If you've ever seen a traumatic event, It can spook you. To where you don't want to go back to that situation again. And thus the saying: you got to get back on the horse. or else it leaves without you.
So Balaam's tactics and the Nicolaitans who justified The sin. That was going on there. It was marching them out of the church, whether they attended the building or not. and onto the battlefield for war against Christ. You're listening to Cross-Reference Radio with our pastor and teacher, Rick Gaston.
Rick is the pastor of Calvary Chapel, Mechanicsville. Pastor Rick is currently teaching through the book of Revelation. Please stay with us after today's message to hear more information about cross-reference radio, specifically how you can get a free copy of this teaching. And now, here's Pastor Rick with today's edition of Cross-Reference Radio in Revelation chapter 2. The Odium Theologum.
Theological hatred. subsided among the people, Christians Intermingled more freely with pagans, even married them.
So here's Will Durant saying this. time of Peace between Rome and the church beginning in about 314 AD. That was when this union happened. But it parallels what was going on. In Pergamus, over a hundred years before Constantine came along.
And you just notice, you say, wait a minute, I've seen this in history for the church overall, not just in Progamas. And Pergamus, they were having these Mixed relationships And it just brought sin, and that's why they're going to get rebuked. Like Israel in Hosea's day, This church Was leaving their first love.
Now, here it comes. By adding other loves. You can't do that. Ephraim is joined to idols. Why?
Who would be so? What? Spiritually deceived. and accountable. A tragic day for Christendom.
That continues to this day. When peace was made in such a way that the Christians began to do as the world does. And so this phrase in church history This phase in church history led to, eventually, Roman Catholicism and the papacy. And that comes with the church at Dyatira, which we see parallels there. Then came Roman emperor.
Flavius Theodosius. And he comes into power around 379 years after Christ. But around 391 years. I know if I get you lost on the numbers, you can just play back the message and Do the calculations there.
Well, he banned all forms of pagan worship. He considered himself, and as did others, a pious Christian. He meant to do well, but you know, good intentions are not enough. Good intentions can get people harmed killed. Messed up.
So he made church membership compulsory. What did that do? That forced unconverted people to fill churches Unregenerate, impenitent people in high places still. Serving their pagan gods, but now in positions of authority within the government and within the churches having a say-so. This was the worst calamity that could ever befall.
The church. And of course we're talking about Europe is where this was taking place Western civilization. History is replete with the plunge of Christianity into apostasy in Christ's name, beginning with this. work at this phase. We're still in historical Um phase of Pergamus and what happened to Christianity.
How did we get to the dark ages?
Well this was the big step.
So, while Christianity converted the world, the world began converting Christianity. And pulled it off. Pretty well. The Dark Age, the Middle Ages are appropriately called the Dark Ages. The church that was once chased to death by the Caesars was now being embraced to death.
By the Caesars. That crafty devil. We're supposed to be aware of these things. Again, interlopers calling themselves Christians soon led persecutions. on various peoples.
The Jews and on devout Christians. Their hatred is seen by the time John Wycliffe and M. Men like John Wycliffe and William Tyndale come along. They dug his, William Tyndale, they dug his body up some almost 80 years after his death just to drag it through the street in contempt because he dared translate the scripture. into English.
It's the kind of hatred. that Satan had.
Sowed. and Western civilization in the name of Christ. These weren't pagans digging him up. They were. but they weren't flying that flag out loud.
And so we now come back to the church that Jesus was addressing. These things says he who has a sharp two-edged sword.
Well, that's scripture in judgment in this context, with one edge of that sword. Converts to Christ are convicted unto salvation. You can't convert them if you can't hurt them. You have got to strike deep, and so there is that repentance that woe is me, I am an unclean man. Otherwise, who needs Christ?
Why do I need Jesus? If really I'm not that bad. But you are that bad. And you need them because there's nobody else. The other edge of this double-edged sword.
cuts towards the impenitent sinner and the apostates. Who undo? The things that Christ wants to do every chance they get. But this sword cuts unto eternal judgment. And this is part of our message to the lost world.
The word of God is a sword. It cuts two ways. You can let it cut you to conviction and salvation. Or you can just let it cut you. eternal.
Damnation. is up to you. In verse thirteen, Jesus speaking to them, says, I know your works, where you dwell, where Satan's throne is, and you hold fast my name, and did not deny my faith, even in the days in which Atipas, my faithful martyr, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells. You know, you'd love to hear when Moses went into the tabernacle and spoke to God, and he heard the voice of God, and the apostles heard Jesus. You'd like to I'd like to know was it a monotone voice?
Or was he passionate like me?
Alright.
Well, not really.
Well, anyway, coming back to this. I have to take these little breaks every now and then, trying to recall the information that I find to be so special and not confuse you. Is um Quite it. Pleasant challenge.
Well This I know your works, repeated to all the churches to this very day. Christ will look at this church and say, I know what you guys are doing there. And we say we know. We know that. But In every You buy aluminum foil, the little long thing, and every one of those is a free hat.
And you can shape it and put it on and the government can't read your thoughts. And maybe God can't hear you either. I hope you laugh at that because it is ridiculous. The part about God hearing, the part about it blocking out the government, it works, I'm told. Ask Pastor David.
He's the one that told me. No, he knows. Yeah. All right. Anyway.
This church, now this is important to us, they did good things. But we're losing Christ because of worse things.
So you find a church, you say, you know, they do some good things. Maybe they have a pantry or something, but they do worse things. What could it be? What could it possibly be?
Well They're not preaching the word of God. They're not calling sinners sinners. They're hiding the truth from people. They're suppressing the truth in unrighteousness. At that point, who cares that you have a good soup kitchen?
He says, I know where you dwell.
Well, he knows the surroundings that impact us.
So we shouldn't say, well, you know, God doesn't know what's happening, He does know what's happening. The culture. Had walked into this church. and was allowed to infect it. And God knew all the time that they were susceptible to this, but this was the outpost of Christ.
They were supposed to be ready, and it would not have taken much to say, get out. where Satan's throne is. This is John's way of saying that here in Progamus, Evil was at its wicked worst. The citizens gave Satan. Power.
They wanted what he had to offer, even if they didn't recognize him as Satan. The citizens gave. into Satan without calling him Satan. still happens. A throne.
Of deadly deception. John chapter 10, verse 10: Jesus speaking: The thief does not come except to steal and to kill. And to destroy. You mean there's more that he can do than just kill? Mm-hmm.
He can destroy others. Whatever else this verse means about Satan's throne, which is mobile. Consider this. Pergamus, the city, is no longer there. It no longer has a center of mayhem.
What the reformers called What we would what we know is Rome's Vatican City. They call that the seat of Satan. Once The seat of Satan was found in Nazi Germany's Berlin. If you lived in Stalin's Russia, You could say the seat of Satan was in Moscow. How about the North Koreans?
Under Kim Young-an, They would say Pyongyang. That's where the seat of Satan is. What if you lived in the neighborhood of George Soros? His house would be the seat of Satan.
So that's what counts: our understanding of what's happening on the battlefield. Not just, you know, making a little Bible study and notes. What are you going to do with it? Clearly he is at work on earth. And he doesn't need a pitchfork.
All he needs is a ripe culture. And a culture is made up of people. Jesus said, Get behind me, Satan, you are an offense to me.
Well you are not mindful of the things of God, but of the things of men. And so, yeah, the altar of Zeus was there, it dominated the landscape. Zeus was their king of gods. But the throne of Satan is behind it all.
So he says to them, to this church, hold fast my name. He said that you did hold fast my name. And did not deny my faith.
Well, they were once. Loyal, but that loyalty can just become team loyalty if you're not careful. Unbelievers can be loyal to their cause without Christ. They can die and be martyred for their causes without Christ. Ours is supposed to be filled with truth.
It's supposed to mean something.
Now, I don't know that a lot of Christians are aware of this, but did you know that God esteems His word above his name. It says here that they held fast to his name. But when they let the Nicolaitans and the spirit of Balaam into the church, they were throwing out his word. Psalm 138, verse 2. The psalmist says, I will worship toward your holy temple and praise your name.
For your loving kindness. and your truth. For you have magnified your word. Above your name. That should mean something to a lot of Christians.
What I have found in my Christian experience is that a lot of Christians really don't care too much for the word, they can't sit. For a forty For a 20-minute sermon like you get every Sunday. Ha ha ha ha.
Well, I can get through this. But that's what it takes. For Gamus was bold under persecution. In the days of Antipas, But It faded, and you have to ask It did it become largely outward after seeing Antipas Murdered for his faith. Did they lose their thunder after that?
Did that spook them to the point? If you've ever seen a traumatic event, It can spook you. To where you don't want to go back to that situation again. And thus the saying: you got to get back on the horse. Or else it leaves without you.
So Balaam's tactics and the Nicolaitans were justified. The sin That was going on there. It was marching them out of the church, whether they attended the building or not. and on to the battlefield for war against Christ. And that's what he's going to tell them straight out.
You're going to fight against me if you keep this up. And that Nicolaitan heresy.
Well, Balaam was letting in the heretics. The Nicolatan heresy was telling them it's okay to go sin at the altars of Zeus. and a skepilis and any other one. Just ask for forgiveness. And just make sure you keep going to church.
And that was the root of antinomianism. And that is a corruption of the doctrine of salvation, which is an essential doctrine. The rapture, as much as we love it, is not an essential doctrine. Whether you've heard of the rapture or not, it won't keep you out of heaven. But to hear of the salvation plan of God and to reject that will damn your soul.
So, salvation is a big deal, and the Nicolaitans were corrupting that very doctrine. They created this Christopaganism environment, which is a bootleg. Smuggling and cuddling up to things that come out of hell. You know, the bootleggers would hide whiskey. Which was at that point con their whiskey was contraband, so they'd hide it in their boots.
to get it into whatever environment they wanted to.
So that heresy was not a joke, and that's why the church in Ephesus hated it. But here the Church of Pegamus They were buddying up to it. And this is happening to this day. We have quasi-Christians who frequent their churches. But they're looking for salvation without obedience.
And that falls along this line. We know that if we confess our sins, He is faithful and He is just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. But if you're not confessing your sins, because you have a problem with it. then he's going to have a problem with you.
Well, uh This Critique of this church was not true of every single person in the church. There were some still faithful, but again, they were unable. to keep out The infiltrators. He says, even in the days in which Antipas, my faithful Antipas was my faithful martyr. He says, back then you didn't flinch.
A resolve. Then loomed over that church. to be faithful. But something happened. And now it was gone.
And he brings up. better days in that assembly of believers. One of their own. was murdered. for being One of them.
That hit home. Antipas was my faithful martyr. We should have expected to see him in Smyrna. As I mentioned, Very little is written about him. But what is said is astounding.
How would you like God to say, this is my faithful witness? This It's right up there with, well done, good and faithful servant. But this servant had blood on him.
Well that was then, this is now. And so this reads as though in that day the church did not allow the errors. They now harbor. In Antipas' day, they did not allow this stuff.
Now they're holding it. and protecting it. Did they lose their gatekeeper when they lost? Antipas, I think they lost some of their nerve. Anyway.
moving forward with this Uh who was killed among you. In other words, the Lord is saying, you never forgot that, this happened to you. Imagine if it happened in your church. Imagine if persecutors showed up and killed one of us. You wouldn't forget it.
You'd always remember it. Of all the things that can kill a man, this holds the greatest honour. to die for Christ. Of all the things that could keep a person alive, the greatest one is to live for Christ. Very simple teachings that our children should be exposed to at an early age.
So the church survived the murder of Antipas.
So what does Satan do? We changed tactics. He devised an effective strategy of mixing rather than murdering.
Well, again, you can't beat them. Let's join them. Thus, the association to Balaam.
So he says, where Satan dwells. And again, residing wherever there is ongoing. Attacks against the Christians you have Satan dwelling there too. The um source of all the Church's trouble.
Now Satan is not limited to Lucifer. You know, some folks you think of Satan, you think you're talking about Lucifer.
Well, he's included. But it's much larger than that. The armies that are under his Influence the demons, the minion, They make up Satan. Satan is the enemy overall.
So you don't have to face Lucifer to be in contact with Satan. And if you are in contact with Satan, with Lucifer, then you are automatically in contact with Satan. Too bad the letter to the church at Pergamos did not stop right there.
So now we come to verse 14. 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.
Well, the Lord has Two people, two things he's going to mention, which created many problems for them, created a few things. Again, the Balaam ism and the Nicolatin ism produced a few things. It justified indulging in heathen immoralities. in ecumenicism. That means, oh, all religions are okay.
No, they're not. There's only one that's okay for us. And that, of course, is our Christianity according to the Scriptures. And so they were no longer repulsed by living against. The world and what it had to offer, and living for Christ.
It used to repulse them to think of going down to the temple of Zeus. and participating in a sacrifice. Or having these sexual relationships that were contrary to Scripture, contrary to their God. This was beginning to happen in the church. This isn't hard to believe, there are churches like this to this very day.
Conviction bites guilty people. And so the guilty either repent or they try to get away from the conviction in some way, even if it means destroying the message and the messenger. Martin Luther Said, I don't know how not to offend guilty people. They're automatically. guilty and if that offends them that just Magnifies their guilt.
John chapter 16, verse 18: Jesus said about the Holy Spirit: when he has come, he will convict the world of sin. and of righteousness, and of judgment.
Well, if you don't have enforcement On things such as sin and righteousness, then it is a philosophy. But Christianity is not a philosophy. It's a reality. The world The world would like to. Buy the world a home.
Furnish it with love. Apple trees and honeybees and snow white. Circle dubs. They like to teach the world to sing in perfect harmony. They'd like to buy the world of Coke and keep it company.
It's the real thing. You gotta admit, it's a beautiful jingle. I mean, it's just one of the Classics, but that typifies the world. They want to do all that without Christ. And Coke is high in fructose.
I counsel you from the pulpit. Don't talk about it. As refreshing as it is. It's evil. Your liver can't handle it.
Anyway, Well I don't know where we were, something about this society. What this creates when you water down the gospel is you create a toothless and subdued assembly that still calls itself a church. but it takes teeth to bite back at the serpent. The doctrine of Balaam.
Well Balam. They were harboring the foes that were teaching anti-separation from sin, which Balaam taught. He taught to Balak the king to seduce the Israelites. The story is in Numbers chapter 31. In earlier chapters, Numbers 23, 24, he summoned Balaam to curse the people of God, but the curses weren't working.
So Balaam then said to the king of Moab, You will never conquer this people with a curse. And you will never conquer them with troops. Try sending in the women. And Balak did just that, and it began to work. He taught how to get God's people to destroy themselves.
By alliances that were unholy, that were forbidden. And the church in Pergamus. By being sexually immoral and participating in pagan activities. were falling just like those who fell in the days of Balaam there uh in in Peor. In the ancient world.
2 Corinthians Paul dealing with this in Corinth. And by the way, Corinth responded to Paul's teachings. Pergamus did for a while, according to history, it seems like they did, but not very long. 2 Corinthians 6, do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what fellowship is righteousness with lawlessness?
And what communion has light with darkness? You teens, you copying this? Because you're up next. you will be matched with somebody. Every pot has a lid.
Uh Don't get a crackpot. Yeah, so I'm gonna go ahead and get a little bit of a message. Many Christians marry Christians and still have trouble.
So you're gonna have to fight for every inch. victory there is. And to do that, It really helps to know the Word of God. Uh This has been Cross-Reference Radio with Pastor Rick Gaston. This program is a radio outreach of Calvary Chapel, Mechanicsville, in Mechanicsville, Virginia.
Pastor Rick has been teaching through the book of Revelation, but if you're interested in learning about a different book of the Bible, we have hundreds of past episodes available to listen to on demand. Just visit us online at crossreferenceradio.com and you'll find an archive of Pastor Rick's past teachings. While you're there, you can also find links to follow our program on your favorite podcast app, as well as links to get connected with us on Facebook and YouTube. There's also an interviews tab where you can learn more about Pastor Rick's heart for ministry.
Well, we hope you'll join us next time here on Cross Reference Radio. Hello.
