When Jesus Goes To War
Revelation 2:12-17
June 12, 2016
In his first letter to the Corinthians
The apostle Paul exposed the church for an awful account of sin
That had gone unchecked.
He actually spoke of an incident of incest that was literally unheard of even in the world
And the Corinthians had done nothing about it.
1 Corinthians 5:1-2 “It is actually reported that there is immorality among you, and immorality of such a kind as does not exist even among the Gentiles, that someone has his father’s wife. You have become arrogant and have not mourned instead, so that the one who had done this deed would be removed from your midst.”
Paul called the Corinthian’s failure to deal with this sin “arrogant”.
But that wasn’t all that it was.
Failure to deal with this sin was ALSO EXTREMELY NAÏVE.
He went on to say:
1 Corinthians 5:6 “Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough?”
I don’t know what the particular thinking of the Corinthians was
Regarding this man’s sinful decisions, but regardless of their reasoning,
WE DO KNOW THAT IT WAS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS.
Allowing things like this to occur and endure in the church
Can only have a destructive effect on the rest of the body.
It will permeate, it will spread, it will influence, it will corrupt.
It is a threat to the body and Paul commanded the Corinthians
To cast that man out and protect the church.
What we learn from incidents like that is that
NOT EVERY THREAT TO THE CHURCH IS EXTERNAL.
Some attacks of the enemy come from within.
When Paul wrote to the Galatians he said:
Galatians 5:7-9 “You were running well; who hindered you from obeying the truth? This persuasion did not come from Him who calls you. A little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough.”
• You will remember that the Galatians were being pushed toward legalism, specifically in the area regarding circumcision.
• But it sure wasn’t the lost and unbelieving world that was pushing the Galatians to be circumcised.
• It was false brethren, those who snuck in to steal the liberty of the Galatian church, who had craftily spread their heresy throughout the church.
The Galatian church was under attack.
It was not an attack with swords and stones,
It was an attack with deception and lies.
Jesus Himself warned the disciples:
Matthew 16:5-12 “And the disciples came to the other side of the sea, but they had forgotten to bring any bread. And Jesus said to them, “Watch out and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” They began to discuss this among themselves, saying, “He said that because we did not bring any bread.” But Jesus, aware of this, said, “You men of little faith, why do you discuss among yourselves that you have no bread? “Do you not yet understand or remember the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many baskets full you picked up? “Or the seven loaves of the four thousand, and how many large baskets full you picked up? “How is it that you do not understand that I did not speak to you concerning bread? But beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” Then they understood that He did not say to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”
To the disciples, physical problems like a lack of bread were a big issue.
To Jesus that was no issue at all.
The big issue in Jesus’ mind was the deceptive influence that
The Pharisees and other hypocrites were having on the church.
It is the Satanic attack from within.
Not every threat to the church is external.
And typically it is not the external threat that concerns Jesus the most.
This is seen clearly in comparing the church we study today with the one we studied last week.
• The church at Smyrna was under direct physical attack from the devil.
• Jesus knew about their tribulation, their poverty, and even that they were being blasphemed by false believers.
• He knew they had more tribulation to endure.
• He knew about the devil’s plan to throw them in prison.
• He knew that some of them might even be killed.
And yet all Jesus did was remind them that He had overcome death
And He asked them to not fear and be faithful.
Pergamum however is under internal attack (they don’t realize it, but they are)
And here Jesus is about to show up
And go to war with the sword in His mouth.
NOW YOU TELL ME WHICH CONCERNS HIM THE MOST.
As you will see, Pergamum is a church that has been invaded by spiritual terrorists.
To explain what I mean, listen to what Jude wrote in his letter.
Jude 3-4 “Beloved, while I was making every effort to write you about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints. For certain persons have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.”
Jude would go on to say:
Jude 12-13 “These are the men who are hidden reefs in your love feasts when they feast with you without fear, caring for themselves; clouds without water, carried along by winds; autumn trees without fruit, doubly dead, uprooted; wild waves of the sea, casting up their own shame like foam; wandering stars, for whom the black darkness has been reserved forever.”
And
Jude 16 “These are grumblers, finding fault, following after their own lusts; they speak arrogantly, flattering people for the sake of gaining an advantage.”
And
Jude 19 “These are the ones who cause divisions, worldly-minded, devoid of the Spirit.”
They are spiritual terrorists.
They worm their way in, they flatter, they lie, they deceive, and they plot just to find the right time and location to let off their bomb and destroy the church from within.
Jude wrote to say – WAKE UP!
Jesus here writes to Pergamum to say the same.
We’ve covered this church now 3 times that I am aware of and every time we have done so, I’ve called Pergamum the compromising church.
I’m going to change that this morning.
I don’t think compromising is the best word.
PERGAMUM was THE NAÏVE CHURCH
They were so distracted by dangers outside
That they grew naïve to the dangers inside.
A Trojan horse had been rolled into Pergamum and no one was aware except for Jesus and He was about to go to war!
So let’s look at this church this morning.
6 things
#1 THE CHURCH
Revelation 2:12a
“And to the angel of the church at Pergamum write:”
Again, it helps us understand the dilemma of the church
When we better understand the city in which it existed.
Pergamum was not a port city like Ephesus or Smyrna,
But it was considered the greatest city in Asia.
You would call Pergamum much classier and well to do than the others.
• I might compare Ephesus or Smyrna to Las Vegas or New Orleans, which are cities that have a reputation for sin and immorality.
But you would compare Pergamum more to a city like Boston.
• It was more cultural, more historical, more refined.
• It is was city which housed a great library of 200,000 volumes which Anthony later gave to Cleopatra as a gift.
• It was believed to be the place where parchment was invented. (Originally called pergamena)
The downfall to Pergamum was that it was also filled with idols.
The false gods Athena, Dionysus, and Zeus were prominently worshiped there
The city housed the temple of Asklepios and also a giant altar to Zeus.
Pergamum was also a Roman loyal city much like Smyrna was.
When you put all this together,
You begin to understand that Pergamum may not have been as rough as a place like Smyrna, but it was just as dangerous, just as depraved, just as lost, and just as difficult to minister to.
In this idolatrous city rested the church at Pergamum
Which you will soon see faced enormous external persecution,
Even to the point of martyrdom.
The Church
#2 THEIR LORD
Revelation 2:12b
“The One who has the sharp two-edged sword says this:”
Again Jesus is drawing from that vision revealed in chapter 1.
• To Ephesus He focused on His location with the church.
• To Smyrna it was His victory over suffering and death.
• But here He focuses on the fact that He wields the sword.
The sword is very unique weapon.
It is not a tool, it is not a decoration, it has one distinct purpose…to kill.
And when Jesus wields the sword, it is NEVER against His church,
It is only promised for the unbelieving.
Revelation 19:15 “From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty.”
The sword from the mouth of Jesus
Is always for the destruction of the wicked.
Jesus reveals Himself to Pergamum as the Warrior about to go to battle!
While this is timely and relevant to the situation and Pergamum,
It might surprise you exactly where the battle is going to be fought.
The Church, Their Lord
#3 THEIR SUCCESS
Revelation 2:13
Before we get into any criticisms or corrections to the churches
It is always important to first recognize what these churches do well.
This is important so we don’t easily pass them off
As just uncommitted or unconcerned Christians.
It is important that you understand how real they were
And how committed they were and how devoted they were.
That will help us see how easily these dangers can happen to anyone.
Jesus again starts with those all-important words “I know”.
• It again brings memories of Him as our high priest who can sympathize with our weaknesses and can come to our aid in our suffering.
• It is always comforting to remember that Jesus gets it!
And to Pergamum, “I know where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is;”
STOP AND LET THAT SINK IN.
This is the church that apparently exists in Satan’s capitol.
Jesus later says that Pergamum is “where Satan dwells.”
Look that is purely seen with spiritual eyes.
There is no way to have known that other than Jesus expressing it.
PERGAMUM WAS SATAN’S HOME TOWN AND CAPITOL CITY.
So, for help in putting it all in perspective,
Imagine being a member of First Baptist Church Khartoum, Sudan.
The church at Pergamum must have felt like
“A Christian booth in the middle of Ramadan.”
And yet Jesus said of them, “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,”
• One can only imagine the pressure to keep quiet about Jesus in Satan’s home town.
• One can only imagine the pressure to be ashamed of the gospel in Satan’s capitol city.
• One can only imagine the pressure to go underground when the most faithful among you are being rewarded with death.
It is safe to say that we know nothing of
The external dangers that Pergamum faced.
“Antipas” was called “My witness, My faithful one”
Most likely because he was so much like Jesus.
Both of those titles are titles reserved for Jesus.
Revelation 1:5 identified Jesus as “the faithful witness”
The point is that the more you were like Jesus
The more dangerous it became for you.
If there was ever a church tempted to put their light under a basket
It would have most certainly been the church at Pergamum.
It was NOT in your best interest
To go around proclaiming the gospel or the name of Jesus.
And yet, the church at Pergamum did!
• They did not grow silent about the name of Jesus.
• They did not become ashamed of the gospel.
• They could not be bullied or intimidated or pressured away from the Jesus they loved.
Matthew 10:32-33 “Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven. “But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven.”
1 Peter 3:13-17 “Who is there to harm you if you prove zealous for what is good? But even if you should suffer for the sake of righteousness, you are blessed. AND DO NOT FEAR THEIR INTIMIDATION, AND DO NOT BE TROUBLED, but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence; and keep a good conscience so that in the thing in which you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ will be put to shame. For it is better, if God should will it so, that you suffer for doing what is right rather than for doing what is wrong.”
The church at Pergamum understood that and embraced it.
This is partly why I don’t think “The Compromising Church” is really a fair title to them.
• They were not noted for compromise when it came to the name of Jesus.
• They were not noted for compromise when it came to the gospel.
• They were not noted for compromise when it came to being killed.
This church was bold and faithful and committed and courageous!
Jesus told the church at Smyrna not to fear and to be faithful.
It appears that the church at Pergamum
Was obedient on both of those counts.
They were solid and Jesus commended them for it.
• Jesus loves a church that loves to proclaim His name.
• Jesus loves a church that won’t deny Him before men.
• Jesus loves a church that chooses Him over safety and comfort.
The church at Pergamum was definitely commendable.
SO WHAT’S THE PROBLEM?
Well, while they were courageous to the outside threat,
It appears that they were also naïve to the inward attack.
The Church, Their Lord, Their Success
#4 THEIR CRITIQUE
Revelation 2:14-15
The words of Jesus here are sobering:
“But I have a few things against you…”
It sort gives me a mental picture of Jesus going through a report sheet with the pastor.
• I see here you proclaim My name… good, good
• I see here you keep the faith… excellent
• I see here you’ve suffered persecution … well done
But I’m seeing some things here in this report that we cannot overlook.
Now, at the very least let this remind you of the passion of Jesus.
His goal and objective is to make us perfect, not just acceptable.
Ephesians 5:25-27 “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless.”
Did you pick up on those words?
“glory” “no spot” “no wrinkle” “holy” “blameless”
Jesus wants Pergamum to be perfect
And she had an area where she was lacking badly.
“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. So you also have some who in the same way hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans.”
It is the same phrase used twice.
“you have there some”
“you have some”
The church at Pergamum had built a monumental defense
Against the influences and attacks from those outside the church,
But she failed to recognize the attack that was being waged from within.
They weren’t necessarily compromising,
But they had been compromised.
There were traitors in her midst.
They are often described as wolves in sheep’s clothing.
Would you expect anything else from the city where Satan dwells?
He is after all a deceiver and schemer.
While Satan had the church distracted by the attacks from outside,
He had managed to plant terrorists on the inside.
What did they look like?
• Did they have swords?
• Did they have bombs?
• No, they had sinful influence.
Jesus compared them to Balaam.
Balaam was of course that prophet for hire in the Old Testament.
You can read his story in Numbers 22.
When the children of Israel were wondering in the wilderness the Moabite king named Balak feared that the children of Israel might wipe him and his people out.
Numbers 22:4 “Moab said to the elders of Midian, “Now this horde will lick up all that is around us, as the ox licks up the grass of the field.” And Balak the son of Zippor was king of Moab at that time.”
So the plan was for Balak to hire Balaam to come and curse the children of Israel.
Numbers 22:5-6 “So he sent messengers to Balaam the son of Beor, at Pethor, which is near the River, in the land of the sons of his people, to call him, saying, “Behold, a people came out of Egypt; behold, they cover the surface of the land, and they are living opposite me. “Now, therefore, please come, curse this people for me since they are too mighty for me; perhaps I may be able to defeat them and drive them out of the land. For I know that he whom you bless is blessed, and he whom you curse is cursed.”
Now if you remember the story,
• Balaam asked God if he could and God said “No, you cannot.” So Balaam declined.
• However, Balak came back and offered Balaam more money So Balaam asked God again. This time God said, “Sure” but God planned to kill him on the way.
• Where it not for the smartest donkey in the history of the world, Balaam would have been killed by God.
• When Balaam learned of God’s displeasure he did not curse the children of Israel.
However, Moab succeeded in attacking Israel in a more deceptive way.
In Numbers 25 the Moabites sent out their women.
(presumably with big hair, miniskirts, painted eyelids, etc.)
And those women started inviting the men to come to their feasts.
The men did and thus participated in idolatrous feasts
And that infuriated the LORD.
God was so angry that He sent a plague among the children of Israel
And 24,000 people died.
What we learn later in the book of Numbers is that the Moabites got this idea of using the women to seduce the Israelites from Balaam.
Numbers 31:16 “Behold, these caused the sons of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to trespass against the LORD in the matter of Peor, so the plague was among the congregation of the LORD.”
Balaam was a crafty, deceptive, scheming man
Who did not attack with a sword from the outside,
But who used deceptive influence from the inside.
He didn’t use FEAR as a means of accomplishing his goal,
He used the FLESH as a means of accomplishing his goal.
He infiltrated, he deceived,
And he led God’s people to judgment at the very hand of God.
And Jesus said to the church at Pergamum
“You’ve got some Balaam’s in your midst!”
Undoubtedly they had some people there who were deceiving and scheming and pushing the people of the church into immorality.
They were appealing to the flesh.
While the church was doing a good job of not denying the name of Jesus,
They were actually denying Him by falling into immorality.
Jesus went on to say “you also have some who in the same way hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans.”
Again, we aren’t sure who the “Nicolaitans” where, or what they taught.
(Most try and associate them with one of the first deacons named Nicolas in Acts 6, but that is a reach)
What we know is that Jesus hated the deeds of the Nicolaitans.
He taught us that in verse 6 of this very chapter.
(He didn’t hate their doctrine, He hated their deeds)
They also were immoral.
So you have this church that would not deny the name of Jesus,
But that was falling from the inside
Through a deceptive and immoral influence.
There was a dangerous influence emerging
That threatened the entire body
The Church, Their Lord, Their Success, Their Critique
#5 THEIR SOLUTION
Revelation 2:16
Well that was simple:
“Therefore repent”
The entire church needed to repent.
Wait! Don’t you mean that the people who were doing the sinning needed to repent?
NO, I MEAN THE ENTIRE CHURCH NEEDED TO REPENT.
FOR ALLOWING IT!!!
FOR NOT DEALING WITH IT!!!
May I read again what Paul wrote to the Corinthians about their dilemma?
1 Corinthians 5:1-5 “It is actually reported that there is immorality among you, and immorality of such a kind as does not exist even among the Gentiles, that someone has his father’s wife. You have become arrogant and have not mourned instead, so that the one who had done this deed would be removed from your midst. For I, on my part, though absent in body but present in spirit, have already judged him who has so committed this, as though I were present. In the name of our Lord Jesus, when you are assembled, and I with you in spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus, I have decided to deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of his flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.”
Paul told the Corinthians that they were arrogant and naïve to think that
They could just let sinners keep sinning in the midst of the church
And that it would pose no threat to the church.
That sinning brother had to be dealt with!
And now you are beginning to understand what Jesus means by “repent”
• They had to repent of their arrogance
• They had to repent of their apathy
• They had to repent of their willingness to overlook
AND WHAT A TIMELY WORD TO THE CHURCH TODAY
Oh how the church has begun to misuse words like:
• Tolerance
• Unity
• Love
• Mercy
All of those things are good things
When they are expressed as Jesus expressed them.
Tolerance and mercy is what keeps Jesus from destroying sinners while giving them time to repent,
But He never intended either of them to mean
That sinners didn’t have to repent.
Unity is what Jesus expects from His church,
But it was never intended to be achieved
Around a circle of iniquity or involving false doctrine.
Jesus intended for His church to be sanctified in truth and unified there.
Love is the greatest attribute of Christ we can think of. It is what motivated Him to lay down His life for us.
But that love was never of sin
And it was never expressed by leaving sinners in their sin.
But today so many in the church get this backward.
Things like church discipline are viewed by many to even be unbiblical when it is expressly commanded many times throughout the Scripture.
Do you want to know Jesus very first teaching on the church?
He first mentioned the church in Matthew 16 where He said He would build it.
His first instruction to the church comes in Matthew 18.
Matthew 18:15-18 “If your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother. “But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that BY THE MOUTH OF TWO OR THREE WITNESSES EVERY FACT MAY BE CONFIRMED. “If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. “Truly I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.”
Jesus cares about the purity of the church.
And yet many churches today do not.
They only care about being inclusive and non-confrontational
And warm and welcoming, etc.
Look, there shouldn’t be a warmer or more welcoming body on the face of the planet than the church, but that does not mean that Jesus intended the church to overlook sin in order to make people feel welcome.
THAT IS MISSING THE POINT FOR WHY HE DIED TO BEGIN WITH.
Jesus here is commanding the church at Pergamum
To fix this flaw in their system.
• It is time to confront immorality in their body.
• It is time to discipline sinning believers.
• It is time to expose false believers.
And do you want to see how serious Jesus is about this?
He actually gives the church an ultimatum.
“Therefore repent; or else…”
“or else” what?
“or else I am coming to you quickly, and I will make war against them with the sword of My mouth.”
When Balaam deceived the children of Israel
Who came and killed the 24,000? God did.
And Jesus said that is precisely what I am about to do.
• He wasn’t going to kill the genuine believers at Pergamum.
• He wasn’t going to remove them from being a church.
• But He was going to come in and kill those who threatened His church from within.
He was not about to stand idly by and watch His church
Be destroyed from the inside out.
The only way the hypocrites in Pergamum could be spared
Is if the faithful ones took care of the issue before Jesus did.
If you really care about the sinners in your church you had better confront them before they face the judgment of the Lord.
Today sinners are left alone because we “love” them
And don’t want to hurt their feelings or make them feel unwelcome.
If you truly loved them you’d confront their sin
And save them from certain judgment!
James 5:19-20 “My brethren, if any among you strays from the truth and one turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.”
If you want an even more graphic demonstration.
That plague that killed 24,000 in Israel, do you want me to show you how it was finally stopped?
Numbers 25:6-9 “Then behold, one of the sons of Israel came and brought to his relatives a Midianite woman, in the sight of Moses and in the sight of all the congregation of the sons of Israel, while they were weeping at the doorway of the tent of meeting. When Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he arose from the midst of the congregation and took a spear in his hand, and he went after the man of Israel into the tent and pierced both of them through, the man of Israel and the woman, through the body. So the plague on the sons of Israel was checked. Those who died by the plague were 24,000.”
Today some would frown on Phineas for that.
Let me show you what the LORD said.
Numbers 25:10-13 “Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, has turned away My wrath from the sons of Israel in that he was jealous with My jealousy among them, so that I did not destroy the sons of Israel in My jealousy. “Therefore say, ‘ Behold, I give him My covenant of peace; and it shall be for him and his descendants after him, a covenant of a perpetual priesthood, because he was jealous for his God and made atonement for the sons of Israel.'”
Now obviously we are in the New Testament
And not asking for people to start killing people with the spear.
But the point is clear that God expects the church at Pergamum
To deal with this sinful influence
That is threatening the entire congregation.
If they don’t, He will, and it will not be pretty.
The Church, Their Lord, Their Success, Their Critique, Their Solution
#6 THEIR EXAMPLE
Revelation 2:17
Again we come to the application to the church everywhere.
“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”
“To Him who overcomes…”
“Overcomes” what?
Let’s call it what Paul called it – ARROGANCE
• It is arrogant to think that: Any church can survive while sin is allowed to exist in the congregation.
• It is arrogant to think that: The leaven will not spread.
• It is arrogant to think that: Disobeying the clear command of Jesus regarding discipline won’t have damaging effects.
• It is arrogant to think that: Jesus won’t deal with the church that won’t deal with sin.
How can we think that we would survive when others did not?
We must overcome this arrogant mindset
That thinks we know better than the Lord.
If Jesus said they must be disciplined…
If Paul said they must be disciplined…
Then who are we to say they must be tolerated?
That is arrogance and Jesus here confronts it.
Then Jesus commends those who get it right.
“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.”
“manna” was of course God’s supernatural provision in the Old Testament.
• It was God’s way of taking care of His people in a situation when it didn’t seem possible.
Understand that when you obey God, He makes things work,
Even when every scenario you play out in your mind seems like it won’t.
God has provision for the obedient.
The “white stone” was unique to the Roman culture.
• When athletes competed in a competition, the winners were invited to the banquet. Their ticket was the “white stone” with their name engraved.
Jesus is here offering the victors who overcome the situation
The trophy of victory and access into the banquet where they will be rewarded.
The call and command of Jesus is clear.
Be the church that overcomes arrogance
And be the church that is rewarded for it.
