Pergamos - The Politically Correct Church Pt. 2
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Introduction
Introduction
Just like with last week, we are going to finish up the thought tonight that we began this morning...
We are looking at the third church of Revelation 2 and that is the church at Pergamos…We got through two points this morning, that was the Habitation of the church and the Holding Fast of the Church. Tonight we will finish up with a couple more points.
We saw how God commended them for holding fast His name and not denying His faith, even though they were in a wicked, pagan, land where our Lord here says is “Satan’s seat...”
Let’s begin tonight in verse 14 with:
The Hindrances of the Church
The Hindrances of the Church
14 But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication.
15 So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate.
Now, wait just a second, this morning, we saw how they stood tall in the midst of persecution; they held to the faith, but now we see something very interesting.
Jesus first tells them I know where you live and I see the seat of Satan is in Pergamum. I watch as you hold to your faith even in the face of death. This is His good news to those who have turned completely from their pagan lifestyle and are in severe persecution.
Then Jesus says “but.” There is “but” in scripture that tells us about the deepth and richness of God’s love (Eph. 2). This “but” is not that, this “but” is a rebuke for sin.
This rebuke was active then and holds true today.
According to this report these bold believers were doing a great job of withstanding attacks that came from outside—but they were weak when it came to threats that came from the inside - or within. You see, they tolerated in their midst people who taught falsehood—people who embraced the teachings of Balaam and the Nicolaitans.
We need to understand the doctrine of Balaam to fully understand and grasp what Jesus is saying to the church.
According to the book of Numbers chapters 22-25, when Balak, a Moabite king, heard about the victories of the Hebrew people as they journeyed from Egypt on the way to the promised land when Balak heard the Hebrews were headed his way, he hired Balaam, a well-known prophet—to curse them.
Balaam accepted the job, hopped on his donkey, and was on the way to do exactly that when he met an angel of the Lord—and as a result of that meeting he confessed his sin and offered to go home. The angel told him not to do that and to go with the Moabites but to only speak the words that God gave him to say. So instead of CURSING the Israelites Balaam BLESSED them four times.
But Balaam was greedy and to keep from losing his pay he told Balak to send his women to seduce the men of Israel. In essence he said, “Balak, if you can’t curse them, corrupt them.”
Ever since then Balaamism had been known as a teaching that attacked the separation and sanctification that God expects His people to maintain.
So, in short, the doctrine of Balaam was the teaching that Christ-followers could embrace the world’s teachings while maintaining their Christian distinctiveness.
Alexander MacLaren says,“Balaamism is the attempt to make the best of both worlds, the earthly world and the spiritual world. It’s like trying to run with the hare AND hunt with the hounds.”
There are many in churches today that are not there for the right reasons. They have hidden agendas, hidden motives, and they seek to destroy the church of God. Planned corruption in the house of God must be recognized and be fought against. Some of the church members at Pergamos held to the doctrine of Balaam and instead of being overlooked, or tolerated, they should have been confronted about it!
The church has a responsibility to notice false teaching and take a stand against evil folks that try to corrupt the people of God.
This corruption led to eating things that were sacrificed to idols...
The children of Israel had been led astray by the doctrine of Balaam. They begin to mingle with the pagan Moabites and begin to eat things offered to their gods. The church in Pergamos had fallen prey to the doctrine of Balaam. Some in the church had fellowship with the demonic and ungodly temple cults of the city.
They were knowingly eating things offered to the pagan gods. When we knowingly rebel against the word of God then Jesus will judge us. The wayward doctrine of this church overshadowed the good that they had done. When Jesus has something against us as a Christian or as a church we need to cry out, turn to God, repent and confess our sins.
The churches pagan consumption was caused by the churches pagan worship.
Some of the church had turned away from the Lord and turned to the world.
They literally were worshiping Jesus, while living like the devil!
The church was compromising with carnality and they were going along to get along. Today our pagan consumption can be in what we watch, what we wear, and what we worship. May the Lord help us not to consume those things that this pagan world consumes!
Now—please understand. The church must be IN the world—that’s our mission field—our part of the front lines.
We have to be IN the world—but we must not be OF it.
Let me put it this way. It is fine for the boat to be in the water—but it’s bad for the water to be in the boat.
Now we have a progression - they allowed the false doctrine to enter the church, then the false beliefs started working their way to the outside from within…The last thing we see here is this tolerance of false doctrine lead them to commit fornication.
16 Behold, these caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to commit trespass against the Lord in the matter of Peor, and there was a plague among the congregation of the Lord.
The result of their pagan consumption and promiscuous conduct was that 24,000 people of the children of Israel died. The doctrine of Balaam caused the children of Israel to worship pagan gods and marry pagan girls. The children of Israel had intermarried with the ungodly Moabites.
Pergamos means married and this church was married to the world.
Jack Hyles wrote, “Since ‘Pergamos’ means marriage, then could we not say that this doctrine was tied in with the fact that the members of this church were married to the world, where Satan dwelleth?”
The church here at Pergamos was defiled because some of the members were living in sexual sin...
Dr. Phil Hoskins said, “I’m afraid that the world is suffering for the sins of the church far more than the church is suffering for the sins of the world.”
In Revelation 2:6, Jesus praised the church at Ephesus because they hated the deeds of the Nicolaitans.
But the Nicolaitans also had their doctrine, and some among the Christians of Pergamos held the doctrine of the Nicolaitans.
In Revelation 2:6, it was deeds of the Nicolaitans, but here we find it’s turned into doctrine…The word Nicolaitans means to conquer the people and it probably refers to a priestly class that had developed within the church. They taught pretty much the same thing as Balaamism.
So what is the solution to all this? In the next verse, we see:
The Help for the Church
The Help for the Church
16 Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.
The solution, or help, consists of one word, “REPENT.”
This statement is in the aorist imperative tense which means it is a command to repent immediately.
Jesus says, “Don’t linger—don’t take a few days to think bout it—no—right now, change your mind and your actions and your attitude…because if you don’t I’ll come to you residents of Pergamos—you who are so proud of your library with all its WORDS…and I will condemn you with the WORD of TRUTH…the ‘two-edged sword’ that comes from My mouth…” And remember—Jesus’ WORD was a powerful opponent! With it He calmed storms, healed the sick, drove out demons, and raised the dead.
God’s WORD—His admonitions are never mere suggestions. They are to be taken seriously and acted on with determination and speed. So, if you are living a compromised life, Jesus would say, repent, quickly!
The word repent means “to change the mind.” Repentance is really “a change of mind that results in a change of direction.”
If they refuse to repent and deal with the corruption and confusion in their midst, He is going to come to His church and fight against those who trouble it. Notice the change of pronouns in verse 16: “thee” to “them”. The Lord knows who belongs to Him and who doesn’t.
The Hope for the Overcomer
The Hope for the Overcomer
17 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.
The Lord makes some precious promises to the overcomers in the church. Those who walk with Him in spite of the dangers and defections can expect some precious things from His hand.
Now—when Jesus promises manna here—He is referring to much more than physical food. He’s reminding them that He is the Bread of Life.
The manna in the wilderness sustained those people physically but Jesus came to give us abundant life—He came to satisfy the hunger for God that we all have. Second, Jesus promised a new name—a special name that indicates our closeness and intimacy with God. I’m sure many of you have given your spouses nicknames—pet names known only to you—and whenever you call them by that name they know how special your love for them really is.
Well, God does the same thing.
Think of the powerful names He has given people in Scripture.
“Peter, the fearful” became “Cephas—the ROCK.”
“Saul the persecutor” became “Paul, the missionary.”
“Abram the childless” became “Abraham, the father of many nations.”
These special—God-given names—well, they communicated the fact that these individuals were special to God. And so, Jesus is saying that the person who rejects the friendship of the world will enjoy a unique friendship with God—a special closeness. When we walk close to Jesus—living according to His loving laws—even though it means standing out—we’ll develop a close intimate relationship with God.
Conclusion
Conclusion
Now—if you were to apply this “spiritual stress test” to your own life—how would you do?
Are you clinging to your faith in Jesus as stubbornly as the Pergamos Christians did?
Are you guilty of trying to live a compromised life—you know—one foot in each camp?
Do you know God personally, intimately? Are you a Christ follower?
To quote Jesus’ letter once more,
Revelation 2:17 “17 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches...”