March 4, 2012
Revelation 2:12-17
Church at Pergamum
Every city likes to have unique and catchy nicknames. Something powerful, positive, attractive and welcoming. Here are a few from Indiana. I admit I spent too much time on this part of the message . . . There’s ~
Churubusco - Turtle Town, U.S.A.
Clay City - Mayberry of the Midwest
Elwood - Buckle of the Gas Belt
Marion - Queen City of the Gas Belt
Evansville - Stoplight City
Lawrenceburg - Whiskey Town, U.S.A.
Logansport - City of Churches
Peru - Barbecue City
Roselawn – Naked City
Prairie City - Pittsburgh of the West
Van Buren - Popcorn Capital of the World
Warsaw - Orthopedic Capital of The World
Speed Trap City ─ Romulus, Michigan
Cow Chip Capital of the World ─ Beaver, Oklahoma
Barbecued Mutton Capital of the World ─ Owensboro, Kentucky
The City Built Inside a Meteor Crater ─ Middlesboro, Kentucky
Christmas Pickle Capital of the World ─ Berrien Springs, Michigan
Of course, we know that Alexandria is called “Small Town USA.” But you probably didn’t know the tag on local paper used to read ~ Alexandria, Indiana/Home of the Rock Wool/Not on the Nile/But just as worthwhile.
So, what does that have to do with the 7 Churches in Revelation? Jesus gave Pergamum, a nickname, and it wasn’t too flattering. He called it “The city where satan has his throne.” Now, that would look great on a travel brochure.
So, what was going on in Pergamum? It was 65 miles north of Smyrna. There was a university with a huge library of 200,000 books. It was the ancient capital of Asia Minor, filled with beautiful palaces and pagan temples. There was a massive altar to Zeus, the god of all gods. Pergamum was also known for its temple in honor of Asclepius, the pagan god of healing whose emblem was a serpent entwined on a pole. Which is still the symbol on ambulances. As I mentioned last week, every citizen was expected to offer incense and declare “Caesar is Lord."
No Christian could do that in good conscience. Thus the stage was set for all-out spiritual conflict.
In verse 13 we read, I know where you live — where satan has his throne. Yet you remain true to my name.
When Jesus says that Satan has his “throne” there, He means satan has found a place where he can exercise his evil influence. Pergamum was covered with evil. Even today, satan still has his thrones.
There are places where satan has been in control for generations. Missionaries know about this. They speak of cities clothed in spiritual darkness, which fiercely and bitterly oppose the gospel message.
Maybe in our world we’re more apt to find satan hiding in places of cultural influence, in universities, in politics, in areas of economics; and even in religious centers where prayer is offered many times a day but where Christ is nowhere to be found.
satan has many friends in politics, and on Wall Street, on the Internet, and all over.
It’s to the credit of the church that despite the widespread evil, the early Christians remained strong and steadfast in Christ.
It wasn’t easy to be a Christian in Pergamum. It’s still not easy to be a Christian in many parts of our world. In universities, on facebook, in Europe, in muslim and hindu parts of the world. Sometimes even in our own backyard. If there’s not outright opposition, there’s subtle and unrelenting pressure to keep quiet, to keep quiet about your faith, and to refuse to speak openly about Jesus Christ.
In this great battle, the believers were standing strong in Christ! Are you?
Jesus praised the people, as He said, You did not renounce your faith in me, even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness, who was put to death in your city — where satan lives. (2:13)
We don’t know anything else about Antipas. What matters most is the fact that Jesus knew his name and knew that he didn’t give in to the evil. We don’t know who he was, yet, Antipas was remembered in heaven. All the martyrs, known and unknown by humanity — are known by Christ, and are experiencing their reward.
When we see these martyrs, we marvel and admire their courage, strength and faith, but sometimes that’s all we do, we admire from a distance. We don’t pick up their sword or banner, we sit idly watching and waiting for someone else to pick up Christ and go to battle.
Are we guilty of that? We see someone taking action; we agree with them, but we sit and watch. We honor them, we thank God for them; and we thank God, it wasn’t us, either. Was the church at Pergamum guilty of honoring Antipas while neglecting to follow his godly example?
So, what was their shortcoming? Jesus said, 14 Nevertheless, I have a few things against you: You have people there who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin by eating food sacrificed to idols and by committing sexual immorality.
15 Likewise you also have those who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans.
Here’s the crux of the issue . . . and this may surprise you. Here’s their weakness. They would not practice church discipline.
Listen to what Jesus said, “You have people there who hold to the teaching of . . . someone other than me.” What I hear is toleration of a wrong doctrine. It seems like they didn’t do anything to stop this. Or maybe they tried and in exasperation, they just gave in.
They refused to kick out the false teachers . . . those who held to the teachings of Balaam and the Nicolaitans. It sounds like there were some in the church who were preaching and teaching these false doctrines. And I’m speculating and going from some commentaries, they were being a little too open minded as to what was acceptable in order to keep the church together. And that never works!
Writing in the early 1900's, Dr. G. Campbell Morgan wrote that the church at Pergamum, had “become guilty of Broad Churchism, attempting to find room within her pale for all sorts and conditions of men and faiths.”
Broad Churchism. That sounds like what the modern day church is dealing with.
Evidently at The First Church of Pergamum, they said something like, “We preach the word of Christ. We believe in the Apostles Creed, the old doctrines of the faith. But if you don’t agree, we won’t kick you out, we will let you teach what you believe. If you frequent the temple prostitutes, know that we view that as sin, but if that helps you to grow closer to your god, that’s okay. If you don’t like the preaching, we will give you an opportunity to preach your doctrine on a special Sunday, devoted to learning more about your practices.”
Isn’t that what many people are wanting from the church? It would be called First Church of whatever. Ultimately, it’s a form of universalism. Any god will work.
In the end, the church becomes a deadly mixture of truth and error, purity and impurity, good and evil; and sooner or later — sin no longer seems very sinful.
Churches all over are sliding down that slippery slope. We need to guard against perverting the word of God. Now let me clarify something here. We want all people to come to First Baptist Church. Our hope is that we will help each person to grow in Christ, to become the very person Christ calls you to be. Not the person the world calls you to be.
In churches where this is happening, the people don’t see it happening. It doesn’t happen overnight. The people keep attending, giving and supporting the church. In the meantime, the church grows further and further from Christ.
One writer said, No church remains in the Pergamum stage forever. You can’t hold fast to sound doctrine while harboring those who promote immorality. In the end the church must go one way or the other.
Now, Jesus gives his command to the church ~ 16 Repent therefore! Otherwise, I will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.
Christ takes personal offense when His church condones immorality within its walls. He threatens to pay a personal visit to Pergamum and fight against the evil teachers. This verse does raise an interesting question. Who exactly is supposed to do the repenting? Certainly the false teachers need to repent.
Here’s what I see, the greater call must be to the church itself for condoning moral and spiritual compromise. In the name of “open-mindedness and toleration” and even “building common ground,” churches have subtly compromised the gospel.
Pastors must repent.
Ushers must repent.
Christian Education must repent.
Deaconnesses and Deacons must repent.
The trustees must repent
Teachers must repent.
Finance committees must repent.
The congregation must repent.
The church must decide who it is called to be. Will we be true to the gospel call of Jesus? Will we do the hard work which is necessary for us to be the church HE wants us to be, or will we compromise and try to be the average, run of the mill, good ol’ boy and girl church?
You could easily imagine the church at Pergamum saying, “We desire to be known as a church where everyone is welcome and everyone opinion is honored.” That sounds good, but it’s not biblical.
Jesus warns that if the church doesn’t take strong action, He will do it Himself. And His judgment is always harsher than ours. The same Jesus who said, “Come to me” also said “Depart from me.”
It’s a frightening thing when Jesus says, “I will fight against you.” We’re going to lose that contest every time. Our arms are too short to box with God.
So, what are left to do? It sounds harsh, but we can’t tolerate sin! Now that becomes a real conundrum. Do we look for it? Do we put on new antennas with sin radar? NO! If we see it, we make sure what we see, you come and talk to a Pastor or a trusted friend to make sure you saw or heard what you thought.
We make sure we handle situations with Christian love and grace, yet with Christ in mind. When we hear gossip, we stop it. When there’s bitterness and unforgiveness we try to help them, not condone it. When someone is teaching something wrong, we examine it, talk to them, make sure they understand what they were doing. We seek to teach Christ and demonstrate Christ.
The ultimate goal is to help each person grow as a Christ follower. It’s hard work, it’s not safe and easy and without risk. It may cause you to lose a family member. It may mean you can’t associate with someone who is belittling and hurtful. It may mean you need to tell the world who Jesus is, and take that risk, knowing God will give you the power, courage and strength to endure whatever comes your way.
We do what’s right as a church, unless you’d rather fight with Jesus.
Jesus has the right to make that judgment because he judges with perfect judgment. That’s what verse 12 means when Jesus said, 12 These are the words of Him who has the sharp, double-edged sword.
The sword speaks of Christ’s unswerving, unsparing judgment. He sees through our facades, and can examine our heart, soul, spirit and mind. He can reach into the deepest recesses of our being and He knows what’s there, even when we don’t.
Now Jesus is talking about false teachers remaining in their positions, and if we allow them to stay in those positions, we’re hurting the entire body. We end up with a corrupt church, but also people who think they’re safe when in fact they’re hanging by a thread under the sword of God’s judgment.
Christ’s message ends in a series of wonderful promises to those who overcome by faith: 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. I will also give him a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to him who receives it.
In contrast to the pagans who offered hidden mysteries, Jesus offers something much greater to those who follow him. Hidden manna speaks of personal communion with the Lord. Jesus is saying, “I am greater than all the attractive temptations of the world. Those who eat the Living Bread and drink the Living Water will never hunger or thirst again.”
The white stone speaks of acquittal and purity. When you were found not guilty in an ancient trial you were given a white stone. It was also given to those who were invited to attend a banquet. White was also the symbol of purity.
As to the new name, nobody knows for sure, because no living person has ever received it. That awaits us in heaven.
I like an illustration from Ray Pritchard. He wrote, almost every married couple has pet nicknames for each other. Usually the nicknames are funny. Sometimes they come from an event shared together. Sometimes they are romantic. They’re usually never shared with anyone else. I can’t give an example, but every married couple knows what I’m talking about.
Those personal names cannot be shared not only for all the obvious reasons, but also because they would not make sense to others. And this is even true for many parents and their children.
Maybe that represents the best picture of what Christ promises. Yet, if there are millions of people in heaven, will we ever even see the Lord? Will He really know us? Most of us struggle to keep track of a few names. How will we not get lost in the crowd when we get to heaven?
I believe this offers us a wonderful assurance. We will each be known by the Lord as a husband and wife know one another. As a parent knows their child. He will call us by a name that only we will know. In heaven no one will ever be lost in the crowd. Despite the great numbers, we will be known.
I’m not sure how all this will work, but I believe it to be true. When we reach heaven, we will know Him, even as we are known by Him.
The Word of God, the teaching of God, must be taken with seriousness. It’s not enough to just be right in our doctrine. We can’t tolerate those who teach a false doctrine. We won’t tolerate it in the church.
This may not be a politically correct message, but it’s a message we need to keep in mind if the church is to be the light of the world. We cannot help sinners by saying sin is not sinful. Christ came to save sinners, His grace and forgiveness gives us amazing hope.
May God help us to stand strong for the gospel in this age of moral compromise. If people call us narrow-minded, let us take it as a compliment and stay the course. Let’s be as narrow as God’s truth is narrow and as broad as God’s grace is broad.
