Havasu Christian Church
January 28, 2004
Revelation 2:12-17
“The letter to Pergamum”
INTRO: Jesus speaks to the third church in this group. The church at Pergamum.
Pergamum was the capitol city of the region. It was a beautiful city, but it was full of pagan temples.
It might have been a pleasant place to live, but it was a bad place to be a Christian.
Revelation 2:12–17 “And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write:
The One who has the sharp two-edged sword says this:
13 ‘I know where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is; and you hold fast My name, and did not deny My faith even in the days of Antipas, My witness, My faithful one, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells.
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.
15 ‘So you also have some who in the same way hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans.
16 ‘Therefore repent; or else I am coming to you quickly, and I will make war against them with the sword of My mouth.
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.’
- How does Jesus describe Himself to them?
- The One with the two-edged sword.
- We saw Jesus in the description of Him among the lampstands with a two-edged sword coming out of His mouth.
- It sounded kind of strange.
- Who spits a sword out of their mouth?
- Is there some sort of meaning behind it?
Hebrews 4:12–13 For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.
- The Word of God coming out of Jesus’ mouth makes sense.
- Another possibility is the idea of the power of life and death.
- A Roman Governor might have “the right of the sword” (the power to kill you) or not.
- Perhaps this is a reminder that Jesus has ALL the power! Even over death!
- Rome may be powerful, but it’s nothing compared to the power of Jesus!
- I know where you live!
- Where Satan’s throne is…
- Figurative?
- Lots of altars, lots of worship of the Greek gods.
- A huge altar to Zeus was built in front of the temple of Athena which stood eight hundred feet up on Pergamum’s conical hill. Forty feet high, it stood on a projecting ledge of rock and looked exactly like a great throne on the hillside. All day it smoked with the smoke of sacrifices offered to Zeus. Around its base was carved one of the greatest achievements in the world of sculpture, the frieze which showed the battle of the giants, in which the gods of Greece were victorious over the giants of the barbarians. (Barnes)
- The worship of Asclepius was also very prominent. People came from all over, hoping to be healed.
- There were doctors, but there were also priests who claimed they could heal you.
- Perhaps Jesus refers to it this way since it was the capitol city in this area for Rome.
- They enforced the worship of the Emperor.
- Literal?
- Satan is a spirit being, he has no body.
- But he is not omnipresent, or omniscient. He is a created being.
- He can only be in one place at a time.
- He can only know what he sees or is told about.
- Perhaps Pergamum was where Satan literally chose to stay at that time.
- The Christians in Pergamum were doing some things right, but there were also some problems.
- The good
- They had held fast and were still holding fast to their faith.
- Even in the face of past persecution
- Even when Antipas was killed for his faith.
- According to the tradition of the Eastern Orthodox Church, Antipas was roasted alive in a hollow life-size bull, which had a bonfire under its belly, because Antipas refused to renounce his faith in Christ Jesus.
- They are still holding fast! No matter what comes!
- The bad
- Some of them “hold the teaching of Balaam” ???????
- We find his story in Numbers chapters 22-24
- Baalam is a prophet of God, but he is a flawed man. He’s greedy.
- He seems to be a “prophet for hire!”
- The Israelites are passing through and the King of the region wants him to curse them.
- Baalam says that he can only say what God tells him to say.
- In the night he prays to God and God tells him “Only speak the words I give you to speak.”
- The next day, his donkey saves his life 3 times.
- The donkey goes out into a field to avoid an Angel with a drawn sword. Baalam, who can’t see the Angel, beats on his donkey with a stick.
- The donkey smashes Baalam’s foot into the wall to avoid the Angel killing Baalam. Again, Baalam, who can’t see the Angel, beats on his donkey with a stick.
- Finally, when there’s no other way to get around the Angel, the donkey just lays down. Again, Baalam, who can’t see the Angel, beats on his donkey with a stick.
- God gives the Donkey the ability to speak. “What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?”
- Baalam is so upset that he just answers like he’s talking to a human.
Numbers 22:29 “Then Balaam said to the donkey, “Because you have made a mockery of me! If there had been a sword in my hand, I would have killed you by now.”
- Balaam gets the message after the donkey talks, and the Angel of the Lord makes Himself visible to Balaam and speaks to him..
- He will only say what God puts in his mouth to say.
- If that was all the story, things would be great!
- But apparently, Balaam gave Balak some advice….
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.
- Apparently, Balaam convinced Balak that he could save his people by intermingling them with the people of Israel.
“If you can’t beat them, join them.
- Apparently, there were those in the church in Pergamum who taught that it was perfectly fine to mix Christianity with these other religions in Pergamum.
- It seems that the Church was tolerating this teaching and living.
- The same thing was happening with the teachings of the Nicolaitans.
- The church was being “tolerant.”
- The threat and the promise
- The threat.
- repent; or else I am coming to you quickly, and I will make war against them with the sword of My mouth.
- If they don’t turn things around, the sword will not be symbolic!
- Jesus will be coming for them, and not in a good way!
- He’ll make war against them!
- The promise.
- 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 one who overcomes….
- If they turn things around, Jesus won’t go to war with them. Instead, things will be good.
- The “Hidden manna?”
- To the Jewish Christian in Pergamum, this might bring to mind a legend about the destruction of Solomon’s temple…
- The story was that Jeremiah had taken the Ark of the Covenant and made a run for it before the temple was destroyed.
- In the Ark was the stone tablets with the 10 commandments carved on them
- In the ark was Aaron’s rod that budded.
- In the ark was a pot of manna.
- It was believed by some that when the Messiah returned, so would the Ark and it’s contents. The “hidden manna” would return.
- This would put the Jewish Christian in mind of the return of Jesus.
- They would be reminded to be faithful and receive some of the “hidden manna.”
- To other believers, they might think about the fact that they were expected not to go to the feasts in honor of the various “gods” in Pergamum. This would really cramp their social life!
- But giving up the party now for the “manna” later was a really good trade!
- The “white stone?”
- Perhaps it’s like a “free pass” into an event.
- Pieces of wood or stone were used for that purpose in the Roman world.
- Perhaps it’s a token given to the winner of a race or game that was given to him to hold until he could receive his actual prize.
- My favorite idea concerns the Gladiators. On the rare occasion that one of them lived long enough to retire, they were given a white stone that had the letters SP on it. This stood for the word spectatus, which meant “someone who’s valor has been proved beyond question.”
- All three of these possibilities give the idea of a promise of a good future.
- Finally, there’s the “new name.”
- In the Old Testament, and even in the New Testament, people were renamed when a big change was made.
- Abram became Abraham
- Sari became Sarah
- Jacob became Israel
- Simon becomes Peter
- Saul becomes Paul
- Perhaps this is saying that with their change back to faithfulness, they will someday receive a new name to go with it!
What should I take home with me today?
What should we as a Church take from this?
‘He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
These promises and warnings are for us too!
- We can do well and do poorly, all at the same time.
- They were not willing to give in and give up their Lord Jesus. Not even in the face of persecution…
- Not even when living “where Satan’s throne was.”
- But they were willing to tolerate evil in their midst.
- We’ve got to be careful not to do the same.
- Personally
- And as a Church.
- When we sin, we need to repent!
- Not just treat it as if it’s nothing.
- When we truly repent, we can get back on track!
- There may still be consequences for what I’ve done wrong, but I’m forgiven.
- With that forgiveness comes the benefits of belonging to Jesus!
- Someday we’ll “eat the hidden manna” with Jesus and each other!
- Someday we’ll turn in our “white stone” for the prize that’s waiting.
- Someday we’ll get our new name!
