Sunday 10 April 2016

Letters from Jesus - the third letter shared by Aije Barnes, April 2, Issue 1, Vol 6

The third Letter from Jesus:  

“And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write, ‘These things says He who has the sharp two-edged sword: “I know your works, and where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is. And you hold fast to My name, and did not deny My faith even in the days in which Antipas was My faithful martyr, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells. But I have a few things against you, because you have there those who hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit sexual immorality. Thus you also have those who hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate. Repent, or else I will come to you quickly and will fight against them with the sword of My mouth. “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give some of the hidden manna to eat. And I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written which no one knows except him who receives it. ” ‭‭Revelation‬ ‭2:12-17‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

The heading of this letter from Jesus to this church in Pergamos  is entitled 'The Compromising Church' in the New King James version (NKJV). 

If you have read the first letter from Jesus to the church at Ephesus, you will note that in that letter, Jesus hated the deeds of the Nicolaitans and commended the church of Ephesus for hating their deeds too. Again, in his letter to the church at Pergamos, Jesus again mentioned his hatred for the doctrine of the Nicolaitans but this time, he was expressing his unhappiness over this particular church accommodating people who practiced this detestable doctrine amongst them as well as those who held the doctrine of Balaam, which as described, is also detestable. 

The doctrine of Balaam as described by Jesus in the opening scripture, was one which was indirectly implemented by Balaam through Balak - who was a known enemy of the people of God (Israel). Balak had previously enticed Balaam to curse the people of God and God had warned him not to go with Balak's messengers and also not to curse His people. Because of Balaam's greed of the reward offered by Balak, he disobeyed God.  However, God did not allow him to curse His people but rather made him bless them three times. But Jesus clearly revealed that Balaam used an indirect method to corrupt Israel, His people through this known enemy - Balak. From the tone given in the above scriptures, the weight of the offence was laid upon Balaam who should have known better as he communicated directly with God. 

I carried out some research on the Nicolaitans and in summary, found out the following:

The Nicolaitans were spiritual descendants of Nicolas, who was a deacon of Antioch and one of the seven first ordained deacons of the early church. 

Nicolas was reported to have been non Jewish. He was first converted from  paganism to Judaism, then from Judaism to Christianity. My research revealed that Nicolas taught the doctrine of compromise by allowing the intermingling of paganism and Judaism with Christianity. Jesus is against this doctrine. 

Jesus introduced himself at the beginning of this letter as the one who has the sharp two-edged sword. In Hebrews 4:12, the scriptures described the word of God as being sharper than two-edged sword. It is with the sword of His mouth that Jesus  warned that he would used to fight against those who practice such horrid doctrines and He asked that we his people, should repent and no longer accommodate those who practice them. We must not also  adopt any of these evil doctrines and be very careful of who and what we listen to in the name of religion. We must search the scriptures for ourselves asking and trusting the Lord to lead us by His Spirit into all truth. We must then practice, preach and teach God's untainted pure and holy word as he has given it. No compromise - either directly or indirectly. Jesus' promise to them who overcome remains. He will give to us some of the hidden manna to eat and a white stone with a new engraved on it from him for our individual knowledge only. 

Let us take heed to what Jesus is saying to us in these last days. 

Shalom 

1 comment:

  1. Dear friends,

    This is the third letter from Jesus to the church. It is as relevant now, as it was when he revealed this to His disciple, John, as detailed in the book of Revelations. The letter sets out the dangers of compromising with; and entertaining unscriptural doctrines. As Christians, we must be aware of these things, stay away from them and be wise! The word of God is our standard; so we must pay attention to it and stick to it.

    Shalom
    Aije

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