3rd Letter to the Church of Pergamos

[Lafftur]

Hello everyone,

There are 7 Letters to 7 Churches in Chapters 2 and 3 of Revelation. Let’s read them one by one and share any understanding that the Holy Spirit gives us.

I’ll create a thread for each letter to each church so we can discuss them separately.

Try to stay away from commentaries…just read the scriptures and ask the Holy Spirit to open them to you and give you understanding…then share with all of us what you heard the Spirit saying….

Here is the 3rd Letter to the angel/messenger of the church of Pergamos:

Revelation 2:12-17

12 “And to the angel/messenger of the church in Pergamos write,

Greeting:

‘These things says He who holds the seven stars in His right hand, who walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands:

‘These things says He who has the sharp two-edged sword:

Evaluation:

13 “I know your works, and where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is. And you hold fast to My name, and did not deny My faith even in the days in which Antipas was My faithful martyr, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells.

Correction:

14 But I have a few things against you, because you have there those who hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit sexual immorality. 15 Thus you also have those who hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate.

Instruction:

16 Repent,

Consequence:

or else I will come to you quickly and will fight against them with the sword of My mouth.

Commends them:

(None)

Exhorts them to hear the Spirit and overcome:

17 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

To him who overcomes I will give some of the hidden manna to eat. And I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written which no one knows except him who receives it.”’

Looking forward to reading all your posts!

 

[Lafftur]

Revelation 2:12-17

12 “And to the angel/messenger of the church in Pergamos write,

Greeting:

‘These things says He who holds the seven stars in His right hand, who walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands:

‘These things says He who has the sharp two-edged sword:

Isn't it interesting that Jesus wants to reveal Himself again as the One that holds the seven stars in His right hand and as the One that walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands?! This is how He revealed Himself in the 1st Letter to the church at Ephesus... (Refer to the 1st Letter to the church of Ephesus for this description.)

Now in this 3rd Letter, He also wants to reveal Himself to us as the One who has the sharp two-edged sword.....

Remember, the letters are foundational - they are phases that the Holy Spirit is revealing Jesus Christ to us and bringing us through to become the Bride of Christ that will be ready at our Lord's return.

Phase 1: Establish in us unshakeable steadfast FIRST LOVE in Christ alone.
Phase 2: Death to "Self" and "Alive in Christ."
Phase 3...will be the focus of equipping us with His sharp two-edged sword which is Jesus Christ as The Word of God - the True Doctrine of God alone, not the doctrines of man-made religions which are false idols and worship of false gods.

I love His two-edged sword!!! It's His Word that deliveries us from all lies! Hallelujah!!! Amen!

 

[Lafftur]

Let's ponder the evaluation of the Church of Pergamos..... Share any insights the Lord and Holy Spirit give you!

Revelation 2:12-17

12 “And to the angel/messenger of the church in Pergamos write,

Evaluation:

13 “I know your works, and where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is. And you hold fast to My name, and did not deny My faith even in the days in which Antipas was My faithful martyr, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells.

Jesus is keeping a close loving eye on us and knows everything we think, say and do in His Name for His Kingdom. A star shines the brightest in a dark night sky....Antipas definitely shined and was not intimidated by Satan on his throne. Antipas was steadfast in his love for and faith in His Lord and Savior Jesus Christ...no greater love has a man than that he lay his life down for his friend.

God allows Satan to sift us like wheat but, Jesus prays for us that our faith in Him will not fail and after we have been sifted, we are to strengthen our brethren just like Jesus told Peter to do. It's our faith in Christ that will be tested and our love for Christ, too.

If our steadfast First Love for Christ is solid and our flesh is on the cross, we will not shrink back when our faith and love for Jesus Christ is tested by Satan.

The Lord Jesus Christ is faithful to us and He knows those that are faithful to Him.

 

[Lafftur]

The Lord gives the Church at Pergamos a correction with instruction and a consequence if we do not follow His instruction...

Revelation 2:12-17

12 “And to the angel/messenger of the church in Pergamos write,

Correction:

14 But I have a few things against you, because you have there those who hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit sexual immorality. 15 Thus you also have those who hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate.

Jesus Christ is VERY adamant about the purity of His Word. In this church He is correcting false doctrine that promoted false gods - Balaam and Balak that were causing the children of Israel to stumble and sin by eating things that where sacrificed to idols and they sinned by committing sexual immorality. Also, the doctrine of Nicolaitans which Jesus Christ hates. These evil doctrines penetrate the body, soul and spirit.

All these doctrines - Balaam, Balak, and Nicolaitans are self-promoting and satisfy the flesh/carnal nature. They cause babes in Christ to go astray and become corrupt. Jesus was correcting the leadership to stop those that teach such doctrines of man and devils.

Instruction:

16 Repent,

Wrong doctrine is sin. Jesus Christ commands us to repent and return to the Truth of God's Word.

Consequence:

or else I will come to you quickly and will fight against them with the sword of My mouth.

Basically, the hireling shepherds need to repent for abandoning the sheep and letting them be easy prey for the wolves.

Jesus Christ warns that HE will come quickly to those in leadership that are not confronting the wrong doctrine....and fight with those that teach wrong doctrine with the Sword of His Mouth which is a sharp two-edged sword. Hebrews 4:12 describes it as:

For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

When Jesus Christ fights against wrong doctrine and those that teach it, He exposes their soul, spirit and their thoughts and intent of their heart...completely exposed and laid bare for all to see the wrong and turn from it.

 

[Lafftur]

In this letter, our Lord Jesus Christ's main focus is doctrinal beliefs of God's Word. He desires us to be full of Truth, taught the Word of God by the Holy Spirit which is the Spirit of Truth.

In regards to their knowledge and teaching of God's Word, He does not commend the believers at Pergamos for any of their behavior. He evaluates them, corrects and gives them instructions with consequences.

Revelation 2:12-17

12 “And to the angel/messenger of the church in Pergamos write,

Commends them:

(None)

Exhorts them to hear the Spirit and overcome:

17 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

To him who overcomes I will give some of the hidden manna to eat. And I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written which no one knows except him who receives it.”’

As born again believers, we can hear what the Holy Spirit is saying with our spiritual ears, not our natural ears. The Holy Spirit opens the scriptures and gives us understanding that we would not have had otherwise.

We will need to hear what the Holy Spirit is saying in order to overcome. By overcoming false doctrine, we will be given hidden manna to eat out of God's Word. There are secrets that the Holy Spirit will share with us.

Also when we overcome false doctrine, a white stone is given to us with a new name written on the white stone that no one knows except the one who receives it.

An understanding of the white stone can be gleaned from the scriptures found in Deuteronomy 27, the Lord commanded Israel to gather stones and whitewash them with lime, write the law on them and carry them across the Jordan and then build an altar with the whitewashed stones.

Deuteronomy 27:1-8
The Law Inscribed on Stones
27 Now Moses, with the elders of Israel, commanded the people, saying: “Keep all the commandments which I command you today.
2 And it shall be, on the day when you cross over the Jordan to the land which the Lord your God is giving you, that you shall set up for yourselves large stones, and whitewash them with lime.
3 You shall write on them all the words of this law, when you have crossed over, that you may enter the land which the Lord your God is giving you, ‘a land flowing with milk and honey,’ just as the Lord God of your fathers promised you.
4 Therefore it shall be, when you have crossed over the Jordan, that on Mount Ebal you shall set up these stones, which I command you today, and you shall whitewash them with lime.
5 And there you shall build an altar to the Lord your God, an altar of stones; you shall not use an iron tool on them.
6 You shall build with whole stones the altar of the Lord your God, and offer burnt offerings on it to the Lord your God.
7 You shall offer peace offerings, and shall eat there, and rejoice before the Lord your God.
8 And you shall write very plainly on the stones all the words of this law.”

Jesus Christ is watching over the Word of God and how it is developing and growing in us. He will fight against false doctrines with His two-edged sword so that His Truth is established and written on our hearts just as the law was written on whitewashed stones and carried by the Israelites through the Jordan river to the promise land and an altar built with them. We worship God in Spirit and in Truth.