03.11. The Message to Pergamos

The Message to Pergamos (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; I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, even where Satan’s seat is" (Revelation 2:12-13). The name Pergamos means "much marriage." Paul wrote to the Corinthian Assembly that he was jealous over them with a godly jealousy, for he had espoused or betrothed them to one husband, that he might present them as a chaste virgin to Christ (2 Corinthians 11:2). The true Church is engaged to Christ and will be married to Him, its Lover and Bridegroom, following His coming for His bride. But this blessed espousal and marriage was quite forgotten during this third period in the history of the professing Church, which is prophetically before us in Pergamos. It was indeed a time of "much marriage," for while professing to be true to Christ, the Church became united and married to the world, and that the heathen, Pagan world. The Changed Conditions In Pergamos we have quite a different state of things from that of the previous period given in Smyrna . There the Church was relentlessly persecuted by ten Roman emperors for over one hundred years. But now with the victory of Constantine over Maxentius for the throne of the Roman Empire, the persecution against the Christians ceased. Constantine claimed to have had a vision of a flaming cross with the inscription, "By this conquer." He then adopted the sign of the cross as the imperial standard of his armies and declared himself a convert to Christianity, though he was never baptized until near the end of his life.

He was victorious in battle and a public edict in favour of the Christians was issued in 313. Constantine soon saw the superiority of Christianity and that the Christians were better citizens, etc., so he issued an edict against Paganism in 324. Christians were given posts of honour and bishops of the Church sat on thrones with the nobles of the empire. Constantine took his place, now more openly to the whole world as head of the Church; but at the same time retained the office of the Pontifex Maximus - the high priest of the heathen. This he never gave up.

Thus the Church and State became allied. The Church and the world joined hands in an unholy marriage. Allegiance to Christ and His Word was sacrificed, and the Lord had to say Pergamos was dwelling where Satan’s seat was. History records the accounts of gorgeous heathen temples and the vestments of its priests consecrated for Christian service. In order to reconcile the priests and the people of heathenism to the new order of Christianity, many Pagan rites and ceremonies were adopted by the Church. Heathen festivals were changed into Christian days, a notable example being so-called "Christmas."

December 24 or 25 was observed among all Pagan nations in honour of the birth of the son of the "Queen of heaven." No such festival as Christmas was ever heard of in the Christian Church until the fourth century. It was then in the time of Constantine that December 25, the Pagan holiday, was adopted by the Church, and called "Christmas" and made the birthday of Christ. (See "The Two Babylons" by Alex Hislop.) In this way the Pagans and the Christians were united in an unholy alliance and Pagan corruption with a Christian name attached to it. In Pergamos Satan is within the Church as a deceiving serpent and seducer. He could not crush the Church by persecution, but he now succeeds within by corrupting it. The Presentation of the Lord To this Assembly at Pergamos, and to the professing church of this third prophetical period, the Lord presents Himself as the One who has "the sharp sword with two edges" and as the One who knows their works and where they were dwelling, how they had settled down into Satan’s throne in compromise and indifference to His glory and holiness. As previously remarked in these studies, the approach of the Lord to each Assembly is always in keeping with the condition He finds, and therein is the key to the situation and the remedy for what is wrong. The sharp sword with two edges is the Word of God (Hebrews 4:12). Revelation 18:15 tells us that when the Lord comes in judgment He will smite the nations with a sharp sword that goes out of His mouth. In addressing Pergamos as the One who has the sharp sword with two edges, the Lord is warning the Assembly that He is about to search into and declare her true spiritual condition and judge her state by the Word, which is sharper than a two-edged sword.

Because His holy Word was no longer the standard of judgment in the Assembly, He comes with the sword to prove that the Word never lost its power in His hands. If Pergamos had been under the action and power of the Word of God, they would not have compromised and come under the power of the seducer, Satan, and fallen to where his throne was. The Word of God is the detective power of God to deal with evil; it is "a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart" and reveals everything. The Assembly of Pergamos had failed to use the sword of the Word; it had not tried those who said they were apostles and were not, as Ephesus had done, and was commended of the Lord for it. Therefore its condition was very serious and evil. Paganism had now become mingled with Christianity, as well as Judaism, which we saw coming in the Smyrna period. This is a practical word for the Church of Christ at all times. The Word of God is the sharp sword which we must depend upon and use against the enemy and his wiles. If we cling to His Word and abide by it, we will be preserved from the evil of Satan’s world. It is by the neglect of God’s Word and indifference to its precepts that the Church falls into seductions and snares of its arch-enemy and becomes corrupted as Pergamos was. The Psalmist could say, "By the Word of Thy lips I have kept me from the paths of the destroyer" (Psalms 17:4). So we are exhorted to "Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil," and to take "the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God" (Ephesians 6:11; Ephesians 6:17). The remedy for every wrong and evil condition is the Word of God and its use in the power of the Spirit. The Lord further says to Pergamos, "I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, even where Satan’s seat (throne - N.Tn) is". Pergamos was the capital of the Roman province of Asia at this time and was famous for its Pagan rites and ceremonies. From this centre heathenism reigned and idolatry spread all over Asia . The persecutions against the Church had issued from Pergamos. Now in this Pergamos period of the Church it was dwelling where Satan’s throne was.

Satan is now "the god of this world" (2 Corinthians 4:4); therefore the world is the place of his throne. The force of the Lord’s words, then, is that the Church of the time of Pergamos was dwelling in the world of Paganism; Judaism and Christianity had united under Satan’s seductions. The Church had thus forgotten her heavenly calling and her heavenly character and had settled down in the world where its Saviour and Lord was rejected and cast out. The professing Church and the world had joined hands and enjoyed themselves together. The result of this unholy alliance was, as another has said, "the world has become a little churchy, but the Church has become immensely worldly." If this was true in the Pergamos epoch of the professing Church, alas, how definitely the Church of this present, age is characterized by union with this present evil world system. May the Lord’s presentation to Pergamos with the sharp sword, and His words as to where it was dwelling, speak to our hearts and consciences with "the sword of the Spirit; which is the Word of God" (Ephesians 6:17). The remedy for every wrong and evil condition is the Word of God and its delivering power of the Spirit. The Lord’s Commendation

"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). In spite of the declension in Pergamos and their settling down in the world and dwelling where Satan’s throne was, there was still that which the Lord could commend. They held fast to His Name and had not denied the faith. This was especially true during the great Arian controversy that took place in the fourth century.

Arius held that Christ was the first and noblest of all created beings which God had made and thus denied Christ’s Godhead and deity. The council of Nice, Bithynia was called in June, 325, by Constantine to consider this grave error. 318 bishops and a large number of priests and deacons were present. Many bore the marks of suffering from the former persecutions. Constantine acted as moderator and the doctrine of the trinity and the true Godhead of Christ was maintained by this council.

We may observe in passing that this serious and erroneous teaching as to the Person of Christ which Arius promulgated early in the Church’s history, and was defeated at the council of Nice, is actively being propagated today by so-called "Jehovah’s Witnesses." It is an old lie of Satan to rob Christ of His glory as the Creator and Son of God and should be vigorously resisted, as it was in the Pergamos period when the commendation of the Lord, of holding fast to His Name and not denying the faith, was given. The name "Antipas," whom the Lord speaks of as "my faithful martyr, who was slain among you," means "against all." Nothing else certain is known of him, but he apparently stood alone for the Lord and suffered martyrdom for Christ. This name, it would seem, stands for the individual faithfulness of many during this time of general declension and activity of Satan as the seducer.

Athanasius, who became the bishop of Alexandria and was greatly used of God in preserving the Church from the Arian heresy, is a notable example of one standing against all, as the name of "Antipas" indicates. He disregarded the imperial edict of Constantine, who changed his mind two years after the Council of Nice as to Arianism and commanded that Arius and his friends be received into the Church. Athanasius endured persecution, calumny, exile and frequently endangered his life in defence of the great fundamental truth of the Godhead of Christ. Many years after the council of Nice, when the Arian party was gaining influence, Athanasius was summoned before the Arian emperor who demanded that he cease his opposition to the teaching of Arius and receive Arians. When Athanasius refused, the emperor reproved him bitterly and said, "Do you not realize that all the world is against you?" The champion of the truth answered, "Then I am against all the world." He was a true Antipas and a noble example for believers at all times. Thus the faith of God, the revelation of Himself in Christ the Son, was maintained amidst much evil and the Lord noticed it all and commends it. The Censure

"But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to cast a stumbling-block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication. So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes, which thing I hate" (Revelation 2:14-15).

We read about Balaam in Numbers 22:1-41; Numbers 23:1-30; Numbers 24:1-25; Numbers 25:1-18; Numbers 31:16; 2 Peter 2:15-16 and Jude 1:11. There we learn that he was a hireling prophet that hired out to Balak, king of the Moabites, to curse the children of Israel because he loved the wages of unrighteousness. Failing in this, he gave counsel to seduce Israel into uniting with the Midianites and the Moabites and brought about the evil of Israel joining themselves unto Baal-peor and the judgment of God thereupon in the plague (Numbers 25:1-18; Numbers 31:16). He thus sought to break down Israel ’s separation from the heathen nations and succeeded in measure in this by teaching Balak to put a stumbling-block before the children of Israel and caused them to eat things sacrificed unto idols and commit fornication.

Association with the world is the doctrine of Balaam and the breakdown of separation from evil. It is the hireling prophet who for his own ends seeks to destroy all godly separateness. There were such in the Church of Pergamos who held Balaam’s doctrine, and the Lord held the Church responsible for this evil tolerated in their midst. Those who held this doctrine were undoubtedly such of the clergy who preached for hire and advised the mingling of the Church with idolatrous temple worship. History records that many new ceremonies, the burning of candles in daylight, incense, images, processions, purifications, and innumerable other things were introduced into the Church in the fourth and fifth centuries.

Idolatry and fornication were the two sins Israel was led into by the counsel of Balaam. These evils were strongly denounced by the apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 6:15-18 and 1 Corinthians 10:19-28. In Pergamos the teachers of these impure practices were sheltered in the Church and the result was the moral ruin of all contaminated by these unholy and evil teachings and practices. The angel, or representative of Pergamos, is not charged with this evil of Balaam, but with allowing it. They had not resisted this evil. They were indifferent to these evil teachers of Balaamism and Nicolaitanism, and thus the sin of Pergamos was toleration of evil and evil men. Alas, how true this is of the professing Church of today. May we heed the censure of the Lord to Pergamos. From 1John 5:20-21 we learn that any object outside of Jesus Christ is idolatry, and 2 Corinthians 6:14-16 and James 4:4 would teach us that friendship and illicit intercourse with the world is fornication. The Lord further charged Pergamos with having those who held the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes, which thing He hated. We noticed that in Ephesus there were "the deeds of the Nicolaitanes" and they were hated by the Assembly and commended of the Lord for it. Here there is an advance in this evil, for it is now "the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes" and the propagators of it were in the bosom of the Church. It was now systematized evil taught and practised. The Assembly had settled down in the world where Satan’s throne was and was tolerating what the Lord hated. It cannot be otherwise when the Church abandons its pilgrim character; separation from evil cannot be maintained while dwelling in the world. This applies individually and collectively. As we have fully gone into the meaning of "Nicolaitanism" in the message to Ephesus, we shall not speak further of it here.

Parable of the Mustard Seed

We have been drawing attention in previous studies to the similarity between the seven parables of Matthew thirteen and these seven Churches. The third parable likens the kingdom of heaven to a grain of mustard seed, which the Lord says "is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof" (Matthew 13:31-32). How true this is of the state of the professing Church in this third period of Pergamos. Christianity and the Church had spread from the small, genuine mustard seed to a great tree of prominence and now was giving shelter to evil teachers and evil doctrine, which the birds symbolize. How true also of Christendom today, and how sad that it is so! The Call to Repentance

"Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of My mouth" (Revelation 2:16). The Lord thus seeks to arouse the whole church to self-judgment for allowing the evils of Balaamism and Nicolaitanism among them and for their dwelling where Satan’s throne was. He calls upon the entire church to repent, to change their mind about these allowed evils, to judge them, and to take sides with Himself against them. The Lord was still looking for repentance in the Church during this Pergamos period: there was the possibility of recovery to proper conditions and characteristics of the Assembly pleasing to the Lord. This was only possible by genuine repentance and clearance of the evil.

Confession of sin, self-judgment and godly sorrow is true repentance. This is ever the only way of recovery from evil and its snares. If things come into our lives or into the Assembly of God that are contrary to the Word of God, we must exercise self-judgment and repentance, individually or collectively. Thus we shall be delivered from them, "For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of" (2 Corinthians 7:10). The Lord said to Pergamos that if they did not repent and judge the evil among them, "I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of My mouth." Notice, He did not say, "I will fight against you," but "against them." He never fights against His own people, but He will fight against those who bring in evil doctrines and practices, such as those who held the doctrine of Balaam and the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes at Pergamos. If we do not judge evil that may arise in the Church, the Lord will do it Himself, and then it will be to our shame. He is zealous of His glory and of the holiness that becomes His house. The sword of His mouth, with which He will fight against evil doers, is the Word of God. His Word is "sharper than any two-edged sword" (Hebrews 4:12), and has come from His mouth (Deuteronomy 8:3); it is God-breathed. He presents Himself to Pergamos as the One who has the "sharp sword with two edges" (Hebrews 4:12), and when He comes to earth in judgment He will smite the nations with a sharp sword that goes out of His mouth, as we have previously noted in Revelation 19:11-15. That living Word we have and must use it against evil that may arise in our lives or in the Church.

There is a remarkable example in the history of this Pergamos period of the Church of the Lord fighting against evil doers with the sword of His mouth. Arius, who had held the evil teaching of Christ being a created being, later presented a plausible confession of belief in a general way in the Holy Trinity. Constantine accepted his confession and sent for Alexander, Bishop of Constantinople, and told him that Arius must be received into communion on the following day, which was Sunday. Alexander, who was almost 100 years old, was greatly distressed by the Emperor’s orders. He entered the church building and earnestly prayed that the Lord would prevent such a profanation. During the evening of the same day, Arius was talking lightly and triumphantly of the ceremonies appointed for the morrow. But the Lord heard the prayer of His aged servant and that same night the evil Arius died. The Lord stepped in and did not allow the reinstatement into the Church of this heretical teacher. ( Miller’s Church History, Vol. 1.) The words of the Lord in this verse of Revelation 2:16 give us a principle of utmost importance as to cases of discipline in the Assembly, or as to the state of the whole Church. As another has remarked: "If evil is permitted to pass unjudged in the Assembly, owing to the indifference or laxity of the saints, or from unwillingness to face the difficulty, the Lord will first wait in His long-suffering, and seek through one and another, by whatever means He may choose, to awaken the consciences of His people; and then, if they fail to respond to His exhortations, He will come in Himself and deal with the evil which the Assembly had failed to judge, and in which all, by refusing to judge, had become implicated. It should never be forgotten that holiness becomes the house of God and that ’our God is a consuming fire’" (Psalms 93:5; Hebrews 12:29) (E. Dennett).

Further Errors in Pergamos Period

Before going on with the message of the Lord to the Assembly at Pergamos, we desire to draw attention to further errors which came into the professing Church during this third period of its history. As Christianity outwardly flourished under the protection of Constantine and the profession of Christianity became the sure way to wealth, honours and positions of eminence in the empire, thousands flocked around the churches at the Easter and Pentecostal festivals waiting to be baptized. Some writers speak of twelve thousand men, besides women and children, having been baptized in one year in Rome . As the Church gained in numbers, power and popularity in this outward way, the Bishops said, "We have been looking for Christ’s reign, but we have been wrong. Constantine ’s empire is Christ’s kingdom." Thus the hope and truth of Christ’s coming was given up by the Church at this time and it no longer looked for His promised coming and reign. The term "catholic" was now invariably applied in all official documents to the Church also. It was now the universal official Church upheld by the State.

During this period superstition had by this time taught men to connect the forgiveness of sins with the rite of baptism. In the fourth century the observance of this rite had an immense place in the minds of professing Christians. They believed that the waters of baptism purified the soul completely. Irenaeus, Bishop of Lyons, who died around 200, is the first of the Fathers that alludes to infant baptism. "Regeneration, born again, baptism, are used as interchangeable terms, and as meaning the same thing, in the writings of the Fathers" ( Miller’s Church History, Vol. 1).

Anxious parents hastened to have their delicate infants baptized, lest they should the under the curse of original sin, and the man of the world delayed his baptism until the near approach of death so that he might pass from the waters of regeneration to the realms of blessedness untainted by further sin. Thus this serious error of baptismal regeneration, instead of the Scriptural teaching of regeneration and new birth by the water of the Word of God and the Spirit’s power, came into the professing Church so early and remains the accepted doctrine of multitudes in Christendom today.

It was during this time that the unscriptural system of monasteries, nunneries and asceticism sprang up. Such austerity of life, of harsh treatment of the body, etc., was more an offspring of heathen philosophy than of the teachings of Christ. The words of the apostle in Colossians 2:23 surely apply to these things. The Call to the Individual

"He that hath an ear to hear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches" (Revelation 2:17). In such a state of ruin and declension, as found in Pergamos, the Lord appeals to the individual, to whoever has an opened ear to hear what the Spirit has said to the churches, and will heed and consider the censure of the Lord. He that has an inward ear opened by the Holy Spirit will listen and receive the communications given by the Lord. We are thus reminded of our individual responsibility. The Lord speaks to us individually, even today, about the state of His Church and would have us hear the voice of the Spirit and overcome evil. The Promise to the Overcomer

"To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it" (Revelation 2:17). The Lord always looks for overcomers. Those who heed the Spirit’s call and message are empowered to overcome the evils pointed out and are given precious promises. The overcomer in Pergamos would judge the evil of the doctrine of Balaam and of the Nicolaitanes and mourn about the dishonour done to the Lord’s name by toleration of them in the Assembly. We become overcomers by faith, and by the power of the Spirit as we act upon God’s Word (1 John 2:14; 1 John 4:4; 1 John 5:4). The teachers of the doctrine of Balaam in Pergamos taught Christians to eat things sacrificed to idols, but to the overcomer of this evil the Lord promises the hidden manna for his food. This would remind us of the pot of manna that was laid up in the ark as a witness and memorial of God’s faithfulness in giving Israel manna for forty years in the wilderness. The manna was Christ in His walk down here in humiliation in wilderness circumstances. The hidden manna is Christ in heaven, hidden from the eyes of men, but treasured by the Father. As we behold Him there by faith, we are reminded of what He has been down here, tempted and tried in all points as we are, but victorious over all. Recalling Him thus to mind, we feed upon Him and are sustained and strengthened in secret communion. Christ the great Overcomer is the food for the child of God, and as he feeds upon Him strength is gained for overcoming and he too becomes an overcomer.

If we think of the hidden manna as that which the overcomer will be given in heaven, it would tell us of how wilderness experiences of feeding on Christ down here will bloom afresh in glory. There we will enjoy anew all that Christ has meant to us in this wilderness life, how He sustained us as the manna for our souls. The Lord also promises the overcomer a white stone with a new name written thereon. A white stone was used in the social life and judicial customs of the ancients. Days of festivity were noted by a white stone and a host’s appreciation of a special guest was indicated by a white stone with a name or message written on it. A white stone meant acquittal in the courts and a black stone, condemnation. Voters would also indicate on a white stone the name of the candidate they approved of and put it into an urn. This promise of the Lord thus indicates His personal delight and approbation of each individual overcomer. It is a precious, secret token of His approval, a secret between Himself and the faithful heart, for no one knows the name written on the stone but the recipient. What an encouragement for the overcomer who incurs the disfavour and opposition of those who tolerate evil. May we seek to be overcomers for Christ in every evil day.