In this verse Jesus commands the church at Pergamum to change its mind about the teachings of Balaam and the Nicolaitans. If there is no repentance, Jesus will visit the church soon—in this context, meaning "suddenly"—and fight against the unrepentant members. He will judge them with the sword of His mouth, the Word of God.

God does not tolerate false doctrine and immorality in the church. Christians who try to harmonize biblical teaching and godly living with corrupt doctrine and immoral living learn the hard way that the two do not mix. They place themselves under swift chastisement at the hand of Jesus, the Head of the Church. Instead of rebuking the moral and spiritual darkness that filled Pergamum, the church at Pergamum compromised its purity by allowing the teachings of Balaam and the Nicolaitans to fester in the assembly. False teaching has a greater capacity to damage a church from within than from the outside.

Revelation 2:12–17 is a message from Jesus to the church at Pergamum. Jesus commends the church for keeping the faith despite intense persecution and the pervading worship of Satan around them. However, some members of the church followed the teaching of Balaam, and others followed the teaching of the Nicolaitans. Jesus calls the church out for repentance regarding those flaws. Failure to repent would bring judgment. The passage ends with Jesus' promise to give conquerors hidden manna and a new name written on a secret stone.

The contents of Revelation 2 are miniature letters to four churches, dictated by Jesus to John. Ephesus and Smyrna were coastal cities, whereas Pergamum and Thyatira were inland cities. Three more such letters are in Revelation 3. Each of these messages contains a unique description of Jesus, a command, a promise. All but one—the church in Laodicea—receive some commendation. All but two of the seven letters—those to the churches in Smyrna and Philadelphia—also contain a critical rebuke. Like churches today, most of the congregations addressed by Jesus had both good characteristics and at least one point which needed correction.

In chapter 1, John introduced his order from Jesus Christ: to write out a message to seven churches in Asia (Revelation 1:9–11). Here in this chapter, John writes to the church in Ephesus, the church in Smyrna, the church in Pergamum, and the church in Thyatira. Chapter 3 will continue with messages to the other three churches. The rest of Revelation will explain future events connected to the ''end times.''

The word ''revelation'' means ''an unveiling or disclosure.'' This writing unveils future events such as the rapture, three series of judgments that will fall on the earth during the tribulation, the emergence of the Antichrist, the persecution of Israel and her amazing revival, as well as Jesus' second coming with His saints to the earth, the judgment of Satan and his followers, and finally, the eternal state. This content, combined with the original Greek term apokalypsis, is why we now refer to an end-of-the-world scenario as ''an apocalypse.''

Accessed 4/28/2024 8:50:36 PM

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