REVELATION
SIMPLIFIED
CHAPTER 2.14
Gleanings
from the Book of Revelation:
A
Weekly Verse-by-Verse Bible Study Series
The
REVELATION
TO JOHN
(The
Apocalypse)
LETTERS
TO THE SEVEN CHURCHES
CHAPTER
2
The
Letter to the Church at Pergamos (continued)
Outline
1. The
Addressee – To whom the
letter is addressed (2:12)
2. The
Address – To where the letter is
addressed (2:12)
3. The
Addresser – From whom the
letter is addressed (2;12)
4. The
Approval – The acclamation
of good qualities (2:13)
5. The
Accusation – The
presentation of bad qualities (2:14-15)
6. The Appeal
– The application to change (2:16)
7. The Advice
– The recommendation to change (2:17)
5. The
Accusation – The
presentation of bad qualities (2:14-15)
(Verse 14)
But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there
them (among you) that hold the doctrine
of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a
stumblingblock (trap, snare,
an enticement to sin) before the
children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit
fornication.
(Verse 15)
So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate.
Review
Two false doctrines were being taught that
infected the church at Pergamum. Both Jesus hated and rebuked:
1. The Doctrine of Balaam
2. The Doctrine of the Nicolaitanes
Also, in this passage, there were two main heresy
outcomes of the Balaamites and of the Nicolaitans:
1. Eating things sacrificed to idols
2. Committing fornication
The Doctrine of Balaam
Balaam means, false teacher [G903].
The twenty-second chapter of Numbers chronicles a fascinating story of Balak, a
Moabite king who attempts to hire a prophet of God, Balaam, to curse Israel.
Balaam talks with God, “And God said unto Balaam, Thou shalt not go with them; thou
shalt not curse the people: for they
(Israel) are
blessed.” (Numbers 22:12)
After Balaam’s refusal, King Balak then bargained
and bribed Balaam with silver and gold. Balaam finally accepted an offer he
could not refuse. The next morning Balaam saddled his donkey and traveled
toward Israel. On the road, an Angel of the Lord appeared, stood in front of
the donkey, and caused the donkey to go in the opposite direction. Three times
Balaam tried to get the donkey to move, and three times God stopped him. Verse
twenty-seven then records, “He (Balaam) became furious and beat the donkey with his stick.” What
happens next is comical:
Numbers
22:28 – And the LORD opened the mouth
of the ass, and she (the donkey) said unto Balaam, What have I done unto thee, that thou hast smitten me
these three times?
The donkey surprisingly started talking to Balaam.
Balaam begins arguing with the donkey until the Angel of the Lord stepped in.
Balaam then realizes who He is and falls to the ground – A great example of
spiritual blindness. This is also the first time an ass made an ass out of a
man. Does God have a sense of humor?
The story continues. Since Balaam was unsuccessful
in cursing Israel, he devised a plan to cast a stumbling block before the
children of Israel. The stumbling block was corruption. The plot Balaam devised
was to convince the children of Israel to intermarry with pagans, thus causing those
to worship false gods and eat things sacrificed to idols. It worked.
The outcome:
1. They intermarried
2. They were seduced
3. They became separated from God
4. They compromised spiritually
5. They gave up their pilgrim walk
6. They embraced worldly standards
7. They became corrupted, destroying Israel’s
(eventually the Church’s) testimony
How sad for Balaam to become famous in the Bible
for his donkey. As a result of his false teaching, twenty-four thousand
Israelites were led into God’s judgment (cf. Numbers 25:9).
Comparisons:
· Balaam ideology
was a fusion of reason and philosophy with Christian principles, causing
erroneous doctrine
·
Christian ideas
from God's Word were pure and inerrant
a. The book of Jude mentions, the Error of Balaam (v. 11)
[Disobedience,
envy, and greed]
b. In 2 Peter it is labeled, the Way of Balaam (2:15)
[The
love of unrighteousness, also preaching or prophesying for money or gain]
c. The Way of
Christ [Pure unadulterated truth
from the Word of God, apart from man’s influence]
1 John 2:15
– Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any
man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
2 Corinthians
6:17 – Wherefore
come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you.
The Doctrine of the Nicolaitanes
Nicolaitanes means to be victorious or to conquer
the people, (Nikos: victory. Laos: The laity, or people). What
initially began as deeds or works in the Ephesian church eventually developed
into church doctrine at Pergamos.
Some characteristics of Nicolaitanism:
1. Denial of the common priesthood to all believers
(1:6)
2. The birth of religion
3. Tyrannical lordship of clergy over the church
4. Moral Christian conduct compromised
5. The Word of God adulterated
6. Erroneous doctrines of tolerance toward sin
7. Fellowship with Christ absent
The Moral Departure of Pergamum
A. Eating things sacrificed to idols
became one corruption. Since Zeus was the dominant god of the city, animal
sacrifices on the altar of Zeus were continuous. Along with animal sacrifices
to other gods, the meat was sold to markets, and in turn, became the staple
food. The antithesis was eating this meat and then partaking in the Lord's
Supper.
B. Committing
fornication. Also,
festivals to pagan gods were commonplace. Attendance was universally affiliated
with debauchery and wantonness. The immoral components of sexuality and
perverseness were intrinsically embedded in their worship, an allurement to
Pergamum Christians.
6. The Appeal – The application to
change
(Verse 16)
Repent; or else I will come unto you quickly, and will fight
against them with the sword of My mouth.
One word gives the application to change. Repent [metanoeō: (G3340) reconsider, change, and transform one's mind and
behavior in a 180-degree turn]. To the Pergamos church and the individual, the
Lord is commanding a change from the compromised involvement with the world and
a return to sound biblical principles.
1 John 1:9
- If we
confess our sins, He is faithful and
just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Repentance is coupled with a warning of judgment
based on the Word of God that He will fight with the sword of His mouth. God
will judge us based on His Word. Therefore, the appeal is: Remember our first
love? The Lord is calling us back to Him.
7. The
Advice – The recommendation to
change
(Verse 17)
He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the
churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and
will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man
knoweth saving he that receiveth it.
He that hath an ear – In
other words, give an ear or open your ears and listen to what the Holy Spirit is
saying to you. Learn from the example of Pergamos. If you overcome the world,
you are promised two things:
1. To eat of hidden Manna
2. A white stone
Hidden Manna
In the Old Testament, manna was not hidden. It
miraculously rained from Heaven on the Israelites for sustenance, provided by
God, during their forty-year wanderings in the wilderness.
Exodus
16:4 -Then said the LORD unto
Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from Heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a
certain rate every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in My Law,
or no.
Moses said unto them, “This is the bread
which the LORD hath given you to eat” (v.15). In verse 31, the Israelites
labeled it manna, meaning: What is
this? because it looked like white coriander seed and the taste was akin to
wafers made with honey.
By the time the Gospel of John was written, Jesus
said He was this bread – refreshing spiritual nourishment of fellowshipping
with Christ leading to everlasting life – hidden from view.
John
6:32-33 - Then
Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that
bread from Heaven; but My Father giveth you the
True Bread from heaven. For the Bread of God is He which cometh down from Heaven, and
giveth life unto the world.
A White Stone
White is a symbol of purity. There are several
speculations as to what the stone is, no one knows for sure. However, we do
know that the High Priest's breastplate was adorned with twelve precious stones
(one being a diamond), having the name of each of the twelve tribes written on
them. Recorded in Exodus:
Exodus
28:21 - And the stones shall be with the names of the children of
Israel, twelve, according to their names, like the engravings of a signet; every one with his name shall
they be according to the twelve tribes.
Later in the book of Revelation, describing the
construction of the New Jerusalem, we discover:
Revelation
21:14, 19 - And
the wall of the City had twelve foundations, and in them the
names of the twelve Apostles of the Lamb.
And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones.
Therefore, it seems logical to assume we will be
receiving a precious stone with an intimate and personal new name written on it
given to us by Jesus Christ.
However, another strong possibility is the stone is a pearl (or mother of pearl). Jesus teaches an interesting parable concerning the Kingdom where he identifies a valuable white gem:
Matthew
13:46-47- Again,
the Kingdom of Heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and
bought it.
In antiquity, pearls had a priceless value. They
would probably equate to diamonds today: To sell all one’s possessions for a
single pearl gives a clue to something of its worth.
As the Lord God changed many names in the Bible
(Abram to Abraham, Cephas to Peter, Saul to Paul, etc.), He too will give us a
new and special name on a white precious stone exclusive and identifiable to
Him because of our intimate and personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
To the
overcomer, our Kingdom promise is:
1. Hidden manna – our food for today
2. A white stone – our eternal heritage
3. A new name – our intimate relationship with Jesus
For a glimpse into the new creation read Isaiah
65:13-15.
Next week, we will study the letter to the church
at Thyatira, taking us into the Dark Ages of Church history. Until then:
1
Corinthians 10:31 - Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.
QUESTIONS:
1. Explain the Old Testament counterpart to Baalism.
2. What is the character of the Nicolaitanes?
3. What are the outcomes of these two doctrines?
4. How is repentance achieved?
5. What is hidden
manna?
6. What is a
White Stone?
7. Describe a Pergamos believer.
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to others.
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