Revelation

Pergamos - The Compromising Church

Pergamos

The Compromising church, lacking discipline of doctrine.

What is doctrine anyway?  We hear that word tossed about and often don't stop to consider what effect it has on us.  Your doctrine is the set of beliefs you live by, or at least attempt to live by.  If you are a Christian, your beliefs ought to be derived from the scriptures first and foremost.  For things that are not spoken of in scripture, or matters of conscience, you defer to prayer and the Holy Spirit.

 

Examples:

The rapture is a doctrine that we'll deal with soon.  It is one debated in Christianity to the point of causing division.  I believe the scripture is clear on the rapture.  There is consistent call for us to live lives as though the Lord might come back any time.  If the Lord can only come back after other things happen, then He can't return 'any' time, but only a prescribed time.  This is the doctrine of imminency that supports the doctrine of the rapture.

We could talk of the doctrine of sin, salvation, sanctification, glorification, baptism, eschatology and on and on. 

 

Pergamos

The 3rd letter that Jesus dictates to John is written to the church in the city of Pergamos (NIV-Pergamum), another ancient Greek city.  Pergamos was known to some as the city of the serpent.  The city was nearly straight north of Smyrna, probably about 60-mile journey up the coast and then inland about 17 miles along the Caicus River Valley.  It was located on a hill rising 1000 feet above the valley floor.  The Acropolis there was visible from a long way off, it was only accessible from the southern slope.  Pergamos was a fortress setting, its buildings were built on terraces.  It was considered one of the most beautiful cities during the Hellenistic period (323_BC to 31_BC).  

When John wrote this letter, the city of Pergamos had been the capital city of the region for more than 300 years.   It was noted center for culture and education.  In manufacturing and trade, it was famous for the paper or parchment it invented.  The paper itself being called pergamena.  This city had one of the great libraries of the ancient world, with more than 200,000 volumes.  Legend has it that Mark Antony gave Cleopatra all of the 200,000 volumes of the Pergamum library as a wedding present.  Cleopatra had the 200,000 volumes moved to the Library at Alexandria.  This move emptied the shelves of the great library, emptying it of any cultural prominence.  It became only a note in history.

While the sea was 17-18 mile away, Pergamos still had ready access to the port and played a prominent, influential role on the Aegean sea.  They controlled the port, trade and military access through that area. 

The legend of Pergamum's founding claims the city's founder was a boy named Telephus.  He was supposedly put into a chest with his mother and floated across the open sea to the mouth of the Caicus River.  The myth says Heracles, a divine hero and son of Zeus, and Athena, a Greek goddess of wisdom born of Zeus, provided for Telephus.  The child went on to become the king of Mysia. 

Pergamos was an extremely religious city.  The city rivaled Ephesus in worshipping idols. The city had temples dedicated to the Greek Gods Athena, Zeus, Dionysius, Asclepius, Hera, Demeter and Persephone as well as Egyptian gods Serapis, Isis and Harpocrates.  The city was marked with statues, altars, and sacred groves.  The temple of Athena was probably the most prominent religious site for the city.  The temple of Zeus was the most visible from a distance.  The temple of Dionysius was there among the others near the theater.   It also had three temples dedicated to the worship of the Roman Emperor.  The honor of building a temple to the emperor was awarded to a city by the emperor himself.  This was no small thing at the time.

Later, Pergamos was better known for the temple of Asclepios.  Asclepios was the god of healing and medicine.   Within this temple was a medical school.  Because of this famous temple to the god of healing, sick and diseased people from all over the Roman Empire flocked to Pergamos for relief.  It was like the Mayo Clinic of its time.  Sufferers came to the temple.  They offered a gift to Asclepius in return for healing.  In some areas they also made an offering of life size clay figures pertaining to what ailed them.  They were then allowed to spend the night in the darkness of the temple.  In the temple there were tame snakes.  In the night the sufferer might be touched by one of these tame and harmless snakes as it glided over the ground on which he lay.  The touch of the snake was held to be the touch of the god himself, and the touch was thought to have brought health and healing."  You can imagine this temple, full of clay body parts; hands, arms, legs, feet, noses, eyes, hearts liver, etc.  People were lying around the floor of this dark temple, hoping to be touched by a snake, hoping to get well. 

Probably the most amazing part of this is that this was the beginning of modern medicine.  Asclepius is represented by a serpent entwined around a staff.  If you go to the website of the American Medical Association today you will find the very same symbol, a serpent entwined around a staff.  The original Hippocratic Oath that was sworn by physicians was originally sworn before a group of false gods, one of which was Asclepius.

HALUK COMERTEL; CC BY 3.0  Wikepedia

Pergamon was also known as the seat of Satan.  Once source said that the name Pergamum means 'mixed marriage'.   Among other claims of its meaning, this one certainly fit the church that tried to be married to the world and the Lord at the same time.

It's fascinating that the culture and ways of this ancient city was having an effect on the world., even to the point of affecting our life today.  The lives of these people were governed by their beliefs in these false gods.  Right in the middle of all that we find the church.

 

Revelation 2:12

Once again, the letter is addressed to the messenger or angel of the church.  That messenger may have been a heavenly being, but is more likely the pastor who was called to lead that church.  He was brought a message and he was charged to bring that same word to the church, to the people.

To this church, Jesus identified himself as the one who has the sharp two-edged sword.  This is from John's vision of Jesus in the first chapter of the Son of Man who was among the lampstands, holding the seven stars and out of His mouth came this sharp two-edged sword.  It was a 'distomos rhomphaia'; a long, heavy sword, made to send a message or inflict maximum damage.  It was a sword that divides and searches the intents of the heart.  This is the word of God, a word that word penetrates.  To one it is the word of salvation, to another the word of judgment.  To the one yielded to Him, it brings hope; to His enemies it shows condemnation and judgment.  He is the living, eternal Word of truth. 

"Listen, O coastlands, to Me,

And take heed, you peoples from afar!

The Lord has called Me from the womb;

From the matrix of My mother He has made mention of My name.

²And He has made My mouth like a sharp sword; (Is 49:1-2)

 

Jesus brings his two-edged sword to bear on those of Pergamos.

 

Revelation 2:13

Jesus reminded all the churches that He knows their words.  This is a good reminder to any church today.  The Lord not only knew their works but He knew where they lived.  They lived in the city of Satan's throne.  There are a few different viewpoints about what is meant by Satan's throne.  The most prominent thought seems to be that the huge throne-like altar dedicated to the Zeus.   Others believed the 'throne of Satan' may be more of a general term because of all the false gods.  Whether it was a reference to the temple of Zeus or the cities penchant for idols, we know the Lord states Satan's throne is in the vicinity of where this church dwells.

The Lord notes that they held fast to His name in spite of living in the vicinity of the throne of Satan.  I don't think we can really understand the pear pressure and cultural pressure brought on these folks.  Although, I believe we will come to know it soon.  The people of that time accepted all these gods and goddesses.  However, to receive Christ and walk with Him is to forsake all others.  That made them the enemy of all other gods.  None of the other gods or goddesses made an exclusive claim.  They were just little gods among a bunch of little gods.  Yet, when the king of Kings steps forward, they despise Him and His followers. 

To hold to the faith and not deny His name would call for daily, hourly and even minute by minute commitment and diligence.  This would be even more true when they began to see people die.  Such was the case with Antipas who Jesus calls "My faithful martyr".  He died right there among them and in the midst of Satan's throne. 

Among the temples in Pergamos, there was a temple to Isis or Serapis, an Egyptian god.  This was the temple where Saint Antipas was martyred.  It is believed Antipas was the first bishop of the church of Pergamos, believed to be ordained by John the Apostle.  Legend has it that there was a clash between Serapis worshipers and Christians.  An angry mob seized Antipas and burned him alive inside a Brazen Bull incense burner that represented one of the false gods. 

Antipas was one of the unsung heroes of the bible.  He is mentioned by name by the Lord.  In spite of all the pagan worship, idol worship that was happening in this city, many at the church were like Antipas, they didn't deny the faith.

Right in the middle of a stronghold of Satan these people held fast.

 

Revelation 2:14

The faith and commitment however don't offset the bad.  There were those in the church that held to the doctrine of Balaam.  The story of Balaam goes all the way back to Numbers 22-24, 31.  Balaam was Prophet from Pethor, a place far to the north.  The Israelites were camped on the plains of Moab and Balak, king of Moab feared them and their God.  He wanted Balaam to come to Moab and curse them.  At first God wouldn't let him go, even though Balak offered a lot of money.  After several offers Balaam went and the Lord used a talking donkey to correct him.  The Lord had said he could go if men came to him, but Balaam went on his own, not waiting for the men to call.  God wouldn't allow him to curse the Israelites.   Balaam taught Balak another way.  He taught them to put a stumbling block before the children of Israel.  He got them to eat unclean things and commit sexual immorality.

25 Now Israel remained in Acacia Grove, and the people began to commit harlotry with the women of Moab. ² They invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and bowed down to their gods. ³ So Israel was joined to Baal of Peor, and the anger of the Lord was aroused against Israel. (Numbers 25:1-3)

¹⁶ Look, these women caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to trespass against the Lord in the incident of Peor, and there was a plague among the congregation of the Lord. (Numbers 31:16)

 

The doctrine of Balaam was a facade of religiosity.  It was to pretend to abide by God's direction but in reality, find another way, a way around, a way to compromise.  It was to give the appearance of a follower of God but their actions looked otherwise.  To look at their life and find idol worship and sexual immorality was to look more like the culture around them, a way of life in the Roman Empire.  It was the absence of God's moral and ethical boundaries, the absence of shame.  In the Roman Empire and this age, in cities such as Pergamos, these were cultural activities people were expected to partake in. 

We find ourselves in similar times.  Where if you don't, in essence, repeat the narrative today, you are labeled and marked as a racist and bigot among other things.  Our culture is in the business of cancelling any person, business or idea that doesn't agree with the narrative.  The 'Woke' in our culture are not known for their thinking, of love or consideration of others.  They play to a narrative fed to them and are full of hatred and selfishness.  They want to cancel religion, history and the lessons of the ages for a 'woke' culture.   These are the cultural activities of our day that are very much like Pergamos.

Our culture is masterful at placing a stumbling block before believers.  There are so many temptations coming from so many directions.  These are more wicked and more commonplace now than they have ever been.  The boundaries of decency have been not just pushed back but pushed over the edge.  Our culture demands that no one has the right to hold to a moral or ethical maxim as if it were the sole truth.  A liberal mindset that once believed there was room for many ideas and ways, now says you can believe anything as long as it's the same as them!  This is to be so compromised as to make the compromise the doctrines of their life.

The doctrine of Balaam was a belief that compromise was acceptable and could be a normal part of life.  It's knowing what the Lord expects but accepting just a little disobedience, as if a little sin, a little wickedness, a little compromise is acceptable.

I should say a little about meat sacrificed to idols.  Most of the temples up and down the main streets required sacrifices and offerings.  An animal might be brought to the temple in the afternoon and slaughtered as a sacrifice.  It might be hanging on a hook next door at the meat market an hour later.  It would be someone's supper by that evening.  For the Jews, under the law of God, this was an offense and a violation of the purity the Lord called them to.  Later, in the church age Paul dealt with this:

⁴ Therefore concerning the eating of things offered to idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is no other God but one. (1 Corinthians 8:4)

⁷ However, there is not in everyone that knowledge.  (1 Corinthians 8:7)

Paul went on to tell the Corinthians and us that we might have to abstain from that meat if it causes those who are weak to stumble.  To you it is just meat, but to them it is compromise; eating meat sacrificed to idols.  To wound their weak conscience is our sin against Christ.  If eating that meat could stumble a brother, Paul said he would never again eat meat. 

 

¹² All things are lawful for me, but all things are not helpful. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any. (1 Corinthians 6:12)

The sexual immorality in question and Pergamon was likely related to idol worship also.  Idolatry and immorality seem to go hand in hand throughout the bible.  To be led to idolatry inevitable leads to immoral acts.  The nature of the idols is revealed by their forms of worship that cater to the flesh, emotions, feelings.

¹⁵ Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a harlot? Certainly not! (1 Corinthians 6:15)

The temptation of false doctrine can seem right and profitable, particularly in difficult circumstances.  This is particularly true if you don't have a strong Christian doctrine.  Doctrine is Important.

 

Revelation 2:15

It is clear that the church of Pergamos held some sound doctrine.  They held fast to the name of Jesus, even in persecution.  However, they were compromised in at least the one area, likened to that of Balaam.  Many see the doctrine of the Nicolaitans as very similar, if not the same as the doctrine of Balaam.  This is the second thing the Lord had against them.  They held to the doctrine of the Nicolaitans. 

If you remember, the Nicolaitans were mentioned in the letter to the church of Ephesus.  They were noted as hating them as the Lord did.  Here, because of this area of compromise, this weak and broken place in their Christian foundation, they accepted the doctrine of the Nicolaitans.  They may not have even known what that was.  Many may have had to ask for an explanation.  They may not have even realized their compromise (remember, they didn't have a bible to take home and study). 

There are several theories about the source of this doctrine.  One idea was they were a sect associated with Nicolaus who was one of the seven original deacons at the church in Jerusalem.  There is some thought that he taught Christians could engage in immoral behavior and impurity.  His argument may well have been, we are not under the law.  The law of grace reminds us we are bought and paid for by the blood of Christ and would not engage in things that would shame Him or stumble others.  Regardless of the source of the doctrine of Nicolaitans, the nature of it seems to be agreed upon.  It was the compromise to immoral behavior and impurity.

 

Revelation 2:16

There were two things the Lord brought to their attention that He was against.  The remedy is repentance.  This is to agree with the Lord and turn around.  They were to abandon these doctrines, agreeing they were weak places sin their Christian foundation.  To repair a foundation, you remove the weak and compromised blocks or bricks, you improve the soil for stability and then replace the damaged structures with those consistent with the rest of the foundation.  In the end, you can't tell there was ever a repair made.  It all fits together. 

Failure to repent is to invite the Lord to come quickly bearing the sword of His mouth.  This would be a short fight.  That is the effect of the side of the sharp two-edged sword bringing judgment.  There is a time for repentance and correction, there is grace and then when it comes, it comes swiftly and decisively.  These are serious words coming from the High priest but also the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.  Repent, or I'm coming, and you won't like what I have to say. 

This is serious business.  And it should be viewed and dealt with as serious business.  Church is serious business, dealing with eternal things.  Many churches seem to have turned into 'feel good about yourself' therapy or entertainment centers.  We live in an age where tolerance is yielded like a weapon.  The accusation of intolerance is assigned to anyone that doesn't agree with me and what I hold fast to.  However, the tolerant crowed is not tolerant with those who don't agree with them.  It seems they are pretty intolerant themselves. 

Tolerance is not accepting every errant, odd and perverse sin as normal.  Tolerance is accepting that you have that free choice in your life to hold to strange doctrines and live twisted and perverse lives.  Tolerance is the ability to acknowledge each other in a civil fashion, to agree to disagree; even to have a civil discussion on why we disagree.  Tolerance to sit at a coffee shop with the most lost and wicked person you know and speak Jesus into their life; and then to listen to them reject Jesus.  Then, pay the bill, wish them well and offer to buy them a cup of coffee tomorrow or next week.   Some in our culture and indoctrinated an entire generation to believe they must have a safe space from those who disagree with them.  Or, they must destroy them, cancel them in any way possible.  It doesn't seem very tolerant.

The church could not continue as a lamp, holding up the light of Jesus Christ to the world if they were compromised by these doctrines. 

 

Revelation 2:17

The message is universal, to the church across all time, geographical and cultural boundaries. The Spirit was speaking to the church and still is today.  What is the Spirit speaking of in regards to this church? 

1. Hold fast to Jesus' name.  Even when living near Satan's throne, a place where evil is the rule of the day, where persecution and martyrdom are normal, hold fast.  It is not just possible it is crucial to our survival in the times in which we live. 
   1. To hold fast to the name of Jesus is to hold fast to all His ways.  Without compromise!
   2. Sometimes minute by minute, forsaking all else°no matter the cost.
   3. Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." (Acts 4:12)
2. Doctrine matters.  It is foundation upon which all else is supported.
   1. Most of our doctrines aren't thought through and adopted on the basis of their value and legitimacy.  We often inherit them from family, traditions, cultures and a response to the circumstances of life.
      1. The church at Pergamos didn't vote to adopt a doctrine of Balaam.  They simply remained quiet, offered no wisdom against it and watched more people adopt what the culture accepted as normal.
      2. We find normal all around us, that was considered aberrant, perverse and unacceptable just a few years ago. 
   2. By this we know that we are in Him. ⁶ He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked. (1 John 2:6)
3. Yield the Sword on your own life.  It is better to hold the sword of God's word and have it fight for us, than to bring it upon our life by His hand in judgment.
   1. Every life is subject to the Word of God!
   2. ⁹ Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, ¹⁰ that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, ¹¹ and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:9-11)
   3. By the word of the Lord the heavens were made. (Psalm 33:6)
   4. Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. (Revelation 19:15)

 

Overcomers

 This church had to overcome its weakness.  They had not maintained their purity.  They needed to clean things up.  To those who overcome this compromise to false teaching and immorality Jesus will give some hidden manna.  This manna is the bread of heaven, one ancient writer called it angel's food.  It's the provision of God. 

In addition, Jesus will then give the overcomer a white stone on which a new name is written.  This is a personal name.  It's God's name for you and no one knows it but you.  When we overcome the world we will be completed as a new person in Christ, with a new glorified body and a new name.

Giving someone a white stone had many different uses in that culture.  A white stone could be a ticket to a banquet, a sign of friendship, evidence of having been counted, or as a sign of acquittal in a court of law.  The conquerors in the public games were celebrated in great ways.  Among all the pomp and celebration, they were given a white stone.  The stone had their name on it.  This was like a lifetime ticket of admission to anything in the city.  Even if you weren't invited to the party you could pull out your white stone and you were in. 

The idea of receiving a white stone probably had great meaning to these folks.  Because they were Christians, because they were set apart from the culture and viewed as different, they would most likely never receive a white stone.  The Lord offers them a greater white stone than any Greek or Roman culture could offer.  It was the assurance of His blessing – free and inhibited access to the manifold grace of God. 

There's a white stone with your name on it.  There is a manna for you.  These things can't be enjoyed by the world or running in the world.  They are only for those who overcome.

©2021 Doug Ford