Week 51 Day 4

November 17, 2022

Jesus' Message to the Church in Pergamum

Scripture: Revelation 2:12-17(NIV)

“To the angel of the church in Pergamum write: These are the words of him who has the sharp, double-edged sword. I know where you live—where Satan has his throne. Yet you remain true to my name. You did not renounce your faith in me, not even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness, who was put to death in your city—where Satan lives. Nevertheless, I have a few things against you: There are some among you who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin so that they ate food sacrificed to idols and committed sexual immorality. Likewise, you also have those who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans. Repent therefore! Otherwise, I will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth. Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give that person a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to the one who receives it.

Devotional

Next up is the Church in Pergamum, the home of the Roman governor and seat of Roman government in Asia Minor. This city boasted an impressive altar to Zeus, where sacrifices and cultic activity took place around the clock. There, this Greek god was worshipped as “Zeus the Savior,” overseen by another god who was depicted as a serpent, an image for Satan himself. Pergamum also had imperial temples for emperor worship, giving the large population plenty of pagan options.

There wasn’t much room for the emerging Christian community. Jesus spoke to the Church in Pergamum about their difficult setting, saying, “I know where you live—where Satan has his throne. Yet you remain true to my name.” Surrounded by a sea of political power, Satan worship and idolatrous cults, the Christians in Pergamum remained steadfast.

Well, almost. At least some of them embraced the teachings of Balaam and the Nicolaitans, who promoted idol feasts and sexual immorality, even though the first council of the Apostles expressly forbid both (see Acts 15:20). John Wesley once said, “What one generation tolerates, the next generation will embrace.” The Christians in Pergamum did just that. They were separated from that council in Jerusalem by time and distance, but all those ungodly activities were “right here, right now.” So some of them caved into culture.

This is a shot across the bow for all of us. Ephesians 4:14-15 challenges us to spiritual maturity amid the shifting winds of culture. It says, “Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ.”

Jesus’ words to the believers in Pergamum are to all of us: “Repent therefore! Otherwise, I will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.” Confess the areas where you have abandoned the teachings of Scripture for the shifting winds in the swirling sea of culture.

Poem

Covered

The winds of change are swirling
Round and round they go
The shameful things once hidden
Take center stage, proud show
There’s evil all around me
Like prison wire barbed
The laws once for protection
All seem to disregard
Amid this wall of hatred
Confusion, evil throned
I’m covered by Love’s garment
I’m hidden and atoned