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Sunday 10/18/26
Title: Examining our lives in their light – Part 2
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Examining our lives in their light – Part 2
The two letters we are reviewing today have much in common in that the average believer in them were faithful, but that some were following a distortion of grace much like the gnostic teaching of the Nicolaitans and it was not being addressed, OR they were following a teacher outside of the church in some even more destructive hearsays and being led astray by them.
In both cases the correction was to the faithful not the unfaithful.
They were not addressing those who were deceived and they were not countering the false doctrine coming at them from outside of the church, but were tolerating it.
So let’s get into it!
3rd letter – Pergamum
Jesus introduces Himself to them as, “the One Who has the sharp double-edged sword:” Which is a reference both to John’s introduction in chapter 1 which has the sword proceeding out of Jesus’ mouth as well as to Hebrews 4, which describes this sword as possessing the ability to discern between thoughts and intentions within the heart.
So this introduction would have been very suitable for these saints as we will see. Jesus is addressing TWO distinct groups in this church.
To the first, in verse 13 He says,
(13) “‘I know where you live – where satan’s throne is. Yet you continue to cling to My name and you have not denied your faith in Me, even in the days of Antipas, My faithful witness, who was killed in your city where satan lives. ”
This represented the majority of believers in Pergamum, but Jesus sees another group in their midst who He must address and He does so with “the sword of His mouth“.
Now when I taught this I stated something that I think is very instructional here so I will say it again.
If Jesus were one of us, He might, upon seeing the difficulty of their circumstances, offer an empathetic encouragement to just do the best they can in the middle of such terrible surroundings. But Jesus is NOT us. His concern for them is greater than ours, however strong we might think that is. Furthermore, Jesus’ concern is rooted in what is right, just and true and therefore, what will put them in the best standing for eternal life than any other thing.
Satan’s throne here is a reference to his demonic authority in that city. His influence being highly evident and felt by all who possess even a modicum of spiritual sensitivity. This all paints a picture of an oppressive weight and environment in which to live.
This isn’t just where satan’s rule was expressed, it is where he felt most at home. This is where he dwelt.
Then Jesus said,
“(14) But I have a few things against you: You have some people there who follow the teaching of Balaam, who instructed Balak to put a stumbling block before the people of Israel so they would eat food sacrificed to idols and commit sexual immorality.
(15) IN THE SAME WAY, there are also some among you who follow the teaching of the Nicolaitans.”
We’ve spent a fair amount of time covering the false teachings of the Nicolaitans and even connected it with its modern incarnations in the church today.
In short, the Nicolaitans were a sect that apparently taught that Christians could engage in immoral behavior with impunity.
The idea is “once saved always saved” which in nearly every location in the church where this is taught, results in many of the saints settling into a very lazy and complacent Christianity at best. At worst it makes outright immorality comfortable.
The damning thing is that both of these feel as if they are perfectly safe.
Jesus wasn’t offering a grocery list of unrelated sins. He was exposing a recurring spiritual phenomenon:
Whenever a frontal assault against God’s people fails, false teachers will inevitably arrive to suggest that holiness is optional and that blending in with the world is perfectly harmless.
But the unique thing in this letter was WHO Jesus was calling upon to repent.
It was the faithful and I think that is something that is often missed, because it is not logically intuitive.
Jesus says,
“(16) Therefore repent.”
Now in order to get what Jesus was saying it is imperative to acknowledge that the address is literally and deliberately NOT directed at those who were sinning.
Jesus praises the majority of the church for their faithfulness, even during a time when Antipas was martyred among them.
Then, still addressing the faithful, Jesus says,
“I have a few things against you: You have some people there who”
Notice He did not say, I know the ones who are sinning and I am calling you out and addressing you.
Rather Jesus is directly addressing the faithful in this church REGARDING the “some”.
So the judgment is regarding the need for the saints to judge sin in their midst.
Now to encourage you to flesh this out and own it, I want you to think through what would be necessary for ANY church, and especially ours, to live this out.
- Stay connected
- Participate in “the Fellowship” and the “breaking of bread”
- Pray for and with one another
- Seek God’s face regarding your siblings in Christ – regarding areas of concern and for grace to impart
- Don’t be silent and be receptive
SO…
- How serious was this charge?
- What were the consequences for NOT obeying?
- What was the reward for true repentance?
Well, as to how serious this charge was, Jesus said,
“(16) Therefore repent. If not, I will come to you soon and war against them with the sword of my mouth.”
To really understand this we need to examine how this same situation is addressed elsewhere in the New Testament to the church of Corinth.
1 Corinthians 5:1-13,
“(1) It is actually reported that sexual immorality exists among you, the kind of immorality that is not permitted even among the Gentiles, so that someone is cohabiting with his father’s wife.
(2) And you are proud! Shouldn’t you have been deeply sorrowful instead and removed the one who did this from among you?
(3) For even though I am absent physically, I am present in spirit. And I have already judged the one who did this, just as though I were present.
(4) When you gather together in the name of our Lord Jesus, and I am with you in spirit, along with the power of our Lord Jesus, (5) hand this man over to satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord.
(6) Your boasting is not good. Don’t you know that a little yeast affects the whole batch of dough?
(7) Clean out the old yeast so that you may be a new batch of dough – you are, in fact, without yeast. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.”
Notice the contrast with the teaching of the Nicolaitans. It is BECAUSE Jesus had paid for our sins that we are OBLIGATED to live lives of holiness unto Him!
“(8) So then, let us celebrate the festival, not with the old yeast, the yeast of vice and evil, but with the bread without yeast, the bread of sincerity and truth.”
“ (9) I wrote you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people.
(10) In no way did I mean the immoral people of this world, or the greedy and swindlers and idolaters, since you would then have to go out of the world.
(11) But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who calls himself a Christian who is sexually immoral, or greedy, or an idolater, or verbally abusive, or a drunkard, or a swindler.
Do not even eat with such a person.
(12) For what do I have to do with judging those outside? Are you not to judge those inside?
(13) But God will judge those outside. Remove the evil person from among you.”
What were the consequences for NOT obeying?
“If not, I will come to you soon and war against them with the sword of My mouth.”
If you will not judge sin in your midst, I WILL!
What was the reward for true repentance?
“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.’”
We could not be certain as to the meaning of these rewards, but knowing that those hearing them would have immediately associated something positive with them gives us a clue.
The conclusions we came to are I think good, but nothing to be emphatic about.
These were very likely being presented as the REAL prize for which the devil was attempting to get them to substitute earthly and temporal prizes.
“Hidden manna” was likely representing the eternal feast we will have in Christ as compared to the temporal feast on food sacrificed to idols which opened up the trade guilds to the citizens of Pergamum.
By refusing to participate in this open declaration of affiliation both Emperor and idol worship, goods, services and business opportunities were far more elusive to these Christians and they painted a red ‘X’ on themselves in a culture which was hostile to non-compliance.
Jesus is promising something to these Christians which was hidden from their culture… a feast to which they could not attend.
It reminds me of what the writer of Hebrews said to the Jews who were being tempted to return to Judaism and forsake Christ. He said,
“(9) Don’t be led astray by various kinds of strange teachings; for it is good for the heart to be established by grace and not by foods, since those involved in them have not benefited. (10) We have an altar from which those who serve the tabernacle do not have a right to eat. (11) For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the holy of holies by the high priest as a sin offering are burned outside the camp. (12) Therefore Jesus also suffered outside the gate, so that He might sanctify the people by His Own blood.
(13) Let us then go to Him outside the camp, bearing His disgrace. (14) For here we do not have an enduring city; instead, we seek the one to come. (15) Therefore, through Him let us continually offer up to God a sacrifice of praise, that is, the fruit of our lips that confess His name. (16) Don’t neglect to do good and to share, for God is pleased with such sacrifices.” – Hebrews 13:9-16
Then the “white stone” and “new name”.
This may also be a reward which is being compared to similar “white stones” used in their society as entry tickets to banquets, theatrical events and such.
People who refused Emperor and idol worship were “black listed” perhaps even with actual black stones.
Additionally, there was a Roman custom in that day where good days were marked by “white stones” and bad with black stones in much the same way as these stones were used in judicial proceedings to indicate guilt or acquittal.
So taken together, the “white stone” Jesus is offering may be one of acceptance in His kingdom, full acquittal and upon which He will write a new name which places our identity in Christ as opposed to our culture. This may in fact be embodied in a type of formal ceremony when Jesus confesses to us before the Father and the angels of heaven. Whoever possesses ears to hear, had better listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches!
