Title: Revelation 02:12-17 Repent therefore
So, repent
Revelation 2:12-17
Dear saints in Christ,
This is a letter from the Lord who watches over His Church in the world to the Church of Pergamum.
The first letter was sent to the church in Ephesus, and he pointed out that it was the church whose first love had grown cold.
The second letter is to the Smyrna Church.
Although the church is still suffering persecution, even greater persecution awaits, but they are encouraged to be faithful even to death.
The Church of Pergamum, receiving the third letter today, is rebuked for being overly lenient, and therefore repent.”
In other words, they overcame persecution, but did not resist temptation.
Now, let's take a closer look at our faith through the Lord's letter to the Church of Pergamum.
Pergamum was not as commercially prosperous as Ephesus or Smyrna, but
Historically and politically, its importance surpasses the previous two cities, and there are many things to be proud of as the capital of the region for more than 300 years.
Of the seven cities with seven churches in Asia Minor, Pergamum was the administrative capital.
Pergamum was famous for its library, which contained at least 200,000 sheepskin scrolls.
In ancient times, it was not a time when books were printed, but in an era when each volume was copied by hand.
In the East, Korean paper was invented from mulberry, but in the West, it is Pergamum where parchment made of sheepskin was invented in the era when papyrus made from reeds was the main type of paper.
Pergamum excelled not only in this literature, but also in its religious zeal.
Perhaps the Apostle John referred to it as "the place where Satan's throne is"?
In other words, it is called "the place where Satan's throne is."
Pergamum claims to be the master and advocate of the Greek way of life and the worship of the Greek gods,
In about 240 B.C., he defeated the savage 'Golin' attack and won a great victory. In commemoration of this victory, a large temple dedicated to Zeus was built in front of the temple of Athens, which stands 240m high on a 720m high mountain. Pius' temple was built.
The "god of medicine" symbolized by this snake made Pergamum famous.
It became a place of last hope for those who groaned from disease in those days.
I don't know if it will become Seoul National University Hospital.
Or maybe it will be a prayer center, a place that even the hospital says it cannot be cured.
So every day, all day, Pergamum was filled with the smoke of the sacrifices.
The temple of Ascolepius had a ward, a medical school, and was overrun with priests and groaning patients.
It was believed in the superstition that snakes roamed around at night and that if they passed by, God would reach out and heal the patient.
Even today, serpentine epaulets can be seen on soldiers' medical insignia.
Also, religious zeal was not satisfied with the Temple of Asclepius alone.
There was the Temple of Zeus and there was the Temple of Athens.
A large statue of Zeus was created on a rocky mountain that protrudes more than 700m, showing great majesty.
By erecting the statue of Zeus in the 63 Building in Yeouido today, anyone living in the city of Pergamum could not live a day without seeing the statue, and the statue of Zeus was overpowering the entire city.
In this way, idolatry was rampant, and the emperor worshiped to such an extent that Caesar's worship was second to none.
In a city like this, Christians had to fight paganism and arrogance.
The Lord who appeared in the Pergamum Church introduces himself by saying, “He who has a two-edged sword says:”
Oriental swords are sharpened on only one side, but in this Pergamum, one side cannot handle it, so they have both sides.
A sharpened sword sometimes uses one blade for defense and another for attack to defeat enemies.
It was written as a symbol of salvation as well as a symbol of judgment, protecting God's chosen people and defeating enemies.
Because this Lord did not forsake faith in Satan's throne, Satan's stronghold, verse 13 praises the faithfulness of the Church of Pergamum.
So he praised, "I know where you live."
Dear saints,
The Lord who has a two-edged sword to us today,
"You live in a place where Satan's power and influence are rampant, and you must continue to live there. You can't go somewhere with your luggage and lead a more comfortable life of faith.
Now you live in Pergamum, and you must stay there. You are the place where the devil's stomach will live.
There, you must prove that you are Christians." Isn't that exactly what he is saying to our church?
It's like looking at us on this treacherous hill and saying, "You can't leave. You must stay here and do my work."
Every believer must be faithful in the very position that God has given him.
We don't decide where you and I live, God decides where we live.
We don't decide who you and I will meet and what kind of work we will do, but God lets us meet that person and work.
I didn't meet you because I wanted to meet you, but by letting God form a community, isn't it that we are building the church of Christ here?
There was such a faithful man in Pergamum.
His name was 'Andivah', and he spoke as "my faithful witness."
It means suffering and even dying to testify of Christ.
In order to live a witnessed life, he eventually went to martyrdom.
When you hold on to the name of the Lord to the end, you will participate in the glory of the Lord in the future.
In contrast to the praise of verse 13, verses 14-16 are rebuked and warned.
"But I have a few things against you, that you have those who keep the teaching of Balaam. Balaam taught Balak to set a snare before Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit fornication."
The praise stops and the reproof and warning continue.
"In the same way, you also have some who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans. Repent, therefore, or I will come quickly and make war with them with the sword of my mouth."
The church in Ephesus was praised for hating the Nicolaitans, whereas the Church of Pergamum was rebuked for accepting the Nicolaitans' actions.
It is also described here by another term as "the teaching of Balaam."
Who is Balaam?
This was the time when Israel, who had been walking in the wilderness after leaving Egypt, came to the plain of Moab and encamped.
It is across the Jordan River from the plains of Moab, opposite the land of Canaan.
If you cross the Jordan River, you will now enter the promised land.
At that time, Balak, king of Moab, was apparently not very Israelite.
I thought that I should not let these people run all the way here in droves to get something to eat.
Moreover, when I heard that no one had stopped Israel's path so far, I felt that it was impossible to fight with military force.
So, thinking that the spirit must fight with the spirit, he specially invited a prophet named Balaam, who was living in Mesopotamia, the most famous of his time, to curse Israel.
But while slaughtering an ox and offering a sacrifice, Balaam tried to curse Israel.
No matter how much he tried to curse, Balaam's mouth did not listen, so it was a blessing to Israel.
Perhaps it was because the place was not good, and they once again held a sacrifice in the corner where only the tail of Israel was visible, and tried to curse Israel.
But the result was likewise not a curse, but a blessing.
There was absolutely no way to hinder Israel.
Not only did blessings come out instead of curses, but even the prophecy that the savior of Israel would appear came out of Balaam's mouth.
If God wants to bless you, you cannot curse.
Who dares to curse the nation God has chosen to bless with that mouth?
When King Balak paid money to bring him in, there were reasons why it didn't work properly, so he gave up on cursing and changed his strategy.
Satan is very clever.
Just because one thing doesn't work, we don't give up just like us there.
They changed their plans and whispered to King Balak.
Do not fight with Israel at all, but open the door and invite Israeli men to a feast to eat and drink. And then he told me a few more things.
So the king of Moab sent messengers to the people of Israel, saying, "We have no intention of fighting with you. In some months and days, we have a great feast in the land of Moab.
Please come and enjoy to the fullest."
When the men of Israel heard this, they were delighted to be a wonderful king and welcomed us with praise, so we accepted their invitation without needing any armed forces.
The men of Israel crossed over to the land of Moab in hordes.
At the feast that night, all the precious foods of the world were prepared, and besides, there were plenty of wines that were sweet to taste.
You can eat it all raw, where is the alcohol?
Moabite women sang and danced softly, but the Israeli women I saw every day in the wilderness looked only at their rough bodies, trimmed to the size of their fingernails.
Not only the plentiful food and wine, but also the dancing and singing of a beautiful woman deceived them.
When they return home, they do not notice their wives, and only the women of Moab blink in their minds.
So from that time on, it is recorded in Numbers 31:16 that Israel began to commit fornication.
“Israel stayed in Siddim, and the people began to commit fornication with the women of Moab.”
Dear saints,
Satan's temptations are always terrifying dreadlocks.