REVELATION CHAPTER 2:8-17, “Letters To Churches Of Smyrna And Pergamum”

Jim Bomkamp

1. INTRODUCTION

1.1. In our last study, we observed the vision that John had of the risen and resurrected Jesus Christ, and then we looked carefully at the letter from Jesus to the church of Ephesus

1.1.1. In that study, we saw John’s vision of Jesus as He is since the day of His ascension up to God (see Acts chapter 1). He appeared in His glory, the glory that the disciples were given a glimpse of at the Mount of Transfiguration. We saw that this vision of Jesus gives us Christians hope of being with the Lord one day, hope that is reserved for us in heaven, and hope of our own bodily resurrection which is promised us (see 1 Cor. 15)

1.1.1.1.Jesus in all His magnificent glory and majesty will inspire God’s people for all of eternity to have Him as the object of all of their worship and adoration

1.1.2. In the study, we also looked closely at the letter from Christ to the church in Ephesus and how that letter should effect our lives

1.1.2.1.We saw that this church was large, bustling with activity, a missionary hub, probably had a ministry every night of the week, and was from all external appearances a really “happening” church. However, there was one major thing that was going to bring the church down if it continued to go unchecked: The had lost their “first love” for the Lord

1.1.2.1.1.We saw that “first love” is espousal love such as newly weds have where they will joyfully go to any extreme or expense in order to please their spouse, and they just cannot spend enough time with the one they love

1.1.2.1.2.We in the church saw that we must never forget why we do the things that we do for the Lord, never place service above devotion, never place ministry over spending time personally with the Lord, and realize the importance of doing everything that we do as unto the Lord so as to please Him in all

1.2. In our study today, we are going to look at the letter of Jesus to the churches of Smyrna and Pergamum

1.2.1. Smyrna is a church that was going through tremendous persecution and because of this it had been purified to the point that Jesus had no rebuke for it, but only an admonishment to not fear, and an encouragement that if they endured faithful to the end that they would be rewarded with a “crown of life”

1.2.2. Pergamum was a church that symbolized compromise with the world as they had compromised by not censoring and disciplining those among them who followed the practice of Baalam and the heretical teachings of the Nicolaitans

1.2.2.1.We will see how important it is that the church not be compromised by being joined to any other purpose than that which the Lord has called her to do

1.2.2.2.We will see how important it is that the church learn to discipline those who go astray from the clear teaching and practice of the word of God

2. VS 2:8 - “8 “And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: The first and the last, who was dead, and has come to life, says this:” - Jesus tells John to take dictation for a letter to the church in Smyrna

2.1. The name “smyrna” comes from the word “myrrh” which has been variously associated with either ‘bitterness” or with “fragrance”:

2.1.1. If we see it as signifying the “bitterness” of myrrh, then we might conjecture that the Holy Spirit’s fingerprint is pointing to the fact that the people of this church would be called upon to suffer the “bitterness” of martyrdom.

2.1.2. However, if we see it as signifying the “fragrance” of myrrh, then we might conjecture that the Holy Spirit’s fingerprint is pointing to the faith and endurance unto the end of death by martyrdom by these faithful saints, which is something that is a fragrant aroma unto the Lord.

2.2. Jesus’ description of Himself as the first and the last, the One who was dead and who has come to life symbolizes comfort from Jesus, a fellow martyr.

2.3. The church in Smyrna was a persecuted church, and the purpose of this letter was to encourage the church in light of an upcoming persecution that was soon to occur.

2.4. There are only two churches of the seven to whom Christ has nothing critical to say, this church and the church in Philadelphia.

2.5. I read that today there exists a Christian church in the city that was once named Smyrna.

2.6. As with all of the letters, this letter is addressed to the ‘angel’ or “messenger” (be it an angel or pastor) of the church.

2.7. Polycarp was the pastor of the church at the time of John’s writing, and history records that he was martyred for his faith. Actually, the Romans persecutors felt sorry for this old pastor, and they gave him the chance to live if only he would declare that Caesar was lord, however he refused to recant his faith and instead declared, “Four score and six years have I served the Lord, and He never wronged me: How then could I blasphemy my King and Savior?”. Polycarp told his executioners that the fire that was before him would only burn for a moment, however the fire that awaited them would burn for eternity.

2.8. Historically, some say this church symbolizes the church from the end of the apostolic age until about 312BC with the advent of Constantine’s supposed conversion to Christianity and making of Christianity the world religion.

2.9. History records that in those two hundred and fifty years from the end of the apostolic age to the reign of Constantine, that over 6,000,000 Christians were martyred for their faith. However, for every Christian that was martyred, another three wanted to become Christians as they saw the way in which the martyrs died, their faith, peace, and testimony.

2.10. The average life span for one who was named the pastor of a church during this time was 6 to 7 years. However, as one remarked, “The seed of the church is the blood of the martyrs.” Martyring Christians only accelerated the growth of the early church, plus those severe trials kept the church pure and full of vitality.

2.11. Focus on the Family has recently published that the number of Christians martyred in the 20^th century exceeds the total number martyred in every century before it.

2.12. In the revelation of Himself to the church in this letter, Christ reveals three things about Himself which prove to be keys to understanding His purpose for sending the letter: He is the ‘first and the last’, and He is He ‘who was dead, and has come to life’.

2.12.1.Christ reveals first of all that He is before all things, and that all things are consummated in Him (He is the beginning and end of all things, the alpha and omega). Since He is before all things and He is what is important concerning all things for all eternity, then Christ is encouraging the church that the trials and struggles of this life, no matter how severe that they may seem to be, are actually inconsequential in comparison to the things that are eternal.

2.12.1.1.This should be an encouragement for the church to endure the immanent persecution that would soon be occurring among them.

2.12.2.Secondly, in Christ revealing to the church that He is the one ‘who was dead, and has come to life’, Christ is encouraging the church that though men may kill the body, the Christian is promised a resurrection body which shall be raised in power, righteousness, and glory.

2.12.2.1.This should also encourage the church to endure the upcoming persecution.

2.12.3.Third, in Christ revealing this to the church, He is encouraging them that in effect that He Himself has gone on before the church in enduring suffering and persecution, and if He has suffered in this way, we should not think that we may not have to do likewise ourselves. Plus, since He has gone before us as one who has suffered more than any, and yet without sin, He can show us the way and give us the help that we need in order to be able to overcome as He overcame these fiery trials.

3. VS 2:9 - “9 ‘I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich), and the blasphemy by those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.” - Jesus tells the church in Smyrna that He knows their tribulation and poverty, and the blasphemy of false Jews

3.1. What Christ tells the church in Smyrna that He knows about them is their ‘tribulation’ and ‘poverty’, and the ‘blasphemy by those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan’.

3.2. We see so many times in the scripture this word “thlipsis” in the Greek, which is translated ‘tribulation’. The word means “a terrible crushing force”. Jesus promised His disciples that in this world there would be this crushing of ‘tribulation’ in John 16:33, “33 “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.””

3.2.1. In Romans 5:3-5, Paul even admonishes us about the fact that God uses ‘tribulation’ in a Christian’s life for a good purpose, “3 And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; 4 and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; 5 and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”

3.2.2. Since Christians are sometimes called upon to face various trials, and because of the good work that they produce in purifying our hearts and faith, James gave an exhortation about the joyful attitude that we Christians should have concerning trials in Ja. 1:2-3, “2 Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.”

3.3. Christ encourages the church by telling them that through His omniscience that He knows about their ‘tribulation’ which they have been going through because of their trying to live their lives for Him.

3.4. The terrible persecution of the church by the Jews which had begun had caused many to become impoverished, and thus Christ encourages the church in Smyrna by telling them that He knows of their ‘poverty’.

3.4.1. It is significant that He does not tell them that they should be prospering, and that because they were not prospering that there must be something wrong in their faith, or there must be some sin in their life.

3.4.2. In Hebrews chapter 11 we have the Christian Hall of Faith, and in there we see that many of God’s faithful servants have suffered greatly and have at times gone without many of the very necessities of life. God is sovereign and there are times when He allows His children to suffer lack even regarding essential needs.

3.5. Christ encourages the church by this parenthetical phrase, ‘but you are rich’. The riches that the church in Smyrna possessed were the presence and blessing of Christ among them, plus the treasures which they had stored up in heaven.

3.5.1. As Jesus taught in Matt. 6:19-21, those in the Smyrnian church were not foolish like those who store up their treasures upon the earth, but their treasures were in heaven, where they can never be lost or suffer corruption, “19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 “But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; 21 for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”

3.6. Finally, Christ encourages the Smyrnian church by telling them that He knows about the persecution and blasphemy by those who were false Jews. We know from history that the persecution of the church in the first century A.D. was by and large at the hands not of Romans or pagans, but at the hands of the Jews. It was not until the Roman emperors became convinced that the problems of the Roman empire were occurring because of the Christians that the Romans began to persecute the church.

3.6.1. History also records that not too long subsequent to the writing of this book that pastor Polycarp was burned at the stake, and that it was the Jews who assisted in his martyrdom.

3.6.2. Likewise, the Jews were also hindering the church from within as those who would come into the church had a very difficult time separating Judaism from Christianity. The Judaisers were always trying to force the church to carry out the Jewish laws to the letter in addition to having faith in Christ, if they were to hope to have salvation. This was a major problem in the early church, and we can see this, for instance, in reading the book of Galatians, which was addressed to this whole problem of Judaisers within the church. We can also see the problem being addressed in the book of Romans, 2 Corinthians, as well as in other letters in the New Testament.

3.6.3. Christ says that these false Jews were actually a ‘synagogue of Satan’. God was not their father, Satan was their father, and thus they were carrying out the deeds of their father Satan, and not recognizing the sound truth of the gospel which came from inspiration of the Holy Spirit through the apostles.

3.6.4. In Romans 2:28 and 9:6-8, Paul deals with the fact that not all of those who were physically descendant from Abraham were from God’s perspective actually Israelites. Being physically descendant from Abraham never guaranteed that anyone was one of God’s people.

4. VS 2:10 - “10 ‘Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to cast some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.” - Jesus tells the Symrnian church to not fear what they shall suffer in persecution

4.1. In this verse, we have the exhortation that Christ makes to the church at Smyrna, which is to ‘not fear what you are about to suffer’. This church was to undergo a tremendous persecution for their faith, which had already begun, and so the Lord exhorts them not to fear the things that they were ‘about to suffer’.

4.2. Further, Christ tells them that the suffering that they were to endure would also be a time for them to ‘be tested’. When Christians are persecuted for our faith, this is a time for tremendous testing of our faith. Those who are not genuine Christians will not endure the time of persecution that occurs for the testing of their faith, and the lack of genuineness to their faith will be determined.

4.3. Christ tells the church at Smyrna that the time of their testing will not last forever, but rather it will occur only ‘ten days.’ Christ refers to their testing as being ‘tribulation’. We do not know exactly what Christ is referring to when He says that the testing will only last ‘ten days’.

4.3.1. Some have taught that the number ‘ten’ might signify a short period of time and therefore should not be taken literally, and a few Biblical references have been made to this effect. For instance, young Daniel and his friends in the first chapter of the book of Daniel were tested eating vegetables instead of meat for 10 days before it was determined that they were plenty healthy eating only vegetables.

4.3.2. However, others have accounted for the reference to the number 10 by the fact that under the Roman empire there was persecution from 10 Roman emperors, beginning with Nero and ending with Diocletian. Also, the persecution under Diocletian lasted for 10 years.

4.3.3. So, all we know for sure is that the time of testing that Christ predicted prophetically was not to last indefinitely, but had a predetermined duration.

4.4. It is significant to note that Christ did not tell them that they would not suffer, nor did He tell them that He would remove the suffering. With another church He said that, but not with the church in Smyrna.

4.4.1. It is sometimes God’s will for the Christian to have to suffer, and sometimes Christians will be called to suffer unto death.

4.4.2. Every person’s times are in the Lord’s hands, and we can only conclude that He has a purpose for each thing that His people are called to endure.

4.4.3. We also know that the scripture promises that the Lord works good out of each trial that the believer suffers.

4.5. We Christians must never be in the place of thinking that once we have become Christians that everything in life is now going to be so easy for us. That is not the case. The Lord has never promised to His children the absence of trials, the absence of pain, the absence of persecution, or the abundance that the false prophets of these days proclaim as the “prosperity gospel”.

4.6. It is a fact to be observed by us as Christians that persecution from without, though as ugly and damaging as it can be to Christian’s lives, actually works for the good in purifying and perfecting the church.

4.6.1. In the past few years I have read and heard many accounts of the tremendous persecutions of Christians by the Muslims in Africa in the country of the Sudan. Some of the local pastors there have actually been quoted as saying that they wanted the persecution to end, however because of the good that was being affected, they didn’t want it to end too soon.

4.6.2. If we look at things from God’s perspective, persecution of His church works many good effects. However, from the human level there is devastation.

4.6.3. We must accept God’s sovereign choices when He allows His church to suffer.

4.7. In this verse, Christ promises something to the believer who has to suffer persecution for His Name’s sake, ‘I will give you the crown of life’. There are several crowns which are mentioned in the scripture as rewards that will be given to believers for their service. James 1:12 mentions something about the ‘crown of life’ mentioned here, “12 Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life, which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.” James promises that those of God’s people who persevere “under trial” will receive this crown, then he gives a further qualification, the Lord has promised to give it “to those who love Him”.

4.7.1. John Walvoord writes, “The crown of life is apparently the crown of eternal life. The glories of life eternal stand in contrast to the trials of martyrdom and erase the dark shadows of persecution and death. The crown of life may be contrasted to the other crowns promised the child of God: the crown of righteousness for a godly life (II Tim. 4:8), the crown of glory for faithful shepherds (I Peter 5:4), the crown of gold, the evidence of our redemption (Rev. 4:4), the crown of rejoicing (I Thess. 2:19), believers in heaven won by Paul, and the incorruptible crown (I Cor. 9:25) for self-control in the race of life. The crown follows the cross.”

5. VS 2:11 - “11 ‘He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes shall not be hurt by the second death.’” - Jesus tells those who have ears to hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches

5.1. As with each of the churches, Christ calls out to everyone who has an ear to hear what the Holy Spirit is saying to all of the churches in these letters. Again, these are representative churches that churches of all eras need to study and learn crucial lessons from.

5.2. The promise that Christ makes to the church at Smyrna is that everyone ‘who overcomes shall not be hurt by the second death’. As we get further through the book of Revelation, we will see that the ‘second death’ is the eternal death that awaits everyone who is not a believer after this life, it is the punishment of eternal hell. The first death is the physical death which sin brings about. The ‘second death’ is the eternal death that sin brings about, for “the wages of sin is death”. The Christian is promised that he will spend eternity in heaven with Christ, so therefore no true Christian will ever be ‘hurt by the second death’.

6. VS 2:12 - “12 “And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write: The One who has the sharp two-edged sword says this:” - Jesus tells John to take dictation for a letter to the church in Pergamum

6.1. The name of the city of Pergamum means literally, “elevation and marriage”. Some would point to the fingerprint of the Holy Spirit in this name since as the epistle of Christ to them reveals, the church had become “elevated” when it formed the “marriage” of paganism and Christianity.

6.2. The epistle to the church in Pergamum deals with the issue of compromise within the church, for it is a church filled with compromise with the world.

6.3. Jesus’ description of Himself as the One who has the sharp two-edged sword symbolizes a warning of His coming to them will be for judgment if they do not repent of the sins.

6.4. The city of Pergamum was centrally located in the province of Asia, and it was 60 miles north of Smyrna.

6.4.1. One of the seven wonders of the world, the great altar to Zeus was located in the city, it was the largest altar in the world.

6.4.2. There was also the only provincial temple of the Emperial Cult in Asia which was erected in honor of Caesar Augustus, who was alive when Jesus was born.

6.4.3. The city was an intellectual center, with a 200,000 volume library.

6.4.4. The city was also a medical center as it had Aesculapius (from which we get the word “scalpel”) as a deity which it worshipped. The sign of this deity was the symbol used today for the medical profession of the coiled snake on a pole.

6.5. When the devil can not overthrow the church from without through persecution, as he was attempting with the church at Smyrna, then he will try to join with the church. This is what had happened at Pergamum.

6.5.1. William Gurnall, the famous Puritan pastor of the 17th century, wrote in “The Christian In Complete Armor” about the fact that the Devil has his high places in the government of the land, however that his highest place is in the church. If he can control the pulpit and mechanism of the church, then he can in time subdue all of the land.

6.5.2. As I mentioned earlier in my commentary, it is from within that the greatest threat to the church will always come, not from without.

6.6. The church in Pergamum had let the heresies of Nicolaitanism and Balaamism make inroads, and so we see here in this verse that what Christ reveals about Himself symbolizes the fact that He intends to come to them in judgment and cut these heretical practitioners out with the double-edged sword proceeding from His mouth.

6.7. Those who see these letters as symbolized properly in the history of the church see that this church in Pergamum as symbolizes the church beginning at about 312BC when Constantine who was in a battle with another man for control of the Roman empire claims that he had a vision of a cross in the sky and the words, “Conquer in this Name”, and thus he claimed conversion to Christianity. The church period symbolized by this church extends until the dark ages.

6.8. After Constantine’s conquest in battle, he declared Christianity to be a legal religion and took steps to make it the state religion. This was the church’s undoing for then it became the puppet of the government. The books, “Babylon Mystery Religions” and “The Two Babylons”, document how that Constantine next merged the pagan religious holidays and practices (which had actually been introduced to Pergamum from the practices of ancient Babylon) into Christianity. Thus, there was introduced into Christianity from the pagan religions the Christian holy days, observance of Christmas and Easter, worship of Mary, worship of the saints, etc.

6.9. Again, we see that the letter is addressed to the ‘angel’, or messenger, of the church, be it an angelic creature or the pastor of the church.

6.10. We in the church of every age must realize that if the church becomes intertwined with any other cause than that which the Lord called her to, be it outwardly worldly or not, she will actually end up compromising in her mission and devotion to the Lord. Since Satan realized long ago that persecuting the church only strengthens it, he will always try his hardest to infiltrate the church, and therefore the church must never be married to any other worldly institution or cause, for in doing so men will come from within and undermine the church’s very existence.

7. VS 2:13 - “13 ‘I know where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is; and you hold fast My name, and did not deny My faith, even in the days of Antipas, My witness, My faithful one, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells.” - Paul tells the Pergamum church that He knows where Satan’s throne is

7.1. Christ reveals in this verse that through His omniscience that He knows their works, or as He says ‘where you dwell’.

7.2. Likewise, Christ reveals that He knows ‘where Satan’s throne is’.

7.2.1. This may refer to the altar of Zeus or the altar to Caesar and the pagan worship that went on in the city, and the part in which the Christians participated in this practice of idolatry.

7.2.2. However, it may refer to idolatry in general in the lives of the Christians, and how that the church had actually allowed the Nicolaitans and those practicing Balaamism to be unhindered in the church. It was Satan’s throne within the church then!

7.3. After 312AD when Rome had accepted Christians, the Christians began to assimilate with the pagans of the world. Likewise, intermarriage with the heathen was undoubtedly a big problem at Pergamum, as was the problems created merely by contact with the pagans around them.

7.3.1. For instance, probably all of the meat in the markets had once been sacrificed at the pagan altars. Therefore, if Christians did not want to eat meat that had previously been sacrificed to pagan gods, then they would have to become vegetarians.

7.4. Compromise with the world had become a tremendously big problem in the church at Pergamum. Likewise, historically, when Constantine made Christianity legal and married Christianity and paganism, compromise with the world was the biggest problem in the church.

7.5. Christ also reveals that He is aware that in the church in Pergamum there was another group also in the church, and that some of them had held fast to His Name, without being persuaded out of their faith in Christ.

7.6. Likewise, Christ tells them that He was aware that there had been a godly man named Antipas who had died there a martyr for his faith. This man had evidently been faithful even unto death.

7.7. There is much compromise in the lives of Christians in the church today, for instance:

7.7.1. The divorce rate in the church is estimated to be at least equal to the rate of the general public.

7.7.2. We can see so much worldliness in the church, so much compromise.

7.7.3. It has been said that the church in our world today is much more a reflection of the world that we live in than the Christ whom we serve.

7.8. We Christians must beware of compromising with the world. We are called to be in the world so that we can win people to the Lord, but not of the world, and do the sinful deeds performed by those in the world. We are called to come out from the world and to be separate, as Paul writes about in 2 Cor. 6:14-18, “14 Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? 15 Or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever? 16 Or what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; just as God said, “I will dwell in them and walk among them; And I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 17 “Therefore, come out from their midst and be separate,” says the Lord. “And do not touch what is unclean; And I will welcome you. 18 “And I will be a father to you, And you shall be sons and daughters to Me,” Says the Lord Almighty.”

8. VS 2:14 - “14 ‘But I have a few things against you, because you have there some who hold the teaching of Balaam, who kept teaching Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit acts of immorality.” - Jesus tells the Pergamum church that He has a few things against them

8.1. In this verse, Christ begins writing to the church at Pergamum about the few things that He has against them. First of all, He says in this verse that there were some who held ‘to the teaching of Balaam’. Then, Christ goes on to describe what the sin of Balaam entailed.

8.1.1. To understand this sin of Balaam, we ought to go to the story as outlined in the Old Testament. Balaam was kind of a different kind of guy. He was a prophet of the Lord, but he was a double-minded man as well. He was into the Lord, but he also was into living for the wrong things in life. Even though the Lord had told him that there was no way that a curse could be placed upon God’s people, the Israelites, he kept agreeing to go with Balak and look into a way to place a curse upon them. Finally, when Balaam realized that he couldn’t actually curse the people themselves, because of his greed for profit, he told Balak that the way to hinder the Israelites was to send to them women and girls from his people and thus cause them to fall into immorality and to intermarry with his people. This would also lead the Israelites into idolatry, which would be a way to undermine them. The story of Balaam is found in Numbers 22:1-24:25.

8.2. This “prophet for hire” mentality and the serving God for monetary advantage that possessed Balaam seems to be the sin to which the Lord is rebuking some of the people at the church at Pergamum in this verse. In the New Testament the name “Balaam” is used as a metaphor for this type of thing.

8.3. We in the church must always fight the temptation to do what we do for the Lord with a profit motive. There are so many in ministries around the world today who command incredible salaries, or make an incredible profit as a result of doing the Lord’s work. However, we must never let this be the motive for what we do.

8.3.1. No matter how popular our ministry may become, we must always be people who live a life of moderation in all things. We should take the words of Jesus to heart, “Freely you have received, freely give.”

8.3.2. Jesus is after the greatest example of one who did not come to receive but to give of Himself. In 2 Cor. 8:9, Paul wrote about how that Jesus as our example came and lived a humble life of poverty so that He could make us rich in the spiritual realm, “9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich.”

9. VS 2:15 - “15 ‘Thus you also have some who in the same way hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans.” - Jesus tells the Pergamum church that He knows that there are some in the church who are holding to the teaching of the Nicolaitans

9.1. The second sin which Christ has against some in the church in Pergamum is that there are some in the church who are holding to ‘the teaching of the Nicolaitans’.

9.2. We saw earlier in my study that the church in Ephesus had hated the works of the ‘Nicolaitans’ as did the Lord. However, as I said also in that earlier study, we do not know definitively what the works or the ‘teachings of the Nicolaitans’ consisted of. The two main views are that it refers to:

9.2.1. “Licentious living”.

9.2.1.1.This is the philosophy that since a Christian is saved, it does not matter how he lives.

9.2.1.2.Paul battled against this same error of licentiousness in the church in many of his letters. For instance, in Romans 6:1-2 he writes, “6:1 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace might increase? 2 May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it?”

9.2.1.2.1.Paul’s exhortation to the Romans in these verses is that it is a contradiction in terms to think that a Christian who is by definition one who has been saved and delivered from the penalty and power of sin in his life, can continue to live in a life of sin. A Christian is one who has been made into a “new creature” in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17), and by nature he cannot continue to live in such a way as would deny what his very testimony says has happened in his life.

9.2.2. It could then have been the ideal of “denominationalism” that was beginning to develop among the churches.

9.2.2.1.There is a theory however that the name of Nicolaitans reveals something about their practices. The name means “hold over laity” or “rule over laity”, which could indicate a separation between the laity and those in ministry, and a lording it over those who were laity by the clergy and leadership.

9.2.2.2.This is the philosophy of secular business in our country today, as well as virtually all other organizations in the world. However, this was not the way that Christ taught that leaders were to act. Christ came to serve, and especially as His discourse during His last supper shows, He has given an example for all leaders in the church to follow. In 1 Peter 5:2-3, Peter exhorted those who are pastors and elders to be servant leaders, and to lead by example not by lording it over those under them, “2 shepherd the flock of God among you, exercising oversight not under compulsion, but voluntarily, according to the will of God; and not for sordid gain, but with eagerness; 3 nor yet as lording it over those allotted to your charge, but proving to be examples to the flock.”

10. VS 2:16 - “16 ‘Repent therefore; or else I am coming to you quickly, and I will make war against them with the sword of My mouth.” - Jesus tells the church in Pergamum to repent or else He will be coming to them quickly

10.1. Christ’s exhortation to act for the church at Pergamum is to ‘repent’, as was also given to the church at Ephesus.

10.1.1.Christians are expected to place their lives in line with God’s standards for holiness, and when they have missed the mark of matching up to God’s standard of holiness, they are to repent. Therefore, the Christian is to ‘repent’ as often as is necessary, and whenever he realizes that in his life and/or his heart there is an attitude or action that is not pleasing to the Lord.

10.2. The warning to ‘repent’ comes with teeth, for if they do not ‘repent’, Christ promises to come ‘quickly’ to them and to ‘make war against them with the sword of My mouth’. This is the same kind of language that is used later in the book of Revelation for how that the Lord will deal with the devil and demons who are in rebellion against God. This is worse than a warning of impending “chastisement” of God’s children, this is a warning of the dangers of the fire of hell itself against those who refuse to repent and who will be cast into the lake of fire along with the devil and his angels.

10.3. If we find that there is something in our life that is not pleasing to the Lord, and yet we refuse to deal with it and repent, then we should realize that we are putting the Lord to the test, and that one day He will return in judgment upon us. The writer to the book of Hebrews, in Hebrews 10:26-31, writes about what it will be like to be found by the Lord for judgment, “26 For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, 27 but a certain terrifying expectation of judgment, and the fury of a fire which will consume the adversaries. 28 Anyone who has set aside the Law of Moses dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 29 How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace? 30 For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay.” And again, “The Lord will judge His people.” 31 It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”

11. VS 2:17 - “17 ‘He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, to him I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, and a new name written on the stone which no one knows but he who receives it.’” - Jesus tells those who have ears to hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches

11.1. As with each of the epistles, Christ invokes all Christians in this verse to hear ‘what the Spirit says to all the churches’.

11.2. The blessed promise which Christ gives to this church is two-fold:

11.2.1.First, the one who ‘overcomes’ is to be given ‘some of the hidden manna’.

11.2.2.Secondly, he is to be given a white stone and a new name written on it whom no one will know but himself.

11.3. We ought to initially ask ourselves what Christ means by the word ‘overcomes’ in this verse? Strong’s Greek Dictionary has the following entry for this Greek word “nikao” translated as ‘overcomes’:

11.3.1.The KJV translates it variously depending upon the context where it is found as “overcome 24, conquer 2, prevail 1, get the victory 1.”

11.3.2.The word means:

11.3.2.1.to conquer

11.3.2.1.1.to carry off the victory, come off victorious

11.3.2.1.1.1.of Christ, victorious over all His foes

11.3.2.1.1.2.of Christians, that hold fast their faith even unto death against the power of their foes, and temptations and persecutions

11.3.2.1.1.3.when one is arraigned or goes to law, to win the case, maintain one’s cause

11.4. It appears from the word used that what Christ is indicating by the use of the word translated as ‘overcomes’ is to not fall into the sins of the Nicolaitans, Balaamans, nor any other group which is teaching heresy and leading people astray, and do not tolerate them within the church.

11.5. The promise then is that to the one who stays with following the truth and does not turn to heresy, that he will be given ‘some of the hidden manna’.

11.5.1.In the “ark of the covenant”, there was left a jar containing some of the manna that had been collected by the people under Moses during the forty years in the wilderness after leaving Egypt. This manna was hidden inside of the ark (Exodus 16:33; Hebrews 9:4) and was there to remind them of the Lord’s miraculous provision for them in the wilderness. Jesus Christ refers to Himself as ‘the manna’ where it is recorded in John 6:51, “I am the living bread which came down from heaven; if any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever.” There is an interesting thing mentioned later in this book where it mentions that the ark appears in heaven. Jesus Christ is the spiritual equivalent to the manna that the Israelites ate during their forty years of wandering in the desert when the Lord miraculously provided food and water for them. Christ is promising to give to the ‘overcomers’ a special “heavenly sustenance” in their lives, whether in meeting their physical needs, or by providing that their ministries flourish with a heavenly increase and substance from His very presence with them.

11.6. The second promise to the ‘overcomers’ is to be given a ‘white stone’.

11.6.1.There have been too many speculations to interpret what this ‘white stone’ refers. For instance:

11.6.1.1.In courts of law and acquittal would be issued if a person drew a ‘white stone’, and guilty verdict for a black one.

11.6.1.2.Another possibility has been given for the ‘white stone’. Some have said that there is perhaps a reference to the fact that the Jewish high priest always carried with him 12 stones in his breast plate, one for each of the twelve tribes. These stones represented the fact that whenever the high priest came into the holy place or the holy of holies that before the Lord were presented the people themselves. The ‘white stone’ could them symbolize the fact that the Lord would always have the ‘overcomer’ before Him, His thoughts would then be on him, and the ‘overcomer’ would always be guaranteed access to the Lord.

11.7. It is interesting that the promised ‘white stone’ for the overcomer would have a name on it that is known only to the person himself. This would then be a name to be cherished as it would be a symbol that the Lord Himself had called that person and given Him a special calling and a special “name” to symbolize that calling.

12. CONCLUSION:

12.1. If you have to suffer and be persecuted for your faith in Christ because the Lord places you in that place, then endure your suffering joyfully because of the good things that the Lord will do in your life as a result of it, and realize that if you will endure faithful unto the end you will receive the incredible crown of life

12.2. We Christians should have it ingrained in our minds that in everything that we do in life, we are effecting our station in the world to come. We must seek to overcome this world and its temptations, the Devil with his temptations, and our own flesh. We should seek to be like the salmon who swims upstream in order to spawn, and not go along with the rest of the world or even the rest of the church, if they are in error. We must take a stand for Christ and the truth whether or not anyone else goes along with us or not. We must also not be “tolerant” of those within the church who do not live their life according to the word of God. If we will do so, we, our families, and our ministries will be blessed by Christ without measure.

Back Bible Studies Home Page