PERGAMUM: THE DOOM OF ERROR
Revelation 2:12—17 (contd)
IN spite of the faithfulness of the church at Pergamum, there is error. There are those who hold the teaching of Balaam and the doctrine of the Nicolaitans. We have already discussed these people in connection with Ephesus, and we meet them again when we come to study the letter of Thyatira. They sought to persuade Christians that there was nothing wrong with a prudent conformity to the world’s standards.
Those who are not prepared to be different need not start on the Christian way at all. The most common word for a Christian in the New Testament is hagios, whose basic meaning is different or separate. The Temple is hagios because it is different from other buildings; the Sabbath day is hagios because it is different from other days; God is supremely hagios because he is totally different from human beings; and the Christian is hagios because he or she is different from others.
We must be clear what this difference means, for there is a paradox in it. It is Paul’s summons to the Corinthians that they should be different from the world. ‘Come out from them’ (2 Corinthians 6:17). This difference from the world does not involve separation from it or hatred for it. Paul says in writing to the very same church: ‘I have become all things to all people, so that I might by any means save some’ (1 Corinthians 9:22). It was Paul’s claim that he could get on with and communicate with all kinds of people; but–and here is the point–his getting on with them was that he might save some. It was not a question of bringing Christianity down to their level; it was a question of bringing them up. The fault of the Nicolaitans was that they were following a policy of compromise solely to save themselves from trouble.
It is the word of the risen Christ that he will make war with them. We must note that he did not say: ‘I will go to war with you’; he said: ‘I will go to war with them.’ His wrath was directed not against the whole Church but against those who were seducing it; for those who were led astray, he had nothing but pity.
It is the threat of the risen Christ that he will make war against them with the sword of his mouth. The Christ of the sword is a startling idea. Thinking of past conquerors and comparing them with Jesus Christ, the poet wrote:
Then all these vanished from the scene,
Like flickering shadows on a glass;
And conquering down the centuries came
The swordless Christ upon an ass.
What then is the sword of Christ? The writer to the Hebrews speaks of the word of God which is sharper than any two-edged sword (Hebrews 4:12). Paul speaks of ‘the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God’ (Ephesians 6:17). The sword of Christ is the word of Christ.
In the word of Christ, there is conviction of sin; in it, we are confronted with the truth and thereby with our own failure to obey it. In the word of Christ, there is invitation to God; it convicts people of sin and then invites them back to the love of God. In the word of Christ, there is assurance of salvation; it convicts people of sin, it leads them to the cross and it assures them that there is no other name under heaven given among mortals by which we must be saved (Acts 4:12). The conquest of Christ is his power to win men and women to the love of God.
Barclay, W. (2004). The Revelation of John (3rd ed. fully rev. and updated., Vol. 1, pp. 102—104). Louisville, KY; London: Westminster John Knox Press.
On this day…
- Rome – 2025
- Ship – 2025
- Genesis 25 – 2024
- Genesis 24 – 2024
- I Will Build My Church – 2010
- The Bookends of Success – 2008
- I Choose to Trust – 2008
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.