Tag Archives: seven churches

The letter to Thyatira: That woman Jezebel!

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lettersIn writing to the church in Thyatira, Jesus talks about a false prophetess in the church there, a woman that he calls Jezebel. That wouldn’t have been her real name. This was a reference to the Old Testament queen that tried to impose a foreign religion on the Israelites.

This Jezebel was also promoting a false religion. Thyatira was a town with strong labor unions; each of these unions aligned itself with a pagan god, holding meetings in the temple of their patron. Christians had to choose between participating in idolatry or committing professional suicide.

What appears to have been going on here was that this woman, this self-proclaimed prophetess, was teaching the Christians that it was all right for them to participate fully in the activities of the trade guilds in Thyatira. The argument would be that it was necessary professionally, that these religious rites were merely “social rites” which had no meaning. Possibly she would have argued, as did some Corinthians before her, that since false gods aren’t really gods, Christians do nothing wrong by participating in their “worship.” This was an issue which had troubled the church in Corinth, and Paul had taught them in no uncertain terms that accommodation was not the answer. Christians cannot “play” at worshiping other gods; worship is for our God and for him alone. Worship activities, even when directed to false beings, are not mere actions; they affect our hearts, our very being. Participating in the worship of false gods is unfaithfulness to the true God. It is spiritual immorality, religious adultery.

(Letters From The Lamb, pp. 100-101)

Again, there can be no compromise between the church and the world. There can be no divided loyalty. Even when our professions or prosperity are at stake, we must choose in favor of God.

The Letter to Pergamum: Sexual sin and religious compromise

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lettersJesus tells the church in Pergamum that they have people there teaching Balaam’s doctrine. You remember Balaam, don’t you? The one whose donkey talked to him? He was also the one that led the Midianite women to seduce the Israelite men as part of the worship of their gods.

In the book, I discuss the connection between Balaam and Pergamum:

The Jews had long used Balaam as an example of false teachers who will say what is convenient in order to get paid, as an example of religious compromise, and as an example of the dangers of not taking immorality seriously. Jesus could refer to Balaam here, and his readers would know exactly what he was talking about. The worship of many pagan gods also involved sexual immorality, so the parallels were easy to see. Seemingly, the Nicolaitans were guilty of teaching the same compromise with the world, the same easing of moral restrictions, the same religious infidelity. This is the sin of accommodation, of giving in to the pressures of a society that is away from God. The pressure to conform would have been strong, especially in a city where many of the jobs would have depended on the good graces of the Roman government. Civil servants don’t tend to make good revolutionaries. People in Pergamum would have wanted to keep the emperor happy, even if it meant falsely worshiping him as a god.

(Letters From The Lamb, pp. 82-83)

While the enticements offered may not be the same, the temptation to compromise with the world is just as strong today as it was then. We may not be worshiping pagan gods or performing ritualistic sex acts, but each time that we split our loyalty between God and something else, we are falling into the trap that Balaam set for the Israelites.

In what ways do you see Christians being pressured to compromise today?

The letter to Pergamum: Where Satan has his throne

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lettersWhen Jesus addresses the church in Pergamum, he says that he knows where they live, where “Satan has his throne.” In our book, I discuss possible interpretations of this phrase:

This statement has led to much speculation over the years as to what could be considered to be “Satan’s throne.” Some would point to the temple of Asclepios. Certainly the serpent god of the Romans could be connected with the ancient serpent which tempted Eve in the Garden of Eden. Yet the temple of Asclepios was a center of healing and medicine, hardly an evil place in and of itself. There’s nothing to make us think that the things that went on there would have been of any threat to the Christians. Another possibility that is often mentioned is the huge altar to Zeus which could be seen looming above the city. Zeus was considered king of the Roman gods, and the altar contained images of the whole pantheon of gods and goddesses. Its imagery would have been offensive to Christians as would have been the activities which went on there. Still, there’s little to make us connect this pagan building with the context of Revelation; the persecution that was to come upon the Christians did not emanate from this great building. What seems the most likely, given the historical situation in which the first-century Christians in Asia found themselves, is that Paul is referring to Pergamum as provincial capital. The Roman government had established its center in Pergamum and all official persecution of Christians in Asia would originate there. There were a whole series of temples in Pergamum which were dedicated to the different Roman emperors. Emperor worship with its ensuing persecution of Christians; surely that could be considered to be the seat of satanic power in the region. The emperor must not be worshiped, for his power is not of divine origin, but demonic.

(Letters From The Lamb, pp. 81-82)

In his Experimental Theology blog, Richard Beck had an interesting post on the relationship between the demonic powers and earthly governments. (as well as a follow up post on the angels of the nations). This concept is plainly seen in the letter to the church in Pergamum.

Rome’s throne is Satan’s throne. Christians were not in a struggle against mere men; the earthly power that presented itself as an authority was a challenge to God’s authority. It was a representative of Satan on earth.

The letter to Pergamum: The making of books

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lettersPergamum was the capital of the Roman province of Asia. It competed with Ephesus and Smyrna for the “bragging rights” of Asia, the right to call themselves the most important city.

One way in which Pergamum sought to set itself apart from the other cities was with its library. Here’s an excerpt from Letters From The Lamb that describes the library of Pergamum:

Another source of pride for Pergamum was its library, with an impressive collection of over 200,000 volumes. Legend tells us that in the second century B.C., Eumenes II tried to lure away the chief librarian from the famous library in Alexandria, Egypt. In retaliation, Ptolemy VI, the Egyptian king, banned the export of papyrus to Pergamum. At that time, scrolls were typically made of papyrus. Eumenes commissioned his librarians to develop a new writing material to replace papyrus. They discovered that by stretching and refining animal skins, they could make a material known as vellum or parchment (word which traces its roots to the word Pergamum). One of the benefits of parchment was that it could be written on both sides and sewn together in a “codex,” an early form of book. Many of our biblical texts were preserved for us in this form.

(Letters From The Lamb, pp. 79-80)

The incarnate Word of God has some choice words for these lovers of books. We’ll look at those in the next few posts.

The letter to Smyrna: Faithful unto death

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lettersAccording to Jesus, the church in Smyrna was about to undergo persecution. We might expect that he would them tell them that God would protect them from all harm, that their enemies would be destroyed. Instead, he tells them that they will be thrown in prison, though only for a short amount of time.

As we saw not long ago in another series on this site, suffering is a normal part of Christian life. Christians shouldn’t seek it, but they shouldn’t shrink from it either. We follow in the steps of the suffering servant and should expect no better than what he received.

Then Jesus issues a famous charge to the Christians in Smyrna: “Be faithful unto death.” In Letters From The Lamb, I discuss the meaning of this phrase:

“Be faithful unto death,” Jesus tells them. This phrase is often looked on as an injunction to live a godly life until one dies of old age. While that is certainly expected of all Christians, the meaning is different here. “Be faithful unto death” means “be faithful even if it means giving your life.” Be faithful right up to the moment when the sword touches your neck, faithful up to the moment when the flames consume your body. As Christians we are called to follow Jesus’ example and renounce all claims to the preserving of our physical lives. The words of Jesus call us to full discipleship: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it.” (Mark 8:34-35) Today we may talk about “bearing a cross” as putting up with something inconvenient or uncomfortable, saying “that’s just my cross to bear.” But in Jesus’ day, carrying a cross meant that one had become a “dead man walking.” A man carrying his cross was on the way to his death. “Give up your life,” Jesus says, “And you’ll save it. Try to save it, and you’ll lose it.” God’s priority is to save our souls first, our physical lives second.

(Letters From The Lamb, pp. 69-70)

Faithful unto death. Jesus came to free us from the slavery of the fear of death; like suffering, we don’t seek death, but we don’t run from it, either. Our goal is to be faithful, even if it costs us our lives.