PERGAMOS
Ephesus had left its first love; Smyrna was severely persecuted. But both had held on to sound doctrine and kept false teachers at bay. Not so with Pergamos.
Pergamos was a major city about sixty miles north of Smyrna. It was a center for Roman emperor worship and Babylonian-Greek pagan mysteries. One of the seven wonders of the ancient world, the great altar of Zeus, was located there. It was also a center for intellectualism with its two hundred thousand volume library and a medical hub where the god of healing, Asclepius, was worshipped. The name Pergamos means 'mixed marriage'.
Verse 12
Little wonder then that Christ portrayed Himself as One having a sharp two-edged sword, which He intended to use to sever the unholy ties between truth and falsehood of the spiritual mixed marriage within the Pergamum church.
The Word of God is the sword of the Spirit, the truth with double edges, to teach us the truth of God and to expose the lies of Satan. To discern errors from truth, we only need to study and know the truth, very much like bank tellers require to study the real notes to detect all forms of counterfeit. Are we spending enough time on the Word of God?
Verse 13
Despite being in enemy territory (where Satan's seat is), the church at Pergamos still held on to Christ's Name and stood firm in their faith, even in those days when one of their own by the name Antipas was martyred.
Who was Antipas? Opinions varied because this is the only place his name is mentioned. From historical records, he seemed to be a bishop of the church there. Anti-pas means 'against or in place of father'. In ancient culture and perhaps even today, religious leaders and priests are known to assume the title of 'father' to their followers. Satan, desiring to usurp the place of God the Father, insidiously incorporated this practice in the religions he created and inspired.
And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven. (Matthew 23:9)
Perhaps in following Jesus' words, Antipas set himself against the religious system of his days, and inadvertently against the mastermind, Satan himself, thereby paying the ultimate price for being faithful to Christ.
There is a story that when some friends persuaded Antipas to compromise his stand, warning him thus, "Antipas, don't you know that the whole world is against you?" to which he replied "Then I am against the whole world!"
Are we willing to stand up for the Lord and be counted as His faithful witness? The Greek for 'witness' is martus from which we get the English word 'martyr'.
Verse 14-16
The church at Pergamos not only tolerated the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, they also allowed the teachings of Balaam into the church. Numbers 22-24 gives the background and Revelation 2:14 sums it all up: to cast a stumbling block before God's people—by engaging in paganistic religious practices—eating things offered to idols and committing fornication.
Today there are many churches who practice the principles of Balaam by using worldly ways and methods to do the Lord's work, hoping to increase church attendance and boost church income through secularly successful means. To them the end justifies the means. This is akin to spiritual idolatry (trusting man's abilities rather than God) and committing fornication (integrating worldly wisdom with the gifts of the Spirit). We ought to pray for our pastors and leaders that they will lead the church to bring the gospel into the world, and not bring the world into the church.
You unfaithful people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore befriends the world becomes God's enemy! (James 4:4)
To prevent the doctrine of the Nicolaitans from infecting the church, we need servant-leaders who serve with humility and godly fear, not savvy leaders who impress and wow with their abilities and personal flairs. Get this right—the church's first priority is to evangelize, not entertain. Consumerism has no place in the church, only consecration. Christ issued a stern warning: Don't mess with His Church, or He'll cut His enemies in pieces with His double-edged sword!
Verse 17
The one who overcomes will be given free access to eat of the hidden manna, and a white stone with a new name.
When Rome realized it could not conquer the Church through persecutions and death, it changed tactics and offered them power and wealth in exchange for civil support and recognition as the Church's chief patron and protector. Many pagans saw the benefits of becoming a Christian and switched sides as the once despised young religion gained imperial status. But it's all superficial and a political scam.
True Christians, however, saw through the ploy and refused to play along. As a result, they were isolated and ostracized as fanatics and extremists. But God continued to feed them with His Word and guide them with His light through the engulfing spiritual wasteland, just as He fed the Israelites with manna for 40 years and guided them with the pillar of His presence in the desert wilderness. During the end times, believers who refuse to compromise their faith but remain faithful to God can expect the same treatment from the world, yet be assured of the same privilege and protection by God.
What is the white stone with a new name written on it that no one knows except the one who receives it? The white stone represents purity and testifies to the innocence of those who put their trust in the Lord. A name reflects the character of a person. Just as God changed the name of Abram to Abraham and Jacob to Israel after they passed the tests of their faith, so too those who overcome the trials of faith shall receive a new name that solely belong to them.
What is the quality of our faith? Remember: faith feeds on the Word of God—so start spending time, real quality time, to read the Bible instead of letting it collect dust and cobwebs on the bookshelf!
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