Revelation Episode 3: Letters to the Churches: Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira - Part 2

Jesus warns the church at Pergamum against spiritual immorality and demon worship but praises them for faith under fiery persecution, offers hidden manna.

- PODCAST TRANSCRIPT - 

Wes

Welcome to the Two Journeys Bible Study podcast. This podcast is just one of the many resources available to you for free from Two Journeys Ministry. If you're interested in learning more, just head over to twojourneys.org. Now on to today's episode.

This is Part 2 of Episode 3 in our Revelation Bible Study podcast entitled Letters to the Churches: Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, where we'll discuss the letter to the church at Pergamum in Revelation 2:12-17. I'm Wes Treadway and I'm here with Pastor Andy Davis. Andy, what are we going to see in these verses we're looking at today?

Andy

Well, today, we're going to look at the church at Pergamum and Christ's critique of it, his evaluation of it, and we're going to find some timeless lessons that I think are going to be very vital for us in 21st-century America as well: a call for purity, especially sexual purity, and the need to stand firm in a time of temptation, also, an awareness of Satan's enticing activity that's still going on today. I think we're going to hear a timely message in Christ's warning to the church at Pergamum.

Wes

Let me go ahead and read verses 12-17 in Revelation 2.

 And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write: 'The words of him who has the sharp two-edged sword. I know where you dwell, where Satan's throne is. Yet you hold fast my name, and you did not deny my faith even in the days of Antipas my faithful witness, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells.

"But I have a few things against you: you have some there who hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, so that they might eat food sacrificed to idols and practice sexual immorality. So also you have some who hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans. Therefore, repent. If not, I will come to you soon and war against them with the sword of my mouth. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers, I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it."

Now, Andy, Pergamum was a strong center of paganism with an unusually high number of pagan temples and altars, and most importantly, was a well-developed cult of emperor worship with a temple dedicated to the divine Caesar. Needless to say, the church of Jesus Christ at Pergamum faced a battle of ideologies in this place that's described as the very place where Satan dwells. What does Christ's description of himself at the outset teach us about him, and why do you think he chose this particular description to give to this particular church?

Andy

Well, the way Christ describes himself, in each one of these letters to the seven churches, he takes some aspect of the vision of the glorified resurrected Christ that the apostle John has, as recorded in Revelation 1, takes an aspect of it, and identifies himself with that. In this case, it's he who has the sharp double-edged sword coming out of his mouth. And so, the idea here is, and he's going to openly threaten to fight against the wicked in this church with the sword coming out of his mouth.

We also know this relates very much to the word of God because it says in Hebrews 4 that the word of God is "living and active, sharper than any double-edged sword" (Hebrews 4:12). And so, the idea here is that Christ will come if they do not repent of their wickedness, and he will fight against them with the sword coming out of his mouth. We'll talk about that in due time, but that's how he begins the letter saying, "I am the one who has the sharp double-edged sword" (Revelation 2:12). And so that is the word of God, which is really a threat to the wicked in any place or at any time.

Wes

What does Christ single out about this church at Pergamum, and how does he describe their circumstance?

Andy

Well, in the translation I'm reading, he says, "I know where you live, where Satan has his throne" (Revelation 2:13). I think you more have a dwelling aspect here, but the word throne implies authority. And we know from Ephesians 6 that that is appropriate, to see not only Satan, but demons and demonic power in terms of rulers and authorities and powers. They have a dark authority, and there are centers of authority. And so, Satan in particular, it seems, has erected his throne in this place.

And you gave an intro and some background here at that church of Pergamum, but historically, in the century that precedes this that we're reading about now, the people, the citizens of Pergamum, had especially pleased the Roman emperor, Caesar Augustus. And he had given them permission to erect a dedicated temple to him to worship him as a god. The word Augustus really is a title of divinity. And so, they embraced the emperor cult, which was essential to the unity of the Roman Empire but was a direct threat to true Christianity. It's either Jesus is Lord or Caesar is lord.

And so, here, Satan had his throne, a center of cult, the cult of emperor worship and loyalty to Rome and to worldliness. And so, fundamentally, we need to understand this, that Satan rules the world. Now God rules everything truly, but Satan himself, in Luke 4, says to Jesus in his temptation, "The world has been given to me and I can give it to anyone I want to" (Luke 4:6 paraphrase). He's ruling everything. He is the God of this age, and he's dominating planet Earth. But we also learned, from the Book of Daniel, that there are geographical centers, focuses of his activity, and Pergamum was one of them. This is a church that's right there near the center of demonic activity in Asia Minor.

Wes

What does Christ then commend in this church, despite the fact that they lived where Satan had his throne?

Andy

Well, what he commends is that they had remained true to his name. They continued to maintain their claim that Jesus is Lord, and their claim to faith in Christ. They continued to identify as Christians despite the fact that it could mean incarceration or even their lives. They're willing to stand firm on their faith. They did not renounce faith in his name.

Wes

Who is Antipas and why does Christ mention him as a form of commendation for this church?

Andy

Okay, we don't know anything about him other than this mention here. We have no other corroborating evidence from ancient writing, but we do know, from what Jesus says, is that he was a martyr. He was put to death in the city for the name of Christ. He was a Christian martyr, and the church stood by him and stood by their faith in Christ despite the obvious threat to the rest of them, guilt by association. The best thing that Jesus says about this church at Pergamum is that they were willing to stand firm in their faith in Christ, even during a time of persecution, to continue to believe that Jesus is Lord, not that Caesar is lord. And so, Antipas was what Jesus calls, "My faithful witness." Imagine having Jesus say that about you.

Wes

Wow.

Andy

And so, what a commendation. But he calls him, "My faithful witness, and in those days, he was put to death in your city and yet you remain true to my name. So, I do commend you for that" (Revelation 2:13 paraphrase).

Wes

Now, before we move on to what Christ has against this church, I think a question that arises as we see someone called a faithful witness. When one of God's servants is put to death, what effect does that have on the rest of the church?

Andy

Well, it really is a time of sifting. Like Jesus said to Simon Peter the night he was arrested, "Simon, Simon, Satan has demanded to sift you like wheat" (Luke 22:31). That means to separate the wheat from the chaff, the true from the false. And if the church survives that sifting, they are genuine Christians. And so, the threat of death has a purifying effect. It's like who is serious about their faith in Christ? And so also, as I mentioned in my comments, they had to make a decision of whether they would stand with Antipas, whether they would perhaps, in the days leading up to his death when he was maybe incarcerated, would they bring him food, would they bring him a blanket, or would they identify with him? Would they care for him, or would they keep their distance from him? And so, they were willing to stand firm. And so, it was a time of testing for the church and for their faith, and they passed that test.

Wes

What does Christ have against this church?

Andy

Well, he says, in verse 14 and following, "I have these things against you, a few things against you." You have people there, so it's not a huge number, but there were some people in the church at Pergamum who held to the teaching of Balaam, and then he identifies and talks about that. This is an Old Testament story, which would be well known to any readers of the history of the Jews and during the Exodus, as they move from Egypt into the Promised Land. At one point a prophet named Balaam was hired by a king to come and curse Israel and he wouldn't do it. He couldn't. He was restrained by God, and by his donkey, from cursing Israel and actually ends up speaking words of blessing and prophetic words about the coming of the Messiah, a star that is yet to come in the future.

He spoke those prophetic words, but secretly, he was still a prophet for hire. He was willing to be paid. And it seems, off the record, but now we have the story here, is it seems like Balaam was willing to instruct Balak on how to destroy Israel, "That's what you want, right? You want to destroy Israel. Here's how you'll do it." And he taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin by women, by prostitutes, by Moabite women who came into the camp and seduced Israel and enticed them to worship the Baal of Peor, an idol, and thus effectively weaponize the holiness of God against Israel. And it worked, because God slaughtered 24,000 of them as a result. And now the same thing, it seems, is happening again as Satan is enticing the people at Pergamum toward sexual immorality and idolatry, thus weaponizing the holiness of Christ, the One who has a sword coming out of his mouth. And he's openly threatening to do the same thing to them that God did to the wicked Israelites when they were seduced by the Moabite women into worshiping the Baal of Peor and into sexual immorality.

That's what's going on here. It's sexual immorality. It's eating meat sacrificed to idols. It's the whole idolatry thing. Now, as we read the Old Testament, we're like, "What is it with these people and idolatry? What was the big attraction?" Well, it's actually not all that hard to figure out. In days before refrigeration, eating of meat was a very precious and special thing. Think about killing a calf or a cow, that's a lot of meat, so you're going to have a lot to eat all at once. You're going to eat meat, and so you're not going to do it regularly. It would be tied to sacrifice. It would be tied to religion. You get the deliciousness of eating meat, but it's also wrapped together with sexual immorality. There would be temple prostitutes, and there would be a pagan worship in which the fertility gods or goddesses would be in some way incited and enticed by human sexual activity to then give fertility or give blessings.

And so, they think they're doing their country good by having sex, which is what their lust wants to do anyway, and so it's enticing in every respect. Their god is their stomach, meaning literal stomach, they get to eat meat, and their appetite for sexual pleasure, they get to be sexually active with temple prostitutes, and that's the nature of paganism. That's the nature of idolatrous worship. It was going on in Corinth. It was going on in ancient Israel. That was the recipe-the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, the pride of life, all of those things wrapped together in idolatrous worship, and that was going on, tragically, in Pergamum. There were people there that were enticing others to take part in these dark practices.

"That's the nature of idolatrous worship. …The lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, the pride of life, all of those things wrapped together in idolatrous worship."

Wes

It's not the main point of this text, but I think wrapped up in your answer is just a helpful way for us to approach the study of scripture throughout the course of our lives, to read carefully details and not dismiss references and allusions and quotations, but to go back and read the passages that are being referred to. To remind ourselves of stories like that of Balaam and see what's going on so that we can uncover what, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, the authors of Scripture are intending for us to understand when we read something like what we have here in Revelation 2.

Andy

Right, and also realizing we need to hear it, that these repeated themes that are dominant in the Bible are there because we need them too. And that's the essential aspect of the Bible that we need to realize. Why is the Bible still relevant? Two central reasons. First of all, because God never changes. He's the same yesterday, today and forever. Secondly, because the human condition doesn't essentially change either. Yes, we're more technologically advanced, but we're no smarter than they were. We just are building on a heritage of scientific invention and discovery and all that. But we've got the same intelligence that they did, and we're dealing with the same thing. Sexual immorality is in fact a problem today. It's a problem for the church today. It's a problem for us today. And so, we have to be willing to read this and take warning that Jesus still has, metaphorically, that sharp double-edged sword coming out of his mouth. And then take sexual purity seriously.

"We have to be willing to read this and take warning that Jesus still has, metaphorically, that sharp double-edged sword coming out of his mouth. And then take sexual purity seriously."

We've got these false prophets that are holding to the teaching of Balaam and all that. We also have the teaching of the Nicolaitans, and I think, as we mentioned the Nicolaitans an earlier podcast, it's pretty clear based on this, that they're licensed teachers. Remember, there are two great patterns of false doctrine, legalism and license. License is the grace of God has come guaranteeing forgiveness of sins in all respects because of faith in Christ. Therefore, you can live however you want, especially in the area of sex. You can do whatever you want. God will forgive or God will even be pleased with it, or something like that, and by that way, you can enjoy life and then go to heaven. That's false teaching. That's the license approach.

And we get the same thing in 2 Peter 2. If you want to know what these people are doing, Peter openly describes them in 2 Peter 2, they're enticing people to lustful feasting and orgies and other things like that. The alternative is legalism, which teaches a harsh treatment of the body, asceticism, and going too far the other direction, forbidding marriage, for example, forbidding eating foods that God designed to be enjoyed with pleasure and to be delighted in. They go too far the other direction. The Bible teaches us how to think accurately about both food and sex and to live accordingly.

Wes

Now, verse 14 tells us that this was just some of the people that were there, but it also is addressed to the whole church, "I have this against you." What should the church have done about these people in their midst?

Andy

They should have known what was going on and they should have worked repentance, been instruments of working repentance in them, or gotten rid of them through church discipline. 1 Corinthians 5:1, "It is actually reported among you that there is sexual immorality and of a kind that doesn't occur even among pagans." You remember that whole thing, 1 Corinthians 5. And what did he tell them to do? He said, Get rid of them. "Expel the evildoer from among you" (1 Corinthians 5:13b), so that these people are not part of this church. They're not part of the church at Pergamum. We're going to see the exact same thing in the next church at Thyatira. It's going to be basically a different version of the same problem, with the woman Jezebel and all that. We'll talk about then in due time. But the fact is they should have gotten rid of them. No, don't tolerate it. Don't accept it. Don't be willfully ignorant about it. Be aware of it and get rid of it.

Wes

What does Christ command and threaten in verse 16 after leveling this charge against the church at Pergamum?

Andy

Well, He tells them to repent. So there's going to be individuals wrapped up in it. And it's amazing, He's like, "I could kill you now, but I'm not going to. I've been patient with you." And He's going to say the same thing with the whole Jezebel thing in the next letter, "I gave her time to repent, but she was unwilling" (Revelation 2:21). And so, we need to realize the clock is ticking, and if you're involved in this kind of sin, the clock is on you and the patience of God is to lead you to repentance. And so, the idea is repent, look at what you're doing, and turn away from it. Put that sin to death by the power of the Spirit. Repent, and if you don't, he says, "I'm going to come and fight against them," he says, "with the sword of my mouth" (Revelation 2:16). But he's really threatening the entire church because there's some that are just complicit. They're not doing it themselves, but they're tolerating it. They're not dealing with it properly.

Wes

In verse 17, we get this phrase that we discussed in a previous episode, "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches." What does Christ offer to any who overcome and how should we understand the gifts outlined in verse 17?

Andy

Well, the "he who has an ear" means, "Hey, pay attention to what I'm saying." This is important. As Jesus says very plainly in Luke 8:18, "Consider very carefully how you listen. Whoever has will be given more. Whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has will be taken away from him." If you don't listen rightly, you're going to stop being able to listen at all. It's really a hardening of the heart. He says, "If you have an ear, use it, because you're hearing what the Spirit's saying to the churches," and that means to all of them take all of these messages seriously. And what does he promise? Now, he threatens that he's going to come fight against them with the sword coming out of his mouth. That implies the possibility of death, of individuals dying. Again, with the next letter to Jezebel, he says, "I'm going to cast her on a bed of suffering" (Revelation 2:22). That implies illness, sickness.

He says, "I'm going to fight against them if they don't repent." But, if you overcome, to him who overcomes, and that to him implies individuals, like within the church, and if they dominate the church, then so be it, the whole church then characterized by this, "but if you overcome, you fight and overcome by the Spirit, I will give," he says, "some of the hidden manna and also a white stone with a new name written on it known only to the one who receives it" (Revelation 2:17 paraphrase).

What does this mean? Well, first of all, the hidden manna is ... I think manna is food, the bread of heaven. Jesus is the bread that came down from heaven. So the way I read this is, "I will give some of myself in intimate connection with you. I will feed you spiritually. I will nourish you with my own love, with my holiness, with my person. You'll draw close to me and know me better. You'll feed on me in a secret, hidden way that provides strength for you." And it's interesting because the sexual immorality undoubtedly was done in secret. It was a hidden thing.

It's like, "Let me tell you what the real hidden, secret love is, and that is my love. And I'll give you that food." I think it's tied also to the word of God. "Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God" (Matthew 4:4). "I'll give you an insight into the word of God, which leads directly to me as the bread from heaven. And the word of God through me will feed you and nourish you." And then he says, "I'll give you a white stone with a new name written on it" (Revelation 2:17b). And I don't really know what this means, other than a sense of a new identity, a permanent identity. The white, I think, represents purity. The stone, I think, represents permanence. The name represents individuality. And so, you put all that together, "I'll give you a permanent place with me connected to who you are for all time. I'll give you a place in heaven forever." So, I think, ultimately, that's what the symbolism means.

Wes

Andy, what final thoughts do you have for us on this letter to the church in Pergamum?

Andy

Well, I think it's a sober-minded warning to a sex-crazed culture. We live in a sexually crazed culture. People are becoming freer and freer. After the sexual revolution of the '60s it's just only increased and broadened. And so, the church has to be committed to sexual purity, to realizing the threat that this is, and to live accordingly. And to realize that Jesus, through the word of God, gives us everything we need to fight and to win in this battle for purity.

Wes

Well, this has been part two of episode three in our Revelation Bible Study podcast. We want to invite you to join us next time for Part 3 of Episode 3, entitled Letters to the Churches: Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, where we'll discuss the letter to the church at Thyatira in Revelation 2:18-29. Thank you for listening to the Two Journeys podcast and may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.