Why?
They get in a hurry wanting to read about the Anti-Christ, the Two witness and the 144 Jewish missionaries and etc.
But in skipping the SEVEN CHURCHES of REVELATION they are missing out on some of the good teachings of Christ we learn from His live.
Such as:
We can see from the SEVEN CHURCHES that the Lord was always looking for something good to compliment His church about.
HE WAS AN OPTIMIST….ALWAYS LOOKING FOR THE GOOD…If it can be found.
Illus: This looking for the good, reminds us of the story of the man who asked a policeman WHO WAS AN OPTIMIST how he liked his job.
• The policeman answered, "Well, it is dangerous job, and the pay is not so good."
• Then, being a good optimist, he added, "But the good thing about my job is the customer is always wrong!"
Regardless what job you may have, or what situation you find yourself in, you can always find something good about something if you really TRY HARD ENOUGH.
Illus: Two brothers who were known as the two meanest men in town.
• One of them died and the other one asked a preacher to preach his funerals.
• He said, I will give you five thousands dollars if you will say something nice about him.
• The preacher took the five thousand dollars and he was trying to think of something he could say about him that was nice.
• The day of the funeral he stood before the crowd that had gathered.
• He said, this dead man that is before me was one of the meanest man in town. He was a liar, thief, and cheater BUT COMPARED TO HIS BROTHER WHO IS BEFORE ME ---HE WAS AN ANGEL!
Some of these seven churches it is difficult to find something good you can say about them.
But the Lord being the OPTIMIST HE WAS, He was able to find something good about the worst of them!
Wouldn't it be wonderful if everyone who is associated with God's church was an optimist?
If we follow the example of the Lord Jesus in the book of Revelation, we will always try to find something good about the church.
Illus: They remind me of the panhandler who was on the streets begging for a handout. A man came along and had compassion on him and gave him enough money to buy a cup of hot coffee.
• The next day the man saw the panhandler on the street again. He asked, "Did you enjoy the cup of coffee yesterday?"
• The panhandler became very angry and said to him, "No, I certainly did not. That cup of coffee kept me awake all night last night!"
The way some people complain, you would think that they have never had anything nice to happen to them.
But, Jesus was always looking for something good to compliment these seven churches about, and the church of Pergamos is no different.
The Lord had many wonderful things to say about this church.
Look at some of the compliments, one having to do with...
I. THEIR FAITH.
In verse 13 we read, "I know thy works and where thou dwellest, even where Satan's seat is..."
This church was located in Pergamos and God said this is where "…Satan's seat is..."
That should put to rest the idea that Satan is in hell.
In fact, it may shock you to hear this, but did you know that Satan has never been to hell yet?
To hear some un-learn preachers preach you get the idea that Satan is being tortured in the flames of hell now!!!
He actually will not be in hell until the time spoken of in the twentieth chapter of Revelation.
Look at Revelation 20:10 And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
At that time the place called Hell will have its grand opening.
Notice, the word CAST in verse 10, it sounds like God has had enough of the devil and God use these words at this time And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone,
• He was not pushed into hell, the Bible say he was CAST INTO THE LAKE OF FIRE.
• He was not LED INTO HELL. HE WAS CAST INTO HELL!!!
• And He will be there the Bible says, “FOR EVER AND EVER.” Aman!
Preacher, don’t you feel sorry for him, NOT A BIT!!!
I WOULD PERSONALLY WOULD LIKE TO GIVE HIM A BIG KICK IN THE REAR BEFORE THE LORD CAST HIM THERE.
The devil and his demons are on the face of the earth NOW but they know one day they are going to be cast into hell one day.
Illus: Remember when the Lord in Mark chapter five came into contact with this demon possess man and the Lord cast the demons out of him and they left the man and entered into TWO thousands hogs.
These demons thought the time had come when they were going to be cast into hell.
Look what they said to the Lord before the Lord cast these demons out of this man into these hogs.
Look at Mark 5:1-13 And they came over unto the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gadarenes. And when he was come out of the ship, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit, Who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no man could bind him, no, not with chains: Because that he had been often bound with fetters and chains, and the chains had been plucked asunder by him, and the fetters broken in pieces: neither could any man tame him. And always, night and day, he was in the mountains, and in the tombs, crying, and cutting himself with stones. But when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and worshipped him, And cried with a loud voice, and said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the most high God? I adjure thee by God, that thou torment me not. For he said unto him, Come out of the man, thou unclean spirit. And he asked him, What is thy name? And he answered, saying, My name is Legion: for we are many. And he besought him much that he would not send them away out of the country. Now there was there nigh unto the mountains a great herd of swine feeding. And all the devils besought him, saying, Send us into the swine, that we may enter into them. And forthwith Jesus gave them leave. And the unclean spirits went out, and entered into the swine: and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the sea, (they were about two thousand;) and were choked in the sea.
The point I want to make is the devil and his demons are on the earth today…they are not in hell yet.
But when they saw Jesus coming they thought they were going to taken out of the country and CAST INTO HELL!!!
This is why we read, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the most high God?
• In other words my time to be CAST INTO HELL HAS NOT YET COME!!!
• You see the devil knows he is going to be cast into hell, but there are a lot of folks who have not accepted the Lord Jesus that does not know there is going to be CAST INTO HELL!!!
I Peter 5:8 tells us WHERE HE IS and WHAT HE IS DOING today.
It says, "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour."
While often the church is divided and in chaos, the Bible tells us that Satan is organized and is accomplishing his purpose because Christians are asleep.
The church in Pergamos was located in one the headquarter of Satan (Seat of Satan)
There is no doubt about the fact that Satan has conquered certain cities and claimed them as his headquarters.
Illus: Those who have listened to the late Dr. J. Vernon McGee have heard him say many times, that he thought that Satan had made Los Angeles his headquarters in America. This could possibly be the case.
Many have referred to this city as being the cesspool of America.
That is because it is filled with people who are involved in all kinds of cults, and every kind of sin that is imaginable.
Some refer to Los Angeles as Lust Angeles.
It is not possible to single out one city these days as being the headquarters of Satan because it seems like there are so many cities today where Satan could have his headquarters.
Some of those cities have the level of wickedness of Sodom and Gomorrah, such as San Francisco.
Also, there is Las Vegas.
Illus: What do you think of when someone says Las Vegas?
• Do you think of civic clubs, boy scouts, girl scouts, and churches?
• No! You think of gambling, prostitution, nudity, drinking, adultery, deception, lying, Mafia, and cheating.
Why?
Because, everything we see and hear about Las Vegas leads us to believe that it seems to exist for those reasons.
Illus: This evil city even advertise every evil thing done in Las Vegas when you leave it stays in Las Vegas!
But they are wrong, every evil deed done in Las Vegas will end up at the Great White Throne judgment!!!
Satan has completely taken over many of the cities of America, and probably many of these are headquarters that he and his demons works out of.
During the time of the church of Pergamos, the Bible states clearly that Pergamos church was located at the headquarters of Satan.
It was the most wicked and vile environment of that day.
Today, when Christians have to live in those conditions, we feel alone and feel that no one understands our situation.
For example:
(1) Some may have to live in a wicked home environment. They are constantly exposed to arguments, cursing, lying and cheating.
They come to church and are refreshed and leave "squeaky clean" spiritually, but after they are home only a few short minutes they feel as if they have been dragged through the mud.
(2) Some have to go to jobs every day where they hear men and women bragging about their infidelities. They hear people taking God's name in vain, and hear them tell sacrilegious jokes and "dirty" jokes.
It is difficult to work in that kind of environment when a person is a Christian.
(3) Some have to go to school, and all day long they are exposed to ungodly teachers and students who are bent on doing evil.
Many feel like they dwell in "Satan's seat."
They know the strain of being in an evil environment and often feel no one seems to understand.
But, look at what Christ said to the church that dwelt in such an evil environment. He said, "I know...where thou dwellest..."
He wanted the church of Pergamos to understand that He knew how difficult it was for a Christian to live in such an evil place.
He knew THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF THEIR FAITH.
He also knew of...
B. The courage of their faith.
Look again at verse 13 where it says, "...and thou holdest fast my name, and hast not denied my faith..."
In that cesspool of sin, where people were consumed with…
• Pleasures of life,
• Comforts of life,
• Possessions of life,
there were some Christians who believed the Word of God and preached and taught the Word of God in spite of the CIRCUMSTANCES.
Jesus commended those for they had "...not denied..." their faith.
In those very trying CIRCUMSTANCES, the Christians had the COURAGE to stand for the Lord.
We need, in America today, Christian people who have the COURAGE to stand up for their faith in their evil surroundings.
We hear much today about the darkness of sin that prevails in our society and we need to be asking ourselves, "Why does darkness prevail?"
Illus: Have you ever walked into a room in the darkness of night and turned a light switch on and all of a sudden you saw roaches heading for a dark place so they cannot be seen.
WHY IS EVIL PREVAILING TODAY?
The answer is, because Christians are letting their "light" go out!
Why do you think:
(1) "Trash" shows are allowed to promote ungodliness? Decent people will not get together and state they are not going to watch these TRASH SHOWS!!!
(2) Abortionists march openly, claiming that women have the right to "abort" their children? God has given anyone to take the life of an innocent baby,
(3) Merchants feel no pricking of the conscience when they open their stores for business on the Lord's Day?
There was a day when most merchants, and customers would have no part in desecrating God's holy day, but today they do it without hesitation.
(4)Homosexuals are coming out the closets. Why? Because Christians have let their light go out and now they feel safe to come out of their closets.
Matthew 5:14-16 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
What ever happened to God's church?
Do we not have the love for our Lord Jesus, that will cause us to have the COURAGE to stand up for Him?
We need to pray that we will have the courage that the Christians of Pergamos had.
Illus: Many today are like the Christian man who was talking to another Christian man and he asked him where he worked?
The other Christian man said "I used to work at this clothing factory where you work."
The other man said, "You said that you used to work here. Why did you quit?"
The man said, "To be honest with you, the environment was so evil that as I tried to live right and witness for Christ they would literally make fun of me. Finally it became unbearable and I decided to quit."
Then he went on to ask the other Christian man how he could take such persecution on this new job.
He answered, "It's easy; I have been working there ten years and no one has ever found out that I am a Christian. I guess that is why I am not persecuted."
How sad?
You'd be surprised how many use that approach. It makes you wonder if they are really saved.
The Bible teaches we are the light of the world.
Also, the Bible teaches us also…
• Matthew 10:32-33 says, "Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven."
• Mark 8:38 says, "Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation: of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels."
These verses of scripture should cause everyone who professes to be saved that does not stand up for their faith, some great concern.
It should motivate them to pray for the courage and step out and speak up for Jesus.
Illus: You, perhaps, realize that nowhere does the Bible say that Jesus or the disciples gave a public invitation to receive Christ at the close of their sermons
But we do see clearly the Bible teaches that if a person is ashamed to accept Christ publicly, because they are embarrassed or may be persecuted, they cannot be saved.
He hung that cross for us beaten, bleeding and practically naked in public for us and we should be willing to publicly make Him our Lord and Savior.
This is what WATER BY IMMERSION DOES!!!
Illus: During the days of Christ they baptized publicly in the river Jordan. And there were MOCKERS making fun of them but they took their stand and were publicly baptized.
Jesus wanted the Christians at Pergamos to know that He knew of
• THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF THEIR FAITH.
• THE COURAGE OF THEIR FAITH.
And also, as we look at our text again, we see He knew of...
C. The conviction of their faith.
Again we read in verse 13, "...even in those days wherein Antipas was my faithful martyr, who was slain among you, where Satan dwelleth."
The church of Pergamos was under a lot of persecution. Perhaps there were others who were martyred also, but we know of one at least, by the name of Antipas.
Illus: In A.T. Robertson's "Word Pictures in the New Testament," Vol VI, page 305, we are told that tradition has it that Antipas was placed inside a brazen bull and slowly roasted to death.
• The people of the early church knew that to be witnesses for Christ meant there was a good chance they would be martyred.
• Illus: William Barclay said, "In the early church, to be a martyr and to be a witness were one and the same thing.
• The early believers knew exactly what it meant to become followers of Christ; “it meant the commitment of all they were and had. It meant the possibility of death."
The apostle Peter taught the sufferings and the possibility of death because of faith in Christ.
We read in I Peter 4:12-13, "Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy."
In the days of the early church, when one made a profession of faith in Jesus, it was not unusual that he would suffer and perhaps have to die for what he believed in.
Jesus knew this.
He knew THE CONVICTION OF THEIR FAITH. They were willing to die for what they believed in, and many did die for their faith in Jesus.
Illus: Antipas, who could have been the pastor of the church at Pergamos, was called upon by the Emperor to denounce his faith in Christ.
"Antipas" translated means: "Against all."
• When he refused to denounce his faith in Christ the Emperor would say, "Everyone is against you."
• Anitpas would answer, "I am against everyone!"
Every day, pressure is applied to every Christian to persuade them to conform to the world's sinful ways.
You need to answer this question, "Are you compromising?"
Do you find yourself getting closer and closer to the world, and farther and farther from the Lord every day?
The Lord had many nice things to say about the faith of the people of the church of Pergamos.
If He could have stopped there, it would have been nice, but there was another element of their faith that the Lord was very displeased with.
In the first part of this sermon we dealt with the fact that the Lord Jesus was always looking for something good to COMMEND His church for.
The devil discovered a long time ago that the best way to be successful, was not to attack the church from WITHOUT, but to cause trouble WITHIN.
Illus: Years ago when companies wished to remove large buildings they would hire a crane that had a large steel ball swinging from a cable. The operator would swing that heavy wrecking ball against the building until it completely demolished the building.
Then a much faster and less messy way was discovered to destroy buildings.
A special team would come in and place charges of dynamite in strategic locations and each was set to go off at certain times so it was possible to level a fifty story building in just a few minutes. The process is called IMPLOSION (bursting inward).
If you check, you will find that the churches that have problems are having them from an inward source.
It is NOT the devil's crowd FROM OUTSIDE. It is the people who are INSIDE the church that Satan uses, in strategic locations, to make havoc of God's church.
Most professing Christian TROUBLE-MAKERS take the fact, that one day they are going to stand before the Lord and give account of what they have done to God's church, much too lightly!
It is easy to understand why so many dread dying, when you realize they know they have to give account for the spiritual devastation they brought upon God's church.
You would think if they wanted to attack something they would want to attack...
• -All these BEER JOINTS that are robbing homes of money that is needed to clothe, feed, and educate families.
• -All the "TRASH" shows that are broadcast nationwide on television, spreading garbage across this nation daily.
• -All the ABORTION CLINICS where babies are mutilated and murdered daily.
• -The PALM READERS that are popping up all along side the roads.
• -The LIBERAL POLITICIANS and NEWS REPORTERS who are out to destroy this nation.
• -The FALSE PROPHETS who claim to preach God's Word, but do not.
For their sakes, and for God's sake, they should leave God's church alone!
Illus: They would be a lot better off if they would crawl into a cage of hungry lions, than to be playing around with God's church! God is not going to allow anyone to get away with attacking His church.
But, that same, wonderful church that the Lord complimented, later became a CORRUPT CHURCH.
The Lord deals with this in the last part of this message.
So far, in this message, we have talked about THE COMPLIMENTS OF THEIR FAITH, now let us look at...
II. THE CORRECTION OF THEIR FAITH.
The Lord said He had a FEW things against them.
The devil does not have one scheme for all churches. He knows what might cause one church to stumble might not work on the next church.
Illus: Satan's schemes are like the lures that the fisherman uses when he goes fishing. He knows one will not work on all fish all the time, so he has a tackle box full of different kinds, so if one does not work, he can go to another that will.
• With the church in Ephesus, Satan used one scheme to cause them to LEAVE THEIR FIRST LOVE. That is, their love for the Lord cooled and they no longer loved Him the way they once had loved Him.
• With the church of Smyrna, Satan used SUFFERINGS to try to keep them from serving the Lord. However that backfired! The more they suffered, the closer they seemed to get to the Lord.
• But with the church of Pergamos Satan used compromise as a means of getting them out of the will of God.
This church eventually COMPROMISED, and became the CORRUPTED CHURCH.
Even though the church is the bride of Christ, the people allowed the evil environment to cause them to be unfaithful to the Lord.
How...
• They began letting ministers preach who did not preach the Word of God.
• They began letting teachers teach who did not teach the Word of God.
• They began to compromise true doctrine for false doctrine gradually.
It was a gradual process!
Illus: This is exactly what America has done, and Godly people have stood back and let it happen.
The early Americans had clear cut principles.
For example: Laws were made that outlawed sodomy, the murder of babies, etc.
• Then as the nation grew people became apathetic.
• By the time movies and television came along, people were beginning to smile at sin.
• Now it has come to the point these criminals have "rights."
• Television programs promote these things, making it easier and easier for people to accept them.
II John, verse10, clearly states, "If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, RECEIVE HIM NOT into your house, neither bid him God speed."
Instead of rejecting the false teachers and their false teachings, they received them and became corrupted.
There is only one thing that can cure a CORRUPT CHURCH.
Look at Rev. 2, verse 12, "...These things saith he which hath the sharp sword with two edges."
The sharp sword represents the Word of God.
Illus: Listen, if a church has been CORRUPTED, the people can make all kinds of efforts to straighten it out, but there is only one thing - THE WORD OF GOD - that will bring the people back to God.
The man of God must stand in the pulpit and wield the Word of God the same way Zorro wielded that sword of his.
• I can assure you, when he starts you will hear hollering and screaming all over the congregation.
• Some may pack up and leave like scared rabbits, telling everyone they see that the preacher is crazy.
But, when he gets through with his job preaching the Word of God, those who love the Lord will be there and then God can use them to build a Bible-believing church.
After the Lord said the nice things about the church of Pergamos, we read in verse 14, "But I have a few things against thee..."
• The Lord had pointed out every nice thing He could point out.
• He had COMPLIMENTED them, now He wanted to CORRECT them because of...
A. The corruption of their faith.
The Lord said they had been corrupted in two ways:
(1)Look at verse 14 we read, "...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."
You cannot mix pure doctrine with false doctrine. If you do, you have a corrupted church.
There are churches who have done this.
Illus: The Catholic church adopted some pagan teachings, back in the time of the Babylonians, in order to get the Babylonians to come into their church.
You cannot find any of the pagan teachings or rituals in the Word of God that they practice. They incorporated them into their church, and the church has become CORRUPTED.
That is what the church of Pergamos did.
Instead of "trying" those who claimed to be apostles, as the church of Ephesus did, they compromised and began to accept them.
One of the groups they accepted taught the doctrine of Balaam.
To understand this, we have to go back to the Old Testament.
There was a man who claimed to be a prophet and have an inside track to many gods he claimed existed, and, for a certain price, he was willing to use his influence for anyone who would pay him.
Well, Balac, the king of Moab, wanted to defeat Israel, so he hired this prophet to curse Israel.
• But, every time he would curse them, they would prosper.
• He was not able to curse them, but he came up with a plan.
• If he could not CURSE THEM, he could CORRUPT THEM!
He did that by getting the women of Moab to marry the men of Israel.
Once they moved in, they began influencing the Jews to eat meat offered up to their idols, and eventually got them to serve their gods.
You see, Satan still does this today. Churches are CORRUPTED when false PREACHERS and TEACHERS are allowed to move in.
Once they are among the Christians, they can cause them to gradually deviate from the truth.
The Lord told the church at Pergamos that He had "somewhat" against them, because they had compromised and had accepted the doctrine of Balaam.
They had allowed a gradual erosion of the foundation of truth.
The second thing that was done to corrupt them…
(2) In verse 15 we read of the other thing that displeased the Lord. We read, "So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate."
This is the second time John wrote about this group.
Remember, the Lord commended the church of Ephesus by saying, "But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate." (Rev. 2:6)
God said He hated what the Nicolaitans stood for and He commended the church of Ephesus because they also hated what that group stood for.
But, the church of Pergamos COMPROMISED, and came to the place where they had allowed those who believed in the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, to stay in their church.
In Rev. 2:15, we read, "So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate."
Look at the word "hold." It means they no longer cast that damnable doctrine down, but grasp it as something precious. THEY HELD TO IT!
The word Nicolaitan is not a translation, but a transliteration.
It is two Greek words put together.
• "Nico," means: "To conquer,"
• "laitans," which is the word for laity.
So it means: "To conquer the laity."
They taught that there is a division between the CLERGY and the LAYMEN of the church, but the New Testament teaches that everyone who is a child of God is a New Testament Priest.
That is, I do not have any more favor with God than you do.
Illus: Often, when tragedy strikes, the first thing that comes to people's minds is, "Someone call the preacher."
While any good pastor is always available to help in a time of tragedy, let me make something clear. If you are living a holy life, you have as much influence with God as any pastor.
God hated the "doctrine of the Nicolaitans," because they taught that the priests should rule over the people.
Illus: The church that still holds to those doctrines has a man, (the pope), at its head that the people think is infallible.
He is one of the most powerful men on this earth. He has "conquered the laity."
To those he has conquered, his words are more important than the infallible Word of God.
Illus: The CORRUPTED CHURCH is in desperate need of spiritual surgery, and the sharp, two-edged sword - God's Word - is the only thing that will cut the cancer of sin out of the church.
B. The cure of their faith.
In verse 16 we read, "Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth."
Notice, the Lord said the reason they should "repent" was because...
1. God is not going to allow evil to prevail unnoticed.
• That is, He is not going to allow His church to be corrupted and stay that way.
• He said that He would attack them, "...with the sword of my mouth."
Illus:You see, Christ does not have to achieve victory with handguns and tanks. All He has to do is speak the Word and the rebellious are defeated.
He can say to the one who is doing the most to corrupt His church, "Be dead," and that individual is dead!
2. He is not going to allow righteousness to prevail unnoticed.
He tells those who are truly saved, His church, and have spiritual ears that if they will take a stand against the DOCTRINE OF BALAAM and the DOCTRINE OF THE NICOLAITANS and not eat at their altars the bread offered up to their idols, He will do two things:
A. Look at verse 17, He addresses the backsliders in the church, "...To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna..."
What did He mean by "hidden manna"?
To understand that, we have to go to the Old Testament.
Illus: Remember when Israel was following the Lord out of the Egypt?
What did the Lord do?
When they were hungry, he fed them mysteriously with "hidden manna."
So often the devil says to us, "If you make a commitment to the Lord, how will you get by?"
We might not know, but the Lord has "hidden manna" for those who are following Him, and in some mysterious way, He always provides what they need.
God was telling His church, that:
• If they would quit letting the world "feed" them,
• Then He would "feed" them.
B. Also, look at verse 17 again, 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.
Illus: When some fraternal organizations get ready to vote in new members, everyone is given a white marble and a black marble. When the basket is passed around to see if a certain person is eligible to join, each member puts in a white marble or a black marble.
If one black marble is placed in the basket the person is not allowed entrance into this organization.
Many believe that the white stone that is given to the “overcomers” in verse 17, is a guarantee that the believer will not be blackballed in heaven.
Look at verse 17 again as He addressed those who perhaps were members of the church of Pergamos, but had never been saved, or repented, "...and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it."
Many have the mistaken idea, that every person who has joined a church is going to heaven, but notice that it says to those who are given the "white stone," "...and in the stone a NEW NAME written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it."
One of the glorious things about being saved is that we do not have to wonder or hope we are saved. We can know positively that we are children of God.
Notice this about the white stone, to the one who is given, which no man knoweth written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it."
No man knows the assurance we have in our hearts, but we know it.
I want to ask you,
Do you know that you BELONG TO THE LORD JESUS CHRIST!
We can live at the doorsteps of hell and know we are children of God and are heaven bound.
Conclusion: The cure for those who were not pleasing God was simple:
• Those who were saved and had backslidden needed to repent of their backsliding. They did not have to continue to eat slop from the hog troughs of the world, but they could go to Christ, and He would give them some of His "hidden manna."
• Those who had never accepted Christ, had to repent of their evil and He would give them "a white stone" - their admission to heaven.
And He will still do this. If you come as He said, He will accept you and you will be fit for Heaven.
I. THE COMPLIMENTS OF THEIR FAITH.
A. The circumstances of their faith.
B. The courage of their faith.
C. The conviction of their faith.
II. THE CORRECTION OF THEIR FAITH.
A. The corruption of their faith.
B. The cure of their faith.
