Feeding the Lambs - Martyred
Written by the Apostle John, 1st century
Revelation 2:12
[37th message of the New Believer Series]
We will continue on with the messages given to different churches mentioned in the Book of Revelation (as revealed to and written by the Apostle John).
In the excerpt above, John is writing what the Lord wanted to tell the believers in the first church in Pergamum (like the ones from the previous messages, this was a church back in the 1st century, in a place now located in modern day Turkey). Back in those days this ancient city was home to a lot of abominable activities, hence the allusion to being the place were the throne of darkness sits.
Ruins Ancient City of Pergamum
Praised
The excerpt above is the first part of this message. The Lord acknowledged what the believers in Pergamum was doing right -- being faithful even after having a fellow believer killed for his faith.
Being martryed or put to death during that time for being a Christian was not uncommon. They first did it with Christ Himself.
[The persecution and being killed for Christ is still happening all around us in our time today, in fact much worse now than in the first century. In many places the good news is not allowed to be preached and this is one reason why it still has not reached the ends of the earth. It is our prayer that the messages here can penetrate the darkness and reach people and places that has been unreached for 2,000 years.]
Now the succeeding verses (like in the previous message) are what some of them were not doing right:
"But I have a few things against you, because some of you hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to place a stumbling block before the Israelites so they would eat food sacrificed to idols and commit sexual immorality. In the same way, some of you also hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans."
If we go study the Jewish Scriptures, and if we search for references regarding the Nicolaitans, then we would know what exactly the believers in this church was doing wrong.
If you want to read up on this, click here.
Warning
The verse following the passage above is a warning to this church and it goes like this:
"Therefore repent! Otherwise I will come to you shortly and wage war against them with the sword of My mouth."
The messages of Christ is always to call us to repentance and to come back to a relationship with Him. And this is no different.
He Who Has Ears
And like all the other messages to the other churches, this message again ends with:
"He (or she) who has an ear, let him (her) hear what the Spirit says to the churches."
[But how can the unreached hear if there is no one telling them? Share this and the Message Series Link and together we can give them a chance to hear]
Now the succeeding verses (like in the previous message) are what some of them were not doing right:
"But I have a few things against you, because some of you hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to place a stumbling block before the Israelites so they would eat food sacrificed to idols and commit sexual immorality. In the same way, some of you also hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans."
If we go study the Jewish Scriptures, and if we search for references regarding the Nicolaitans, then we would know what exactly the believers in this church was doing wrong.
If you want to read up on this, click here.
Warning
The verse following the passage above is a warning to this church and it goes like this:
"Therefore repent! Otherwise I will come to you shortly and wage war against them with the sword of My mouth."
The messages of Christ is always to call us to repentance and to come back to a relationship with Him. And this is no different.
He Who Has Ears
And like all the other messages to the other churches, this message again ends with:
"He (or she) who has an ear, let him (her) hear what the Spirit says to the churches."
[But how can the unreached hear if there is no one telling them? Share this and the Message Series Link and together we can give them a chance to hear]
Then we have these final words:
"To the one who overcomes, I will give the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone inscribed with a new name, known only to the one who receives it."
More To Study Up On
So of all the messages to these first churches back in these neck of the woods, this one has a lot of terms that are not easily understood. And will take more study to understand, this is why the Book of Revelation is the last book of the Christian Scriptures. The implication is to read it last. Anyway since we've already gone quite a long way since the start of this series, an intrusion into this book is not a bad idea, at least we are getting our feet wet as to how reading this book is going to be like.
Hidden manna, a white stone and a new name, all these are first mentiioned in the Jewish Scriptures and referenced in part in the Christian Scriptures. It would be wise to do a little research to find the connections to this passage.
I pray the Holy Spirit will give you the passion to read the Word and the hunger and thirst for God and the things of God in the name of Jesus of Nazareth.
"To the one who overcomes, I will give the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone inscribed with a new name, known only to the one who receives it."
More To Study Up On
So of all the messages to these first churches back in these neck of the woods, this one has a lot of terms that are not easily understood. And will take more study to understand, this is why the Book of Revelation is the last book of the Christian Scriptures. The implication is to read it last. Anyway since we've already gone quite a long way since the start of this series, an intrusion into this book is not a bad idea, at least we are getting our feet wet as to how reading this book is going to be like.
Hidden manna, a white stone and a new name, all these are first mentiioned in the Jewish Scriptures and referenced in part in the Christian Scriptures. It would be wise to do a little research to find the connections to this passage.
I pray the Holy Spirit will give you the passion to read the Word and the hunger and thirst for God and the things of God in the name of Jesus of Nazareth.
In the meantime we can watch this cinematic retelling of the story of Pastor Richard Wurmbrand, founder of Voice of Martyrs, based on his book of the same title. This movie is about a modern day story of persecution.
Tortured for Christ (Movie) Released 2018
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