Love Letters: 4 – Pergamum
We now move further round the circular route to the city of Pergamum. It was one of three most prominent Asian cities along with Ephesus and Smyrna. It’s cultural richness and historical significance made it stand out. Established on a hill, just over 300m above the plain Pergamum had been the capital of Asia for 300 years. At the time John was writing, the Roman governor lived in the city. From here he ruled the entire Roman Province in Asia (modern day Turkey).
Pergamum was also famous for having the 2nd largest library in the world (Alexandria). It contained over 200 000 handwritten volumes. Pergamum was also the first city to ask permission to build a temple to Caesar. It became the centre of Emperor worship in Asia. One historian suggested, normally, people offered sacrifice to Caesar once a year. In Pergamum – daily.
Pergamum was also centre of worship for 4 major gods. Zeus whose temple at Pergamum and one of the 7 ancient wonders of the world. People also came to worship Athena, Dionysus, and Asclepios— God of healing represented by snake.
Jesus letter to Pergamum links the city’s strong ties with Rome and Emperor worship (symbolised by the short sword used by Centurions) with reference to the sword of his Mouth. In OT and Apocalyptic literature, the Sword often symbolised judgement or war. To the Romans, the “Sword” symbolised their power to execute capital punishment.
Commendation
12 “To the angel of the Messianic Community in Pergamum, write: ‘Here is the message from the one who has the sharp double-edged sword: 13 “I know where you are living, there where the Adversary’s throne is. Yet you are holding onto my name. You did not deny trusting me even at the time when my faithful witness Antipas was put to death in your town, there where the Adversary lives. Rev 2:12-17
There were two main influences at play within the Christian community in Pergamum: The faithful Bishop Antipas—appointed by the Apostle John—and false prophets. But, despite this, they held fast to their belief and trust in Jesus and were true to Christ in difficult circumstances.
Antipas’ decision to hold fast to his faith in Jesus led to his martyrdom. Following in the wake of his faithful ministry and leadership, the congregation was praised for their dedication to Christ.
Our Lord encourages the believers with the acknowledgement, “I know…”. He Knows everything—the constant pressure they were under, their circumstances, their constant temptation. He knew they lived in Satan’s headquarters.
Condemnation
14 Nevertheless, I have a few things against you: you have some people who hold to the teaching of Bil‘am, who taught Balak to set a trap for the people of Isra’el, so that they would eat food that had been sacrificed to idols and commit sexual sin. 15 Likewise, you too have people who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans.
In the letters in Revelation, we come across references to people from the OT. Balaam in this letter, and in the one to Thyatira, Jezebel. These are pseudonyms given to false prophets who were believed to have belonged to the Nicolaitan sect. More about them later
Hard Times
Understandably, the Christians in Pergamum were under incredible pressure. They were living in one of the most paganistic cities in the province—the centre of worship for 4 main gods. They no longer sat under the protection of the “Jews ‘One God’ exception” and were expected to worship the emperor and these others. And once one Christian was legally martyred—Antipas—the legal precedent was set for the execution of more Christians, in Pergamum as well as in other provinces.
But the question was, how to fulfil their role to glorify God, live as faithful witnesses, and be a welcoming church among people who didn’t like them? How did they witness and share the gospel faithfully when they were opposed to, pretty much, all cultural and religious practices? Evidence suggests that the Pergamum church had figured out the answers to these challenges, and were praised for their efforts.
Too Far
But… they went a step too far. There is a line between loving and embracing newcomers and accommodating sin within the church. The Christians in Pergamum were welcoming those who were not righteous, God-fearing, Scripture-following members in through the doors, (a good thing-welcoming church) and right on into leadership (a bad thing-diluted church). There was no delineation between a new Christian and a mature Christian.
It seems they understood the law to love but forgot the law to be holy – to be set apart – to be different.
Too Far Gone
Within this void they were susceptible to the heresy of hyper-grace taught and encouraged by the Nicolaitans. That was, pushing the gift of grace into licence to freely sin. This teaching followed that the grace of Jesus and his sacrifice on the cross paid for all sin, once and for all. Therefore, all believers were free to do whatever they wanted because they were covered, once and for all. In this way, they could worship God and be true to him, but also participate in Pagan worship.
Balaam’s Curse
In the OT, Balak, King of the Moabites didn’t want Israel to enter the Promised Land. He negotiated with Balaam, a prophet for hire, to curse the Israelites. But every time Balaam went to open his mouth, a blessing fell out. Balak kept offering more money for curses, but God only allowed blessings. So, Balaam devised a plan. He instructed the Moabite women to seduce the Israelite men to commit adultery and worship their Baals, which was a full-on carnal experience. The men fell for it and the consequence for their choice to sin, was death.
Balaam knew God would not allow this kind of idolatry and uncleanliness to infect his people. So even though he was unable to curse and destroy Israel, he encouraged Israel to sin and sat back and watched Yahweh wipe out 24 000 of his own people. In this way, Balaam had success and earned his money from Balak.
However, as consequences for their actions, Balaam was also killed and Balak had to watch his new neighbours settle in the Promised Land, despite his best efforts and the huge bill.
Israel’s Failing
And here’s the thing. The Israelite’s tolerance of sexual immorality did not affect their faith in Yahweh or His faithfulness to them. They were still headed to the Promised Land, they still marched each day filled with Manna from Heaven carrying the ark of the covenant: they still acknowledged they were His people living under his blessing.
But it did affect their ability to fulfil their role to glorify God and their calling to be holy, like their God is holy. And equally importantly, it affected their relationship with Him. Their faith, trust and knowledge in and of Yahweh didn’t stop them being contaminated by the Moabite’s sin.
Back to Pergamum
In Pergamum the Christian Community had faith in God. They trusted in His promises, they were faithfully serving Him under very difficult circumstances. BUT, under the guise of being a welcoming Church, they became a diluted church. Under the façade of being a humble community, they welcomed wolves into the pulpit and like ignorant sheep, they followed into sin.
The Choice
16 Therefore, turn from these sins. Otherwise, I will come to you very soon and make war against them with the sword of my mouth. 17 Those who have ears, let them hear what the Spirit is saying to the Messianic communities. To him winning the victory I will give some of the hidden man. I will also give him a white stone, on which is written a new name that nobody knows except the one receiving it.”’
There is only one acceptable remedy for sin, and that is repentance. But as in all things, we have a choice. We were gifted with free will and the Christians in Pergamum were given the opportunity to exercise it.
- Repent – turn from their sins and come back to right relationship with God, living holy lives to glorify him.
- Get ready for war. Christ has promised he is coming with his double-edged sword which will cut the infection out of his body. (God is patient and gracious, not accepting sin, he will not forget)
The Consequences.
- They will receive the secret bread of heaven, whom we know is Christ, and they will receive a new name engraved on a white stone.
- If they refuse. They will be cut off and they will perish much like the 24000 in the wilderness.
“See, the Word of God is alive! It is at work and is sharper than any double-edged sword — it cuts right through to where soul meets spirit and joints meet marrow, and it is quick to judge the inner reflections and attitudes of the heart.” Heb 4:12
So What?
We started this study liking at the questions, “As a Church, and as individual children of God, what are our goals and how do we live, in these rapidly changing times?”
Easy: Remember their first love, stand strong in the testing, and obey the law and follow the teaching of Scripture.
But how do we know what we hear is God’s truth? How do we discern a teacher’s/preacher’s interpretation of the law/Scripture, is in line with God’s intention of Scripture? If the Church in Pergamum was made up with faithful, God-fearing, Christ-loving Christians, led by a faithful martyr, how did they fall into heresy?
We would all have to agree that there are so many interpretations of Scripture today among the Christian churches. How do we know we’re right? How can we tell if we’re heading in the right direction and not down a path to heresy? Even within our ecumenical Christian community we can point to the same passage in Scripture and argue different cases.
It All Comes Down to Humility
How confident are we that we have it 100% right: that we are standing on solid rock, and this is a hill we’re prepared to die on? When it comes to faith in Jesus Christ, hallelujah and amen to that. The Christians in Pergamum stood on the same rock.
But how confident are we to stand before the throne of God and say we have it 100% right: we know it all and are the holders of HIs complete truth? That there is no gap or fissure in our knowledge of who He is, what He is doing and how he wants everyone to do it? I would suggest a healthy stance to take here is one on our knees with a is a broken spirit, a broken and contrite heart.
I believe it comes down to, how willing are we to question our comfort zones? Our “faith battle grounds”? How open are we to truly allowing God’s Holy Spirit to inspect our inner thoughts, hearts, desires and hear what HE has to say? How willing are we to come before God and ask, how do I measure up today… every day?
The Only Fail-Safe Way
I remember chatting to Jeff Bails one day and I asked him how he was going. He said he was stretched a mile wide and was an inch deep, and that made him a swamp. Sadly, at the time I found I could relate. This analogy helped me consider my priorities and rethink how I was doing life. I believe this analogy can fit the church too. Paul told Timothy
16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is valuable for teaching the truth, convicting of sin, correcting faults and training in right living; 17 thus anyone who belongs to God may be fully equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16-17
When we start diluting Scripture, instead of being a deep cistern of pure, crystal-clear water, useful for refreshing, sustaining, cleansing, we become a swamp: shallow, tainted, muddy, susceptible to evaporation and dilution, no good for anything except bogging ourselves and others down.
The Double-Edged sword
Like the Israelites, like the Christian’s in Pergamum, we have a choice: we can allow God’s Spirit to convict us of our sin—that which separates us from God—repent, and return to right relationship, or be prepared to face our Lord and his sword when he comes to judge the inner truths and hidden attitudes of our heart. For he knows. He knows where we live, the temptations we suffer, the conditions we endure, and he knows the truth beating in our hearts.
Drinking from the source is the only way we can maintain our purity. Being cleansed by Gods refining fire is the only way we can guarantee our place by His side. And being vulnerable before God’s double edge sword is the only way we can be sure to have sin’s cancer purged from our lives. This is a painful and humbling process, but the reward is overwhelming blessings – we get to partake in the miracle bread of heaven—our Lord Jesus Christ—and we are given new names engraved on the Father’s heart.
