Listen to the Lord

Prayer – Lord, you had a message to people at each of the seven churches. What is Your message for me? 

An Angel taking the letter...
from Jesus to Pergamum.

Write this letter to the angel of the church in Pergamum. This is the message from the one with the sharp two-edged sword: "I know that you live in the city where Satan has his throne, yet you have remained loyal to me. You refused to deny me even when Antipas, my faithful witness, was martyred among you there in Satan's city. But I have a few complaints against you. You tolerate some among you whose teaching is like that of Balaam, who showed Balak how to trip up the people of Israel. He taught them to sin by eating food offered to idols and by committing sexual sin. In a similar way, you have some Nicolaitans among you who follow the same teaching. Repent of your sin, or I will come to you suddenly and fight against them with the sword of my mouth. Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches. To everyone who is victorious I will give some of the manna that has been hidden away in heaven. And I will give to each one a white stone, and on the stone will be engraved a new name that no one understands except the one who receives it. Revelation 2:12-17

Meditate. Consider God’s guidance in scripture.

                                                  

Have you noticed that in this study of the churches in Revelation, each of the churches so far have a message from Jesus Christ and describe Him differently in each case:

               The church in Ephesus, from the one who holds the seven stars in his right hand, the one who walks among the seven gold lampstands.

               The church in Smyrna, from the one who is the First and the Last, who was dead but is now alive.

               The church in Pergamum, from the one with the sharp two-edged sword.

These are all descriptive phrases of our Lord Jesus Christ. He is the First and Last, risen from the dead; one who walks among the seven lampstands, which are the seven churches; and the Word of God is known to be sharper than a two-edged sword. Thus, once again, we see a description of Jesus.

For the word of God is alive and powerful. It isa sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires. Hebrews 4:12

 

In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. John 1:1

The message from Jesus to the church at Pergamum recognizes that the people of this church are dedicated to the Lord, even though they were living in a city controlled by Satan, where Christians were martyred. Pergamum, once the capital of the Roman providence of Asia, about 45 miles north of Smyrna, was a city along the pathway of Paul’s third missionary journey although it is not specifically mentioned in accounts of Paul’s journeys.

 

The people of the church of Pergamum tolerated evil and deliberately sinned. Jesus was calling them to repent. The message is still the same today. Repent. Listen to the Lord.

 

Verse of Salvation ~ (God’s message to Israel through the prophet Exekiel.)   But if you warn righteous people not to sin and they listen to you and do not sin, they will live, and you will have saved yourself, too." Ezekiel 3:21

 

© 2023 Text, photos, and illustrations by Mickey M. Hunacek. All rights reserved. 

All scripture quoted from the New Living Translation (NLT) unless otherwise noted. 

New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. 

Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Biblical search from Blue Letter Bible - http://v3.blueletterbible.org/search.cfm. 

 

Books by Mickey M. Hunacek

Available as e-books or paperbacks at Amazon.com

 

Parenting Day By Day - Daily Devotional for Building Character

Coins in the Bible: New Testament Stories