In these posts we’re listening to Revelation 2 and 3 – vital chapters, because, remarkably, they show us just how Jesus feels about a typical range of local churches…
Today the rest of Rev 2. Revelation’s a book that finishes with Christ the divine Bridegroom celebrating His marriage with His Bride the Church (chs 19 and 21). So what we’ve got at this other end of the book is this Bridegroom interacting with His Bride to prepare Her; as per Ephesians 5:26-27, `to make Her holy, cleansing Her by the washing with water through the Word`, so as `to present Her to Himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle`; perfecting Her, in short, by applying His personality to Her – that is, applying to these seven churches diverse aspects of His glory, His self-revelation, such as we’ve seen in ch1.
And as these attributes of Christ recur in the letters to the seven churches, they’re obviously topics for us to stop and use as fuel for worship. But then they should make us ask, which attributes does He mention when, and why? The various aspects of Christ’s self-revelation match issues in ourselves, and in the churches. (Something our study and preaching should always seek to draw out, in other passages too!)
The exhortations to `overcomers` in chs 2 and 3 set the tone for the whole of Revelation. Roger Forster suggests, rightly I think, that a key purpose of the whole book is to help us understand what it means to be `overcomers’. Certainly this is an emphasis here at the book’s start, climaxing each of the seven letters in chs 2-3, and likewise at its close, in 21:7. And it’s relevant to every era; if for example our British churches fail to grasp these things, we could vanish just like these seven in Turkey did. Christ’s attributes are the `arming vision` that all of us need to be overcomers!
But they were especially needed by believers in the three cities of Rev 2:8-29 – Smyrna (modern Izmir, Turkey’s third largest city), Pergamum, and Thyatira. Intolerance of Christians, persecution, was a reality here. Pergamum, says Jesus, is `where Satan has his throne`, which means real satanic power (just like in 11:7). We can see why Jesus reveals Himself there as having the `sharp double-edged sword`: this is Christ the warrior. As for us, however, as Pentecostal writer Jim Cymbala notes, the church isn’t told here to set about binding Satan in deliverance ministry, but to cultivate faithfulness (cf Eph 6:13, Matt 10:39, 24:13), because Christ is in control; He will give us the power, when it’s needed, not to be cowardly (2:10, 21:8); and we can be sure that – as with the great tribulation that will one day culminate history as we know it – any time of persecution is strictly limited by His sovereignty (2:10, cf Matt 24:22). Nonetheless, Satan’s power is very real (as the book of Job shows us too): `The devil will put some of you in prison to test you… Be faithful, even to the point of death` (2:10, NIV as usual). Smyrna was where the great early church leader Polycarp was placed on a pyre and burned alive; and tradition has it that, at Pergamum, Antipas (2:13) was slowly roasted to death in a brazen bull. If you defy the powers currently dominant in this world, Satan’s real influence can mean they get very unfriendly indeed.
And it’s to Smyrna that Christ reveals Himself as, cosmically, temporally, and physically, the `First and the Last`. (That’s 2:8; cf 22:13, where – and this is helpful if we’re talking to Jehovah’s Witnesses – this title is coupled with that of `Alpha and Omega`; which in turn is (1:8) a title of `the Lord God, the Almighty` Himself. That is who Jesus is. `The First and the Last` is also the title of the Lord, Yahweh, in Isaiah 44:6-7 – where in fact His unique right to it is emphasized.) In Revelation 1:17-18 we’ve been reminded that the One who is `the First and the Last` became dead. Yet even in His martyrdom and unimaginable suffering He was still sovereign, still the First and the Last! And this aspect of Christ’s self-revelation also shows us that He knows entirely what serious intolerance and suffering, even martyrdom, are like. He is (here comes more fuel for our worship) our paradigm (Heb 12:2-3, John 12:24-26); the One who was pressured in every way like us, the Great High Priest whose understanding, support and deliverance we therefore can utterly depend on (Heb 4:14-16); the One who finally went through the depths of hell for us, but rose triumphantly, `came to life again` (2:8), and now is `alive for ever and ever` in glory (1:18); and so will His followers be! Amazing…. Lord, please help me to grasp these things, and so by Your Spirit to be an `overcomer`, and not a coward…
But let’s not miss the relevance of all this for those of us fortunate enough to live in countries where our lives are not in danger. Jesus’ warnings here aren’t just about the threats posed by overt persecution. Jesus-followers in these cities had to face being unable to participate in the Emperor-worship that was centred on Pergamum, and so looking unpatriotic – which could have the same very serious consequences as appearing un-PC can have in certain British professions today. (We too may have to face being seen as `difficult`, `bad citizens`, in the coming years, with increasingly serious results.) But there was more. A big problem for Christians in a city like Thyatira was that economic life was shaped by its many trade guilds in which pagan practices were central; trade-guild membership involved joining in eating meals offered to idols (2:14, 20; what if the person expecting you to join them was a key client, or your business partner, or your boss?), and in sacred orgies with the temple prostitutes. So living faithfully as a believer was by no means a way to have both God and economic success, but rather a path to probable financial hardship.
And so, not surprisingly – and like today – there arose in the church influential people who said that such costly distinctiveness was really not necessary. The Nicolaitan teaching of vv6,15, says F F Bruce, `apparently aimed at making the Christian path in a pagan world a little smoother by permitting so much compromise with idolatry as would satisfy imperial and social requirements.` (What might be the equivalent today? Perhaps now, just as then, it would be teaching believers to tolerate things that God clearly calls immorality (v20); eg in `gay Christianity`.) It’s the `teaching of Balaam`, because, when we look back to the old testament, the satanic strategy through Balaam in Numbers 25 aimed likewise to destroy God’s people through corrupting their distinctiveness, particularly by leading them to compromise over immorality and idolatry. And these are likewise the issues with the Thyatiran prophetess’s false teaching in 2:20. We can surely see the attractiveness of such teaching, saying that we believers don’t need to cut ourselves off from society’s mainstream; worship Jesus certainly, but otherwise why make things so hard for yourself? Christ speaks with great severity about any such compromise; but we can see why people would give the prophetess a hearing, if it meant that they could keep the faith without their business interests being endangered – or, indeed, their significant relationships with unbelievers. And it’s easy to see how that could feel a better approach than what might seem an exaggerated, even harsh, view of Christ’s expectations…
What’s also noticeable is that the churches in Thyatira and Pergamum aren’t actually teaching this stuff themselves; they are simply, well, ecumenical, happy to have people in ministry there who are holding to the Nicolaitan teaching, and likewise `tolerating` the presence of the false prophetess (vv14,15,20). These aren’t churches marked by the `sharp [anti-Nicolaitan, v16] sword` of Christ. And let’s be clear: the people Christ is challenging about this are good people, people who had kept the faith even when Antipas was killed (v13); people who Christ recognizes as genuinely `my servants` even though they have been led astray (v20); people whose `deeds… love and faith… service and perseverance` are noted by Christ with loving approval (v19). But it seems that it’s the church as a whole that needs to actually repent (v16) of the permitting of false doctrine. The `you` in v15 who need to repent is not the same as the `them` in v16 who are teaching the falsehoods; this `you` is innocent, good people, who are simply being too tolerant (cf v20). (It’s thought-provoking how this verse in 2:20, and 2:2, are the only times the new testament (NIV, ESV, NRSV) teaches us about being tolerant.) There’s a vital lesson here, for leaders especially, that I’ve seen needed over and over again: it’s definitely not enough for us to be biblical in life and doctrine ourselves; we must care, and ensure, whether other people are.
And so it is that the way Jesus reveals Himself to Pergamum is as the `One who has the sharp, double-edged sword`. There is a war on. The vision of this sword can be a real encouragement to those who must survive `where Satan… has his throne`. However, actually Christ is going to use it here against false doctrine in the church (v16). `I will fight against them`, says Jesus of the Nicolaitans; think about that! And to Thyatira he writes likewise (and again, let’s worship!) as `the Son of God, whose eyes are like blazing fire`. `Cuddly Jesus`? Not exactly! `Don’t make a fuss about mere doctrine`? `By her teaching` the unrepentant false prophetess is corrupting Jesus’ servants, and (we have to face the forcefulness of this, the reality of judgment even within the church) `I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I am He who searches hearts – and minds` (v23)! `You have this in your favour`, Jesus says to Ephesus: `You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate!` Whereas to Thyatira it’s `I have this against you: You tolerate that woman` (v20); tolerance rather than the hatred of false doctrine He desires (though this is absolutely not hatred of people, it’s vital to remember – whatever sanctions and church discipline may be needed). So there’s the issue – within the church there really can be times when it’s essential to be lovingly but firmly intolerant…
And there will be a huge reward for such difficult faithfulness; the person who has learnt to handle such local church situations aright has been trained for far greater authority in the days to come. Eternity is what counts, and in eternity there are rewards far greater than everything the believers lost financially by staying out of the trade-guilds’ feasts, and perhaps like Hebrews 10:34 by the `confiscation of your property`: `I will give you the crown of life`, says Jesus; and, `I will give authority over the nations` (vv10,26)! `I know your poverty` – a very strong word; almost destitution; `yet you are rich`! (v9). So `Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth… but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven!` (Matt 6:19). `Listen, my dear brothers and sisters: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom He promised those who love Him?` (James 2:5). `Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God!` (Luke 6:20).
Some tough realities here. But `To him who overcomes, I will give some of the hidden manna`, says Jesus (Rev 2:17). If (practically!) we develop an appetite to `eat` the biblical food God has provided for our time in the wilderness, there will be far less danger of being turned aside to `eat` (v14) at feasts of sexual deviance and idolatry by our equivalents of the Nicolaitans and the false prophetess.
In other words: let’s feed on Revelation, and turn what we read into worship and obedience! `Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches` (v29); we must allow the (personal!) Spirit to speak! Which in this case, of course, is choosing to listen to what the Bible says…
