Messianic Perspectives

Liz Aiello: They say prophecy is history written in advance. Today we'll be looking at a remarkable series of prophecies in the book of Revelation that outlines 2,000 years of church history, all predicted centuries before it ever happened, right here on Messianic Perspectives.

Shalom and welcome to Messianic Perspectives, a daily program where we look into the scriptures from a distinctively first-century Jewish point of view. I'm Liz Aiello. Today Dr. Gary Hedrick is teaching on the mystery of the seven churches in Revelation chapters two and three. I'll be back at the close of the program to tell you about two special resources we're making available during this series, so be sure to have a pencil and paper ready. Now with today's study, here is Dr. Gary Hedrick.

Dr. Gary Hedrick: Welcome listening friend to another edition of the program. It's good to have you with us today as we continue this series of studies on the mystery of the seven churches. Now today we come to the message to the church at Pergamos, or Pergamum. Here's what the Lord says in verse 13. He says, "I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, even where Satan's seat is: and thou holdest fast my name, and hast not denied my faith, even in those days wherein Antipas was my faithful martyr, who was slain among you, where Satan dwelleth."

So twice the Lord associates Pergamum with Satan. It's one of the devil's Hebrew names, HaSatan, or literally "the adversary". The reason the Lord said Pergamum was Satan's seat was that this city was the official center for pagan emperor worship in Asia in the Roman Empire. And the Lord commends them for being faithful in the midst of this pagan environment. He says, "You're holding fast my name." That's the name of Jesus, or in Hebrew, Yeshua. Yeshua is the name that is above every name.

Philippians 2:10 says that at the name of Yesus, or Yeshua, every knee should bow, of things in heaven and things on earth and things under the earth. So the name of Yeshua represents that line in the sand where everyone has to make a decision. Historians tell us that when Nero was the Roman emperor, a person who was accused of being a Christian was brought before a tribunal. And the judges would give him a chance to curse the name of Jesus, in which case he would be lightly scourged and then set free.

But when the Christians were brought before the tribunal and ordered to curse the name of Christ, do you know what most of them said? Instead of saying "Jesus is accursed," they said "Jesus is Lord." Yeshua is Adonai. That's why Paul said in 1 Corinthians 12:3 that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed, and no man can say that Jesus is the Lord except by the Holy Spirit. And so the Lord says, "You're holding fast my name and you have not denied my faith, even in those days wherein Antipas was my faithful martyr."

According to Christian tradition, Antipas was the first martyr of Asia. He was slowly roasted to death in a bronze kettle during the reign of the emperor Domitian. The Lord says he was a faithful witness. In ancient Israel, it was said that the martyrs died al-kiddush HaShem, or in sanctification of the name of the Lord. So we could say Antipas died al-kiddush HaShem. Then look again at what he says in verse 14. He says, "But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication."

Verse 15: "So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate." So there are the Nicolaitans again. Remember, we said this was the beginning of a ruling class, or a priesthood, separate and distinct from the people themselves. These were people who would lord their authority over the laity. Verse 16: He says, "Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth." Verse 17: "He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it."

In ancient times, white stones were often used as tokens for admission. Remember, back in those days, they didn't have paper or printing presses like we have today. So they didn't have tickets as we know them. Instead, they used special engraved white stones. When you arrived at a banquet, for example, you gave the doorman your white stone and he knew you were one of the invited guests. And here God says he gives his people a white stone, admission to the banquet. It's the marriage supper of the Lamb. That's why he talks about hidden manna.

He says he will allow the overcomer to eat of the hidden manna. Remember that in the Old Testament, a pot of manna was hidden inside the Ark of the Covenant, according to Exodus 16:32-34. Jewish tradition says that when the Babylonians destroyed the first temple in 586 BC, that Ark of the Covenant was rescued by Jeremiah the prophet, hidden away, and is being kept for the days of the Messiah, when God's people will eat manna once again. The Talmud talks about the manna that will come down from the third heaven during the Messianic Age. So these believers at Pergamum would have understood this hidden manna to be a reference to the great Messianic banquet, the marriage supper of the Lamb at the end of time.

Now we said that each of these churches represents a period of church history. The Pergamum period begins with Constantine, who was the Roman emperor who decided, "If you can't beat them, join them." Since the Roman Empire had failed to destroy Christianity, Constantine decided to wed the state to the church. And did you notice that one of the things the Lord condemned about this church at Pergamum was that they held the doctrine of Balaam? Well, what did Balaam do? He tried to destroy the people of God by seducing them and causing them to sin. And that's exactly what Constantine did during this Pergamum period of church history.

He seduced the church hierarchy that had developed by that time. The Roman emperor gave them huge basilicas that they could convert into cathedrals. And he donated money so they could be lavishly decorated. The altars were made of gold and silver and the priests' garments were laced with gold and precious jewels. The church had come a long way from being a band of poor persecuted outcasts who had to meet underground in the catacombs of Rome. She had come a long way from the ideals of her founder, who was a simple carpenter with not even a place to lay his head. Now the church was wealthy and powerful and politically influential.

And do you know what happened? That process of osmosis works both ways. The pagan state absorbed the church and, in the process, the church also absorbed paganism. This is where we see the ecclesiastical church, the organized church, really beginning to go astray. Pagan feasts and festivals were introduced into the church. For instance, the pagan observance of the winter solstice on December 25th became Christmas, or Christ's mass. The birthday of Christ had always been understood to have been in March or April, around the time of Passover, when the shepherds were out in their fields bringing the flocks to Jerusalem to sell them as temple sacrifices.

But now they changed the date to December 25th, which in paganism was the birthday of the sun god. You see, it was just a little compromise. That way the pagans didn't have to completely give up their solstice celebration. All they had to do was switch from worshipping the sun god to worshipping the Son of God. You see, the church would meet them halfway. So this is when paganism began to infiltrate the organized church during the Pergamum period of church history. It also marked the introduction of idolatry into the church. These pagans were used to worshipping images of Greek and Roman gods and goddesses.

So what did the church do? They made big statues of Jesus and Mary and the apostles and other religious figures and moved them into their cathedrals. And those statues became objects of worship and veneration, which is basically idolatry. Look at the Ten Commandments. What does the second commandment say? Exodus 20, verse four: "Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth." Israel wasn't even to make an image of God himself. No likeness of anything that is in heaven above.

So this is where idolatry and paganism began creeping into the organized church during the Pergamum period of church history. That's how idolatry began in the Western Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church and even the Byzantine Christian Church. In the Eastern tradition, the statues are called icons. And there's something else that originated at about this time. And it's persisted for the past 1,600 years. It's what later became known as post-millennialism. You say, what does that mean? Well, it's very simple. Post-millennialism. Post means after. So it's the idea that Christ comes back after the millennium, rather than before.

Post-millennialism says the church will take over the world and make it better and better and better until finally we have paradise on earth, or the millennium. And that's when Jesus comes back, after the millennium has already been established. And this is where the idea started, with the joining of church and state under Emperor Constantine. As the organized church became richer and richer and more powerful in affairs of state, someone got the idea that they didn't need Christ anymore to intervene in human history. The church could do it. The church would take over. The church would reform the world, and then Christ would return.

But then somebody said, "Wait a minute, what about all those scriptures that talk about God's promises to Israel? Don't they say he's going to come back and regather the Jewish people from the four winds, and then he'll set up the kingdom?" So the explanation they came up with was that the church had replaced Israel. There's your replacement theology. God was finished with Israel, so those promises now belong to the church. And this is where it started. So when the post-millennialists and the reconstructionists and the dominionists and the kingdom now preachers and all those guys say that their view has a very ancient precedent, they're right.

It goes all the way back to the Pergamum period of church history, which lasted from about AD 324 to 606. And post-millennialism has been the dominant view in Christendom ever since that time. But like we say down here in San Antonio, that don't make it so. Well, that's all of our time for today. Next time we'll look at the church at Thyatira. Until then, this is Gary Hedrick saying God bless you. Take care. Bye-bye.

Liz Aiello: Thank you, Gary, and thank you, listening friend, for tuning in today. If you liked what you heard today, you will be pleased to know we've taken all of the programs in this series and placed them on one convenient CD entitled "The Mystery of the Seven Churches". And it's yours for a gift of just $6 or more to Messianic Perspectives. Also available is the companion chart, adapted from the original drawn by Clarence Larkin in the early 1900s, entitled "The Messages to the Seven Churches Compared with Church History".

This interesting chart shows how the messages to the seven churches in Revelation correspond to the seven successive periods of church history. It's the perfect companion for this series of studies on the mystery of the seven churches. So that's the CD for $6 and the chart for $3, or both for a total of $9. Just visit our secure online store at messianicspecialties.com to place your order. If you would prefer to order by mail, just address your request to Messianic Perspectives, Post Office Box 345, San Antonio, Texas 78292. To order by phone, use our toll-free order line. The number is 1-800-926-5397.

Have you enjoyed this edition of Messianic Perspectives? Why not continue to learn about the Jewish roots of your Christian faith by inviting a speaker from CJF Ministries? Call our toll-free number, 1-800-926-5397, and we'll be happy to handle all of the details. And as always, when you're in touch with us, please mention the call letters of this station. If you're listening to our webcast or podcast, we need to know that too. I'm Liz Aiello. Join us next time, won't you, as Dr. Gary Hedrick continues our series of studies on the mystery of the seven churches right here on Messianic Perspectives.