July 28, 2024 • 40 mins
Revelation chapters 2, covering the letters to the churches in Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, and Thyatira. We start with Jesus' message to the church in Ephesus, where He acknowledges their hard work and endurance but also calls out their forsaken first love. Discover the significance of Ephesus, a city of 250,000 people, and its role as the guardian of the Roman imperial cult.
Next, we move to Smyrna, the beautiful and loyal city, where Christians faced severe persecution. Learn about the trials they endured and Jesus' comforting words promising the crown of life to those who remain faithful unto death.
In Pergamum, known for its many temples and the prominent altar to Zeus, we uncover the challenges Christians faced, including the teachings of Balaam and the Nicolaitans. Jesus' message here emphasizes the need to hold fast to faith without compromising with pagan practices.
Lastly, we explore Thyatira, a city of artisans and trade guilds, where the church is praised for their increasing works but warned against the false teachings of Jezebel. Jesus calls for repentance and promises authority over nations and the morning star to those who conquer.
Join us as we uncover the historical and spiritual contexts of these ancient cities and the timeless lessons Jesus imparts to His followers.
Inro mucic - Toby Mac
Outro music - Coldplay and Chainsmokers
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:09):
Well, welcome to this episode of our verse-by-verse
Bible study.
I'm Randy Duncan, and in thisepisode we're going to be
tackling Revelation, chapter 2.
In chapter 1, I remindedeveryone that we're studying the
book of Revelation, notRevelations, because it's a
singular revelation given byJesus Christ to John.
We also discuss the fourprimary interpretive approaches
(00:32):
to Revelation, as well as John'sdescription of Jesus.
Now, as I mentioned in the lastepisode, jesus will have John
write seven letters that will besent to seven different
churches in Asia Minor, and inthis episode we're going to be
covering the first four of thoseletters which will be sent to
seven different churches in AsiaMinor.
And in this episode we're goingto be covering the first four
of those letters which will besent to the churches at Ephesus,
smyrna, pergamum and Thyatira.
(00:53):
Now you'll notice that eachletter will follow a similar
pattern, in that it states whoit's addressed to, and then
Jesus offering a praise for thechurch, followed by a reproof,
and then ends with aneschatological promise to those
who endure.
Now, with 29 verses, we have alot to cover in chapter 2, so
let's just jump right in,beginning with the first verse,
(01:16):
which reads To the angel of thechurch in Ephesus write the
words of him, who holds theseven stars in his right hand,
who walks among the seven goldenlampstands.
And so the first letter isaddressed to the church at
Ephesus, which makes sensebecause from a geographical
perspective, it would be thefirst stop if a messenger was
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leaving the island of Patmos todeliver these letters.
But it also makes sense due tothe prominence of Ephesus.
Now, I think we sometimes readthe Bible, and when we read of
these ancient cities we thinkthey're all more like some small
villages and very primitive.
But Ephesus had a population ofabout 250,000 people.
I mean, that's a largerpopulation than current-day Salt
(02:00):
Lake City or Baton Rouge,spokane, huntsville or Richmond,
virginia.
In other words, this was not alittle village.
It was more powerful and morefavored by the Roman imperial
cult, which essentially was thethought that some of the
emperors and their families haddivinely sanctioned authority.
But the emperor Domitian hadactually named Ephesus as the
(02:23):
guardian of the imperial cult,making it the foremost center of
the imperial cult in all ofRoman Asia.
And just a few years beforeRevelation was written, ephesus
had honored Domitian at theOlympic Games.
Now Ephesus was also known forits worship of Artemis and
practicing magic.
In fact, it had a temple to thegoddess Artemis standing on a
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platform that was twice as bigas a football field, which was
regarded as one of the sevenwonders of the ancient world.
I mean, when you're talkingabout the seven ancient wonders,
you're talking about the greatpyramid at Giza in Egypt, the
hanging gardens of Babylon andothers, and right alongside of
those you have this temple ofArtemis right here in Ephesus,
(03:08):
and so all of these differentfactors would have made the
letter very relevant to earlyChristians living there.
And so, now that you're a littlemore familiar with Ephesus,
what does Jesus have to say tothe church there?
I know your works, your toiland your patient endurance and
how you cannot bear with thosewho are evil.
So so far, so good.
Jesus begins by telling them Iknow your works.
(03:43):
Jesus acknowledges their hardwork and endurance and their
patience, and so the letterstarts off good.
These are positive attributesand, by the way, jesus knows
your works too, but he tellsthem that he knows that they
cannot bear people who saythey're apostles but are not.
The church at Ephesus hadapparently uncovered some frauds
(04:05):
.
It knew how to evaluate peoplewho claim to be spiritual, claim
to be Christians but were not,and I'm assuming part of that
evaluation was based on doctrine, along with their behavior, and
really that's no different thanwhat we would find today.
Plenty of people claim to beChristian.
Claiming to be Christian iseasy.
It's the actually living it out, that's the hard part.
(04:26):
It's choosing to obey Christrather than giving in to self,
that's the hard part.
It's picking up your cross andshouldering your burden, and
perhaps even suffering.
That's the hard part.
I mean, it's easy to acceptJesus as your Savior, but it's
much more difficult to accepthim as your Lord.
I mean it's easy to say you'rea Christian and stand on the
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mountaintop and trumpet that assome moral virtue.
But Jesus said in Matthew 7, noteveryone who says to me, lord,
lord, will enter the kingdom ofheaven, but the one who does the
will of my Father who is inheaven.
On that day, many will say tome Lord, lord, did we not
prophesy in your name and castout demons in your name and do
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mighty works in your name?
And then I will declare to themI never knew you.
Depart from me, you workers oflawlessness.
These are the kind of peoplethat the church in Ephesus had
rightly called out, and Jesusacknowledges this.
However, he continues with aletter in verses 4 through 7,
saying but I have this againstyou that you have abandoned the
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love you had at first.
Remember, therefore, from whereyou have fallen, repent and do
the works you did at first.
If not, I will come to you andremove your lampstand from its
place unless you repent.
Yet this you have.
You hate the work of theNicolaitans, which I also hate.
He who has an ear, let him hearwhat the Spirit says to the
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churches.
To the one who conquers, I willgrant to eat of the tree of
life which is in the paradise ofGod.
So, after such a good initialreport, jesus now points out a
flaw of the church All thatthey're doing right does not
excuse what they're doing wrong,and we need to keep this in
mind about Jesus.
Jesus doesn't make excuses foror condone sin Period.
(06:21):
He always called it what it was.
Our society is always quick topromote the idea that Jesus was
always about forgiveness and notjudging and loving people for
who they are, as they are, andthat was true to a certain
extent.
He loves us all, but Jesuscalled people out for their sin
in their life.
He didn't go along to get along.
(06:43):
He loved people too much not totell them because he wanted to
see them repent and turn to God.
I mean, for example, the womancalled in adultery.
You all know the story.
He didn't deny her wrongdoing.
He didn't tell her it was okay,that it was no big deal.
He didn't turn a blind eye toit.
He told her to go and to dowhat.
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He didn't turn a blind eye toit.
He told her to go and to dowhat, to sin no more.
But it seems in our modern timeswe see even Christians growing
more uncomfortable with the ideaof absolute truth.
But he tells the church atEphesus that what he has against
them is that they have forsakentheir first love.
They've turned their backs ontheir first love.
Now many people might hear thisand kind of zone out, thinking
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well, at least I'm not like theEphesians and forsaken my first
love.
But I think that would be amistake.
It's like saying thank God, I'mnot like the Pharisee, thank
God I'm not like the taxcollector.
Because one of the greatestdelusions is to believe that we
are better than we really are.
And if you need a reminder,romans 3 tells us none is
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righteous, no, not one.
No one understands, no oneseeks for God.
All have turned aside Together.
They have become worthless.
No one does good, not even one,and so I think we should listen
carefully to what Jesus issaying here Now.
Some commentators believe thathe's referencing the fact that
they have a lesser love for Godthan they did at first, and
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perhaps that they're so busydoing church that they have
taken some of their focus fromthe primary reason for church,
which is to worship God.
As a church or as members ofthe body of Christ, we can
sometimes spend so much timedoing the business of the king
that we sometimes forget aboutthe king himself.
But other commentators herebelieve that Jesus is
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referencing the church as havingless love for each other within
the church.
But either way, it's a seriousissue.
Even if this is referring to alesser love for one another, it
would reflect in the communityand to people looking from the
outside.
If they don't see love betweenfellow Christians, why would
they be interested in whatChristians have to share with
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them?
In fact, jesus said in John 13,a new commandment I give to you
that you love one another justas I have loved you, you are
also to love one another, and bythis all people will know that
you are one another.
Just as I have loved you, youare also to love one another,
and by this all people will knowthat you are my disciples, if
you have love for one another.
And this is what the church atEphesus had lost and forgotten
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and, as a result, was less of awitness for Christ than they
should have been.
Jesus tells them to repent anddo what they did at first, and
he continues by telling them ifnot, I will come to you and
remove your lampstand from itsplace unless you repent.
Well, what does that mean?
It means if they don't repent,if they don't return to their
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first love, jesus will removethem as a church.
They would cease to exist as achurch.
And it's interesting becauselater on, the city of Ephesus
was literally moved about threemiles from where it was in
John's day.
Today there is no city andthere is no church in what was
the city of Ephesus.
(09:58):
Islam has been established inthat area.
But he provides one more word ofpraise for the church in verse
6 when he says Yet this you haveyou hate the work of the
Nicolaitans, which I also hate.
Now, unfortunately, we can't besure who the Nicolaitans were
exactly.
We can only speculate.
One tradition says that theNicolaitans were followers of
(10:22):
Nicholas, who was one of theseven men selected to serve the
church in Acts 6-5, but laterbecame a heretical teacher.
But again, we just aren'tcertain.
But the most reasonable guessis that they held some views
similar to those of Balaam, whocondoned immorality and eating
food offered to idols.
But Jesus then finishes hisletter to Ephesus in a style
(10:44):
that he'll use for all sevenchurches, saying he who has an
ear, let him hear what theSpirit says to the churches.
To the one who conquers, I willgrant to eat of the tree of
life which is in the paradise ofGod.
And what he's saying is anyonewho has spiritual perception
should listen, because thepromise is to everyone who
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conquers, he will grant to eatof the tree of life.
The tree of life which wouldhave provided him with eternal
life, was denied to Adam back inGenesis.
But it's now accessible tothose who conquer, to those who
obey the message of the letterand overcomes in this conflict
with evil.
But we now turn our attention tothe church at Smyrna and we
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read in verses 8 through 11, andto the angel of the church in
Smyrna write the words of thefirst and the last who died and
came to life.
I know your tribulation andyour poverty, but you are rich,
and the slander of those who saythat they are Jews and are not,
but are a synagogue of Satan.
Do not fear what you are aboutto suffer.
(11:48):
Behold, the devil is about tothrow some of you into prison,
that you may be tested, and forten days you will have
tribulation.
Be faithful unto death and Iwill give you the crown of life.
He who has an ear, let him hearwhat the Spirit says to the
churches.
The one who conquers will notbe hurt by the second death.
Now, although Ephesus was themost powerful city in the
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province, smyrna was still oneof the most important cities in
the area and was thought to bethe most powerful city in the
province.
Smyrna was still one of themost important cities in the
area and was thought to be themost beautiful city in the
province.
If a messenger was deliveringthis letter from John and he was
leaving Ephesus, he wouldtravel about 35 miles to the
north to get to Smyrna.
Now, if you're wondering whereSmyrna is located, it's actually
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the modern city of Izmir,turkey.
The name was changed years agoand it's now a city of 3 million
people, which is a greaterpopulation than Chicago, and
it's the only one of the sevencities that's still standing
today.
But Smyrna was renowned for itsloyalty to Rome and its worship
of the emperor.
Almost 300 years before Johnwrote this letter, the first
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temple in the world dedicated tothe goddess Roma was built in
Smyrna, and about 70 yearsbefore John was banished to the
island of Patmos, smyrnadedicated a temple in honor of
the Roman emperor Tiberius, andfrom that point on it became a
center of worship for both Romeand Caesar.
Now the letter to Smyrna is theshortest of the seven messages
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to the seven churches and, as wesee, it's one of only two where
Jesus doesn't have anythingnegative to say.
And it's really interestingthat Jesus begins his letter to
them by saying the words of thefirst and last who died and came
to life Because the city ofSmyrna was a city that had been
resurrected, and came to lifebecause the city of Smyrna was a
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city that had been resurrected.
It was destroyed 700 yearsearlier and had laid in ruins
for 300 years.
But he continues by saying Iknow your tribulation.
And he says this because theChristians in Smyrna were indeed
experiencing much tribulation.
Part of the persecution was nodoubt a result of Christians
refusing to participate in thisemperor worship.
In fact, one of the earlychurch fathers, polycarp, who
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was the bishop of the church inSmyrna and he was a disciple of
John's, at 86 years old, wasburned at the stake for refusing
to worship Caesar.
But in addition to knowingtheir suffering, jesus also says
Caesar.
But in addition to knowingtheir suffering, jesus also says
and the slander of those whosay they are Jews and are not
but are a synagogue of Satan.
(14:21):
Now, smyrna had the largestJewish population of any of the
Asian cities, and manycommentators recognize that.
It's very likely that at leastsome of the Jewish community in
Smyrna were working with localofficials to suppress
Christianity and so likelyplayed a role in betraying
Polycarp to the Romans.
And so this slander that Jesusmentions likely refers to
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informers, or what the Romanscalled delators.
Think of them as informants oraccusers, but Jesus says they
are of the synagogue of Satan.
Accusers, but Jesus says theyare of the synagogue of Satan.
And it's interesting that thename of Satan, the main
adversary of Jesus, meansaccuser, but Jesus tells them do
not fear what you are about tosuffer.
(15:05):
Now, the punishment that thetext seems to be referring to
here is execution, because hecontinues by telling them behold
, the devil is about to throwsome of you into prison, that
you may be tested and for 10days you will have tribulation.
Be faithful unto death.
And so what may be in view hereis official persecution from
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the local government, with thehelp of informants, where you
would be in prison while waitingon a trial, and then the
official punishment, which,again, believers needed to be
prepared that the punishmentwould be execution.
Now, just so you're aware, Iwant to mention just quickly how
historicists view this letterto Smyrna.
They believe that the letter toSmyrna represents the church
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during the period of persecutionunder the Roman emperors.
It began with Nero and becamemore focused under Domitian and
his successors, all the waythrough Diocletian.
And they believe that the 10days of persecution correspond
to the 10 years of the finalpersecution under Diocletian.
By the way, the emperor whofollowed Diocletian was
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Constantine.
Way, the emperor who followedDiocletian was Constantine, who
legalized Christianity and wholater supposedly converted to
Christianity.
But the message of Christ tothese persecuted believers in
Smyrna was to be faithful to theextent of being prepared to die
for his namesake, and to thosewho endured, to those who
overcome, jesus promised to givethem a crown of life.
(16:35):
Now, just an observation hereon the crown that Jesus promises
.
In Greek, there are twodifferent words for crown.
One of them is diadem, which isthe type of crown worn by
royalty, but that's not the wordused here.
The other word, which is theone used, is Stephanos, which
usually has something to do withjoy and victory.
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It's the type of crown orwreath, say of garland, that was
presented to victors in battleor winners at the Olympic Games,
and so this crown would havebeen a fitting symbol for those
who endure, those who conqueredand were victorious and not
denying Christ.
In Ephesus, overcoming requiredthem to restore their first love
(17:17):
, but in Smyrna it meantovercoming and withstanding
persecution.
But more importantly, jesuspromised them that those who
conquer will not be hurt by thesecond death.
Well, what is the second death?
The first death is physicaldeath, and we all have that
coming to us.
But the second death isspiritual.
(17:39):
The second death comes tounrepentant sinners, and we'll
learn more about that inchapters 14 and 20.
But as a sneak peek, we readthe words of Revelation 20.
Then death and Hades werethrown into the lake of fire.
This is the second death, thelake of fire, and if anyone's
name was not found written inthe book of life, he was thrown
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into the lake of fire.
This is what Jesus says, thatthose who conquer will not be
hurt by.
But we now turn to the letter,to the church in Pergamum.
Pergamum was about 50 milesnorth of Smyrna.
It was a city that hadprospered for a long time, and
it had a population between 150to 200,000 people, and so, again
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, these aren't tiny littlevillages that we maybe sometimes
think of when we imaginebiblical times and stories.
Pergamum was the capital of theRoman province of Asia and was
renowned for its library, whichrivaled the famous library in
Alexandria.
It was said to have held over200,000 scrolls.
But there were many temples tomany different pagan gods, but
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one of them stood out.
It was an altar to Zeus, and itstood on an enormous platform
where animal sacrifices wereburned 24 hours a day, and so
the smell of this burning animalflesh permeated the air in
Pergamum, and all day long acolumn of smoke could be seen
rising into the air, remindingthe people of the supremacy of
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Zeus, but one of the most famouscults here was the healing cult
of Asclepius, whose primarysymbol was the serpent.
Asclepius was the Greco-Romangod of healing and medicine, and
the symbol of Asclepius was theso called rod of Asclepius,
which was a serpent wrappedaround a rod or a staff.
(19:29):
And it's interesting because ifyou've noticed the caduceus,
the symbol that's still used byhealthcare professionals, what
is it?
It's a staff entwined with twoserpents.
But we begin reading what Jesushas to say to the church in
Pergamon with verses 12 and 13,which read and to the angel of
the church in Pergamon, writethe words of him who has the
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sharp two-edged sword I knowwhere you dwell, where Satan's
throne is, yet you hold fast myname, and so, knowing now a bit
about Pergamum, it's notsurprising that Jesus begins his
(20:12):
message to the church here withI know where you dwell, where
Satan's throne is.
Pergamum was not an easy cityfor Christians to live in, and
so it must have provided somelevel of comfort to the church
that Jesus understood what theywere experiencing, because the
persecution in Pergamum was moresevere than some of the other
cities and a believer namedAntipas had been put to death,
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as Jesus mentions, christiantradition says that Antipas was
ordained by John as the bishopin Pergamum, and that Antipas
was executed by being burnedinside of a brass bull.
He was supposedly executed forcasting out demons that were
being worshipped by the localpeople, as well as refusing to
worship Caesar.
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Now, as a side note, when Jesuscalls Antipas his faithful
witness, that word witness is aGreek transliteration of the
word martyr, but because so manyof the witnesses faithful to
Jesus were executed, the wordmartyr came to be known as what
we think of today, and so Jesuscommends them for not denying
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their faith even in the midst ofthis persecution.
Another real challenge forChristians living in Pergamum
was the fact that there weremany trade guilds in the city,
and these trade guildsparticipated in pagan festivals
and banquets and ate food thathad been sacrificed to pagan
idols.
Well, christians wouldn't havebeen allowed to eat this food or
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participate in these banquets,and so it challenged their
livelihood by denying theirability to participate in these
trade guilds, and so one of thereal religious challenges for
these Christians was thetemptation to save their
livelihood by compromising withthe imperial cult and these
pagan activities.
And if you think about it, wehave similar choices to make
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today.
Do we compromise with oraccommodate the world today at
the expense of our devotion toGod's standards?
But after commending them fortheir faith, jesus continues his
message by saying but I have afew things against you.
You have some there who holdthe teaching of Balaam, who
taught Balak to put a stumblingblock before the sons of Israel
(22:21):
so that they might eat foodsacrificed to idols and practice
sexual immorality.
So also you have some who holdto the teaching of the
Nicolaitans.
Therefore, repent, if not, Iwill come to you soon and war
against them with the sword ofmy mouth.
So Jesus now provides them withhis criticism because, again,
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just because you're suffering,that does not excuse anything
that we might be doing wrong.
And he starts by pointing outthat they have some who hold to
the teachings of Balaam.
So who was Balaam and what didhe teach?
Well, balaam was most likelynot his real name, but is being
used here as a code name,signifying that he was a false
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prophet who was leading God'speople astray.
But in Numbers, deuteronomy andother places, we see that
Balaam acted out of greed formoney.
He led Israel into sin in orderto remove them from God's favor
, knowing that it was the onlyway to destroy them.
But the particular sin ofIsrael in connection with Balaam
was sexual immorality and foodoffered to idols.
(23:26):
Now there is some debate aroundwhat exactly this sexual
immorality was.
Did it refer to literalprostitution, like that
conducted in some of the pagantemples, or was this a spiritual
adultery that leads people awayfrom God?
What we do know is that Balaamled Israel into sin by having
Moab women seduce them intosexual immorality and
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intermarriage and idolatry.
In fact, we read in Numbers 25that and so Israel yoked himself
to Baal of Peor and the angerof the Lord was kindled against
Israel.
(24:09):
And the Lord said to Moses Takeall of the chiefs of the people
and hang or impel them in thesun before the Lord, that the
fierce anger of the Lord mayturn away from Israel.
And Moses said to the judges ofIsrael Each of you kill those
of his men who have yokedthemselves to Baal.
And here we see Jesus callingout the church of Pergamum that
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they have some who are doingthis very thing.
I mean, even Peter warned thechurch of this when he wrote in
2 Peter.
But false prophets also aroseamong the people, just as there
will be false teachers among youwho will secretly bring in
destructive heresies.
They have eyes full of adultery, insatiable for sin, and they
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entice unsteady souls.
They have hearts trained ingreed, forsaking the right way.
They have gone astray.
They have followed the way ofBalaam, the son of Beor, who
loved gain from wrongdoing.
Jesus also calls them out forhaving some who follow the
teachings of the Nicolaitans,which were doing essentially the
same thing in which we'vealready touched on.
(25:15):
But Jesus ends his letter to thechurch at Pergamon by saying
Therefore, repent.
If not I will come to you soonand war against them with the
sword of my mouth.
He who has an ear, let him hearwhat the Spirit says to the
churches.
To the one who conquers, I willgive some of the hidden manna
and I will give him a whitestone with a new name written on
(25:36):
the stone that no one knowsexcept the one who receives it.
And so, once again, jesus callsfor them to repent.
If not, then he will come andwar with them with the sword of
my mouth, which, revelation 19tells us that from his mouth
comes a sharp sword with whichto strike down the nations.
(25:56):
In other words, all Jesus hasto do is speak it and it's done.
I mean, it's no different thanin the beginning creating the
universe with a word, creatingthe universe with a word.
But he concludes by saying thatto those who conquer he will
give some of the hidden mannaand a white stone with a new
name written on it.
(26:19):
Now, regarding the hidden manna,manna was the food that
sustained the Israelites duringtheir time in the wilderness
after the exodus from Egypt, andI think it's interesting that
Jesus said in John 6, truly,truly, I say to you, it was not
Moses who gave you the breadfrom heaven, but my father gives
you the true bread from heaven,for the bread of God is he who
comes down from heaven and giveslife to the world.
(26:39):
I am the bread of life.
But regarding the white stone,there's been a lot of
speculation about what it means.
A couple of different thoughtshere.
One some believe it refers to atoken of acquittal, because in
some ancient courts, jurorswould vote for acquittal with a
white stone or with a blackstone for conviction, and so the
message may mean that, althoughChristians stand condemned by
(27:02):
the Roman courts, jesus wouldoverturn their verdict at the
final judgment.
Another thought is that thewhite stones were a token given
to contestants in the Greekgames as they completed their
race.
This could then be traded inlater for entrance into
celebrations or for actualawards.
But the most common view amongcommentators is that the white
(27:23):
stone with a person's name on itserved as admission to certain
public assemblies or festivals,such as feasts in these temples
of idol pagans.
But one of the primary takeawaysfrom the letter to the church
in Pergamum deals with being ledastray of assimilation
Assimilation into the cultureand compromising with it to the
(27:43):
extent that we sacrifice our ownbeliefs and betray God's
standards.
And so we have to be careful tofind that appropriate balance
between interaction with ourculture and compromise with it.
And in doing that, we need tomake sure that we're embracing
and influence the world with thevalues and examples of Jesus,
not embracing the values of theworld, because what you'll often
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find is that the values of theworld, the values of the
majority, are often in conflictwith the values of God.
In America and the West ingeneral, we may not have to deal
with things like emperorworship, but there are plenty of
other potential idolsmaterialism, career, so-called
celebrities or athletes, whooften garner more of our
(28:28):
attention than God does.
And when we value what theworld does, when it directly
contradicts God's word, then weforfeit or diminish our
Christian witness.
We become indistinguishablefrom the world, and if there's
no difference in our lives, thenwhy would the world be
interested in anything that wehave to tell them?
Why would they be interested inhearing any of this supposed
(28:51):
good news?
Revelation is a wake-up call tothe churches that true
Christians in the world are in abattle, and it's literally a
fight to the death.
This letter reminds us, throughthe image of Balaam, that it
was compromise with paganismthat brought Israel defeat.
And the same thing will happento us if we compromise with
(29:11):
pagan values.
And although we may not knowexactly what we might be called
on to overcome, jesus promisesthat, whatever it is, he has a
better plan and a better futurein store for us.
But the last letter in thischapter is written to the church
of Thyatira, and we read inverses 18 and 19,.
And to the angel to the churchof Thyatira, and we read in
verses 18 and 19,.
And to the angel of the churchin Thyatira write the words of
(29:34):
the Son of God, who has eyeslike a flame of fire and whose
feet are like burnished bronze.
I know your works, your loveand faith and service and
patient endurance, and that youare now doing more than you did
at first.
Now, thyatira was about 45 milessoutheast of Pergamum, and it
was originally founded bysoldiers of Alexander the Great.
(29:56):
Of the seven cities thatreceived letters, thyatira was
the least significant, eventhough they received the longest
letter, but in the city therewere all sorts of traders and
artisans, and records indicatethat there were several trade
guilds, and I've alreadymentioned the fact that these
trade guilds practice idolatrousrites at their meetings, often
(30:17):
within pagan temples, whereanimals were offered up and
sacrificed to pagan gods andwould then be eaten by the
members of the guild.
This obviously put Christiansin a difficult situation, as
they were forbidden to eat foodsacrificed to idols, and so, by
not participating in these guildrituals, they would be viewed
as not being good citizens ordenied entry into the guilds,
(30:41):
thereby hurting themeconomically, and so they would
have been hard-pressed tosupport their families.
Without some measure ofcompromise with idolatry, and
before you dismiss this as onlysome ancient problem for
Christians, all of us must askourselves a similar question how
far am I willing to go inadopting and accepting the
modern standards and practicesof society and culture.
(31:04):
And if we seriously askourselves that question and
we're honest with ourselves,we're probably compromising more
than we think.
And it's important to considerthat we often see that what one
generation tolerates, the nextgeneration embraces.
And so when we read the wordsof Jesus and his rebuke of these
churches, we can absolutelyapply them to our own lives as
(31:27):
well.
Now, like the other churches,jesus begins with a commendation
for them.
He knows that the Christians inThyatira are doing his works
more than they ever had, whichis in contrast to the Christians
in Ephesus who had fallen back.
But once again, the things thatthey were doing right did not
excuse the things that they weredoing wrong.
(31:47):
And we see Jesus continue inverses 20 and 21, where he says
but I have this against you thatyou tolerate that woman,
jezebel, who calls herself aprophetess and is teaching and
seducing my servants to practicesexual immorality and to eat
food sacrificed to idols.
So he tells them that they'vetolerated that woman Jezebel who
(32:10):
was leading them astray.
Now her name is not actuallyJezebel, that's a symbolic name.
He is symbolically calling herJezebel due to the similarity of
her influence upon the churchto that of the original Jezebel
in Israel.
The original Jezebel, who weread about in 1 and 2 Kings,
corrupted the faith of Israelwith many whoredoms and
(32:32):
sorceries of her pagan gods, beland Astarte.
Now this woman apparentlytaught things similar to Balaam
that idolatrous practices werepermissible, encouraging
fornication and even practicingthem herself and for a group who
would have had a difficult timedue to not being accepted into
the trade guilds.
She's telling them exactly whatthey want to hear.
(32:54):
And when you tell peopleexactly what they want to hear,
you can become very popular.
I mean, we don't need to lookany further than the preaching
of the prosperity gospel todayand how popular it is to the
masses.
But Jesus calls out theircompromise because this Jezebel
falsely claims to be aprophetess and to offer deep
secrets and, as we'll see laterin Revelation, just like Satan
(33:18):
and just like the world system,she's a deceiver who misleads
God's people.
But Jesus doesn't allow this togo unchallenged and he
(33:40):
continues in verses 21-23 wherehe says lest they repent of her
works, and I will strike herchildren dead and all the
churches will know that I am hewho searches mind and heart and
I will give to each of youaccording to your works.
So Jesus tells them that hegave her time to repent, but she
refused, and so he now has nochoice but to intervene.
(34:03):
He says that he will throw heronto a sickbed, and the irony
here is probably not just acoincidence, because the bed is
often described as the place forintercourse, but it's also the
place of a person bedfast fromsickness.
And since she used a bed forher fornication, god will reduce
her to a bedridden state.
(34:24):
But he also says that those whocommit adultery with her he
will throw into greattribulation.
Now, this tribulation may be adirect judgment from God, or it
could be some political or maybeeconomic or social upheaval,
and also this is presumablydifferent than the great
tribulation later in Revelation.
And all of this could beavoided if they would simply
(34:48):
repent.
But he continues by saying and Iwill strike her children dead,
which surely is referring to herdisciples and followers.
Now the NIV renders this phraseas strike dead, which is
similar to a Greek translationof a Hebrew expression for
divine judgment of a plague orpestilence, or maybe even a
(35:09):
judgment as a result ofblasphemy.
But as a result of this, itwould serve as a wake-up call to
all the churches, a reminderthat Jesus, as he says, is the
one who searches mind and heart.
A good reminder that you cannothide your true self from God
like you can other people.
God knows your thoughts, heknows your heart, but the
(35:29):
presence of this false teachingis the only criticism Jesus had
for the church at Thyatira.
He continues in verses 24 and 25saying but to the rest of you
in Thyatira who do not hold thisteaching and who have not
learned what some call the deepthings of Satan, to you I say I
do not lay on you any otherburden, church, other than to
(35:51):
hold fast to their faith.
He's speaking to those who havenot followed the false teachers
and have not learned what somecall the deep things of Satan.
But what does he mean by thedeep things of Satan?
He's most likely referring toprofound things such as those
(36:12):
learned by revelation.
But Jesus knows the source oftheir revelation it's Satan.
And so what's likely in viewhere is that Jezebel is claiming
to have a deeper understandingof the mysteries of God, and
what she's telling Christians isokay to do like practicing in
certain pagan practices wouldnot jeopardize their standing
before God.
(36:33):
But obviously these versespoint out that this teaching is
actually from Satan.
But we conclude with the lastfour verses, which read and so,
once again, jesus has a promiseto those who conquer, those who
(37:07):
overcome this threat of falseteaching they will share with
him in his rule over the nations.
Now this has been interpretedin various ways.
One interpretation says thatthis means that we will rule
with Christ over unsaved nationsduring the millennium, the
thousand year reign of Christ onearth.
A second interpretation saysthis means that we'll
(37:27):
participate in the reign of thesaints after death in heaven.
And a third interpretation saysthat we will reign over
Christians of a lower rank inthe new earth, assuming that
there is such a thing as varyingdegrees of authority awarded to
saints.
But Jesus also says that he willgive to those who overcome the
morning star.
(37:47):
Now ancients emphasized theglory of Venus, those who
overcome the morning star.
Now ancients emphasized theglory of Venus and called it the
morning star, and if you'veever seen it on a clear night,
you can understand why.
And so some people may takethis to mean that overcomers
will be associated with a with aglorious or magnificent rule.
However, in Revelation 22 6,jesus identifies himself as the
(38:11):
bright and morning star.
So, just like he was the hiddenmanna, the bread of life
promised to the overcomers inPergamum, he's also the morning
star for the overcomers inThyatira, and so Christ is
promising to give himself, whichis the ultimate reward.
And so, as we wrap this chapterup and look back at the main
(38:31):
takeaway from the letters tothese four churches, we see how
important it is that we decidewho we're going to ultimately
depend on for our well-being.
Are we going to look to theworld or are we going to look to
God?
Because there'll be many timesin each of our lives where we're
going to be faced with thatsort of decision.
Maybe you can only advance inyour career if you betray your
beliefs or you toe the partyline.
(38:53):
Are you willing to riskhardship to stand up for
Christian beliefs?
I mean relativism and toleranceand acceptance has become
increasingly popular in America,but we're warned in these
letters the dangers of acceptinganything that diminishes or
undermines our witness asChristians.
You know the best way to spot acounterfeit is to study and be
(39:15):
familiar with the original, andmy prayer for you is that you
would study God's Word, becomeintimately familiar with it, so
that you would not be led astrayby false prophets or society,
culture or the majority opinion,or even Satan.
And so I pray for your strengthin these days ahead that you
would overcome, that, you wouldconquer, and so I pray for your
(39:38):
strength in these days aheadthat you would overcome, that,
you would conquer, and that youwould be counted as worthy to
receive the rewards Christ haspromised.
I want something just like this.
(40:09):
I want something just like this.
Well, welcome to this episode of our verse-by-verse
Bible study.
I'm Randy Duncan, and in thisepisode we're going to be
tackling Revelation, chapter 2.
In chapter 1, I remindedeveryone that we're studying the
book of Revelation, notRevelations, because it's a
singular revelation given byJesus Christ to John.
We also discuss the fourprimary interpretive approaches
(00:32):
to Revelation, as well as John'sdescription of Jesus.
Now, as I mentioned in the lastepisode, jesus will have John
write seven letters that will besent to seven different
churches in Asia Minor, and inthis episode we're going to be
covering the first four of thoseletters which will be sent to
seven different churches in AsiaMinor.
And in this episode we're goingto be covering the first four
of those letters which will besent to the churches at Ephesus,
smyrna, pergamum and Thyatira.
(00:53):
Now you'll notice that eachletter will follow a similar
pattern, in that it states whoit's addressed to, and then
Jesus offering a praise for thechurch, followed by a reproof,
and then ends with aneschatological promise to those
who endure.
Now, with 29 verses, we have alot to cover in chapter 2, so
let's just jump right in,beginning with the first verse,
(01:16):
which reads To the angel of thechurch in Ephesus write the
words of him, who holds theseven stars in his right hand,
who walks among the seven goldenlampstands.
And so the first letter isaddressed to the church at
Ephesus, which makes sensebecause from a geographical
perspective, it would be thefirst stop if a messenger was
(01:37):
leaving the island of Patmos todeliver these letters.
But it also makes sense due tothe prominence of Ephesus.
Now, I think we sometimes readthe Bible, and when we read of
these ancient cities we thinkthey're all more like some small
villages and very primitive.
But Ephesus had a population ofabout 250,000 people.
I mean, that's a largerpopulation than current-day Salt
(02:00):
Lake City or Baton Rouge,spokane, huntsville or Richmond,
virginia.
In other words, this was not alittle village.
It was more powerful and morefavored by the Roman imperial
cult, which essentially was thethought that some of the
emperors and their families haddivinely sanctioned authority.
But the emperor Domitian hadactually named Ephesus as the
(02:23):
guardian of the imperial cult,making it the foremost center of
the imperial cult in all ofRoman Asia.
And just a few years beforeRevelation was written, ephesus
had honored Domitian at theOlympic Games.
Now Ephesus was also known forits worship of Artemis and
practicing magic.
In fact, it had a temple to thegoddess Artemis standing on a
(02:46):
platform that was twice as bigas a football field, which was
regarded as one of the sevenwonders of the ancient world.
I mean, when you're talkingabout the seven ancient wonders,
you're talking about the greatpyramid at Giza in Egypt, the
hanging gardens of Babylon andothers, and right alongside of
those you have this temple ofArtemis right here in Ephesus,
(03:08):
and so all of these differentfactors would have made the
letter very relevant to earlyChristians living there.
And so, now that you're a littlemore familiar with Ephesus,
what does Jesus have to say tothe church there?
I know your works, your toiland your patient endurance and
how you cannot bear with thosewho are evil.
So so far, so good.
Jesus begins by telling them Iknow your works.
(03:43):
Jesus acknowledges their hardwork and endurance and their
patience, and so the letterstarts off good.
These are positive attributesand, by the way, jesus knows
your works too, but he tellsthem that he knows that they
cannot bear people who saythey're apostles but are not.
The church at Ephesus hadapparently uncovered some frauds
(04:05):
.
It knew how to evaluate peoplewho claim to be spiritual, claim
to be Christians but were not,and I'm assuming part of that
evaluation was based on doctrine, along with their behavior, and
really that's no different thanwhat we would find today.
Plenty of people claim to beChristian.
Claiming to be Christian iseasy.
It's the actually living it out, that's the hard part.
(04:26):
It's choosing to obey Christrather than giving in to self,
that's the hard part.
It's picking up your cross andshouldering your burden, and
perhaps even suffering.
That's the hard part.
I mean, it's easy to acceptJesus as your Savior, but it's
much more difficult to accepthim as your Lord.
I mean it's easy to say you'rea Christian and stand on the
(04:48):
mountaintop and trumpet that assome moral virtue.
But Jesus said in Matthew 7, noteveryone who says to me, lord,
lord, will enter the kingdom ofheaven, but the one who does the
will of my Father who is inheaven.
On that day, many will say tome Lord, lord, did we not
prophesy in your name and castout demons in your name and do
(05:11):
mighty works in your name?
And then I will declare to themI never knew you.
Depart from me, you workers oflawlessness.
These are the kind of peoplethat the church in Ephesus had
rightly called out, and Jesusacknowledges this.
However, he continues with aletter in verses 4 through 7,
saying but I have this againstyou that you have abandoned the
(05:34):
love you had at first.
Remember, therefore, from whereyou have fallen, repent and do
the works you did at first.
If not, I will come to you andremove your lampstand from its
place unless you repent.
Yet this you have.
You hate the work of theNicolaitans, which I also hate.
He who has an ear, let him hearwhat the Spirit says to the
(05:57):
churches.
To the one who conquers, I willgrant to eat of the tree of
life which is in the paradise ofGod.
So, after such a good initialreport, jesus now points out a
flaw of the church All thatthey're doing right does not
excuse what they're doing wrong,and we need to keep this in
mind about Jesus.
Jesus doesn't make excuses foror condone sin Period.
(06:21):
He always called it what it was.
Our society is always quick topromote the idea that Jesus was
always about forgiveness and notjudging and loving people for
who they are, as they are, andthat was true to a certain
extent.
He loves us all, but Jesuscalled people out for their sin
in their life.
He didn't go along to get along.
(06:43):
He loved people too much not totell them because he wanted to
see them repent and turn to God.
I mean, for example, the womancalled in adultery.
You all know the story.
He didn't deny her wrongdoing.
He didn't tell her it was okay,that it was no big deal.
He didn't turn a blind eye toit.
He told her to go and to dowhat.
(07:04):
He didn't turn a blind eye toit.
He told her to go and to dowhat, to sin no more.
But it seems in our modern timeswe see even Christians growing
more uncomfortable with the ideaof absolute truth.
But he tells the church atEphesus that what he has against
them is that they have forsakentheir first love.
They've turned their backs ontheir first love.
Now many people might hear thisand kind of zone out, thinking
(07:26):
well, at least I'm not like theEphesians and forsaken my first
love.
But I think that would be amistake.
It's like saying thank God, I'mnot like the Pharisee, thank
God I'm not like the taxcollector.
Because one of the greatestdelusions is to believe that we
are better than we really are.
And if you need a reminder,romans 3 tells us none is
(07:48):
righteous, no, not one.
No one understands, no oneseeks for God.
All have turned aside Together.
They have become worthless.
No one does good, not even one,and so I think we should listen
carefully to what Jesus issaying here Now.
Some commentators believe thathe's referencing the fact that
they have a lesser love for Godthan they did at first, and
(08:11):
perhaps that they're so busydoing church that they have
taken some of their focus fromthe primary reason for church,
which is to worship God.
As a church or as members ofthe body of Christ, we can
sometimes spend so much timedoing the business of the king
that we sometimes forget aboutthe king himself.
But other commentators herebelieve that Jesus is
(08:33):
referencing the church as havingless love for each other within
the church.
But either way, it's a seriousissue.
Even if this is referring to alesser love for one another, it
would reflect in the communityand to people looking from the
outside.
If they don't see love betweenfellow Christians, why would
they be interested in whatChristians have to share with
(08:54):
them?
In fact, jesus said in John 13,a new commandment I give to you
that you love one another justas I have loved you, you are
also to love one another, and bythis all people will know that
you are one another.
Just as I have loved you, youare also to love one another,
and by this all people will knowthat you are my disciples, if
you have love for one another.
And this is what the church atEphesus had lost and forgotten
(09:15):
and, as a result, was less of awitness for Christ than they
should have been.
Jesus tells them to repent anddo what they did at first, and
he continues by telling them ifnot, I will come to you and
remove your lampstand from itsplace unless you repent.
Well, what does that mean?
It means if they don't repent,if they don't return to their
(09:38):
first love, jesus will removethem as a church.
They would cease to exist as achurch.
And it's interesting becauselater on, the city of Ephesus
was literally moved about threemiles from where it was in
John's day.
Today there is no city andthere is no church in what was
the city of Ephesus.
(09:58):
Islam has been established inthat area.
But he provides one more word ofpraise for the church in verse
6 when he says Yet this you haveyou hate the work of the
Nicolaitans, which I also hate.
Now, unfortunately, we can't besure who the Nicolaitans were
exactly.
We can only speculate.
One tradition says that theNicolaitans were followers of
(10:22):
Nicholas, who was one of theseven men selected to serve the
church in Acts 6-5, but laterbecame a heretical teacher.
But again, we just aren'tcertain.
But the most reasonable guessis that they held some views
similar to those of Balaam, whocondoned immorality and eating
food offered to idols.
But Jesus then finishes hisletter to Ephesus in a style
(10:44):
that he'll use for all sevenchurches, saying he who has an
ear, let him hear what theSpirit says to the churches.
To the one who conquers, I willgrant to eat of the tree of
life which is in the paradise ofGod.
And what he's saying is anyonewho has spiritual perception
should listen, because thepromise is to everyone who
(11:05):
conquers, he will grant to eatof the tree of life.
The tree of life which wouldhave provided him with eternal
life, was denied to Adam back inGenesis.
But it's now accessible tothose who conquer, to those who
obey the message of the letterand overcomes in this conflict
with evil.
But we now turn our attention tothe church at Smyrna and we
(11:27):
read in verses 8 through 11, andto the angel of the church in
Smyrna write the words of thefirst and the last who died and
came to life.
I know your tribulation andyour poverty, but you are rich,
and the slander of those who saythat they are Jews and are not,
but are a synagogue of Satan.
Do not fear what you are aboutto suffer.
(11:48):
Behold, the devil is about tothrow some of you into prison,
that you may be tested, and forten days you will have
tribulation.
Be faithful unto death and Iwill give you the crown of life.
He who has an ear, let him hearwhat the Spirit says to the
churches.
The one who conquers will notbe hurt by the second death.
Now, although Ephesus was themost powerful city in the
(12:09):
province, smyrna was still oneof the most important cities in
the area and was thought to bethe most powerful city in the
province.
Smyrna was still one of themost important cities in the
area and was thought to be themost beautiful city in the
province.
If a messenger was deliveringthis letter from John and he was
leaving Ephesus, he wouldtravel about 35 miles to the
north to get to Smyrna.
Now, if you're wondering whereSmyrna is located, it's actually
(12:31):
the modern city of Izmir,turkey.
The name was changed years agoand it's now a city of 3 million
people, which is a greaterpopulation than Chicago, and
it's the only one of the sevencities that's still standing
today.
But Smyrna was renowned for itsloyalty to Rome and its worship
of the emperor.
Almost 300 years before Johnwrote this letter, the first
(12:54):
temple in the world dedicated tothe goddess Roma was built in
Smyrna, and about 70 yearsbefore John was banished to the
island of Patmos, smyrnadedicated a temple in honor of
the Roman emperor Tiberius, andfrom that point on it became a
center of worship for both Romeand Caesar.
Now the letter to Smyrna is theshortest of the seven messages
(13:15):
to the seven churches and, as wesee, it's one of only two where
Jesus doesn't have anythingnegative to say.
And it's really interestingthat Jesus begins his letter to
them by saying the words of thefirst and last who died and came
to life Because the city ofSmyrna was a city that had been
resurrected, and came to lifebecause the city of Smyrna was a
(13:36):
city that had been resurrected.
It was destroyed 700 yearsearlier and had laid in ruins
for 300 years.
But he continues by saying Iknow your tribulation.
And he says this because theChristians in Smyrna were indeed
experiencing much tribulation.
Part of the persecution was nodoubt a result of Christians
refusing to participate in thisemperor worship.
In fact, one of the earlychurch fathers, polycarp, who
(14:00):
was the bishop of the church inSmyrna and he was a disciple of
John's, at 86 years old, wasburned at the stake for refusing
to worship Caesar.
But in addition to knowingtheir suffering, jesus also says
Caesar.
But in addition to knowingtheir suffering, jesus also says
and the slander of those whosay they are Jews and are not
but are a synagogue of Satan.
(14:21):
Now, smyrna had the largestJewish population of any of the
Asian cities, and manycommentators recognize that.
It's very likely that at leastsome of the Jewish community in
Smyrna were working with localofficials to suppress
Christianity and so likelyplayed a role in betraying
Polycarp to the Romans.
And so this slander that Jesusmentions likely refers to
(14:44):
informers, or what the Romanscalled delators.
Think of them as informants oraccusers, but Jesus says they
are of the synagogue of Satan.
Accusers, but Jesus says theyare of the synagogue of Satan.
And it's interesting that thename of Satan, the main
adversary of Jesus, meansaccuser, but Jesus tells them do
not fear what you are about tosuffer.
(15:05):
Now, the punishment that thetext seems to be referring to
here is execution, because hecontinues by telling them behold
, the devil is about to throwsome of you into prison, that
you may be tested and for 10days you will have tribulation.
Be faithful unto death.
And so what may be in view hereis official persecution from
(15:28):
the local government, with thehelp of informants, where you
would be in prison while waitingon a trial, and then the
official punishment, which,again, believers needed to be
prepared that the punishmentwould be execution.
Now, just so you're aware, Iwant to mention just quickly how
historicists view this letterto Smyrna.
They believe that the letter toSmyrna represents the church
(15:51):
during the period of persecutionunder the Roman emperors.
It began with Nero and becamemore focused under Domitian and
his successors, all the waythrough Diocletian.
And they believe that the 10days of persecution correspond
to the 10 years of the finalpersecution under Diocletian.
By the way, the emperor whofollowed Diocletian was
(16:13):
Constantine.
Way, the emperor who followedDiocletian was Constantine, who
legalized Christianity and wholater supposedly converted to
Christianity.
But the message of Christ tothese persecuted believers in
Smyrna was to be faithful to theextent of being prepared to die
for his namesake, and to thosewho endured, to those who
overcome, jesus promised to givethem a crown of life.
(16:35):
Now, just an observation hereon the crown that Jesus promises
.
In Greek, there are twodifferent words for crown.
One of them is diadem, which isthe type of crown worn by
royalty, but that's not the wordused here.
The other word, which is theone used, is Stephanos, which
usually has something to do withjoy and victory.
(16:56):
It's the type of crown orwreath, say of garland, that was
presented to victors in battleor winners at the Olympic Games,
and so this crown would havebeen a fitting symbol for those
who endure, those who conqueredand were victorious and not
denying Christ.
In Ephesus, overcoming requiredthem to restore their first love
(17:17):
, but in Smyrna it meantovercoming and withstanding
persecution.
But more importantly, jesuspromised them that those who
conquer will not be hurt by thesecond death.
Well, what is the second death?
The first death is physicaldeath, and we all have that
coming to us.
But the second death isspiritual.
(17:39):
The second death comes tounrepentant sinners, and we'll
learn more about that inchapters 14 and 20.
But as a sneak peek, we readthe words of Revelation 20.
Then death and Hades werethrown into the lake of fire.
This is the second death, thelake of fire, and if anyone's
name was not found written inthe book of life, he was thrown
(18:02):
into the lake of fire.
This is what Jesus says, thatthose who conquer will not be
hurt by.
But we now turn to the letter,to the church in Pergamum.
Pergamum was about 50 milesnorth of Smyrna.
It was a city that hadprospered for a long time, and
it had a population between 150to 200,000 people, and so, again
(18:23):
, these aren't tiny littlevillages that we maybe sometimes
think of when we imaginebiblical times and stories.
Pergamum was the capital of theRoman province of Asia and was
renowned for its library, whichrivaled the famous library in
Alexandria.
It was said to have held over200,000 scrolls.
But there were many temples tomany different pagan gods, but
(18:46):
one of them stood out.
It was an altar to Zeus, and itstood on an enormous platform
where animal sacrifices wereburned 24 hours a day, and so
the smell of this burning animalflesh permeated the air in
Pergamum, and all day long acolumn of smoke could be seen
rising into the air, remindingthe people of the supremacy of
(19:08):
Zeus, but one of the most famouscults here was the healing cult
of Asclepius, whose primarysymbol was the serpent.
Asclepius was the Greco-Romangod of healing and medicine, and
the symbol of Asclepius was theso called rod of Asclepius,
which was a serpent wrappedaround a rod or a staff.
(19:29):
And it's interesting because ifyou've noticed the caduceus,
the symbol that's still used byhealthcare professionals, what
is it?
It's a staff entwined with twoserpents.
But we begin reading what Jesushas to say to the church in
Pergamon with verses 12 and 13,which read and to the angel of
the church in Pergamon, writethe words of him who has the
(19:52):
sharp two-edged sword I knowwhere you dwell, where Satan's
throne is, yet you hold fast myname, and so, knowing now a bit
about Pergamum, it's notsurprising that Jesus begins his
(20:12):
message to the church here withI know where you dwell, where
Satan's throne is.
Pergamum was not an easy cityfor Christians to live in, and
so it must have provided somelevel of comfort to the church
that Jesus understood what theywere experiencing, because the
persecution in Pergamum was moresevere than some of the other
cities and a believer namedAntipas had been put to death,
(20:36):
as Jesus mentions, christiantradition says that Antipas was
ordained by John as the bishopin Pergamum, and that Antipas
was executed by being burnedinside of a brass bull.
He was supposedly executed forcasting out demons that were
being worshipped by the localpeople, as well as refusing to
worship Caesar.
(20:56):
Now, as a side note, when Jesuscalls Antipas his faithful
witness, that word witness is aGreek transliteration of the
word martyr, but because so manyof the witnesses faithful to
Jesus were executed, the wordmartyr came to be known as what
we think of today, and so Jesuscommends them for not denying
(21:18):
their faith even in the midst ofthis persecution.
Another real challenge forChristians living in Pergamum
was the fact that there weremany trade guilds in the city,
and these trade guildsparticipated in pagan festivals
and banquets and ate food thathad been sacrificed to pagan
idols.
Well, christians wouldn't havebeen allowed to eat this food or
(21:38):
participate in these banquets,and so it challenged their
livelihood by denying theirability to participate in these
trade guilds, and so one of thereal religious challenges for
these Christians was thetemptation to save their
livelihood by compromising withthe imperial cult and these
pagan activities.
And if you think about it, wehave similar choices to make
(21:59):
today.
Do we compromise with oraccommodate the world today at
the expense of our devotion toGod's standards?
But after commending them fortheir faith, jesus continues his
message by saying but I have afew things against you.
You have some there who holdthe teaching of Balaam, who
taught Balak to put a stumblingblock before the sons of Israel
(22:21):
so that they might eat foodsacrificed to idols and practice
sexual immorality.
So also you have some who holdto the teaching of the
Nicolaitans.
Therefore, repent, if not, Iwill come to you soon and war
against them with the sword ofmy mouth.
So Jesus now provides them withhis criticism because, again,
(22:42):
just because you're suffering,that does not excuse anything
that we might be doing wrong.
And he starts by pointing outthat they have some who hold to
the teachings of Balaam.
So who was Balaam and what didhe teach?
Well, balaam was most likelynot his real name, but is being
used here as a code name,signifying that he was a false
(23:03):
prophet who was leading God'speople astray.
But in Numbers, deuteronomy andother places, we see that
Balaam acted out of greed formoney.
He led Israel into sin in orderto remove them from God's favor
, knowing that it was the onlyway to destroy them.
But the particular sin ofIsrael in connection with Balaam
was sexual immorality and foodoffered to idols.
(23:26):
Now there is some debate aroundwhat exactly this sexual
immorality was.
Did it refer to literalprostitution, like that
conducted in some of the pagantemples, or was this a spiritual
adultery that leads people awayfrom God?
What we do know is that Balaamled Israel into sin by having
Moab women seduce them intosexual immorality and
(23:49):
intermarriage and idolatry.
In fact, we read in Numbers 25that and so Israel yoked himself
to Baal of Peor and the angerof the Lord was kindled against
Israel.
(24:09):
And the Lord said to Moses Takeall of the chiefs of the people
and hang or impel them in thesun before the Lord, that the
fierce anger of the Lord mayturn away from Israel.
And Moses said to the judges ofIsrael Each of you kill those
of his men who have yokedthemselves to Baal.
And here we see Jesus callingout the church of Pergamum that
(24:32):
they have some who are doingthis very thing.
I mean, even Peter warned thechurch of this when he wrote in
2 Peter.
But false prophets also aroseamong the people, just as there
will be false teachers among youwho will secretly bring in
destructive heresies.
They have eyes full of adultery, insatiable for sin, and they
(24:53):
entice unsteady souls.
They have hearts trained ingreed, forsaking the right way.
They have gone astray.
They have followed the way ofBalaam, the son of Beor, who
loved gain from wrongdoing.
Jesus also calls them out forhaving some who follow the
teachings of the Nicolaitans,which were doing essentially the
same thing in which we'vealready touched on.
(25:15):
But Jesus ends his letter to thechurch at Pergamon by saying
Therefore, repent.
If not I will come to you soonand war against them with the
sword of my mouth.
He who has an ear, let him hearwhat the Spirit says to the
churches.
To the one who conquers, I willgive some of the hidden manna
and I will give him a whitestone with a new name written on
(25:36):
the stone that no one knowsexcept the one who receives it.
And so, once again, jesus callsfor them to repent.
If not, then he will come andwar with them with the sword of
my mouth, which, revelation 19tells us that from his mouth
comes a sharp sword with whichto strike down the nations.
(25:56):
In other words, all Jesus hasto do is speak it and it's done.
I mean, it's no different thanin the beginning creating the
universe with a word, creatingthe universe with a word.
But he concludes by saying thatto those who conquer he will
give some of the hidden mannaand a white stone with a new
name written on it.
(26:19):
Now, regarding the hidden manna,manna was the food that
sustained the Israelites duringtheir time in the wilderness
after the exodus from Egypt, andI think it's interesting that
Jesus said in John 6, truly,truly, I say to you, it was not
Moses who gave you the breadfrom heaven, but my father gives
you the true bread from heaven,for the bread of God is he who
comes down from heaven and giveslife to the world.
(26:39):
I am the bread of life.
But regarding the white stone,there's been a lot of
speculation about what it means.
A couple of different thoughtshere.
One some believe it refers to atoken of acquittal, because in
some ancient courts, jurorswould vote for acquittal with a
white stone or with a blackstone for conviction, and so the
message may mean that, althoughChristians stand condemned by
(27:02):
the Roman courts, jesus wouldoverturn their verdict at the
final judgment.
Another thought is that thewhite stones were a token given
to contestants in the Greekgames as they completed their
race.
This could then be traded inlater for entrance into
celebrations or for actualawards.
But the most common view amongcommentators is that the white
(27:23):
stone with a person's name on itserved as admission to certain
public assemblies or festivals,such as feasts in these temples
of idol pagans.
But one of the primary takeawaysfrom the letter to the church
in Pergamum deals with being ledastray of assimilation
Assimilation into the cultureand compromising with it to the
(27:43):
extent that we sacrifice our ownbeliefs and betray God's
standards.
And so we have to be careful tofind that appropriate balance
between interaction with ourculture and compromise with it.
And in doing that, we need tomake sure that we're embracing
and influence the world with thevalues and examples of Jesus,
not embracing the values of theworld, because what you'll often
(28:06):
find is that the values of theworld, the values of the
majority, are often in conflictwith the values of God.
In America and the West ingeneral, we may not have to deal
with things like emperorworship, but there are plenty of
other potential idolsmaterialism, career, so-called
celebrities or athletes, whooften garner more of our
(28:28):
attention than God does.
And when we value what theworld does, when it directly
contradicts God's word, then weforfeit or diminish our
Christian witness.
We become indistinguishablefrom the world, and if there's
no difference in our lives, thenwhy would the world be
interested in anything that wehave to tell them?
Why would they be interested inhearing any of this supposed
(28:51):
good news?
Revelation is a wake-up call tothe churches that true
Christians in the world are in abattle, and it's literally a
fight to the death.
This letter reminds us, throughthe image of Balaam, that it
was compromise with paganismthat brought Israel defeat.
And the same thing will happento us if we compromise with
(29:11):
pagan values.
And although we may not knowexactly what we might be called
on to overcome, jesus promisesthat, whatever it is, he has a
better plan and a better futurein store for us.
But the last letter in thischapter is written to the church
of Thyatira, and we read inverses 18 and 19,.
And to the angel to the churchof Thyatira, and we read in
verses 18 and 19,.
And to the angel of the churchin Thyatira write the words of
(29:34):
the Son of God, who has eyeslike a flame of fire and whose
feet are like burnished bronze.
I know your works, your loveand faith and service and
patient endurance, and that youare now doing more than you did
at first.
Now, thyatira was about 45 milessoutheast of Pergamum, and it
was originally founded bysoldiers of Alexander the Great.
(29:56):
Of the seven cities thatreceived letters, thyatira was
the least significant, eventhough they received the longest
letter, but in the city therewere all sorts of traders and
artisans, and records indicatethat there were several trade
guilds, and I've alreadymentioned the fact that these
trade guilds practice idolatrousrites at their meetings, often
(30:17):
within pagan temples, whereanimals were offered up and
sacrificed to pagan gods andwould then be eaten by the
members of the guild.
This obviously put Christiansin a difficult situation, as
they were forbidden to eat foodsacrificed to idols, and so, by
not participating in these guildrituals, they would be viewed
as not being good citizens ordenied entry into the guilds,
(30:41):
thereby hurting themeconomically, and so they would
have been hard-pressed tosupport their families.
Without some measure ofcompromise with idolatry, and
before you dismiss this as onlysome ancient problem for
Christians, all of us must askourselves a similar question how
far am I willing to go inadopting and accepting the
modern standards and practicesof society and culture.
(31:04):
And if we seriously askourselves that question and
we're honest with ourselves,we're probably compromising more
than we think.
And it's important to considerthat we often see that what one
generation tolerates, the nextgeneration embraces.
And so when we read the wordsof Jesus and his rebuke of these
churches, we can absolutelyapply them to our own lives as
(31:27):
well.
Now, like the other churches,jesus begins with a commendation
for them.
He knows that the Christians inThyatira are doing his works
more than they ever had, whichis in contrast to the Christians
in Ephesus who had fallen back.
But once again, the things thatthey were doing right did not
excuse the things that they weredoing wrong.
(31:47):
And we see Jesus continue inverses 20 and 21, where he says
but I have this against you thatyou tolerate that woman,
jezebel, who calls herself aprophetess and is teaching and
seducing my servants to practicesexual immorality and to eat
food sacrificed to idols.
So he tells them that they'vetolerated that woman Jezebel who
(32:10):
was leading them astray.
Now her name is not actuallyJezebel, that's a symbolic name.
He is symbolically calling herJezebel due to the similarity of
her influence upon the churchto that of the original Jezebel
in Israel.
The original Jezebel, who weread about in 1 and 2 Kings,
corrupted the faith of Israelwith many whoredoms and
(32:32):
sorceries of her pagan gods, beland Astarte.
Now this woman apparentlytaught things similar to Balaam
that idolatrous practices werepermissible, encouraging
fornication and even practicingthem herself and for a group who
would have had a difficult timedue to not being accepted into
the trade guilds.
She's telling them exactly whatthey want to hear.
(32:54):
And when you tell peopleexactly what they want to hear,
you can become very popular.
I mean, we don't need to lookany further than the preaching
of the prosperity gospel todayand how popular it is to the
masses.
But Jesus calls out theircompromise because this Jezebel
falsely claims to be aprophetess and to offer deep
secrets and, as we'll see laterin Revelation, just like Satan
(33:18):
and just like the world system,she's a deceiver who misleads
God's people.
But Jesus doesn't allow this togo unchallenged and he
(33:40):
continues in verses 21-23 wherehe says lest they repent of her
works, and I will strike herchildren dead and all the
churches will know that I am hewho searches mind and heart and
I will give to each of youaccording to your works.
So Jesus tells them that hegave her time to repent, but she
refused, and so he now has nochoice but to intervene.
(34:03):
He says that he will throw heronto a sickbed, and the irony
here is probably not just acoincidence, because the bed is
often described as the place forintercourse, but it's also the
place of a person bedfast fromsickness.
And since she used a bed forher fornication, god will reduce
her to a bedridden state.
(34:24):
But he also says that those whocommit adultery with her he
will throw into greattribulation.
Now, this tribulation may be adirect judgment from God, or it
could be some political or maybeeconomic or social upheaval,
and also this is presumablydifferent than the great
tribulation later in Revelation.
And all of this could beavoided if they would simply
(34:48):
repent.
But he continues by saying and Iwill strike her children dead,
which surely is referring to herdisciples and followers.
Now the NIV renders this phraseas strike dead, which is
similar to a Greek translationof a Hebrew expression for
divine judgment of a plague orpestilence, or maybe even a
(35:09):
judgment as a result ofblasphemy.
But as a result of this, itwould serve as a wake-up call to
all the churches, a reminderthat Jesus, as he says, is the
one who searches mind and heart.
A good reminder that you cannothide your true self from God
like you can other people.
God knows your thoughts, heknows your heart, but the
(35:29):
presence of this false teachingis the only criticism Jesus had
for the church at Thyatira.
He continues in verses 24 and 25saying but to the rest of you
in Thyatira who do not hold thisteaching and who have not
learned what some call the deepthings of Satan, to you I say I
do not lay on you any otherburden, church, other than to
(35:51):
hold fast to their faith.
He's speaking to those who havenot followed the false teachers
and have not learned what somecall the deep things of Satan.
But what does he mean by thedeep things of Satan?
He's most likely referring toprofound things such as those
(36:12):
learned by revelation.
But Jesus knows the source oftheir revelation it's Satan.
And so what's likely in viewhere is that Jezebel is claiming
to have a deeper understandingof the mysteries of God, and
what she's telling Christians isokay to do like practicing in
certain pagan practices wouldnot jeopardize their standing
before God.
(36:33):
But obviously these versespoint out that this teaching is
actually from Satan.
But we conclude with the lastfour verses, which read and so,
once again, jesus has a promiseto those who conquer, those who
(37:07):
overcome this threat of falseteaching they will share with
him in his rule over the nations.
Now this has been interpretedin various ways.
One interpretation says thatthis means that we will rule
with Christ over unsaved nationsduring the millennium, the
thousand year reign of Christ onearth.
A second interpretation saysthis means that we'll
(37:27):
participate in the reign of thesaints after death in heaven.
And a third interpretation saysthat we will reign over
Christians of a lower rank inthe new earth, assuming that
there is such a thing as varyingdegrees of authority awarded to
saints.
But Jesus also says that he willgive to those who overcome the
morning star.
(37:47):
Now ancients emphasized theglory of Venus, those who
overcome the morning star.
Now ancients emphasized theglory of Venus and called it the
morning star, and if you'veever seen it on a clear night,
you can understand why.
And so some people may takethis to mean that overcomers
will be associated with a with aglorious or magnificent rule.
However, in Revelation 22 6,jesus identifies himself as the
(38:11):
bright and morning star.
So, just like he was the hiddenmanna, the bread of life
promised to the overcomers inPergamum, he's also the morning
star for the overcomers inThyatira, and so Christ is
promising to give himself, whichis the ultimate reward.
And so, as we wrap this chapterup and look back at the main
(38:31):
takeaway from the letters tothese four churches, we see how
important it is that we decidewho we're going to ultimately
depend on for our well-being.
Are we going to look to theworld or are we going to look to
God?
Because there'll be many timesin each of our lives where we're
going to be faced with thatsort of decision.
Maybe you can only advance inyour career if you betray your
beliefs or you toe the partyline.
(38:53):
Are you willing to riskhardship to stand up for
Christian beliefs?
I mean relativism and toleranceand acceptance has become
increasingly popular in America,but we're warned in these
letters the dangers of acceptinganything that diminishes or
undermines our witness asChristians.
You know the best way to spot acounterfeit is to study and be
(39:15):
familiar with the original, andmy prayer for you is that you
would study God's Word, becomeintimately familiar with it, so
that you would not be led astrayby false prophets or society,
culture or the majority opinion,or even Satan.
And so I pray for your strengthin these days ahead that you
would overcome, that, you wouldconquer, and so I pray for your
(39:38):
strength in these days aheadthat you would overcome, that,
you would conquer, and that youwould be counted as worthy to
receive the rewards Christ haspromised.
I want something just like this.
(40:09):
I want something just like this.
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