[Special - Seven Churches] The Letter of the Lord to the Church in Pergamum (1)
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July 03, 2011 |
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* The Church of Ephesus
* The Church of Smyrna
* The Church of Pergamum
* The Church of Thyatira
* The Church of Sardis
* The Church of Philadelphia
* The Church of Laodicea
"And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write: The One who has the sharp two-edged sword says this: 'I know where you dwell, where Satan's throne is; and you hold fast My name, and did not deny My faith even in the days of Antipas, My witness, My faithful one, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells. 'But I have a few things against you, because you have there some who hold the teaching of Balaam, who kept teaching Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols and to commit acts of immorality." (Revelation 2:12-14)
 Rev. Dr. Jaerock Lee
Chairman, The United Holiness Church of Jesus Christ
Permanent President, The World Christianity Revival Mission Association
Joint President, Association of Lovers of National Assembly and Prayers for the Country
Founder & Board Chairman, Global Christian Network
Founder & Board Chairman, World Christian Doctors Network
Founder & Board Chairman, Manmin International Seminary
Founder & Board Chairman, The Alliance Holiness Theological Seminary
Doctorate of Ministry, and Honorary Doctorate of Divinity
Senior Pastor, Manmin Central Church
His sermons were broadcast by the Far East Broadcasting Company and the Asia Broadcast Station
His Christian columns appear on The Chosun Ilbo, The Hankook Ilbo, The JoongAng Daily, The Dong-A Ilbo, The Munhwa Ilbo, The Seoul Shinmun, The Kyunghyang Shinmun, The Hankyoreh Shinmun, The Korea Economic Daily, The Korea Herald, The Shisa News, and The Christian Press.
He conducted crusades in Tanzania; Argentina; Los Angeles, Baltimore, Hawaii, and New York City of the USA; Uganda; Japan; Pakistan; Kenya; the Philippines; Honduras; India; Russia; Germany; Peru; the Democratic Republic of the Congo; Israel; and Estonia.
The letters of the Lord to the seven churches recorded in the book of Revelation are the words transcending time for churches today. They summarize God's words in the Old and New Testaments. They also include keys to establishing churches that please the Lord.
They are also the shout of love from the Lord who wants to awaken all the churches on earth. Churches should check if they changed in a way in which they ought to be reprimanded by the Lord even if they say they love the Lord with their lips.
What kind of advice does the Lord give to churches, pastors, and believers today through the Church of Pergamum?
1. The One Who Has the Sharp Two-Edged Sword Says This
Hebrews 4:12 reads, "For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart." It is Jesus Christ who has the Word of God like the sharp two-edged sword.
Then, how does the Word of God which is sharper than any two-edged sword work for us?
Unlike other books in the world, God's Word in the Bible is living and active. As life is embedded in the Bible, the Word will be fulfilled as written and the works of life reviving souls will take place when we believe it and act according to it. The living Word of God is like a sharp sword that pierces as far as the division of soul and spirit and of both joints and marrow.
What, then, does it mean to 'pierce as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow'? When God created the first man, Adam, man was composed of spirit, soul, and body. The soul was created to obey its master, the spirit. The body was a container for the spirit and soul. However, when the first man committed sin by eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, the master, the spirit, died as God had spoken to them saying, "…for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die."
Here the expression 'spirit died' means that the spirit is 'locked and cannot work.' Because the spirit was locked, the soul came to be able to act like the master over the person. But whoever accepts Jesus Christ as their Savior receives the Holy Spirit as a gift and his dead spirit revives. The spirit is then able to grow to the extent it breaks the 'works of the soul'. These works are the wrongfully input of untruth. And now the individual can learn and practice the Word of God. Once he becomes a man of spirit, he can control and rule over both soul and body. Such works of the Word which break souls and activate spirits is referred to as 'piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit'.
'Joints' are body parts where two bones meet and are able to move together. In a spiritual sense, they refer to self-frameworks which we make for ourselves. We form self-righteousness with what we have seen, heard, and learned. Self-frameworks are created as such self-righteousness is hardened. In general, it is formed with a lot of untruth. To understand the self-framework, you have to first know what self-righteousness is.
Until we change completely into men of truth, we have self-righteousness which makes us insist that we are right. It is formed in us when we input worldly untruth thinking as if it were truth. This is not righteousness in God's sight, but self-righteousness. When the Word of God, which is truth, is in us we realize that what is right in our own sight may not actually be right. From this point on, one by one we cast off self-righteousness that is contrary to the truth whenever it is discovered in us.
However, we are not able to throw away the self-righteousness discovered in us despite our efforts from time to time. That is because the self-righteousness have already become self-framework. It means that the self-righteousness has already established its own system, which is self-framework. There are various types of things which form self-framework. Personality, knowledge, education, taste, habits, and behaviors can be elements of self-framework. If we have such frameworks, we might have conflict with others, give them hard times, or even pass judgment and condemnation.
For example, those who had no one to share their hearts and made their way on their own as 'self-made" individuals, might have difficulties socializing with others. Such a person may develop an introverted character as an element of their framework, so they cannot get along with others well.
Some do not seem to insist on their righteousness even if they have strong frameworks. But it is not easy for them to discover themselves because their framework hinders others' advice from working in them. So, it is difficult for them to change. It is possible to break such frameworks only with the Word of God.
However, because God works in justice, the Word cannot work in those who do not open their hearts due to their strong framework. Only when they open their heart even a little can the Word of God work in them. Therefore, we have to admit that we have self-frameworks, open our heart with humbleness, and accept God's Word. Then, the framework will be destroyed.
'Marrow' is the soft fatty substance inside human bones. This spiritually stands for sin and evil minutively and painstakingly rooted deeply in the heart. As marrow is situated deep in human bones, the root of sin and evil is situated deep in human heart.
Most people can easily discover sin and evil which appear outwardly, but it is very hard to discover sin and evil rooted in their nature. When those who do not seem to have envy or arrogance are faced with trials, their evil will be revealed.
It is the case of Job. Since he lived by the Word of God according to his knowledge, he did not think he was evil. But he had evil deep in his nature. So, when Satan brought accusations against Job, God allowed trials to come upon Job so that Job could discover his evil.
When Job lost all his property and family, his evil did not come out. But when he had great pain from the boils all over his body, his evil, that he had not been aware of, began to come out. He passed on judgment and condemnation on his friends and resented his parents and even God. His evil came out like this, but when God explained to him, he realized his wickedness. He repented thoroughly and cast it away. Then, he went into a deeper level of spirit. He became twice as rich as he had been before. (Refer to Man of Spirit Man of Flesh: Lectures on the Book of Job I & II)
Just as joints and marrow are part of the body, self-righteousness and frameworks are parts as well. They can be removed only by the sword of the Word of God. Only when we break even this self-righteousness and these frameworks can we become holy and true children of God.
The Word of God is living and contains life.
So when we believe it and put it in practice, it is fulfilled as written and the works of life take place.
The living words of God are like a sharp sword that pierces as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow.
2. I Know Where You Dwell, Where Satan's Throne Is
Pergamum was one of the major cities in Asia in those days. It was the center of politics and studies. It was a city of extravagance and idol-worshiping. Pergamum was full of shrines and temples to worship idols, such as the temples of Zeus, Dionysus, Athens, and Asclepius, and three huge shrines for worshiping the Roman Emperor. There was a special temple, the temple of Asclepius that was a place to worship serpents.
When the Lord said to the Church of Pergamum that He knew where they dwelt, it means He knew that where they were living was a place full of idols. It also means that, based on the word of God, He knew they were not standing firmly on their faith. He is telling them that they were in a situation in which it was easy for them to be deceived by false teaching resulting from a little bit of change in the word of God.
'Satan's throne' refers to the place where Satan sits. It means Pergamum was full of idols. It is not easy to keep one's faith living in a place full of sins and like the den of Satan. It's because Satan brings about so many persecutions, tests, and trials on the believers to make it hard for them to keep their faith.
3. You Did Not Deny My Faith even in the Days of Antipas
Under this severe persecution, Antipas was martyred. His martyrdom became the source of strength to other believers to keep their faith and overcome. The Lord praised this point. The Lord calls Antipas 'my witness, my faithful one.' From these words of the Lord, we can understand the faith of Antipas well.
He cast off evil from his heart, resembled the Lord diligently, and preached the gospel with all his life. While he was fulfilling his duty as a witness of the Lord, he was eventually martyred. There is a story passed down about Antipas' martyrdom.
A Roman officer put Antipas in front of the idol, and forced him to bow down before the idol of the Emperor.
He said, "Antipas, bow down before this image of the Emperor of Rome." Then Antipas replied saying, "There is only one King of the kings and Lord of the lords, He is Jesus Christ. I'll not bow down before any other." The officer became furious, and shouted out, "Antipas, don't you know that the whole world is against you?" Then, Antipas replied, "Against the whole world, then, I acknowledge Jesus Christ as the Lord of the lords."
Then out of his anger, the officer put Antipas in a blazing brass furnace, and killed him. But, even in these terrible persecutions and hardships, the members of the Pergamum Church kept their faith.
Some of the believers who do not clearly know the truth may have questions such as, "They believed in God, and they were faithful. So, why were they persecuted and why did they have to die in martyrdom?" "If God is truly alive, how could He leave them alone?" But if they understand the will and providence of God, they can realize why these things happen.
There were many martyrs' deaths, not only in the early church such as in the Church in Pergamum where Antipas died as a martyr, but martyrdom occurred everywhere that Christians and Christianity initially settled. Such was the case particularly in the Roman Empire that ruled over practically the whole world.
The citizens of Rome watched as many Christians were dying as martyrs in the Coliseum. They regarded them to be very foolish. They even enjoyed it. To the citizens of Rome, Christians who were beheaded and became the prey of lions to keep their faith looked so ridiculous.
But soon, they started to think it strange. "How could they have smiles on their face while dying?" "What made them act like that?" and "Who is Jesus that they believe?" Then they became interested in Christianity, and then more and more people wanted to know about Christianity. Finally, many people heard the gospel and accepted Jesus Christ. Furthermore, at the time of Constantine I the Great, Christianity was approved and later it was established as the state religion.
This is God's providence that human beings cannot understand. Without this, Christianity could not have been spread throughout Europe and the whole world as quickly.
A person who lives a Christian life as he sees fit cannot keep the faith when faced with the pain of martyrdom and the fear of death. Chances are greater that he will forsake his faith when faced an extreme situation or a threat of life because he hasn't cast off evil in his heart.
Only those who are faithful with unchanging hearts can keep faith even while facing threats against their lives. They can die a martyr's death for their faith to the extent that they cast off evil and reach sanctification. Such martyrs will receive great honor and glory from God. So, it is actually a great blessing for them.
To be continued in the next edition
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