To Pergamum || You’ve Got Divine Mail! || Part 3

Have you ever sat in church and heard a sermon that doesn’t sit right with you? Have you ever being in a Bible Study and listened to a teaching that triggered a visceral reaction? You see your church struggling and asked the ultimate question, “Does God care about the church?” The idea is about the group of believers gathered under one building, but we are called the church as well.

We’re in a series called “You’ve Got Divine Mail!” Jesus had John send out letters to seven churches to celebrate their successes and offer resolutions for their problems. The goal of this series is for you be encouraged. To be encouraged to serve the church and help the body reach its best potential, and for you to serve God’s people to change the world.

In Part 2, we talked about the letter sent to the church in Smyrna. Jesus celebrated the church for keep in their faith while suffering. Some of the members will face a test from Satan as a prison sentence for ten days. Jesus encourages them to stay strong and trust that he will show them victory in the test. If successful, they will find eternal life.

In Part 3, we’re looking at the letter sent to the church in Pergamum.

Revelation 2:12-17

12            “Write this letter to the angel of the church in Pergamum. This is the message from the one with the sharp two-edged sword:

13            “I know that you live in the city where Satan has his throne, yet you have remained loyal to me. You refused to deny me even when Antipas, my faithful witness, was martyred among you there in Satan’s city.

14           “But I have a few complaints against you. You tolerate some among you whose teaching is like that of Balaam, who showed Balak how to trip up the people of Israel. He taught them to sin by eating food offered to idols and by committing sexual sin. 

15           In a similar way, you have some Nicolaitans among you who follow the same teaching. 

16           Repent of your sin, or I will come to you suddenly and fight against them with the sword of my mouth.

17           “Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches. To everyone who is victorious I will give some of the manna that has been hidden away in heaven. And I will give to each one a white stone, and on the stone will be engraved a new name that no one understands except the one who receives it.

Let’s break down the letter:

INTRODUCTION: The letter to the church in Pergamum is written to the messenger of the church to share with the congregation.

POSITIVES OF THE CHURCH: Followers of Satan are present in the town, but the church stays faithful to Jesus. Even when Antipas was martyred there.

PROBLEMS OF THE CHURCH: They are tolerating the teaching of false gods through idol offerings and sexual immorality. The Nicolaitans are present as well. Jesus calls for their repentance and fight against them with the word of God.

BLESSINGS: If they are victorious in the battle, they will see receive the manna from heaven and a new name from God.

Pergamum was built on a hill 1,000 feet above the countryside. It was a sophisticated city, with a massive library having over 200,000 pieces of Greek education and culture. Pergamum was the center of four cults and rivaled Ephesus in their idol worship. The city’s chief was Asclepius, symbolized by a serpent, was considered the God of healing. People would come from all over to seek healing from this god. The Bible shows us the false teaching here: see Numbers 21:6-9.

Jesus as the Romans used their weapons to show authority and judgment, the sharp two-edged sword stands for God’s ultimate authority and judgment. It can also be God’s future eternal separation of believers from non-believers. The sword stands for God’s teaching, showing us how to live and show us how we’ve not been living a godly life.

Believers found it hard to live a godly life there. They faced internal and external pressure to compromise to the teachings of God or leave the faith (becoming a Nicolaitan). We don’t know much about Antipas except that he refused to compromise. He was faithful and committed to it to the point where it killed him. Members of the church were tolerated those who were facing and practicing what Christianity opposed. In this context, they possibly feared losing their own life if they didn’t commit. It’s hard to make the choice to trust God and possibly die sooner or succumb to the pressures of the world and face eternal persecution.

Compromise blends the qualities of two or more different perspectives and leads to a concession of closely held principles. Compromise causes us to sacrifice something, and some of the members in Pergamum chose to sacrifice God’s teaching. We should cooperate as much as we can with our community, but we also need to avoid any relationship that discredits or violates what it means to follow Jesus.

As the center for four idolatrous cults, Pergamum was referred to as the city “where Satan has his throne.” Surrounded by Satan worship and the Roman emperor claims he’s a god, those in this church refused to let go of their faith in God, even when it meant a possible death. Standing up against the pressures and temptations of the world requires courage. It’s a battle to determine whether we use that courage to do God’s will or possibly spend an eternity away from God.

Balak was a king that feared many Israelites traveling through his country. He hired Balaam to pronounce a curse on them. Balaam initially refused, but, like most of us, a large amount of money changed his mind. Balaam eventually influenced the Israelites to begin worshipping idols. Christ rebuked the church in Pergamum for tolerating members who led others away from God. We can have different views on parts of life or interpretations of the Bible. Depending on those interpretations, those different aren’t essential for salvation, but we must be aware of spreading a false gospel and moral impurity. We need to learn how to resist that.

The sword stands for God’s judgment against rebellious cultures and all types of sin. The “manna that has been hidden away in heaven” refers to the spiritual nourishment that all believers will get. As the Israelites went toward the Promised Land in Exodus, God provided manna from heaven for their physical nourishment. Then he had Moses place a jar of it in the Ark of the Covenant as a reminder of his provision. Jewish traditions says that Jeremiah hid the Ark and the altar of incense during the destruction of Jerusalem and that it would remain hidden until Jesus’s return. Jesus is our living manna, and provides spiritual nourish that satisfies the deeper hunger of our soul. (Where do you think I got “Manna for the Mind” from 😊)

We don’t know what the white stones are or what name will be on them. Since they connect to the hidden manna, they may just be symbols of eternal nourishment or the security to eternal life. The stones are important because each of us will bear a new name of a person that truly believes in Jesus. They will be a symbol of a person that’s accepted into God’s family and determined worthy of an eternal life. In the Bible, a person’s name stood for their character. For example, Marc (my name) stands for strength, courage, and a warrior-like spirit. (see: https://www.parents.com/mark-name-meaning-origin-popularity-8664034#:~:text=Mark%20is%20a%20traditionally%20masculine,the%20patron%20saint%20of%20Venice.)

Today we learned about the acceptance of false teachings in the church in Pergamum. Jesus is calling on them to repent from the idolatrous ways and fight against the false teaching with the sword of the Spirit. Victory in this will lead to eternal manna and shiny stones with our new name.

In Part 4, we journey to the church in Thyatira. Until then, stay blessed.