Revelation 2: 12-17

Revelation Chapter 2 Verses 12 - 17

 The word Pergamos in the Greek is actually a combination of two

words…per meaning “unacceptable” or “questionable” where we derive

our word perversion…and gamos meaning “marriage” where we get

“gamy” as in polygamy, monogamy. And so, the name of the city actually

ends up being exactly what we see in the church and that is a questionable

union…or unacceptable marriage.

 Pergamos itself was an absolute mess. Filled with temples to all sorts of

gods from all sorts of cultures…Greeks, Romans, Persians, Ancient

Mesopotamia, Babylon…, in fact, when Babylon fell to the Persian

Empire, the priests of Babylon and the Babylonian culture relocated to

Pergamos! Temples just everywhere to everything and some people would

go to all of them…covering all of their bases and others would lash out

against the gods they did not ascribe to. That happened to Christianity…

 For the first three centuries of church history, Christianity was banned by

the Roman Empire. It was criminalized and Christians were terribly

persecuted. You may recall from our last study as we looked at the church

of Smyrna, Jesus spoke of great suffering in the church but as of yet, the

cause of that great suffering was external. The church was attacked from

the outside…but what we see in this letter and this period of church

history, the spiritual attack moved from outside the church to within the

church… This is the old adage, “If you can’t beat them, JOIN THEM!”

Twice Jesus says this is the place, and this church specifically, is where

Satan dwells…

 The period of church history represented by Pergamos began in 312AD.

What happened in 312AD? Enter Emperor Constantine. A man

surrounded by mystery even from his childhood. Born the son of a

woman that embraced Christianity and a man who neither accepted nor

rejected Christianity, in fact his father Constantius Chlorus was a Roman

politician on the rise and was more interested in unifying Rome than he

was on deciding on a god to serve. Chlorus was a statesman, a politician,

a salesman…able to bring people together, he was a master at it!

 Rome’s vast expansion had brought under one office, under one nation,

under one man, (the Roman Emperor), many peoples. Many nations

being absorbed and ruled by Rome and really, the position of Emperor

was not an easy one. Many died suddenly, many stepped down, many

were murdered…

 AT the time Constantine was growing up, Diocletian had divided the

Roman Empire into two halves and set a leadership team over each half.

In 293, Diocletian instituted what is known as the Tetrarchy. The

Tetrarchy established a Western and an Eastern portion of the Roman

Empire and set an Augustus or emperor over each supported by a Caesar.

Each Caesar was given the right of succession once the Augustus or

Emperor died. Constantine’s father, Constantius Chlorus was appointed

Caesar over the western division of the empire.

 So that put Constantine next in line for Caesar of the western division

once his father assumed the position of Augustus. Following the

retirement of Diocletian in 305, Constantine’s father dies just a few

months later in 306 and the Roman Empire is literally up for grabs… The

author of the Tetrarchy was dead and nobody wants to share an empire…

 So, you have the year 306, Constantine is Caesar of the western division

yet Rome is more divided than ever as a new rank of leaders vies for

power…fast forward to the year 312…the fighting had come to a

head…thousands had assembled, battled, and died in this civil war of

types and the scene opens at a place called the Milvian Bridge.

 Its October 28, 312 and Constantine is about to go head-to-head with

Maxentius, the son of Maximian who was the Caesar to Domitian and who

had become the Augustus of Rome. Constantine is outnumbered, surely

to be defeated and on this morning, he gets alone and lifts up his eyes to

the heavens and calls out for help. What happens next is a bit of the

telephone game. One account goes that he sees a vision. There in the

clouds the story is told that he saw a Chi Rho (picture), which is the first

two letters of the name of Christ in Greek represented by a “P”

intersecting with an “X” and he heard audibly (or saw written on the sky),

“by this, conquer.”

 He knew of Jesus Christ, he knew of Christianity, and he walked away

convinced that the God of the Christians had spoken that statement…all

accounts do not agree on what he saw or heard that day but all accounts

agree that he walked away from whatever happened and turned to the

Christian God in his battle. He painted the Chi-Rho on all of his soldiers

shields and led them against an army three times the size of his…and he

won!

 He was outright, by himself, by way of conquer…the sole emperor of a

unified Rome…Licinius had assumed the position of emperor of the East

but he was subservient to Constantine… Not surprisingly, Constantine’s

unified empire that he had won was not so unified.

 Just like in Pergamos, some of the peoples ascribed to this god, some to

that…some worshipped him! Similarly, some hated him because they

were rooting for their Caesar and their Augustus and now Constantine

was both! He was Caesar Augustus and to make it all even more difficult,

he was favorable towards Christianity. A mess…he had a mess on his

hands…

 So, what did he do? He did what he knew. What he had learned from

his father…he began to bring the peoples together. He drafted and

decreed the Edict of Toleration in the end of 311 which officially ended

the Diocletian persecution of Christianity. This Edict basically gave

religious freedom to all peoples of the Roman Empire… Now just about

one year later he drafted and decreed the Edict of Milan.

 The Edict of Milan made Christianity legal. More so than that, it favored

Christianity, making Christianity the official religion of the empire! It

directed all confiscated properties to be returned to the

Christians…Christians were no longer outlaws…no longer enemies of the

Roman Empire…, Christianity now was the Roman Empire!

 Was this a good thing? What did those persecutions do in the first place?

As the enemy brought wave after wave of persecutions against Christians

trying to destroy the church…was it destroyed? Did believers become an

endangered species? Actually, the very opposite happened. The more it

was attacked, the more it suffered, the stronger it grew!

 Christianity not only spread under intense persecution and popular

rejection…it thrived! Makes total sense. If it’s costs you to be a Christian,

what kind of convert will that make? If it costs you nothing, what kind of

convert will that make? The church is not defeated by hardship, it is

proved, just like every Christian. What defeats the church is worldly

comfort. The yearning for it, the striving for it, the complaining about it

and the worship of it! The apostolic church and then the Church of

Smyrna came out of each and every wave of persecution more victorious

and stronger…and so the devil changed his strategy.

 The edict of Toleration, the edict of Milan sought to unify a fragmented

empire. The enemy joined the church, and the church of Pergamos

became the Satan’s throne, and he did so under the watch of Constantine.

Under Constantine, the empire became “Christianized.” Crucifixion was

abolished. Infanticide was abolished. The practice of slavery was for the

first time, discouraged. The gladiatorial games were suppressed.

Constantine even incentivized the clergy!

 He granted them special freedom from taxes. They were not required to

serve militarily. They were paid good salaries…they were granted the use

of the Caesar’s post which means if they wanted to send letters or

packages, they were given fresh horses at the expense of the Emperor. The

life of a pastor, a disciple had gone from horribly hard to luxuriously

coveted!

 Constantine brilliantly saw toleration and unification as his route to a

strong and integrated and cohesive empire. And really his conversion to

Christianity is somewhat suspect. Even his coinage had the Chi-Rho on

one side and the sun god on the other (picture). His plan was to

accommodate…and unfortunately that plan does not jive when you have a

room full of gods and only One is the Truth…problems continued.

 So, what did he do? He converged the neo-polytheistic belief systems of

Rome and of Pergamos, borrowed almost wholesale from Babylon

(ancient Mesopotamia) under the umbrella of Christianity. Now I say that

his conversion is suspect because later in his life, around 326 we find that

he had his son Crispus and his wife Fausta executed (shrouded in mystery

that one)…however, with that being said, I am sure he saw something that

day on the Milvian Bridge and I am sure that he believed the God of

Christianity was the highest God…however it seems that he never fully

abandoned his pagan gods or his pagan tendencies.

 Why so sure? Well because his choice of Christianity is not culturally

rational in a way. Why not pick something else? Something that was

already accepted like Caesar Worship or polytheism? He embraced a

belief system and a Savior that was publically rejected…and so I believe

that the clues are solid, that he did see some sort of vision, but I’m not sure

he connected ever with John 3:3 in which Jesus said, “Most assuredly, I

say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God.”

The issue even today with many who embrace Christianity…

 So, he began to issue decrees and edicts that converged all of this cultural

and societal neo-paganism under the covering of Christianity. The

unacceptable marriage, Pergamos! He created and assumed the role of

Pontifex Maximus which allowed him to not only make judgements and

decrees of the state and the empire but also of the empirical religion.

Interesting that when the Roman Empire collapsed this title was retained

by the leader of the church…even to this day, beginning in 590AD Pope

Gregory I, or Gregory the Great, who was the first to take the title of

Constatine from him and become the Pontifex Maximus (enter the church

of Thyatira)…

 Heathen customs and practices were joined to Christianity under

Constantine’s edicts and Pergamos was the progressive capital of it all.

Inspired almost entirely by the first religion of the world, the one that still

persists strongly today, the Mystery of Babylon which relocated to

Pergamos. Why does that matter? Come back next week for part two of

the unholy union teaching…Constantine today, Nimrod next week…

Revelation Chapter 2 Verse 12

 Why is the Word of God described here as the “sharp” two-edged sword?

(In the Greek this word also means, “swift.”) Because if you stack up

what you believe, buy-into, how and why you worship…stack that

against the Word of God…there is no discussion or debate to be had. The

Word of God is clear and it is complete. Take what you are doing, how

you are living, what you are believing and see if the Word of God shreds it

like a sharp sword or defends it like an incredible swift weapon!

 This is the single way to identify, address and defeat false doctrine.

Notice, what does a sharp two-edged sword do? It divides. It separates.

Hebrews 4:12 doesn’t tell us that the Word of God is a soft over-sized

body pillow able to bring together the thoughts and intents of the heart.

That’s not the purpose of truth. If truth is truth then it will cause

separation… Look, that’s difficult, I just want everything to be ok and

there never to be any problems but anyone pushing that is either selling

something or they haven’t really thought this thing through.

 Everyone doing what is right in their own eyes doesn’t work because

inevitably what you think is alright is not going to be alright for someone

else. Why? Because inevitably, something that benefits you is going to

cost someone else…then who is right? They can’t both be right unless

someone is harmed…love is love doesn’t work because what if I love

murder?! You see, truth divides and even those preaching unity on the

world scene, what they mean is conformance to their way of life. In the

end, there must be a standard by which you ascribe and if that standard is

universal then and only then can there be peace.

 So, with that being said, are Christians going to be peaceful people in all

situations on earth? No way! Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 6:16-17, “And

what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple

of the living God. As God has said: “I will dwell in them and walk among

them. I will be their God, and they shall be My people.” Therefore “Come

out from among them and be separate, says the Lord.””

 Jesus says here that it is HE who has the sharp two-edged sword and in

whatever situation or salvation theology you are in, how does it do against

what the Word of God says? Why is that important? Because in the end, it

will be the Word of God that stands as correct. Jesus said in Matthew

24:35, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means

pass away.”

Revelation Chapter 2 Verse 13

 Two times Jesus says here “Where Satan dwells!” Boy Satan was at work

there in Pergamos…in the church…and what does that mean specifically,

come back next week!

 Now, this is quite the commendation for such a problematic church!

Jesus says, “I know your works, you hold fast to My name, and you did not

deny My faith, even as days were difficult…” This gives light to a few

things. One easier to palette than the other. The harder one, even in a

church full of problems, there are things of virtue. I mean, if I’m being

honest, there are no churches that don’t have problems! And it's because

the church is full of us! HA!

 Paul wrote in Philippians 4:8-9, and we would do ourselves a favor and be

a doer of this word, “Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever

things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure,

whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is

any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.

The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me,

these do, and the God of peace will be with you.”

 Second thing here that encourages me personally is that even though I see

so much about me that is not worthy of showing to God or to others, God

sees the good in me even when I cannot. Put on display here in Jesus’

commendation to the compromising, to the barely church….

 And Jesus speaks of Antipas his faithful martyr. Antipas was ordained by

John himself as the pastor of Pergamos during the reign of Domitian.

Around the year 92, Domitian executed him by sealing him in a bronze

bull and then heating the bull to incandescence.

Revelation Chapter 2 Verses 14 – 15

 What is the doctrine of Balaam? The story can be found in the Book of

Numbers. King Balak of Moab desired to stop the Jews from continuing

their march to the promised land through nations like his and so he hired

Balaam who was a diviner to curse them. It’s a very interesting story

because there in Numbers Chapter 2, as Balaam would ascend a high

mountain to overlook the entire people of Israel and cast his curse…what

did he see? Well, the Book of Numbers tells us how the children of Israel

were arranged as they traveled and camped and if you count the people of

the tribes and pictorially depict them there in the valley of the wilderness

what you have is 151k people on one side, 157k people on the other, 182k

people on one side and 108k people on the other…the people there in the

valley, what Balaam would have seen…a cross! So cool.

 And Balaam came back to Balak after attempting to curse them three

times but couldn’t. He’d open his mouth and rather than a curse, instead,

blessings proceeded! And so, Balaam, cleverly scheming as to how he

could still get paid, he devised a plan to get them from within. He told

Balak to send your hot Moabitesses into the camp of the Israelite army and

entice the men to be with them…, which led to the men of Israel to bow

down to the Moabites’ idols and in so doing, deny their own God! The

idea was essentially…you paid me to get them cursed…if I can’t curse

them, well, I can make them curse themselves…and guess what. It

worked! (And it will continue to work until the Great Harlot is defeated

in Revelation 18)

 So, what is the doctrine of Balaam? The unholy, immoral, unnatural and

unacceptable union of the world and foreign gods with God’s people!

Jesus continued regarding the eating of things sacrificed to idols and

rampant sexual immorality…both forms of neo-pagan worship.

 And also, the doctrine of the Nicolaitans…which we saw as we studied the

church of Ephesus however the Ephesian church hated…but the church in

Pergamos embraced…

Revelation Chapter 2 Verses 16 – 17

 I love this. Jesus says turn away from this mixture of the world with My

church. Have an ear to hear Me and Me alone and by that you can

overcome! What happens when its just you and Jesus? Hidden manna!

You think you need this ritual or that priest or this ceremony to fill

you…to suffice you…you don’t. The things of the world even…they don’t

satisfy. The hunger is always for more…what satisfies the heart of

man…its this hidden manna. Closeness with God.

 You think you have identity in your career, accomplishments, religion or

in your church. Not so. Your identity, your true identity, who you really

are, who you really were made to be…God knows that…and He says here

that He will write it on a white stone and no one knows it, or sees it, but

you and the Lord. So intimate.

 And you know what that also means? God is for you! You’ve heard the

term to “black ball” someone? That refers to cutting someone off and it

comes from an ancient form of voting where those for would place a white

stone, and those against would place a black stone. Jesus says here, I vote

for YOU! He alone affirms you…He can alone confirm you…you need no

church or priest or ceremony of confirmation… He is the Great Satisfier

because to know Him and to be near to Him…that’s our original design

and intent!

 Jesus says here, refuse this mixing of worldliness with your relationship

with me. Set your mind on things above…on My word… I alone will fill

you and I will cast a white stone for you securing a place for you with me

forever...

 In the eyes of the world, Constantine did a great thing…he brought peace,

he brought stability, he brought unity…but in the history of the

church…he brought tragedy. Because what he did confused and

polluted the heart of the church, and it remains today…both protestant and

Orthodox…and we will look at that in fascinating detail next week.