In the last few
months there has been a focused emphasis on the end times. How do we know that
we are living in the last days; close to the return of Christ? One way to know
is by reading the signs, one of such signs is the increase of false prophets
and their teachings. Hasn’t Christ warned the disciples when they asked, “Tell us,” “when will this happen, and what will be the
sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” 4 Jesus answered: “Watch out
that no one deceives you. 5 For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the
Messiah,’ and will deceive many.” (Matthew 24:3-5).
Isn’t this happening right in front of our
eyes? A.J Miller leader of ‘The Devine Truth’ claims to be Jesus Christ
re-incarnated. He also claims, his partner, Mary Suzanne Luck, is Mary
Magdeline re-incarnated. ‘I am Jesus deal with it’ claims A.J. Miller.
Literally hundreds of people are being
deceived by this false messiah. Families are being torn apart; marriages are in
a mess because simply these people do not read their Bibles to understand what
it says about false messiahs. I do not want any of us to be in ignorance, that’s
why I started to talk about the seven letters to the seven churches in the book
of Revelation. Today we will read about the letter written to the church in
Pergamum. When it comes to letters; we all receive letters of all kinds. Some
are depressing, threatening; and some are simply a nuisance. We don’t even open
such letters. But some are very special; especially if they come from someone
who loves you the most.
In 1994 I received several love letters from my very special friend Wilma and would be bride at that
time. I read it over and over again. Similarly; though the whole Bible is God’s
love letter to us, more specifically Christ wrote seven letters to his would be
bride the Church; I wonder how many of us read them? Here is one of those
letters Rev 2:12-17
Background of Pergamum:
About seventy miles north of Smyrna and
fifteen miles inland lay the magnificent city of Pergamum. This became an
important city in the third century B.C when the successors of Alexander the
Great turned into a major military force. The city also became the leading
religious center of Asia. The city was filled with temples, altars and shrines
that were dedicated to Zeus (savior-god), Athena (goddess of victory and patron
of the city)Dionysus (another patron god of the dynasty) and Asklepios (god of
healing, symbolized by a serpent)
The emperor worship was prominent in
this city, a temple was dedicated to the divine Augustus and the goddess of
Roma which later on posed a great threat to Christianity. Once a year all
citizens had to burn incense and repeat the phrase, “Caesar is Lord.” Refusal
to do so was considered treason and was punishable by death. Let’s get into the
letter.
I.
THE SHARP
DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD
Vs 12 “These
are the words of him who has the sharp, double-edged sword.”
In those days the sharp double edged sword was a symbol of Roman
justice and power. This symbol was drawn from Isaiah 11:4 “He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth; with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked.”
Christ being portrayed as the one who has the sharp, double edged sword early
in the message is to encourage the persecuted believers.
In the end it is not the Romans who will prevail but Christ, who
will judge the world in righteousness and with authority. It is the exalted
Christ not the Roman officials, who is the true judge. Paul writing to Hebrews
brings out this concept that the word of God is indeed sharper than the double
edged sword. Hebrews 4:12, “For the
word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it
penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the
thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” There are several scriptures that
emphasize the power of the written and spoken word of God: Here are a few:
Jesus
overcame temptation in the wilderness by simply quoting the written word in all
its accuracy. Matthew 4 “Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” Eph 6:17. We have a classical scripture on how the
believers in the end times will become victorious and triumph over their arch
enemy Satan, Rev 12:11 “They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and
by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink
from death.”
So dear
friends in the end times God gave us a much sharper and most powerful weapon
the “Word of God” to stay committed during persecution, expose and deal with
false prophets; and to stand against every man made philosophies and Godless
ideologies. Let’s believe it, know it; study it; meditate on it, apply it;
practice it and even more so wield it against the evil one. In times of trouble
and testing it is God’s written and spoken word comes to our rescue. Jesus not
only has the sharp double edged sword but He also knows everything about us.
II.
ALL KNOWING GOD (Vs13)
Vs 13, “I know where you live, where Satan has his throne…”this
phrase “I know” is mentioned in all seven letters. Ch 2:2, “I know your deeds,
2:9, “I know your tribulation” 2:13, I know where you dwell 2:19, I know your
deeds; 3: 1, I Know your deeds; 3:18 I know your deeds; 3:15, “I know your
deeds.” One of the natural attributes of God is that he is “All Knowing.”
What
did Christ know about these seven Churches? Three things: the pagan world in
which they were living, their faithful witness and their endurance under
persecution. In the same way God knows who we are; what we are going through;
where we live and how we are bearing witness for Christ’s sake. This revelation
of God knowing everything about us must give us confidence knowing that God
knows and understands our situation as well as give us the fear of God.
Therefore I can’t hide anything from him; I can’t pretend or fake it because he
knows all my secrets; sins; failures as well as victories.
Jesus commended them for a few things
that were going right for the believers in Pergamum. Though they were living in
a city where “Satan has his throne” Satan’s throne has possible reference to
the various temples in the city. Some think that Jesus was making a particular
reference to imperial worship. The idol worship and the emperor worship did not
deter the commitment of the believers they remained firm in their resolve to
worship God alone. They remained true to God’s name. In spite of severe
persecution they did not renounce their faith in Christ. They were faithful in
their witness even unto death. One such examples we see in “Antipas” who was martyred
for his faith and Christ calls him “my
faithful witness.”
Could Christ count on us that we too would stand up for His
name’s sake and be a faithful witness even it means that we become martyrs for
our faith? Though several good things were going in their direction Christ found
a few things against them that they harbored people who were holding to false
teachings and they never took action against them
III.
BE AWARE OF FALSE PROPHETS: Vs 14-15
Vs 14 “Nevertheless, I have a few things against you: There are
some among you who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice
the Israelites to sin so that they ate food sacrificed to idols and committed
sexual immorality. 15 Likewise, you also have those who hold to the teaching of
the Nicolaitans.”
While the Ephesian church was commended for identifying and
opposing the Nicolaitans heresy, the church at Pergamum tolerated it and so had
to be confronted for their weakness. What is the Nicolaitans heresy? Though
nothing was explicitly mentioned being the heresy of Nicolaitans they were
equaled with the false prophet “Balaam” in the OT.
Who was Balaam? We read
about him in Numbers 22-24 chapters. Balaam though he was a diviner recognized
the LORD as real, perhaps as only one of a number of gods. At first Balaam
obeyed God’s refusal to let him come but later, in light of the abundance of
gifts offered by Moab and Midian, decided to come. He continually refused to
curse Israel because of his fear of the Lord, but instead pronounced blessings
upon them. However in the end he gave evil counsel to Balak, pointing out how
he could lead them into sexual immorality and Idolatry. As a result Balaam suffered a most
dishonorable death as a warning to future generations. In fact two N.T writers
inform us that Balaam was an example of one who would do wrong for personal
gain.( II Peter 2:15, Jude 11) John said that Balaam was an example of one who
taught others how to sin (Rev 2:14)
What does this have to do with us in the 21st century?
Let’s beware of Balaams among us. When we do come across anyone who for their
personal gain teach others to sin; we must not tolerate such people. They drag
everyone else down through their false teachings if we let them. Christ warned
the believers against false teachers and also announced rewards to the repentant.
WHAT
IS THE MESSAGE FOR US TODAY?
The church at Pergamum can be compared to the church today in the
midst of the pressures of the secular world, though we have nothing in the
western world comparable to the imperial cult or idolatry like many other
nations in the world. We do however have a secular society that places a great
deal of pressure on Christians to compromise and to conform (I Pet 4:3-4),
Romans 12: 1-2. And a syncretism similar to that faced by the Christians in
Pergamum is taking over Christianity with its rampant materialism.
Polls have shown that while evangelicalism is at an all-time high
in popularity, it has seldom had less effect on society, and on the whole it is
hard to tell the Christians from the non-Christians by their lifestyle and
attitudes. Moreover we have even more false teachers in the church today (Most
of the cults have originated in church settings) and this is a worldwide
problem.
Therefore, like Pergamum, most of us live in Satan’s realm and
face great pressure that weakens our faith and our walk with Christ. All too often we are guilty of watering down
our Christian theology in the name of tolerance and political correctness. We are
not only to beware of false prophets and when we do find them we need to deal
with them appropriately. And also must develop teachers and preachers who make
theological truth exciting and relevant. Amen
