In the last issue of Lamb Light we looked at the evidence for future revival in the churches, and the Lord's means of bringing that about.
We noticed first that the Lord reveals the ideal figure of the Son of Man, the man He expects His churches to present to the world as the body of Christ (Rev. 1).
Then we observed that He applies the ideal figure to what He finds in the seven churches, beginning with Ephesus.
We learned from the Lord's remarks to Ephesus that He requires His love within the local church, the love that puts the local body of believers first. The church without first-love will not be allowed to exist when the Lord comes.
In this issue of Lamb Light we continue examining the Lord's messages to the churches, specifically Smyrna and Pergamum.
One of the clearest messages from the New testament is that following Jesus means suffering and death. In the upper room discourse Jesus said, "...if they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you..." (Jn. 15:20). Jesus warned, "...an hour is coming for everyone who kills you to think that he is offering service to God..." (Jn. 16:2), and "...in the world you have tribulation..." (Jn. 16:33). Paul told Timothy, "...indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted" (II Tim 3:12).
The Lord finds in Smyrna a church that is facing suffering and death with faithfulness. As Jews who believe in Christ their identity is under attack by unbelieving Jews (Rev. 2:9)[1]. They are experiencing poverty and tribulation. They are to be imprisoned and tested, and are urged to remain faithful until death.
He finds no fault with the Smyrnans, and speaks to their suffering in a few brief statements. He presents himself as "The first and the last, who was dead, and has come to life...." He urges them not to fear the coming suffering, and to "...be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life." He comforts them with the fact that "...he who overcomes shall not be hurt by the second death."
It is apparent that the Smyrnans are an example of the suffering that Jesus said would attend His followers. They had not compromised their beliefs or adopted the weapons of the world to escape the results of their faith. The poverty they experienced because of their faith made them rich in the eyes of the Lord.
But there is a different picture in Pergamum...
The Lord begins His message to Pergamum by pointing out that He is "...the One who has the sharp two-edged sword..." (2:12). This sword was seen coming out of the mouth of the Son of Man in John's initial vision (1:16), and is presented in the same way again to Pergamum when the Lord warns them (2:16, cf. 19:15). The truth that the Word is the Christians' only offensive weapon of warfare is immediately in view. And, as in all the messages, this feature is in view because the church in Pergamum needs to see it.
Pergamum also apparently needs to know that the Lord understands that they live where Satan's throne is. This notice comes, not because Pergamum was uniquely or exclusively the place of Satan's throne[2], but because Pergamum had focused upon Satan's rule as some justification for the attitude or behavior the Lord addresses in Pergamum.
The Lord assures Pergamum that He is not unaware of the fact that they held fast His name and His faith when one of their brothers was killed. But in this acknowledgment, the Lord focuses their attention on the martyr, Antipas, who was successfully "...My witness, My faithful one...," even through his death and the rule of Satan.
Thus, before speaking to the problems in Pergamum, the Lord has addressed potential excuses (presence of Satan, death of Antipas) and emphasized that the very things He desires of the saints in Pergamum were successfully exhibited in Antipas through his death and the presence of Satan.
The Lord now speaks directly to the problems in Pergamum, noting that they had in their ranks those who were holding "... the teaching of Balaam..." and "...the teaching of the Nicolaitans" (Rev. 2:14-15).
In the Old Testament we read about Balaam, a rogue prophet, who led Balak, an enemy king who feared Israel, to offer Moabite women to the men of Israel[3]. This led the men of Israel to sin against the Lord by eating things sacrificed to idols and committing acts of immorality (Num. 25:1 ff). Israel's conquest of the land was for a time stopped because the men of God had their needs met from the altar of the enemy rather than the altar of God.
The teaching of Balaam that had once lured the people of God to compromise and fraternize with the enemy rather than conquer them was again alive in Pergamum. Idolatry and immorality, rather than evangelism, would be the ultimate outcome of such a teaching.
The teaching of the Nicolaitans appears difficult to define with certainty, but also involves compromise in the face of the battle[4]. The immediate context here suggests that this area of compromise involved adopting the world's weapons for warfare. The name Pergamum means citadel or fortress. The Lord had introduced this message with the notice that He possessed the "sharp two-edged sword." His word is the offensive weapon of warfare. The term, Nicolaitan, means "conquer people," and may have been coined because it was descriptive or characteristic of the teaching. War from the Lord with the sword of His mouth is the warning issued if they will not repent of these teachings.
Our understanding of both teachings is enhanced by the fact that the two promises to overcomers appear to correspond to the two false teachings. Whereas the teaching of Balaam led to eating things sacrificed to idols, the promise to overcomers is "hidden manna," holy food. Manna was the food miraculously given by God from heaven to Israel during their time in the wilderness, some of which had been placed inside the Ark. The promise to those in Pergamum is that if they stopped eating from the altar of the world they would be fed from the invisible Ark of God, typical of the invisible Lord. Whereas the teaching of the Nicolaitans apparently involved waging war the world's way, the promise to overcomers is the "white stone," a token awarded to gladiators who had been granted retirement from the arena[5]. If the saints of Pergamum will retire from the world's method of fighting they will receive the appropriate reward, with a new name that reflects their new condition[6].
The death of Antipas was apparently the fertile ground in which the doctrines of compromise and militant defense could grow. It became more apparent than ever before that Satan ruled the hearts of those who could kill a brother such as Antipas. The question could quite naturally arise, "How would Christianity survive and the Great Commission be accomplished in such a hostile environment?"
The military methods of the Nicolaitans or Balaam's gestures toward compromise seemed to be possible answers.
But the Lord Jesus disagreed. The saints needed to recognize that their only weapon of warfare was His Word, the "sharp two-edged sword," "...the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God" (Eph. 6:17). They needed to hear that dying as a martyr, as demonstrated by Antipas, was indeed the effective, faithful witness of the crucified Lord Jesus. Yes, the saints are called into a battle where they are expected to conquer a people; but the battle is for the hearts of unbelievers and the only weapon is the sword of the Spirit wielded by sacrificial hands. They had no business picking up the weapons of the world or adopting its methods to accomplish a supernatural mission.
When the Lord Jesus was arrested Peter naturally believed that it was his responsibility to defend Jesus from His enemies. Never, ever, had there been, or would there be a case of such injustice as this; no threatened child, spouse or nation would call for intervention more than this[7]. So, he drew the sword he was carrying and struck at Malchus, the slave of the High Priest, cutting off his ear[8]. But Jesus corrected Peter saying, "Put the sword back into its place; for all those who take up the sword shall perish by the sword. Or do you think that I cannot appeal to My Father, and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve legions of angels?" (Jn. 18:11, Matt. 26:52-53). The Lord Jesus placed emphasis upon the necessity of His sacrifice[9], and described the use of the sword as futile.
The book of Acts shows first generation Christians in immediate conflict with Jewish Palestine and the Roman Empire, wielding the power of the Word with sacrificial hands. We see the apostles jailed and flogged (Acts 5:41), Stephen stoned while preaching the Word (Acts 7:54-60), Christians dragged from houses and imprisoned (Acts 8:3), James slain by Herod (Acts 12:1-2), and Paul stoned, arrested and imprisoned. But nowhere do we see the saints arming themselves with other than the Word.
Paul taught the Ephesian church to take up the armor of God because our struggle is "...not against flesh and blood..." (Eph. 6:12). He reminded the Corinthian church that "...though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh..." (II Cor. 10:3-4). The apostle demonstrated this conviction by preaching the Word right into prison and finally to his death.
If we believe that the Word is the sword of the Spirit, and we war not according to the flesh...
Then why do we war according to the flesh? Let's be honest; we, evangelical Christians, believe in and support "...war according to the flesh...." We support personal ownership of weapons, a strong military and the use of weapons to defend against aggression. My grandfather was a veteran of World War I, my father was a veteran of World War II, and I am a veteran of the Vietnam "conflict." War has enjoyed Christian participation for many generations because Christians believe that war is necessary and "works."
Just like Peter at the arrest of Jesus, when the bad guys come to unjustly get the good guy, we whip out our swords to give God a little help with His enemies. After all, this must be right because God had Joshua and David take the promised land from the enemies by use of the military.
Never mind all the striking differences between God's economy in the Old Testament and New Testament, law and grace. Never mind that the Lord Jesus said to put away the sword. Never mind the Great Commission, loving, praying for, and evangelizing the enemy, which were not included in Joshua's instructions. Never mind turning the other cheek. Never mind taking up our cross and following Jesus to death. Never mind the warning against trying to save your lives. Never mind the example of the apostles and the early church. Never mind the Lord's view of Smyrna or Pergamum. Never mind that the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God. Never mind "not by might, nor by power but by My Spirit." Never mind that the best illustration of that which is central to God's rule is the slain Lamb. If it wasn't for our weapons of mass destruction and our willingness to use them then Hitler would have killed every living Jew, Japan would have an empire in the Pacific or Stalin's communism would have ruled the world. The world wouldn't be safe for democracy, capitalism and Christianity. And we all know that the world has to be safe from tyranny in order for Christianity to succeed!
So, we must keep our radar scanning, guns loaded and missiles ready so we don't become victims of Satan's treachery like those Christians who were killed before the church became large in number and learned how to really fight. After all, how would we Christians ever be regarded as valid if we refused to fight unjust aggression with the weapons of the world, instead relying upon the Word of God wielded by sacrificial hands?
If we let down our guard or put down our weapons even for a minute we might end up like Antipas, or the early church, or Peter, or Paul, or James, or Stephen, ... or Jesus.
Compromises with the world, the doctrines of Balaam and the Nicolaitans, what do they look like in today's world?
What does it look like to eat things sacrificed to idols?
What battle am I fighting? What weapons am I using?
Have we bought into the lie that the two things we need most are a healthy economy and strong military? (Odd that those two "crucial" themes were excluded from the New Testament!)
Having lost the power of the Word wielded with sacrificial hands, has the Church turned to the weapons of the world? Do we think that we are going to make disciples with dollars and tanks?
Do the Lord's comments to the church in Pergamum apply to the actions of the Church today? Just because we do not have a stone altar to Zeus, or a Temple of Diane, does not mean that we are safe from the sacrifices to these gods.
What is more important? Where do we draw the lines? What statements are we making by the weapons we choose and compromises we make?
It is time we ask a few questions.
- Steve Amy
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Lamb Light and Lamb Light Short Studies are produced by a team of Christians from the Christ Evangelical Church, Orem, UT. We are accountable for our conduct to the members and leaders of that local church. The Lamb Light team leader is Stephen Amy. The Pastor of the church is Scott McKinney, (801) 225-3038.
The cost of producing Lamb Light and Lamb Light Short Studies is borne by any individuals who specifically contribute designated funds to that ministry through the Christ Evangelical Church, Orem, UT. It is not a function of the general budget of the Christ Evangelical Church.
The opinions expressed on these pages do not necessarily reflect a consensus of the members of the Christ Evangelical Church, Orem, UT. But we, as members, affirm together that we look "for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus."
Letters should be mailed to: Editor, Lamb Light Ministry, c/o Christ Evangelical Church, 280 S. 400 E. Orem, UT 84058. Messages may be sent through Internet to NOSPAMlamb@rdo.com.
Copyright © 1996, Lamb Light Ministry All Rights Reserved. Permission is granted to anyone to make or distribute verbatim copies of this document, in any medium, provided that the copyright notice and permission notice are preserved. . Neither this document nor its contents may be sold. Unless noted, all Scriptures and Scripture references are taken from The Holy Bible, New American Standard Version. Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1988, The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
Lamb Light Ministries
c/o Christ Evangelical Church
280 S. 400 E.
Orem, UT 84058
Phone: 801 225-3038