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Introduction
In the last lesson, we talked about the church of Smyrna and the importance of retaining our faith in Christ even in the midst of great suffering. In today’s lesson, we will explore the importance of retaining our faith in Christ Jesus even in the face of tribulation and death.
The Letter to Pergamos
The church of Pergamos is the third church listed (Revelation 2:12-17).
"And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write; These things saith he which hath the sharp sword with two edges;" Revelation 2:12
The church was in a very wealthy Roman city that was the center of emperor worship and home to temples devoted to many gods including Zeus, Athena, and Asclepius. Asclepius was especially important to the inhabitants of Pergamos in that he was called the savior and was able to heal the injured and the ill. People would go to the temple of Asclepius to sleep there hoping that Asclepius would come to them in a dream telling them how they may get healed. The concept of the medical symbol of the snake and staff originates from the worship of Asclepius as the people chose a serpent to be the symbol of Asclepius. The pagan inhabitants of Pergamos were so deep in the worship of false gods that Jesus Himself used two particular phrases to describe the strong demonic influence behind this activity.
“I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, even where Satan's seat is: and thou holdest fast my name, and hast not denied my faith, even in those days wherein Antipas was my faithful martyr, who was slain among you, where Satan dwelleth.” Revelation 2:13
The city of Pergamos was the place “where Satan’s seat is” and “where Satan dwells.” Both of these terms were signifying the heavy demonic influence Satan had over the inhabitants of Pergamos. All idol worship is directed to Satan and since this city was a prominent center for idol worship in the Roman Empire, it was spiritually the center of Satan’s government (hence the term Satan’s seat or throne) as well as his dwelling place. These terms do not imply that Pergamos is the only place on earth where Satan lives, but rather they denote his strong presence in the city because of idol worship. It is the same as how we often call Las Vegas, Nevada “Sin City”; it is not to say that sin only dwells there but is to signify the heavy presence of sin because of the numerous evil activities that are allowed and committed in that city.
The pagans in Pergamos, like in other places of the Roman Empire, practiced polytheism, the belief in many gods. The church of Pergamos faced fierce persecution because of their belief in the one true God, often called by theologians monotheism. Despite the intensive demonic influence that engulfed the city the church remained faithful to Jesus even in the face of martyrdom when the church lost Antipas, who Jesus called “my faithful martyr.”
Such persecution is certainly happening in other countries today. India is an example of where most people practice polytheism and perform all sorts of rituals to appease their idols. Christians endure intense tribulation because of their belief in Jesus Christ. Some are killed for their faith in Jesus. Yet these Christians remain faithful to the Lord, resisting the demonic activities that surround them.
However, in the case of the church in Pergamos, being around such influence eventually took its toll. Despite their good deeds, Jesus told the messenger of the church that he had people who practiced the doctrine of Balaam.
"But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication." Revelation 2:14
Balaam was an apostate prophet mentioned in the book of Numbers. After he had unsuccessfully tried to put a curse on the children of Israel while they were in the wilderness, Balaam advised King Balak of Moab to send bewitching Midianite women to entice the men of Israel to practice their pagan traditions and combine those traditions with the worship of God (read Numbers chapters 22-24 and Numbers 31 for more info on this subject).
Throughout the Old Testament, God warned the Israelites not to follow pagan traditions that the other nations practiced like idol worship. In Deuteronomy 18:9-14 God listed specific things that were counted as abominations unto Him. These included (but not limited to) witchcraft, necromancy (talking to the dead), throwing children into the fire for the worship of the false god Baal, enchantment (magic), and divination. God commanded Israel not to practice these things lest they become cursed and be punished by God. Practicing pagan traditions is abomination to the Lord, and we must never do these things. We also must not ever combine these practices with the worship of God; that too is also an abomination, and it will result in a curse that will be cast upon you if you practice these things.
"When thou art come into the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those nations." Deuteronomy 18:9
Very often, Satan will send people to us to entice us to commit abominations that God forbids. These people are not always strangers; they can be someone like our co-worker, spouse, friend, or even relatives. Sometimes they possess charismatic traits that attract us to them and we become mesmerized by their charm. They then seduce us to sin against our Father by practicing abominable things, which causes us to depart from Him. Consequently, we become cursed with the sin we were enticed to commit. Spiritual discernment and vigilance are key in recognizing people who attempt to entice us to sin.
Jesus also told the pastor of Pergamos that he was allowing the doctrine of the Nicolaitans to flourish in his church.
"So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate." Revelation 2:15
The Nicolaitans, whose name derives from Nicolas which in the Greek means, "conqueror" and "destroyer," were false teachers disguised as Christians who infiltrated the early Church and led many Christians astray through their pagan doctrines. They taught that the combination of abominations with the worship of God was lawful. By this, they destroyed many Christians' true faith in God and caused them to follow false gods that were portrayed as the true God. The messenger of the church of Ephesus was commended by the Lord on his hatred for the doctrine of the Nicolaitans (Revelation 2:6). However, the church of Pergamos was not as resistant, but instead appeased the pagans by allowing false teachers to come in and teach things that are contrary to scripture.
Jesus exhorted the pastor to repent or else He would come unto him quickly (Revelation 2:16). This warning applies to all of us and especially to many Christians who, whether knowingly or unknowingly, have combined the abominations of the world with God’s laws. We should never take the things of this world and apply them to the worship of God. God tells us to not pick up the abominable and use it to worship Him. This deed in itself is an abomination unto the Lord.
"Neither shalt thou bring an abomination into thine house, lest thou be a cursed thing like it: but thou shalt utterly detest it, and thou shalt utterly abhor it; for it is a cursed thing." Deuteronomy 7:26
No matter how faithful we are to the Lord we cannot allow sin to corrupt us in ways that will lead us to commit abominations against Him. Jesus warned that many who thought were serving God would be eternally banished from His kingdom because they were attempting to serve God in their sins.
“Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” Matthew 7:22-23
We must be very careful of the things that we do and examine everything we do to ensure that it is not offensive to our Father. Ask the Lord in humility to reveal all sins and abominations that you may be doing unknowingly. We should resist all the influences of the devil and be faithful unto death.