit because they will contain information that’s important for all the churches down through history. Here we get a picture and find information of what Christ approves and disapproves in His churches. We have looked at the church at Ephesus a great church but a church that had drifted from its first love. We looked at the church at Smyrna, a church that had endured great suffering. Christ told them not to be afraid of the suffering that was yet before them. Each of these letters to the churches closed with great promises to those who were truly believers, which is a reminder that not everyone in each of these churches is truly a believer. We’re going to see that in the letter before us, the church at Pergamum, the third of the churches addressed.

You know one thing we’ll see and we’ll see it clearly in the church at Pergamum. Sometimes we think we’re living in the worst of times. Even when we live in the best of times, we find something wrong. We’ve come through a political season and all kinds of discussion and it won’t stop. I thought that maybe it would with the election over but that’s wishful thinking. Sometimes Christians get caught up. Oh, what is happening to our country; it is getting so terrible and it’s on, on, on. You know I was thinking. I became a believer in Jesus Christ in 1953. That was a long time ago; I think it was about the time of President Eisenhower. You know we have gone through a lot of presidents and here we are to our day and you know what? No matter whom was president, no matter who was in governmental positions and here we are studying the word of God gathered as the church of Jesus Christ and proclaiming the truth that God has revealed. All the dire things, someday it will get worse, someday they may forbid the preaching of the word but you know the real tragedy is the church often is not about the business God calls it to be about in the days when they have the opportunity. Now I’m an old man but I didn’t get side tracked.

I remember a preacher in our neighborhood who had a large church and was a well know personality. Communism was the great threat, we will lose our ability to preach. It will all be destroyed and he’s come and gone. His church has died out and here we are many years later studying the word of God together. So we keep focused on what God has called us to do. These are not the worst of times. Some of the things that we face are not anything near as severe as what the churches that Jesus is addressing were facing. In fact, He had to tell the church at Smyrna at the end of verse 10 of chapter 2, “be faithful unto death, and I will give you the reward of the crown of life.” He doesn’t hold out a rosy future but their responsibility stays the same; be faithful.

So, we come to the church at Pergamum. We should say a little bit about Pergamum. It’s written to the angel of the church in Pergamum. We noted that word aggelos, angel is simply the Greek word messenger and probably these are simply the messengers that have come to meet with John perhaps on the island of Patmos where he is being exiled. Political prisoners often had that opportunity to have those visitors. They will carry these letters back to their churches. So he writes to the angel or messenger of the church in Pergamum. Now Pergamum, this is the third city we’re looking at as we move north approximately. The first two cities were coastal cities, Ephesus a very prosperous commercial center, Smyrna also on the coast a very prosperous commercial center.

Pergamum was not a coastal city it was not a center of commerce like the previous two but it was a very wealthy prosperous and influential city for its own reasons. Let me give you a few reasons for Pergamum’s prosperity and you get something of the context that this church lived in. It was a very literary city. The largest library in the world at the time was the library in Alexandria, Egypt. The second largest library in the world was in Pergamum, with over 200,000 volumes. Now that’s a large library and keep in mind no printing presses, no automation, all these books were hand written. Just an aside, Anthony when he got involved with Cleopatra sent this library to Alexandria as a gift to her but that’s an aside we won’t chase that story anywhere. So Pergamum was a great literary city and people would come here to study in this library and so on.

It was also a great religious center. It had temples to a variety of important gods. It had a temple to Zeus, to Athena, to Dionysus and to Asclepius. We are more familiar with some of these than others are but Asclepius was a god of healing. His symbol was the serpent and that’s carried down to our day. Our medical symbol was what the serpent wrapped around the pole there. That was the worship of this god, so people came here for a desire for healing. Come to this temple, offer the right sacrifices and the right prayers with the hopes of getting healed. We have those kind of centers in our world today. So it was a religious center. It drew people because of the temples and the centers of worship that were here.

Thirdly, it was the center of Caesar worship. It was the first city to devote a temple to a living Caesar where he would be worshipped as a living god so it is a center of Caesar worship. This creates great problems for believers and I think we’ll see a little bit of this as we move through the letter. Now you understand when you worship Caesar as a god you were performing a political action as well as a religious action because you could go to the temple for Caesar in the city, offer a pinch of incense and you were acknowledging Caesar as god. Then you could go on and worship however you wanted. You didn’t have to come to his temple every day. They gave you a certificate and that indicated you were a loyal Roman citizen and you acknowledge Caesar as god but then you could go and worship at the temple of Zeus. They didn’t care where you worshipped or who you worshiped all you had to do was do this every year and get your certificate and you were good to go but this creates a problem for believers because now they have intertwined the religion and the political. If you refused to do this act of worship, you were really in opposition to Caesar and the Roman government. They said, well no that’s a religious activity—no, you are defying Caesar. Now Christians are in a predicament. If we just go and offer this incense and declare Caesar as lord they’ll give us our certificate we can go and have our church meeting and get on with life but if we do that as believers--I can’t, he’s not god. Well if you don’t do it now your problem’s not religious, your problem is political. What do you do?

I was reading a biography while I was gone over the holidays of Wang Ming Dao who was a significant figure in China in the twentieth century and they had that kind of problem there with the Communist government. The Protestant churches the Catholic churches the Christians and particularly the Protestant churches as they pulled together the Chinese government said all you join this organization. Then you can worship but some of the believers wouldn’t do that because what this involved you doing is meeting certain government regulation and that is you’re not going to say so and so is not a believer or not a Christian because that will divide things. We want to have a unified country. Well you know you’re going to bring the liberals and the conservatives, as we would call them, together and agree that you won’t disagree. Well we can’t do that. Well that’s a requirement of the government or otherwise you’re not a loyal citizen. These kinds of pressures that come. So reading the biography this man spent twenty-five years in prison for that simple reason. He’s not willing to join that religious organization that makes people agree that these are fellow believers. Well he said, “I’m going to prison not because I’m a political adversary because of my faith.” They said, “no you’re a political adversary you must go to prison.” So that’s the kind of pressure you have and it’s going to create a problem within the church as we’ll see.

So note how Christ begins His address to this church. “To the angel of the church in Pergamum write.” This is verse 12. “The One who has the sharp two-edged sword says this.” Remember when John saw the resurrected Christ in chapter 1 there were certain descriptions of Him. Now each of these seven letters begins by drawing on one of those descriptions of Christ back in chapter 1 so we come back to chapter 1 and in verse 16. “In His right hand were seven stars.” This is Christ as John saw Him in chapter 1. “Out of His mouth came a sharp two-edged sword.” He picked up that connection out of His mouth came a sharp two-edged sword and now to this church He writes as the One who has the sharp two-edged sword.

You know I’m reminded it doesn’t seem like a very warm inviting way to address a church. This is a church that’s been faithful. This church had one who was martyred for his faith and yet He appears to them as a Judge, a serious Judge. The sword and this will come out as we move along represented capital punishment the ultimate judgment. So the One with the sword has the authority to exercise judgment even to the ultimate end and here He appears to His church this way. This balance that we recognize of the warmth, the love, the compassion, and the care that God has for us. We also understand this is serious business. This is not warm sentimentality. He requires and demands certain things of us as His people and certain things are unacceptable. I keep that balance in perspective of the warmth and depth of His love and care for us but also the seriousness of being accountable to Him as His church and that’s where we’re going with the church at Pergamum.

It begins with the statement, “I know” and when we started these seven churches we went through every church begins the same way, ‘I know.’ What He’s going to say is not because He doesn’t have full information. He doesn’t need any information added; He knows He’s the One who knows all and everything. “I know where you dwell where Satan’s throne is and at the end of verse 13 where Satan dwells.” One writer put it this way. He talked about it as you live in Satan’s neighborhood. Satan is your neighbor. Satan is not omnipresent. Satan is a created being. He can only be in one place at one time but he has multitudes of fallen angels we call demons to carry out his bidding in the world. You talk about one who is a leader as a created being. He can lead a host of fallen angels. How many hundreds of million billions?

I don’t know but Satan has chosen to put a special emphasis and attention on the city of Pergamum. “I know where you dwell.” I know where you live. I know your city your neighborhood, as some would put it. It’s where Satan’s throne is or as He says at the end of verse 13 “where Satan dwells.” Satan had set up special significant residence here to focus his ministry and opposition to Christ and you have the opposition to Christ, you have opposition to the body of Christ which is the church over which He is the head. This is not the best place to live for a believer, where Satan has establish his throne. You think, “I’d like to live as far away from that as possible” but He says, “I know where you live,” it’s where Satan’s throne is, where he dwells.

So evidently, in his work on earth, he would make this a special focal place and what a wonderful church “as you hold fast my name.” I mean you live in the shadow of the throne of Satan and you hold fast My name. That intense opposition the hatred that Satan has for God and Christ and all the people that belong to Him [to Christ] and you hold fast My name. There is no shakiness here the church is faithful. The negative side of that means you don’t deny My faith. You didn’t do it “even in the days of Antipas, My witness, My faithful one, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells.” You see how Christ keeps him. This is where Satan dwells and you know what you held fast you didn’t deny even when one of your number Antipas, My witness, My faithful one was killed among you.

You think of the pressure here! If the persecution was so great, one of our number for their faithfulness to Christ was publically executed for their faith, the pressure that puts on the rest of us. You know is there a way we can work this out? They’ll stop nothing in their opposition but the church didn’t even waiver there. You know you’re under the shadow of--if we executed Antipas we will stop at nothing to put an end to your testimony but they didn’t waiver even in the days of martyrdom. He’s called My witness, My faithful one.

Come back to Revelation chapter 1 verse 5. The letters to these seven churches come from Jesus Christ the faithful witness. What a testimony of Christ on behalf of Antipas. Christ was the faithful witness. He bore testimony to His Father faithfully and here you have Antipas in chapter 2 verse 13. Christ says He’s My faithful witness. He followed the pattern of Christ. He stood for Him He gave his life and the church wasn’t shaken from their faith having to go through that time. You live where Satan dwells but you haven’t denied My name, you haven’t denied My faith, faith in Me is what My faith is.

Well we ought to just end the letter but verse 14 begins with ‘but.’ Don’t you just hate that when someone says to you. “You’ve really done a great job, we really appreciate it but… When my dad would say that to me I’d say ah. “But I have a few things against you.” Think, what could you say? I mean this church lives in the shadow of Satan’s throne. They are under that constant persecution. They have demonstrated their faithfulness, their ability to hold fast. Doesn’t that mean you can overlook some of the other things? You know what Satan is doing. He’s not let this church go. He’s attacked from the outside with the unbeliever assaulting the church. The fear that that brings. Will one of my family be next? He hasn’t gone away. This church can’t be moved that way. You know what he’s done? He’s infiltrated. He’s gotten on the inside and the church is oblivious to the fact that they are being attacked successfully from within when the attack from without didn’t work.

“I have a few things against you because you have there,” in your church, “some who hold the teaching of Balaam, who kept teaching Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel to eat things sacrificed to idols and to commit” acts “of immorality. So you also have some who in the same way hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans.”

Balaam, just an aside, you know what amazes me? These are all Gentile churches in a Gentile part of the world. We are far away from Israel. There may be Jews that have resettled in this part of the world, believers, but primarily these are Gentile churches but Christ addresses them assuming that they know what He’s talking about when He talks about Balaam. In fact, He holds them accountable for knowing that. Now keep in mind, this is a day when people didn’t have Bibles to take home and read on their own. Any copy of any book you had, including Scriptures, had to be a hand written copy on writing materials, vellum or parchment, animal skins or the parchment from the reeds, which was expensive in itself.

They used to know about Balaam. We had to stop and think now Balaam. Most of us are familiar with the account of Balaam. They couldn’t say well let’s go back to Numbers 22. Go ahead we’ll go there, Numbers 22. We’re not going to talk a lot about Balaam because that would be its own study but we’ll highlight. Numbers chapters 22, 23, 24 and into chapter 25 are about Balaam. He becomes the example of a false prophet who corrupts God’s people. I think I counted in the references to Balaam in the Old and New Testaments, I didn’t write it down but 12 or 13 books of the bible reference Balaam as an example. Christ does it here. You know Balaam. Well who was Balaam? Balaam was a false prophet who intersects with Israel as they are journeying ultimately to end up in the land God promised them, the land of Canaan and as they’re moving along, God is destroying their enemies before them.

And so chapter 22 opens up “Then the sons of Israel journeyed and camped in the plains of Moab beyond the Jordan” on the east side of the Jordan River. They haven’t crossed over into the land of Canaan yet, obviously. Now Balak saw what Israel had done to other nations like the Amorites and he’s afraid. Verse 4 he told the leaders of his people that they destroy everything in their midst they’re like the ox that licks up the grass they just clean up the earth. So verse five “he sent messengers to Balaam” and he says to him “a people came out of Egypt; they cover the surface of the land, they are living opposite me.” Come to verse six. “Curse this people for me since they are too mighty for me.”

So he thought if he called this diviner and these diviners practiced divination. They would basically, usually take animal parts so you cut up an animal and you’re going to find Balaam is offering sacrifice of animals and then they would take the entrails the inner parts, focusing on the liver and supposedly they could discern the will of God in this way. Balaam is a pretty impressive one. This king of Moab is willing to give him a lot of money if he will come and curse the people. Why at the end of verse six. “I know that he whom you bless is blessed; he whom you curse is cursed.” So the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian take the fees for divination to Balaam.

Now some of the things that go on with Balaam have caused some people to think he was a true prophet who ran off the rails. No, he’s not. It’s interesting God can use even a false prophet to speak truth and He will do that with Balaam. So they come and invite Balaam to go and Balaam tells them it sounds good that I’ll have to go and ask God whether I can go with you. So he goes and prays and God speaks to him. The living God of Israel speaks to Balaam. Verse 12, “God said to Balaam, ‘Do not go with them; you shall not curse the people for they are blessed. You can’t go and curse the Israelites because I’m going to bless them.” So Balaam got up in the morning and he sounds like he’s obedient to God. He tells the messengers from Balak with the money they’ve brought “Go back to your land the Lord has refused to let me go.” So they go back and tell their king he won’t come.

He sends other messengers with more money and promises in verse 17 “I will indeed honor you richly and I will do whatever you say to me.” Now Balaam sounds like a good guy because he responds in verse 18. “Though Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not do anything either small or great, contrary to the command of the Lord my God.” So stay here, I’ll go talk to God about this and see if He’s changed His mind. Verse 20 “God came to Balaam at night and said to him. ‘If the men have come to call you, rise up go with them; but you can only say what I tell you to say.’ He says ‘well now he’s got permission to go’” but then you read verse 22. “But God was angry because he was going.” Well didn’t God just tell him go ahead go but God is looking at Balaam and Balaam’s heart is ‘I really want to do this’ but he’s going through God. He’s practiced divination and whenever he thinks, he has a message from God he wants to obey it. Usually he can adjust things and He’s going to demonstrate that so that he gets to do what he wanted to do and he can work that out and in the end, he can play God.

So you have that well-known story of the donkey. He gets on his donkey, he’s going and the angel of the Lord appears with his sword in the way and the donkey turns out of the way and Balaam beats the donkey and then they get in a narrow way between two walls. The donkey bumps the wall, Balaam’s leg gets pushed against the wall, and he’s beating the donkey and finally the donkey--remember we studied 2 Peter 2 and the false prophets and false teachers are like unreasoning animals. The donkey talks to Balaam. He says, “what are you beating me for, haven’t I been a good donkey?” Now you would think Balaam would say now my donkey is talking! Perhaps he’s used to demons speaking through, well I don’t know but any rate then the Lord opens his eyes. Here is a godless man whom God has talked to who will be the example of a false unbelieving prophet through Scripture. Now he’s confronting the angel of the Lord who is the pre-incarnate Christ and He is talking to him. He says you ought to be thankful for your donkey because if you hadn’t stopped I’d have killed you and Balaam says in verse 34 to the angel of the Lord. “I have sinned I did not know you were standing in the way. Now than if it displeases you I will turn back.” So He goes on and He tells Balak, “I only say what God tells me to say.” He doesn’t know how true that’s going to be so every time he goes he’ll say build me an altar and I’ll offer these animals, seven bulls and seven rams and then I’ll discern and speak. Every time he opens his mouth, God puts a true prophecy for Israel in his mouth.

Of course the king gets upset so he says, “let’s go to another place. We’ll do another altar” and he offered several more animals “and we’ll try this again” but every time you get the same result and it ends in chapter 24 with Balaam giving a great prophecy regarding Israel and God going to bless Israel. You have some great prophecies regarding Israel’s future coming from the mouth of this pagan prophet. Well what could Balaam do? So chapter 24 ends “Then Balaam arose departed and returned to his place.” Balaam went his way and ended with another good prophecy.

I guess that’s the end of the story but then you read chapter 25 verse 1. “While Israel remained at Shittim, the people began to play the harlot with the daughters of Moab. For they invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and bowed down to their gods.” Balaam just didn’t go home. He told Balak you know what God won’t allow me to curse the people but I can tell you how you can have God do what you want done. You have your people and your women join together, invite them to worship your gods. Verse two of chapter 25. “They invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods.” Now you don’t have to tell them they have to quit worshipping the God of Israel but you know they can join in this and there is good food and they’ll enjoy your women. So you have the corruption of Israel. We’re not going to go through for time but when Israel does come through and kill the Moabites and the people of this land it specifically said “they also killed Balaam the prophet.” I think that’s over in chapter 31. He’s used as an example in 2 Peter 2 in Jude and here in Revelation.

So come back to the book of Revelation. This is just not that there was sinful things that took place in the church and some believers had sinned. This was a teaching that was being promoted because what’s going on in the early church, the devil works to corrupt the church. We noted this with the Judaizers. They’re on the other side. We swing from one side to the other. The Judaizers were those who professed faith in Christ, Jews who had professed faith in Christ, Acts 15. We won’t go back there, the conference over this, but they said faith in Christ and His work on the cross is not enough. You must also keep the Mosaic Law so that became confusing for the church because here people who claim to believe the same basic facts that we believe Christ is the son of God the Messiah of Israel. He died on the cross to pay the penalty for sin; He was raised from the dead. That’s what we believe but you must also believe in the Mosaic Law and keep its requirements; circumcise your male children on the eighth day and so on and salvation is not complete until that’s done.

That’s what Paul wrote to the Galatians about that corruption. You had the other side, you had people who said, “look we’re not under law, we’re under grace, this permeates, and idols are nothing.” Jeremiah talked about this in Jeremiah chapter 10. It’s just a piece of wood whether you carve an image or you make a table it doesn’t matter, it’s just a piece of wood and Paul had to tell the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians chapters 8 to 10, we know that an idol is nothing. We all know that so you’ve got a point. That’s what they were saying so you know it’s alright if we go to idol’s temples and eat the meals that are sacrificed there. That’s ok we all know in our heart an idol is nothing but by the time Paul ends in 1 Corinthians 10 he says what the real issue is. The worship of those idols is the worship of the demons who are behind the false worship. Now this also comes with grace. People thought, “look, we’re under grace. It’s the condition of your heart that matters. These bodies will be done away with we’ll get new bodies so as long as the condition of your heart is okay it doesn’t matter if you have relationships with a prostitute if you’re immoral. Those aren’t the things, don’t make external things the issue.” So you see we’re now on the other side of the legalist who said you have to keep the law but we’re no closer to the truth being over here than we were over there.

Turn back a couple pages to the book of Jude just before the book of Revelation. Jude said he has to write--he was going to write to them a general letter about their salvation so he says in verse 3 but he said “I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints. For certain persons have crept in unnoticed . . .” Oh they have gotten in, been accepted among the believers as other believers and these are those who have never been saved. “They were long ago marked out for this condemnation and they’re ungodly persons . . .” you note what they do they “turn the grace of our God into licentiousness.” They end up denying our Lord and Master, Jesus Christ. Then you go on down to examples from the Old Testament of these things. Peter is similar in 2 Peter 2. There will be false teachers among you just as there were false prophets among the people and Balaam is used by Peter.

Come back to Revelation chapter 2. I say that because we wonder how in the world could the church at Pergamum who stood unshakeable even when one of their own number was martyred not yield any ground but held on and were faithful to Christ. How could they tolerate people, not a believer who stumbled in the congregation but false teachers who have infiltrated and now are teaching why it’s all right to worship false idols? Well this takes a lot of pressure off. Think about it. These people have a logical argument. Didn’t Jeremiah write in Jeremiah 10 that an idol is nothing? It has no ability to do anything good or bad so we can go and offer a pinch of incense at the temple to Caesar. In my heart, I’m saying Caesar is no god even while my lips may be saying Caesar is lord. You know the little child. I’m sitting on the outside and standing on the inside. We make those kind of adjustments so that’s not so bad and besides you make a big deal out of the body. Didn’t even Jesus say “do not fear those who kill the body but are not able to kill the soul . . . fear Him who can cast body and soul in hell?” You make everything out of the body. This is a constant. Later on in early church history, this will develop into Gnosticism and separation of the spirit and the body and those kind of things. Well you know Christians get well as long as they believe in the death burial and resurrection of Christ why would we fight over that these other things. Well the problem is, Christ does not approve of it. So I say that because the same thing happens in the church today. So let’s emphasize what we agree on not what we disagree on; that leads to corruption.

So what did Balaam do? He kept teaching Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel. Eat things sacrificed to idols, which joins you in identification with that idol and the worship of the spirit beings behind it. You know what God’s going to do? Exactly what Balaam said He would do. Twenty-four thousand people in Israel are going to die if you go on and read Numbers chapter 25. Balaam was right; you see how corrupt he is. Here you have somebody who is encouraging someone. Send your people out to encourage God’s people to sin and then God will punish them for their sin and you win. Give me my money. That’s Balaam.

They haven’t gone away so look at verse 15. There’s some confusion over the Nicolaitans. “So you also have some who in the same way hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans.” There’s quite a bit of discussion on the identity of the Nicolaitans. Interestingly, back in chapter 2 verse 6, the church at Ephesus. Now these are churches in the same region Asia Minor “yet this you do have, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.” The church at Ephesus hated the Nicolaitans ,wouldn’t tolerate it. Jesus said that’s good, I hate them too.

Now you have another church in that region, they tolerate the Nicolaitans. God holds each one accountable for their actions. Who are the Nicolaitans? Some identify this with one of the early deacons in Acts 6 Nicolas and say that a developing hierarchy of clergy developed over the years and He’s dealing with that. I think in the context what he has done in verse 14, “you have some there who hold the teaching of Balaam” and He elaborates on getting entangled in false worship and immorality. That’s what Balaam was. “So you also have some who in the same way hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans.” The modern version of Balaam is the Nicolaitans so they’re not two different things. You also have some there who in the same way hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans; don’t get deluded. Now everybody was saying, “we follow Balaam.” The Nicolaitans were a group that had found a way to teach that eating things sacrificed to idols was not a problem for a Christian and immorality, the grace of God gives us freedom from those restrictions. It’s not what you do with your body that is defiling it’s what you do with your spirit.

Basically, the Nicolaitans were the people of John’s day at the church at Pergamum who were espousing the same doctrines that Balaam taught Israel. The point is this is not new. These Nicolaitans are teaching the same thing Balaam taught. That’s the point, not that we have a separate group here. I think that’s the simplest thing and grammatically it fits. It starts out by giving them the example and then He applies it. These are the Nicolaitans, they are doing what Balaam did. Old error, new name, the devil always works that way. We’re constantly giving new names. We went from being fundamentalists to being evangelicals to being new evangelicals, neo evangelicals give it another name and somewhere along the line, the name carried a different thing so we got the Nicolaitans. Oh, we don’t have Balaamite’s we have Nicolaitans. It doesn’t matter what you call them the doctrine is the same. It’s heresy, it’s error. The fundamentalists, they oppose those who don’t hold to the full inspiration of Scripture. Well the neo evangelicals say, we’re evangelicals. We believe the gospel but we think there are errors in Scripture but we’re evangelicals. Well we call ourselves neo evangelicals because we’re the new evangelicals because we keep adjusting things. We don’t know what we are. We do it politically. It used to be conservatives and liberals. Now you’re a liberal but you’re not a liberal, you’re a moderate. Now you’re not a moderate, you’re a progressive. Are you hiding something? I’m not ashamed to be called a fundamentalist. I still believe in the full verbal inspiration of scripture. Well we want to expand this a little.

So the church they had the Nicolaitans so you see what the devil’s done. You think the church has said, “look at us we stood as a wall against that persecution. We were willing to die for our faith” but the devil infiltrated within. Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, 2 Corinthians 11 the devil “masquerades as an angel of light,” his servants do. Well if they say they’re Christians and they believe in the death burial resurrection of Christ, that’s good enough for me but you’re not the head of the church, I’m not the head of the church. Jesus Christ is the head of the church.

He says, “I have some things against you.” What are they to do about this problem? Work out a compromise? No, verse 16, “therefore repent.” There’s got to be a change. Change your thinking and change your action or else. That repent is a strong sharp command, aorist imperative for you who have taken some Greek. You must repent you had better repent or else “I am coming to you quickly.” Now note this, “I will make war against them with the sword of My mouth.” I’ll bring the devastating judgment on them that they deserve but you note the church is held accountable for not dealing with it for tolerating it. We can’t let things be taught and you’re letting them lay a doctrinal foundation; do this. It’s all right to be connected to false worship. It’s ok; it’s not ok! The practice, it’s not ok. You can’t teach that grace allows for us to sin. That’s different than saying some Christians will sin and that has to be dealt with but you cannot be trying to lay a doctrinal foundation to excuse your sin. You can’t be explaining why grace allows for sin and minimizes the seriousness of sin.

Paul had to deal with that. What did he write to the Romans? Chapter 6 “what then? Shall we sin that grace may abound?” Megenoito, such a thought is inconceivable. Why would you even have to ask such a question? Because you go from the legalism side where you have to keep the law to no rules or you do whatever you want as long as you can say you believe these facts. “Repent; or else I am coming to you quickly. I will make war against them with the sword of My mouth” but He has this against the church that they’re allowing the teaching so when He comes to bring devastating judgment on these unbelievers promoting this the church will also be called to account for their unfaithfulness.

What a gracious Lord we have He ends with promises. “He who has an ear let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” It’s just not for the church at Pergamum. It’s addressed to a specific church at Pergamum but every other church ought to pay attention. That’s why we have this recorded. We learn what the head of the church does and does not approve. He gives a promise to him who overcomes. Every one of these seven letters has promises to the overcomers. John in his letter and we have been to this in 1 John 5. “Who is he that overcomes . . . but he who believes that Jesus is the Christ,” your faith in Him completely. Well some people will say they have faith but if they’re teaching these kinds of things,
that reveals where they are; they’re not overcomers.

“To him who overcomes” He gives three aspects to His promise. “I will give some of the hidden manna.” We don’t have time to chase through all the Scriptures on this but back in John’s gospel chapter 6, Jesus talked about the manna given to Israel in their wilderness wandering. It was spread out and then He made the transition, “I am the bread of life come down from heaven. When you partake of Me you’ll never die. I’ll give you everlasting life.” I think that’s the promise to the overcomer. The hidden manna is the manna here, the spiritual life that will only be given, is Christ Himself to the true believer contrasted to the Old Testament that manna was spread out where believer and unbeliever went out and gathered the physical manna and benefited there but this is only for the believer; that promise for them. They’ll be part of the kingdom that He will establish.

The second thing promised is a white stone. There’s a lot of discussion on the white stone and sometimes difficult because there is more than one thing that could be true here. In Roman times in the Roman Empire, you wanted access to an event you know you didn’t have a printed ticket but you purchased a white stone and the white stone was your admission so we could be picturing here I’ll give him a white stone. That would mean he’ll have access into the kingdom he’s going to establish and the feast of the kingdom and that would also fit with the manna picturing the sharing in all the fullness that Christ provides for us and the access to the kingdom where that will be enjoyed where we’re building to in Revelation.

It’s also true, history tells us that they used a white stone and a black stone in judgment so the black stone when you got the black stone you were condemned guilty. If you were given the white stone, you were acquitted and since Christ is here, the Judge will come with His sword and He promises the overcomer. In the sifting out the overcomer is promised he is the one who will have the white stone; be acquitted. So you can see either are true. They’re not distinct because the believer is acquitted and will be part of the kingdom so the specific detail of that may be its not as clear but the truth is clear. This is a promise for the believer and it is true we will be acquitted. Romans 8 God declared us righteous. “Who will bring a charge against God’s elect?” What are you going to charge me with, God declared me righteous; I’m acquitted and then He’ll give them a new name. A new name connects to all that I now am as God’s child.

Remember we’ve got all these Old Testament references. We do have to come back to the Old Testament. Come back to Isaiah chapter 62 just to see how you pick up something that was prophesized in the Old Testament and now here is connected to the promises given to those who are going to be part of the kingdom. The promises God gives to Jerusalem and Israel in their future redemption. He says in verse 2 of Isaiah 62. “The nations will see your righteousness, all kings your glory,” now note this, “and you will be called by a new name, which the mouth of the Lord will designate.” That new name given to those who will be part of the kingdom and the church. The church is not Israel as we’ll see when we finally get to the establishment of the kingdom in chapter 20 and chapters 21 and 22. So that new name, that name has to do with what we are, who we are as those new in Christ.

If you’re still in Isaiah, turn to chapter 65 verse 15 on the judgment and the separation going out. “You will leave your name for a curse to My chosen ones, and the Lord will slay you but My servants will be called by another name.” So that promise is picked up and those who are familiar with the Old Testament would say this is a promise to me, an overcomer, because if you’re not going to be in the kingdom you’re going to be in the eternal fires of hell. That’s where we’re going in God’s unfolding His plan. So God’s concerned about His churches. He’s not mean, He’s not vindictive. Jesus Christ is Lord of the church, head of the church, we are His slaves. He’s gracious in commending us for faithfulness to Him and obedience to Him but don’t get the idea then it’s ok if everything not’s the way He wants. We cannot tolerate things that are not tolerable to Him. If He hates the deeds of the Nicolaitans, we must hate them too. We would not want to tolerate teaching that’s contrary to the Word. Well it’s not biblical but… no we must be faithful and someday we will give an account of our faithfulness to the One who is the head of the church.

Let’s pray together. Thank you Lord for the greatness of your salvation. We’re reminded that not everyone who comes and sits as part of a church, the meeting of a church who involves themselves in the ministry and work of the church, by that belongs to You. Lord, some have deluded themselves even as Christ separates out; the promises for a glorious future are only for the overcomer. A warning to those in the church at Pergamum of their serious condition. Lord we’re reminded as we gather here, today, we have come, we would profess many of the same things, but you know our hearts You know where we are spiritually. Lord I pray for any who do not know You, the life changing power of the gospel of Jesus Christ that this might be a day of salvation for them. Lord for us who have believed we’re reminded of the importance of walking faithfully of being faithful in every area and Lord to correct it quickly when we stumble. Our desire is to honor you in every way. Thank you for the time together. Lord bless the rest of this day and whatever we may be involved in we pray in Christ’s name. Amen.







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