THE BOOK OF REVELATION
Part 7
The Revelation Of Jesus Christ
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Message
to the Church in Pergamos
The Words of Jesus written to the Church of Pergamos
"To the angel of the church in Pergamum
write:
These are the Words of Him Who has the
sharp, double-edged sword. I know where you live — where Satan has his throne.
Yet you remain true to My Name. You did not renounce your faith in Me, even in
the days of Antipas, My faithful witness, who was put to death in your city —
where Satan lives.
Nevertheless, I have a few things against
you: You have people there who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak
to entice the Israelites to sin by eating food sacrificed to idols and by committing
sexual immorality. Likewise you also have those who hold to the teaching of the
Nicolaitans. Repent therefore! Otherwise, I will soon come to you and will
fight against them with the sword of My mouth.
He who has an ear, let him hear what The
Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give some of the
hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone with a new name written on it,
known only to him who receives it.
Rev
2:12-17 NIV
Jesus here describes Himself as One that has “the
sharp sword with two edges” as John earlier saw Him (ch. 1:16). Out of His
mouth goes ‘a sharp two-edged sword.’
The church of Pergamos was infested with men of
corrupt minds, who did what they could to corrupt both the faith and manners of
the church; and Christ, being resolved to fight against them by the Sword of
His Word, takes the title of ‘Him that hath the sharp sword with two edges”
(ref. KJV).
THE WORD OF GOD is a Sword; it is a weapon both
offensive and defensive, it is, in the hand of GOD, able to slay both sin and
sinners. It is a sharp Sword. No heart is so hard but it is able to cut it; it
can divide asunder between the soul and the spirit, that is, between the soul
and those sinful habits that by custom have become, or seem to be essential to
it.
It is a Sword with two edges; it turns and cuts
every way.
In the time of the Law, there was ‘the edge’ against
the transgressors in each dispensation.
And today, there is ‘the edge’ of the Gospel against
the despisers of the Word of Truth.
There is no escaping the edge of this Sword: if you turn
aside to the right hand, it has an edge on that side; if on the left hand, you
fall upon the edge of the Sword on that side; it turns every way.
Christ takes notice of the trials and difficulties
this church encountered:
“I know thy works, and where thou dwellest…”
(v. 13 KJV)
Now that which added very much lustre to the good
works of this church was the circumstance of the place where this church was
planted, a place where satan's seat was.
This people dwelt where satan's seat was, where he
kept his court. The devil’s circuit is throughout the world, his headquarter is
Babylon; infamous for “the teaching of the Nicolaitans”—wickedness, sin,
idolatry, corruption and sexual immorality.
Christ commends the steadfastness of this church:
“…you remain true to My Name. You did not
renounce your faith in Me”
What made the church of Pergamos hold on to her
‘faith’?
It was “Grace” and “the message of Faith.”
Our ‘faith’ will have a great influence upon our ‘faithfulness.’
Men who deny “the Faith of Christ” may boast very
much of their sincerity and faithfulness to God; but it has been seldom known
that those who let go the true Faith retained their fidelity.
Antipas was a faithful disciple of Christ, he
suffered for The Lord and sealed his faith and testimony for Jesus by his
martyrdom in the place where satan dwelt; and though the rest of the believers
there knew this, and saw it, yet they were not discouraged nor drawn away from
their steadfastness.
At a later time, many of them were drawn to idolatry
and sexual immorality.
Church of Pergamos; “compromising church.” This
church was married to paganism and false doctrines.
314-590 A.D.