Revelation 2:12-17 - Pergamum (Lesson)

“And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write: 'The words of him who has the sharp two-edged sword. I know where you dwell, where Satan's throne is. Yet you hold fast my name, and you did not deny my faith even in the days of Antipas my faithful witness, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells. But I have a few things against you: you have some there who hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, so that they might eat food sacrificed to idols and practice sexual immorality. So also you have some who hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans. Therefore repent. If not, I will come to you soon and war against them with the sword of my mouth. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it.”

The Commission

^12a"And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write,"

Pergamum's History

This letter is a sad testimony to the reality of compromise in the church. The believers in Pergamum withstood trials to the point of martyrdom and yet Satan was still able to find a gap in their defense and work his wily way into their doctrine. This church was located in the middle of a thriving, inland city. Tony Garland quotes Monty S. Mills as saying,

“Pergamum was a university city, famous for its library of 200,000 parchment scrolls, second only in size to the library of Alexandria in Egypt. Indeed, parchment was invented in Pergamum, for when its king decided to establish a library and enticed Alexandria’s librarian to head up his library, the Egyptian king banned the export of papyrus to Pergamum. This forced Pergamum’s scholars to find an alternate writing material, and they invented parchment. Parchment lasts much better than papyrus, so this invention played a big part in preserving the Bible for us.”

and Neil R. Lightfoot saying,

“It used to be common to credit Eumenes II, king of Pergamum shortly after 200 B.C., with the invention of parchment. Eumenes was building up his library to rival the great library of King Ptolemy in Alexandria. The king of Egypt moved to cut off the supply of papyrus to Pergamum, and in response Eumenes was forced to develop “parchment.” This story is true if taken in the sense that Eumenes was the first to make use of parchment or leather; for long before the second century, animal skins for writing were unquestionably in use. In Egypt, for example, mention is made of leather documents as far back as 2500 B.C. . . . So Eumenes was by no means the first to use animal skins for writing, although he may have developed and perfected a better process for treating the skins. Whatever the case, Pergamum and parchment are indisputably connected, the word “parchment” being derived from the Greek term pergamene."

Revelation 2:12-17 - Pergamum (Outline)

I.       Commission – And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write:

1.      Pergamos/Pergamum

2.      20 mi inland, north Smyrna

Revelation 2:8-11 - Smyrna (Lesson)

“And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: The words of the first and the last, who died and came to life. 'I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich) and the slander of those who say that they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who conquers will not be hurt by the second death.”

      John's Commission was to write “to the angel of the church in Smyrna.” When John wrote the Apocalypse, Polycarp was probably the bishop of the church in Smyrna. His story, which we will look at shortly, is one of the greatest in all of recorded martyrdom, certainly the greatest in Smyrna.

      The city of Smyrna was a very prosperous, affluent society, it was one of the great centers of learning and culture of its day. Although 35 miles inland from the Aegean Sea, it nonetheless was a thriving seaport because of an inlet which provided a fantastic harbor for ocean-going vessels. A lot of commerce passed through its gates as well since almost all of the produce from the highly fertile Hermus valley used the city as a gateway to the rest of the world. Wine was also a high-production item with a lively trade going on. Smyrna was also considered what was called a “free city”. This meant that it was allowed to be self-governed without any interference from the Roman government; in fact, the Roman judges actually used the city for a number of court assemblies.

Revelation 2:8-11 - Smyrna (Outline)

Revelation 2:8-11 – And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: The words of the first and the last, who died and came to life. 'I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich) and the slander of those who say that they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who conquers will not be hurt by the second death.

1. Commission – To the angel of the church in Smyrna write
   1. Polycarp, bishop, or recent, John's disciple
   2. Rich city, learning and culture, had a good harbor, all produce of Hermus valley came through, wine trade
   3. Free city, independent laws, Roman judges held court
   4. Idolatry, Cybele, Apollo, Askelpios, Aphrodite, Homer's monument and birthplace, Acropolis with Mt. Pagos, temple huge Zeus, replaced by Emperor worship
   5. David Guzik - “In 23 A.D. Smyrna won the privilege (over 11 other cities) to build the first temple to worship the Emperor Tiberius Caesar. Smyrna was a leading city in the Roman cult of Emperor worship.”
      

Revelation 2:1-7 - Ephesus (Lesson)

"To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: "The words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands. 'I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false. I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name's sake, and you have not grown weary. But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent. Yet this you have: you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.' "

The things which are...

     The book of Revelation was written to believers at large, although it was directed to seven specific churches. God delivered this book to the churches by imparting the message to His Son, Jesus Christ, who then passed it along to angels, who in turn told it to John, who wrote it down and mailed it to the seven churches, and from there it spread throughout all of Christendom. Chapter 1:20 of Revelation ends the section named in chapter 1 and verse 19, "the things which have been", and chapter 2 commences the section entitled "the things which are". This section is further broken down into seven sections; each section is mini-letter composed to one of the seven churches to which the entire book is addressed. These churches are: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea. At this point, a question can be raised: Why these seven churches? God does not explain to John to us why, but we can hypothesize. A feasible reason could be that it is because although these churches were not all the biggest and best churches (even though some were), they represented the gamut of church conditions that God wanted the universal church to be aware of and know how to respond to. All seven letters are written with a similar construction. Each is composed with a Commission, Commencement, Commendation, Condemnation, Command, Coming, and Challenge; although, there are a few letters missing an element of this list or with a couple elements switched in order. We will be studying the first of the seven churches, Ephesus, and chapter 2 verses 1-7 are written to this particular church.

Revelation 2:1-7 - Ephesus (Outline)

"To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: "The words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands. 'I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false. I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name's sake, and you have not grown weary. But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent. Yet this you have: you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.' "

The things which are...

1. Commission - To the angel of the church in Ephesus write:
1. Evidence angel leaders, God not write to angels, multiple elders complicates
2. 7 churches, not biggest/best, maybe based on condition

Revelation 1:12-21 - The Son Of Man (Lesson)

"Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest. The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength. When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, “Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades. Write therefore the things that you have seen, those that are and those that are to take place after this. As for the mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand, and the seven golden lampstands, the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches."

     We've looked at John's greeting, introduction, and prayer of praise in the beginning of the book of Revelation. We saw to whom he wrote, and we heard the voice. Now we will begin to try to grasp what he saw when he turned around.
     At first glance, John sees seven golden lampstands. The first thing to observe is that it is a plurality of lampstands, the image that popped into my mind when I first read this is the Jewish menorah, the lampstand with seven candlesticks. This is different though, it does not mention multiple candlesticks, but rather multiple lampstands. Each of these lampstands represents an individual church. It's interesting the way in which the number seven is related to the church. There are seven lampstands for the seven churches, the book is addressed to only seven churches, and, as a sidenote, the apostle Paul wrote to exactly seven churches. John also see Someone in the midst of the lampstands. This is Christ, and it is comforting to see Him in the midst of the lampstands because we will see Him in this vision as our Great High Priest. Here He is tending to the churches: an OT priest would be responsible to trim, clean, and refill the lampstands in the temple, and in the same way Christ maintains the church by trimming out those who do not belong, cleaning out sin, and empowering us with grace.