The letter that we consider today from the book of Revelation to the seven churches is the letter to Pergamos. And in that letter, mention is made of Balaam, who labored with Balak, the king of Moab, to curse the children of Israel. So our scripture reading will be from that passage in the Old Testament, Numbers chapter 25. Numbers 25 follows from the attempts, the many attempts that Balaam made with Balak to curse the children of Israel. which attempts were unsuccessful. And what's recorded in Numbers 25 is now the more deceptive and crafty method that they used to bring about, they hoped, the curse of God upon the church, upon Israel. Let's read then Numbers 25. And Israel abode in Shittim, and the people began to commit whoredom with the daughters of Moab. And they, that is the Moabites, called the people, the people of Israel, unto the sacrifices of their gods, and the people did eat and bowed down to their gods. And Israel joined himself unto Baal Peor, and the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel. And the Lord said unto Moses, take all the heads of the people and hang them up before the Lord against the sun, that the fierce anger of the Lord may be turned away from Israel. And Moses said unto the judges of Israel, slay ye every one his men that were joined unto Baal Peor. Behold, one of the children of Israel came and brought unto his brethren a Midianitish woman in the sight of Moses and in the sight of all the congregation of the children of Israel who were weeping before the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. And when Phinehas, the son of Eliezer, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose up from among the congregation and took a javelin in his hand. And he went after the man of Israel into the tent and thrust both of them through, the man of Israel and the woman, through her belly. So the plague was stayed from the children of Israel. And those that died in the plague were 20 and 4,000. The Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Phinehas, the son of Eliezer, the son of Aaron the priest, hath turned my wrath away from the children of Israel, while he was zealous for my sake among them, that I consume not the children of Israel in my jealousy. Wherefore say, Behold, I give unto him my covenant of peace. And he shall have it and his seed after him, even the covenant of an everlasting priesthood, because he was zealous for his God and made an atonement for the children of Israel. Now the name of the Israelite that was slain, even that was slain with the Midianitish woman, was Zimri, the son of Selu, a prince of a chief house among the Seminites. In the name of the Midianitish woman that was slain was Cosby, the daughter of Zur. He was head over a people and of a chief house in Midian. The Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Vex the Midianites, and smite them. For they vex you with their wiles, wherewith they have beguiled you in the matter of Peor. And in the matter of Cosby, the daughter of a prince of Midian, their sister, which was slain in the day of the plague for Peor's sake. Now let's turn to Revelation chapter 2 to read the words of our text there. Revelation 2 verses 12 through 17. Revelation 2, beginning at verse 12. And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write, these things saith he which hath a sharp sword with two edges. I know thy works and where thou dwellest, even where Satan's seat is. And thou holdest fast my name, and hast not denied my faith, even in those days wherein Antipas was my faithful martyr, who was slain among you where Satan dwelleth. But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to cast a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication. So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing 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 saith unto the churches. To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth, saving he that receiveth it. Beloved in the Lord Jesus Christ, the church to which this letter was written and addressed was a church that was located in the city of Pergamos. Pergamos was a major city in Northwest Asia Minor, a large and a prosperous and a powerful city. a center of intellectual and cultural development, a city that was known especially for its idolatry, a prominent center of paganism, many temples and altars to other gods. It was a city in which they worshiped Zeus. god of the sky and thunder, the king of the gods. It was the city in which they worshiped Athena, the goddess of civilization, of earthly skill and wisdom and strength. It was the city in which they also worshiped Asclepius, the savior god, the god of healing. And many schools of medicine were established there. And for all of these gods, there were temples and there were altars built and the worship of these gods took place on a daily basis. But it was also the city that worshiped the Roman emperors. The first city to do this, a city that deified the emperors of Rome and built three temples at which these emperors could be worshiped. And then in addition to that, twice in verse 13 of our text is mentioned that this was where Satan dwelt, where Satan lived. A stronghold of the devil, Satan was very active here in Pergamos, influencing and leading the people into all of this idolatry. and not only leading them into idolatry, but leading them into the immorality and the fornication that went along with the worship of these idol gods. By the grace of God, the church that was in that city held fast to the truth of God. and is commended for that. But at the same time, this church also had a significant flaw, a sin. And that takes up most of the letter that Christ writes to this church. And that includes the urgent call to this congregation to repent of that sin. As we hear, therefore, tonight what Christ said to the church in Pergamos, then we are also hearing what Christ says to us as a church, as a congregation of God's people. And if we display the weakness that Pergamos displayed, If we commit the sin that Pergamos committed, that is that the church there committed and that the saints there committed, then the call to repent comes to us also. Consider then this text under the theme the church that was inconsistent. And notice with me the church's condition. the Lord's admonition and the encouragement that is given. Christ knew that this church and her members lived in a wicked and in an immoral city. I know, he said in verse 13, where thou dwellest, even where Satan's seat is. A city that was characterized not only by the idolatry that we mentioned, but by gross ungodliness. A devotion to idolatry that characterized the city because of the devotion of mankind in that city to the satisfaction of the pleasures of the flesh. And the worship of these idol gods gave them a religious excuse, a religious reason to satisfy the lusts of their flesh. Christ knew their condition, as Christ likewise knows that that is the kind of world in which the church today lives, that we must live in, that we and our children must live in a world that is not much different, a world that is devoted to pleasure and the satisfaction of their earthly lusts, and that will pursue whatever they can, and whatever they can come up with, in order to satisfy those lusts, and will reject and have rejected the Word of God, the commandments of God, have rejected even God's creation of man as men and women. And they may today be serving different idols from the idols that were worshiped in Pergamos, but the same devotion to the idols that they have created and that they worship instead, and a devotion to the same immorality and wickedness and lewd ungodliness. That's the world in which we live. wickedness abounding, and wickedness on the increase as we approach the end of time. Christ mentions this, mentions His knowledge of the place in which they lived. in order to show that he understood that it was a very difficult thing for his church to live and to exist in that city. They had been converted from that, from that idolatry and all of that immorality. They had been, as God's people, rescued and they had been changed and they had been turned around from such ungodly living. but now they still lived in that city and they were still now pressured by friends and former friends and family members and neighbors around them to participate still in the ungodliness of the wicked in that city. Join us. Be one with us. And satisfy your pleasure, yearning for pleasure. What does Christ say about them as they lived in the midst of that city? This, he says, I know that thou holdest fast my name and hast not denied my faith. They were faithful to Christ. They remained steadfast in their commitment to the truth and to the faith that had come to them. They had heard the gospel. The gospel that condemned idolatry, the gospel that declared that the Lord Jesus Christ is the Savior from such idolatry and from all of that immorality that accompanies it. They had heard the gospel that Christ is their only hope, and the Spirit had worked faith in their hearts to embrace Jesus Christ and His truth. And now Christ says, thou hast not even under pressure denied the faith. In the midst of all that wickedness, they continued without compromise to confess the truth of God and the truth of Christ. They were not ashamed of the gospel, and they did not hide their light under a bushel, the light of the truth that they now embraced as the people of God. Not only that, but they did that in the face of persecution and even the threat of death. In verse 13, Christ says that, even in those days wherein Antipas was my faithful martyr, who was slain among you. There was a man who was martyred for his confession of Christ. And the congregation and her members, nevertheless, in face of that threat, continued to oppose error and to confess the truth. In that regard, the church was faithful and strong, maintaining the truth in its purity, defending that truth to all that were around them, a congregation that was doctrinally sound, Orthodox, and Christ commends them for that. But they had a serious fault. I have a few things against thee, Christ says, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to cast a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication. And then this, so hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate. Although they held to the truth, what Christ is saying to them in verses 14 and 15 is this, you hold to the truth, but you are not maintaining godliness in your living. When they were converted, there was a change in their belief, they came to embrace the that had been brought unto them through the preaching of the gospel, but not all of them had changed their lifestyle, their way of living. They were strong in doctrine, and they were zealous for the truth of the gospel of God and of his word, but they did not maintain godliness in life with the same zeal as they had for doctrine. The lives, therefore, of some of them were inconsistent with what they believed and confessed. Lives that were worldly. Lives that were just like the ungodly that were around them. Lives that were not antithetical. And the text sheds light on this and on the specifics of this sin and weakness by mentioning to us the Nicolaitans and Balaam. The Nicolaitans, we read of them earlier and considered them briefly earlier in verse 6 of this chapter, where it mentions the deeds of the Nicolaitans. were those who had a doctrine that it didn't matter how you lived if you were a saved child of God. You could live as an antinomian and that was fine. They were the ones in the church then, these Nicolaitans, or those who held to this Nicolaitan doctrine, were the ones in the church in Pergamos who were guilty of promoting the teachings of Balaam in that congregation. And those views of Balaam are set forth in the book of Numbers, as we refer to that in our scripture reading. Balaam was a wicked prophet. And Balaam was hired by Balak, the king of Moab, to come curse Israel. The king of Moab was afraid. The children of Israel were a great multitude that were in his presence. He was afraid of their ability to destroy and to overcome the nation of Moab. And so he hired Balaam for a price, for a good price, to come curse the children of Israel. Because if Balaam could actually bring the curse of God upon the children of Israel, then they would no longer be a threat to the Moabites. God would not be with them, because God had cursed them. And Balaam was willing to do that, motivated by greed, and he tried again and again to curse the children of Israel, hoping to become very rich and wealthy through this. But he could not curse them. And all that he did repeatedly in the ears of Balak, the king of Moab, was to bring instead upon the children of Israel a word of God that was a blessing upon them and not a curse. But as our text points out, Balaam did not quit, he did not give up when God did not give him a word of curse for Israel. He still wanted his money. He still wanted to become rich. And so he came up with another plan and he whispered this in Balak's ear and said to Balak, the king of Moab, here's what you need to do, hold a feast to your idols and have your most beautiful young women there and have them dance and invite the Israelites and let the youth of the Israelites mingle with your youth, let them befriend each other and have your youth influence and persuade the youth of the children of Israel to participate in this ungodly idolatry and all that is attached to it. and do that so that those who confess themselves to be members of the church and confess that God is their God and confess that they are those who worship God will now turn to live in idolatry. And then God will curse Israel. God will bring a curse upon them because of The idolatry that you have tempted and successfully led them to participate in. That was Balaam's new plan. And the result of that was it worked. as far as the Israelites joining in the wickedness of the Moabites. They committed whoredom with the daughters of Moab, Numbers 25. They sacrificed to their gods, they bowed down to their gods. Israel joined himself unto Baal Peor. A good portion of the Israelites participated in idolatry and fornication with the Moabites. They confessed that God was their God. They confessed outwardly that they were members of the church of Christ. They understood the word of God. They understood the doctrines and teachings that God had revealed to them as his church, but they lived like the world, no different from the ungodly. And Christ is telling Pergamos that this is what the church in Pergamos was guilty of. They had members in the church that were living in ungodliness. They maybe came to church faithfully every Sunday, but they were worldly during the week and even participating in the idolatry that characterized that city. They called themselves Christians, but they lived as the ungodly. They held to sound doctrine. They knew that doctrine, they confessed that doctrine, but they were evil in their lifestyle. And Christ condemns that and says, you think that as long as you hold to sound doctrine, it doesn't matter how you live. You have the idea that the only thing that's important in the church is orthodoxy in doctrine, but life doesn't matter. They were committing the sin that Balaam convinced Balak to tempt the children of Israel to commit. Confess the truth, as we saw, they were faithful to the doctrine. but not in life. Christ's main word to this church then, as recorded in verse 16, is this, simply this, repent. Repent, or else I will come unto thee quickly and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth. The members must repent of their sin. They must repent of their sin of denying themselves the pleasures of the flesh. They must repent of their sin of living a life that was no different from the ungodly world around them. Christ points out that it's not okay for you to live that way. It's not okay for you to be sinful and worldly and like the ungodly just so long as you are sound in doctrine. You hold fast my name and do not deny my faith. The church and her members were called to repent. And Christ, in addition to calling them to repent, then also points out to them and points out to us too in the text how such sin must be dealt with in the church and in the lives of the people of God. That's evident from the way in which Christ describes himself twice in this chapter. He makes reference to part of his description that comes from chapter 1, Christ who stands in the midst of the golden candlesticks, who is present in his church, but focuses upon this part of his description from chapter one, namely that he has a sharp sword with two edges that comes out of his mouth. And what Christ is saying to the church is that the power by which this sin must be addressed in the church and the power by which this sin must be dealt with in the church is my word. That's what sinners must hear, my word as a two-edged sword that comes out of my mouth, my word which is powerful. That's how the sin of antinomianism and along with it the sin of worldliness must be addressed by the Word of Christ. The Word as members bring it to each other. The Word as elders bring that Word to those who are in faith or life. and especially that word as it is brought through the preacher. Sin must be rebuked. Admonitions must be given. Sin must be denounced. forthrightly addressed, and this must be forthrightly addressed by the word of Christ, namely, how are God's people living? And is their life consistent with the doctrine that they believe and confess? It's not okay that the members of the church who confess the truth of Christ and who maintain it and who hold fast to the name of Christ and do not deny the faith of the gospel, the truth, it's not okay that they live in ungodliness, that they are characterized by inconsistency in life, that there is disharmony and conflict between what they confess and how they live. So this word of God puts before us the call to do some self-examination. How is it with us? How is it with us? Know and confess and hold fast to the truth. But what about life? It is the Word of Christ that makes the difference when that is the case, the Word that is the chief means of grace, the Word that is described here as coming out of the mouth of Christ as a sharp two-edged sword, the preaching of the Word that exposes hypocrisy. The preaching of the Word that pricks the conscience, that wounds man's pride, that humbles and brings us low because it exposes our sin, and we need it exposed to us. And the Word that makes us realize through that all that it is not only important what we believe. but also that we live according to what we believe and confess. When that word is faithfully brought, then you can be sure, beloved, Christ's sheep also hear His voice, as He said, my sheep hear my voice. And His voice is the voice that turns us from sin to Him. His voice is the voice that turns our lives around from ungodliness, from getting as close as possible to the world, being as much like the world around us as possible, from that to a life of being distinctly different from the ungodly that are around us. And it is his word that his sheep respond to when he says, come to me, all ye who labor and are heavy laden with the burden of sin, and with the burden of guilt, and even with the burden of being trapped by a specific sin. Come to me, and I will give you rest. the power of the voice of Christ. Often, beloved, it is the church that has the truth and that holds to that truth in which there is a decline in godly living. Strong in doctrine, but weak in life. The members know the truth well, but do not consistently live according to it. The church can state what it believes, even the children and young people can, but sometimes lives no different from the unbelievers that are around us, convinces herself that the truth is the only important thing. As long as we have the truth, that's all that matters. And religious life in such a church becomes simply an intellectual thing. and not characterized by spirituality and true piety. Satan is behind that, busy trying to destroy the Church of Christ. Sometimes he uses persecution. We saw that's what he used in Smyrna, the letter we just considered. But so often for Satan, attacking the church with persecution is a failure because persecution is a means to make the church spiritually stronger. And so he resorts to other tactics. He resorts to the tactics of Balaam and what he suggested to Balak. He tries to break down the wall between the church and the world to destroy the antithesis and seems quite successful in our day, too. Just think of his use of worldly entertainment, which is filled with all the ungodliness that characterized Pergamos and that characterized the Moabites. and in which God's people participated, and which we participate in when we entertain ourselves with the wicked, lewd, and immoral entertainment of this world. And then sometimes they're inclined to say, well, our Christian liberty allows us to do that, our Christian liberty. The truth is important, yes, very. And doctrine must come first. And it is foundational for godly living. The truths of the gospel are what lead to and motivate us to live thankful and godly lives. But that theology must not merely fill our brains. Right doctrine counts for very little. it does not come to expression and manifestation in the lives of God's people. The truths of God's Word that we confess and that we hold to and that have been handed down to us and that are our heritage as the people of God should be life-changing truths, life-changing The knowledge of God and of Christ and what God and Christ have done for us should lead to godliness. Our faith, our doctrine concerning the marvelous grace of God to us in Christ ought to incite us as people of God to a life of thankful love of God and thankful, obedient worship of God. Also, worshiping God by our obedience, how we live before him. The word of God and the truth of God should make us see the glory and the grace of God in Jesus Christ in such a way that we stand in awe of our God and of what he's done. Overwhelmed by the greatness of his grace to sinners such as we. And that leads to greater thanksgiving and greater praise and a means to greater godliness, so that we're not only hearers but also doers of the Word, James 1.22. Calling Beloved to live a consistent life as a Christian is not easy. I would dare to say it's much easier to hold to sound doctrine than it is to live according to sound doctrine. And then, because of that, it can be discouraging at times when the child of God seems to make not that much progress in sanctification. A battle, a battle personally and a battle for the church. Knowing that it is difficult, Christ gives to us in this letter words of encouragement. Notice that in verse 17. To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth, saving he that receiveth it." Christ promises to give us the hidden manna. That is, Christ promises to give us Himself. He is that manna. that comes down to us from heaven. He promises us to give us that hidden manna to those who overcome. And you understand that the two are interrelated. Christ is promising here to his people, to those who belong to him, that he will feed his sheep with himself. He will feed us with the gospel. He will provide the preaching of the gospel to meet all of our spiritual needs as his people in this life, and that will be the power to lead us to a godly life. And that will also be the manner that we need for our sins, the forgiveness that we have in Christ the bread that comes down to us from heaven. He promises that to us. But he also promises that that manner will be given to us at the end of life's journey. Now we receive Christ, yes, and we receive strength from Christ and forgiveness in Christ, but we are still in this world, and we are still in the flesh, and we still struggle daily with the old man of sin that dwells within us. But at the end of life's earthly journey, then we will receive Christ in all His fullness with nothing to detract from the blessedness of receiving the manna, the bread from heaven. Then, instead of the cross, we will have a crown. Then, instead of the battle against sin, we will be freed from sin. And then, instead of the spiritual struggle each day, we will have been made to be like Christ when He appears, and fully and finally and in joy for all eternity, victory. The victory that is ours in Christ. That's Christ's promise. A promise to spur us on and a promise to encourage us in the spiritual battle. And then the added promise, a white stone. White, the color of innocence. White, the color of our blessed justification, the righteousness of Christ imputed to us. Instead of being black and ugly and sinful in the eyes of God, pure white, white as snot. And in that stone, a new name written. The name is not known to us, not even known to the recipient yet. But that name is unique to every child of God, and that name represents the unique place and glory that every one of us will occupy as we are prepared for that unique place through all the troubles of life and even through the battles of faith against sin and ungodliness, all part of God's preparation, a new name that is part or that represents our unique place in glory. That too is part of the blessedness that Christ puts before us as an incentive, a motivation, a further motivation to persevere in our Christian life as those who are called to live in godliness that is consistent with our doctrine. The eternal reward awaits. every one of us who is, by the grace of God, faithful. The eternal reward is guaranteed. May that encourage us to be faithful unto death with a view to receiving that reward of grace at the end of life's journey. Amen. God and Father in heaven, We thank Thee for instructing us by Thy Word and directing us through that Word by the Spirit's work in our hearts to live the lives that we are called to live as Thy people in this world out of gratitude to Thee as those filled with wonder at Thy grace toward us. and thankful, thankful for thy gospel, thankful for Christ, and thankful for all that he has done and continues to do for us by his spirit and by thy grace. Thankful for the encouragement thou dost give of the reward of grace that awaits us, We look forward to the day when we will receive that heavenly manna in all its fullness without being hindered in our enjoyment of it by anything earthly or anything sinful. Bless this word to our hearts, in Christ's name, amen.