PARABLES OF THE KINGDOM – THE THIRD - THE MUSTARD SEED - PART 3 of 4
In the second Part we focused on Constantine who married the church to the State with his Babylonian paganism. The church was weakened after that point as it embraced these evil doctrines of the birds of the air. The mustard seed had become the tree of monstrosity. In this Part we will look at more of the letter to the church at Pergamum that John wrote.
We look at the error of Balaam and who were the Nicolaitans? As well, what is the manna and the white stone?
VERSE 14 – COMPROMISE AND STUMBLING BLOCKS – THE BALAAM ERROR
{{Revelation 2:14 – “but I have a few things against you because you have there some who hold THE TEACHING OF BALAAM who kept teaching Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit acts of immorality.”}}
THE SEPARATION OF GENUINE AND FALSE CHRISTIANITY
Quotation – [[A refusal to partake of idol meats involved abstinence from every festivity and withdrawal from social life almost entirely, for sacrifice and paganism was bound up with almost every act of social life. Even today the child of God finds the need at times to sacrifice legitimate pleasure or activities as an indication of his allegiance to Christ. There was the added difficulty in Pergamum that some gnostic professing Christians participated freely in heathen festivals and Irenaeus said, “They eat without hesitation the idol offerings, because they do not reckon themselves defiled thereby”, but their true character was revealed by the subsequence of their licentiousness.”
In the precincts of every temple, harlot priestesses offered themselves for prostitution as part of their service to the god or goddess they worshipped. Prior to marriage, many wellborn girls also dedicated themselves to a similar service for a period, and were honoured rather than criticised for so doing. Christians who had previously indulged in promiscuity of this kind as a feature of their worship might well find difficulty in adjusting their attitude to the Christian teaching of chastity. Even at social banquets, they would be confronted with a general sexual laxity and be tempted to regard it as relatively unimportant.
As Barclay points out, “In the ancient world, sexual morals were loose; relationships outside of marriage were entirely accepted, with no stigma whatever.” Demosthenes could say, “We have courtesans for the sake of pleasure; we have concubines for the sake of daily cohabitation; we have wives for the purpose of having children legitimately, and of having a faithful guardian of the household affairs.”]]
In Pergamum Christians were under enormous temptation, and some rationalised away the position they should have taken.
Balaam is a large study, not to do this time, but I have a two part series on it in the messages in Jude. Here is the first of those two - https://sermoncentral.com/sermons/the-error-of-balaam-making-profit-from-the-work-of-the-lord-part-1-jude-1-10-11b-ron-ferguson-sermon-on-donkey-267470
If you have time to read 2 Peter 2:15 and Numbers 22:4 to Numbers 24:25 (it’s long) you can do that just as a background.
Balaam/Balek were to curse the people of God for a price. In other words those following his methods sought to corrupt the Christians at Pergamum. To eat things sacrificed to idols was a problem in the early church. Paul teaches about that starting with {{1 Corinthians 8:1-4 “Now concerning things sacrificed to idols, we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge makes arrogant, but love edifies. If anyone supposes that he knows anything, he has not yet known as he ought to know but if anyone loves God, he is known by Him. Therefore concerning the eating of things sacrificed to idols, we know that there is no such thing as an idol in the world, and that there is no God but one.”}}
Then he goes on to say that a strong Christian understands what this is and it is fine for him to buy his meat at the market AS LONG AS it will not offend a weaker Christian. However in Pergamum, it was far more than that. They thought they could take part in the pagan feasts and they would be okay because they were Christians. Remember most had come out of that behaviour and for some, they think their position as a Christian will allow them to engage in those things still because they understand what they mean. It’s a huge compromise.
VERSE 15 – THE GREAT ERROR OF THE NICOLAITANS
{{Revelation 2:15 “Thus you also have some who in the same way hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans.”}}
The church at Ephesus would have nothing to do with the Nicolaitans and for that God commended them – {{Revelation 2:6 “Yet this you do have, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans which I also hate.”}}
What a contrast that was. How a man would be distressed to leave Ephesus to reside in Pergamum and find that church is happy with what his previous church hated. God hates it too and so must we. Much has been written on the Nicolaitans with lots of opinions. I won’t explore all that, for our concentration is on the parable of the Mustard Seed, but will just quote the following -
[[“That mentioned by Irenaeus, and by some of the other fathers, that the name was derived from Nicolas, one of the deacons ordained at Antioch, Acts 6:5. Of those who have held this opinion, some have supposed that it was given to them because he became apostate and was the founder of the sect, and others because they assumed his name, in order to give the greater credit to their doctrine.
But neither of these suppositions rests on any certain evidence, and both are destitute of probability. There is no proof whatever that Nicolas the deacon ever apostatised from the faith, and became the founder of a sect; and if a name had been assumed, in order to give credit to a sect and extend its influence, it is much more probable that the name of an apostle would have been chosen, or of some other prominent man, than the name of an obscure deacon of Antioch.”]]
These assumptions are too readily made as if something has to be latched onto, to give some explanation of what we don’t understand. The same thing happens with people looking at the future Gog/Magog alliance of Ezekiel 38 and 39 at the end of the Tribulation. One of the named members in that alliance – a nation OR people called Gomer - too many are ready to attach the name Germany to explain Gomer. You just can not do that! I hate that. Just because it might look similar or start with the same letter, is unacceptable exegesis.
This is what we can say though - Nicolaitans = the name is derived from “nikos” meaning to conquer and “laos” the people. Whatever this group was, it rose up in an effort to conquer the people or rise above them. Some see in that the rise of the clerical system dividing the churches into clergy and laity where the church used to be men and women under an eldership; others see it as the false teachers and immoral people trying to influence the churches to ride over them with immoral and licentious behaviour. We let the matter rest.
VERSE 16 – A WARNING NOT TO DISREGARD!
The Pergamum church is given a warning that it needed to heed immediately.
{{Revelation 2:16 “Repent therefore or else I am coming to you QUICKLY, and I will make war against them with THE SWORD OF MY MOUTH.”}}
Do you remember the way the letter began, what the Lord said - {{Revelation 2:12 “The One who has THE SHARP TWO-EDGED SWORD”}}
The Holy Spirit returns to this sword image, one of judgement. This church was about to be judged if it did not repent. The word in verse 16 “quickly” spoke of the urgency of their need to repent. The Lord will not tolerate rubbish and sin among his people.
The foul birds of the air were alighting on the branches of the churches and then staying to nest. It was horrible that at that point we are getting these terrible doctrines of Satan entering the church. Pergamum speaks of the history of the church under Constantine and for centuries beyond.
We do not know what the church at Pergamum did when John wrote to the Christians there in A.D. 96. Did they repent? However we know that from the end of the first century onwards increasing heresies and troubles beset the churches, and then from Constantine onwards the whole of Christendom married into paganism and Babylonian practices to produce this monstrosity of the mustard seed.
The foul birds that had taken residence there bred, and the church went downhill with increasing control from Rome and more insidious doctrines came to be accepted until it eventually grew into the Roman Catholic church of the Middle Ages. More will be on that in the next parable, the leaven.
History proves to us that the repentance called for by Jesus never happened and these evil birds of the air doctrines just increased. What a terrible state the church of the Ephesus period got itself into over the succeeding centuries.
VERSE 17 – BLESSINGS FOR FAITHFULNESS
{{Revelation 2:17 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, to him I will give some of THE HIDDEN MANNA, and I will give him A WHITE STONE, and a new name written on the stone which no one knows but he who receives it.”}}
The verse begins with an invitation to listen to what the Holy Spirit was saying to these churches. Some would heed and some would not. Those who refused to listen continued on in the doctrines and practices of the foul birds of the air. Those who took heed and responded entered the blessings promised to them and two are given here.
BLESSING ONE – THE HIDDEN MANNA
The bible’s first mention of manna was the heavenly feeding of the Israelites in their earthly, wilderness journey. {{Exodus 16:31-32 “The house of Israel NAMED IT MANNA, and it was white like coriander seed and its taste was like wafers with honey. Then Moses said, “This is what the LORD has commanded, ‘Let an omer full of it be kept throughout your generations, that they may see THE BREAD THAT I FED YOU IN THE WILDERNESS, when I brought you out of the land of Egypt.’”}}
The manna was the bread to eat in the pilgrim journey, and it is the same for us. What is our bread? Firstly, our Manna is Christ because it is on Him we feed; our delight and occupation. He is the Bread of life come down from heaven – {{John 6:35 Jesus said to them, “I AM THE BREAD OF LIFE. He who comes to Me shall not hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.”}}
Secondly, the bread of life for us is the scriptures, for that is our food of growth and understanding. Christians must collect this manna for themselves. Study to show yourselves approved to God. There is so much on this but that will suffice.
BLESSING TWO – THE WHITE STONE AND NEW NAME
This is a most interesting thing. Remember this church represents the time of the Mustard Seed with its evil nesting in Christianity, but to the overcomer and the faithful one who did not participate in the deeds of the Mustard Seed, a very special gift was promised.
Again, I come back to that book I can’t remember and here is a quotation from it about this white stone -
START OF QUOTE [[“A white stone was to be bestowed upon the overcomer by the very Lord Himself, upon which was to be inscribed a new name, known only to the recipient. It was the practice to note days of happiness by a white stone, and days of calamity by a black stone. Aeschylus says that the Thracians used to drop an appropriately coloured pebble in an urn each day and when a man died, then the urn was broken and the pebbles counted and it was then disclosed whether his life had been heavy or otherwise.
Again in the courts of justice, when a vote was taken as to the guilt of an accused person, the members of the court would sometimes indicate their view by casting stones into a bowl, a white stone for innocence, a black for guilt. White stones were also used as tickets of admission to circuses and entertainments.
Many commentators see in the overcomer’s white stone a reference to the tessera (we sometimes use that word in regard to small tiles) or the white stone, given to the victor at the games.
Ewald maintains, on the other hand, that it relates to the “tessera hospitalis”, which was bestowed upon close friends, on which the donor’s name was inscribed, as an indication that the recipient could always claim a warm welcome and ready hospitality from the giver.
It was very probable that the closer truth is that the tessera or white stone, given to those who were invited to partake, within the precincts of the temple, of the sacred feast, which naturally, only consisted of meats offered to the idol. That stone bore the secret name of the deity represented by the idol and the name was known only to the recipient.
Since the overcomer had refused fellowship with the idol and had refused the idol stone, he was rejected by the world as an unwanted outcast, BUT the Lord declared that He would bestow upon him, a stone that would give him an entry into the true Temple, there to feast upon the bounties of heaven. There is always compensation in Him for every sacrifice made on earth. So then . . the tessera, would signify Christ’s approval.”]] END OF QUOTE
WHAT CAN WE GAIN FROM THAT ABOVE?
[1]. At the end of our lives we can be certain that the “urn” will be filled with white stones because the Lord is our portion and rewards faithfulness.
[2]. Before the court of heaven the judgement for us can only be the white stones. That was made sure by the cross when no condemnation will be there for us.
[3]. In Christ we have “a white stone” of victory as overcomers.
[4]. We have the white stone of invitation when we obeyed “Come unto Me all you . . . .” and that invitation awaits at the door of heaven for each who know the Lord.
[5]. The white stone confirms Christ’s full approval of His children as they journey in this world of the mustard seed, not wanting to partake in any of the foul “fowl” doctrines of what that mustard seed has become.
Next time we will look into practical matters in living as a Christian in this journey towards home.
