On Revelation 2:12-17 addresses the church at Pergamus, highlighting its historical context as a city known for idolatry and its prophetic application to the church period from 300-500 AD when it became worldly. The examples emphasize that while the church outwardly held to truth and defended doctrines like the Trinity, it compromised by forming alliances with the world, symbolized by the meaning of Pergamus as 'thoroughly married.' This spiritual adultery, akin to the doctrine of Balaam and the Nicolaitans, led to a decline in spiritual vitality despite numerical growth. The message concludes by urging believers to overcome worldliness and false teachings by feeding on Christ, symbolized by hidden manna and a white stone with a new name, representing a personal, intimate relationship with God.
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We welcome you in the name of the Lord Jesus again, and if you will turn in your Bible to the second chapter of the book of the Revelation, and we'll seek to follow the lesson page number four on the letter that was written by the Lord and sent through John to the church of Pergamot. And the lesson reading will be in chapter two. We would like to begin reading at verse eight. chapter two in verse eight and reading down to the end of that letter which we will find further down the chapter as we go down to verse seventeen the Lord Jesus writing and speaking unto the angel of the church as once again he writes in verse nine I beg your pardon I should go further down that's right to the letter to the letter of Pergamus so that we can recognize We can recognize this as word as he speaks to the church at Pergamus.
And the Lord speaking in verse twelve, to the angel of the church in Pergamus writes, These things said, He which hath the sharp sword with two edges. I know thy works and where thou dwellest, even where Satan speak, but may I make a correction, the word in the original is thrown. we shall see this word again and again throughout the book of the Revelation. And wherever you find it spoken or written of and translated as the word see, it is the same word for throne. So we read the verse again. I know thy works and where thou dwellest and where saith and throne is.
And thou holdest that my name and hast not denied my faith, meaning my truth. Even in those days wherein Antipath was Antipath, whom my faithful martyr, who was slain among you, were Satan dwelleth. But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them within the church that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balaam to cast a stumbling block before the children of Israel. to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication.
Also hath thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which think I hate. Repent, or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit said unto the churches. To him that overcometh, will I give to each of the hidden manor, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving, he that receiveth it. May God bless the reading and the hearing of this portion, and look with me, if you will, on your lesson sheet, if you have one, page number four, and we'd like to follow the outline that we have before us, in the study of this third letter written to the seven churches of Asia.
We find the letter to Pergamus, as we have it in this scripture portion, and we do find in the Greek meaning of the word Pergamus, the explanation of it meaning, as you have at the head of the page, you have it being thoroughly married. Now let me give a little explanation, and it'll illuminate itself as we go into the study. for we are going to find that as we come to the letter of Pergamus in its prophetical application relative to the history of the church upon the earth, there came a time following the persecutions of the early centuries when the church became thoroughly united unfortunately to the world and even the Roman Empire under the reign of Constantine the Great who certainly embraced Christianity in its professions and also elevated many of the church fathers to positions of political power in its kingdom.
And the church, instead of being, as it is supposed to be in the character of the Word of God, heavenly, it became worldly, as it were, married to the church. If I may express it in the saying of another, and I never forgot the saying... When I look for the church, I find it in the world. And when I look for the world, I can find it in the church. Now you get the meaning. Now we go to the, if I may cover the next part portion on your lesson sheet. But we want to follow the three applications carefully. We'll not emphasize particularly the historical. But first you have the historical. There was an actual church existing in the days of John in Asia by the name of the city of Pergamon.
further north of Smyrna it was in its locality. It was a culture and a very refined city, but it was noted for its medical science, too. But it was preeminent in idolatry. It was an idolatrous city, as many of the cities were in the days of Paul when he evangelized the then known world. Now look at the second point. Now this will probably be more applicable in the study that we shall follow through the letter. Prophetical. Covering the period of church history from approximately three hundred anodomini to approximately the year five hundred.
Now may I reflect with you on the past two letters. The one to Ephesus and the one to Smyrna. We recognize the application of the letter to Ephesus. For Ephesus was a powerful and the strongest spiritual church in Asia in the days of the Apostle Paul and even succeeding those days. And as we read the letter the Lord Jesus sent to Ephesus, outwardly the Lord had nothing to speak disparagingly about. It was functioning completely and perfectly according to the Scripture.
He did not love the outward expression of the truth of God, and He was living up to it in an outward way. But we also noted there was one thing very essential to realize the Lord had against it. He saw something no one knows this. And may I say very lovingly, wherever you fellowship with God's people, Would you please remember the Lord is looking at the saint in that testimony? And as these seven letters bring before us, he is judging, discerning, and even taking action at times regarding the state of that church, no matter where it is.
Please remember in chapter one, The vision that John saw when he saw the Lord Jesus in the glory of his judicial character, he was walking, where? In the midst of the servant church. And may I say with emphasis, the Lord knows more about your church than you do. And then I do. If you want to put it that way. But the way we ask you, you wouldn't think you'll be remembered. We forget it. And it comes to the Church of Pergamon, as we shall see. And please note, it covers a period of church history, following the persecution that followed under the Smyrna regime.
And what the Lord was doing, and we saw it in a blessed way last week, not only for the Church of Smyrna, but even for ourselves, to bring the heart back that is waning in its love for Christ. You know what he does? He sends trouble. He sends trouble. And there I testify, the Lord has given me more spiritual blessing through my troubles than any other way. And you better let the Lord do it for you too. This is method. This is divine principle. And the church at Smyrna was revived in that period of time.
Many were martyred. Many were slain. But it revived the testimony when Christians gave their lives to confess the Lord Jesus and not deny him as they were demanded. There were ten great persecutions by the Roman Empire and closed with this persecution under Diocletian, the last emperor, before Constantine came to the throne. And the saints were faithful. Never what the Lord said to his murder. Be now faithful unto death. I'll give you the crown of life. And thus we recognize. And may I point out, but relative to the meaning of their names, Ephesus.
The sea of Ephesus was known in the then known world and called the light of Asia. It was the most glorious city. one of the most outstanding cities of glory in its structure, and in its edifices that it held, and the great temple of Diana of the Ephesians, and spiritually the Church of Ephesus. May I say again, you read the Ephesian epistle, the Church of Ephesus was the most faithful church of all the churches, and received the greatest truth that the Spirit of God was able to give them because of their faithfulness. Smyrna, you got the words, suffering church. Now you come to Pergamon. And here we find, if I may go, please notice, we go to number three on your sheet.
There came a period of great external growth, which was accompanied by a period of spiritual decline because of worldly alliances. Now may I say that divine maxim and a truth, the church grew numerically, but it declined spiritually. And that's the easiest thing to do. You know, I often think of the Lord Jesus. You ever notice in Luke chapter two, his own supposed father and mother, they lost their voice. And they lost it in a crowd. She did.
My beloved plea, let me say it. I say it in love. Christians are often taken up with numbers instead of the person of Christ. It's wrong. Let me give you an example. It comes to my memory. One night, oh, I guess it must be about forty years ago, I was supposed to go up to a little place called Stanley above here, meet with some Christians on their prayer meeting night. And it was the roughest night, stormy, And my wife was unable to go with me, but my mother was with us, and she went along. So we, I thought, well, got to go anyway. So we went. And it's such a stormy night.
You know how many came out? Just one old man in his daughter. And we sat around that pot-bellied stove that they had in the little building. My mother said, happily, that's the best being I ever went to. What was it? Wasn't the numbers. We enjoy the Lord in His word together. I'll tell you one thing. Can I say this in loud? It's a lot harder to see the Lord in a big crowd than a small one. And that's the lesson we've got before. The church began to enlarge numerically.
Constantine the Great. He recognized that the Christians, they were not giving the government any trouble. It was only the hatred of the Jews and the heathens that persecuted the Christians and made the government do something. And so he began to offer to the Christians. Well, it's written in secular church history that one writer, I forget his name now, he thought the millennial kingdom had come when Constantine embraced the Christian testimony and made it easy for the Christian. Can I say this in love?
If you're in the lesson, when the world makes it easy for you, you're in spiritual trouble. I went into a businessman's place, a friend of mine, a Christian man, one time years ago, and he had another Christian fellow there with him, and as I walked in, and one of them said to me, Brother Bramwell, how's the world treating you? I said, well, if the world's treating me, I'm in bad shape. The world isn't friendly to the things of God, as we shall see. But now let's look, please, very quickly. Look at verse twelve. I'd like to read it right away. And the Lord Jesus said, To the angel of the church at Pergamon, write these things that he which hath the sharp scorned with to edge it.
Now, please may I again refer to the fact If you want to get the blessing we need from these words and these seven letters and even the whole book of Revelation, keep your eye on the Lord. What is he doing? Now what are you doing? Now what am I doing? What is he doing? And he comes addressing his words, and please let me repeat again and explain, the angel of the church at Pergamon. Not a literal angel. You have no authority in the teaching of your New Testament epistles that an angel controls the church.
And if you know your Bible and church truth and teaching, the government of the church locally has been given by the Lord to those spiritual men who will be the leaders under God by His Spirit according to the Word of God. And what the Lord Jesus is doing is addressing words to those who were the responsible leaders of the condition of things in the church at Pilgrims. He held them responsible. And note he presents himself in an attitude, and the attitude that he presents himself You'll find very similarly the descriptions in chapter one where we saw the vision that John had of the Lord Jesus as the son of man in his judicial glory.
And in his right hand, and he had in his hand a sharp two-edged sword. Now you please know. He says, I come to the church of Pergamus with a sharp two-edged sword. Now why? Now when you look within your Bible, there's a reference we have there in Hebrews. Hebrews chapter four, verses twelve and thirteen, rather. Hebrews chapter four, what is this sharp two-edged sword? Now let me please make very emphatic the application of this two-edged sword in the book of the Revelation. You'll find it more than once.
In the book of the Revelation it is the sword of judgment. of judicial judgment. And here he presents himself in the character of being one who comes with a sharp blizzard sword in judicial judgment against the Church of Pergamon. Now know these two verses. They describe the meaning of it in chapter four of the book of Hebrews. For the word of God is quick. Verse twelve and thirteen. For the word of God is quick, meaning effective, powerful and effective, living and effective, powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the divining of thunder, of soul and spirit, and of the joints and narrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and the intent of the heart, neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight.
But all things are naked and open unto the eyes of him, with whom we have to do. Now, very briefly, but concisely, that sharp-to-edged sword is the word of God. And say to the Lord Jesus, I'm going to judge the condition of your assembly or church by the word of God. My word. To find Why are you not following it? And to show you what I have against you. And to examine how you're doing according to this.
Beloved, look, please let me pray this. There's only one principle upon which you can judge the character and the testimony of any church. You've got to do it by the word of God. The word of God. Know what people say? Know what people think? For the responsibility, and may I please say this faithfully, what is the church's responsibility? No matter whether small or great, it's the power of the Word of God. May I tell you, as a local church, we're responsible to carry out what the book says. That's all.
To administrate it. And you take the Lord coming to the angel of the church, to the leaders of that church, and he's questioning their administration of how they're carrying on. How they're carrying out his word. He says, I'm going to search you with my words. Let me quote the words of the psalmist. Psalm number nine, twenty-three and twenty-four. Search me, oh God. Know my heart. See if there be any wicked way or way of grief or pain in me. Lead me in the way of everlasting. And then I say, lovely, my fellow believer, look, you and I may have to stand to this principle if the Lord doesn't come for us. You and I have to obey the word of God.
His obedience to the word of God. And then I say again, please, no church needs to devise any article of creed. You don't need a creed. What now is your Bible? It's all in there. It's all in there. It's all in there. And the Lord Jesus is coming to Parliament. He says, I've made sound in you in the light of my word. And you'll find he has things commendable. And he has things to condemn. But now let's go on.
Please look. Look, number two, in verse thirteen, and the first part of it, we have its accusation. Sometimes you have it on the letter B on your outline on your sheet, but let's look at verse thirteen. Let's read it. I know thine was, and where thou dwellest, and even where Satan's throne is. Thou holdest fact my name, hath not denied my faith, even in those days where in Antipas was my faithful mother, who was slain among you, where Satan dwellers. Now let's look at the first part of the verse. And if you know what the Lord says, and you find the Lord always tells, I know what you're doing.
It's wonderful to write, can I repeat again? It's just what I previously made that statement in. The Lord knows more what the church is doing than you do. What I do. I know. I know. I know. No, beloved, let me say, what you don't know, what I don't know, or what I know, or what you may know. He knows all, regarding the condition of the church. And we say, God, we realize that. But then please go on to Apollo and see how he has to come with an accusation. For you note in the opening of that verse, I know where thou dwellest.
Now the word dwellest is very interesting. We'll come across it in chapter three again. But I want to emphasize the meaning of the word. It means, I know where you're settling down. Where you're finding. I know where you're dwelling. And it has the meaning. Noting on your lesson sheet. They were settling down in the world. The place of Satan's authority and throne. Let me read the words in verse thirteen again. I know what I was and where thou dwellest, where Satan's groan is, and so on. But where is Satan?
Let's stop for a moment. Look, let me go back with you in memories of the letter to Smyrna. You're never in the letter to Smyrna, the Lord told the church of Smyrna, the devil's going to get after you. The church at Pergamon, the devil wasn't getting after them at all. They were lining up with the devil. That was the difference. You know, the devil's smart. The devil's smart. When he found by persecuting the church, it only made the church stronger spiritually, he changed his tactics. And under Constantine the Great, he offered the friendliness of the world and of the government of the Roman Empire to the early Christian church in that day.
And the church started settling down where Satan's throne. Now you've got some scripture. I'm not going to turn to it. But in John twelve, John sixteen, you have the Lord Jesus calling Satan the prince of this world. And in the epistle of John, you've got in the chapter five and verse nineteen, you have John saying the whole world lieth in the wicked world. You have Paul saying in Second Corinthians four in verse four, calling Satan the God of this age. May I state from the beginning of time when sin came into the world, Satan got hold of the authority of the world.
When Adam and Eve disobeyed God, the dominion of the world, they handed over to Satan. He became satanic in his authority. I don't know. Some people don't believe in the devil, but boy, I'm telling you, he's a busy fellow. And he is, according to the word of God, the prince of the world, the God of this age, and the world in its character under Satan is thus manifested. So now here's the church at Pergamon, settling down, where Satan slowly, and thus the The world offered its friendly office to the Christian church, and that is.
May I give you the thought? You find church history telling that Constantine evidently took some of the local elders and bishops of the churches and gave a political position and power. Nowhere in your New Testament is the church authorized to have power over the world. And there's one church in existence today that wants it. And has ever since. It began. And this is how it began. Under Constantine the Great. Separation of the church from the world is Christian testimony in the Word of God.
And we can recognize why the Lord accuses, look, You're accepting that. Let me tell you something. Where does the church belong? Heaven. Heaven. Where? Go in Ephesians, please. Ephesians chapter two. I want you to know something. Something we very little realize and enter into. Chapter two. Let me read verse four. From there on. And I want you to know something. I don't want to show it to you where the church should be sitting. Chapter two and verse four. When Paul writes. telling at the opening of the chapter that once these believers at Ephesus and we also were dead in trespasses and sin.
But now in verse four. But God, who is rich in mercy, who is great love where we beloved us, even when we were dead in sin, has quickened us. He made us alive. He gave us life together with Christ. For by grace you say, none other. And he hath. Now it doesn't say he will. It says he hath raised us up together and made us what? Sit together. Where? In heavenly places. In Christ Jesus. Did you have... I don't know how many of you remember Charles Fuller's program. He was a precious program when he was living.
I used to enjoy it richly. It's simple but good-hearted preaching that he had. But he had one song that I always appreciated. when those men in the quartet were singing. This world is not my home. I'm just a passing truth. My home is beyond the blue. Christian, let me tell you something. You don't belong to this world. Look with me in Galatians chapter one, will you please? That's just before Ephesians. I want you to notice something. What the Lord did when he saved you, when he saved me. Let me read with you if I may in verse three and four. grace be to you and peace from God the Father and from our Lord Jesus Christ.
Note, who gave himself for our sins that he might deliver us from and out of this present evil world according to the will of God our Father? Oh, beloved, may I say, when God saved you and me, he took us out of the world, spiritually speaking, positionally speaking. you belong to heaven. May I say this, the church is heaven born. You and I who are saved were heaven born, born from above. Except a man be born from above, he cannot see the kingdom of God. The church, what we'll see, we'll see more about it in our lesson.
The church has to feed upon heavenly manna. Why did you come here? I don't have any sandwiches for you, nor any roast people. You might cry, where is the beach? It's right in the book. But I'll show you real. And look, it's spiritual food. And it's food. We need the world can't give it. It's manna from heaven. And we see more of that in our lesson in chapter two of the book of the Revelation. And then also, the church is not only heaven-born, heaven-after, the heaven-fed. It's heaven-bound. The destiny of the church.
May I say this? And let me liken it again. We'll see it later in another letter, the next letter in fact. We'll see the lines of the papacy. And the desire, the ambition of the papacy is what? Rule the world. Rule the world. And in the letter the program it tells us how it started. But was that God's purpose for the church? No. And may I say, I often sympathize with a Christian who gets left up in politics in political places. I've seen some dear Christians lose their Christian testimony.
It can happen. And all the result of it can be said, it was in the days of Purgamas. It was... Let's read on. I wanted to know. We have noted his accusations. And we recognize, of course, that they were dwelling in the world instead of being heavenly-minded and heavenly-directed in their thinking. That's divine. In an outward way. Didn't deny the Lord? And there was a great contest that said what was called the Aryan controversy. When the Aryans tried to declare that Jesus was not God.
And that was defended in that part of the period of the church's history. And also the truth regarding the Trinity, God the Father, God the Son. It's called the Nicene Creed sometimes. But they defended outwardly the truth of Christianity. But you may have put it this way. You can know all the truth of Christianity and still be a worldly-minded Christian. You get the thought? You can be a worldly person. Even though you hold to the truth. And it's not what you hold to the truth as much as does the truth hold you.
And here it was. They were true to the Word of God. And please note something. The Lord mentioned. There was a time when they were persecuted. And he recalled. You remember what happened to Antichrist. There's nothing more said about him. But he was a man that boldly stood for the truth and gave his life just as Stephen the martyr did. Another martyr said, John, to be faithful to the truth of God. And he was slain. And please know the end of the verse. Right where Satan dwells. The world murdered him. Can I say this? I do it in love. I do it in earnestness. Because it's the truth of God's word.
The world at large does not want the truth, and the devil knows it. It's his business to keep the truth away from the world. And he does a good job. The wise man in the Proverbs wrote, buy the truth, sell it not. And you know the devil's always bidding for it. Get you to deny the word of God. Look, before the end of this thing, and the threshold of it is very near, apostasy from the truth of God is going to be worldwide. It's the devil's purpose. It's his scheme to bring the denial of the truth.
And you've got men today, may I say rightly, you've got men today in the focus of our land. Who will deny the virgin birth of Christ, the deity of the Lord Jesus, the sinless, spotless humanity of the Lord Jesus, even if atoning death on the cross of Calvary, deny the Trinity, deny many truths. And I suddenly feel very sad to realize that when worldliness comes in, it can affect the affection of the believers and also lead them away from standing for the truth.
But let's go further. We go to verse fourteen and fifteen. And I want you to know, here he brings the condemnation. In verse fourteen, there's two things he has against it. Well, you know, look, remember we mentioned on the letter to Smyrna, the devil was outside the church and he was persecuted. I remember some friends up in Toronto, Canada. Some friends I know, a place I've often visited. They build a round building for their church no one. I had a wedding there one time. It was the most unreasonable building I've ever had a wedding in because it was so inconvenient because where it was built. And they called it... It was completely round.
Somebody... I said, I want to build it this way for. I said, they probably figured if you build a round church, the devil couldn't corner it. Now in Smyrna, he opposed the church. It was out with opposition. But in Purgamas it was more dangerous. He got inside. He got inside. And when you have a worldly group of believers the devil can get in evil. But here in the condemnation you've got two particular groups of people that got inside with false doctrines.
Note verse fourteen. but I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there then. Now underscore that word then, pronoun then. Thou hast there, then, there ain't five. You've submitted them to come in, and behold, the doctrine of then. Now go to verse fifteen, briefly, and we'll be back there. Thou hast also there, then, that holds the doctrine of the Nicolaitans. Now here you can recognize that danger was far greater than being persecuted at Smyrna was. They had permitted false teachers to come inside.
Then they held the doctrine of Bailyn, those that held the doctrine of the Nicolaitan. Now look at verse fourteen carefully, and we'll see something of the meaning of what it is as we go through our lesson sheet. But I'll read the verse. I have a few things against thee, because thou art there then that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balaam to cast a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication. Now look at your lesson, chiefs please. I'd like to read a little bit there. Now we'll refer to it more. Who is Balaam? Quite a character. I was in Richmond many years ago.
I recall walking down the main street of Richmond and one of their largest department stores in their windows along the whole length of their building. They had pictures, biblical pictures of biblical characters. And I looked at them, you know, with interest. And all of a sudden I came to a picture set, Salem, man of God. I thought, boy, whoever put that there didn't know their Bible. Yes, he was a prophet, but he was a false one. He was a false one. And please know, he was a professing prophet in the business for material gain.
Hey, by the way, go to Jude just before the book of Revelation. We've got a reference there. We've got these Balaam prophets existing today. The last book just before Revelation is the epistle of Jude. And you know, even Jude mentions in his one letter, even those that hold the doctrine of Salem. And when we realize it, what a condemnation to realize that. And you've got it in verse eleven. Verse eleven. And you read verse eleven of epistle of Jude. Roll on to them. They'd gone in the way of Cain. They'd ran greedily after the era of bailing for reward and perishing the gainsang of Torah.
Now once you've gone in this epistle, the apostles dealing with apostate, false teachers in the last days. He says, gone in the way of Cain. What did Cain do? Was he a preacher? No, but once you'll think he had a false way to get to God, he would come the way God said by bringing a sacrifice of a land. a bloodless offering. There's a lot today that are preaching a bloodless religion when it comes to salvation. And then you've got Balaam. No, it speaks to Balaam. They ran greedily after the error of who? Balaam. What was he preaching for? He was preaching for money. That's what he was preaching for.
Reward. The king of Moab said, I reward you. And if you read the chapters back there, you can do it if you're convenient. We have them signed. Chapters twenty-two through twenty-five of the Book of Numbers. Tell them the whole story. And God would not permit him to curse his people. Unworthy though they may have been. And God put it in his mouth. Words that he must say. But I want you to notice something. What he did know. Look in our verse in chapter two of Revelation. he taught balaq to cast a stumbling block towards the children of israel before the children of israel so that they think sacrifice their idols and so on they commit fornication now let me just say in jib what happens read the chapters for yourself there's one verse i want to turn to in a moment back in numbers but i want to go give you the story go balaq was was prohibited by God, hindered by God from pronouncing the curse upon Israel, the king Baalek, wanted him to stay.
Yet after it was all over, Baalek went to the king of Moab and said, I'll tell you what you can do. He invited the men of Israel to come and visit the daughters of Moab, get friendly with them, which they did. led to idolatry, and no idolatry in its practice in those days was apart from like friendship, fornication. May I say the idolatry that you can find in the world today, and especially in the land of India, is associated with prostitution. And the idolatry of King Baila, and the kingdom of Moab was not, and the young men of Israel were seduced by the young women of Moab to commit fornication.
God came in in judgment and flew twenty-three thousand of them, Israelites. And one can well realize the hand of God against his people was such an act. And it was Balaam. There's nothing at all. What was it? Today, what is it? Here I say it's spiritually fornication and adultery. Sino loved the world. Don't love Christ. Don't love Christ. But go back. I'd like to go back. I think it's in chapter twenty-three of the book of Numbers. I want you to know something that really coincides with our lesson regarding Pergamus and the church and its responsibility.
The book of Numbers. Way back. Chapter twenty-three. In the Old Testament. Don't start with Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. You'll get the wrong one. Look at verse nine. Read verse eight in nine, chapter twenty three. Well, then go back to verse seven and see what Balaam says. He says, Balaam the king of Moab has brought me from Aram out of the mountains of the east, saying, Come, come. Curse me, Jacob, and come.
defy Israel. How shall I curse? And here you see the control of God over the false prophet, forbidding and hindering him from cursing. How shall I curse whom God has not cursed? How shall I defy whom the Lord has not defied? From the top of the rocks I seeing, from the hills I behold him. And what Balaam is doing is at the top of the mountain, he's seeing Israel intact there on the plane, in all their tents, and God is compelling him to bless Israel.
But now note the words which follow. In his ninth verse, lo, the people shall what? Dwell alone, and shall not be reckoned among the nations. Now, beloved, let me point out to you, one of the greatest downfalls of Israel as a nation was when they became friendly to other nations. God says, I want them to be alone. They're my people. I want to bless them, and I want to prove them to glorify my name among the nations of the world. Didn't happen.
They went the other way. And beloved, let me say very frankly, the church hasn't been any different. It is history. And we think of Perdom as the meaning of the name, married, married to the world. And there the doctrine of Salem, what is it? It's the church married to the world committing spiritual adultery. Let me quote the words of First John, chapter two. I don't know whether I had them down as a reference. No. The First John chapter two. Yes, they are. Right. Look at the letter, under letter D, under the condemnation, under the condemnation, and the letter C.
So the church in the Purgamous period was snared by worldly alliances that were offered by the rulers. And there's some scriptures relative to the fact. that the church should be separate from the world. First John two says, Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world, for all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the pride of life, is none of the father but of the world, and the world passes away in the lust thereof. The Lord may bless you. I think of a word in the Psalm. I think it's the sixty second Psalm. It's riches increase.
Treat not your heart upon them. Now it is possible to hold much of the world, even as a Christian, blessed by God. But if your heart loves those wishes, long you love Christ, you're worldly. And one may recognize, that should recognize, when the world has I go back in memory to a little Sunday school that I was superintendent of in my early days up north. And I was given the children an object lesson of the human heart. And the human heart drawn out in its shape, triangular so to speak.
Then I brought before them the lesson, what can satisfy and fill the human heart? I had many things. dollar bill, pieces of money, so on. This could be named. And put them over the heart, but it didn't fill the heart. Then I had a round world drawn, the world picture. I said, does the world fit in the heart? No, they answered. Of course it wouldn't fit in the human heart, not the shape. I said, the human heart is triangular. And the only type of passion that can ever fill the human heart God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
A triune God. Well, can't satisfy him. And one can well realize that then when the world comes in, Christ is put in a lower place. Well, let's go further, please. Let's get to the doctrine of the Nicolaitans quickly in verse fifteen. so hath now also then that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans. Which thing? I hate it. Now in Ephesus, the letter to Ephesus, we found that in Ephesus they would have nothing to do with the deeds of the Nicolaitans. They separated from it. Has to watch.
Well, let me read what we have before us under this title, the doctrine of the Nicolaitans. Some contend that a man named Nicolaitan led Christians astray into moral ruin by his unholy teachings and practices. Now let me just state this. There's a doctrine that has often been called antinomianism. And what it means is then, and please let me say, unfortunately, in that awful period of history of the church, there were men that were teaching and preaching the word of God that said they could live any way they wanted. because they were under grace. Now let me be careful.
We are saved by grace. Through faith and then by ourselves it is the gift of God. Not at work like any man should boast. But there rose up without question of doubt. And you've got them today. Men, that those they hold the truth of Christianity and salvation even by grace, they transgress against the meaning of grace. He said, we can live. So may I say this, you'll find, I don't know how many of you believe in the eternal security of your salvation, but you ought to. But let me say, I've had people tell me that if you believe in eternal security, one saved always said, you can live anywhere you can.
I said, you cannot. You do it. You'll pay for it. For whom the Lord loves each hand? But there are men who take that principle. and excuse their sins, knowing professively that they're covered, supposedly, by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. That won't work. Paul writes to the Romans in chapter six, What? Shall we continue in sin? Go off of it. As he preached, he preached salvation by grace. It doesn't mean you can do what you preach. And when you do, whom the Lord loves of each faithful.
and scourges every son whom he received there. But there were men that alone. But then further, if I may, I've just developed another truth that comes out in the next letter, as you look at the second reference to Nicolaitans. Others believe the word Nicolaitans conveys the meaning of this doctrine. It comes from two Greek words, nickel, meaning ruler or conqueror, and their morals, meaning people, laity, or people. And if so, it implies that during the Purgamous period, ecclesiastical rule commenced in the church. And it was during this period that official bishops became prominent over the Christian churches.
Now may I be reminded with you again, during that period? I mentioned it, Constantine the Great. He officially elevated over the church. Ecclesiastical ruler, who became the so-called voice of the church. Did you ever notice something I noticed this week? A Roman Catholic prelate that was elevated to a certain place. I think where he went. Was it Baltimore somewhere to be headed over the Catholic Church's diocese? Now do you know how he called it himself?
The church said, the church doesn't say. It's the word of God that says. And men rose in that day who became clerical. Ecclesiastical rule. I'd like to bring before you, I think I did last week, the precious truth, the head of the church is in heaven. The Lord Jesus. The soul is, one more.
Go back chapter one, please. Go back chapter one, please. Let's prove it. The planning. The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand. the seven golden candlesticks, the seven stars of the angels of the seven churches and so on. We know the first part of the verse. The seven stars you saw in my right hand. He says, I'm holding the ecclesiastical authority, and I have to hold up even the angels of the church, those that are ruling over the church. He made himself with the ecclesiastical hand.
Then I was very frightened. I'd like to ask you a question. Where is the head of your church? I think I told you was it last week or the week before. Dear man said to me, John the Baptist was the head of his church. He said, well, you're in bad shape. I said, he had his head chopped up. The Lord, he's the ecclesiastical hand. Now look. What we have before us is the rise of ecclesiastical power. And please, I don't know how many of you acquainted with old world history, but as a boy and as a lad, in England as a boy, in English history, we have to study history that went way back before the days of Christ, according to our land.
And it brought us through the Roman period, and it brought us into the times. of ecclesiastical wickedness when the church ruled over the world. And you can find records, as you read the history of England itself, where the church in the days of the ruler's fame and fame was at its height in world power, persecutes of the Christian. Put them on what they call the rat. put their bodies, men on their bodies, and strengthen in every direction. Their leg that way and their arms that way has pulled them apart.
They called it the Inquisition and many other such things. And they did it what? In the name of the church. In the name of the really English history. The great conflict that reigns between the power of Rome. The Roman church, if you please, not the city of Rome. nor the kingdom of Rome, the Roman church. And it was only the land of England that broke the power of the Church of Rome mainly in the days of Sir Francis Bridge and Queen Elizabeth. Beloved, well, where did it begin? After it did happen suddenly, it began way back after the development of clerical growth and power was manifested.
Now let's go to our chapter and finish the reading then. As you've got it in verse seven, verse eight, sixteen rather. Repent. All else I will come unto thee quickly and know I will fight against them with the thought of my life. And what he's telling the church, if you don't repent and straighten things out, he says, I'll take care of those people. I'll take care of those false people. And my beloved, let me say lovingly, carefully, whatever's wrong in your church, the Lord will take care of it if you don't. He doesn't forget. He doesn't forget.
I'll fight against that. Look, with the sword in my mouth, his own words. We're now going to verse seventeen. And you've got the overcomers. brought before us. He that happened me. And may I say again, you may not be in the angel of the church included. You may not be a ruling elder in the church. You may not be in an official capacity in any way such. But if you're a member of the Lord's body, you've got an ear. And the Lord said, listen to what I'm saying. You overcome. He that overcomes. Hear what the Spirit said unto the churches to him that overcome it. I'll give him to eat. of the hidden manna. And that manna is Christ.
And that hidden manna, you know, when Moses just before they got the land of Canaan, they took some manna and they put it in a golden pot and they put the golden pot inside the ark. And that manna, oh beloved, that manna from heaven as you got through the wilderness, it's Christ in his humility when he was upon the earth. And the believer... You say, I can't go along with those cities. Oh, Lord said, you overcome. Don't you listen to them. Don't follow them. But you feed on me. You feed on me. Manor that's hidden. Can I say this? No matter what happens to the church outwardly, that I may not be able to go along with, I've got Christ to feed on.
May I ask a question, Solomon once. How many Christians can get along by just having Christ only? That's the affidavit. Severe Apostle Paul had to do it. He was in Rome. He was in prison. He couldn't even go out teaching. He couldn't teach. He couldn't publish it with a faith. He said, For to me, life is what? Christ. His law will take care of his work. My beloved thing alone.
And it may come to the place. If the law be not come, it may come to the place in history where you and I will be so persecuted perhaps, we'll just have to feed on Christ. But he says, I'll teach you. And please know what he goes on to say. And I'll also give him a white stone. And on the stone a new name written. Which no man nor study has ever seen it. May I put it in this, just compacted in this way. First of all, no matter the condition, let me appreciate Christ. And then if I do, the Lord said, when you get home the glory, I'll show you how much I appreciate you.
I'll write upon you a new name. I wonder what he's going to call me. Do you get the sword? I give him a white stone. Now, a white stone was the emblem in the courts of Greece and Rome. It was the emblem of a quiver and history. If they gave a first color and being tried, if he got a black stone, it means he was guilty and he had to pay the price. But if he got a white stone, he was acquitted. And the Lord said, if you just feed on me and not follow the false teachings and go astray, appreciate me, and I'll appreciate you someday.
I'll give you a name. I'll think so much that you know what they also know how much I think of you. Just between you and me. You know some of the emperors back then? They gave ten names to their favorite men. Take their kept name. And what the Lord is saying, as far as I'm concerned, is that John, if you overcome, you and I have a secret between us. You know how much I think of you. Nobody else will know how much I think of you. Between you and me. Would you like to have that? What a joy to realize. To overcome. God help us to be overcome. Shall we pray? Oh, blessed Father, the time goes so quickly, and the word is so precious.
but it's searching. We pray one for another. We know not what the future holds, but we do know who holds the future. And we pray that each one of us, saved by thy grace, will say, Lord Jesus, keep me faithful to you. Not faithful to men. Not faithful to a group. Faithful to you, Lord Jesus, because we could be faithful to the group and be unfaithful to you. So we pray. Help us to hear thy voice. And to overcome it, we ask it in thy name for thy glory. Amen. Well, the Lord bless you.