[Pergamos]
The third letter was to the church at Pergamos. This
church represents that period in church history
following the establishment of Christianity as the
official religion of the Roman
Empire, early in the fourth
century. It represents the period of great spiritual
decline, and the ascendancy of man-controlled apostasy.
Since this was a gradual process, there were still many
who held fast to the faith and did not deny my name. But
others became so engrossed in counterfeit forms of
church life that the very seat of Satan became
entrenched within the growing church structure. Thus it
was a period of increasing contrasts and conflicts. And
so did I speak after this manner: ‘I know your works, and where you dwell, even where Satan's
seat is; and you hold fast my name, and have
not denied my faith, even in those days wherein Antipas
was my faithful martyr, who was slain among you, where
Satan dwells.' (Rev. 2:13). Antipas
is representative of all those who remained
faithful and resisted the encroaching apostasy of
this period. The fact that he was slain, speaks of the
power of entrenched authority to ‘kill out’ the
resistance of those who continued to stand for pure and
unadulterated Christianity.
The ability of Satan to so rapidly
establish his 'seat of power' within the organized
church structure was a direct result of the church-state
marriage. Such a union constituted spiritual adultery
and unfaithfulness to me. Therefore, I withdrew my favor
rapidly. I expressed my disfavor in these words; "But I
have a few things against you, because you have there
them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak
to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel,
to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit
fornication.' (Rev. 2:14). Balaam was a true
prophet who was corrupted by desire for material gain.
Therefore he promoted compromise with heathen religious
practices in order to secure what he wanted. Balaam
therefore becomes a type of ambitious leaders who
increasingly caused the people to ‘sacrifice to idols' by introducing many
pagan beliefs and practices; and by leading the people
into further 'fornication' with the state, they caused
the 'arm of flesh’ to arise in strength and dominate the
affairs of the church.
Not only did the 'doctrine of
Balaam' become firmly entrenched during this period, the
'doctrine of the Nicolaitanes' also increased rapidly.
And thus the 'deeds of the Nicolaitanes' among a few in
the apostolic period of the church, became in the
Pergamos period an established doctrine.
Increasingly the ministries took on sacerdotal
importance, becoming fashioned after the priesthood
of the pagan religions. This put more and more power
into the hands of fewer, as a hierarchy of authority
began to grow. Thus the ground work was being laid for
complete carnal usurpation of my spiritual authority,
and the bringing about of a counterfeit form of
Christianity, the nadir of which would be reached in the
next period of church history.
But for those who would hear what
the Spirit was saying to the church, I did speak a word:
"To him that overcomes will I give to eat of
the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and
in the stone a new name written, which no man knows save he that receives it' (Rev. 2:17). The
overcomers are always privileged to ‘eat’ of that which
is not available to the many, for they draw on my grace
to rise above the carnal tendencies which continually
draw most of my people into various compromise positions
in their Christian life. The hidden manna was that which
was placed in a container and deposited in the ark of
testimony as a memorial of my sustaining the people of
Israel in the
wilderness. It was hidden within the ark. Was not
the ark a type of me, in my incarnation and
glorification? Am I not ready to reveal my hidden
mysteries to those who are ready to receive? (See
Matt. 13:11). Did not the apostle Paul speak of me when
he said, 'In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom
and knowledge?’ (Col. 2:3). By the Spirit of
revelation do I give to those who are hungry to eat
of the precious truths of the living Word. To the
overcomer was also promised a white stone with a new
name written. The white stone is a token of a course
finished and a race won; it constituted the prize, in
ancient times, for those who were victorious. The new
name written on the stone is symbolic of the new realm
of glory which will be inherited by those who attain to the prize of the high
calling (see Phil. 3:14). The whiteness of the stone
indicates that purity of life which marks those who will
enter that realm where they will see me and be in
constant fellowship with me. It is symbolized elsewhere
as being clothed in white (Rev. 3:4-5, 7:9, 19:14).
Because of the Increasing apostates
of the Pergamos era, my words were spoken as a sharp
sword with two edges. (Rev. 2:12). My command was to
repent; 'or else I will come to you quickly, and will fight
against them with the sword of my mouth’ (Rev. 2:16).
This I did by raising up many faithful servants who
denounced the false teachings and practices of a
power-hungry clergy who were increasingly making
merchandise of the people to further their own ends. By
the time this era of the church came to a close, the
darkness which almost totally eclipsed the light of my
truth had engulfed the Christian world. For several
hundreds of years there would be only slight glimmers of
light among small groups of faithful followers here and
there. Truly the night had come when no man could work
effectively, (see John 9:4-5).