Title Slide
From across the street, my friend, Randy, made a beeline at full sprint for my front door one summer day. We were about ten years old at the time. Breathless by the time he ran up our steps and rang the doorbell, excitedly he told me he had found treasure. In his hand was a white stone with a gleam of metal. He was certain it must be gold. So off we went on bikes to the train tracks where he found the white stone. We spent some hours searching for more until his dad popped our bubbles. The gleam in the stone was a piece of worthless quartz.
Yet, the treasures Christ promises to the Pergamum church are heavenly treasures of infinite eternal value. They don’t need to find a special map to locate them. There is no X marking the spot to dig up. These treasures are intertwined with the precious grace of Jesus Christ. These three also foretell of the treasures we will one day receive from Christ. Each symbol originates from the Old Testament.
Slide 2:
Let’s begin with the “hidden manna”. This word pair is found only here in Scripture. Why is it hidden leads us to ask why do we hide things? The manna would not be hidden because it is shameful. Other times we hide papers in a lockbox because they are private. Or another reason we hide valuables in a lockbox or safe for protection. The truth is we don’t know what aspect of hidden Christ is using - but we do know what manna is – that special food God supplied his people in their wilderness journey. Some conclude this hidden manna refers to Christ as the Bread of Life. Others propose manna refers to the future Communion in heaven with Jesus. Or on a broader scope – that all our needs will be provided for. Whichever you lean towards, one day we will find out.
Slide 3:
The second treasure is the white stone. Again, no other Scripture mentions such a stone. But going back to the priesthood, when lots were used to assign special roles – whomever God selected would often draw a white pebble. The white stone could possibly represent election to live in the presence of God. White is also the color of righteousness as believers are made white as snow righteous by Jesus Christ as if they had never sinned. Receiving a white stone like this would indeed be a treasure beyond compare!
Slide 4:
Finally – the new name written on the stone! Again no Scripture mentions a mass renaming of believers. Yet, in Genesis, in relation to his covenantal promises, God renames three people: Abram became Abraham. Sarai -Sarah. And Jacob - Israel. For fans of The Queen on Netflix, when King George dies, the new queen is asked to select her new name. Her transformation into Queen Elizabeth with new regal identity happens after being anointed. This very tradition is linked to this text as believers receive their Crown of Life.
Hidden manna, a white stone, and a new name – all three pledged by Christ to the believer who overcomes in cooperation with The Holy Spirit. Priceless treasures reserved for you. And no one will ever pop your bubble to say a single is worthless. Surely, like Paul in 2 Timothy 4 finishing the race, these treasures whet our appetites for the future.
With these three treasures in mind – now comes the harder question:
Slide 5
What hurdles in cooperation with the Spirit were they to overcome to gain these three treasures?
The first is brutal persecution to the point of death. Though Caesar Dianetius was long dead – Christians in Pergamum continued to be harshly persecuted. Why might that be? As the ancient capital of Asia Minor - Pergamum was its religious center. They built temples to honor nearly every Caesar and Roman god. Given this religious fervor, it is no wonder Christians face severe persecution. In our text – Christ grieves for Antipas – the only time in Revelation a martyr is named
It is little wonder then that Christ equates Pergamum with Satan’s throne. In addition, an image of the serpent was commonly worshiped there - perhaps a reference to Genesis 3 – the serpent who tempted Eve and Adam. Visually too the city’s acropolis took on an ominous appearance of a dark throne casted a glowing red in the sunset.
Yet when it came to persecution – Christ was in the stands cheering them on: Verse 13 “I know that you live in the city where Satan has his throne, yet you have remained loyal to me.” To receive words like this from Jesus Christ would have come as great encouragement to this church. Jesus knew their hearts and their circumstances just like he knows our own. Taking this as our encouragement can help soothe this tension we feel when are targeted for small P persecution or big P persecution because of our faith so that we might persevere in cooperation with the Spirit and gain those treasures intertwined with the grace that is already ours.
That’s a huge difference with Christianity compared to other man-made faiths. The assurance of Christ’s victory applied to us propels us onward even when the way is tough going. Last week, Lori, attended the funeral of a close friend. She was Christian and was assured of her salvation, but she did not receive a Christian funeral. Her family was Jehovah’s Witness – no assurance, no grace, no Holy Spirit to help us, no recognition of Christ beyond a premier example of good, just the good works of the person weighed on a scale against their evils. Christianity far surpasses that with an assurance of Christ’s victory becomes our victory.
Thus far, Christ praises them for remaining true in the face of persecution. Yet that wasn’t true for all of them. Some had compromised their faith to blend in with their culture.
Because life in Pergamum revolved around the idol culture - one’s personal life and civic life were often intertwined. An example were the citywide feasts that every inhabitant was expected to attend. According to the historian Herron, the paid admission ticket was not paper but one’s name written on a white stone. Christ highlights this issue in verse 14 - You tolerate some among you whose teaching is like that of Balaam, who showed Balak how to trip up the people of Israel. He taught them to sin by eating food offered to idols and by committing sexual sin. In a similar way, you have some Nicolaitans among you who follow the same teaching.
SLIDE 6– We already stated two letters ago our confusion as to who the Nicolaitans are. But we do know who Balaam is. The Moabite King, Balak, tried to hire Balaam to place a prewar curse on Israel. of the Moabites stood in fear of Israel. From Numbers 22:5 - “A people have come out of Egypt; they cover the face of the land and have settled next to me. 6 Now come and put a curse on these people, because they are too powerful for me. Perhaps then I will be able to defeat them and drive them out of the country. For I know that those you bless are blessed, and those you curse are cursed.”
Before taking the job offer, Balaam consults God who tells him not to do so. The king responds with greater bribes. Balaam consults God again who says he may go but only to speak what he is told. Yet God is still angry for his peoples well-being. And on the way, oblivious to Balaam – his donkey sees a fierce angel waving a large sword. The donkey abruptly stops and three times receives a beating. That is until the donkey begins to talk and the angel confronts Balaam. While Balak expects Balaam to curse Israel, three times to Balak’s wrath he blesses Israel and twice curses Israel’s enemies.
Yet in Numbers 25, thousands of Israelites compromise their faith – worship Baal, eat the food sacrificed to Baal, and engage in sexual relations. Moses and the others condone this sin until the priest Phineas takes it upon himself to act on God’s behalf. Though Numbers 25 does not mention Balaam – Christ’s revelation to Pergamum indicates that Balaam was behind this atrocity. Jesus calls on the Pergamum church to take action and quit condoning this sin.
The circumstances are different, but the challenge not to compromise our faith is real. And often times we find ourselves wrestling with this issue. But no one should ever have to keep these issues or others hidden – the Spirit gifts us the support of others.
Slide 7
Take to heart – what Thomas a Kempis said -a Dutch Augustinian monk who led the Brethren of the common life. Those who try bravely to overcome the most difficult and unpleasant obstacles far outstrip others in their pursuit of virtue. Remember, not only do we have the Spirit and the assurance of our eternal outcome – we have each other. This should be a safe place to reach out for help when needed. A few examples – some are quite personal.
In visits, some of you have shared how deeply you struggle with voting compared to other years. Afraid to compromise your faith, you bear a weight concluding that neither party’s platform is pure anymore. You find yourself choosing between the lesser of two evils, because both parties fall short of moral expectations – you can fill in your own laundry list later. In some instances your choices have cost you friends and relationships with family members.
Others struggle with the plunging morality in our society. I filled a pulpit last Sunday night – and members spoke to restoring us to a Christian nation. Like the fourth of July, we can’t celebrate the freedom of religion and then insist we must be a Christian nationalist nation - it can’t be done. We are not a theocracy. Heaven can’t be manufactured on earth – the Tower of Babel proved that.
And a sensitive prickly topic too often unspoken of is human sexuality – the moral redefinitions – and the great hurt, care and confusion we bear when a loved one comes out or identifies as same sex attracted. And we feel forced to take sides – compromise our love or compromise our faith. Other times there are external pressures on us from employers and even stores to celebrate Pride month. When actually the most difficult choice is to continue to love the person and encourage faithfulness by remaining faithful. Keeping this PG - Every denomination has faced this challenge in time and now it is our turn.
These issues are tough – we can’t pretend they aren’t. Sometimes it seems there is no right choice. Whatever the issue -no one should ever have to keep these issues or others hidden – the Spirit gifts us the support of others for a reason rather than trying to bravely overcome them ourselves.
That’s the same level of concern Christ is speaking to. Christ loves his church. His end goal for this congregation is to strive for faithfulness and work with those who are struggling – not cut them off, not call them enemies. But to promote their well-being including those three treasures. But the cost of compromise as far as Christ is concerned in this text when one has been asked to reconsider their choices and refuses to do so is difficult too. And when the church condones sin, it is just as problematic.
Slide 8
For those in the Pergamum church who fail Christ’s call and continue to compromise or condone - Christ’s self-proclaimed imagery as the one bearing a sword out of his mouth in Revelation 1 and now again in this passage is intimidating. So is the sword.
The sword named is the sharpest in the Roman arsenal. Feared above all, it had a double blade with a long handle requiring two hands to use it. Yet make no mistake – it was infamously known for cutting a person in two and to break through protective armor.
Again – Scripture emphasizes over and over again Christ’s desire is not to ruthlessly wield this sword – but the imagery would definitely promote repentance so that those three rewards might still be theirs. Such a text need not provoke in us an eternal-death anxiety or judgement anxiety. But it does call the church and believers in cooperation with the Spirit to be cautious about issues of faith compromise. To call good what God considers evil. To call evil what God considers good.
The seat of Satan isn’t limited in time or geography to Pergamum. The prince’s throne is on this earth. He is deceiving and confusing and twisting truth and morality to his glee.
Before we become obsessed with a particular faith concern or practice in someone else’s life – getting energized or hyperinflated and distracted from our Gospel mission – obsessing on someone’s sliver – we need to begin with the plank in our own eye first.
Meanwhile we pray, we love on and continue in conversation and mutual accountability where it is willing to occur. We need not fear the outcome or loss of grace or the hidden manna, the white stone, or the new name so long as we are in cooperation with the Spirit. May God help us and give us the love, the words, the willingness to be transparent with each other and the heart to know what to do.
SLIDE
To him who who still remains in this world – no repentance is too late. The approach to God’s mercy seat is open.
