In Greek Pergamos
means “marriage,”
implying union,
and “fortified tower”:
As a sign,
the church in Pergamos
prefigures the church
that entered
into a marriage union
with the world
and became
a high fortified tower;
these two meanings
correspond to
two of the parables
in Matthew 13
—the parable of the great tree
and the parable of the leaven:
The great tree
is the equivalent of the high tower,
and the woman with the leaven
is the equivalent of the apostate church,
which has married the world.
In the eyes of God,
degraded Christendom
is an evil woman
who has mixed
worldly, demonic,
pagan, and devilish things
with the good things of Christ
to produce
an abominable mixture.
We must absolutely come out
of this evil system
and be separated to God,
returning to the orthodoxy of the church
so that the church
can be a golden lampstand,
having nothing to do with
worldliness, idolatry,
or Satan’s saturation.
When we are attacked
and are undergoing persecution,
we should not be discouraged,
for that is a strong sign
that we are on the right track
and that we have not been distracted
from following the Lord’s steps.
Throughout the years
we have been preserved
by being persecuted;
we have never received
a good name,
because Satan
will not allow us
to have a good name
unless we enter
into union with him.
“The history among us
has been
one of completely coming out
of Christianity
without compromise.
It is a shame
that some so-called co-workers
among us
have tried their best
to compromise.
They say
that between the denominations
and the local churches
there is a gap,
and they consider themselves
as the bridge
to bridge the gap.
This was
a suffering to Brother Nee,
and today
this is
a suffering to me”
(The History of
the Church and the Local Churches,
pp. 112-113).
In Revelation 2:13a
the Lord
said of the church in Pergamos,
“I know
where you dwell,
where Satan’s throne is”;
Satan’s throne
is in the world,
the place where he dwells
and the sphere of his reign;
since the worldly church
entered into union with the world,
she dwells
where Satan dwells.
Instead of dwelling where Satan dwells,
we need to dwell
in our spirit
and in Christ, the One
in whom Satan, the ruler of the world,
has nothing
(no ground, no chance,
no hope, and no possibility
in anything).
Since the church
is a spouse to Christ
as a chaste bride,
her union with the world
is considered spiritual fornication
in the eyes of God:
Satan realized
that persecuting the church
did not work very well;
therefore,
being the subtle one,
he changed his strategy
from persecuting the church
to welcoming her;
this welcoming of the church
by the Roman Empire
ruined her,
because it caused the church
to become worldly.
Worldly things
are related to idol worship,
for worldliness
is always associated with idolatry;
an idol in our heart
is anything within us
that we love
more than the Lord
and that replaces the Lord
in our life.
Mammon
also stands in opposition to God;
many idols
exist only because of mammon;
“you cannot serve
God and mammon”
(Matt. 6:24).
The church
must be
a golden lampstand,
the pure expression of the Triune God,
and must have
no connections with the world,
but after the Roman Empire
had made the church
a worldly religion,
she became
altogether impure, worldly, and idolatrous.
In His epistle to Pergamos
the Lord
referred to
“Antipas, My witness, My faithful one,
who was killed among you,
where Satan dwells”
(Rev. 2:13b):
This faithful witness
stood against all
that the worldly church
brought in and practiced;
hence,
he became
a martyr of the Lord;
to testify against the worldly church
we need
the spirit of martyrdom:
Witnesses
are martyrs,
those who bear
a living testimony
of the resurrected and ascended Christ
in life.
We can be
martyrs for the Lord
physically, psychologically, or spiritually.
In Greek
the word for martyr
is the same as that for witness;
Antipas,
as a faithful witness,
bore an anti-testimony,
a testimony against anything
that deviated from
the testimony of Jesus.
It must have been
through his anti-testimony
that in his days
the church in Pergamos
still held fast
the Lord’s name
and did not deny
the proper Christian faith.
The worldly and degraded church
holds not only the teaching of Balaam
but also the teaching of the Nicolaitans:
Balaam was a Gentile prophet
who for wages enticed God’s people
into fornication and idolatry;
in the worldly church
some began to teach such things; idolatry
always brings in fornication;
when the worldly church
disregarded the name, the person, of the Lord,
she turned to idolatry,
which issues in fornication.
The error of Balaam
is the error of
teaching wrong doctrine for reward,
while knowing it
to be contrary to the truth
and against the people of God,
and abusively using
the influence of certain gifts
to lead the people of God astray
from the pure worship of the Lord
to idolatrous worship;
coveting for reward
will cause the coveting ones
to rush headlong
into the error of Balaam.
The teaching of Balaam
distracts believers
from the person of Christ
to idolatry
and from the enjoyment of Christ
to spiritual fornication,
whereas the teaching of the Nicolaitans
destroys the function of the believers
as members of the Body of Christ;
the former teaching
disregards the Head,
and the latter
destroys the Body;
this is
the subtle intention of the enemy
in all religious teachings.
First,
the Nicolaitans
practiced the hierarchy
in the initial church;
then they taught it
in the degraded church;
today,
in both Catholicism and Protestantism,
this Nicolaitan hierarchy
prevails
in both practice and teaching.
“To him
who overcomes,
to him
I will give
of the hidden manna,
and to him
I will give a white stone,
and upon the stone
a new name written,
which no one knows
except him
who receives it”
(Rev. 2:17):
We need to eat
the hidden manna
in order to be incorporated
into the New Jerusalem
as the tabernacle of God:
The manna
preserved in the golden pot
was the center of the tabernacle,
God’s dwelling place
in the Old Testament;
likewise,
the Christ
whom we have
eaten, digested, and assimilated
is the center of
our being
as a part of
the church,
God’s dwelling place today.
Christ as the hidden manna
is the center of the tabernacle;
the hidden manna
is in the golden pot;
the golden pot
is in the Ark,
made of acacia wood
overlaid with gold;
and this Ark
is in the Holy of Holies.
Christ the Son
as the hidden manna
is in God the Father
as the golden pot;
God the Father
is in Christ the Son
as the Ark
with His two natures, divinity and humanity;
and Christ as the indwelling Spirit
lives in our regenerated spirit
as the reality of the Holy of Holies.
The Son
is in the Father,
we are in the Son,
the Son is in us,
and we are indwelt
by the Spirit of reality;
this is
the incorporation of the processed God
with the regenerated believers.
The way
to be incorporated into the tabernacle
is to eat the hidden manna;
the more we eat Christ,
the more we are incorporated
into the New Jerusalem,
the ultimate tabernacle of God,
as a universal incorporation.
We should not be joined
to the world;
we should be incorporated
into the New Jerusalem
by eating Christ
as the hidden manna.
Enjoying Christ
as the hidden manna
produces transformation:
The Lord
promises the overcomer
to eat of the hidden manna
and to give him
a white stone;
this indicates
that if we eat the hidden manna,
we will be transformed
into white stones
for God’s building.
These stones
will be justified and approved
by the Lord,
as indicated by the color white,
but the worldly church
will be condemned and rejected
by Him.
God’s building,
the building of the church,
depends upon
our transformation,
and our transformation
issues from
the enjoyment of Christ
as our life supply.
Every transformed believer
as a white stone
bears a new name,
which no one knows except him
who receives it:
Such a new name
is the interpretation
of the experience of the one
being transformed;
hence,
only he himself
knows the meaning of that name.
Revelation 2:17
is a word
spoken by the Lord
to us;
we should not take it objectively
but as our biography:
We can pray,
“Lord,
I agree with Your promise.
From now on,
I shall eat You
in a hidden way
and be transformed
to become a stone
for Your building.”
What a wonderful promise
this is
from the Lord;
yes,
the church
may become worldly,
but the Lord
has promised
that we
may become a white stone
for God’s building.
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7 replies on “The Church in Pergamos”
Prophecy note, 18 December 2016
In Greek Pergamos
means “marriage,”
implying union,
and “fortified tower”:
As a sign,
the church in Pergamos
prefigures the church
that entered
into a marriage union
with the world
and became
a high fortified tower;
these two meanings
correspond to
two of the parables
in Matthew 13
—the parable of the great tree
and the parable of the leaven:
The great tree
is the equivalent of the high tower,
and the woman with the leaven
is the equivalent of the apostate church,
which has married the world.
In the eyes of God,
degraded Christendom
is an evil woman
who has mixed
worldly, demonic,
pagan, and devilish things
with the good things of Christ
to produce
an abominable mixture.
We must absolutely come out
of this evil system
and be separated to God,
returning to the orthodoxy of the church
so that the church
can be a golden lampstand,
having nothing to do with
worldliness, idolatry,
or Satan’s saturation.
When we are attacked
and are undergoing persecution,
we should not be discouraged,
for that is a strong sign
that we are on the right track
and that we have not been distracted
from following the Lord’s steps.
Throughout the years
we have been preserved
by being persecuted;
we have never received
a good name,
because Satan
will not allow us
to have a good name
unless we enter
into union with him.
“The history among us
has been
one of completely coming out
of Christianity
without compromise.
It is a shame
that some so-called co-workers
among us
have tried their best
to compromise.
They say
that between the denominations
and the local churches
there is a gap,
and they consider themselves
as the bridge
to bridge the gap.
This was
a suffering to Brother Nee,
and today
this is
a suffering to me”
(The History of
the Church and the Local Churches,
pp. 112-113).
In Revelation 2:13a
the Lord
said of the church in Pergamos,
“I know
where you dwell,
where Satan’s throne is”;
Satan’s throne
is in the world,
the place where he dwells
and the sphere of his reign;
since the worldly church
entered into union with the world,
she dwells
where Satan dwells.
Instead of dwelling where Satan dwells,
we need to dwell
in our spirit
and in Christ, the One
in whom Satan, the ruler of the world,
has nothing
(no ground, no chance,
no hope, and no possibility
in anything).
Since the church
is a spouse to Christ
as a chaste bride,
her union with the world
is considered spiritual fornication
in the eyes of God:
Satan realized
that persecuting the church
did not work very well;
therefore,
being the subtle one,
he changed his strategy
from persecuting the church
to welcoming her;
this welcoming of the church
by the Roman Empire
ruined her,
because it caused the church
to become worldly.
Worldly things
are related to idol worship,
for worldliness
is always associated with idolatry;
an idol in our heart
is anything within us
that we love
more than the Lord
and that replaces the Lord
in our life.
Mammon
also stands in opposition to God;
many idols
exist only because of mammon;
“you cannot serve
God and mammon”
(Matt. 6:24).
The church
must be
a golden lampstand,
the pure expression of the Triune God,
and must have
no connections with the world,
but after the Roman Empire
had made the church
a worldly religion,
she became
altogether impure, worldly, and idolatrous.
In His epistle to Pergamos
the Lord
referred to
“Antipas, My witness, My faithful one,
who was killed among you,
where Satan dwells”
(Rev. 2:13b):
This faithful witness
stood against all
that the worldly church
brought in and practiced;
hence,
he became
a martyr of the Lord;
to testify against the worldly church
we need
the spirit of martyrdom:
Witnesses
are martyrs,
those who bear
a living testimony
of the resurrected and ascended Christ
in life.
We can be
martyrs for the Lord
physically, psychologically, or spiritually.
In Greek
the word for martyr
is the same as that for witness;
Antipas,
as a faithful witness,
bore an anti-testimony,
a testimony against anything
that deviated from
the testimony of Jesus.
It must have been
through his anti-testimony
that in his days
the church in Pergamos
still held fast
the Lord’s name
and did not deny
the proper Christian faith.
The worldly and degraded church
holds not only the teaching of Balaam
but also the teaching of the Nicolaitans:
Balaam was a Gentile prophet
who for wages enticed God’s people
into fornication and idolatry;
in the worldly church
some began to teach such things; idolatry
always brings in fornication;
when the worldly church
disregarded the name, the person, of the Lord,
she turned to idolatry,
which issues in fornication.
The error of Balaam
is the error of
teaching wrong doctrine for reward,
while knowing it
to be contrary to the truth
and against the people of God,
and abusively using
the influence of certain gifts
to lead the people of God astray
from the pure worship of the Lord
to idolatrous worship;
coveting for reward
will cause the coveting ones
to rush headlong
into the error of Balaam.
The teaching of Balaam
distracts believers
from the person of Christ
to idolatry
and from the enjoyment of Christ
to spiritual fornication,
whereas the teaching of the Nicolaitans
destroys the function of the believers
as members of the Body of Christ;
the former teaching
disregards the Head,
and the latter
destroys the Body;
this is
the subtle intention of the enemy
in all religious teachings.
First,
the Nicolaitans
practiced the hierarchy
in the initial church;
then they taught it
in the degraded church;
today,
in both Catholicism and Protestantism,
this Nicolaitan hierarchy
prevails
in both practice and teaching.
“To him
who overcomes,
to him
I will give
of the hidden manna,
and to him
I will give a white stone,
and upon the stone
a new name written,
which no one knows
except him
who receives it”
(Rev. 2:17):
We need to eat
the hidden manna
in order to be incorporated
into the New Jerusalem
as the tabernacle of God:
The manna
preserved in the golden pot
was the center of the tabernacle,
God’s dwelling place
in the Old Testament;
likewise,
the Christ
whom we have
eaten, digested, and assimilated
is the center of
our being
as a part of
the church,
God’s dwelling place today.
Christ as the hidden manna
is the center of the tabernacle;
the hidden manna
is in the golden pot;
the golden pot
is in the Ark,
made of acacia wood
overlaid with gold;
and this Ark
is in the Holy of Holies.
Christ the Son
as the hidden manna
is in God the Father
as the golden pot;
God the Father
is in Christ the Son
as the Ark
with His two natures, divinity and humanity;
and Christ as the indwelling Spirit
lives in our regenerated spirit
as the reality of the Holy of Holies.
The Son
is in the Father,
we are in the Son,
the Son is in us,
and we are indwelt
by the Spirit of reality;
this is
the incorporation of the processed God
with the regenerated believers.
The way
to be incorporated into the tabernacle
is to eat the hidden manna;
the more we eat Christ,
the more we are incorporated
into the New Jerusalem,
the ultimate tabernacle of God,
as a universal incorporation.
We should not be joined
to the world;
we should be incorporated
into the New Jerusalem
by eating Christ
as the hidden manna.
Enjoying Christ
as the hidden manna
produces transformation:
The Lord
promises the overcomer
to eat of the hidden manna
and to give him
a white stone;
this indicates
that if we eat the hidden manna,
we will be transformed
into white stones
for God’s building.
These stones
will be justified and approved
by the Lord,
as indicated by the color white,
but the worldly church
will be condemned and rejected
by Him.
God’s building,
the building of the church,
depends upon
our transformation,
and our transformation
issues from
the enjoyment of Christ
as our life supply.
Every transformed believer
as a white stone
bears a new name,
which no one knows except him
who receives it:
Such a new name
is the interpretation
of the experience of the one
being transformed;
hence,
only he himself
knows the meaning of that name.
Revelation 2:17
is a word
spoken by the Lord
to us;
we should not take it objectively
but as our biography:
We can pray,
“Lord,
I agree with Your promise.
From now on,
I shall eat You
in a hidden way
and be transformed
to become a stone
for Your building.”
What a wonderful promise
this is
from the Lord;
yes,
the church
may become worldly,
but the Lord
has promised
that we
may become a white stone
for God’s building.
Day 6
Rev. 2:17
…To him
who overcomes,
…I will give
a white stone,
and upon the stone
a new name written…
1 Cor. 3:12
But if anyone
builds upon the foundation
gold, silver, precious stones…
2 Cor. 3:18
But we all
with unveiled face,
beholding and reflecting
like a mirror
the glory of the Lord,
are being transformed
into the same image
from glory to glory,
even as from the Lord Spirit.
The Lord
…promised the overcomer,
saying,
“To him
I will give a white stone,
and upon the stone
a new name written,
which no one knows
except him
who receives it”
[Rev. 2:17].
Enjoying Christ
as the hidden manna
produces transformation.
How can we say this?
Because after referring to the hidden manna,
the Lord
speaks of a white stone.
A stone in the Bible
signifies material
for God’s building.
…In 1 Corinthians 3
Paul indicates
that precious stones
are to be used
for the building of the church,
and in Revelation 21
we see
that precious stones
are materials
in the New Jerusalem.
…The Lord
promises the overcomer
to eat of the hidden manna
and to give him
a white stone.
This indicates
that if we
eat the hidden manna,
we shall be transformed
into white stones.
In our natural being
we are not stones,
but clay.
Because we
have received
the divine life with its divine nature
through regeneration,
we can be transformed
into stones, even precious stones,
by enjoying Christ
as our life supply.
By eating Jesus
as the hidden manna
we shall be transformed
into white stones
for God’s building.
If we
do not follow the worldly church,
but enjoy the Lord
in the proper church life,
we shall be transformed
into stones
for the building of God.
These stones
will be justified and approved
by the Lord,
as indicated by
the color white,
while the worldly church
will be condemned and rejected
by Him.
In the book of Revelation
the color white
denotes approval.
When we
are transformed
into a stone,
we shall be approved
by the Lord.
This will make Him
very happy.
The white stone
is for God’s building.
God’s building,
the building of the church,
depends upon
our transformation,
and our transformation
issues from
the enjoyment of Christ
as our life supply.
The Lord said
that “upon the stone”
would be
“a new name written,
which no one knows
except him
who receives it”
[Rev. 2:17].
A name
designates a person,
and the new name here
is the designation
of a transformed person.
Every transformed believer
as a “white stone”
bears “a new name,
…which no one knows
except him
who receives it.”
Such a “new name”
is the interpretation
of the experience of the one
being transformed.
Hence,
only he himself
knows the meaning of that name.
…As a brother
eats the Lord Jesus
as the hidden manna,
he will have
certain experiences
and the Lord
will write a new name
upon him.
This new name
is simply the new designation
of what this brother is.
Since this new name
is based upon
what this brother is
according to his experiences,
others cannot know
what it is.
Revelation 2:17
is a word
spoken by the Lord
to us.
Do not take it objectively
but as your biography.
Consider it
as a word for you.
In a sense,
we are living
in the age of Pergamos,
for the so-called church
has become worldly.
But, being an anti-witness,
we are here
fighting for the Lord’s recovery.
Therefore,
the Lord gives us
this word in verse 17,
and we all
need to understand it
and say,
“Amen, Lord.
Thank You
for this promise.
I may eat of You
as the hidden manna,
and this eating
will transform me
from clay
into a stone
which will please You,
be approved by You,
and be used by You
for the building up
of Your dwelling place.
Lord,
I agree with Your promise.
From now on,
I shall eat You
in a hidden way
and be transformed
to become
a white stone
for Your building.”
Is this
not a wonderful promise
from the Lord?
Yes,
the church
may become worldly,
but the Lord has promised
that we
may become
a white stone
for God’s building.
Day 5
Rev. 2:17
…To him
who overcomes,
to him
I will give
of the hidden manna,
and to him
I will give a white stone,
and upon the stone
a new name written,
which no one knows
except him
who receives it.
John 14:20
In that day
you will know
that I am in My Father,
and you in Me,
and I in you.
Manna
is a type of Christ
as the heavenly food
enabling God’s people
to go His way.
A portion of that manna
was preserved
in a golden pot
concealed in the ark.
The open manna
was for the enjoyment
of the Lord’s people
in a public way;
the hidden manna,
signifying the hidden Christ,
is a special portion
reserved for His overcoming seekers
who overcome
the degradation of the worldly church.
While the church
goes the way of the world,
these overcomers
come forward
to abide
in the presence of God
in the Holy of Holies,
where they
enjoy the hidden Christ
as a special portion
for their daily supply.
The purposeful God
has an economy,
and in His economy
He intends to have
a universal incorporation.
The word incorporation
refers to
persons indwelling one another,
coinhering.
God in His Divine Trinity
is an incorporation
by coinhering mutually
and by working together
as one;
the three of the Trinity
are an incorporation
by what They are
and by what They do.
…The processed and consummated Triune God
and the redeemed and regenerated believers
became
an enlarged, universal,
divine-human incorporation
in the resurrection of Christ,
consummating the New Jerusalem
as the tabernacle of God.
The tabernacle in the Old Testament
is a sign of the universal incorporation,
and to eat the hidden manna
is to be incorporated
into the tabernacle.
Christ as the hidden manna
is the center of the tabernacle.
The hidden manna
is in the golden pot;
the golden pot
is in the Ark,
made of acacia wood
overlaid with gold;
and this Ark
is in the Holy of Holies.
The hidden manna,
which signifies Christ,
is in the golden pot,
which refers to God.
The manna in the golden pot
indicates that Christ
is in the Father.
The Ark
is in the Holy of Holies,
and the Holy of Holies
is our spirit.
Today
our spirit
indwelt by the Holy Spirit
is the Holy of Holies.
From this
we can see
that Christ as the hidden manna
is in God the Father
as the golden pot;
that the Father
is in Christ
as the Ark
with His two natures,
divinity and humanity;
and that this Christ
as the indwelling Spirit
lives in our regenerated spirit
to be
the reality of the Holy of Holies.
This means
that the Son
is in the Father,
that the Father
is in the Son,
and that the Son
as the Spirit
is the reality
of the Holy of Holies.
This
implies and corresponds to
the four ins
in John 14:16-20.
Verse 20 says,
“In that day
you will know
that I am in My Father,
and you in Me,
and I in you,”
and verse 17 says,
“The Spirit of reality
…shall be in you.”
The Son
is in the Father,
we
are in the Son,
the Son
is in us,
and we
are indwelt
by the Spirit of reality.
This is
the incorporation
of the processed God
with the regenerated believers.
The way
to be incorporated
into the tabernacle
is to eat
the hidden manna.
The more
we eat Christ,
the more
we are incorporated
into the Triune God
as a universal incorporation.
By eating the hidden manna,
we are incorporated
into the tabernacle.
The tabernacle
in the Old Testament
was a figure
of the New Jerusalem,
which is called
the tabernacle of God.
As the tabernacle of God,
the New Jerusalem
is the universal incorporation.
…The more
we eat Christ,
the more
we are incorporated
into this universal incorporation.
…We should not be joined
to the world;
we should be incorporated
into the New Jerusalem
by eating Christ
as the hidden manna.
The way
to be incorporated
into this unique incorporation
is to enjoy Christ,
to eat Him,
and to partake of Him.
When we eat Him,
we live by Him
in this incorporation,
which today is
the corporate Body of Christ
and which consummates
the New Jerusalem.
Day 4
Rev. 2:14-15
But I have
a few things against you,
that you have some there
who hold
the teaching of Balaam,
who taught Balak
to put a stumbling block
before the sons of Israel,
to eat idol sacrifices
and to commit fornication.
In the same way
you also have some
who hold
in like manner
the teaching of the Nicolaitans.
In these epistles,
the Lord desires,
according to God’s economy,
that we should eat Him
as the tree of life,
the hidden manna,
and the rich produce
of the good land.
But the worldly church
turned from life
to mere teachings,
thus distracting the believers
from the enjoyment of Christ
as their life supply
for the fulfillment of God’s purpose.
The enjoyment of Christ
builds up the church,
whereas the teachings
issue in a religion.
Balaam
was a Gentile prophet
who caused God’s people
to stumble.
For the sake of reward,
he brought
fornication and idolatry
to God’s people.
In the worldly church,
some
began to teach
the same things.
…Idolatry
always brings in fornication.
When the worldly church
disregarded the name, the person, of the Lord,
she turned to idolatry,
which issued in fornication.
Christ
should be the unique Husband
to the church,
the unique Bridegroom
to all the saints.
But so many teachings
in today’s Christianity
cause people
to take in the demonic things
and to be related to
things other than Christ.
This indeed is
to eat idol sacrifices
and to commit fornication.
What does it mean
to deny the Lord’s name
and to deny the faith of the Lord?
…The faith of the Lord
includes
what He has done for us
in His redemptive work,
His death and resurrection,
and all the items
which we must believe
in order to be saved.
These things
constitute our faith.
The name
denotes the Lord’s person.
We should neither deny
the name
nor the faith of the Lord.
We must always hold on to
His name
and believe in Him.
The modernists
do not believe
that Jesus is God,
that He was born of a virgin,
or that He died on the cross
for our redemption.
They merely believe
that He was crucified
as a martyr,
and they do not believe
that Jesus Christ
was resurrected.
The teachings of Balaam
always cause people
to enter into
union with the worldly things.
The error of Balaam
is the error of
teaching wrong doctrine
for reward,
while knowing it
to be contrary to the truth
and against the people of God,
and abusively using
the influence of certain gifts
to lead the people of God astray
from the pure worship of the Lord
to idolatrous worship.
Coveting for reward
will cause the coveting ones
to rush headlong into
the error of Balaam.
The worldly and degraded church
holds not only the teaching of Balaam
but also the teaching of the Nicolaitans.
The teaching of Balaam
distracts believers
from the Person of Christ
to idolatry
and from the enjoyment of Christ
to spiritual fornication,
whereas the teaching of the Nicolaitans
destroys the function of believers
as members of the Body of Christ,
thus annulling the Lord’s Body
in expressing Him.
The former teaching
disregards the Head,
and the latter
destroys the Body.
This is
the subtlety of the enemy
in all religious teachings.
In the church in Ephesus
only the works of the Nicolaitans
were found,
whereas in the church in Pergamos
their works
progressed into a teaching.
Firstly,
they practiced the hierarchy
in the initial church;
now they taught it
in the degraded church.
Today,
in both Catholicism and Protestantism,
this Nicolaitan hierarchy
prevails in both practice and teaching.
The Lord
hates the Nicolaitan hierarchy
because it kills
the function of the members of the Body
and builds up an organization
in place of an organism.
…We must come back
to the organism
that all the members of the Body
may have the opportunity
to function.
Day 3
Matt. 6:24
No one
can serve two masters,
for either he
will hate the one
and love the other,
or he
will hold to one
and despise the other.
You cannot serve
God and mammon.
Rev. 2:13
…You hold fast My name
and have not denied My faith,
even in the days of
Antipas, My witness, My faithful one,
who was killed among you,
where Satan dwells.
“You cannot serve
God and mammon”
(Matt. 6:24).
Men either serve one
or the other.
Here
we see
a most important matter:
Mammon
stands against God.
Many idols
exist only because of mammon.
Today
no Christian
would kill people
or worship idols,
but if we
covet money
and trust in
the power of mammon,
it is equivalent
to idol worship.
…Coveting money
is connected with
union with the world.
I like to place
the opposite sides
in the Bible
before you.
If you
can see
the negative side,
then you
can see
the positive side.
The Bible
always puts Satan
in opposition to Christ,
the flesh
in opposition to the Holy Spirit,
and the world and mammon
in opposition to God the Father.
The world
is opposed to the Father.
According to 1 John 2:15,
“If anyone
loves the world,
love for the Father
is not in him.”
Mammon
stands against God.
Whenever man
serves mammon,
he
cannot serve God.
In Greek,
the name Antipas [Rev. 2:13]
means “against all.”
This faithful witness of the Lord
stood against all
that the worldly church
brought in and practiced.
Hence,
he became
a martyr of the Lord.
In Greek
the word martyr
is the same word as witness.
As an anti-witness,
Antipas
bore an anti-testimony,
a testimony against anything
that deviated from
the testimony of Jesus.
It must have been
through this anti-testimony
that in his day
the church in Pergamos
still held fast
the Lord’s name
and did not deny
the proper Christian faith.
Antipas
took the lead
to fight against the worldly church,
pioneering the way
for us
to fight against the worldly church today.
Whatever the worldly church
was, had, and did,
Antipas fought
against it.
In verse 13
the Lord says,
“You hold fast
My name.”
The Lord’s name
denotes His person;
the person is
the reality of the name.
The church in Pergamos
still held fast
the name of the Lord,
the reality of His person.
The deviating tendency
of the worldly church
is to give up
the reality of the Lord’s person.
But in the Lord’s recovery
we must fight against this,
that the church
may hold fast
the Lord’s name,
the reality of the Lord’s person,
for eternity.
The Lord
also said,
“You
…have not denied My faith.”
The faith of the Lord
denotes all
that we must believe in
of His person and work.
It is
not the subjective faith within us
of believing,
but the objective faith
of the things
we believe in.
Because the church
entered into
union with the world,
she began to disregard
the Lord’s name
and to deny
the proper Christian faith.
Antipas
was faithful
in his anti-testimony,
even unto death.
Because of his testimony
against the worldliness of the church,
he was killed
and became a martyr.
To testify against the worldly church
we need
the spirit of martyrdom.
We need to be faithful
for the Lord’s testimony
against the worldliness of the church
even unto death.
Witnesses
are martyrs,
those who bear
a living testimony
of the resurrected and ascended Christ
in life,
differing from preachers
who merely preach
doctrines in letters.
In His incarnation
Christ
carried out
His ministry on the earth
by Himself,
as recorded in the Gospels,
to sow Himself
as the seed of the kingdom of God
only in the Jewish land.
In His ascension
He would carry out His ministry
in the heavens
through these martyrs,
in His resurrection life
and with His ascension power and authority,
as recorded in the Acts,
to spread Himself
as the development of the kingdom of God
from Jerusalem,
as a beginning,
unto the uttermost part of the earth,
as the consummation of His ministry
in the New Testament.
All the apostles and disciples in the Acts
were His martyrs, His witnesses,
of this kind.
Day 2
Rev. 2:12-13
And to the messenger
of the church in Pergamos
write:
These things
says He
who has the sharp two-edged sword:
I know
where you dwell,
where Satan’s throne is…
John 14:30
…The ruler of the world
is coming,
and in Me
he has nothing.
In this epistle to Pergamos,
the Lord
as the speaking Spirit
declares that He
is the One
with the sharp two-edged sword.
Such a worldly church
is qualified to receive
the Lord’s judgment
in His sharp word.
In the epistle to the first church,
the Lord advised the church in Ephesus
to repent and to recover her first love.
We must believe
that His advice
was heeded,
for the second church, the church in Smyrna,
truly loved the Lord
and suffered persecution
and became a suffering church.
According to the facts of history,
during the first three centuries,
the church
suffered a great deal
as the Roman government
tried its best
to damage her.
Eventually,
the enemy, Satan,
realized that persecution
did not work very well.
Therefore,
being the subtle one,
he changed his strategy
from persecuting the church
to welcoming her.
In the early part of the fourth century,
Constantine the Great
accepted Christianity
and made it a state religion.
…This welcoming of the church
by the Roman Empire
ruined her,
because it caused the church
to become worldly.
As we all know,
the church
has been called
out of the world
and has been separated
from the world
to God.
However,
by being welcomed
by the Roman Empire,
the church
went back to the world
and, in the eyes of God,
even married the world.
God
considers this type of worldly union
to be spiritual fornication.
Because the church
had entered into union with the world,
many worldly things
came into the church.
Worldly things
are related to idol worship,
for worldliness
is always associated with idolatry.
The church in Pergamos
firstly became worldly
and then idolatrous.
Satan saturated her
with the world and with idols.
As a result,
the church
became absolutely different
from what God
intended her to be.
…The church
must be a golden lampstand,
the pure expression of the Triune God,
and must have
no connections with the world.
But after the Roman Empire
had made the church
a worldly religion,
she became
altogether impure, worldly,
and idolatrous.
In Revelation 2:13
the Lord
said of the church in Pergamos,
“I know
where you dwell,
where Satan’s throne is.”
Satan’s dwelling place
is the world.
Since the church
has entered into union with the world
and has become worldly herself,
she now dwells
where Satan dwells
—in the world.
The church in Pergamos
also dwells
where Satan’s throne is.
This also
refers to the world.
The world
is not only Satan’s dwelling place
but also the sphere
wherein he rules.
…The worldly Christianity of today
is still in union with the world
and is still being saturated
with the thoughts, concepts,
theories, and even the practices
of Satan.
We must see
the seriousness of this.
Firstly,
Satan stirs up persecution,
and then,
when this fails,
he changes his tactics
and welcomes us instead.
…This is
Satan’s subtlety.
If we
are snared by it,
we shall eventually become worldly
and not only be
in union with Satan
but also
one with him.
…The church
should be a pure golden lampstand
outside of the world.
The church
must have nothing
to do with the world
and must not yield an inch
to Satan’s evil and subtle saturation.
In the Lord Jesus,
Satan as the ruler of the world
had no ground, no chance,
no hope, no possibility
in anything.
…Here is
a man of prayer
who said
that Satan, the ruler of the world,
had nothing in Him.
…Christ was
a man of prayer,
a man who is one with God,
lives in the presence of God continuously,
trusts in God
in His suffering and persecution,
and in whom Satan
has nothing.
Day 1
Matt. 13:31-33
…The kingdom of the heavens
is like a mustard seed,
which a man took
and sowed in his field,
and which is smaller
than all the seeds;
but when it has grown,
it is greater than the herbs
and becomes a tree,
so that the birds of heaven
come
and roost in its branches.
…The kingdom of the heavens
is like leaven,
which a woman took
and hid
in three measures of meal
until the whole
was leavened.
We come to the third church,
the church in Pergamos.
…In Greek
Pergamos
means “marriage,”
implying union,
and “fortified tower.”
As a sign,
the church in Pergamos
prefigures the church
which entered
into a marriage union
with the world
and became
a high fortified tower,
equivalent to
the great tree
prophesied by the Lord
in the parable of the mustard seed.
When Satan
failed to destroy the church
through the persecution
of the Roman Empire
in the first three centuries,
he changed his strategy.
He sought instead to corrupt her
through Constantine’s welcoming her
as the state religion
in the first part of the fourth century.
Through Constantine’s encouragement
and political influence,
multitudes of unbelieving ones
were baptized into the “church,”
and the “church”
became monstrously great.
Since the church
is a spouse to Christ
as a chaste bride,
her union with the world
is considered
spiritual fornication
in the eyes of God.
The two meanings
of the word Pergamos
—“marriage” and “fortified tower”—
correspond to
two of the parables
in Matthew 13,
the parable of the great tree
and the parable of the leaven.
In the parable of the great tree,
a tiny mustard seed
became a tree.
This undoubtedly signifies
monstrous Christianity,
for Christianity
has certainly become
a great tree.
In the parable of the leaven,
we read of a woman
who put leaven
into three measures of fine flour.
Leaven signifies
all the sinful, worldly,
evil, satanic,
demonic, and devilish things.
All these wicked things
were put into the fine flour.
In the Bible,
the fine flour
used in the meal offering
signifies Christ
as food
for God’s people.
The great tree
is the equivalent of
the high tower,
and the woman with the leaven
is the equivalent of
the apostate church
which has married the world.
…We must absolutely abandon
this great tree,
escape from this high tower,
come out of this evil system,
and be separated to God,
returning to His original intention
that the church
be a pure golden lampstand
having nothing to do with
worldliness, idolatry,
or Satan’s saturation.
We are not in the place
where Satan dwells,
in the place
where Satan sits on his throne.
No,
in the church
there is
no ground
for Satan.
Be careful!
After the enemy
has persecuted you,
his strategy may change.
Instead of persecution,
there might be
a welcome.
Do not regard this welcome
as a good thing.
…It is good
for us
to suffer
persecution, opposition, and attack.
But whenever people
extend us
a warm welcome,
that is
a most dangerous time.
When you are attacked
and are undergoing persecution,
do not be discouraged,
for that is
a strong sign
that you
are on the right track
and that you
have not been distracted
from following the Lord’s steps.
But beware of
a warm welcome.
It is better
to suffer persecution
than to receive
a warm welcome.
The epistle to the church in Pergamos
teaches us
that we should not be
in union with the world
in any way, sense, or aspect.
We must have
nothing to do with the world.
During the past fifty years,
a warm welcome
was extended to us
quite a number of times
in a subtle way,
but thank God
that we rejected it every time.
As a result,
throughout the years
we have been preserved
by being persecuted.
We have never received
a good name,
because Satan will not allow you
to have a good name
unless you enter
into union with him.
This is
why we in the Lord’s recovery
are constantly involved
in a battle
and are continuously attacked.
A war
is raging all the time.
The Lord’s recovery
is not carrying out
a common Christian work.
No,
this testimony
is a warfare.