The Church in Pergamos

And to the messenger of the church in Pergamos write; These things says He who. has the sharp sword with two edges I know your works and where you live, even where Satan's seat is, and you hold fast to my name and have not denied my faith, even in those days in which Antipas was my faithful martyr who was slain in front of you, where Satan dwells But I have a few things against you because you have those who hold to the doctrine of Balaam who taught Balak to cast a stumbling block in front of the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols and to commit fornication You also have those who hold to the doctrine of the Nicolaitans which thing I hate. Repent, or else I will come to you quickly and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.  He who has an ear let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him that overcomes, I will give to eat of the hidden manna and will give him a white stone. And in the stone is a new name written which no man knows except the one who receives it. (Revelation 2:12-17)

The City and Religion of Pergamos

This beautiful city was the cultural and political capital of Maisia. The citizens worshipped more gods and had more cults than most any other city of the ancient world. The heathen religion in the city had gods who practiced and taught sin. There was a great amount of fornication and lasciviousness in Pergamos as an everyday lifestyle.  There was no such thing as sexual immorality. Sin was an accepted lifestyle of the religion of Pergamos. No wonder John wrote by the Holy Spirit, that it was the city where the seat of Satan was located. Sin was totally acceptable, and their religion taught and allowed it. People could sin with a clear conscience.   

What a Place for a Church

Besides the usual problems all churches face, this church had the added pressure of heathenism to the extreme. Other heathen cities had religious and demonic opposition. But, this city seemed to be a capital for the operation of Satan himself. Satan’s greatest desire is to sit in the place where religion and immorality have united. Many churches in our own country today say they are located in the witchcraft or occult capital of America. Maybe the pastors need to study about the church at Pergamos.  Around idolatry, witchcraft and fornication there is always demon activity.  “But I tell you that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons and not to God. I do not want you to have fellowship with demons” (1 Corinthians 10:20).

When a church is located in a sinful city, it is not that difficult to get the people out of sin, but it is difficult to keep sin out of the people. But, despite the immorality of Pergamos, most in the church congregation resisted the pull toward immorality, until the death of Antipas.

The Martyrdom of Antipas

The citizens of Pergamos hated this local church and tried to destroy it. They decided to make an example of Antipas, a famous believer in the city and church. A large metal bull was made and heated with fire underneath.  Antipas was commanded to renounce Jesus and would not. So, he was thrown into the bull in front of multitudes of people. Yet, the church grew and became stronger. Persecution caused the church to grow so a new way of destroying the church had to be found.

What Does God Have Against This Church?

If the church at Pergamos could not be destroyed from the outside, perhaps it could be destroyed from the inside. There must have been a few students of biblical history in the area, perhaps from the Jewish community. A budding sect of Christianity was forming in many cities called the doctrine of the Nicolaitans. It was founded by Nicholas himself, one of the seven deacons chosen by the Jerusalem congregation in Acts 6. The error was based on the plans of Balaam, an Old Testament prophet who sought to destroy Israel for his own financial gain (Numbers 25:1-3, 31:16,17). He was hired by the king of Moab, Balak, to keep Israel from entering the land of Canaan, and it almost succeeded.

After three sizable financial offers and three unsuccessful attempts to curse Israel, the Jewish prophet, Balaam, told King Balak it was impossible to curse the nation God had blessed. Then Balaam had an idea. He would send prostitutes, beautiful women of Moab, into Israel's camp to commit fornication with their men. Balak did not believe it would work. Prostitution was not an evil in Moab and what did sex with a prostitute have to do with Israel turning against God? Balak did not know God's laws and was surprised at Balaam's suggestion. But, the plan worked. Israel's men committed fornication and a large number of the inhabitants of Israel died because of the sin. Yet, Israel repented and went on to inherit the land of Canaan.

The doctrine of Balaam is not fornication, but a believer, an insider, teaching unbelievers how to destroy God's people. Solomon also weakened himself when he married foreign women.  “King Solomon loved many strange women, together with the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians and Hittites; and it came to pass when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods and his heart was not perfect with the Lord his God as was the heart of David his father (1 Kings 11:1,4).

The Nicolaitans – New Testament Example of the Seat of Satan

Solomon told us there is nothing new under the sun (Ecclesiastes 1:9). We have a similar saying, "what goes around, comes around.” There may be a new name attached to an old sin, but there is never a new sin which has never been thought of before. Nicholas, during the days of the founding of the early church, must have wanted a church group of his own and looked for something to teach which had a great appeal. He found it in the Old Testament story of Balaam.  Nicholas is a Greek military name (Nikao-to conquer, laos-the people). Iranaeus told us in early church history that the followers of this teaching led lives of unrestrained indulgence. It was a distortion of the message of grace. It was taught that we are saved by grace, we are free from the law and a born-again Christian, no matter what he does, can do nothing evil. Early writers tell us they committed fornication, adultery, uncleanness and had their wives in common. All of this was done in the name of Christian liberty, promoting ungodliness in the name of grace.

Today, the trends in the contemporary church are the place where Satan sits. It is one thing for these sins to go on in the world, but another thing altogether in the church. Grace was never given as a license to sin, but the freedom to serve. Grace teaches us a whole new level of love toward God who would send His Son to die for our sins, redeem us from Satan's curse and bring us into His own family as children of God. Because of this level of love toward God, we do not want to sin against Him, we want to serve Him.  “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world” (Titus 2:11-12).

Who Are Overcomers?

In the closing verse of our study of the church at Pergamos, we are told that the one who overcomes is given two privileges, to eat of the hidden manna and be given a white stone.  There are times the word "overcomer" means only a born-again Christian (1 John 5:5) and other times it is used also for a Christian who lives an overcoming life. Jesus overcame Satan for us on the cross but has now given us the power and authority to overcome Satan in our everyday walk with God. We can overcome in two ways, through salvation and a walk of sanctification. This verse is speaking of a believer who overcomes in his daily walk with God.

We overcome Satan first by being born again. He cannot keep us out of heaven, but he will try to keep us from daily victory and joy. We overcome Satan in our daily walk when we walk and grow in holiness, a righteous walk before God and the world. This walk is part of our testimony before the world, or part of our witness for Jesus. We do not just witness with the words of our mouth, but also with our lifestyle, our good works done in the power of the Holy Spirit. God’s plan for our lives, after salvation, is to produce good works. Ephesians 12:10 tells us we were saved “unto good works.” The world needs to do more than hear our testimony, they need to see it in action. They need to see that God can do more than save us from sin. He can also save us from sinning. The Holy Spirit and the Word of God do not end their work when we are saved. They give us power in our daily life to resist sin and live for the Lord in righteousness. So, not only is our spirit redeemed, our daily walk is also redeemed. We live out what we have in our inward man, God’s righteousness. No wonder Paul tells us, “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling” (Philippians 2:12). In other words, take what is on the inside (God’s righteousness) and work it to the outside where the world can see God’s life in us.

The Hidden Manna and the White Stone

The hidden manna was the food of the priests of the Old Testament, the showbread. Yet, with sin in their lives, they were not allowed to enter the Holy of Holies, much less to eat of the bread. God has special blessings for the believer who walks in God's holiness and resists the temptations of the world.

Second, a white stone is given to the overcomer. This was used by a judge who sat on the bench and declared the defendant, guilty or not guilty. A black stone was shown when the sentence was guilty, and a white stone was shown when the defendant was not guilty. God's analogy to us is this. When we walk free from sin, or confess the sins when we commit them, Satan has no case against us in the courtroom of heaven. He can accuse us, but the case is always thrown out of court (Romans 8:33,34, Zechariah 3:1,2). God shows Satan a white stone.

 So, is it worth it to walk in God's holiness and let our light shine before the world? Is it worth it to eat of God's hidden manna and walk in His divine protection? If so, then welcome to the overcoming daily walk of the Spirit.