Even though things appeared to be fine at Pergamum, their condemnation contained serious offenses. This devotional reading looks at truly worshiping God by prioritizing Him above our sinful desires.
Nuggets
- The congregation at Pergamum were steadfast in their faith, but they had two serious condemnations.
- Things may not always be as they appear.
- We must never put anything, especially our sinful desires, above God.
- Repenting is a big part of salvation.
- We need to repent quickly because we don’t know when Jesus will judge us for our sins.
- Those who endure will be eating manna instead of unclean, prohibited food.
The Messianic congregation at Pergamum was commended for holding firm in their faith, but they were also condemned for being lax in it.
How can that be?
Let's Put It into Context
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Devotions in the The Letters to the Congregations series
Pergamum’s Condemnation
“But I have a few things against you: you have some there who hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, so that they might eat food sacrificed to idols and practice sexual immorality. So also you have some who hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans” (Rev. 2: 14-15 ESV)
The congregation at Pergamum were steadfast in their faith, but they had two serious condemnations.
The congregation at Pergamum probably thought they were doing things correctly. Audio Man said they were doing good, but they had to do better.
Mackennal described the congregation at Pergamum this way. He wrote, “Pergamum is the incomplete Church: valiant and earnest, it is oblivious of the new demand made upon it: it is indifferent to subtle inward influences, which are corrupting its teachers, and endangering the spiritual life of its members.”
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Look at what that said. The world’s pull can be difficult to see.
Satan is the father on lies. He still works his cunning on us today.
While the congregation overall was strong in the truth, the some in the Messianic congregation at Pergamum lacked the discipline to truly remain faithful. This manifested itself in two different serious ways.
Hold the Teaching of Balaam — Idolatrous Practices
Things may not always be as they appear.
Most of us remember the story about Balaam and his talking donkey (Num. 26: 22-35). Balak wanted Balaam, a prophet, to curse the Wilderness Wanders as they went through on their way to the Promised Land. God wouldn’t let him.
That isn’t the only time Balaam is mentioned in God’s Word. One time, Peter wrote, “Forsaking the right way, they have gone astray. They have followed the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved gain from wrongdoing” (II Pet. 2: 15 ESV).
The disciples were following the pull of the world. They were compromising, just as Balaam did.
What was being taught here at Pergamum was that these laws did not apply to them.
Look what Mackennal said. He wrote, “The Church is in danger from erroneous thinking as well as from apostasy, and faithful leaders must not trifle with that danger.”
Erroneous thinking. Thinking we know what God wants — and are wrong.
This says the church is wrong in knowing what God wants, not a worldview person.
The Church has been wrong for a long time, and still is.
We can’t be a Pharisee and bank on tradition and our way of interpretation. We have to be open to changing our way of thinking when God reveals His true meaning to us.
We read the story of Balaam and think there is no way that is going to happen again. No other donkey in the rest of the age is going to speak in plain language that we can understand.
But we can’t discount Balaam because of that.
We are just like Balaam. We try to make things better for ourselves by compromising with the worldview.
Yes, Balaam should have known better. The congregation at Pergamum should have known better.
We should know better.
We know yielding to worldly temptation and denying God is not what we as disciples are called to do.
Disciples have to be vigilant in resisting sin. How do we do this? We diligently seek God.
Searching for and Seeking God
Hearing His Word (Rom. 10: 17)
Reading His Word (Rev. 1: 3)
Praying to Him (Heb. 4: 16)
Studying His Word (Ac. 17: 11)
Meditating on His Word (Ps. 1: 1-2)
Memorizing His Word (Ps. 119: 11)
Hold the Teaching of the Nicolaitans — Sexual Immorality
We must never put anything, especially our sinful desires, above God.
The other serious condemnation was that the disciples were engaging in sexual immorality.
Remember our discussion about the Nicolaitans at Ephesus. Bible scholars don’t really know who they were. But they, too, were preaching that it was okay to eat anything they wanted, including food offered to idols.
Nothing much is ever said about the Nicolaitans. We just know that Jesus didn’t like them. In fact, He hated them.
What Mackennal did say was that the congregation at Pergamum was indifferent to the Nicolaitans. They were deliberately focusing on the worldly desires of people, including sexual desires.
Mackennal did give us his opinion as to why the congregation at Pergamum were even interested in the Nicolaitan teaching.
- They were curious.
- They wanted more knowledge.
- The Nicolaitans seemed to foster an inclusive line of thinking.
- They liked the freedom of it.
- They thought this would bring them pleasure, aka God’s joy, as their reward.
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Ooo, baby. Were they trying to justify their sexual immorality through perceived biblical truths?
It doesn’t work that way.
We can’t apply God’s Word to our way of thinking. We have to correct our way of thinking to align with God’s Word.
Call to Repentance
“Therefore repent. If not, I will come to you soon and war against them with the sword of my mouth” (Rev. 2: 16 ESV)
Repenting is a big part of salvation.
The congregation at Pergamum had two choices. They could either repent or face judgment.
We can’t gain salvation without it.
The foundation of repenting is changing our minds and going in a direction that leads us to God.
God isn’t going to accept our request for salvation if we don’t repent. We must show Him that we have the faith to make the needed transformation.
Repenting is all about our acknowledging that we have sinned against God. If we don’t acknowledge that we disobeyed God and put ourselves before Him, we haven’t repented.
Of what, again, was Pergamum repenting? They had been lax in their treatment of sin.
Yes, they were trying to not sin. They were not trying to rid the world of sin.
The congregation at Pergamum was doing a lot. Audio Man required more.
God is always calling us to something more because that more is a closer relationship with Him.
That closer relationship includes submitting more aspects of ourselves to God. We aren’t the same people that we were. We need to commit who we are currently to God.
Come to You Soon and War against Them
We need to repent quickly because we don’t know when Jesus will judge us for our sins.
Yes, Jesus came the first time as the Prince of Peace. He won’t come in peace on the Day of the Lord. We’ll get to that in Revelation 20.
Let’s just say here that Jesus will come as Judge.
It is logical that God’s Word will be used to judge. In it are all the laws and commandments on which we will be judged. But we won’t be judged on whether we have done the do’s and not done the don’ts.
The laws and commandments show us God’s character. Only when we have that will salvation be complete.
Audio Man told the congregation to repent quickly. None of us know how much of a future we have. This may be our last day in this world. Jesus may call us home individually or as a Church.
We can’t wait to repent. The longer it takes to repent, the harder it is to repent.
We need to truly repent today.
Closing
“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it” (Rev. 2: 17 ESV)
Those who endure will be eating manna instead of unclean, prohibited food.
The One Who Conquers
Asking for forgiveness from God and turning away from our sin is the only way we will be labeled as the one who conquers.
We’ve got to do it quickly and decisively. We can’t let the worldview color it in any way.
Conquering is a daily battle. We have to put on the armor every day because Satan is going to come at us relentlessly.
True, there is no battle when we are following the worldview. Satan doesn’t have to fight us when he has us.
It is only when we put our faith in Jesus that the battle begins. And it can be a major campaign.
Think about it. It would take tremendous faith to overcome what the congregation at Pergamum faced. They would deserve the double reward Audio Man said they would receive.
But we can’t think that it is just an external battle. We must realize we have to fight the evil within us.
Give Some of the Hidden Manna
The Jews would be very familiar with the history of manna – even if they didn’t know what it was. They would know that is what God fed the Wilderness Wanders for most of their journey through the wilderness (Ex. 16: 1-36).
There was nothing hidden about that manna. So, how is this different?
I think the reference of God’s Word being our bread (Mt. 4: 3-4) applies here.
We’ve talked about how God’s Word can be confusing. Even the Apostles encountered that. “I have said these things to you in figures of speech. The hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures of speech but will tell you plainly about the Father” (Jn. 16: 25 ESV).
The meaning of Jesus’ words is hidden to those who did not believe. Those who do believe have to think about them and apply them to understand.
We can only get to a level of understanding by being obedient to God.
We do gain the reward for overcoming in this life. This happens as Satan and this world lose their grip on us.
Oh, yeah. It is gradual, and it is a dogfight to the bitter end of our lives. But we all can think of areas in our lives where we have overcome and won that particular battle.
Did we do it on our own? No way. Does God credit it to us as our victory? Yes, He does.
When we seek God/eat the manna, we grow to understand Him better and gain faith, our reward. Our faith is only sustained through the reading and study of God’s Word. Only through meditating on it and applying it to our lives do we stop our spiritual death.
Hall took it another way. He reminded us “… you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God” (Col. 3: 3 ESV).
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Only God and Jesus are going to see our hearts. Others might see our outward actions, but as with the congregation at Pergamum, those actions may be deceiving and not indicative of the true condition of our hearts.
Stratton reminded us that we have to have victory over this world. It tries to intimidate us and persecute us. We’ve talked a lot about enduring the persecution.
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We can’t let this world intimidate us. We have to stand strong in our beliefs in God’s doctrine. We can’t cower to it to the point we are stymied in our witness.
It flitted through my mind that this is how we are in the world but not of the world. We don’t buy into its baloney.
A White Stone
White and black stones were used to provide the verdict in first-century trials. A white stone means the person had been acquitted/they were innocent.
When we apply that to our spiritual condition, the white stone means God has forgiven us of our sins and we are released from the guilt.
Think about it. Those in the Pergamum congregation who endured to the end would receive a white stone with a new name.
Taylor talked about stones being used as an admission ticket. I can see that as a symbol needed for our admission to Heaven.
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Spurgeon had something similar. He stated that stones were given to victors who won the race or defeated a lion or another gladiator. This entitled him to a free meal and recognition as the victor.
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Hall talked about a practice where stones (among other things), called a tessera, were given as a symbol of the establishment of friendship. It was divided and the names of each party written on them. No one else knew you had a tessera with someone else’s name on it.
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It is kind of like our friendship necklaces these days.
Put two and two together. “… I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it” (Rev. 2: 17 ESV).
Our white stone — our tessera — is going to have someone else’s name on it. Whose name would we want other than Jesus’? It shows our sins have been forgiven, gaining us entrance into Heaven.
This name, too, is a secret and hidden. Only disciples will know it
Making the Connections #1
Okay, so it says that some in the congregation were not holding firm and were being lax in their discipline. The whole church was liable for the actions of a few.
How can that be?
We are told that we are to lovingly invite backsliders back into the fold. “Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted.” (Gal. 6: 1 ESV).
Yes, we are to be our brother’s keeper. We are help them grow their faith.
How do we do that? “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Mt. 28: 19-20 ESV emphasis added).
Making disciples isn’t a onetime shot. It is going to be accomplished through long-term teaching.
Yes, we do this by being preachers and teachers — and bloggers. We also do this by being mentors and family members (earthly and heavenly).
This might be an on-going relationship. It may be a one-time comment with someone we don’t even know.
We are all called to minister to others to help them grow closer to God by turning away from sin.
Making the Connections #2
Did it surprise you that the idolatrous practices and sexual immorality went hand in hand with the congregation at Pergamum? Crosby said it shouldn’t. He wrote, “The idolatry and sensuality of the world go together. They are parts of one whole. Men depart from the holy God and seek unto idols on purpose that they may indulge their fleshly lusts.”
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I can see the tie. Idol worship is putting something else before God. Indulging our fleshly desires through sexual immorality is putting ourselves before God.
Either way, God is no longer our priority.
God calls His disciples to totally submit to Him. We must make His priority in every aspect of our lives.
Making the Connections #3
Ooh, baby. I never thought Balaam would be a poster child for the goat’s masquerading as sheep.
- Balaam thought his service was enough. Loving God, he thought, wasn’t needed.
- He thought he could decide how to achieve his goals. He didn’t think about submitting himself to God.
- He didn’t expect to be punished because he thought what he did was good enough.
Balaam would have made a good Pharisee.
Some disciples don’t see that they are compromising with the worldview. They see themselves as following the greatest commandments.
God does not waiver on expecting us to “… love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength” (Mk. 12: 30 ESV).
Our attitude has to be right.
Making the Connections #4
Jones gave us an excellent reminder. We have a tendency to only see the evil within us. He countered that we see the evil because of the good within us.
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The Holy Spirit is within us, prompting us to see that evil, so that we may confess it. If we did not have the good, we would not worry about the evil. If we did not have the evil, we would not appreciate the good.
Knowing about the evil, within us helps us overcome it. Knowledge by and of itself does not overcome the evil.
We still have to work on that.
How Do We Apply This?
- Obey our heavenly calling.
- Guard against being pulled unknowingly into the worldview mindset.
- Evaluate frequently where allegiance lies.
- Seek God.
- Grow the practice of submitting to God’s Word.
- Pray.
- Implement God’s Word in our lives.
- Hang on tight to Jesus.
- Remain unwavering in our faith to Jesus.
- Engage in direct war against evil.
- Hold on to God’s truth.
- Limit Satan’s influence over us.
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Father God. Our world today is full of churches that put any number of things before You and condone sexual immorality. Forgive us, Lord. Give those who are strong in the faith the courage and boldness to attempt to restore those to the faith. Amen.
What do you think?
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