The Church in Pergamos Revelation 2:12 -17 CLICK TITLE FOR AUDIO
Church in Pergamos
The identification of the speaker – 12
Once again he is Jesus Christ identified by something John saw in Revelation 1 – in this case he is identified by his sharp sword with 2 edges [Revelation 1:16]
The Compliments – 13
As with the other churches, he has some good news and he has some bad news – this is the good news:
Thy works – Revelation 20:12 shows that works are the basis of judgment [as in the other churches] – contrast v.14 where he has only a few things against them – so it sounds like this church is doing relatively well
Thy dwelling – where Satan’s seat is – sounds like this church is located in the same city where the devil’s headquarters are – compare 13:2 – the devil has power, HIS SEAT, and authority [Luke 4:5-6] – notice that the Pope has the Vatican, the Mormon prophet has Salt Lake City, the Watchtower Society has New York City, the President of the USA has the White House in Washington, D.C., the Kremlin has Moscow, etc. – eventually the devil will move into Jerusalem, into the temple that will be there during the tribulation [2 Thessalonians 2:3-4
Thy Testimony – holdest fast my name – so they haven’t denied him – contrast Peter at Jesus’ trial – notice that Jesus gave the same admonition to his disciples [Matthew 10:28-33] – even for church age saints, we have a similar admonition [2 Timothy 2:11-13]
Thy Faith – like Paul spoke about his faith in 2 Timothy 4:7 – like Smyrna had faith in Rev 2:10 – and like James 2:20-24 says, there are works and faith in their salvation [Revelation 14:12] –
They stay faithful even when Antipas is slain [they will kill one in hopes that the others will disband (Acts 5:36-37)] – ANTI [against] PAS [peace] – he is “anti-peace” because Revelation 6:2, Daniel 8:25, 11:21, 11:24 indicate that the “peace” movement is about war and world dominance and Antipas knows it and will be against it – and the church will be against it with him
The Corrections – 14-15 – the bad news
The doctrine of Balaam – which is defined and described in this verse – in Numbers 22-25, Balaam tried to curse the Jews for Balak, the king of Moab, but God turned his curse into a blessing – so Balaam told Balak that if, instead of fighting Israel, he would get Israel to fornicate with the beautiful Moabite women and eat their sacrifices, God would kill them – 24,000 died as a result [Numbers 25:2-3, 9] – so there will be idolatry and fornication going on during the tribulation as part of worshipping the antichrist – churches are leading up to this today – covetousness is idolatry and it is mixed with sensuality
There is also the error of Balaam [Jude 11] – whereby Balaam tried to curse Israel but God would not hearken unto him [Joshua 24:9-10]
There is also the way of Balaam [2 Peter 2:15] – whereby Balaam chased money and honor instead of God’s will [Numbers 22:32, 22:12, 22:16-18] – he was perverse in his way
The Nicolaitans – these are the clergy over the laity – unlike Ephesus that hated the Nicolaitans, these guys had them in their church – they are religious leaders like the Pharisees [they hate God and mislead the congregation]
The Consequences – 16
He said repent or I’ll fight them with the sword of my mouth [this two edged sword is his word] – that is how he dealt with the Pharisees in Matthew 22-23 – and that is the weapon of our warfare [Ephesians 6:17]
The Condition – 17 – those who overcome get:
Hidden Manna – Micah 7:14-15, Revelation 12:6, 14 – this is how the Jews will be fed in the tribulation
White Stone – connected somehow with the living stone (Jesus) and the lively stones (church age saints) [1 Peter 2:4-5; Ephesians 2:19-22]
New name – like Revelation 3:12 and 14:1