The End Time Prophecies The 7 Churches Pergamum

1. The End Time PropheciesThe 7 ChurchesPergamum Part 22 • Holding Fast the Faith– C. H. Spurgeon sermon 2007, Feb 5, 1888, Halley, H. H. (2000). Halley's Bible handbook with the New International Version. (Completely rev. and expanded.) (915916). Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan Publishing House. Ryrie study Bible: New American Standard Bible, 1995 update (Expanded ed.) (2009). Chicago: Moody Press. Ryrie, C. C. (1996). MacDonald, W., & Farstad, A. (1997). Believer's Bible Commentary : Old and New Testaments Nashville: Thomas Nelson Jamieson, R., Fausset, A. R., Fausset, A. R., Brown, D., & Brown, D. (1997). Ironside, H. A. (1920). Lectures on the Book of Revelation (3839). Neptune, N. J.: Loizeaux Brothers.;

2. Jesus the Author and Finisher • Jesus says to the church at Pergamum – “you hold fast My name, and did not deny My faith” • Notice, that the name of Christ is here made to be identical with the faith of Christ • The faith of Scripture has Christ for its center, Christ for its circumference, and Christ for its substance • His name - that is, the person, the character, the work, the teaching of Christ • This is the faith of Christians • The great doctrines of the gospel are all intimately connected with the Lord Jesus Christ himself • They are the rays, and he is the sun • We never hold the faith correctly unless we see the Lord Jesus to be the center of it • From our election onward to our glorification, Christ is all and in all • Jesus is the author and finisher of our faith • He is the sum and substance, the top and bottom of it • When we hold fast the name of our Lord, then we have not denied the faith • Let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith (Heb 12:1b-2a) Jesus is the focus, the author, and the finisher Of our faith – Christ is all in all

3. Denying the Faith • We can deny the faith by actually forsaking it • Some do so deliberately, and others because the ways of the world overcome them • We are told of some who went away from our Lord because of what he had taught • They cried, “This is a hard saying; who can hear it?” • If you are not prepared to accept hard sayings of Scripture, you need not profess to be disciples of Jesus • We are not to judge the Lord’s teaching by our sentiment,feelings, or opinions, we are to receive it by faith • We may not like all we read of in Scripture • But is it our place to pick and choose what parts to believe? – even if we think that it may be unfair in our eyes? • If we do not like it, can we deny it? • For example, when the Bible speaks of the doom of those who reject Jesus • Is this something we can ignore? Just not talk about sin or hell • Is it something we can choose not to believe? Or ignore in our preaching of Christ • What the Lord Jesus says is certain • For “he is the faithful and true witness,” and so we cannot turn from him, whatever his teaching may be There are difficult things to accept In the Bible, but that does not make Them untrue – We believe His Word

4. Denying the Faith • As we look at some in the Christian circles today we find that they are denying the faith • Pastor Rob Bell's Mars Hill Bible Church put on an art exhibit about the search for peace in a broken world • An artist in the show had included a quotation from Mohandas Gandh • A visitor to the exhibit had stuck a note next to the Gandhi quotation: "Reality check: He's in hell." Bell was struck • Rob Bells begins to reason as a man • Really? he recalls thinking. Gandhi's in hell? He is? We have confirmation of this? • Somebody knows this? Without a doubt? • And that somebody decided to take on the responsibility of letting the rest of us know? • So begins Bell's controversial best seller • Love Wins: A Book About Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived • In the book Bell concludes that a God of love could not send people to hell Rob Bell questions the clear teaching of Scripture on the doctrine of Hell

5. Denial of the Truth • The truth of salvation through the death and resurrection of Jesus is summed up in the Gospel of John, • Which promises "eternal life“ to those who believe and wrath to those who don’t • He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.” (John 3:36) • Bell, a tall, 40-year-old son of a Michigan federal judge, begs to differ • He suggests that the redemptive work of Jesus may be universal — meaning that, as his book's subtitle puts it, "every person who ever lived" could have a place in heaven, whatever that turns out to be • As transparent as this is to us who believe • Many so-called Christians follow Bell’s teaching – it appeals to their minds and allows them to believe what they think is right, and fair • But, all such teaching denies the truth of the Bible and the Sovereignty of God • For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths. (2 Tim 4:34) • Maybe Rob Bell missed this verse - Read Mark 9:47-48 Those who do believe in the Son will suffer the wrath of God, an eternity in the Lake of Fire

6. Holding Fast the Name of Christ • How should the Christian “Hold fast the name of Christ”? • By the full consent of our intellect, yielding up our mind to consider and accept the things which are told to us in His infallible Word – we yield to God • We hold fast the form of sound words, and accept all that God has revealed, because He has revealed it • Our motto is, “Let God be true, but every man a liar.” • When Christ speaks, we assent with our minds and consent with our hearts to all He declares • If we hold fast the name of Jesus, we must hold the faith in the love of it • We must store up in our affections all that our Lord teaches • We do not compromise on what the Bible tells us • It is God’s Word, and no man’s teaching is above it • We also hold it fast by holding it forth in the teeth of all opposition • We should never be ashamed or afraid of His Word – even though it may be offensive to the world • We must be willing to bear ridicule for Christ’s sake • For example: As creationists the world thinks that we are fools, questioning the “facts” of science • But we stand by His Word and His truth – Holding fast the name of Christ We believe that the Bible is the Infallible Word of God

7. Introduction • The Seven Churches of Revelation • This week Pergamum • Holding Fast the Name of Jesus • Tolerating compromise with the world Pergamum

8. The Seven Churches • In Revelation Chapters 2 and 3 • Christ addresses 7 churches • The seven churches addressed in chapters 2 and 3 were actual churches of John’s day • But they also represent types and conditions of churches in all generations • So these messages are directed toward us now • Living now in this current dispensation of grace – or the church age • The messages here are directly relevant to our present church and our present condition • This week we will look at Pergamum • Located about 45 miles N of Smyrna The 7 churches were 7 actual churches in John’s day but they also represent types and conditions of churches in all generations in the current dispensation

9. Pergamum • Pergamum was the capital of the ancient Greek kingdom of Pergamos • In 133 BC, the Pergamenian king bequeathed his realm to Rome • Located in the western part of Asia Minor north of Smyrna and about twenty miles from the Mediterranean Sea • Pergamos (modern Bergama) was built on a 1,000-foot hill in a broad, fertile plain about 20 miles inland from the Aegean Sea • It was a wealthy city with many temples devoted to idol worship and full of statues, altars, and sacred groves • Among its famous treasures was a large library of 200,000 volumes, later sent to Egypt as a gift from Anthony to Cleopatra • One of the products for which this city was famous was paper or parchment • It seems to have originated here, the paper itself being called pergamena • Although the glory of the ancient city has long since vanished, a small village named Bergama is located below the ruins of the old city • A nominal Christian testimony has continued in the town to modern times Ancient Pergamum was built on a 1,000 ft hill

10. PergamumSatan’s Seat • Pergamum was the home of extensive pagan worship • It boasts the first temple of the Caesar-cult, erected to Rome and Augustus in 29 b.c. • It was an important religious center where the pagan cults of Athena, Asclepius, Dionysus, and Zeus were prominent • On the acropolis in Pergamos was a huge, throne-shaped altar to Zeus • In addition, Asclepios, the god of healing, was the god most associated with Pergamos • His snake-like form is still the medical symbol today • The famous medical school connected to his temple mingled medicine with superstition • One prescription called for the worshiper to sleep on the temple floor • allowing snakes to crawl over his body and infuse him with their healing power Today’s medical symbol comes from Pergamum’s god of healing

11. The Message to Pergamum • Read Rev 2: 2-17– See below for the commonality in the messages

12. Elevation and Marriage • The parallel in the history of the church to the temptation and failure foreshadowed at Pergamos is all too evident to students of church history • Last week we saw that Smyrna was characterized by persecution which was true of the early church from about 75-312 AD • The two parts of the name “Pergamum” mean “elevation and marriage.” • With the so-called conversion of Constantine the Emperor and Edict of Milan in 313 AD • The time of persecution which the church had previously endured was replaced by a period in which the church was made the state religion • And so with the legalization of Christianity we see the church elevated to a place of power through the marriage of Christianity and the state 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th 11th 12th 13th 14th 15th 16th 17th 18th 19th 20th 21st Apostolic church - Ephesus Persecuted church - Smyrna State church - Pergamos Papal church - Thyatira The marriage of Church and State Reformed church - Sardis Missionary church - Philadelphia Apostate church - Laodicea The 7 distinct periods of church history

13. The Church and State • Under these circumstances it soon became popular to be a Christian, and the conscience of the church was quickly blurred • It became increasingly difficult to maintain a clear distinction between the church and the world and to preserve the purity of biblical doctrine • Though some benefit was secured by the successful defense of biblical truth by the Council of Nicea in a.d. 325 • The history of the three centuries which followed (~325-600 AD) is a record of increasing corruption of the church, departure from biblical doctrine, and an attempt to combine Christian theology with pagan philosophy • As a result the church soon lost its hope of the early return of Christ • Augustine’s Amillennialism, and the idea that the kingdom of God was ruling presently, among many other “new doctrines’ became widely excepted by the church • Also, Biblical simplicity was replaced by a complicated church organization which substituted human creeds and worship of Mary, the mother of our Lord, for true biblical doctrine • The church committed the same sin of which Israel was guilty in the Old Testament, namely, the worship of idols and union with the heathen world Augustine helped move the church and state together and his doctrines including Amillennialism and his allegorical method of interpretation remain today

14. The Sharp Two-Edged Sword • “And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write: The One who has the sharp two-edged sword says this: (Rev 2:12) • The church in Pergamum was faithful to the name of Christ, even to the point of martyrdom • But it was tolerant of false teachers—probably the same type of false teachers as those in Ephesus • Yet it seems that while in Ephesus the pastors as a body stood solidly against the false teachers • and that you cannot tolerate evil men, and you put to the test those who call themselves apostles, and they are not, and you found them to be false; (Rev 2:2) • Here in Pergamum the pastors, though themselves holding to the truth, tolerated within their ranks those who were false teachers • The false teaching proclaimed the right of Christians to indulge in pagan immoralities • The Lord, commends the church for its faithfulness to His name • But He presents Himself as “The One who has the sharp, two-edged sword.” • They were not being faithful to His Word • The Lord Jesus judges everything by the Word • The word that He spoke will judge men in the last day. If you reject it now it will judge you then • They had better beware—the Lord is not pleased with His church when it tolerates false teaching and sinful indulgence The two-edged sword is the symbol of the word of Christ, the assurance of judgment on the basis of absolute truth

15. Jesus and the Church • Does it surprise us that Christ is represented coming to his church in this way? • Bearing a sword? A sharp sword with two edges? • Jesus loves each of us - but to the visible church, which at its best estate is never altogether pure, he appears in severer form • He comes with a sharp two-edged sword because there is sin within His church • In this case false teaching which led people to immorality • They were also leading people to heathen temples to eat meals consisting of meats sacrificed to idols • But what will he do with that sword in reference to a church? • We are not left in any doubt upon that point Jesus comes in judgment to those who were teaching and participating in immorality and eating the food sacrificed to idols • Having mentioned some whose doctrines and lives were unclean, the Lord says • “Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.” • He turns the sword against the false teachers within the church, and possibly against those who followed them • Jesus will smite those who are false teachers • His sword is for the defense of the faithful

16. Satan’s Throne • ‘I know where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is; and you hold fast My name, and did not deny My faith even in the days of Antipas, My witness, My faithful one, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells (Rev 2:13) • Notice that the Savior watches his church with an observant eye • He looks at the church in Pergamos, and he sees the position and the peril of the church at Pergamos, “where Satan’s throne is” • Their environment was one where there were horrible idolatries, and immorality - Heathen temples and immoral behavior • We too live in society where the evil one rules and immorality is all around • Jesus knows that “Satan desires to have you, that he may sift you as wheat”; • And he prays for you that your faith will not fail • He knows your perils, and he considers your trials • He perceives the subtlety of the old serpent • He knows the way in which Satan would first mislead you, and then accuse you • He sees your struggles, your failures, and your desperate endeavors to hold fast the faith • He knows how at night you are grieved as you make confession before him of your shortcomings • But he knows also the peculiar circumstances in which you are placed, and he judges you in great mercy Just as in Pergamum, Jesus knows that we too dwell in an evil society filled with immorality

17. The Lord Knows Our Circumstances • The Lord Jesus takes all our surroundings into consideration • And though He loves us too well to make excuse for our sins • Yet He mentions the circumstances which acknowledge our acts to be failure rather than fault • Even as he did for the first disciples when he found them asleep, and he said, • “The spirit truly is willing, but the flesh is weak.” • How does our current environment place us in a position to compromise with the word’s values and practices? • Story of work – the position of pride • As we are placed in positions of peculiar trial and difficulty • Possibly your hindrances are so many that you cannot accomplish one-tenth as much as you desire, then hear how Jesus puts it: • “I know where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is” • If you are faithful to your Lord, and firm in his truth, he will commend you and say, • “and you hold fast My name, and did not deny My faith “ • It is the Lord who has His eye on us and will help us understand our failures if we have an ear to hear what He has to say to us • He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches Our world can tempt us to positions of power and pride – acting to optimize our own self-interest

18. Word of Commendation • ‘I know where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is; and you hold fast My name, and did not deny My faith even in the days of Antipas, My witness, My faithful one, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells (Rev 2:13) • Christ notes that in spite of their evil environment, the Pergamos Christians have held fast to His name and have not denied the faith • My name - embodies a personal loyalty and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ with all that this represented • My Faith - they had not denied the doctrinal body of Christian truth which accompanies faith in Christ • As a symbol of the faithfulness of these saints in Pergamos, one of the early martyrs is named as “Antipas” • Who is declared to be “My faithful one, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells.” • His name Antipas means “against all” • The church at Pergamos as a whole was commended for standing unwaveringly for Christ even though one of their members had paid the supreme price • The faithfulness of the church at Pergamos is a challenge to Christians today to stand true to faith in Christ alone and fundamental doctrines of Christianity • The apostasy within the ranks of religion, and the temptation to compromise their stand for the truth • Those at Pergamos would have had nothing to do with the doctrines of Rob Bell The church at Pergamum was True to faith in Christ, yet their practical walk was being influenced by the evil practices around them

19. Holding Fast the Name of ChristHis Saving Power • “hold fast My name, and did not deny My faith” – How do we do this? • We hold fast the name of Christ as we believe in its saving power • “Thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins.” • Jesus saves us from the guilt of sin by having borne it in his own body on the cross • We are assured that he makes us just before God by that righteousness of his, which is ours, because of faith in Him • He saves us from the punishment of sin because “the chastisement of our peace was upon him.” • He died as a victim in our place • He saves us from the power of sin by his Spirit, and by faith in his death: we overcome sin by the blood of the Lamb We hold fast the name of Christ by Believing in its saving power • Salvation in every department • Salvation from its hopeful dawning to its glorious noontide in perfection, is all of Christ Jesus • He is Savior, and he alone. “There is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” • He is the unique Savior, there is no other possible salvation now or in the world to come • Do you believe in Christ? Then you have salvation • “But he that believeth not shall be damned.” (Mark 16:16) • Pronounce the word hard or soft, it will come to the same thing in the end • If you reject Jesus, if you do not believe in Jesus Christ, the one sole propitiation for the sins of men, you will be condemned, and condemned hopelessly • This we hold fast

20. Holding Fast the Name of ChristHis Unchanging Nature • We hold fast this name in its immutability • We are told today that this is an age of progress, and we must accept other ways to God • Holding to one way to God is narrow minded, who are we as Christians to say there is only one way • There are many beliefs – society tells us today no one is wrong, there are many ways to God • Sin and offense to a holy God are denied • But, we do not believe these idle dreams. We want no new gospel, no modern salvation • Our conviction is that Jesus Christ is “the same yesterday, today, and for ever.” • To talk of improving upon our perfect Savior is to insult him • He is God’s propitiation; what more is there? – Rom 3:21-26 • There is but one Savior, and that one Savior is the same for ever - His doctrine is the same in every age • There is one church and one Savior • We believe in one Lord, one faith, and one baptism • To eternal glory there is but one way; to walk in it we must hold fast one truth, and be quickened by one life • We stand fast by the unaltered, unalterable, eternal name of Jesus Christ our Lord • This is what we mean by holding fast the name and the faith of Jesus The world today tells us there are many ways To God. But we must hold fast to the truth that it is only the name of Christ which saves

21. A Stumbling Block • ‘But I have a few things against you, because you have there some who hold the teaching of Balaam, who kept teaching Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols and to commit acts of immorality. (Rev 2:14) • The teaching of Balaam • In Numbers 25 we read how the Israelites indulged in sexual immorality with Moabite women, and in Numbers 31:16 it is said that they did this on the advice of Balaam • So, in Pergamum, devotees of heathen practices, who had infiltrated the ranks of Christians were advising them to participate in the sexual vices of pagan worship • Evidently they had quite a following • So the doctrine of Balaam referred to here was the teaching that the people of God should intermarry with the heathen and compromise in the matter of idolatrous worship • Isn’t this a lesson for us today • How have we become attached to the world and its teaching? Where have we compromised and believed false teaching? • Are we building close associations with non-believers and instead of converting them to Christ we find ourselves attached to their sinful ways • Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? (2 Co 6:14) Are we getting so close to the world that it is causing us to compromise on God’s clear teaching?

22. Repent • Therefore repent; or else I am coming to you quickly, and I will make war against them with the sword of My mouth (Rev 2:16) • Repent - The church at Pergamum needed to change their attitude toward close alliances and participation in wrong practices of the world around them • Believers in Pergamum were tolerating falsehood by teaching wrong morals and advocating that it was perfectly all right • Specifically here they needed to repent of having allowed some members to follow the examples of Balaam and of the Nicolaitans • The whole Church of Pergamos is called on to repent of not having hated the Balaam and Nicolaitane teaching and practice • Christ responds vehemently, I will have none of this • If they would not repent, the Lord said He would fight against them with the sword of His mouth • It appears that the “them” are the false teachers and those who followed them • Balaam was eventually killed by the Sword – Num 31 • He was destroyed among the worldly leaders of Midian • Those who follow Balaam in his sin will follow him in his punishment • And the Church which allows such things will have to suffer along with those who commit them The church was told by Jesus to repent and change their ways

23. The Promise • He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, to him I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, and a new name written on the stone which no one knows but he who receives it. (Rev 2:17) • Again Jesus tells the churches to hear what He is saying – will we listen? • The promise to those who overcome (true believers in Christ Jesus) is “hidden manna” and a “white stone” with a “new name” known only to its owner • Hidden manna may refer to the sufficiency of Christ in contrast to the allurements of the world that compromise offered • The Manna may replace meats offered to idols • White stones were often used in ancient legal courts to signify a judgment of acquittal • Judges determined a verdict by placing in an urn a white and a black pebble • If the white one came out, it meant acquittal; • So the white stone would mean the assurance that there is no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus • Praise God that through Christ’s death on the cross • He has presented the white stones with our names on them Overcomers will receive a white stone Signifying our acquittal – free from all condemnation – based on the work of Jesus • And we are free from all condemnation based on the work of Jesus

24. End Week 22

25. Balaam & Balak • Israel is on the way to the promised land • They approached Moab on their way • Balak was a king of the Moab • Num 22:1-6 He was afraid of Israel and what harm might come to the people of Moab • His fear was based on what Israel had done to the Amorites • He asks Balaam (a prophet) to curse the Israelites and offers him a lot of money to do so

26. PergamosThe Teaching of Balaam • Balaam’s first sin was greed • He wanted to sell his God given talents for money and use them to do something that was against God’s will • We see that Balaam is unable to curse Israel (Num 23-24) • Read Num 24:10-13

27. BalaamIn Numbers • But Balaam found a way to accomplish Balak’s desire • Balaam devised a plan whereby he caused the men of Israel to commit sexual immorality with Moabite women and to sacrifice to their gods in a community meal during a festival (Numbers 31:16, 25:1-2) • Thus he led Israel into sin by causing the nation to accommodate itself to idolatrous pagan religion and its immortality • Balaam came to stand for an evil individual who seduces God’s people into sin

28. Constantine’s Victory • Those of you who are familiar with Roman history and church tradition will recall • That after the death of Diocletian and Galerius, Constantine and Maxentius contended for the throne • Constantine is said to have seen a vision of a cross of fire and to have heard a voice saying, “In this sign, conquer.” • He wondered what the vision could mean. • He was told that the cross was the sign of the Christian religion, and that it must mean that the God of the Christians was calling him to be the champion of the Christian religion; • That if he obeyed the voice he would be victor over the hosts of Maxentius and become emperor of the world. • He called for Christian bishops and asked them to explain their religion to him. • He accepted the new doctrine and declared himself to be its God-appointed patron and protector. • Some writers make a great deal of this so-called conversion of Constantine, but it is questionable if he ever became a child of God by faith in Christ Jesus • He won a great victory over his opponent and thus became emperor of the world, and one of his first acts was to liberate the Christians and to stop all persecution. • He bestowed unwonted honors on the bishops; they sat on thrones with the nobles of the empire.

29. Decline of Blessed Hope • It was at this time that the truth of the second coming of Christ was given up • Before the days of Constantine the church was looking for Him • That was their expectation and hope • But after the great change in their circumstances, this truth was largely lost sight of • Christian bishops said, “We have been looking for Christ’s reign but we have been wrong. Constantine’s empire is Christ’s kingdom.” • They thought the church was already reigning; • So it went on until the days of the Reformation, when the light began to dawn again.

30. The Arian Controversy • But now note a most interesting thing: At the very time that the Lord said, “I know where thou dwellest, even where Satan’s seat (or throne) is,” He goes on to say, “Thou holdest fast my Name, and hast not denied my faith,” etc. Here is something very remarkable. At the same time that Christ sees them sitting on Satan’s throne, He can yet commend them for holding fast His Name. • It was at that time that the Arian controversy was fought out. Arius denied the eternity of the Word. John says, “In the beginning was the Word”—He always existed. When everything that had a beginning began, the Word was. Arius declared that the Word was the greatest of all beings that ever emanated from God. His opponents insisted that the Word was one with the Father, in one eternal Trinity—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit: one God in three Persons. It was the most tremendous issue the church had ever been called to face, and, for over a century, it was the burning question that provoked heated controversy everywhere.

31. The Arian Controversy • For years the church was almost rent asunder over two words, “homoiosian” and “homoousian.” • The one word meant “of like substance,” the other “of the same substance.” • The first was the battle-cry of the Arians; the second of the orthodox, headed by Athanasius, Bishop of Alexandria. • So irreconcilable were the contending parties that Constantine at last decided to take a hand in the matter himself, and he called a great church-council, which convened in the city of Nicea, and there debated the question as to what the apostolic teaching really had been. • Was Jesus truly God, or was He only the greatest being that God had ever brought into existence? • Over three hundred bishops met together, and Constantine, sitting on a golden throne, presided as the acknowledged head of the Christian church, at the very time that he still bore the title PontifexMaximus, or High Priest of the Heathen—the same title that the Pope bears at the present time.

32. The Council of Nica • The matter in question was examined from all sides. • Again and again Constantine was called in to quell disturbances; feelings ran so high. • On one occasion it is related that a brilliant Arian seemed to have almost silenced opposition, and the great assemblage appeared to be about to cast its vote in favor of the damnable unitarian heresy, • When a hermit from the deserts of Africa sprang to his feet, clad chiefly in tiger’s skin. • This latter he tore from his back, disclosing great scars (the result of having been thrown into the arena among the wild beasts, and his back dreadfully disfigured by their claws), crying dramatically, • “These are the brand-marks of the Lord Jesus Christ, and I cannot hear this blasphemy.” • Then he proceeded to give so stirring an address, setting forth so clearly the truth as to Christ’s eternal deity, that the majority of the council realized in a moment that it was indeed the voice of the Spirit of God. • Whether this story be actually true or not I cannot say, but it well sets forth the spirit pervading many who were in attendance, most of whom had passed through the terrible persecution of Diocletian. • The final result was that the council of Nicea put itself on record as confessing the true deity of our Lord Jesus Christ, “Very God of Very God,” “Light of Lights,” “perfection of perfection”—God and man in one blessed Person, nevermore to be separated. • Thus was settled once and forever, in a public way, the acknowledged faith of the church of God, which held fast His Word, and did not deny His Name.

33. Athanasius • Did you ever stop to think what would have been the case if the council had decided the other way? • It would have meant this: Unitarianism would have henceforth borne the stamp of orthodoxy, and the truth of the deity of Christ would have been branded as heresy. • We have no record as to who the Antipas was referred to in the latter part of the verses above quoted, but it is singular that the word means “against all.” • Many years after the council of Nicea, when the Arian party were again largely in the ascendency, Athanasius, that doughty old champion of the truth, was summoned before the Arian emperor Theodosius, • Who demanded that he cease his opposition to the teaching of Arius—who, by the way, was long since dead—and admit the Arians to the table of the Lord. • This Athanasius refused. Theodosius reproved him bitterly for what he considered his insubject spirit, and asked sternly, “Do you not realize that all the world is against you?” • The champion of the truth drew himself up and answered the emperor, “Then I am against all the world.” • He was a true Antipas, a faithful witness to the end of his days, despite banishment and opposition of various kinds. • Oh, my brethren, God wants to-day, just such men, men of God, who, for the truth’s sake, are willing to stand, if need be, against all the world!

34. False Teaching • We now turn to consider another phase of things in the Pergamos period—the introduction of the doctrine of Balaam and the teaching of the Nicolaitanes in the church. Balaam taught Balak to cast a stumbling-block before the sons of Israel by leading them to make unholy alliances with the Midianitish women, as recorded in Numbers 25:1–9. In figure this is the union of the church and the world. During the Smyrna period, Satan sought to destroy the church by persecution. In the next three centuries he tried different tactics: he endeavored to ruin the testimony by worldly patronage from without, and the introduction of false principles from within. You know it is far more dangerous for the church to be patronised by the world than when the world is openly arrayed against it. Take any of the different denominations in Christendom. When were they shining most brightly for the Lord? It was in the days of their first love, when they were suffering from the world and were the objects of its bitter persecution. But when those had passed, when the period of persecution ended and the world began to look upon them with complacency, to greet them with the outstretched hand and the smiling face, instead of with the sword and the frown, in every instance decline set in. So it was in the Pergamos period. Constantine’s patronage did what Diocletian’s persecution could not do. It corrupted the church, and she forgot her calling as a chaste virgin espoused to an absent Lord; then she gave her hand in marriage to the world that had crucified Him, thus entering into an unholy alliance of which she has never really repented. • Ironside, H. A. (1920). Lectures on the Book of Revelation (4748). Neptune, N. J.: Loizeaux Brothers.

35. Ruling the People • In close connection with this we have the introduction of wrong principles within—the teaching of the Nicolaitanes. • Others have often pointed out that this is an untranslated Greek word meaning, “Rulers over the people.” • Nicolaitanism is really clerisy—the subjugation of those who were contemptuously styled “the laity” by a hierarchical order who lorded it over them as their own possessions, • Forgetting that it is written, “One is your Master, even Christ, and all ye are brethren.” • In the letter to Ephesus the Lord commended them for hating the deeds of the Nicolaitanes, those who, like Diotrephes, loved to have the preeminence among them. • But, in the Pergamos letter, we have Nicolaitanism designated as a distinct system of teaching. • It was then that clerisy was accepted as of divine origin, and therefore something that must be bowed to.