Ill Fight Against Them
(Rev 2:12-17)
Wouldnt it be nice if we had someone who would always fight for us? I used to think that I had no one at my side until I realized that God was the one who fights for me. This made me full of self-confidence. In todays passage, a letter to the church in Pergamum, God said that he would fight for the church. How did he do that?
1. He fought with the Word. The Lord is introduced as a double edged sword. Pergamum, the beautiful city of culture and medical art, was so proud of its immense knowledge that it became Satans headquarter of syncretistic spiritualism and idolatry. So God proclaimed that He would sever the cancer of this church with his double edged sword. He promised that he would fight with His Word for his selected people groaning in their trials.
2. He fought in the midst of persecution. God knew that the members of the Pergamum Church were living unavoidably in the city of idolatry. He especially remembered Antipas, a faithful witness of God. The traditional account says that Antipas, a famous mason kept his faith despite officials threatening and efforts of appeasement until he was thrown into a boiling cauldron. Could he do this on his own? He was with the Lord, who fought for him. It was the presence of God, who visited him at the moment of greatest threat in order to strengthen him that he was able to be martyred in Gods glory.
3. He fought in the midst of temptation. Despite Antipas great martyrdom, for which the Pergamum church was praised, God pointed out a few things against the church. Thus temptation starts with a few things. This phrase refers to those who hold to the teaching of Balaam and the Nicolaitans, the heretics of Gnosticism. Balaam, a gentile prophet was asked by a Moabite king to curse the Israelites, marching into the land of Moab. However, God inspired him to bless the Israelites (Num. 22-25). Still, Balaam informed the king of how to incite the Israelites to commit sins before he left Moab (Num. 31:16) and 24,000 of the Israelites died in the plague because of their adultery. Unlike trials, bearable to a degree, temptation is hard for us to overcome. We can somehow keep our faith in persecution, yet in our Pergamum, the city of human culture and knowledge, we feel small, letting go of our faith. Without holding our double-edged sword, we can be easy prey to Balaam, a seemingly nice Christian and QTer. The plague of the Israelites stopped when Phinehas pierced through the bodies of an Israelite man and a Midianite woman with his spear (Num. 25:8). Thus the Israelites sin caused by a man, Balaam was resolved by another one Phinehas. Are you suffering from the plague, where your 24,000 were killed after falling to temptation? Its time for your Phinehas surgery! We all are vulnerable to Balaams temptation, no matter how hard we struggle against it. Thats why we need the double-edged sword of the Word. And thats how God fights against our enemies, our sin, our persecution, and our Nicolaitans. Through repentance, we need to reveal our Nicolaitans and have them severed by the scalpel of the Word.
4. He promised his reward. After this fighting, God says that he will give his hidden manna to his people. When we repent of our sins, God gives not only our spiritual manna but also our physical manna. He also gives us a white stone, a trophy for the innocent, and lets us enjoy the grace of his forgiveness of our sins. Then the Lord gives us a new name. Thus, by overcoming temptation, we experience a totally new life, known only to us who receive it. This is the process of Gods surgery through His Word, the proof of his love for us. Chasing prosperity is in itself idolatry. Idol-worshipers believe that their idols will bring both blessing and curse. Curse is not failing to get what we want, but believing that something other than but God gives us happiness. We need to get rid of the idols within us, readjust the goal of our life to God, and polish our trials into a glittering stone to be shared with others. God bless us all to keep in mind that He will fight for us so we may enjoy His surgery through the Word.
'Repent therefore! Otherwise, I will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.' (Rev 2: 16)
