Rev 2: 12-17 A conforming church
To dwell where Satan’ throne or headquarters is, that is a big deal! Yet, the church held fast to faith in the name of Jesus. It is a church that was surrounded by much evil, wickedness, temptations of lusts of the eyes and flesh- immorality of all kinds, temptations to be corrupted by wealth through compromises and so on. Yet, this church was able to stand. Though not perfectly. The Lord commended her for standing in the midst of such evil. The brethren were willing to rather die than bow to Satan’s ploy to lure them to his side. Antipas was a faithful example of one who laid down his life and would not submit to the threats or promises of comfort and security from the hands of the Evil one.
The church however was influenced. The environment in which it lived was completely immoral and many of her members were caught in the traps. The ploy of Satan is never so direct as to ask the members to do evil. It always presents itself and gains acceptance by establishing his doctrines from Scriptures or by alluding to it. Hence, the doctrine of Balaam and the doctrine of the Nicolaitans gained ascendancy among some of the brethren and it became an abhorrent practice in the sight of the Lord.
- Doctrine of Balaam: Prophet Balaam, an Old Testament non-Jewish prophet, behind the scene, counselled King Balak of the Moabites, to mingle vain immoral girls among the men of Israel and lure them to sexual immorality and idolatry, in order to gain control over them. His principle was- unless you find something that will turn God against them, you cannot control them; therefore, make what is abominable to God acceptable to them. So, two abominable practices were employed, namely- sexual immorality and idolatry. In the church in Pergamum, what was abominable to God was subtly made acceptable as a doctrine and practice. Sexual immorality and some forms of idolatry were allowed. The moral of the church was corrupted while holding to faith.
- Doctrine of Nicolaitans: It is not very clear what this doctrine is and who actually founded it. However, it was clearly something Jesus hated and at least the church in Ephesus did not tolerate. Following the doctrine of Balaam, we can safely say it had to do with sexual immorality and idolatry too. These were practices the early church (Apostles and elders) warned the new Gentile believers against: “Don’t eat food that has been given to idols…Don’t be involved in sexual sin” Acts 15:29.
One is compelled to ask, why would a church go this far in compromise? Perhaps it was a way of adapting to the prevailing culture which ultimately minimizes persecution. This is a compromised and conforming church. A church that is blending and befriending the world cannot be favorable to Christ. The call of God is always … be ye separate 2 Cor 6:17; Love not the world… 1 John 2:15. The Jews who advocated that new believers among Gentiles should be circumcised, Paul said, they did that so they won’t suffer persecution because of the cross of Christ Gal 6:12. The church in Pergamum had some who did not want to suffer persecution and their manner was to allow certain environmental evil practices in the churches.
Today, how are we conforming to worldly and ungodly practices around us? In what ways are we compromising Scriptural truths so we won’t be mocked by those who reject it? How are we experiencing mindset shifts from the truths of Scripture to false but current urban legends and dogmas?
May the Lord send His truth and light to set free those who are trapped in these lies and to keep us from slipping into these deceptive pits? AMEN!