“And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write: 
The One who has the sharp two-edged sword says this:

‘I know where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is; 
and you hold firmly to 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.

‘But I have a few things against you, because you have some there 
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 sexual immorality.
‘So you too, have some who in the same way 
hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans.

‘Therefore repent; or else I am coming to you quickly, 
and I will wage war against them with the sword of My mouth.

‘The one who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. 

To the one who overcomes, 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 except the one who receives it.’
~~Revelation 2:12-17~~

I’ve been working my way through what Jesus had to say to the seven churches in Revelation.  The first church was Ephesus, and you can find the link to the study of that church at https://yourbiblestudybuddy.com/fresh-warm-bread/   And you can find the church a Smyrna discussed at https://yourbiblestudybuddy.com/wheres-the-but-revelation-28-11/ 

Today we’ll look at the church at Pergamum.  I found this to be a very interesting day of research. As I looked into the doctrine of Balaam, I found it to be, in practical terms, the view that Christians can — or even should — compromise their convictions for the sake of popularity, money, sexual gratification, or personal gain. It’s the attitude that treats sin as no big deal.  When Balak’s ploy to curse Israel failed, he then corrupted Israel from the inside out by intermarriage between Israel men and Moabite women. There were two opinions about the Nicolaitans. Some believe they were a heretical sect who followed teachings of Nicolas, a deacon in the early church who became apostate, perverting grace and replacing liberty with license (Acts 6:5).   Others believe that they were called this, not from any particular man, but from the Greek word which means “let us eat”. Either way, the Nicolaitans were people who abused grace. They are described in at least 3 passages of Scripture.

• 2 Peter 2:15 “Forsaking the right way, they have gone astray. They have followed the way of Balaam, son of Beor, who loved gain from wrongdoing“
• 2 Peter 2:19 “They promise them freedom but they themselves are slaves of corruption. For whatever overcomes a person, to that he is enslaved.”
• Jude 4 “For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.”  

As I look at what Jesus commended the church in Pergamum for “you hold firmly to 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” (Revelation 2:13), I saw a big BUT here – They were tolerant of things that pervert God’s grace.

Jesus called for repentance from this way of thinking and living, and He followed that up with a pretty big “or else” – He will “come quickly and will make war against them (the unrepentant) with the sword of My mouth” (Revelation 2:16).  This was to portray the destructive power of the words of Christ as Judge.  

I love how Jesus made so clear the choices and their consequences. Repent and be given some hidden manna and a white stone with a new name on it  – or – Remain in rebellion and face the judgment of Jesus.   

I think that we as believers, living in the culture we are, need to be vigilant to not allow the sinful practices of this world to seep into our lives.  I think that it’s so important to stay in the Word, memorize the Word, so that when something contrary to the truth of Scripture arises, we can spot the lie because we are so familiar with the truth.   

Oh, and one last thing!  I want to know what name is on my stone, and I can’t wait to taste manna!