Standing for the Truth
Notes
Transcript
12 “Write to the angel of the church in Pergamum: “The One who has the sharp, double-edged sword says:
13 I know where you live—where Satan’s throne is! And you are holding on to My name and did not deny your faith in Me, even in the days of Antipas, My faithful witness who was killed among you, where Satan lives.
14 But I have a few things against you. You have some there who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to place a stumbling block in front of the Israelites: to eat meat sacrificed to idols and to commit sexual immorality.
15 In the same way, you also have those who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans.
16 Therefore repent! Otherwise, I will come to you quickly and fight against them with the sword of My mouth.
17 “Anyone who has an ear should listen to what the Spirit says to the churches. I will give the victor some of the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name is inscribed that no one knows except the one who receives it.
The Church: Pergamum
The Church: Pergamum
12 “Write to the angel of the church in Pergamum: “The One who has the sharp, double-edged sword says:
This church is 20 miles inland from Smyrna.
Large university with a library of 200,000 books.
Many idols worshipped there.
Created a parchment called pergamena.
Description of Jesus
Description of Jesus
12 “Write to the angel of the church in Pergamum: “The One who has the sharp, double-edged sword says:
16 He had seven stars in His right hand; a sharp double-edged sword came from His mouth, and His face was shining like the sun at midday.
This represents God’s Word (Remember Jesus is the Word) as dividing and judging.
We will see why this is an important description of Jesus in just a moment.
Good Qualities
Good Qualities
13 I know where you live—where Satan’s throne is! And you are holding on to My name and did not deny your faith in Me, even in the days of Antipas, My faithful witness who was killed among you, where Satan lives.
They were remaining true and faithful even with extreme outside influences.
Satan’s throne is probably a temple located in Pergamum where the false god was represented by a serpent.
They had stayed faithful and true, even though at least one (Antipas) was killed for his faith.
They are seen as remaining faithful against OUTSIDE issues.
Negative Qualities
Negative Qualities
14 But I have a few things against you. You have some there who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to place a stumbling block in front of the Israelites: to eat meat sacrificed to idols and to commit sexual immorality.
15 In the same way, you also have those who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans.
We often think of Balaam and his donkey, or his three blessings on Israel instead of cursing them.
But Israel got off into idolatry and sexual immorality later on and Numbers 31.16 holds Balaam responsible for giving bad advice that led to this.
Fleeing idolatry is a common theme of the Scripture, but today let me use this passage about sexual immorality to remind you of God’s call for sexual purity in our lives
The phrase “sexual immorality” translates one word porneo.
Let me be clear of a few things:
This includes any sexual activity outside of a marriage between a man and a woman. Pornography- homosexual sex- sex with people you are not married to
The second set of false teachings is that of the Nicolaitans.
Ephesus had stood strong against these false teachers, but Pergamum had given in .
So while Pergamum had stayed true and faithful against the paganism that surrounded them, they had compromised with false teaching within their ranks.
Orthodoxy- right believe- Orthopraxy- right practice.
We cannot compromise on the issue of human sexuality.
The Remedy
The Remedy
16 Therefore repent! Otherwise, I will come to you quickly and fight against them with the sword of My mouth.
Repent- Again this is the church. Jesus calls believers to repentance. To see sin as He sees it.
The Promise of Judgment
The Promise of Judgment
16 Therefore repent! Otherwise, I will come to you quickly and fight against them with the sword of My mouth.
Fight against you.
Who is going to win that battle?
Jesus plans to judge His people who have compromised on the issues of bad theology and bad practice.
This is a word of judgment against believers.
We think of judgment as something that happens to unbelievers, but God takes the issues of idolatry and sexual immorality among believers so seriously that he intends to judge it.
The Promise of Blessing
The Promise of Blessing
17 “Anyone who has an ear should listen to what the Spirit says to the churches. I will give the victor some of the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name is inscribed that no one knows except the one who receives it.
Hidden manna In John 6 Jesus called himself the Bread of life that would satisfy forever and cause us to never die.
White stone with new name… uncertain but we can learn some things.
White- purity through Christ.
White Stone- perhaps given to victors in Roman athletic customs.
a new name- Not opposite of old, but different in quality. Since we won’t know until we receive it what it is, its silly to speculate. But I don’t think it means a name change from Rodney to something else. I think this points to being a new person in Christ.