Revelation 2:12-17 * December 5, 2004 * Advent 2 * Pastor Pagels

In the name of Christ Jesus, dear friends:

How many of you get excited when you go to your mailbox this time of year? Do you find yourself looking out the window for the mailman? Do you check the box more often than usual? December is the month when we are the most likely to get special surprises in the mail: a letter from an old friend, a card with money inside, maybe even a package that says “Do not open until Christmas.”

Now let me ask another question. How many of you get a little nervous when you open your mailbox about this time of year? Maybe not this week, maybe not next week, but soon many of us will be receiving some of those not-so-special surprises in the mail: the first winter heating bill, the December credit card bill, the notice that your insurance rates will be going up in 2005.

Maybe this isn’t an either/or proposition. Maybe you experience both anticipation and trepidation as you sort through your December mail. There are some envelopes you want to open as soon as possible, while there are others that you wish could remain sealed forever.

I wonder if the Christians at Pergamum experienced these mixed emotions when they opened their church mailbox and found a letter from the apostle John. They knew John. They respected John. They loved John as a brother in Christ and the spiritual father of the churches in Asia Minor. And they were probably eager to hear from him.

But at the same time, there were problems at the church in Pergamum, serious problems, problems that demanded immediate attention. What did John know about them? What would John say about them? Would he be angry? Would he be upset? Would he be disappointed? They couldn’t know unless they opened the letter and read it for themselves.

This morning God allows us to look over their shoulders and read what John wrote. And as we study these inspired words, we will see that this letter is just as relevant for twenty-first century Christians in Wauwatosa as it was for first century Christians in Pergamum.

ADVENT LETTER #3: TO THE CHURCH AT PERGAMUM

I. Praise

II. Problem

III. Promise

Before we begin, it is important to remember one important detail. Even though John is the one who penned this letter he is not the original author. Jesus instructed him to write: “These are the words of him who has the sharp, double-edged sword” (12).

The weapon that Jesus wields isn’t made out of forged steel. Jesus’ sword is the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God. And that Word is powerful. It stills storms. It heals diseases. It afflicts the comfortable and comforts the afflicted. And these are the specific words the Lord caused John to write to the Christians at Pergamum: “I know where you live—where Satan has his throne” (13).

About thirty years ago Christian author Hal Linsey wrote a book called “Satan Is Alive and Well On Planet Earth.” This title isn’t a great revelation to Christians because the Bible makes the same claim. Peter describes the devil as a roaring lion looking for someone to devour (I Peter 5:8). Jesus personally experienced Satan’s temptations on earth, but with this statement he takes the idea to another level. According to Jesus, Satan was not only alive and well in Pergamum. He had made the city his headquarters.

How had Pergamum earned such a dubious distinction? Some have suggested that it was because Pergamum was the official center of emperor worship in the province. To put it another way, the government wasn’t anti-religion. The government was the religion. And whether they knew it or not, the governing authorities were doing the devil’s work for him. Powerful men held offices and issued decrees, but Satan was really in control.

How could a small congregation survive in such a hostile environment? How could these young Christians stand up against the forces of church and state and Satan aligned against them? Apparently very well because Jesus said: “Yet you remain true to my name” (13).

Imagine the tremendous pressure to conform. Imagine the political pressures, the economic pressures, the social pressures to blend in with the rest of the Pergamites. Imagine how tempting it must have been for the Christians at Pergamum to give up.

But they didn’t give up. According to Jesus, they remained true to God “even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness, who was put to death in your city—where Satan lives” (13).

We don’t know much about the days of Antipas. Apparently it was a time of intense persecution, a time that none of them would soon forget.

We don’t know a whole lot about Antipas either, but this is what we do know. He was a faithful “witness” (the English word “martyr” comes from Greek word used here). He was willing to die for his Savior just as his Savior had died for him. And even though not a single word of Antipas is recorded in Scripture, his death sends a message of hope to Christians of every age.

Jesus praised these Christians for their faith in the face of persecution. Jesus praised them for planting a Christian flag on Satan’s home turf. But as faithful as they were, they weren’t perfect. They lived in Pergamum, not paradise. And as the letter continues, Jesus begins to address some of the church’s problems.

“Nevertheless I have a few things against you: You have people there who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin by eating food sacrificed to idols and by committing sexual immorality” (14).

Balaam and Balak were contemporaries of Moses. As Moses led the Israelites to the Promised Land of Canaan, they approached the border of Moab. When Balak king of Moab saw two million uninvited guests at his doorstep, he became afraid. He had heard about the great victories of these people. He had heard about the great God of these people. And he began to panic.

With nowhere else to turn, Balak made a long distance call to Balaam the sorcerer. He offered to pay Balaam top dollar if he would put a curse on Israel. To make a long story short, Balaam made the trip to Moab. But instead of cursing the Israelites, the Lord only allowed Balaam to bless them

A person might conclude that the man who blessed Israel was an ally of Israel, but in reality Balaam was no friend at all. He wanted to take Balak’s money. He wanted to curse Israel. But because the Lord would not allow it, Balaam came up with an alternative plan. He told Balak:

“The only way to defeat these people is to put a wedge between them and their God. And this is how you can do it. Send your women into their camps to seduce them. Get the Israelites to have sex with them. Get the Israelites to participate in idol sacrifices with them. Their God will be so angry with his people that he will forsake them. And without the Lord on their side, victory will be yours.”

This is the story of Balaam, but what is the teaching of Balaam? And how had this false teaching infiltrated the church at Pergamum? No one was trying to place a curse on the congregation, but some of the members were blurring the lines between right and wrong. In the face of such strong opposition they adopted the philosophy: “If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em. Or at least meet them half way.”

“Why not go with the flow if it means relieving some of our stress? What harm could there be if we participate in some of the pagan rituals as long as we understand that we don’t really believe in them?

If that wasn’t bad enough, there were other members who held to the teachings of the Nicolaitans. Jesus hated their practices (2:7). The church at Ephesus rejected their practices. But these Nicolaitans had found a home in Pergamum.

The solution to the problems in Pergamum can be summarized in a single word: “Repent!” Notice that Jesus didn’t call the followers of Balaam to repentance. Jesus didn’t call the Nicolaitans to repentance. Jesus called the entire congregation to repentance, the people who actively promoted their false teachings as well as the people who passively accepted them.

In a church that places such a strong emphasis on the Word, as members of a church body that is not afraid to stand up for the truth, as Christians who recognize that the forces of evil in our world are very real and very dangerous, is it possible that Satan has taken a page out of Balaam’s playbook to achieve his greatest success among us?

If Jesus took a closer look at the church in Wauwatosa, would he see Christians lacking a moral backbone? Would he find people who are willing to look the other way? Would he discover that we are more likely to make excuses than make an effort to seek out the straying? If Jesus addressed a letter to us, would it include that short, accusing phrase: “I have a few things against you?”

Throughout this season of Advent our Lord calls us to confess our sins, to repent when we do what is wrong and when we fail to do what is right. Jesus wants us to take to heart the words of John the Baptist: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near” (Matthew 3:12).

But we must never forget that the man whose life’s work was to call people to repentance was the same man who proclaimed: “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29)! Those words, along with the final words of this letter, remind us that we are the recipients of a most amazing promise.

Jesus told John to write: “To him who overcomes, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to him who receives it” (17). Fast forward three weeks to the day after Christmas. If the only presents you received were a piece of bread and a rock, how do you think you would feel? That was exactly what God promised the Christians in Pergamum. And do you know how they felt? Blessed.

The Christians at Pergamum were blessed because they had the promise of hidden manna. This manna didn’t fall from the sky. This manna came down from heaven. This manna was the Bread of Life. This hidden manna was none other than Jesus Christ who declared: “If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever” (John 6:51).

The Christians at Pergamum were blessed because they had the promise of a white stone. In those days if the jury handed the judge a white stone, it signified a “not guilty” verdict. Because of Jesus believers are as white as that stone, clean, pure, innocent in the eyes of God. Our Savior has given us a new name. Our Savior has given us his own name. Because we belong to Jesus Christ, we are proud to call ourselves Christians.

The Christians at Pergamum were blessed because they had overcome. In spite of persecution, in spite of all kinds of problems, Christians are victorious because Jesus’ victory is our victory. He overcame Satan’s temptations. He destroyed the devil’s work. He crushed the serpent’s head. He died on the cross for our sins. He rose from the dead for our salvation.

Even if we receive nothing more than a moldy piece of bread, even if we receive a lump of coal, even if we don’t get a single Christmas present this year, the fact that each of us has been given the gift of a Savior means that we are blessed.

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