And I have against you that you permit the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophet, to teach and deceive My servants to commit fornication and eat food offered to idols.  I have given her time in order that she might repent, but she was not willing to repent of her sexual immorality.  Rev. 2:20, 21.
 
    Jesus here calls John's opponents followers of Jezebel.  Whoever she was, she appears to represent the Thyatira branch of the group labeled "Nicolaitans" and "those who hold to the teaching of Balaam" (Rev. 2:14, 15).  Apparently all three names represent the same group, because all three names involve the same two problems: eating food offered to idols and committing fornication.  Interestingly enough, when you go to the Christian writings of the following century, the same two issues appear front and center.
 
    The Roman Empire required all non-Jews to participate in the civil religion.  The Romans tolerated all kinds of religious practices, but no matter what your religion was or where you came from, they also expected you to take part in the ceremonies and public events of Roman society.  Such events were somewhat like the Fourth of July parade in the United States.  It did not matter what religion you were--it was part of your duty as a citizen to be involved in them. 
 
    Serious consequences awaited those who did not participate in the civil religion, even when the death penalty was not in view.  For example, they would be ostracized from the trade guilds, in which people networked to build their businesses.  They would lose their influence on the development of society or the improvement of their position within it.  Lack of involvement in the civil religion also deprived them of social opportunities.  As a result those who avoided Roman civil religion became poor, powerless, social outcasts.
 
    For the Western world today wealth and security seem to represent the highest goals of secular society.  But the Greco-Roman world had an even higher goal: status.  It was a world that reveled in the honor and esteem of others and poured shame on those who did not conform.  In such a world the restrictions of Christian life and practice virtually guaranteed exclusion from honor and status in one's own neighborhood.
 
    So first-century Christians who refused to participate in Roman civil religion suffered serious consequences in business, civil affairs, and social contact.  The gospel is free, but it can cost us our reputations, our families, our jobs, and even our lives.  Jesus calls His followers to total commitment, no matter what the consequence.  But He rewards that total commitment with meaning and purpose in this life and exalted status in the life to come. 
 
Lord, too often I have compromised my commitment to You because of the attractions of this life.  I renew my commitment to You this day forward.

 To the angel of the church in Thyatira, write, "These things says the Son of God, the One whose eyes are like flaming fire and whose feet are like polished brass....And I will give [the overcomer] the morning star."  Rev. 2:18-28.
 
    I started playing golf about 12 years ago.  It is a very challenging game.  You would think that it shouldn't be too hard to hit a ball lying stationary on the ground.  And I almost always hit it.  But how you hit it is another matter.  One time you may shank the ball off to the right or the left, while another time you fail to hit it square and the ball doesn't go as far as you planned.  Other times it arcs to the right (slice) or to the left (hook).
 
    When I took up golf, my biggest problem was the slice, in which the ball starts out in the direction I want it to go, but then begins to arc or curve to the right.  A small slice of 10 yards or so is not a problem--you can control that.  But when the slice gets really big--30, 40, or 50 yards to the right--your results will not be very successful.
 
    A friend of mine, Jim Park, had a slice even worse than mine, so he decided to go to the "swing doctor," a golf teacher who teaches people for a living (they're often called "golf pros").  In the midst of his first lesson the "pro" told him that the reason he was hitting the ball to the right was that he was not "following through."  In other words, the ball would go not where Jim intended but rather where his body was facing after he swung the club.
 
    Park immediately questioned the pro's logic.  What difference would it make where the swing ended up if he had already hit the ball?  His teacher assured him again that he was slicing the ball because he was not following through on the swing and that his body was facing to the right of the target after he had hit the ball.  When everything is going wrong, you become willing to try almost anything!  So Park began to follow through more with his swing.  The difference it made absolutely amazed him.  He now hit the ball straighter and farther than ever before.
 
    The church in Thyatira received a head-to-toe vision of Jesus.  Their success depended on maintaining that vision of Jesus.  Like them, our success in any aspect of the spiritual life results from "following through"--from making sure that all of our efforts focus on Jesus.  When we take our eyes off Him and concentrate on the problem or the mission, our "swing" (strategy, organization, talent, etc.) may seem perfect, but our results will wander far from the goal.  Everything we do in the spiritual life must happen in relation to Jesus.  Or to use the language of Hebrews 12:2 (the golfer's translation): We need "to fix our eyes on Jesus, the beginning and follow-through of our faith."
 
Lord, my life is filled with distractions, many of them very good things.  Help me to "follow through" by keeping my eyes and whole body directed toward You in all I do today.

  And to the angel of the church in Thyatira, write: "These things says the Son of God, the one whose eyes are like flaming fire and whose feet are like polished brass.  I know your works, even your love, your faith, your service, and your patience, and your latter works are greater than the former.  Rev. 2:18, 19.
 
    When one thinks of vacation spots or places to see in North America, several immediately come to mind.  Among the major destinations are such places as Orlando, Florida; New York City; Washington, D.C.; the Grand Canyon; and Yellowstone Park.  Most of them have a worldwide reputation, and people will go out of their way in order to visit them.
 
    Still other destinations are almost as well known.  Most of these involve bodies of water or mountains, places such as Colorado and the California coast.  It may surprise people to find out that my home state of Michigan has more boat registrations than any other state.  Bordering on the three largest of the Great Lakes makes a great deal of water recreation possible.  Water and mountains provide weary people from the city with a reason to make that long drive with the family in order to have a few moments of quiet recreation.
 
    One place that doesn't seem to be on anyone's vacation list is the state of Oklahoma.  It was nearly 10 years after I had visited my forty-ninth state (Alaska) before I made Oklahoma the fiftieth.  Most people probably know Oklahoma best for the "dust bowl,"  Will Rogers, and a Broadway musical of the same name.  Possessing neither large bodies of water, nor mountains, nor a major theme park, the state is a vast plain that most travelers pass through hurriedly on their way to somewhere else.
 
    But if you chose to visit Oklahoma after all, you would find that the place has a quiet beauty all its own.  Breeze-filled plains rise up to meet an endless sky. And the people who live there exhibit a rugged work ethic that fills life in this unpretentious place with meaning and satisfaction.  While the life there is simple and straight-forward, the people are well worth getting to know.
 
    Like Oklahoma, Thyatira was like a neglected sister among the seven churches.  The other six cities had major economic and political importance.  In ancient lists of the great cities of Asia Minor the other six appear near the head of the list, while Thyatira is usually missing.  But Jesus does not look at things the way we do.  He recognizes value where others see dross.  The simplest of Christians often have the most profound walk with God.  If you sometimes feel like an "odd person out" in your local church community, God says to you, "Welcome to Thyatira (Oklahoma)!"
 
Lord, thank You for Thyatira and Oklahoma, which remind me to respect those that are marginalized in today's world, and may I take courage in You when I feel left out myself.

  Repent, therefore, but if not, I will soon come to you and make war with them by means of the sword of My mouth.  He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.  To the one who overcomes I will give some of the hidden manna.  And I will give him a white stone, and upon that stone a new name will be written, which no one can know except the one who receives it.  Rev. 2:16, 17.
 
    The church at Pergamum is drifting into compromise, not rushing in intentionally.  People don't just get up one morning and decide to give up their relationship with God or become totally secular.  When Christians become secular, it is because they allow themselves to wander gradually into it.  Perhaps they are not praying, or wrestling in private prayer, as much as they used to.  Maybe they are just not reading the Bible and other spiritual books the way they did before.  The slide into secularism is gradual.
 
    The problem with compromise is that people slip into it without even realizing what is happening.  Compromise tends to be popular--it makes everybody happy and offends no one.  But it disturbs God.  I should probably qualify that last statement.  Conciliation and compromise are not the same thing.  The former is good.  The results of compromise, on the other hand, are not spiritually healthy.
 
    With compromise comes lower personal standards.  People don't naturally drift upstream.  The normal  tendency in any church is downstream toward a lower standard and less clarity in doctrine.  Unless people are willing to swim against the tide through vigorous application of Scripture, a church will inevitable move to lower standards--as Pergamum did.
 
    What is Jesus' solution to compromise?  He leaves us in no doubt.  Repent!  The Greek form of the word implies that repentance is something they must start.  The Pergamenes evidently don't think they need to repent, but Jesus insists that the wrong kind of tolerance requires repentance.  If the church's leadership won't confront the people who are destroying the church, He will come and "make war with them by means of the sword of His mouth."
 
    The remedy for a compromising spirit is, first of all, a firm decision.  To repent is to make a total turn in your life, to renew spiritual disciplines.  It means to stop drifting along and doing what feels good or what comes naturally.  Repentance requires that you become intentional in what you do spiritually by scheduling time for prayer and study.  And to provide time in your life for the things that God would have you to do, such as sharing your faith.
 
    No matter what you've done or where you've been, it's not too late to turn things around.
 
Lord, open my eyes to the hidden compromises in my own life.  I invite the spirit of repentance into my heart.

But I have a few things against you, namely that you have some there who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to place an occasion for sin before the sons of Israel, to eat food offered to idols and to commit fornication.  Similarly, you have those who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans.  Rev. 2:14, 15.
 
    The word for fornication in Greek is closely related to the word for prostitution.  Christians are often horrified that people would value themselves so lowly as to offer their bodies sexually in exchange for a relatively small amount of money.  Yet those same Christians sometimes think that a little sex between "consenting adults" should not be a major issue.  But if it is wrong to sell our sexuality to another, is it any better to give it away for free?  The Bible teaches us to save our sexuality for the one who will value us so highly that he or she will be willing to commit their entire life to us.  Promiscuous sexuality tends to occur when people have a low sense of worth.  What they do not value they freely throw away.
 
    "But isn't sexual purity until marriage an old-fashioned idea?" a parishioner asked his pastor.  "Sure, it's dumb to play around with all the disease that's out there, but we love each other and plan to get married some day.  Give me one reason we should wait."
 
    "I'll do better than that," the pastor replied.  I'll give you three.  First, if you are preparing for marriage, you need to build a relationship that will last a lifetime.  To achieve that, you will need a strong relational 'infrastructure,' and that means spending a lot of time getting to know each other mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.  Once a couple gets physical they start neglecting the other aspects of their relationship, and these are the ones that really count if you're going to spend the rest of your lives together.
 
    "Second, sex before marriage weakens your resistance to affair within marriage.  The brain tends to take the path of least resistance.  Once you have worn down a certain path for a while, it is much easier to go that way again in the future.  A 'trial marriage' is one of the best ways to ensure that the marriage itself will not last.
 
    "Third, even if you never have an affair later on, having sexual relations with your spouse before marriage leads to issues of trust.  No matter how faithful you are, she will think. Well, he did it with me when we weren't married, so what's to stop him doing it with someone else he isn't married to?  Marriage is tough enough without throwing that kind of distrust into the mix."
 
    "Wow," the parishioner said.  "I didn't know the Bible was that  practical."
 
Lord, help me to stop listening to the Balaams of Hollywood and Madison Avenue.  I choose to put my trust in the whats of Your Word, even when I don't understand the whys.

  But I have a few things against you, namely that you have some there who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to place an occasion for sin before the sons of Israel, to eat food offered to idols and to commit fornication.  Rev. 2:14.
 
    Eating food offered to an idol may seem a rather small issue to complain about.  And young people often ask, "What could possibly be wrong with 'a little harmless sex'?"  The actions that Balaam and Balak led Israel into must not have seemed so wrong to many Israelites.  But when temptation leads to sin, we often discover that its consequences vastly outweigh any pleasure that may have occurred.  The end result of Baal-Peor, the event in the Old Testament that our text refers to, was the death of 24,000 Israelites.
 
    Recent discoveries give us a new understanding of the complexities of outer space.  Long supposed by theory but never confirmed, scientists now know that so-called black holes are massive fields of gravity that can literally rip a star apart.  Invisible to the naked eye, X-ray telescopes such as those at the Chandra X-ray Observatory Center, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, can detect them.
 
    Photographs made at Chandra are the first strong evidence for this phenomenon.  They show a star disintegrating from the pull of a black hole.  "Stars can survive being stretched a small amount, as they are in binary star systems, but this star was stretched beyond its breaking point," said Stefanie Komossa of he Max Planick Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics in Germany.  "This unlucky star just wandered into the wrong neighborhood."
 
    The interesting part is that the black hole did not swallow the star.  It consumed only 1 percent of the star's total mass.  But the momentum and energy it triggered actually flung most of the star's gas away from the black hole.  All the black hole did was initiate the process by eroding the star's critical mass.  Once the black hole disrupted the star in this way, the star's destruction took on a life of its own, and it disintegrated from there.
 
    Sin is like this black hole.  Its attraction on our lives is as powerful as gravity.  Seductive temptations draw us constantly and steadily into the hold of its gravitational pull.  And like the black hole that destroys the star by just breaking apart its vital structure, yielding to sin can damage us just enough to set a process of ultimate annihilation into motion.  The Word of God is clear that even small sins can lead to destruction and eventually death!
 
Lord, help me to take sin very seriously.  I know that salvation is by grace, yet sin attracts me away from You and Your grace, leading in dangerous and destructive directions.  I therefore choose to yield my body and mind to Your complete control today.

  But I have a few things against you, namely that you have some there who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to place an occasion for sin before the sons of Israel, to eat food offered to idols and to commit fornication.  Similarly, you have those who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans.  Rev. 2:14, 15.
 
    Apparently, some in the church at Pergamum held teachings similar to those of Balaam.  They, like him, attempted to entice others away with their ideas.  The text also mentions the teaching of the Nicolaitans.  The Greek root for the word Nicolaitans (nikolaos) means "the one who conquers the people" while the Hebrew name Balaam means "one who swallows up the people."  These two terms, though from different languages, mean essentially the same thing.
 
    When the king of Moab saw the Israelites coming, he realized that the God of Israel was far too powerful for his armies to overcome.  So the monarch, Balak, had a brilliant idea.  He would find a true prophet of their God who was willing to curse them.  Then perhaps their deity would forsake them and Balak could conquer them in battle.
 
    Having heard about Balaam, Balak sent a representative to him: "The king of Moab is offering you a large sum of money if you will come and curse Israel."  A greedy sort, the prophet decided to accept the offer in spite of Yahweh's displeasure.
 
    On his way to Moab Balaam had his famous conversation with a donkey.  In spite of the divine hint that he was on the wrong track, he continued on his journey and tried to curse Israel.  But instead of curses, blessings spilled from his mouth.  The king who hired him was furious (see Num. 22-24 for the larger story).
 
    Balaam's consistent message, however, was "I'm a prophet of Yahweh and can only say what Yahweh puts in my mouth."  No matter what Balaam did, he could not curse Israel and, therefore, could not earn his money.  Then he had a brilliant idea.
 
    "If we could figure out a way to lead Israel astray," he suggested, "God would forsake them, and they would be defeated in battle."  As part of his fiendish scheme, Balaam used the fascination of pagan feasts and the lure of sexual immorality to attract a number of Israelites to sin through food sacrificed to idols and sexual immorality.  As a result, God withdrew His protection from Israel, and a great plague destroyed many of them (see Num. 25 and 31:16).
 
    The story of Balaam illustrates our dependence on God's protection.  The sins that seem so innocuous to us have disastrous implications if they succeed in separating us from the Lord.  The church at Pergamum felt justified in its compromises, yet placed itself in grave danger.
 
Lord, help me discern the unintended consequences of my daily action and respond accordingly.

  You are holding fast to My name and have not denied My faith even in the days of Antipas, My faithful martyr who was put to death among you, where Satan lives.  Rev. 2:13.
 
    The book of Revelation reports the execution of a Christian named Antipas.  His name has an interesting meaning: "against everyone."  It fits in well with the typical Gentile accusation against Christians that they were "haters of the human race."  The people of the Roman Empire applied it to Christians because they refused to participate in various aspects of the civil religion expected of all good Roman citizens.  At the very least, many considered Christians as antisocial and regarded their presence as bad luck for any community.
 
    While Scripture does not give any details, it is clear that Antipas died a martyr to his faith.  "You did not renounce your faith in me, even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness, who was put to death in your city--where Satan lives" (Rev. 2:13, NIV).  Pergamum was one of the sites where the Roman governor held court and made judicial decisions.  It is possible that early Christians would see in the "sharp, two-edged sword" of Christ (verses 12, 16) a contrast to the governor's power over the "sword," the death sentence.  If so, the Roman governor probably executed Antipas for being a Christian.
 
    The procedure in Antipas' case may have been that described by the governor Pliny some 15 years later in a letter to the emperor Trajan:
 
    "I have asked the accused whether they were Christians.  If they confessed, I asked a second and a third time, threatening penalty.  Those who persisted I ordered to be executed, for I did not doubt that, whatever it was they professed, they deserved to be punished for their inflexible obstinacy....I dismissed those who said they were not or never had been Christians, and who in my presence supplicated the gods and placed wine and incense before your [Trajan's] image, and especially cursed Christ, which I hear no true Christian will do."
 
    Trajan responded that the authorities should not seek Christians out or try them on the basis of anonymous accusations.  If openly brought to the governor's attention, however, officials should handle them as Pliny had described.  Probably a hostile neighbor, either Jew or Gentile, accused Antipas to the governor.  Imagine living in a place where you never knew which neighbor might suddenly report your faith to the authorities!  If it could happen to Antipas, it could happen to any Christian.
 
Lord, I am grateful for the relative safety in which I live today.  Give me the wisdom and strength to serve You well when times are good.

 You are holding fast to My name and have not denied My faith even in the days of Antipas, My faithful martyr who was put to death among you, where Satan lives.  Rev. 2:13.
 
    The statement "have not denied my faith" is the natural reverse of "hold on to your confession of faith" (Heb. 4:14; 10:23, author's translation).  The believers in Pergamum have not only retained their trust and confidence in God in their good times, but also refused to deny that faith when placed under the pressure of persecution.  We develop our faith in God and His teachings by applying His Word to everyday life.  As we see God's hand at work in everyday experience, our faith grows.  As our faith passes smaller tests, it strengthens until it can survive the more serious challenges that may come our way.
 
    An example of how faith develops in small steps occurred in the fall of 2003.  During a school board meeting the Eau Claire, Michigan, Seventh-day Adventist Church learned that its school faced an $8,000 deficit.  When the church board could not come up with any solution, the church made an appeal to the entire congregation.  An anonymous donor came forward and offered to match all funds raised, thinking that he could spare $4,000 from a savings account.
 
    Prayers ascended, and letters went out to the members.  On December 7 the school's Christmas program took up an offering.  At the end of the program someone called the principal up to the front of the church and announced that the total amount raised that night was $12,160!  And it did not include the pledged funds.
 
    Approached with the results, the anonymous donor was stunned at the generosity of the members.  Even if he cleaned out all his savings, he would be thousands of dollars short of what he had pledged.  At first he considered just donating the $4,000 he had intended to give.  Then he decided to stand by his promise and trust God to make up the difference.  He emptied his bank account and prayed for a miracle.
 
    Before the end of the week, unexpected funds arrived at his home, not only finishing off his pledge, but also replenishing his bank account!  The man's act of faith not only received its reward, but the entire church was amazed to see the hand of God work so powerfully and with such miraculous timing.  One small act of faith snowballed to the point at which an entire congregation of several hundred people could perceive the hand of God.
 
    It is in the small things that our faith learns to grow.  And it is in the large challenges that our faith gets tested.
 
Lord, increase my faith.  Send me the kinds of experiences today that will expand my trust in You.  Prepare me and those I love for the big challenges to come.

  And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write: These things says the One who has the sharp, two-edged sword.  I know where you live, where the throne of Satan is.  You are holding fast to My name and have not denied My faith even in the days of Antipas, My faithful martyr who was put to death among you, where Satan lives.  Rev. 2:12, 13.
 
    Some students of this passage have suggested that the church at Pergamum was a compromising one.  This could explain the reason that Jesus approaches it with a sharp, double-edged sword.  It needs the cutting discernment that comes by the Word of God.  "For the word of God is living and active.  Sharper than any double-edged  sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart" (Heb. 4:12, NIV).
 
    The church at Pergamum seems to be the opposite of Ephesus, which had sound doctrine and lacked love.  The Pergamum church us weak in the very area that Ephesus is strong--sound doctrine.
 
    According to Jesus, Pergamum was a dangerous place for Christians to live.  In some sense He considered it the dwelling place of Satan.  Pergamum was probably the most impressive of the seven cities listed in this part of Revelation.  Its primary ruins lie on top of a steep hill hundreds of feet above the plain.  The largest remaining structure is that of the amphitheater, capable of seating some 15,000 people.  Built into a steep hillside, it overlooked the valley to the west.
 
    Archaeologists took a part of the most spectacular of its many temples, the Pergamon Altar, and rebuilt it inside a museum in the eastern part of Berlin.  The temple included a huge marble staircase (nearly 20 feet high and 100 wide) surrounded and topped in a horseshoe shape by colonnaded statuary carved into the marble itself.  It was an incredible piece of work, exuding confidence in human genius and the overwhelming power of the religion it represented.  Such magnificence would have attracted onlookers to the pagan religions of Rome.  Compromise would have easily crept in without Christian believers even being aware of it.
 
    The power of human achievement is even more impressive today.  Giant skyscrapers, awesome technological advances, dazzling sports events and shows, all subtly suggest that real life is to be found in human achievement and pride.  The Word of God is a sharp, two-edged sword revealing this false reality to be the illusion that it is.  Events such as September 11 underline the accuracy of Jesus' diagnosis.  After all, mighty Pergamum is largely in ruins today.
 
Lord, apply Your discerning Word to my life today.  Expose my tendency to compromise.