Sound The Trumpet : Pergamos pt.#3 - Exploring Revelation

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Exploring Revelation

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“Pergamos pt.#3 - Exploring Revelation”
by Art Sadlier
May 26th, 2020

After detailing the sins of the church at Pergamos, our Lord says in verse 16, "Repent, or else I will come unto thee quickly. "Quickly" implies suddenly, unexpectedly. Sin has a tendancy to harden our hearts, to put us in a state of unawareness of our condition and the jeopardy of our situation. Without a spirit of repentance, judgment is always unexpected. That is why we need always to allow the searchlight of God's Word to reveal our sin to us.

Notice the discriminating language in this verse. The Lord says, "I will come unto thee ...and will fight against them." In His judgment of the church, He will gather the wheat and He will burn the tares. The Lord calls upon His own to accept His principle of separation from the world and turn from apostasy. Our Lord knows who the sheep are, and who the goats are, and He knows how to separate the wheat from the chaff.

Now in verse 17 our Lord speaks directly to the individuals in the church. "He that hath an ear let him hear what the spirit saith unto the churches." "He that hath an ear!" These are the saved who have spiritual ears, individuals with a desire to know God's Will and to do it.

"To him that overcometh." Though churches may fail and suffer the judgment of Christ, truly born again individuals will ultimately be overcomers. Ultimately all believers will be with Christ in Heaven, while the tempter will be down in Hell for all of eternity, they will be Eternal overcomers.

It is also true that in a practical way, in the here and now, individual believers are overcomers to greater or lesser degrees. To those believers who are overcoming in the area of the sins mentioned here to Pergamos, compromise and faithfulness to Sound Doctrine, to those will be given, in the here and now, the privilege of feeding on the hidden Manna.

The question remains, "what is the hidden Manna?" For forty years Israel feasted upon the open manna that was showered down upon them. Then, the manna ceased, but God wanted the memory of His supply never to be forgotten. He commanded that a pot of Manna be placed in the Ark of the Covenant, hidden from view.

Later, our Lord revealed the Manna was a type of Himself. "I am the Living Bread (Manna) which came down from heaven." Jn. 6:51. Christ is the hidden Manna now in heaven, hidden from our view.

Those who overcome these particular sins of compromise and false doctrine will be enabled in a special way to feed secretly on the Hidden Manna, the Lord Jesus.

Obedience always results in communion with our Lord, disobedience always restricts communion with our Lord.

We can feed upon the husks of this world or we can feed upon the hidden Manna.

'Twas in the night the manna fell, Enough that fed the hosts of Israel. Enough for each day's fullest store, And largest need; Enough and nothing more, For willful waste, for prideful show, God sent not angel's food below. Still in our nights of deep distress, The manna falls our hearts to bless. And, famished as we cry for bread, With heavenly food our lives are fed. Each day's need finds each day's store, Enough, dear Lord, what want we more.

Those who stand alone against false doctrine and compromise with the world, will be sustained by the Lord.

"And I will give him a white stone, and in that stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving him that receiveth it." This is one of the most beautiful things in all of scripture. The Lord repeatedly gave new names to His servants. Eg. Sarai to Sarah = Princess, Aaron to Abraham = Father of Nations, Simon to Peter = Rock, Jacob to Israel = Prince with God. Each of these new names described their earthly service for the Lord.

Do you know that the Lord and I are going to have a secret throughout all of Eternity! The Lord is going to give me a new name that only He and I will know the meaning of, (that's a wonderful intimacy I will enjoy with Him.) He is going to give me a new name that will describe my earthly service for Him.

Every believer is going to receive a new name that will be commendation that he will rejoice in throughout all of eternity!

As we think of compromise with the world and the compromise of sound doctrine. We need to understand that these things not only destroyed the Church of Pergamos, but these sins have plagued the church in all Eras of the church ever since.

We need to understand that these sins are terminal to the spiritual life of the church. We need to understand that these sins are raising their ugly heads in our day. Let us purge them from our own lives and from our own churches. Let us stand for sound doctrine, let us be in the world, but not of the world.

Let us be like Daniel of old, he would rather die than compromise with the world. Let us not desire the world's approval! Let us not compromise the Word of God to gain the world's acceptance!

Looking for His glorious appearing! Titus 2:13