We cannot see Satan, but his presence brings with it the unmistakable marks of human suffering and moral perversion. The evidence of his presence is clearly visible: the presence of cults, radical Islamists, terrorism, the persecution of Christians in Iran and China. In fact we can trace it right back through history as we see the Nazi Concentration camps and the Roman Empire’s slaughtering of thousands of Christians in the first century. One of Satan’s favorite places in the Roman Empire was Pergamum. With its temples to Dea Roma, the goddess Rome, the spirit Rome, it was home to Satan. A place of Roman imperial power backed by the Prince of the powers of darkness. Yet even there in the Devil’s back yard, Christians dared to play out their lives. Theirs was a courageous faith, a daring stronghold in the heart of enemy territory. Every day Satan led his forces against them with a strong frontal attack of persecution. Although he managed to kill and imprison a few of the Christians he could not conquer the church. At least not with the obvious frontal assaults. In a very clever change of tactics, he went gently knocking on the backdoor with a gift, a Trojan Horse called apathy and accommodation. That same knock can be heard in the life of every believer in every church in every city and every century. You hear it in that “little white lie,” that rationalization for materialism, that indifference to the poor, the excuse for not getting actively involved in ministry. Do you hear knocking? Before you open the door, let’s look through the window of Christ’s letter to the church at Pergamum and see if it’s a gift horse with apathy and accommodation hidden within.
I. The background information about the city of Pergamum and the letter to the church.
A. The inland city of Pergamum lay about sixty-five miles north of Smyrna along the fertile valley of the Caicus River.
1. Pergamum held the official honor of being the provincial capital of Roman Asia, though this honor was in fact also claimed by Ephesus and Smyrna.
2. Pergamum was known as the “Royal City.”
3. Among its notable features were its beauty and wealth, its library of nearly two hundred thousand volumes (second only to the library of Alexandria).
4. Its famous sculptures; its temples to Dionysus, Athena, Asclepius, and Demeter and the three temples to the emperor cult; its great altar to Soter Zeus; and its many palaces.
B. The two main religions seem to have been the worship of Dionysus, the god of the royal kings, symbolized by the bull, and Asclepius, the savior god of healing, represented by the snake.
1. People from all over the world came to seek healing from Asclepius.
2. The Satanic spirit of persecution was extremely high against the Christians here at Pergamum.
3. The church remained strong despite being divided by deceptive teaching.
4. With all the trials, and being situated along side of Satan’s throne, Pergamum has not renounced their faith in the Lord.
C. The letter to the church in Pergamum, like all of Christ’s letters to the Churches has its own unique introduction.
1. Pergamum was a city to which Rome had given the rare power of capital punishment (ius gladii), which was symbolized by the sword.
2. The speaker identifies himself as "him who has the sharp, double-edged sword".
3. The Christians in Pergamum were thus reminded that though they lived under the rule of an almost unlimited imperium, they were citizens of another kingdom—that of him who needs no other sword than that of his mouth.
4. In dealing with the Pergamum congregation, divided by deceptive teaching, the risen Lord will use this sword to fight against the Balaamites and the Nicolaitans
II. Common to all seven letters is Christ beginning the letter by affirming the strengths and struggles of the individual church before addressing the criticisms.
A. The things the Lord finds to be commendable about the church in Pergamum.
1. The Christians faced the daily life and death tension of remaining faithful to Christ as Lord or bowing to Roman pressure to proclaim Caesar as Lord.
2. To a faithful Christian death loomed as a daily reality.
3. Although Satan dwelled in the city of Pergamum, the Bride of Christ did as well.
4. Jesus commended the believers for putting down their roots there and not seeking to run to greener pastures despite the pressures and danger.
5. They understood a basic principle that so many have forgotten today: the Christian life is not an escape—it’s conquest.
6. Tradition has it that Antipas died by being roasted to death.
7. However he died, he died because he would not deny Jesus and neither would the rest of the church.
8. Today many Christians run from such places and pressures, always seeking lighter burdens rather than the strength to faithfully bear them.
B. The witness of the church stood as an unassailable fortress. Unfortunately, however, someone left the backdoor of apathy and accommodation open.
1. There were those in the church who held to the teaching and practice of the Balaamites and Nicolaitans that Christ hates.
2. What Satan could not accomplish at Smyrna or Pergamum through intimidation, suffering, and death from outside the church, he achieved from within.
3. The Nicolaitans are believed to be libertines, teaching that those under grace were free to practice idolatry and sexual sins.
4. The doctrine of Balaam sanctioned eating things sacrificed to idols and sexual immorality.
5. Compromise, accommodation and fitting in—a pressure just as real today as it was then.
6. What could it hurt? According to Jesus everything and everybody.
7. Jesus commands His bride to immediately end her flirtatious affair with falsehood.
III. The hope of restoration through correction of the problem.
A. Christ’s words must have startled the believers almost like a slap on the cheek.
1. In Greek the word “Repent” rings out like a sharp command.
2. Wake up! Turn around! Do it now…immediately!
3. Those seduced by immorality and compromise need to repent immediately.
4. Since those who did not indulge in these things tolerated their practice by some of the church's members, they, along with the guilty, needed to repent. If those at Pergamum will not heed the word of Christ's warning, that word from his mouth will become a "sword" to fight against the disloyal.
5. If repentance does not take place He will come to judge and punish their sins.
B. Jesus then quickly embraces His church with promised affirmations of His love.
1. The promise to the overcomer includes three difficult symbols: "hidden manna," "a white stone," and "a new name."
2. Since Moses' pot of manna was designed to remind the Israelites of God's grace and faithfulness in the wilderness, there may be a similar thought here.
3. He rained down manna for the people to eat, he gave them the grain of heaven. (Psalm 78:24—NIV 2011)
4. To those at Pergamum who refused the banquets of the pagan gods, Christ will give the manna of his great banquet of eternal life in the kingdom.
5. The "white stone" is a puzzle. It seems best to link the stone to the thought of the manna and see it as an allusion to an invitation that entitled its bearer to attend one of the pagan banquets.
6. The "new name … known only to him who receives it" is either the name of Christ himself, now hidden from the world but to be revealed in the future as the most powerful of names, or the believer's new name or changed character through redemption.
7. For the Christians tempted to compromise their loyalty to Christ to gain the favor of the pagan gods, Christ generously offers himself and the power of his name so that those who have faith in him may overcome.
IV. Some thoughts of application concerning apathy and accommodation.
A. Apathy and accommodation never happen overnight.
1. Just as water erodes, compromise erodes one drop at a time.
2. Erosion first produces a comfortable trickle, then an acceptable stream and ultimately an uncontrolled flood.
B. Apathy and accommodation always manage to lower the standard.
1. The flood never results in greater moral purity but always in deeper moral depravity.
2. Those with who we compromise never come up to our standards; they inevitably bring us down to the standards they are comfortable with.
C. Apathy and accommodation is seldom offensive.
1. We have the tendency to judge sin by its surface appearance.
2. Sin’s real ugliness is always hidden below the surface hidden from sight.
D. Apathy and accommodation are often the first steps toward total disobedience.
1. Compromise is never satisfied.
2. Compromise never stops once it has gained entrance.
3. Compromise just keeps coming, pushing the boundaries gradually wearing down our resistance.
4. Eventually our lives resemble a once plowed field that has become once again overgrown with weeds.
E. Being an effective witness involves being a part of society without bowing to the pressure of compromising our faith.
1. As Christians we cannot be afraid to be around those outside the church; if we don’t they will never be brought to Christ.
2. We often fail to get involved because we are afraid that we will be forced to compromise.
3. We can never tolerate sin by bowing to the pressure of being open minded.
4. Through the power of God it is possible to love and accept the person without accepting the sin.
5. No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. (Romans 8:37—NIV)
6. We are to do everything we can to reach people for Christ, but that doesn’t mean watering down the message and putting our stamp of approval on sin.
Closing:
A few years ago, a local pastor was asked to open the new session of the Kansas Senate with a word of prayer. And everyone was expecting the usual politically correct generalities. But, what they heard instead was a stirring prayer, passionately calling our country to repentance and righteousness. This what he said:
"Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask your forgiveness and seek Your direction and guidance. We know your Word says, ’Woe on those who call evil good,’ but that’s exactly what we have done. We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and inverted our values.
We confess that:
We ridiculed the absolute truth of your Word and called it pluralism.
We have worshipped other gods and called it multiculturalism.
We have endorsed perversion and called it an alternative lifestyle.
We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery.
We have neglected the needy and called it self-preservation.
We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare.
We have killed our unborn and called it choice.
We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable.
We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self-esteem.
We have abused power and called it political savvy.
We have coveted our neighbor’s possessions and called it ambition.
We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression.
We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment.
Search us, O God, and know our hearts today; cleanse us from every sin and set us free. Guide and bless these men and women who have been sent here by the people of Kansas, and who have been ordained by you to govern this great state. Grant them the wisdom to rule, and may their decisions direct us to the center of your will. I ask it in the name of your Son, the Living Savior, Jesus Christ, Amen."
