It was the third of seven. The city of Pergamum, or Pergamos as it is called by some translations (It’s the same name simply the masculine and feminine forms) didn’t have the beauty of Smyrna nor the commerce of Ephesus however it was still a great city in it’s own right, a city of culture and government. If we pull up a map we can see that it was located about sixty kilometres north of Smyrna and fifteen kilometres from the Aegean Sea, Pergamum was the official capital of the province of Asia Minor. Located on a three hundred meter high conical hill it commanded the surrounded area with it’s presence. And from the city you could see the Mediterranean Sea twenty kilometres in the distance. The Roman Historian Pliny called it “By far the most famous city in Asia.”
Pergamum was known for several things, probably it’s greatest accomplishment was the huge library that had been built. Considered to be the second largest library in the world outside of Alexandria, it contained over 200,000 parchment scrolls. Here is a picture of what is left of the Library, if it was like every other library I probably had outstanding fines. It was actually the library that led to the second thing Pergamum was known for. The story goes that 300 years before Christ a ruler of Pergamum seeking to expand the great library wooed Aristophanes of Byzantium, who was the librarian at Alexandria to come to work for him. However Ptolemy who was the ruler of Egypt was a little cranky when he discovered that he could lose this outstanding scholar. So he threw the librarian in chains, that’s what you call job security and then he imposed an embargo on the shipment of papyrus to Pergamum. Papyrus you might recall was the primary medium for writing in that day. Well as they say; necessity is the mother of invention, and if Pergamum was going to continue to have a great library they would need something different the papyrus to make their scrolls with.
And so the great minds of Pergamum got together and developed a technique to smooth and polish tanned animal skins to develop what came to be known as the Pergamum material or in the Latin – parchment which of course finally replaced papyrus completely.
And so it was to the church in Pergamum that Jesus spoke saying Revelation 2:12 “ Write this letter to the angel of the church in Pergamum. This is the message from the one who has a sharp two-edged sword:
Perhaps you’ve noticed the different titles that Jesus uses for the different churches. To the church in Ephesus he described himself as the one who walks among the churches, to the church in Smyrna, a city that had been destroyed and rebuilt he describes himself as the one who died and is alive. And here in Pergamum his description is the one who has a sharp two-edged sword. So what? Good question. Because the city of Pergamum was the capital of Asia it was the administrative home of the Roman Governor. Roman governors were divided into two categories those who had the “Right of the Sword” and those who didn’t. Those who had the “Right of the Sword” literally had the power of life and death, on their word a person could be executed on the spot. The pro-consul who had his office in Pergamum had this right of the sword and at any moment could use it against the church. However Christ is reminding those believers that the last word is still with Him, he has the sharp two edged sword. Rome might be powerful but Christ is more powerful.
And so Christ begins with the COMMENDATION he has for this church. Revelation 2:13 “ I know that you live in the city where that great throne of Satan is located, and yet you have remained loyal to me. And you refused to deny me even when Antipas, my faithful witness, was martyred among you by Satan’s followers.
Three things we need to note
1) I know that you live in the city where that great throne of Satan is located The city of Pergamum had three primary religious philosophies when this letter was written. 800 feet up the hill the city stood on was a forty foot altar used to present sacrifices to Zeus, the king of the Greek gods. This altar looked like a throne carved into the side of the mountain. At the base of the altar was an incredible carving depicting the Battle of the Giants, which in mythology was when the Greek Gods defeated the giants of the Mother Earth. By this time though the religion of Zeus was in it’s twilight so that probably wasn’t what Jesus was referring to as the great throne of Satan.
Other scholars have suggested that perhaps he was making reference to the worship of Asclepios who was the god of healing. His temples were the nearest thing they had to hospitals in the ancient world and people from all over the Roman Empire flocked to Pergamum for relief of their afflictions. Some have suggested that because Asclepios was called “Asclepios the Saviour” that Christians would have viewed this as so blasphemous that this was the throne of Satan mentioned. Second the emblem of Asclepios was the serpent, which can still be seen on some medical symbols such as the Royal Army Medical Corp. And so some have said the serpent represented Satan. But it still is a bit of a stretch.
Probably the simplest explanation was what we had mentioned earlier. As the seat of government in Asia it was here that Caesar worship would have been at it’s strongest. You’ll remember that the Romans didn’t care what god or gods you worshipped as long as you were willing to worship Caesar. And so it was here that believers were required to take the title that belonged to Christ and ascribe it to Caesar by declaring “Caesar is Lord” and if they didn’t they could be executed, and for Christians there could be nothing more Satanic then that.
Of course that would fit in with the rest of the scriptures where we read Revelation 2:13 And you refused to deny me even when Antipas, my faithful witness, was martyred among you by Satan’s followers.”
And so they were commended for their loyalty and faithfulness even in the face of death. We don’t know who Antipas was but he was killed because he refused to deny the name of Jesus. He understood what Woodrow Wilson meant when he said “Loyalty means nothing unless it has at its heart the absolute principle of self-sacrifice.” Peter who was one of Christ closest friends claimed to be loyal, do you remember what he told Christ Mark 14:31 “No!” Peter insisted. “Not even if I have to die with you! I will never deny you!” And yet it wasn’t even twelve hours later that we read Mark 14:66-68
Meanwhile, Peter was below in the courtyard. One of the servant girls who worked for the high priest noticed Peter warming himself at the fire. She looked at him closely and then said, “You were one of those with Jesus, the Nazarene.”
Peter denied it. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said, and he went out into the entryway. Just then, a rooster crowed.
Someone once said that Jesus isn’t looking for people who will die for him nearly as much as he is in getting people to live for him. And I love the first few words of Christ, oh I’m sure that he was impressed that Antipas was willing to die for him, but listen to what he said Revelation 2:13 “ I know that you live in the city where that great throne of Satan is located, and yet you have remained loyal to me. And you refused to deny me even when Antipas, my faithful witness, was martyred among you by Satan’s followers.
Revelation 2:13 “ I know that you live in the city where that great throne of Satan is located, and yet you have remained loyal to me. I know that you live in the city. They hadn’t cloistered themselves away somewhere safe, they were in the marketplace in the city.
And Jesus still expects us to live in the world today. This is where we belong, ready to stand up and declare our faith in Jesus and to stay true to who we are. Sometimes when my kids are going out I remind them remember who you are. As we live in the world I challenge you to not only remember who you are but also to remember whose you are. Don’t deny Christ in your words and even more importantly don’t deny Christ in your actions.
You probably won’t lose your life for your faith, at least not in this country. But you could lose a friend or several or you could lose your job. The question is; what would you be willing to lose before you denied your faith in Christ?
And again I’m sure that those who heard these words were quite proud of themselves, they weren’t like the Ephesians who had lost their first love, and they weren’t like other Christians who fell to the Emperors biding and offered the pinch of incense and uttered the words “Caesar is Lord.” No they had remained true. But Jesus wasn’t finished with them listen to Revelation 2:14 And yet I have a few complaints against you. You tolerate some among you who are like Balaam who showed Balak how to trip up the people of Israel. and then in Revelation 2:15 In the same way, you have some Nicolaitans among you—people who follow the same teaching and commit the same sins.
The CONDEMNATION What did Jesus have against those from Pergamum? Sin? Well yes and no. It’s easy to focus on Revelation 2:14 He taught them to worship idols by eating food offered to idols and by committing sexual sin. And we get righteous and puffed up and proclaim that we would never worship idols or commit sexual sin. But hold on there is no evidence to suggest that sin was a major issue in the church. Jesus does not say that the majority of the church practiced idolatry or committed sexual sin. This was not an immoral church, what the complaint was summed up in the first five words: You tolerate some among you. It wasn’t that the majority of the church was committing sin, it was that they weren’t condemning sin. A little nod, a little wink and everything was Ok.
The scholars tell us that the historical period this church represents is often referred to as the compromising church and represents a period in history from about 313 until approximately 600. The church had moved out of the era where it was being persecuted and now was not only accepted as a religion but after the Emperor Constantine’s conversion it became socially and politically expedient to be identified as a Christian. So no longer was the church comprised of those who had experienced a life changing relationship with Christ, now everyone wanted to be a Christian. And so all of a sudden you have a multitude of pagans coming into the church without the benefit of a conversion experience.
Whether the church was overwhelmed by the sheer number of new “Christians” or if they just chose not to deal with the sinful practices these people brought with them is not clear. But what is clear is that the acceptance of Christianity almost did what persecution failed to do. It almost destroyed the church.
The warning to the church today is clear. The numerical benefits which may come as a result of lowering our standards as a church are dramatically outweighed by the damage done as a result.
You cannot add cold water to a hot water bath and expect it to remain hot. Nor can you fill your tub with hot water and expect it to remain hot forever. You need to keep adding hot water if you want it to remain at a constant temperature.
The church of Jesus Christ needs to hold to sound Biblical principles. When we start to waver on the essentials then we are in serious trouble. And that is what this church was doing. It was accepting spiritual sin in tolerating those who worshipped idols and it was accepting moral failing by tolerating those who committed sexual sin.
The church in Pergamum does not represent an apostate church but it does represent a church that is on the downward spiral to apostasy. THE WARNING And so they are warned in Revelation 2:16 Repent, or I will come to you suddenly and fight against them with the sword of my mouth. Jesus is saying, change your ways or I will fight to protect my church. Notice he doesn’t say that he will fight the church, he says he will fight those who are trying to destroy the church. When he refers to the “Sword of my mouth” it would appear that he is referring to the scriptures. Hebrews 4:12 What God has said isn’t only alive and active! It is sharper than any double-edged sword. His word can cut through our spirits and souls and through our joints and marrow, until it discovers the desires and thoughts of our hearts. And Ephesians 6:17 Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
The sword of Christ then is the word of Christ. If we look down through church history we see time and time again that when churches get to this point where they teeter on the brink of apostasy that God calls up someone to preach Biblical Admonition and Repentance to the church.
It would appear from history, that in most cases the human institution called the church, not to be confused with the Divine body of Christ, “The Church”, is all too often willing to carry on down a road that leads to destruction.
Martin Luther, John Calvin, John Wesley, George Whitfield, Orange Scott and others were called of God to fight against compromising churches using the word of God.
And here is THE PROMISE Revelation 2:17 Anyone who is willing to hear should listen to the Spirit and understand what the Spirit is saying to the churches. Everyone who is victorious will eat of the manna that has been hidden away in heaven. And I will give to each one a white stone, and on the stone will be engraved a new name that no one knows except the one who receives it.
This is to everyone who is willing to hear, the promise is a real for you today as it was to those who made up the church in Pergamum 2000 years ago.
He begins by saying to “everyone who is victorious.” There it is again. Remain faithful, persevere, finish the race, don’t quit. Remember it’s not how well you start the race that counts it’s how well you finish. And what happens if you are victorious? Well first of all we are told that we will eat of the manna that has been hidden away in heaven. Does that mean that we will be eating literally manna. I don’t think so, I believe that it means that we will be feeding on the things of heaven.
It’s not use to pretend that we would like to go to heaven, unless we are using and relishing in those things of heaven that are here today. If you do not like the earthly form of feeding upon Jesus, which is: trusting Him, giving your heart to Him, obeying Him, thinking about Him, walking with Him and talking to Him, what makes you think that you will enjoy heaven? It confuses me that some people who call themselves Christians would rather spend their time with non Christians, (I know, Jesus hung around with sinners, that’s true but most of the time he hung with the Apostles.) doing things contrary to Christian teaching, reading things at odds with Christianity, watching stuff they know that Christ would never approve of and then tell me they can’t wait to get to heaven. Don’t they know that the very things they profess to enjoying so much here will be absent there. And the things they would appear to not want anything to do with here will be the rule there.
The second thing those who will be victorious will receive will be a New Name engraved on a white stone. Now don’t get all wrapped up in what the white stone means. There have been several different thoughts. Some say that in the ancient world that coloured stones were used for working out calculations and so this simply means that you have been counted faithful. A bit of a stretch. Another theory says that in ancient law courts black and white stones were used for rendering a verdict. If the jury held up a black stone then the defendant was guilty, a white stone and they were innocent. So the white stone would signify that we have been acquitted because of Christ. Ok. Others talk about estates using distinctive stones to identify those who belonged to the household, so they could receive the benefits of the estate. Another interpretation is that a gladiator who fought valiantly and bravely could receive his freedom and it was indicated by a stone presented to him with his name on it. Thus implying that if we are faithful and fight the good fight then we will gain our freedom in Christ. Whatever, the important thing is not the stone it’s the new name that we are given. Remember Simon became Peter, Saul became Paul, James and John became the Sons of Thunder. Joseph became Barnabas. Wonder what your new name will be? And remember that the transformation begins here, the process of change has to start on earth.
Then there is THE IMPLICATION and that is that everyone who is not victorious will not eat on the things of heaven and will not receive a new name. And that is a sobering thought isn’t it? How do you become victorious? By walking daily with Jesus and keeping short accounts.
Hope you enjoyed this message. PowerPoint may be available contact me at denn@bccnet.ca
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