Carter Conlon from the historic Times Square Church in New York City. Now here's a church that was situated in a place so dark that Jesus himself described it as the location where Satan could rightly claim his throne of rulership. This church was in a dark place. You've been planted in the place where Satan's throne is.
Thank you for joining us for this weekly edition of A Call to the Nation with Carter Conlon. In the book of Revelation, we find the church in Pergamum was teaching perverted grace, replacing liberty with license. It taught that under God's grace, you could go out and commit sin with no consequences.
In other words, to see how close you can get to hell without being burned. Let's join Carter now with more of his message taken from Revelation chapter 2 titled, The Church at Satan's Throne. Revelation chapter 2, beginning at verse 12, the church at Satan's throne. And to the angel, that means the pastor of the church in Pergamos, right.
These things says he who has the sharp two-edged sword. Now keep in mind this is from the mouth of Christ himself. He is examining and proving that which is the testimony of his life on earth through his people. I know your works and where you dwell where Satan's throne is. I know your works and where you dwell where Satan's throne is. And you hold fast to my name and did not deny my faith even in the days in which Antipas was my faithful martyr who was killed among you where Satan dwells. But I have a few things against you because you have there those who hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the children of Israel to eat things sacrificed to idols and to commit sexual immorality.
Thus you also have those who hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans which thing I hate. Repent or else I will come to you quickly and fight against them with the sword of my mouth. He who has an ear, let him hear what the spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give some of the hidden manna to eat.
And I will give him a white stone and on the stone a new name written which no one knows except him who receives it. Now here's a church that was situated in a place so dark that Jesus himself described it as the location where Satan could rightly claim his throne of rulership. This church was in a dark place. Jesus does not throw out idle words.
Doesn't say something just for dramatic effect. He said to Pergamos, you've been planted in the place where Satan's throne is. First John 2 16 tells us this location, it both represented and offered all that this fallen world holds out to those who love it.
That's what he's talking about. This is where Satan rules and this is where he offers to the world everything it loves. The lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh and the pride of life is of the world.
Jesus said it's not of the Father but it's of the world. And this is where this church was. You might say that Pergamos was the Times Square of its day. Where everything that the world had with all its billboards and all its lights and all its debauchery was there for the offering. Where people just sat in bleachers, may I put it that way, just to look at it and watch it and long for it as they watched the debauchery and the immorality of even the advertising all around them.
Where people paraded half naked offering their bodies to be painted and to be photographed with tourists. And to the church of Pergamos he said, I know your works where you dwell where Satan's throne is in verse 13 and you hold fast to my name. Through everything that this church had to endure they still lifted up the name of Jesus.
They had not forsaken his name. They had not gone to generic small g god as some churches do to get the masses to come in. They held up the name of Jesus.
The way, the truth and the life. They held up the claims of Jesus. They held up the cross of Jesus.
They didn't eradicate the blood from their songs. They didn't try to make religion palatable to the masses so they could fill their stadiums and their coffers. They held up the claims of Jesus.
The rightful lawful claim of Christ to every life that claims to belong to him. They didn't hold it back. They held fast to his name. And he says, and you did not deny my faith.
This church held to its mission believing that by faith it could still be accomplished. Even though they had faced opposition and even though someone called Antipas. Someone they had loved and was known in this work and perhaps had been even instrumental in its formation. This man Antipas had been killed while still among them.
Didn't die a natural death. He was killed during the season of this church. Obviously it was something that was very fresh on everybody's minds and brought a measure of sorrow just at the thought of it. Obviously when this happened to Antipas there might have been people who said this church can't go forward now.
It's going to stop dead in its tracks because this man Antipas was the strength of it. The motivation behind it. But they had gone on. They had held to the name of Jesus. They had not denied the faith that they were given a mission.
The mission was to be a testimony of the power, the love, the reality of God right where Satan's throne is or was in that generation. That was their mission. They hadn't caved. They hadn't bowed to sorrow. They hadn't turned away because of seeming defeat from time to time.
But they pressed through these times of fear and disappointment and they had continued their mission even though they were in a difficult place. It must have seemed in the natural that this church was unstoppable. People who visited this church must have felt that it could endure any storm that it had to face. After all, if a church can exist in a place like that, what could possibly bring it down?
What could possibly weaken it to the point where its testimony would be lost? And there was a lot of truth to that. The church was solid. It had a future. It had great strength. It had a history. It held to the name of Jesus Christ. It had a mission and it was still on that mission. It hadn't abandoned it and still believed that in Christ it could be accomplished. But I think more than a few people among them had forgotten that they were in the place where Satan's throne is. It can happen. The church can lose its guard.
It can become casual. Just assume, as Adam and Eve once did, that it's just always going to be that way. God's just going to come down in the garden at a prescribed time every day and it's just going to be that way.
Every time we get together, he's going to be there. Genesis chapter 3 and verse 1 tells us the serpent was more cunning than any beast in the field. Remember, Pergamos was in the place where Satan's throne is. We expect the devil to pick it. We expect the devil to roar. We expect him to do a lot of different things that are recognizable, but we don't expect him to come in as a serpent. A serpent comes in subtly, quietly, hidden. As he came into the garden, secretly, silently, he wound his way into the very first place where God had planted a human testimony of his glory. He didn't come roaring into the garden of Eden. He came in as a serpent comes in.
That's why his nature is described as the nature of a serpent. He came into the garden subtly, came in quietly, came in without fanfare. He wrapped himself around the minds and the hearts of Adam and Eve.
Then he began to whisper into their ears. You can read it yourself in Genesis chapter 3. I'm paraphrasing it, but here's technically what he said to the first testimony of God's glory in the first place. He said, did God really tell you that there are certain things you should not touch? Did God tell you there are certain things you should not taste? Did God tell you?
Did he really mean there are certain things that you should not do? God himself knows that these things are good and will open your eyes to give you a mind just like his. And that in yourself, you will have the power to say, though he has warned against this, both God and I now know that this is good. That's what the devil said to Adam and Eve. You read it yourself in Genesis 3. You'll have a mind like God and you will be able to say, and of course the devil doesn't come to them and say you'll be in rebellion to God.
They wouldn't have bought that. No, you and God will be in agreement. You see, your mind will be opened and what God said, you should not touch or handle or taste. Suddenly there'll be a revelation given you and you'll have a mind just like God and you'll be able to say as God does, this is good.
Though God has said, it isn't. In Genesis 3, 6 says, when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, remember where the devil is, you find the lust of the flesh. That it was pleasant to the eyes, you find the lust of the eyes. And a tree desired to make one wise, you find where the devil is the pride of life. The three things that are of the world were right there and Eve fell right into that temptation and her husband Adam with her.
She took of its fruit and she ate and she also gave to her husband with her and he ate. And when they did, sin with its accompanying deception and heartache entered the human race. Hence where we are today. All of the heartache and some of you have been the victims of sin. You know what that's all about, you know what it feels like. Some have known the captivity of sin, the hopelessness, the despair. Some of you were on the edge of suicide before Christ came and touched your life and opened your prison door. You know exactly the wages of sin are still death.
The payment is still the same, it hasn't changed no matter who says what. The wages of sin is still death. Now even though Satan became the prince of this world, God still had a people through whom his glory could still be manifested. And through whom darkness could still be pushed back even where Satan's throne is.
God still has a people no matter how dark it gets. Our purpose in this world is not just to exist, is not just to survive, is not just to sing songs and talk about how good God is. Our purpose in this world is as long as the time exists is to push darkness back and make a way for people. Men, women and children to come out of darkness and into the life and light of God through Jesus Christ. We are called to be a victorious church. We are called to be a triumphant church. We're called to be a church on a mission. We're called to be a church that lifts up the name of Jesus unashamedly in this generation where his name is not spoken by many anymore.
We're called to be a testimony that has to be reckoned with in every generation. And this is what Pergamos was, a victorious church right at the place of Satan's throne. Right at the place where outside of her doors, I have no doubt, every delectable pleasure of hell was on display and offered for humanity. God planted a church right there. That's what God does. Once in a while he says to the devil, you think you own this real estate? Well, I'm going to show you you don't own anything.
I'll show you who's in charge. And you would think, what could ever bring this testimony down? What could ever cause a weakness to come in?
What could ever break apart its unity? What could ever produce something that would take away the testimony? It would have seemed so victorious, but the piercing eyes of Jesus saw something. And that's been the cry of my heart, say, Jesus, walk the testimony of this church. You know what's in the heart. You know who's here. You know who has the devil wrapped around them.
You know whose ears are being tickled by his tongue. God, you know. And for the sake of those that you died for, for the sake of the testimony of your church, for the sake of the people, Jesus, speak to us. Speak to our hearts, Lord. If you see something that we don't, then speak to us about it. See, what Jesus saw in Pergamos was the serpent in the sanctuary, winding himself around the hearts and minds of some of the people and whispering into their ears.
And here's what he was whispering. Verse 14, I have a few things against you, because you have there those who hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols and to commit sexual immorality. And thus, in other words, also because of this, you also have those who hold to the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which I hate.
If you want to know if Christ hates something, he hates the doctrine of the Nicolaitans. Now here's what they were teaching. There were people in Pergamos who were getting their feeding somewhere else. They weren't satisfied with what was being taught perhaps in that church. And so they were going to other places, listening to other preachers. And they were coming in and their minds were now divided, their hearts were now divided. And here's what these teachers were teaching the people. They were telling them, it's okay to touch things God says you shouldn't touch. Where have we heard that before? It's okay to taste what God says you shouldn't taste.
It's okay to have sexual activity of any kind, not just intercourse, sexual activity of any kind outside of the bond of marriage between a man and a woman. It's okay because grace covers it all. That's what they were teaching. One of the early church fathers and writers, Clement of Alexandria, here's what he said about the Nicolaitans.
They abandoned themselves to pleasure like goats, leading a life of self-indulgence. Their teaching perverted grace and replaced liberty with license. In other words, their teaching replaced the freedom that God gives because of grace to turn away from sin and they made it a license to commit sin without consequence. Jesus said he hates that doctrine.
He hates it. You give it any name you want where we take grace and it becomes this incredible covering to go out and sin. This incredible covering to see how close we can get to hell without being burned.
See how many things in the world we can taste and touch and handle. The question I have for you is what's in your heart if that's the way you want to live your Christian testimony? What's in your heart if you want to go out and dance in clubs on Friday night and come here and pretend that you love Jesus on Sunday morning? What's in your heart, sir?
That woman beside you is not your wife. What's in your heart? What's in your heart?
What's in your heart, those who want to go out and you just want to be as close to the world as you can be? Because of course you see grace covers it all and there are no shortage of preachers teaching that in this generation. But what does the Bible say about this stuff? Do people in this generation even care? You know some people don't care anymore. They found their teachers, they've got their serpentine theology, they've embraced it. They don't really care what the Bible says anymore. They don't care what historians said. They don't care about the damage it does to the church of Jesus Christ.
They give it some fancy name and they say this is, oh where did I hear this before? You will have a mind just like God. You'll have a new revelation of grace. God didn't mean you shouldn't touch that or taste that or partake of that. And the day you do, you see you will understand grace like God does.
Your mind will be open. 1 Corinthians chapter 6 beginning at verse 9. Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God?
Do you not know that? Now Paul's talking to the Corinthians. The Corinthians were very much like the New Yorkers of their time. In Corinth they had a temple on the pinnacle of the hell with a thousand prostitutes. And fornication became an act of worship. And Paul was dealing with this.
Paul was dealing with people coming into the true gospel of Jesus Christ who were trying to kind of squeeze in some of their former practices believing that well this, it's at least a little better than it used to be. I used to fornicate with all kinds of people and that's only one person. Doesn't God accept that? I mean obviously we love each other.
Isn't this okay? But Paul's telling them do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Now he's talking to people who are continuing in these practices.
I'm not talking about people who once struggled with it or turned from it or still have to fight the tendencies. But he goes on, he says, Neither fornicators, people who engage in sexual activity outside of the bond of marriage between one man and one woman, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. Do not be deceived. Do not be deceived folks. Do not be deceived. Do not let some hyper-graced preacher lead you into these practices and tell you this is okay. It's not okay.
Do not be deceived. We're not saved to do these things. Paul goes on and says in verse 11, And such were some of you, but you are washed, but you were sanctified. You were justified in the name of our Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of God. Sanctified means you were set apart to glorify God and you were given the power to maintain that separation from your old lifestyle. Don't be deceived. Paul says you can't go back there.
You can't do the things you left behind. You are a new creation in Christ Jesus. We're a testimony of God. The book of Hebrews chapter 10. I'll just read this to you, verses 28 and 29. Anyone who rejected Moses' law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses.
Of how much worse punishment do you suppose? Will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, countered the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the spirit of grace? In other words, we don't have the liberty to carry on in sin any longer when we come to Christ.
God gives us the power to be a new people. But holding the grace of God or the truth of God in unrighteousness leads people to a debased mind. A corrupt mind, the scripture says. A darkened mind. Jesus himself said if the light that is in you be darkness, how great is that darkness? If we've taken the truth of God and we've made it something it's not supposed to be, how do you get out of that darkness? What is that darkened mind? What does the darkened mind say? I know what is good and I know what is evil in spite of what God has said. It's Eden all over again. See, nothing really ever changes.
It's just different people in different generations. In Revelation chapter 2, Jesus said, Repent or else I'll come to you quickly and fight against them with the sword of my mouth. In other words, turn quickly from this reasoning which I hate or else many of you will soon find me as your adversary and not your friend.
I'll fight against you, he said. Turn. Turn from this crooked thinking. Turn from this thinking, this perversion of grace. Folks, it's not just a marginal faction in the church. It's permeating the church in America today. Turn from this perversion of grace. This dark understanding of what the Christian life is all about or you'll live one day to find God said my word is against you, not for you.
You come into my presence, you feel strangely alienated from me. He says, to those who do, he who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him overcomes, I'll give some of the hidden manna to eat. In other words, I will give you strength, supernatural strength and provision to become all that I've called you to be. I will take you from image to image and glory to glory even as by the Spirit of the Lord. I will raise you up. I will show you what true pleasure really is.
I will show you where life really is found. I'll give you strength you don't have right now. But on your part, just get up and do what is right. That's all I ask you to do. Do what is right.
Stop making excuses for bad behavior. Do what you know is right and if you make the choice to do that, I will give you a provision that is not visible to those who don't walk with me in truth and in the Spirit. I'll give you a provision of God, a provision of life. It's resurrection life.
It's the power of God. I'll open the Word of God to you. This book will live in your heart, live in your mind. I'll change your character. I'll take you from where you are and I'll make you into something totally different. And men and women will look at your life and they're not going to see you in some disco trying to pretend you're a Christian. You'll be standing there with the glory of God upon you and they will know you belong to me.
Sin is sin. And I'm called by God's mercy to turn from it and I am given the provision by His grace to have the power to not go back to it. I'm given the power to be a new creation in Christ Jesus. I'm given the power to take down everything of hell that opposes me. I'm given the power to be a witness and a testimony in a darkened time and in a darkened place where Satan's throne actually is. I'm given the power to be a witness of the reality of God among men. Just make the choice. Just make the choice. That's the cry of my heart.
