Shalom and all:
DON'T BE DECEIVED -
LEARNING FROM THE CHURCH AT PERGAMUM
Review:
We have visited two cities of Asia Minor, the core of the early Christian church:
In Ephesus we learned that we must maintain our love relationship with our Lord:
Remember, Repent, Do the first works (works of love) over again
In Smyrna we learned that we should carry no fear of the things which beset us.
Fear Not says Jesus, I am the First and the Last; all things are completed in Me.
This brings us to our third destination, the Church at Pergamum.
The Church at Pergamum and the Third Church Age
We have come through the first two periods of the history of the Church, The Apostolic Church, from Pentecost to 100 A.D., and the Martyr Church from 100 to 314 AD. The next church period is the Period of Deception. It is what Vernon McGee called Paganism Unlimited. It is at this time that the world enters into the Church.and the Church began to move away from the person of Christ. Although written to the local church at Pergamum, it could very easily be written to the time in which we live.
It is amazing how similar the New Testament world is to ours. When John wrote down Jesus' message to the seven churches, the Roman world was in the midst of a sort of New Age Movement. Cults from the East, from Egypt, from the hills beyond Pergamum, were sweeping through the Mediterranean world. People were spiritually hungry, but not spiritually disciplined. Many of these cults involved sexual rites. Some promoted excessive use of wine or drugs. The traditional gods of Rome were given lip service, but little else. I touched on this earlier in mentioning the Temple of Diana at Ephesus. Do you see any similarities between that temple of Diana and HBO or Rock Videos? Does any of this sound familiar? Nowadays our God is the traditional one. People pay lip service, but observe other priorities in their daily lives. They are spiritually hungry, but they ignore the true Source of life. Instead they dabble in astrology, spiritualism, eastern philosophies, or worship the god of pleasure, money, and power. What is more, many of these people simultaneously continue their membership in a Christian denomination. These denominations, when led by those who have parted company with Christ teach falsity under the banner of Christianity. This lesson should be a lesson to shake you into an awareness of what is occuring today.
The Geography of Pergamum
About 70 miles north of Smyrna (the present city of Izmir) was the city of Pergamum. As with Ephesus and Smyrna, Pergamum also was a royal city during the Roman period. It was a great religious center.and the capital of the kingdom or province of Pergamum. The acropolis still stands there, and the ruins of the great temples. Pliny labeled it the most illustriuous city of Asia (then called Mysia). There was a temple built here to Caesar Augustus. There were healing spas. It was not on the trade routes, nor was it a coastal city. It was built as a fortress city, to protect the hinterland from attack from the North. Therefore, it was built on top of a mountain. The mountain was between two rivers which flowed into the Caicus River, and completely surrounded this mountain. The rivers formed a natural moat or barrier. Once crossed, the enemy then had to scale the mountain slopes to reach the walls of the city. Besides great temples, the city also housed the most important library of the pagan world. It was from this library that the city got it's name, for Pergamum refers to the "Pergamina" or parchment that was used to write on. Mark Antony gave this great library to his girl friend, Cleopatra. She lugged it off to Alexandria in Egypt, and that library eventually burned, destroying the great store of knowledge in the ancient world, including the great Ptolemy map showing that the world was ROUND. Lost were the great works of the greeks. Books on mathematics, astronomy, and philosphy. It was all stored here at this library in Pergamum, then later sent to Alexandria where it burned. The library would have been destroyed here if it stayed, as this city was overrun and destroyed. So,LEARNING does not guarantee an understanding of TRUTH. The Pergamites were well-read people, but lacked true spiritual truth.
The Message to Pergamum
And to the angel of the church of Pergamos write; These things saith He which hath the sharp sword with two edges (Rev 2:12)
The sharp sword with two edges refers to the Word of God. The Word of God has the answer to man's need and man's sin, which in Pergamum was false religion. It was a city that emphasized religion, and the only way it could be reached would be by the Word of God that penetrates the heart of man.
I know thy works, (error in KJ ver. again) and where thou dwellest, even where Satan's seat is: and thou holdest fast my name, and hast not denied my faith, even in those days wherein Antipas was my faithful martyr, who was slain among you, where Satan dwelleth (Rev 2:13)
The Lord commends this church for three things:
(1) "Where thou dwellest": The Lord commends this church for living in this place, Satan's seat He calls it. Satan's headquarters are here, he says. This corrects a common misconception. Satan isn't in Hell yet. Hell is not yet ready for him. At the present time, Satan is loose and is the prince of this world, controlling kingdoms and going up and down the earth as a roaring lion; hunting for whom he may devour (1 Peter 5:8). But he apparently has a headquarters, and Christ said they were in Pergamum at that time. I don't know if it is still there. I would guess that he has moved it a few times since that time. Today, I would put it in Tehran, Iran, if I were to guess where it is. But, it could be much closer than that, as we look at all the cults, isms, and scisms around us here in the United States today. In that day, the city of Pergamum contained may temples, temples to Athena, Caesar Augustus, and Hadrian. There is a great altar to Zeus with an idol on it near the palace of the king. There is the temple of Dionysos (Bacchus) the god of wine. This is where we get our modern image of Satan, for this was the goat god. He had cloven feet, a tail, and horns. Then there is the god of Asklepios, a serpent. This was the hospital of the day, hence the symbol of the physician. Remember, this healing place was in Satan's headquarters. Not all healing is from above. It was a round building with passageways underground where voices would echo "you are feeling better", etc. They used psychological as well as medicinal healings.
(2) "Thou holdest fast my name"
They were faithful in their defense of the deity of Christ. This church age produced may heresies, but also great giants of faith. The Arian heresy denied the deity of Christ. Athanasius from North Africa was the great defender of the faith and because of him the Council of Nicea in AD 325 condemned Arianism (the Nicean creed). Another was the Pelagian heresy which denied original sin and the total corruption of human nature, denying grace. It was Saint Augustine who opposed this heresy.
(3) "And hast not denied my faith"
This refers to the body of true doctrine which is believed by Christians. "Even in those days wherein Antipas was my faithful martyr". Antipas was a martyr about whom we know nothing at all. He apparently was the first one at Pergamum, and there was a great number that followed him.
So far, Christ has had only words of commendation, but now He condemns two things that were in that church:
But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication.
So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate (Rev 2:14,15)
The doctrine of Balaam (Numbers 22-25) is different from the error of Balaam (Jude 11), which revealed that Balaam thought that God would curse Israel, and different from the Way of Balaam (2 Pet 2:15) which was covetousness. In the doctrine of Balaam, he taught Balac the way to corrupt Israel by intermarriage with the Moabite women, for the Nation of Israel was too strong to resist militarily. This introduced into the Nation of Israel both idolatry and fornication. The reference to food sacrificed to idols is unlike the teaching of Paul on this. Here, the pagan feasts were apparently drawing the Christians into association with the unsaved. This was one of the ways that the church was being corrupted. During the historical period which the church at Pergamum represents, the unconverted world came into the church as well as the church participating in the cults of the world.
We know less about the doctrine of the Nicolaitans. You recall that the Ephesians did not abide it. Here, this church allows it to occur. It may have been a gnostic cult of Nicolaus which advocated license in matters of Christian conduct and return to religious rituals by clergy, ignoring the priesthood of all believers. Christ says that he HATES it. Was this the beginnings of the separation of priesthood from the body of believers? Begging the pardon of Catholics among us, can you see similarities between the Roman Catholic priesthood and the Jewish tradition? How was this transfer made? Was it through this false teaching of the Nicolaitans, borrowing from their Jewish heritage of a priesthood that we developed that priesthood tradition? According to God's Word, we are all a priestly people.
Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth (Rev 2:1 Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth (Rev 2:16)
The only cure was to repent. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). The true church must decide what is right and what is wrong based upon the Word of God, i.e. that two-edged sword. The sword of His mouth speaks judgement against the sins of this church.
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 (Rev 2:17)
To him who overcometh is the definition of a true Christian. We overcome by the blood of the Lamb. Christ won the victory, not ourselves. Hidden manna speaks of the person of Christ and refers to the Passover manna. The middle matzo is taken out and held up for all to see. It then is broken and a part is hidden. Later in the seder, the children find the hidden matzo and receive a gift. The meaning here is exciting. Jesus was held up before men on the cross and broken for us. Then Christ after his resurrection was taken and hidden from us. We will find Him again at the second coming and all in Christ will receive their reward at that time at the judgement seat of Christ. Isn't it amazing that such an old custom as the seder at Passover should contain such a rich meaning to us today. Jesus is the bread of God which comes down from heaven and gives life unto the world. Whosoever eats of this bread will never hunger. We need to feed on Christ for spiritual growth.
I will give him a white stone: It was the custom in Asia Minor to give to an intimate friend a cube or rectangular block of stone or white ivory, with words or symbols engraved on it. It was a secret, private possession of the one who received it. We will receive such a white stone with the Lords personal and intimate name to each one of us. Isn't that an awesome thing to contemplate?
Learning from the Church at Pergamum:
How can false teachings act as a wet blanket on your spiritual fire?
If we tolerate false teaching, this will keep us from "offending" others with the idea that Jesus is the only way to heaven; by living a second rate spiritual life through admiring the exploits of Christian celebrities, i.e vicarious Christianity, we fail to defend Gods true message. We oppose falsehood through Gods Word. We must recognize that there is a danger in associating with the ungodly. We can be seduced by the world if we are not on our guard. And we can be led astray by leaders within the denominational church.
The Parable of the Mustard Seed and the Church of Pergamum
The small mustard seed grows into a large bush, as large as a tree. Then notice what happens. The birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof. Birds in scripture usually refer to evil. Jesus is saying that as the church tree grows, evil lodges in it's branches. False teachings find a place to perch. Men use the power of the church to insinuate themselves into positions of power. Money is made selling favors of God. Evil within the church soon breaks out as persecution against the Jewish brothers. Anti-semitism rears it's ugly head. It is still there today, lurking in the shadows. If you don't believe it, read the book by John Loftus called "The Secret War Against the Jews", or his earlier book "The Unholy Trinity" (I believe that is the title).
Yes, there were those in our government, in the Catholic Church, and in respected corporations who aided and abetted the escape of Nazis from Germany, along with their money, but failed to defend Jews during the Holocaust. But this is a story for another occasion.
Shalom,
Lee |
