Letters to Pergamum and Thyatira

Title: Letters to Pergamum and Thyatira
Date: 24th June 2023
Precher: Rev. Wong Siow Hwee

How would you describe the letters to the churches of Pergamum and Thyatira? Are they letters of praise and encouragement just like the letters to Smyrna and Philadelphia, which we explored yesterday? Or are they more like letters of warning and rebuke, like the letters to Sardis and Laodicea, which we shall look at tomorrow? I would say that they are half and half.

First of all, you cannot deny that these two are good solid churches. At Pergamum, even though the persecution is so severe that Christians like Antipas were killed, they continued to persevere as faithful witnesses of Christ. I think we can agree that there can be no stronger faith demonstrated than the faith of martyrs. At Thyatira, the descriptions used on them in Jesus’ letter, seemed to intentionally contrast them with the church of Ephesus. Where Ephesus had forsaken the love they had at first, Thyatira was praised for their love and service. Where Ephesus had fallen and not doing the things they did at first, Thyatira was not only doing what they did at first, and Jesus even said that they were doing far more than at first. Honestly, if Jesus praises Jubilee to the same level as these positive descriptions of Pergamum and Thyatira, I think I can meet Jesus in eternity without shame as a Jubilee pastor.

However, there are pockets of people in these two churches where Jesus had also given the gravest warnings. To Pergamum he said, “16 Repent therefore! Otherwise, I will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth. To Thyatira he said, “23 I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I am he who searches hearts and minds, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds. These are fighting words indeed. Jesus is declaring a personal battle with these pockets of Christians in the churches of Pergamum and Thyatira even though the rest of them were exemplary.

So what went wrong? How could such faithful and growing churches end up with such severe warnings? To describe what was happening in these churches either, Jesus used two Old Testament stories as metaphors in his rebuke of the false prophets. This is why we wrote the devotions and did the storytelling this morning based on these stories so that you will be familiar with them. So we will first talk about the OT references. Then we will talk about the NT situation. Then we will combine the two to talk about the main issue of false teachings.

First, allow me to do a quick recap before we proceed further. The first Old Testament story is the story of Balaam. Balaam was a foreign prophet hired by a foreign prince Balak to put a curse on the people of God as they were on their way to the Promised Land. Unfortunately God intervened and he was prevented from doing so. Instead of a curse, he pronounced a blessing on God’s people instead. One of his most notable blessing is found in Numbers 24: 17 “I see him, but not now;
I behold him, but not near.
A star will come out of Jacob;
a scepter will rise out of Israel.
It is from this blessing that we infer that Jesus is the bright morning star, the future king of Israel. Balak was understandably upset of course since he didn’t exactly receive the service he paid for. But having accepted Balak’s money, Balaam offered an alternative solution to him. The people of Israel cannot be attacked directly, but with a little push, they could stumble and fall on their own instead. He taught Balak to entice the Israelites with foreign women, and they were lured into worshipping idols when they joined these women in their festivities. In the end, judgment fell upon them because of their idolatry, and I guess you can say that Balaam did his job and Balak got his money’s worth. The people of God could not be attacked directly with foreign armies, yet they self-destructed when they fall into the temptations of foreign women.

The second story is the story of Jezebel. Jezebel was a foreign princess who married the King of Israel Ahab. Even though the northern kings were all bad, Ahab is described as the worst in 1 Kings 16: 30 Ahab son of Omri did more evil in the eyes of the Lord than any of those before him. Jezebel persecuted all the prophets of God including Elijah, and encouraged the worship of Baal. But the straw that broke the camel’s back, the incident that resulted in Ahab and Jezebel’s gruesome death was due to Naboth’s garden. When Ahab was sulking about not being able to take Naboth’s garden, Jezebel enticed him, “7 Jezebel his wife said, “Is this how you act as king over Israel? Get up and eat! Cheer up. I’ll get you the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.” When they killed Naboth for the vineyard, Elijah pronounced the judgment: 19 Say to him, ‘This is what the Lord says: Have you not murdered a man and seized his property?’ Then say to him, ‘This is what the Lord says: In the place where dogs licked up Naboth’s blood, dogs will lick up your blood—yes, yours!’” I would say that the false teaching of Jezebel was to seduce Ahab with the appeal to his pride as a king.

If I were to sum up a commonality between these two stories of Balaam and Jezebel, it would be temptations. In the Balaam story, the people of God were tempted by their lust, and in the Jezebel story, Ahab was tempted by his pride and greed. Just to be clear, there is nothing inherently wrong about women or vineyards, just in case there are those who thought Christianity is always so prudishly against sex or drinking. But when you cross the line to covet what doesn’t belong to you, that is when you have fallen into temptations. In the two stories, the Israelites are supposed to stay away from foreign women, especially when they are doing their idol worshipping; and Ahab similarly must respect the laws of Moses regarding the land of fellow brothers of Israel, even if he is a king, and Ahab knows it too. In succumbing to their desires, they committed sins against God.

Coming back to the NT, to the context of churches of Pergamum and Thyatira, I think they have also fallen into sins related to temptations of covetousness. Some 14 ate food sacrificed to idols and committed sexual immorality. There are two ways to interpret what was going on here. One is to assume that the sexual immorality is literal. So these Christians actually went to the pagan Temples to participate in the pagan worship there, and since some of these worship include temple prostitutes in the midst of pagan festivals of food and drinks, the sins of these Christians were sexual immorality and eating food during their idol worshipping. But given the positive testimonies of these two churches by Jesus, I doubt they had been depraved till such an extent.

More likely, the actual situation is the metaphorical way of interpreting sexual immorality, which could mean unfaithfulness to God. Paul advised in 1 Corinthians 10: 20 the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God, and I do not want you to be participants with demons. 21 You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too; you cannot have a part in both the Lord’s table and the table of demons. This means that when you eat such food, it is as if you are participating in the idol worship rituals as well. That is the unfaithfulness and a form of sexual immorality in your covenant with God. [1]

However, there is an absolutely valid way to argue against the ban against eating such food. This counter-argument is stated in 1 Corinthians 8: 4 “An idol is nothing at all in the world” and that “There is no God but one.” 1 Corinthians 10: 19 Do I mean then that food sacrificed to an idol is anything, or that an idol is anything? 20 No. In short, the food itself is nothing spiritual, since idols are nothing. Even Jesus himself declared in Mark 7:18 “Don’t you see that nothing that enters a person from the outside can defile them? 19 ” (In saying this, Jesus declared all foods clean.)

In short, if you really want to argue, whether theologically or logically, there is really nothing wrong with eating food offered to the idols, as long as you fully understand why you can eat, and also make such that everybody who sees you eating understand why you can eat, and they are not stumbled by you because of their own misunderstanding. [2] But do you really understand? Or perhaps it is just an excuse to justify your own covetousness and gluttony? You see, meat was a precious commodity at that time. So it would be pretty hard to find meat not already offered to the idols. So if you abstain from all food offered to the idols, the implication was that you cannot eat meat anymore. So ask yourself, how many of you can do without meat for the rest of your life? And if you really cannot “tahan” (Singlish for endure) not eating meat, perhaps you then start looking for theological loopholes to justify eating food offered to idols so that you can continue eating meat, excuses just like the argument stated above.

At this critical juncture I want to talk about the 2 Satans in our passage today. [3] The first Satan is found in verse 13 I know where you live—where Satan has his throne. Yet you remain true to my name. You did not renounce your faith in me, not even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness, who was put to death in your city—where Satan lives. The first Satan is very scary because he will kill you. But the church stayed strong despite the pressure. Kudos to them.

The second Satan is found in verse 24 Now I say to the rest of you in Thyatira, to you who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned Satan’s so-called deep secrets. The second Satan is not scary at all. In fact, he is as attractive as the forbidden fruit at the Garden of Eden. When you look at him, he tells you “Why not?” The second Satan is also very nice and helpful, and he teaches you all kinds of “secrets” to do the things you like to do. Just like the story of the trickery of Balaam, the church that stayed strong under the first Satan got lured into sin by the second Satan. Just like the second OT story where Jezebel asked Ahab, “You are the king, why cannot just take Naboth’s garden?”, in the same way, the second Satan in the form of false teachers will misled you, “You are the son/daughter of God, why can’t you just eat the food?” You may have experienced such egging-on (怂恿) before, Christians that are knowledgeable sometimes get stumbled because of the pride in their knowledge. They had forgotten what Paul reminded in 1 Corinthians 10: 23 “I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but not everything is constructive. 24 No one should seek their own good, but the good of others.

Yesterday, Pastor WeiKang’s job is to encourage you when you are faced with the first Satan. Some people cannot tahan hardship, and they need that kind of spiritual booster to carry on. My job today is to protect you against the second Satan. Some people can take pain, but they get lost when they are overwhelmed by the pleasures of life. This is why you see good solid churches like Pergamum and Thyatira stumble. It is the same for strong Christians, even church leaders who stumble. If they can survive intense opposition under the first Satan, then the second Satan will let them be super successful instead. Make them so famous and powerful, that they will come to think that they are always right. They deceive themselves with defensive religious reasoning.

How do we protect ourselves against the second Satan? Jesus reminded the churches of who he is. He described himself in Revelation 2: 12 “(the one) who has the sharp, double-edged sword. 18 the Son of God, whose eyes are like blazing fire and whose feet are like burnished bronze. 23 I am he who searches hearts and minds. Go back to Jesus who knows your true motives, whether you are doing for the kingdom of God or just to feed your pride. And Jesus will not hesitate to cut down your self-serving BS to use worldly ways for worldly things, if there are any.

“We live in a world that constantly tempts us to compromise our faith, to dilute our convictions, and to conform to the values and ideologies of the culture around us. Despite their faithfulness in the face of persecution, the church in Pergamum allowed compromise to seep into their midst. Jesus confronts them for tolerating false teachings and participating in idolatry. This serves as a sobering reminder that compromise can subtly infiltrate our lives if we are not vigilant and rooted in God's truth. Compromise is a constant battle we face as followers of Christ. It requires intentional vigilance and a commitment to remain faithful to God's Word.

Take a moment to reflect: Are there areas of compromise in your life? Are there false teachings or idolatrous practices that have subtly crept in? Today, commit to repentance and realignment with God's truth. Seek His strength and guidance to conquer compromise and embrace the rewards of a faithful, obedient life in Christ.

Tolerance, when it comes to compromising our faith, is a slippery slope that leads us away from God's truth. Jesus calls us to be discerning and uncompromising in our commitment to Him. Let us examine our hearts and lives, identifying areas of tolerance and compromise. May we repent and turn away from false teachings, immorality, and compromise. As we do, we can embrace the promise of authority, knowing that our faithful obedience will be rewarded both in this life and in eternity.

Jesus lovingly calls both churches to repentance. Repentance involves a heartfelt sorrow for our wrongdoing and a sincere desire to change our ways. It requires us to realign our lives with God's standards, rejecting the allure of compromise. It also requires a humble recognition of our sinful tendencies and a genuine desire to turn back to God.

To those who conquer compromise, Jesus promises hidden manna and a white stone with a new name written on it. The hidden manna symbolizes spiritual nourishment and sustenance that comes from intimacy with Christ. It speaks of His provision and the deep satisfaction found in a relationship with Him. The white stone, bearing a new name known only to the receiver, represents acceptance and belonging in the presence of God. It signifies a unique and personal relationship with Him.” [4]

[1]Paul’s teaching here is in line with the directive from the Jerusalem church to all the Gentiles in Acts 15:29 You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols.
[2]So Paul’s solution on the matter is stated in 1 Corinthians 10: 25 Eat anything sold in the meat market without raising questions of conscience, 26 for, “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.” 27 If an unbeliever invites you to a meal and you want to go, eat whatever is put before you without raising questions of conscience. 28 But if someone says to you, “This has been offered in sacrifice,” then do not eat it, both for the sake of the one who told you and for the sake of conscience. 29 I am referring to the other person’s conscience, not yours. In Corinthians 8: 7 But not everyone possesses this knowledge. Some people are still so accustomed to idols that when they eat sacrificial food they think of it as having been sacrificed to a god, and since their conscience is weak, it is defiled.
In short, at home in secret can eat, if you truly understand. In pagan temple, absolutely not. In other public places, it depends on the understanding of others around you, so that you stumble nobody.
[3]I don’t literally mean there are 2 Satans. I am just using the expression as a form of contrast.
[4]Written by ChatGPT, edited by speaker