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The Seat of Satan (The church of Pergamos..Part 2)

 

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. (Rev 2:13)                                                  

What comes to mind when you hear the words--The seat of Satan? The word has a few thoughts about this. A seat mentioned in scripture meant a place of royalty, authority, and power. The church of Pergamos was located in the heart of the seat of Satan. In that area, a faithful soldier of the church named Antipas was murdered. According to some historical records of that time, he was put inside of a big hollow bull and heated until it became red-hot. It is believed that he was praying and giving thanks during his execution.

Whether the story was true or not, the fact of the matter is that he was martyred openly as an example to intimidate the church into silence. It did the opposite--the church stood firm and did not deny the faith. It is interesting that God calls the place where Antipas was murdered, the dwelling of Satan. History shows us that it was around the altar of the Greek God Zeus.

A seat in this verse denotes a stronghold. The city was, personally, inhabited by Satan thru the worship of Zeus. Spiritual strongholds exist in people, communities, cities, or countries. Leaders can have a demon power behind their operations and decisions. It is not the first time that Satan has, personally, been involved in a high political position. The King of Tyrus had the personal backing of Satan himself. (Ezekiel 28:12-15)

Another high-ranking demon spirit that we see is the Prince of Persia. Daniel was so set on seeking the Lord's face for guidance and insights into future events that it called the attention of that evil spirit. (Daniel 10:12-13) Names of demon spirits are important when dealing with the deliverance of a person or places of authority.

It is interesting how demon spirits can travel through time and do more damage to people. This altar of Zeus was taken into Nazi Germany and used as a podium for Adolph Hitler to address his people. (1) History teaches us that Hitler was used by Satan to kill millions of Jews. As we look at the church of Pergamos, God praised their steadfast faith and loyalty. On the other hand, God pointed out their shortcomings. They had mixture in their midst. 

It is because of this mixture that they were limited in making an impact on that city. Notice in Rev 2:7, God was going to give them the hidden manna and a white stone with a new name written. He was going to reveal mysteries to the church and, most likely, it would have been used to win the city of Pergamos. Alas, the church dwindled and lost its influence in the city. Let's look into our hearts and deal with any mixture in our lives. Allow the Lord to point out those areas of shortcomings and weaknesses in our lives. Ask the Holy Spirit to give you the grace and mercy to overcome it. Then, we will be able to win our family, community, and even our nation to the Lord. God bless. 

  (1)  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9r83ZRissyw                                               

   Photo courtesy by Marco Montero Pisani on Unsplash

                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

The church of Pergamos

                                          Picture of modern-day Pergamos

Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God  (Heb 6:1)

Is Doctrine important?

The meaning of the word doctrine comes there the Greek word “Logos” which means sayings of Decree, mandate, or order. In the ’80s, there was a push to unify the church. We saw a strong showing of unity in the Washington for Jesus movement.  Believers fasted and prayed unto the Lord. Things started to turn around for this country for a season.

After that season, we saw a couple of things happen. A few prominent ministers fell and false doctrines started to make their way into the movement. Ministers started saying that doctrine was not important and as a consequence of those incidents, the unity of the body took a back seat. My friend, doctrine is very important for the body of Christ if we are to stand and make an impact on society.

Doctrine of Balaam

As we study the church of Pergamos, we find two major doctrines that are the mentioned-the doctrine of Balaam and of the Nicolaitanes. We had discussed the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes some time ago, and now we will take a look at the doctrine of Balaam. What is the doctrine of Balaam? It is based on the love of money and compromise (2 Peter 2:15)

Have you heard the saying–Money talks? It does, especially within the church. Many Pastors who were once anointed, have compromised the word for the sake of money. There are others who talk about money, prosperity and feeling good without repentance or holiness. I don’t mean to fault-find because by the grace of God stand I, but the doctrine of Christ has to be followed in order to have unity within the body.

The word commands us to be of one mind. ( Phil 1:27, Phil 2:2) One obstacle to this is that we are opinionated, so in the natural, this would be hard to follow. The good news is that God has given us the mind of Christ. If we put on Christ and his identity, being of one mind will not be hard. Revelation knowledge will come and it will cause us to walk in one mind and be unified.

So, in this day, make it a practice to put on Christ. Ask God to help you discern proper doctrine. Declare that you have the mind of Christ. Spend some time seeking his face, praying for the body and what is your part in this end-time movement. God bless.

Reprint courtesy of the Christian corner community church. 

 

 

The church of Smyrna

“To the angel of the church in Smyrna write:
This is the message from the one who is the first and the last, who died and lived again. I know your troubles; I know that you are poor—but really you are rich! I know the evil things said against you by those who claim to be Jews but are not; they are a group that belongs to Satan! Don’t be afraid of anything you are about to suffer. Listen! The Devil will put you to the test by having some of you thrown into prison, and your troubles will last ten days. Be faithful to me, even if it means death, and I will give you life as your prize of victory. If you have ears, then, listen to what the Spirit says to the churches! Those who win the victory will not be hurt by the second death.”

The church of Smyrna was facing intense persecution. One of the ways in which they got persecuted was by losing their material wealth. During that time, the Roman government demanded allegiance to Caesar as Lord. Christians stood firm and proclaimed Jesus as Lord. Some were put to death, while others suffered the loss of their wealth. They were dismissed from their jobs. Those who were looking for a job could not be hired. Others faced the loss of their business.

They were destitute and poor, yet Christ saw them as being rich. Two things to glean from this—

• True riches come from serving God. There is no price for his presence and being guided by him.
• God saw that they had the ability to get what they needed in the spirit. The word of God says to call those things that are not as though they were ( Rom 4:17) Our trust and provision come from God and not from man.

Another point to consider is that they were persecuted by the Jews. God called the Jews as belonging to the synagogue of Satan. (King James version) This type of persecution was religious in nature. The Lord saw their pain and gave them a word to comfort them. Notice, he says to listen (Rev 2:10) and gives them the details of their suffering. It was going to get worse.

He mentions 10 days. I believe it is not, literally, 10 days but it is symbolic for the 10 emperors that will put this church thru intense persecution. The Bishop of the church during that period was Polycarp. It was believed that he got captured and brought before the coliseum. He was told to renounce his faith, which he refused. His punishment was to be burned at the stake. As he was burning, it was noted that a nice fragrance was in the air and he was preserved. A soldier stabbed him, finally killing him. (1)

This should cause us to analyze our walk with him. Around the world, many Christians are dying for their faith and suffering great torture. May we be mindful to keep our brethren in our prayers. God, help us to count the cost and be faithful unto death.

Some final thoughts-the word Smyrna means Myrrh. It is symbolic of suffering and its fragrance is sweet. God sees the church of Smyrna’s suffering as a sweet smell to him. Brethren, here in America, we may not see this type of suffering, but believe me, you are going to go thru many testings and trials. It’s part of our package of Salvation. Personally, I see that when persecution comes to me thru a family member or incident, I rejoice. Doing this has brought great comfort and blessings in my life.

Always, remember that we will, always, have trials and tribulations. The good news is with the Lord on our side, he is able to give you the victory. You are destined to win because we are more than conquerors thru him that loved us. (Rom 8:37) God bless and be encouraged.

Reprint courtesy of the Christian corner community church.

The doctrine of the Nicolaitanes.

 

So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes, which thing I hate. (Rev 2:15)

                                Defining the word doctrine 

Greetings. In this Bible study, we will look into the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes. As you study Rev 2, you will find that God mentions the Nicolaitanes two times. When you see a word repeated in the Bible, pay attention. Doing so will help you find out what God is trying to tell you.

First, let’s define the word doctrine. Webster’s dictionary defines it as something that is taught. Teachings or instruction. The word of God places great importance on the doctrine of Christ. (Heb 6:1) What is God trying to tell us concerning doctrine? Correct doctrine is important and failure to adhere to it can have grave consequences

Let dig in further. The word Nicolaitanes comes from two Greek words. Nikos and Laos. Combining these words together means the conqueror of the people or laity. The Lord has placed Pastors as the authority of the local church. The Holy Spirit speaks to the Pastors first, and then to the church. Pastors are supposed to be hearing and guiding the church thru the Holy Spirit.

                                The root of false doctrine 

When the people override the Pastor’s authority, there is division. Respecting God’s spiritual authority in the church will bring you into a safe place. Everyone needs to know their place in the church so it can operate in peace and harmony. Miriam and Aaron got into trouble because they tried to override Moses's authority. (Numbers 12:1-9)

Most theologians believe that the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes came from Nicolas, one of the first deacons of the church. (Acts 6:1-5). The Apostle Paul had warned that out of the congregation would come division and strange doctrines. (Acts 20:30-31) This message would not be received in today’s modern user-friendly church. The church needs to receive correction and warnings so that they could be watchful and not allow the enemy place.

Let’s look at the life of Nicolas and how this false doctrine came into being–

• First, Nicolas might have been a charismatic person, finding fault with everything and everyone. Maybe, he wanted to go on his own (without being ordained) and have his own church.
• Another possibility is mixture. The mixture in the church could have played a role because some people in the church of Ephesus had books of curious arts (Witchcraft and sorcery–Acts 19:19).
• Finally,  it stands to reason since they were in a sexually liberal city, they had lowered their standards                  

                                                 Watch and pray 

It is not clear what happened, but false doctrine rose up to try to destroy the Ephesian church. God complimented them for their stand against those false teachings. What is the central message for us in this day and age? Watch! Brethren, now more than ever, we need to watch for false doctrine.

Some churches are lowering their standards. Holiness is a foreign word in some churches and grace is being perverted. It’s time to pray, stand firm in the Lord, and be vigilant. Let’s learn from this example and reject any false teachings in our lives. Pray and support your Pastor. Allow God to use him to bring about correction and order. Doing so will keep you on the right path and in a place of safety. God bless.

Have you left your first love?

Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.(Rev 2:4)

In our past studies, we took a hard look at the church of Ephesus. This was a church that was founded by the Apostle Paul. It was a church that had tremendous growth. They won so many souls that they, practically, emptied the temple of Diana. The idol Diana brought great gain to the silversmiths, and this massive conversion to Christ affected their business. They, in return, stirred the mob against Paul and the church.

In spite of all this opposition, God protected Paul. The church overcame this obstacle and increased in size. God gave them uncommon favor with those in high places and they influenced that city for the Lord. We could conclude a happy ending to this story, right? Not quite, the Lord had a final say—They left their first love! How did they get so distracted and how does this apply to us?

Defining first love

First, let us address the topic of first love. There have been many interpretations about defining first love, but let’s look at Matt 22:37-38 —
Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment.

So, based on this verse above, we find that loving God is the first thing we should do. We could conclude by this that the Lord Jesus is our first love. He is before your wife/husband, family, job, etc. When you love someone, you do the things that please them. They have top priority,

Perhaps, the church was doing things in a routine way. When you get to see many miracles, signs, and wonders, it can get to be a routine. Another thought to this is their work in the ministry. Working for the Lord in ministry is good, but it can have its drawbacks.

Church Pastors can get caught up in helping the poor and other community ministry outreaches that it robs their time with God. After a while, they spend less time in prayer and Bible study. The results? Their sermons are improvised and not anointed. Finally, maybe many rich and influential members were pressuring its leaders to adopt worldly ways of doing things that were not right with God. A spirit of compromise could have been a major factor causing them to lose their first love.

It is an unknown issue what happened in that church. The main issue is that there was a falling away from God. They had grown cold towards God and lost their first love, but not all is lost. God had some answers to this problem.

Consequences and benefits

To further enhance this study, we will use the Amplified version. The Amplified version of the Bible gives us clarity on God’s ultimatum (Consequences and benefits). Let’s look at the following verses below–

So remember the heights from which you have fallen, and repent [change your inner self—your old way of thinking, your sinful behavior—seek God’s will] and do the works you did at first [when you first knew Me]; otherwise, I will visit you and remove your lampstand (the church, its impact) from its place—unless you repent. Yet you have this [to your credit], that you hate the works and corrupt teachings of the [a]Nicolaitans [that mislead and delude the people], which I also hate. He who has an ear, let him hear and heed what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who [b]overcomes [the world through believing that Jesus is the Son of God], I will grant [the privilege] to eat [the fruit] from the tree of life, which is in the Paradise of God.’(Rev 2:5-7)

God is threatening to remove their candle. What does this mean? This means that they will lose their influence with those in high places. They will not longer be making an impact on society. On the bright side, God has an answer to their problem. The answer is that if they get this matter corrected, they will eat the fruit of the tree of life. God is opening up heaven on earth again if they repent.
Proverbs 15:4 says that a wholesome tongue is a tree of life. This talks of dominion and authority. Your tongue can bring life and death. God has given us authority to tread on serpents, scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy. (Luke 10:19)

As we study this subject further, God is addressing their authority. Their authority was at stake in this matter. They were at risk of forfeiting their authority because of their sin. The good news was that God was willing to take them to even deeper dimensions and blessings. The only thing that was required was repentance and correcting the problem of falling away.

They had a choice to make. The first one was to continue in their sin and forfeit their authority. The other alternative was to repent and correct the problem. God, always, gives us a choice. There is a saying that with great power comes great responsibility.

Personal application

As we ponder on this example, we need to ask ourselves–Have I lost my first love with Jesus? Here are some points to consider..

• Have I had so many answers to prayers that I become complacent and robotic in my service to the Lord?
• Have I allowed distractions to take away my time from the Lord?
• Have I been so involved in ministries and good works that I placed the Lord in second place?

Let us not cut the flow of blessings from God in our lives. God is a jealous God and he demands our time with him. Doing so will allow us to continue to eat from the tree of life and be an overcomer.

Reprint courtesy of the Christian corner community church. 

 

A look at the church of Ephesus--Part 2

 In our last Bible study, we had seen how God used the Apostle Paul to raise up a church in Ephesus. Ephesus was a city where the false God Diana was worshiped. That cult had a large following and its temple seated anywhere from 20,000 to 30,000 people. It took Paul three years to establish the church and as a result of his efforts, there was revival.

How revival started in Ephesus.

Before we address how revival started in the city of Ephesus, we will see a series of events that occurred prior to that event. Let’s look at some points—

1. Paul spent some time ministering to twelve men. He made sure they were equipped and ready for the challenge. ( Acts 19:1-7)
2. Paul preached the gospel in the synagogues. He was not afraid to stand up to his beliefs. Unfortunately, many rejected his witness. (Acts 19:8-9)
3. Another door of opportunity opened up for Paul. Tyrannus had a place for Paul to teach the gospel unto others. This, in turn, allowed his students to preach the word and reach many in his surroundings.
4. God confirmed his miracles with signs and wonders (Acts 19:12)
5. An unsaved group of men tried to take upon themselves the casting of demons. The results were disastrous. (Acts 19:14-16)
6. This incident caused the church to examine themselves by the Holy Spirit. The church had allowed the mixture to creep in. They repented and burned all the books that had to do with curious arts such as Magic, Sorcery, and the Occult. (Acts 19:19)
7. The result was the growth of the word of God and souls coming to the kingdom

The backlash

As a result of these events, souls started to get saved and the temple was getting empty. Idolatry was big business and the silversmith industry was getting clobbered. No longer were the idols of Diana being sold. Demetrius led a mob with false accusations to kill Paul and stop this revival, but it backfired. (Acts 19:24-41)

Entering into God’s rest

The church of Ephesus, eventually, prevailed. They went on to exercise great influence on their city. They passed the test and God gave them rest to do his work in that area. Many believers have the mistaken idea that they need to suffer constant attacks from the enemy. It gives them a sense of comfort and assurance of their salvation. Yes, Satan comes to steal, kill and destroy but he can depart from you for a season.

Let’s look at the following points. First, the devil departed from Jesus for a season. (Luke 4:13). Would we conclude that there was something wrong with Jesus because the devil departed from him? No, Jesus passed his testings in the wilderness! The second point to consider is Acts 9:31. The churches had rest for a season. Passing your testings in life will cause Satan to depart from you for a season.

That is why it is so important to pray for those over us. God wants us to lead a quiet and peaceable life. (I Tim 2:1-3). Friends, there are times of rest that God gives us for our benefit. When we pray for those above us, it can influence our leader’s heart and give the church favor.

The third point is pleasing God. You can have a church in the midst of people who hate you. When you start looking to please God and be obedient to his calling, your enemies will be at peace with you. The fear of God will be prevalent and uncommon favor will follow.(Prov 16:7) 

One final point is understanding the word from a military point of view. The word of God calls us soldiers. (2 Tim 2:3) I was in the military myself and understood the importance of rest. Soldiers need time to rest. A much-needed rest will help them to enjoy the fruits of their labors. It will refresh them for the next battle to come.

End result

The end result of God’s rest is victory. The church of Ephesus was so influential that many ministries wanted to get it's stamp of approval. A stamp of approval would mean that they would expand to other areas, but it was not that easy.  The leadership at Ephesus had the gift of discernment. They knew whether the Apostles were sent or not. (Rev 2:1-3)

Another notable achievement with this church was following correct doctrine. The correct doctrine was very important. Discerning the false doctrines of its day–the Nicolaitanes caused the Lord to be pleased with their work. (Rev 2:6) All these achievements would make for a happy ending, but the Lord is not through. He noticed that they had fallen from their first love. In our next study, we will see how the Lord deals with this shortcoming.

Reprint courtesy of the Christian Corner community church.