APOCALYPSE SOON!Pergamum & Thyatira:

No Compromise! Rev. 2v12-28

12"To the angel of the church in Pergamum write: These are the words of him who has the sharp,

double-edged sword. 13I know where you live--where Satan has his throne. Yet you remain true to my name. You did not renounce your faith in me, even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness, who was put to death in your city--where Satan lives.

14Nevertheless, I have a few things against you: You have people there who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin by eating food sacrificed to idols and by committing sexual immorality.

15Likewise you also have those who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans. 16Repent therefore! Otherwise, I will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.

17He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to him who receives it.

18"To the angel of the church in Thyatira write:

These are the words of the Son of God, whose eyes are like blazing fire and whose feet are like burnished bronze. 19I know your deeds, your love and faith, your service and perseverance, and that you are now doing more than you did at first.

20Nevertheless, I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess. By her teaching she misleads my servants into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols.

21I have given her time to repent of her immorality, but she is unwilling. 22So I will cast her on a bed of suffering, and I will make those who commit adultery with her suffer intensely, unless they repent of her ways. 23I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I am he who searches hearts and minds, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds.

24Now I say to the rest of you in Thyatira, to you who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned Satan's so-called deep secrets (I will not impose any other burden on you): 25Only hold on to what you have until I come.

26To him who overcomes and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations--

27`He will rule them with an iron scepter; he will dash them to pieces like pottery'B-- just as I have received authority from my Father. 28I

will also give him the morning star. 29He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

 

PergamumPop. 120 000 - old academic city Great library 200 000 books. Parchment

derived from name Famous medical school Seat of Roman government for area  

PergamumJesus Christ calls city the ‘throne of Satan’.

Possible reasons : Great altar of Zeus Temple of snake god Askelpios -

‘healer/saviour’ Prominent temple to Augustus - first

Roman Emperor

PergamumJesus commends church for remaining faithful

through persecution. Jesus criticises church for tolerating false teachers - Teachings of Balaam. In OT Balaam prophet

hired by Balak King of Moab to curse Israel (Num 22v5-24v25). On Balaam’s advice, Balak sent Moabite women to seduce the men of Isreal sexually, and then engage in worship of false gods. Numbers 31v16

Teaching of Nicolaitans - taught unrestrained indulgence.

False teachers condoning pagan ritual and associated sexual immorality .

Thyatira Market town -large number of trade guilds,

centre for dying industry Church commended for life and loyalty Church criticised for tolerating a false teacher –

‘Jezebel ‘. She teaches the so called deep-secrets of Satan ….By her teaching she misleads my servants into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols.

OT history - Jezebel - Sidonian princess who married Ahab king of Isreal and seduced him into the worship of Baal

This prophetess is misleading the church into the worship of false Gods.

Thyatira Difficult to carry on a trade if not in guild . Membership involved banquets where meat sacrificed to

idols consumed . Dilemma for Christians ` Jezebel’ arguing that as idols are not real, then meat

can be consumed . As Paul argued in 1 Cor 8 4So then, about eating food sacrificed to idols: We know that an idol is nothing at all in the world and that there is no God but one.

However , guild banquets often involved secret rituals and sexual immorality. Paul always argued that freedom in Christ was never a licence for sin 1 Cor 8 13Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause him to fall.

Jezebel and her teaching were popular because of the opportunity to practice faith whilst retaining job - Jesus exposes this as a dangerous compromise.

A church under pressure to compromise

In a multi-faith culture of relativism and pluralism, the temptation to compromise is very real, and we are called to faithfulness

Faithful in Doctrine The truth about Christ . To deny the divinity of Christ

is functioning in the Spirit of Antichrist 1 Jn 2v22 The uniqueness of Christ - Jn 14v6 I am the way the

truth and the life , no-one comes to the Father except through me

The truth of the gospel. Paul emphatically declares that a gospel which denies Christ saving grace is anathema (Gal 1v6-9)

The authority & inspiration of Scripture 2 Tim 3:16

A church under pressure to compromise

Faithful in HolinessPressure of being conformed to the world around . Like Pergamum we have a society which offers a seemingly attractive alternative to the Christian life.

Mind Academically – scientific rationalism Culturally - on demand TV & internet

Body - Medical advances Health & wealth Sexual Ethics

Spirit - New Age philosophies , Islam

A church under pressure to compromise

In Business life , as Thyatira , pressures to conform  Freemasons - power /status /rituals After –hours drinking culture Long-hours demands of companies & organisations which makes

church commitment a real commitment Pressures of immorality and dishonesty

Romans 12 . 2Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will.

He who marries the spirit of the age is sure to be a widower in the next G.K.Chesterton  

We forfeit ¾ of ourselves in order to be like other people - Shopenhauer  

Jesus’ options for the compromised church

16Repent therefore! Otherwise, I will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.

The power of Jesus to exercise judgement. But to those who over come he promises

I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to him who receives it.

Flat white stones as tickets to pagan entertainment events

Jesus gives access to the great heavenly banquet presided over by the true manna, the bread of heaven Jn 6v 31-35

Jesus’ options for the compromised church

Jesus whose eyes are like blazing fire promises to search hearts and minds, and to bring judgement on the unrepentant  

To those who repent Jesus promises 26To him who overcomes and does my will to the end, I will give

authority over the nations-- 27`He will rule them with an iron scepter; he will dash them to pieces like pottery’-- just as I have received authority from my Father. 28I will also give him the morning star.

Quote from Ps 2 v9 - here the authority of Christ is delegated to the victorious Church to proclaim the rule of the kingdom of God to the nations

The morning star refers back to Baalam’s prophecy in Numbers 24 v17 A star will come out of Jacob; a scepter will rise out of Israel.

The victorious church receive the ultimate prize – the Morning Star– Christ himself