Revelation Lesson 7
Revelation Chapter 2: 12-17

“And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write, ‘These things says He who has the sharp two-edged sword: ‘I know your works, and where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is. And you hold fast to My name and did not deny My faith even in the days in which Antipas was My faithful martyr, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells. But I have a few things against you, because you have there those who hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit sexual immorality.

“Thus you also have those who hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate. Repent, or else I will come to you quickly and will fight against them with the sword of My mouth. ‘He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give some of the hidden manna to eat. And I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written which no one knows except him who receives it.”’

Last time, we looked at the church at Smyrna. This was a persecuted church, one of the only two churches about whom Jesus had nothing negative to say. It would seem that great persecution often leads to doctrinal and operational purity. This is hard to see and to hear; it makes us wonder what will happen to the modern New Testament churches to help us become purer and clearer Light sources?

Well, the answer is persecution. This is the way that people are forced to make very deliberate decisions. Am I for God or against Him? Is God and His cause worthy of my life and maybe even my death? Is the cause worth my children being killed or tortured? Suffering will either drive you to Jesus or drive you from Jesus, but it eliminates fence sitters.

Today we will look at the church at Pergamos. This church was a light source struggling in a sea of darkness; and even their light had been a bit shaded by false doctrine and false persons who had crept in to hurt them from the inside. We will look at this church that was situated in a powerful pagan and political city, a place where “Satan’s Throne” was. Maybe we can think of some similar places like that in our world today – places where evil abounds; but there in the midst of the evil is a little source of Light. It may be struggling, but it is doing its job.

Revelation Lesson 7 – I know Your Works – Revelation Chapter 2 Verse 13

The one theme that runs through these letters to each church was the absolute and complete knowledge of the Lord Jesus. He is not fooled and cannot be hoodwinked. No one can ‘pull one over’ on Jesus. You can and often will fool man, but God cannot be fooled. Jesus knows His people and He also knows the ones who are faking it. There will be no stowaways in Heaven; ALL will come through the front door or they will not get in at all.

Jesus describes himself as the one who has the “two-edged sword.” This is a sign of power; and it was important for them to know that Jesus was the absolute power, since the city of Pergamos was overrun by evil, pagan temples and a place called the “seat of Satan.”

In Hebrews 4:12-13, we see this: “For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.”

The word of God is living and sharper than any two-edged sword, and it is able to discern the “thoughts and intents” of the heart. This cuts me, and it should cut you. All too often we play church; we play at being righteous, but under the actions is the way that we think.

The whole point of Christianity is that we are to be ever growing into the mind of Christ. Jesus did not begrudgingly wash the disciple’s feet. He did it out of the genuine heart of a servant. He set an example that says no one is ever beneath us. Jesus washed the feet of the man who would betray him, and he washed the feet of the man who would shortly deny even knowing Him.

I have to be honest; my heart is often not a heart after God’s own heart. I can be selfish, and I can do my duty as Christian. My actions are right but my motives are not. This is where the judgment of Jesus begins, with the actions of the mind. Jesus will address who we really are, not who we pretend to be.

Revelation Lesson 7 – The Seat of Satan – Revelation Chapter 2 Verse 13

The city of Pergamos was the capital city of Asia Minor. It had been the capital for the better part of 300 years. It housed one of the largest libraries in the world, and it was a city noted for both culture and education, according the commentary by David Guzik. Pergamos was also an extremely religious city with temples to Dionysius, Athena, Zeus and Demeter. It also had temples dedicated to the worship of the current Roman Emperor, Caesar Augustus.

Above these, it was especially known for the worship of the god Asclepios, represented by a serpent. His temple in Pergamos housed a medical school; and sick persons were placed in the dark temple where tame serpents lived. The sick would be brushed by the serpent (representing being touched by the god) and supposedly healed.

In addition, Pergamos had a large throne-like altar dedicated to Zeus. As one can see, this city was wrought with paganism, idol worship and evil. This truly would have appeared to be the throne of Satan. We can think of many modern cities that are the same today. There is such idolatry everywhere and a deliberate and tangible hatred for God.

We meet Antipas; he was a martyr. He is called faithful by Jesus, and the church had suffered through great persecution that ended maybe with the death of Antipas. While I was looking up and reading about this text, I learned something that I did not know. The word that we derive the English word martyr from is the word in Greek, martus. In classical Greek, the word simply meant a witness. Antipas was Jesus’ faithful witness. He was one who stood for the truth in the midst of the lies of Satan. He was an unwavering source of light to the Gospel.

It was only later that the word martyr came to mean one who gave his life for a cause. What a lesson we can learn from Antipas! There is simply no excuse for those of us who know the truth to be silent. May the Lord find us faithful, even to death if necessary. If we remain silent, we are complicit in the lies around us. Antipas was one who pointed to the truth, spoke the truth, and would rather die than give up the truth for one second.

Satan will always endeavour to silence and then if necessary kill off the truth. Truth is the vaccine for Satan’s lies. Truth is the vaccine for death and lies; that is why Satan works so hard to water down the truth. He works to infiltrate and dilute the absolutes of God. Be wary; work to have Biblical discernment and stand for the truth.

Revelation Lesson 7 – Creeping Darkness – Revelation Chapter 2 Verses 14-16

Jesus begins to deal with the poison that has crept into the local church there in Pergamos. He has a ‘few things’ to chat with them about; there are some who hold to the doctrine of Balaam, and then there are the issues with the Nicolaitans.

In Numbers 22-24 and 31, we find the account where Balaam would not curse the children of Israel directly, but he coached Balak to use idolatry and sexual sins to put a ‘stumbling block’ before the people of Israel.

Now we have just spent the last little bit talking about the idolatry in the city of Pergamos; and often with the Roman and Greek idols came sexual acts as part of the worship. It would seem that these practices had crept into the church at Pergamos. They would eat food offered to the idols and engage in sexual immorality. Sexual immorality is any sexual act outside of marriage.

One Roman statesman named Cicero once stated this: “If there is anyone who thinks that young men should not be allowed the love of many women, he is extremely severe. I am not able to deny the principle he stands on. But he contradicts, not only with the freedom our age allows, but also with the customs and allowances of our ancestors. When indeed was this not done? When did anyone find fault with it? When was such permission denied? When was it that what is now allowed was not allowed?”

It took a deliberate and uncommon stand to swim against the tide of rampant sexual immorality that ran in the Roman Empire. We are no different today. It was said by Solomon in Ecclesiastes 1:9, “And there is nothing new under the sun.”  

We/I often get the idea in our heads that the culture we face today is more corrupt than ever before, and I think we are simply making excuses for sin. I have seen many documentaries on the rampant sexual immorality that existed in the Roman Empire. Prostitutes, homosexuality, bestiality, multiple wives, rape, sex club and the like have been around forever. Jesus addresses these issues in the church; we are to purge out idolatry and stop sexual sins.

Lastly, the Lord again addresses the doctrine of the Nicolaitans.

As I study the doctrine – and there is a lot to learn – one sees the idea of ‘proud authority’ and the idea of conquering. So, one of the doctrines that was creeping into the church already was that of a hierarchy – that there was an elite class in the church. This was not to be so. Jesus, we are told in Philippian 2:5-7, ‘took on the mind of a servant.’ He came to serve the persons that He called, and he set the example of being a Shepherd for the sheep. Thus, his under-shepherds, his pastors and elders were to be shepherd-servants, not lords over the flock.

I grew up in a place where many of the church leaders had very long titles: the Right Honourable Bishop of the on and on. The Pharisees liked these titles and liked the recognition that came with it. One other aspect of the hierarchy was that of separation – the big me and the little you. This is not allowed in the Lord’s churches. We are all saved by the same grace, redeemed by the same blood, and kept by the same Holy Spirit.

We are not to allow these doctrines to come into the Lord’s churches. We are not to allow sexual immorality and idolatry into the Lord’s churches. And if we do so and say nothing, we are just as guilty as the one who brings it in. Silence is akin to agreement.

Revelation Lesson 7 – Repent – Revelation Chapter 2 Verses 16-17

Turn around and stop doing and/or allowing these things to be. Stop eating things offered to idols and stop sexual immorality; get married to a person of the opposite sex. Stop allowing some to lord it over others in the Lord’s churches. These things kill a church, they wreck the testimony, and they will cause judgment. When we do it right, we are blessed and we are given “hidden manna.” Jesus is the hidden manna, the bread that came down from heaven (John 6:41).

The white stones in the time that this was written were often a symbol of assurances and blessings. According to David Guzik, “the most remarkable of these instruments were the Tesserae hospitales, which were given as badges of friendship and alliance; and on which some device was engraved, as a testimony that a contract of friendship had been made between the parties.”

Our obedience to the Lord Jesus is rewarded with a friendship that is eternal and assurances of eternal blessing. Finally, we are told that the white stone will have a “new name” which only the recipient will know. The idea is that we have such an intimate relationship that Jesus will give us a new name. This was very common in the Bible: Jacob became Israel, Abram became Abraham, Peter was called Cephas, and on and on we can go. The idea is that, as we grow into the image of Jesus by obedience, the Lord will give us a new name as a sign of the new intimacy that we have with Him. Oh, wow and wow!

Each of the Lord’s churches should be diligent to root out false and damaging doctrines and practices. There should be a purity that is a sweet-smelling savor to the Lord, one that draws His favor and allows us to have a very intimate relationship with Him.

John 14:21 “Whoever has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me. The one who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and reveal Myself to him.”

Missionarybaptistchurch76@yahoo.ca

 

Revelation Lesson 6: Troubling Times, but Only for a Season 

Revelation Chapter 2: 8-11

“And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write, ‘These things says the First and the Last, who was dead, and came to life’: ‘I know your works, tribulation, and poverty (but you are rich); and I know the blasphemy of those who say they are Jews and are not but are a synagogue of Satan. Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer. Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.

“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes shall not be hurt by the second death.”’

Last week we looked at the church in Ephesus. This church had a lot of good things in it, and then some bad. It was very important to them to keep paganism from creeping into the local church, and we should be just as diligent.  It is so easy to allow little things to creep in, and they sound so innocent:

I mean, what could be wrong with including statues of Jesus and others to give us some kind of visual reference? What could be wrong with ‘emptying’ your mind so that you can reach Nirvana? What is wrong with doing some of the Yoga stretches to help our health and circulation?

These all seem so innocent but they open the door to paganism, and they never just end there. We are not allowed to have statues of our Lord or anything else; we are not allowed to ‘empty’ our minds – we are to be filled with the Word of God; and you can do a lot of stretching and limbering without doing the Yoga poses.

Paganism plays to our senses, and we can get tied up and tied down very quickly. We are called to worship God in ‘spirit and in truth.’ This should be sufficient.

We will now move on to the church in Smyrna. Please recall that, as we explore these churches, they represent the predominant church of an era; but there are churches that are like these in all eras of the Lord’s churches throughout the 2,000-year history of the New Testament church.

Jesus Knows, Revelation 2 verse 9

One of the hardest things and one of the most sobering things to recall is that Jesus knows. He knows everything. You are not going to surprise Him, not going to catch Him off-guard, and not going to outsmart Him. He knows everything. Why does He know everything? Because He is God!  He is the First and the Last. He encompasses all of eternity, and He has already seen the end from the beginning.

The Godhead knew what was going to happen before they ever spoke the world into existence. Jesus knew when He breathed into the man the ‘breath of life’ (in Genesis 2) that that life would cost Him his, and yet still He did it.

Jesus once again refers us to His resurrection. This is the ultimate demonstration of absolute power—the power over death—the power to kill death. He speaks by this authority, the authority of the resurrection. And of course John had seen the resurrected Lord time and time again over the 40 days that Jesus showed himself to the Apostles and other followers.

I remind you that the book of the Revelation is about Jesus; it is His revelation to us. And in it we see the Almighty God. He came as a Lamb – lowly, humbled and meek. But in this revelation, we see the Almighty, All-Powerful God; and He is the head of each local church. He is our Judge and our Sustainer. He is the power and the light of every church that has ever existed in the 2,000 years of the church age.

The name Smyrna means ‘sweet smelling.’ And this church had been through some things that made them a sweet-smelling aroma to our Lord.  In verse 9, we find that they had been through some tough times, tribulations as they are called. This church endured extreme persecution under the Emperor Diocletian. The persecution last exactly 10 years, from 303-313 AD when Constantine declared Christianity legal in the Roman Empire. These are the ‘ten days’ of tribulation mentioned in verse 10.

Because of this persecution, this church was very poor in material things; but as far as God was concerned, they were rich. In contrast, the Laodicean church was rich in material things but poor as far as God was concerned.

In verse 10, Jesus encourages this church to ‘not fear.’ Yes, there is great trouble coming; and yes, some of you will be punished, killed and imprisoned. But this is a part of the testing that helps to purify you. Stay faithful and you will receive the crown of Life. This is the call to all of us as the end of the church age grows near.

We are told that, as we approach the end of the church age, the times will get harder; and maybe that some of us – like our brothers and sisters in other parts of the world – will experience imprisonment, various trials, and maybe even death on behalf of the Gospel. But we are called to remain faithful to the Lord, His name, and the cause. Notice in verse 10 once again that it is the ‘devil’ who is against you. He is a true and bitter rival. He targets faithful churches and seeks to destroy them and cause havoc.

The Synagogue of Satan, Revelation 2 verse 9

Churches need to be diligent about the people that come into the church. We need to test everyone and their beliefs and doctrines; and we need to get rid of those that are working for Satan. The word synagogue means to assemble, or an assembly. So, we are told that – just like a church is an assembly that represents Christ, there are assemblies that represent Satan. And we need to be diligent about them and not get involved with them, and they with us. Satan’s assembly is going to mimic the true church. It may even talk about God, have a Bible and seem religious; but it is counterfeit.

The Synagogue of Satan is mentioned twice in the letters to the churches. Here they were working in the church at Smyrna, and they were also trying to be active at the church in Philadelphia in chapter 3. This was an assembly of Jews who were persecuting the Lord’s churches.

There are several lines of Jews. Abraham had Isaac, and Isaac had both Jacob and Esau. They are both Jews, but only the line that comes through Jacob is the chosen line that the Messiah would come through. Abraham also had other children with another woman named Keturah; we meet her in Genesis 25. These too are descendants of Abraham, but they are not of the chosen line. ONLY the children that come from Sarah were a part of the chosen line, and then only through Jacob. There are many lines of Jews in the world, but only a select chosen line is the one to whom the promises are made.

Most of the early persecution of the Lord’s churches came from Jews. They hated the preaching of the Messiah, and they often implored the Roman government to kill off the Christians. Not much has changed today; our greatest enemies are religions – the ones that most often teach tolerance, except when the true churches say that Jesus is the ONLY WAY to be saved, and that the Bible does not need to be updated and/or re-interpreted. It needs to be obeyed. It needs to be applied. It needs to be read, over and over again.

Then the tolerance is gone, and the synagogues of Satan rise up to kill off the true churches.

In 1524, Cardinal Hosius, President of the Council of Trent, said, “Were it not that the Baptists had been grievously tormented and cut off with the knife during the past 1,200 years, they would swarm in greater numbers than all the reformers.” – The Trail of Blood, section 2, page 3.

And then Sir Isaac Newton noted that the “Baptists are the only known Christians that have never symbolized with Rome.” – Trail of Blood, section 2, page 3.

There are some lovely people in the Roman Catholic church. I know some of them, and they truly love the Lord. But they are not aware of the history of the RC church and how they have persecuted and hunted true Christians for a long time before the détente that exists now.

Today, the Roman system is still the enemy of the true churches. The Pope calls into question the Word of God—the power of God. He has called good evil and evil good; and when the true believers stand to speak, we are seen to be intolerant. One day soon this is going to be the catalyst for lots and lots of trouble.

The Lord’s churches need to be diligent to keep the doctrines pure. Test everyone that comes in:

>Who is Jesus?

>How does one get to be redeemed?

>Do you need to be baptized to go to heaven?

>Do you baptize infants for their salvation?

>Is Hell for real?

>Did God literally create the world as we know it in 6 days?

>Was there a literal global flood?

>Are the Jews God’s chosen people?

>Is the Bible the complete Word of God to us, and the complete guide for the New Testament church?

>Can a person lose the salvation that is given by grace from God?

These are some of the questions that will begin to separate the truth from lies, and the people of God from the people of Satan. This is our responsibility as the Lord’s people; we are the Truth to the world.

All Good, no bad and no ugly, Revelation 2 verses 8-11

This is one of the churches in the era. All throughout the church age, there have been churches like this – churches that endure hardships, protect the purity of doctrine, and remain faithful in trials and testing. Jesus, the head of the church, had nothing bad to say about this church. He encouraged them to remain faithful and to keep their eyes on the prize—the Crown of Life.

He promises that they will not have to worry about the ‘second death.’ This Second Death is recorded for us in Revelation 20:11-15,

“And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.

“And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.”

Those who know Jesus as Saviour do not need to fear the second death; this is not for us. Make sure that you are of the synagogue of Christ – that He is your Lord, Master and Saviour.

He cannot be fooled; He is the First and the Last, and nothing is hidden from Him.

Missionarybaptistchurch76@yahoo.ca