A Daily Walk

John Randall: How does the church go from teaching the word of God to censoring it? How does the church move from preaching the gospel to preaching critical race theory? How does the church turn from undermining the essential doctrines of the Christian faith? How does that happen?

It starts with wanting to be popular in this culture. And desire turns into acceptance, and acceptance turns into accommodation. And before you know it, you can have a big church filled with a bunch of non-believers following a false teacher.

A false teacher who supplements God's truth for man's truth. A false teacher who tells people to follow their heart and pursue their own personal happiness instead of holiness. That's how it happens.

Guest (Male): We count it a real blessing from the Lord to share this time together with you. Our program, A Daily Walk, and our teacher is Pastor John Randall. Last time, we completed John's look at the Lord's letter to Smyrna in Revelation chapter two. It was a letter of encouragement and praise.

Today, as we begin a study of the letter to Pergamum, we see a very different tone from the Lord. Pergamum had fallen into the hands of false teaching. They were compromising. The Lord's response: repent. Here's Pastor John.

John Randall: If you'd open up now to the book of Revelation, chapter two this morning. Revelation chapter two and today we're picking up in verse 12 with a message entitled, "The Compromising Church." Revelation chapter two, beginning in verse 12 and it says this:

"And to the angel of the church in Pergamus write, these things says He who has the sharp two-edged sword: I know your works, I know where you dwell, I know that you dwell where Satan's throne is; and you hold fast to my name, and you didn't deny my faith, even in the days in which Antipas my faithful martyr, who was killed among you where Satan dwells. But I have a few things against you."

This morning we are continuing our study through the book of Revelation and currently we are in the second chapter considering the letters from Jesus to the seven churches that were located in Asia Minor.

The first letter was sent to a church in Ephesus. And the church of Ephesus was extremely active and effective as a congregation. But in the midst of their faithful service, they had left their first love for their Savior. The next letter was sent to the church in Smyrna. And the church of Smyrna was a suffering church. They were in the midst of intense persecution, but they remained faithful to Jesus.

But today we come to the third letter, written to a church in the area of Pergamus. And this letter, like the others, begins with an introduction from the author in verse 12 as it says, "To the angel of the church in Pergamus write." The word "angel" is the word "messenger," which more than likely refers to the overseer, the leader, the pastor of the church within that city.

Jesus also gives a description of himself in verse 12 as the one who has the sharp two-edged sword within his hands. It was back in chapter one, in verse 16, that John gave us the initial description of Jesus where he listed several characteristics of the glorified Christ.

You remember again in writing to Ephesus, Jesus revealed himself as the one who holds the seven stars in his hand and also he walks among the seven golden lampstands. Then in correspondence with Smyrna, Jesus described himself as the first and the last, the one who was dead and is alive forevermore.

But here, to the church in Pergamus, Jesus is presented as the one wielding the double-edged sword. The double-edged sword is a reference to the word of God. The Bible tells us in the book of Ephesians chapter six, verse 17, "And the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God."

In the book of Hebrews chapter four, the writer of Hebrews declares in verse 12 that the word of God, it is living, it is powerful, and it is sharper than any two-edged sword. It pierces to the division of the soul and the spirit, the joints and the marrow, it is a discerner of the thoughts and the intents of the heart.

The word of God is like a sword that has a double edge. It can bring condemnation to a Christ-rejecting world, but at the same time it provides salvation to the Christ-accepting person. The word of God can bring life or it can bring death depending on how you respond to it.

The Bible tells us concerning itself that it is the word of God that actually sanctifies us or sets us apart. Jesus said in John 17, "Sanctify them by your truth, your word is truth." The Bible also tells us that it's God's word that cleanses us. Jesus said, "You are already clean because of the word which I've spoken to you."

The Bible also tells us that it's the word of God that brings people into a place of peace. Jesus said in John 16, "These things I have spoken to you that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world."

And the Bible tells us that it is, listen carefully, friends, the word of God has the ability to heal. It has the ability to heal your broken heart, your messed-up life. And there's many here today who can testify to that fact of what God's word has done within our lives. The Bible says in Psalm 107, verse 20, "He sent his word and it healed them."

These are some of the many blessings that accompany God's word. But at the same time, if the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ is rejected, if God's word is not heeded or it's disobeyed, it becomes foolishness to those who are perishing, the Bible says.

In fact, at the end of Revelation in chapter 19, at the second coming of Christ, we again see the double-edged sword, but this time it's used in judgment. When John records, "Now out of his mouth," that is out of the mouth of Jesus, "came a sharp two-edged sword, that with it he would strike the nations."

This is the introduction, Jesus holding the double-edged sword. And it seems a little abrupt, to be honest. But this is what this church needed. They needed a wake-up call from heaven. And if they didn't repent, they would suffer the consequences of their compromising with the world.

Now we don't have a record of when the church in Pergamus was actually planted. Although in Acts chapter 16, we read that the Apostle Paul passed through an area called Mysia, which is near Pergamus. And perhaps that was a byproduct and outgrowth of the ministry there which formed the church in Pergamus.

But we do know something about the city historically. Pergamus was the capital city of Asia for more than 300 years until the close of the first century. Located 100 miles north of Ephesus, 70 miles north of Smyrna, and 15 miles inland of the Aegean Sea, the city was actually built on a hill with an acropolis that towered a thousand feet above the plain below.

And it was said historically that Pergamus was by far the most distinguished city in all of Asia. The city was extremely affluent. Located within that community was a university. And one of the treasures of the school was a library with over 200,000 volumes within it.

It was said that Pergamus was actually where parchment or paper was manufactured and widespread throughout the ancient world. But in spite of all of its splendor and all of its prosperity, Pergamus was a city full of idolatry. There were temples dedicated to Dionysus, to Athena, to Asclepius, which was the god of healing, that was symbolized by a serpent entwined around a staff.

Perhaps you've seen something like that. But within the temple dedicated to this false god, Asclepius, there were non-poisonous snakes. And it was said that if you needed healing, you could go into the temple, you could lay down on the ground, and if one of these snakes happened to touch you, then you could receive a healing.

Pergamus also held one of the known wonders of the world. It was an altar dedicated to the false god, Zeus. In addition to the pagan worship of their false deities, the city and its people were devoted to worshipping the emperors of Rome.

They built three temples dedicated to Augustus, Trajan, and Septimius Severus. Pergamus was a difficult place, friends, to be a Christian. However, Jesus begins this letter by commending this church in verse 13 when he says, "I know your works and where you dwell, where Satan's throne is."

The approval of Jesus begins in a similar way to his previous letters with the words, "I know." I know what you're going through. I know what you're experiencing. I'm aware of it. Jesus reminds the church he knew their works. He was aware that Pergamus was not an easy place to be a witness. He says, "I know your works and," listen to this, "I know where you dwell. I know where you live. I know where you reside."

And where were they living? It says here they were living near Satan's throne. You talk about a difficult neighborhood. Where do you live? I live near Satan's throne, just take a right. I mean, that's a terrible place to live.

But the Lord knew their works. He knew where they lived. And the Lord knows everything about you, friend. He knows where you dwell. He knows what you're going through at this moment. He's aware, he's concerned. He wants to call you to himself even today.

Now there have been several suggestions as to what did Jesus mean when he referred to Satan's throne. Many feel that it was actually a reference to the altar that was dedicated to Zeus. And it was more than just a typical altar. It was located on the top of the acropolis of Pergamus.

And the giant altar of Zeus was elevated 800 feet above the plain below, and it was visible for miles. You could see it from a great distance. And it looked similar to a throne. And the legs of this statue had snakes running up them, which it's very easy to see how that structure could be connected to Satan.

Others think that Satan's throne referred to Asclepius, this false god depicted as a snake. Still others suggest it was referring to the worship of emperors. What we know for sure is that the devil had a stronghold in the city of Pergamus. The prince of the power of the air was bringing persecution on believers in that city.

But listen, in the midst of that satanic location where the presence of evil was overwhelming, Jesus commends his church in two areas. He says, first of all, "You hold fast to my name." The believers in Pergamus, when asked to deny the deity of Jesus Christ, they would not comply. They were non-compliant when it came to the denial of their faith.

They would not deny their faith. They would not deny their belief in the gospel, even when the pressure became severe and one of those in the congregation was actually martyred. The word for martyr there is witness. He was put to death. His name was Antipas.

Now we don't know much about how Antipas died. What was it that took place? And how was he martyred? Historically, tradition states that Antipas was actually a physician. Interesting. He was a physician and he spoke out against the false god, Asclepius. And they placed him in a large bronze bull and heated it till it burned him to death.

But even when Antipas was put to death, the church didn't waver concerning its stand for their faith. And this was indeed commendable. Folks, I wonder today if we're that kind of church. If we're willing to hold fast to the gospel of Jesus Christ regardless of what the rest of the culture is doing. Are we unwilling to deny our faith? Are we willing to stand?

It's one thing to claim to have faith in Christ. It's quite another to live according to that faith that you profess to have and believe in. And I believe that I'm surrounded today by a group of people who have that very faith. You're living it out. You're not afraid. You're not fearful. You're here. Would to Jesus that he would be able to commend us today for standing for the truth of the gospel.

In spite of these encouraging words that they were holding fast, that they didn't deny the faith, Jesus went on to move from the approval of this church to an accusation brought against this church. Listen to what it says in verse 14. Jesus said, "But I have a few things against you."

A few things. You may recall when Jesus wrote to the church in Ephesus that he declared, "I have one thing against you," that you've left your first love. But when writing to Pergamus, he says, "I have a few things, several, more than one, that I need to bring to your attention."

The concern of Jesus for this church was in the area of compromise. Although many had held fast to the name of Christ and did not deny the faith, there were others within the church that were participating in and compromising with two specific false doctrines: the doctrine of Balaam and the doctrine of the Nicolaitans.

First, the doctrine of Balaam. The doctrine of Balaam takes us back to the Old Testament, to the book of Numbers, chapters 22 through 25. It was there that the nation of Israel had come out of the iron furnace of the bondage of Egypt and into the wilderness.

The Lord brought them to the border of the Promised Land at Kadesh Barnea. But because of their unbelief, they failed to enter in, and so they ended up wandering for the next 40 years through the wilderness until that generation passed away and the next generation took their place and went into the Promised Land.

But there came a point while in the wilderness that they came into a place called the plains of Moab. And there was a king whose name was Balak. And when he saw the number of Israelites that covered the land, he was concerned that they might overtake him.

And so what did he do? He decided to hire a false prophet by the name of Balaam to come and curse God's people. Initially Balaam would not go because God told him not to go. But then when he saw how much money they were offering, he said, "I think I should go." And so he disobeyed the commands of the Lord. It's rather interesting story, an encounter that he had with a talking donkey. It's in the Bible, you need to go back and read it.

But nonetheless, Balaam makes his way down to the plains of Moab and he tells King Balak, "Set up altars with sacrifices and I will curse God's people for you." But here's what happened. When he went out to curse God's people, as soon as he began to speak, rather than curse God's people, he blessed God's people. Every time.

God turned the curse into a blessing. Every time. That's what the Bible says. And you know something, God does that even in our own lives. He takes the curse and turns it into a blessing. He takes what's intended for evil, he turns it into good. That's what happened for the nation that day.

And so listen, this is what took place. King Balak said, "You know what, Balaam, I was going to bless you with a lot of money and but now that you are not cursing them and blessing them, forget it. Tear that check up, you're not getting it. No way."

And Balaam said, "Oh wait, wait, wait, hold on a second. I got another plan. I can't curse them, but I know how to take them down. Here's what you do. Send the Moabite women into the camp to intermingle with the men in sexual immorality and they'll serve your idols and they'll be judged by God."

And so King Balak listened to the false prophet Balaam, did what he said, and that day 24,000, including many of the leaders in Israel, died as a result. The doctrine of Balaam, therefore, is basically a false doctrine that walks softly on immorality and encourages compromise. It embraces the sensuality of this world in belief and in practice.

Now the Bible not only mentions the doctrine of Balaam, but it also mentions the way, the lifestyle of Balaam. In Second Peter chapter two, Peter writes in verse 12, "They have forsaken the right way and they've gone astray following in the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who sold or loved the wages of unrighteousness."

The way of Balaam is a religious compromise for a few coins. It's selling out to the world and to the culture so that you can be accepted. You compromise for profit. Balaam was covetous of King Moab and what he could give him. And so he sold out. And he called the people to be unequally yoked, contrary to the will of God. Thus the people were polluted socially and especially spiritually.

They were attending the pagan feasts filled with sexual immorality and idolatry and still coming to church like everything was cool between them and God. And here Jesus says, "I know where you dwell, I know what you're doing, and I'm calling you out. You're living a compromised life."

They were attending these things and yet at the same time they were living a double life. Jesus said, "I see it. Maybe other people don't see it, but I'm aware of it and I'm writing you a letter to tell you about it." Sadly this became a way of life for the church in Pergamus.

And although they were true to defend the faith, even at times stand for their faith, they did not remain separate from the world. But they amalgamated with the world in compromise. And one compromise led to the next compromise. And what happened is they lost their influence and witness for Christ in the world. Nobody listened to them when they preached because they lived in such a way that denied what they preached.

The problem that Jesus points out is that this church, although aware of the doctrine of Balaam, allowed it to continue. In the name of loving their neighbor, they let sin remain. In the name of being gracious to be a witness, they compromised their witness.

They tried to be like the world to win the world, and that never works. That never works. And when comparing the church of Ephesus with Pergamus, here's what you come to realize. In Ephesus, the church understood how to love the sinner and reject the sin. But in Pergamus, they chose to love the sinner and accept and even at times participate in the sin.

There were those in Pergamus that instead of running away from the fleshly lusts, they ran after them and embraced them. It's interesting, folks, that the word Pergamus is actually a word that means marriage. The church was allowing itself to be married, connected to the world. It became so desensitized by the culture that it lowered its standards of holy living and being separate from the world, and therefore they made no impact in the world.

And in today's secularized church, it's unpopular, friends, to preach about sin. It's unpopular to talk about hell. It's offensive to talk about the blood of Christ. It's unpopular to hold to a standard of absolute truth.

How does the church go from teaching the word of God to censoring it? How does the church move from preaching the gospel to preaching critical race theory? How does the church turn from undermining the essential doctrines of the Christian faith? How does that happen?

Quite simply, it happens like this. It starts with wanting to be popular in this culture. And desire turns into acceptance, and acceptance turns into accommodation. And before you know it, you can have a big church filled with a bunch of non-believers following a false teacher.

A false teacher who supplements God's truth for man's truth. A false teacher who tells people to follow their heart and pursue their own personal happiness instead of holiness. That's how it happens. And today we see this happening even in the church. Like the believers in Pergamus, we can make a good confession of faith, show a degree of loyalty to Christ, but it's more of a theory than it is a reality. There was a stumbling block of compromise with idolatry and sexual immorality.

Guest (Male): Thanks for being with us today on A Daily Walk. Pastor John Randall is taking us through his study of Revelation right now as we go verse by verse through the book. There may be a time when you'd like to hear a study again or perhaps you might miss a message along the way. You can hear our programs at adailywalk.org or download the Calvary South OC app so you can start receiving biblical encouragement on your mobile devices on a regular basis.

Have you been helped by the teaching of God's word here on A Daily Walk? If so, we'd sure love to know about it. You can email us at adailywalk@gmail.com. That's adailywalk@gmail.com. And let us know how we can pray for you too.

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Again, you can reach us at 877-242-0828. That's 877-242-0828 or go to adailywalk.org on the web. You know, each day at adailywalk.org, we release the A Daily Walk devotional video. Be encouraged as you study the word with Pastor John each day. Short enough to watch on your lunch break or before you head out the door in the morning. Again, you'll find it at adailywalk.org.

We'll come back to the Lord's letter to Pergamus next time on A Daily Walk with John Randall. See you then. This program is made possible through your generosity and brought to you by Calvary South OC.