Shafter Church of Christ

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10 Aug:

Churches: Pergamum Rev 2:12-17

Rev 2:12-17: “And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write: The One who has the sharp two-edged sword says this: ‘I know where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is; 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, where Satan dwells. But I have a few things against you, because 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. Therefore repent; or else I am coming to you quickly, and I will make war 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 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’”

Current circumstances – They were, figuratively, dwelling where Satan’s throne was. The Lord identified a disciple named Antipas as “My witness, My faithful one, who was killed among you”. The Greek word witness (martys) is where we get the word martyr.
Apparently, the faith of at least one believer lost his life here on this earth because of his Christian Walk. We may not be called upon to offer our life for our faith, but we ARE called to take up our cross and follow Him! The Lord says that we cannot serve two masters. And two master’s there are: Ephesians 2:1,2 “And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.” 1 Peter 5:8 “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” 2 Cor 4:4 “in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” John 12:31 “Now judgment is upon this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out.” A couple of these verses explains that serving the master of this world is going to lead to death. And what is one of the messages of Revelations, if not THE message – that God is going to be victorious over Satan and his army. Victorious means defeating and casting into the lake of fire those who serve Satan.

On the other side of the equation is the other master who we COULD chose to follow: John 10:10 “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” Romans 5:18 “So then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men.” 1 John 5:11 “And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.” So the choice is ours to make – we serve one or the other.

Description of Jesus – Jesus identified Himself to this church as “the One who has the sharp two-edged sword” (2:13). In the previous chapter, this “sharp two-edged sword” was described as coming “out of His mouth” (1:16). This signifies His words, teaching, and instructions. This is also a clear reference to “the word of God [which is] is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12). In this city there was a famous library with some 200,000 books. The Lord is reminding them of the importance and power of His words. John 20:31 “But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God . . . .” Rom 15:4 / 1 Cor 10:11 “Now these things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our instruction . . . .” 2 Tim 3:16 “All Scripture is inspired by God, and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.”
Commendations – “and you held 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, where Satan dwells.” They held fast to the name of Christ, and they did not deny Him, even during the persecution that claimed one of their own. This is unlike those Christians represented in the parable of the Sower: Mtt 13:20,21 “The one on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, this is the man who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he falls away.” And Jesus Himself has warned us: Mtt 24:24 “For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.” And similarly we were told earlier: Rev 2:10 ““Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you life as your victor’s crown.”

So it does not matter what circumstances come into our live – in each and every circumstance we have to decide which master we are going to serve. Paul encourages us in Hebrews: Heb 10:23 ““Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful.” And also in his letter to Timothy were are given this example to follow: 2 Tim 4:7 ““I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” WE, each and every one of us need to hold on to the hope and promise of a life with the Lord after this world is over.

Condemnations – Despite their refusal to deny Christ, they were compromising their faith and tolerating the false religion and sinful practices of the people around them. Some of them held the teachings of Balaam and the Nicolaitans This condemns their tolerant acceptance of these false teachers, unlike the church at Ephesus, which was commended for refusing to accept such individuals (Rev 2:3, 6). The “teaching of the Nicolaitans” included adopting pagan worship and committing acts of immorality. 1 John 4:1 “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world”. Matt 7:15,16 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. . . . .” 2 Peter 2:1 “But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction.”
Punishment for sin – The Lord warned that He would come and “make war against [the false teachers] with the sword of [His] mouth” (Revelation 2:16). The implication is that those who tolerated them would be caught up in that punishment. We are told in Mtt 7:15ff that we are to beware the false prophets and we can know them by their fruit – and every tree which bears bad fruit will be cut down in thrown into the fire. Rev 20:10 “And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.” Mtt 13:41,42 “The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness, and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
On the other side of the coin are those who ARE faithful: Reward for faithfulness – If they would repent, they would receive “hidden manna, …a white stone, and a new name” This signifies that the Lord would sustain them and claim them as His own. Mtt 24:13 “but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.” Rom 2:7 “To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life.” Gal 6:9 ““Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” Rev 2:10 ““Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you life as your victor’s crown.”

CONCLUSION: To obtain that promised crown of life we must be faithful and persevere for the kingdom of God. We also must not participate nor allow false teachings to enter into our worship and/or into our lives. Rom 16:17 “Now I urge you, brethren, keep your eye on those who cause dissensions and hindrances contrary to the teaching which you learned, and turn away from them.”

When false teachings are encountered, we must remove it so that it does not spread and lead to further sin. In numerous places God Himself warned Israel not to fraternize with the other nations and thus be led into idolatry and other sinful ways: Deut 7:2-5 “and when the LORD your God delivers them before you and you defeat them, then you shall utterly destroy them. You shall make no covenant with them and show no favor to them. 3“Furthermore, you shall not intermarry with them; you shall not give your daughters to their sons, nor shall you take their daughters for your sons. 4“For they will turn your sons away from following Me to serve other gods; then the anger of the LORD will be kindled against you and He will quickly destroy you. 5“But thus you shall do to them: you shall tear down their altars, and smash their sacred pillars, and hew down their Asherim, and burn their graven images with fire.”

In a likewise fashion Paul warned the Galatians about this at the beginning of his letter to them: “I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel; which is really not another; only there are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed! As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed!” (Gal 1:6-9).

Changing the gospel makes it a different gospel, which will never allow us to please the Lord. And the danger is not just in what we personally believe and practice; it also includes the ones we accept into our fellowship who are not worshipping according to truth. Notice what John wrote: “Anyone who goes too far and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God; the one who abides in the teaching, he has both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house, and do not give him a greeting; for the one who gives him a greeting participates in his evil deeds” (2 John 9-11).

Let us be focused, on target and servants of the truth!

Aug 3: Christians Will Suffer: Rev 2:8-11

Rev 2:8-11 “And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: The first and the last, who was dead, and has come to life, says this: ‘I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich), and the blasphemy by those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to cast some of you into prison, so that you will be tested, and you will have tribulation for ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes will not be hurt by the second death’”. This is the only place this church is mentioned but the message is powerful because it brings hope to their situation as they suffer through many tribulations.

1) The letter starts off with “And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: The first and the last, who was dead, and has come to life, says this”: The writer or source of this passage tells who He is. This passage clearly refers to the eternal nature of the Lord and references back to a passage that God declared in Isaiah 44:6 “Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel and His redeemer, the Lord of hosts, ‘I am the first and the last, and there is no God beside Me.” Christ can and does make this same declaration because of His relationship with the Father: John 10:30 “I and the Father are one.”; John 17:21 “that they may all be one – even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You”; and even prior to this John writes this about Jesus: John 1:1-3 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.”

What is the significance of this? We need to understand Who it is that is the source of these writings. What does Scripture say, ‘If God is for us, who can be against us?’

We need to know Who it is that is directing our paths and supporting us. Christ is the source of all life. In His resurrection, we need to receive comfort that we too will be resurrected. 1 Cor 15:3,4, 20-23 “For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures”…. “But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep. For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive.” Jesus tells us in John 14 that He goes to prepare a place for us, and if so then He will return to take us to that place. We need to know that the source of this letter to Smyrna, and therefore to us, is the creator of this world and the source of our salvation.

2) The second portion of this message - says this: ‘I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich), and the blasphemy by those who say they are Jews and are not but are a synagogue of Satan.”

In all probability, one of the primary sources of their persecution may be coming from the citizens of Rome due to the serious “Ceasar worship” culture which existed in Rome’s society. This culture of worshipping Rome’s Ceasar in reminiscent to the situation which Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego found themselves in when they refused to bow down and worship the golden image which Nebuchadnezzar had made.

We might not be living in circumstances so drastic as this, but we might find ourselves being alienated from various groups and people (friends and family) because of our Christian lifestyle – because of our unwillingness to conform. We might find our faith being challenged in a way that we can't give an adequate defense – yet we know what is pleasing and not pleasing to God. Our following Christ will at times bring into our lives various slights, rejections and out-right hostility - yet we must not be like one of the seeds that fell into the rocks and thorns and not be like the scribe and Pharisee who crosses by on the other side – devoid of God’s Spirit.

There was also a sizable population of Jews in Smyrna and often they became the persecutors of Christians. This is probably what the Lord was referring to: “those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan” (Revelation 2:9). Paul encountered their hostility in numerous locations and at various times: Acts 13:44,45,50; 14:19 “The next Sabbath nearly the whole city assembled to hear the word of the Lord. But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and began contradicting the things spoken by Paul and were blaspheming….But the Jews incited the devout women of prominence and the leading men of the city, and instigated a persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and drome them out of their district….. But the Jews who disbelieved stirred up the minds of the Gentiles and embittered them against the brethren. … But Jews came from Antioch and Iconium, and having won over the crowds, they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing him to be dead.” We know the end of that story of how Paul got up and returned to the city before leaving the next day. If you remember, Jesus warned His followers that there would even be some from within the faith (wolves in sheep’s clothing who would pervert the truth and bring persecution against the true disciples. If you remember – 2 Tim 3:12 “Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” Back to last week’s lesson about being fore-warned as being fore-armed. We need to be prepared to stand our ground and present the message of Christ as often as our opportunities allow us to.

3) “says this: ‘I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich)” The passage itself does not clarify how they are rich but it does specify that they are about to suffer greatly because of their Christian lifestyle. So they must be “rich” in their relationship with the Lord. Consider what Jesus told His audience: Mark 8:34-38 “And He summoned the crowd together with His disciples, and said to them, “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it. For what does it benefit a person to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul? For what could a person give in exchange for his soul? For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.” And in a parable Jesus illustrates God’s attitude to those who have no relationship with Him: Luke 12:20,21 “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own what you have prepared?’ So is the man who stores up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.” And if you remember in Matthew 7 Jesus told a group of people who appeared to be His followers: ‘Depart from Me for I never knew you.’ Therefore, let us be rich, first in the Lord: 1 Tim 6:17-19 “Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not high minded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy; That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate; Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.” Their receiving eternal life is based on their lives being led by the Holy Spirit!

4) “Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to cast some of you into prison, so that you will be tested, and you will have tribulation for ten days.” The Christians in Smyrna are being warned that their lives are going to become even more difficult. In a similar fashion we too have been warned: 2 Tim 3:12 “ “Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted”

1 Peter 4:12,13,16 “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you; but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that also at the revelation of His glory you may rejoice with exultation. […] But if anyone suffers as a Christian, he is not to be ashamed, but is to glorify God in this name”

Yet we need to conduct ourselves in such a way that the suffering we experience is undeserved. Peter wrote, “When you do what is right and suffer for it you patiently endure it, this finds favor with God” (1 Peter 2:20). We are not to suffer “as a murderer, or thief, or evildoer, or a troublesome meddler” (1 Peter 4:15). Whatever suffering we have to endure, it is “momentary, light affliction” when we compare it with the “eternal weight of glory” which is “beyond all comparison” (2 Corinthians 4:17). Even if we lose our lives – as was a possibility for the brethren in Smyrna – we have “a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for [us]” (1 Peter 1:3-4).

So, whatever our situation we need to know that our Father in heaven is going to welcome all of us who remain faithful and obedient.

5) Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes will not be hurt by the second death’”

Paul described this as “the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award…to all who have loved His appearing” (2 Timothy 4:8). Heb 9:27,28 “And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgement, so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him.” We need to know that Christ is coming again to claim those who are His children. When He comes it will be to bring judgement to the lost and reward to saved. In our passage today we are told that we will not be hurt by the second death. Instead, we are going to receive our crown of righteousness. John 14:2,3 “In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.”

May we remain faithful to the end no matter what fiery darts Satan may throw in our direction: Eph 3:16 “in addition to all, take up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.”