Lesson 7: The Letter to the Church at Pergamum
Revelation 2:12-17
12 “And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write: ‘The words of him who has the sharp two-edged sword.
13 “‘I know where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is. Yet you hold fast my name, and you did not deny my faith even in the days of Antipas my faithful witness, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells.
14 But I have a few things against you: you have some there who hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, so that they might eat food sacrificed to idols and practice sexual immorality.
15 So also you have some who hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans.
16 Therefore repent. If not, I will come to you soon and war against them with the sword of my mouth.
17 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it.’
Jesus’ description of Himself – He is the one with a sharp two–edged sword. In Ephesians 6:17 we read that His word is a weapon of attack rather than defense, so with it He is a protector.
Conditions – The city was the capital of Asia, and held the second largest library in the world. It was a center of Emperor-worship, and the church in the city was almost surely begun by missionaries from Ephesus.
Commendation – You did not deny Me even in tribulation.
Concern – You tolerate those who teach heresy or compromise.
Command – Repent for I come quickly to judge.
Counsel – To the overcomer will be given hidden manna and a white stone (this white stone was a victory trophy in ancient Olympic games).
This church in history (from about 590 to about 1517 AD) was a time of much church activity that, while they had a form of faith, was based on man’s beliefs rather than on what Jesus had said and was written in the Bible. Just as Jesus charged this church with compromising their beliefs with what was found in the world around them, so this time in church history also finds a lot of false teaching entering the church.
Even today many believers think we know what we are supposed to do, so we begin to follow our plan rather than trusting in the Bible and the leading of the Holy Spirit in us to do what He asks of us. We too allow man’s wisdom to guide us too often when we should be seeking God’s face.
The promise of hidden manna refers to the food God gave the people of Israel during their forty years in the wilderness, and the stone refers to the prize a winner would receive in the early Olympic Games – a stone of victory!