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The Book of Revelation - Part 7

22 Mar 2026 · this lesson on the church site

Taught by Dr. Keith Palmer, Grace Bible Church, Granbury, Texas — from the church’s Sunday School series on Revelation. These are lightly edited transcripts of the audio, posted for personal study; the teaching and its content belong to Dr. Palmer and Grace Bible Church. Listen to the originals and find his notes on the church website. Transcribed from the audio by AI. Edited only where the audio was unclear (all edits marked with *). Errors are possible — the recording is the authority.

Introduction to Pergamum (00:00)

Rock and roll. Here we go. Turn with me in your Bible to Revelation chapter 2. I hope your seat belt is fastened and your tray table is upright and locked, because we are going to quickly get to our cruising altitude here in the book of Revelation. We're coming to the church at Pergamum today. If you're just joining us, jump on the freight train. We are on our way, looking at a verse-by-verse study of the book of Revelation.

Just to give you some context, here's the introduction, right out of John MacArthur's commentary. We've seen the introduction. We're in the section in chapters 2 and 3 on the letters to the seven churches. As we mentioned, these are seven historic churches in the first century. Though the message is unique to them and we interpret them in their normal historical context, we do believe there's application to every church, and we'll look at that with Pergamum today. Then we get to chapter 4, and things get really weird and take off in the symbolism and visions and whatnot. Those are previews of coming attractions.

Just to remind you of the graphical diagram of the book of Revelation: the chapters at the top there are a series of visions, 16 visions. You have some of the elements of those visions laid out graphically there, just to keep that in front of you. You need that visual as we navigate our way through the weeds of the various details.

So we're coming now to the church at Pergamum. Remember, these are seven letters from Jesus, via an angel, written by the Apostle John, who is receiving the Revelation. Notice that these churches exist on the west side of Asia Minor, modern-day Turkey. These are historic churches. Some of you have been figuring this out. We started here at Ephesus, then moved up the coast to Smyrna, and today we're coming up to Pergamum. So you can see we're moving somewhat in geographic order.

Most of these cities you can go and visit today. There are ancient ruins, even though modern cities have been built on top of them, and we're going to do our field trip at some point. I threw that out last week and got a lot of smiles and amens. So we'll have to do our Letters to the Seven Churches tour at some point in the future. But for now, we'll stay here and stare at the map and get some background. The next best thing to looking at this from a distance is to show you some pretty pictures. You guys aren't too old for show and tell, right? So let's introduce you to Pergamum.

Background on Pergamum (01:04)

As you saw on the map, it's north of Smyrna, exactly 65 miles north of Smyrna on the west coast of modern Turkey. Unlike Ephesus and Smyrna, which are on the coast and have harbors, Pergamum is 15 miles inland. It became a significant city in Asia following the work of Alexander the Great. So we go back to the fourth century BC. That's when this city really starts to take on more significance in the world.

The Acropolis, you're going to see this. Remember, the Acropolis is an elevated part of the city in the ancient days. When you read about that, think of it as usually built on a mountain or a hill. Often there was a courtyard or a meeting place there. You remember Paul goes to Mars Hill in the book of Acts, and they have a meeting place there with the Athenian philosophers. The Acropolis at Pergamum became an important military defense and one of the central fortifications in the region. It rose 1300 feet above the Caicus River in the valley below. I'll show you a picture of that in a minute.

The city was known for its art, its palaces, and its temples. Get this: it had the most significant library next to Alexandria. Archaeologists tell us that at its height there were over 200,000 volumes. And you're thinking, this is before Google Books, before the printing press, before any modern conveniences that would have allowed for the production of books, printed or digital. That's very significant.

It boasted temples to:

It was also the location of the first temple in Asia built for an emperor. You know the name Caesar Augustus. So the folks there built the first temple not to a Greek or Roman god, but to a Roman emperor. Remember that, because we're going to see some very strong statements in the letter, and it probably relates to the fact that this was the first temple built to a Roman emperor for the purpose of worship.

Pictures of Pergamum (05:23)

Okay, now on to my pretty pictures. Isn't that beautiful? That is the Acropolis. You can see it way back in the background there, 1300 feet above, with really beautiful remains. Again, most of these cities have been rebuilt, but some of the ancient ruins remain.

We're going to read in our text about a white stone. It's at the very end, in verse 17. We'll see it here in a minute. Here is a white stone with names written on it. Anybody want to translate the Greek there for us? The inscription, all capital letters with no spaces between the words. Okay, no volunteers. We'll talk about that white stone in a moment.

This is the theater. Look at it at its height. It could hold 10,000 people. It's built, as you can see, along the side of that Acropolis, that 1300-foot rise. Just beautiful remains.

This was a temple to Trajan, another Roman emperor. It was not built until the second century, so it would not have existed yet at the time John is bringing Jesus' letter to Pergamum. But you can see some of the architecture that would be similar to the time. Next to this temple was where that library sat. I don't know exactly where it is. I think it's in the background there, behind some of the pillars.

Interestingly enough, history records that the people of Pergamum and some of the things going on in Asia Minor had a relationship with Egypt that took a turn for the worse. Egypt was the main source of papyrus. All of a sudden, these folks over in Pergamum and others could not easily get papyrus. So what did they do? They invented parchment. You wonder where parchment came from? It was invented here in Pergamum because the supply of papyrus was strained. That's a fun fact for you history buffs.

This temple is to Serapis. Help me with the pronunciation on some of these. This was not a Greco-Roman god. This was an Egyptian god, the Egyptian god of healing, and this temple was built prior to this time. He was particularly the god of healing as it related to blindness. But what this shows us is that the false worship, the idol worship going on here, was not just Zeus and some of the Roman and Greek gods. It was a mix, a polytheistic worship, across cultures. In other words, they were worshiping Egyptian gods as well as Greek and Roman gods, and we'll see some comments here that reflect that.

This is the complex to Asclepius. Asclepius, I think that's how you say his name. We'll talk about him as one of the key deities here. This became an official area, a temple to him, but also a meeting place. It's hard to picture, but as I've understood it, these temples ended up serving as main gathering places for the city. It would be like, hey, we're all going to gather on the square, the courthouse in Granbury. In the ancient day, it might have been a temple or some sort of religious building where people gathered for various functions.

Again, hopefully one of you has been here. Anybody been here? I'm going to ask this every week. I had one hand last week, from someone who's been here. Okay, we'll move on, and that just means we have to do a field trip.

Revelation 2:12-17 (09:36)

Revelation chapter 2, verse 12: "And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write: 'The one who has the sharp two-edged sword says this, "I know where you dwell, where Satan's throne is. And you hold fast My name and did not deny My faith even in the days of Antipas, My witness, My faithful one, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells. But I have a few things against you, because you have there some who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who kept teaching Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols and to commit acts of immorality. So you also have some who in the same way hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans. Therefore repent, or else I am coming to you quickly, and I will make war 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, and I will give him a white stone, and a new name written on the stone which no one knows but he who receives it."'"

You get all that? All right.

The Sharp Two-Edged Sword (10:37)

Speaking of the sharp sword, some of you young men might be interested in this sword here. The angel of the church, the sharp two-edged sword. We saw that in Revelation 1:16. Where did we see it in 1:16? Coming out of the mouth of the Son of Man. This is called a rhomphaia. That's how you say it. There are different words in Greek for different types of swords. This is the one that was close to three feet long. Sometimes it had a curve, as you see here, and it was double-edged, as we're reminded in our text. That's a pretty wicked-looking sword, isn't it, guys? You like a replica of one of those? It's pretty nice there.

So that's what's proceeding out of the mouth of Christ in chapter 1. And we see here it doesn't just say, "Hi, my name's Jesus. I have something to say to you." It says the one who has the double-edged sword says this. You're going to see why that is significant in a moment. But before we do, let's hit pause, pull the car over for just a second, and remind ourselves about symbolism, because we need to not go nuts on this.

The double-edged sword is one of the challenges. Let me back up a little so you don't get ahead of me. As soon as you hear "double-edged sword," other passages in the Bible pop into your mind. What are some of those passages? Revelation 1, what? Yeah, Hebrews 4:12, that's the one I thought of, right? "The Word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword..."

And that's the problem. It's good that you have a scripture database with things linked like that, and that's awesome. You need to do that, because sometimes those associations are significant for interpreting the passage. But here's what we don't want to do. We don't want to take a symbolic association in a different passage and import it here without really looking at the context. Remember, context determines meaning. Just because the sword represented the Word of God in Hebrews doesn't necessarily mean the sword represents the Word of God here. Does that make sense?

Symbolism and Context (12:39)

Here's a fun example. Who's the rock? Jesus! Okay, I know, I know. The rock or the stone refers to Jesus in these passages:

Yes, that's true. However, when the Bible uses that symbolism, the rock or the stone doesn't always refer to Jesus. For example, in Matthew 16:18, the stone refers to Peter, or to his testimony. In Matthew 7:24, the man who builds his house on the rock builds his house on Jesus, right? I know you learned that in Sunday school, but that's not what the text says: "Everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock." So the rock represents the man who hears and obeys. It doesn't represent Jesus in particular.

So don't say, "Oh, the rock's Jesus," and then blindly import that into the verse. Make sure that the text you're studying actually lends itself to that interpretation. Does that make sense? Okay, symbolism review is over.

The Double-Edged Sword in Hebrews 4 (13:43)

Coming back to our passage, the double-edged sword. We think of Hebrews 4:12, "the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword." I just want to flip over to Hebrews for a minute, because it refers to the Word of God, which means the Bible, right? Actually, hit pause for a minute. If you look at it, the writer says "for the word of God." Notice chapter 4, verse 12 in Hebrews starts with the word "for," which means we can't just parachute in and say, "Oh, the Word of God is the sword." It's for the Word of God, meaning there's a connection.

In context, the writer is talking about judgment. He's talking about the hard-heartedness of a previous generation, which did not enter the Sabbath rest. Then the passage goes on in verse 13: "And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do." So the Word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword when it comes in judgment. That's interesting. It's not the Bible in particular, although we could say the Bible does possess all these qualities, and that's a true statement. But what the writer in Hebrews is really focusing on is the Word of God coming in judgment on the people. And it's sharp, right? Why does it pierce as far as the division of soul and spirit, joints and marrow, and is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart? Because that's how the judgment is going to happen. Nothing is hidden from the sight of Christ when He comes in judgment in that way. So we have to be careful, even with familiar passages like that.

The Sword of Christ in Revelation (15:48)

Okay, back to Revelation 2. In the book of Revelation, we've seen that the sharp, two-edged sword that proceeds from the mouth of Christ represents His weapon of war and judgment. There is an association here in terms of the judgment aspect. We see in Revelation 19:15 and 19:21 that the sword coming out of the mouth of the Messiah, the Son of Man, is how He judges the nations, and it is violent. It is an instrument of war.

So if we combine the fact that it's coming out of His mouth with the fact that it's an instrument of war, we might say it's the Word and action of His judgment. That would be my best way of describing the symbolism here. The sword represents both the Word and the action of His judgment. These are the weapons of war. That sword is His weapon of war, to wield in judgment over the nations as we get later on into the book.

With that in mind, you're a little church doing some good things, and you get a personal letter from Jesus. But it doesn't say, "Hi, I'm the Messiah. I'm the Son of God. I'm the Son of Man." It says the one who has the double-edged sword. What does that do to your posture as you're ready to receive this letter? Does it kind of put you on defense a little bit? Because this is the sword of judgment. This is the sword of war, as we're going to see.

The Sword and the Roman Emperor (17:53)

Interestingly enough, Roman emperors often wore a sword as a reminder to the public of their power. As Tom Schreiner says in his commentary, the sword was a symbol "to rule and to judge." And the contrast here is: the sword of the Son of Man is more powerful than the sword of Rome. There's a contrast here, especially since this city had the first temple to Roman emperor worship. Maybe Jesus is setting up a contrast between the sword of the emperor who's being worshiped and the sword of the Son of Man, who's going to clean house when He returns. Does that make sense? Do you see that contrast there?

Satan's Throne in Pergamum (17:53)

So let's jump back in to the encouragement, Revelation 2:13: "I know where you dwell, where Satan's throne is." In this verse, He makes two references to Satan. He talks about Satan's throne and later on about where Satan dwells. We have to ask why Jesus emphasizes to this particular city that Satan dwells there. We'll get to that in just a minute, but it could be that, as I mentioned, Pergamum was the first city to have a temple to the emperor. So it's not just a pagan place of temple worship to false deities. They were the first to erect a temple to a Roman emperor.

The second reason is that the city was what was called a Neocorus, or temple guardian. This was a designation given by Rome saying this was a special place recognized to preserve the idol worship of the culture. So maybe for both of those reasons, or one, I don't know, but for some reason Jesus puts His finger on this place and says Satan is particularly involved in this area.

Yet even in light of that, He says, "You're holding fast to My name. You did not deny My faith." We talked about all the ways it must have been easy to deny the faith of Christ, since the paganism of the day was all over the culture. You couldn't buy groceries. You couldn't walk through the marketplace. One of the things I read about this week is that there were certain trade associations you could join that would give you economic benefits and easier access to food, opportunities in business, and commerce. But you had to align yourself with the pagan culture of the day in order to be part of that trade association. We know faithful Christians had to turn away from that, which means it made life more complicated.

The Cost of Faithfulness (19:59)

That's a good footnote. I know you know this, but let's let it soak in one more time: a commitment to Christ will cost you something. It may cost you your life in the most extreme way. It may cost you your comfort in terms of persecution. It may cost you a job or a relationship. Remember, Jesus said He came to bring a sword, a different kind of sword now, right? That might turn father against mother and son against father. We know that. It might cost us family relations, comfort, money, or political influence. Following Christ costs us something. That may be different in every generation, but we shouldn't be surprised when it happens. I don't know what Peter says about some strange thing happening to us. Following Christ is a commitment that will cost you something, and we need to be ready and prepared for that.

These Christians at Pergamum are a good example, in a much more difficult culture than what you and I live in. They stayed true. They did not deny Christ.

Antipas, a Faithful Witness (21:00)

By way of specific example, Jesus brings up a specific person, Antipas. This is not related to Herod Antipas and the Roman dynasty. This is a different person. We don't really know who it refers to. There's no other reference in Scripture. But Antipas was a faithful Christian in Pergamum. That's all we know about him. He was a faithful Christian in Pergamum, and he was martyred. There are some traditions surrounding how that happened, but we don't have good witnesses to that. Jesus calls out this example here: "even in the days of Antipas, My witness, My faithful one, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells."

So we don't know who this guy was, except that he was faithful. Isn't that interesting? We don't have any other biography except that he did not deny Christ, even to the point of death. Remember the previous letter we saw last time: "be faithful to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life." The devil is going to put you in prison for ten days, right? Well, here's a guy who wasn't just in prison for ten days and was faithful. It cost him his life, and he was faithful, and Jesus commends him as an example even in the midst of this horrible, satanic, pagan culture.

We can look at that as an example, and we can look at it to remind ourselves that Christianity is going to cost us something, and we need to ready ourselves for whatever that cost is. I can say this with full confidence: for every single one of you and me, Christianity will cost you something. It may be different from person to person, but it will cost you something. Part of following Christ, as Pastor Terry talked about just a few weeks ago, is to deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow Him. That's the call for all believers. So we follow the good example of the Christians at Pergamum in that way.

Balaam and the Teaching of Balaak (23:03)

Then Jesus turns in verse 14: "But I have a few things against you." Look at the text there: "You have there some who hold the teaching of Balaam, who kept teaching Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols and to commit acts of immorality." We looked at this text a few weeks ago because there was a reference to the Nicolaitans in the previous verses. You remember that? So let's circle back to it and let me remind you what's going on here.

First of all, if you're thinking "Balaam and Balak, that sounds familiar," but if I'm honest, Pastor Keith, I kind of let my mind drift in my Bible reading plan through Numbers this year, that's okay. Let me remind you. We go back to Numbers 22. This is the time of the Exodus, so we're thinking back to that generation of Israelites. There was a king of Moab named Balak, and there was involvement with him and the Israelites, and there was a false prophet named Balaam.

Now, kids, you're going to know this. Balaam is the guy with the donkey. Remember that? Balaam's donkey. And he's beating the donkey. Then what famous thing happens there? Do you remember? The donkey talks. Yes, it's awesome, isn't it? And what does the donkey say?

Why Jesus Recalls Balaam (25:05)

Why are you striking me? And, you know, because you're right. What's weird is, you've never been so angry. You're stupid. Just don't raise your hand, but just okay.

What does Balaam actually do? He talks back to the donkey. And then what does the Lord do? He opens his eyes, and what is blocking the road, keeping the wise donkey in this case from going forward? A sword, with an interesting... So you can go back and read that. We've got to keep moving because we have so much to cover. But that's the imagery.

Now you say, why does Jesus want his modern audience to think back to that ancient story from thousands of years ago? Well, not thousands of years ago, maybe about 1500 years prior. Why is that? Let's think about this.

Numbers 25 and the Sin at Shittim (26:09)

There's a part of the story here in Numbers 25:1-2. We need to do this. Hold your place. Go back to Numbers 20. We'll just go fast, okay? So we're going back to Numbers 20. The Exodus happens when? 1446 B.C. You should have that date in your mind. So we're going back about 1500 years.

Numbers 25. You say, why would Jesus pull this odd story out of history? Look at this. Chapter 25, verse 1: "While Israel remained in Shittim, the people began to play the harlot with the daughters of Moab." Verse 2: "For they invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and bowed down to their gods. So Israel joined themselves to the Baal of Pe'or, and the Lord was angry with them."

So what two things are happening under Balaam's leadership in the days of Balaam drawing the sons of Israel in? What two things? Sexual immorality, idol worship, and eating of their food. Well, what's going on in Pergamum?

That's why he pulls this image in. It's the same struggle, the same sin. In fact, if you flip the page to Numbers 31:16, it gives commentary insight that it was Balaam who was responsible in this case for trying to keep the children of Israel from getting involved in that, and yet he conceded. He promoted it. So that's why he's calling Balaam out here, and that's why Jesus brings it up with the people of Pergamum. Does that make sense?

When you're reading through Revelation, you see the historical references. We don't want to just symbolize them away. I want you to see that the actual historical, contextual meaning of Numbers 25 is why Jesus brings it up in application in Revelation too. Do you see that? There's no spiritual, symbolic meaning. It's an actual historic event that he brings in for application.

That's important because it shows us how the New Testament honors the authorial intent of the Old Testament writers. They're not just symbolizing things away or using things in a spiritual way. They're bringing in what the original audience in Numbers would have understood and applying it to the New Testament. Keep that in mind. We've got to learn some hermeneutics along the way here.

Syncretism in Pergamum (29:29)

On your notes, both eating food offered to idols and sexual immorality are clearly forbidden in the New Testament, and they are sometimes mentioned together. Interestingly, in Acts 15 they're mentioned together. You say, why is that?

Remember, in the Greco-Roman world, religious paganism and the Roman emperor worship merged with a perverse sexual expression of the day. In other words, religious practice involved sexual immorality in this particular Greco-Roman culture. Often you'll see idol worship, eating food, sacrifice to idols, and the sexual activity that went with it all combined into one, as we see in Acts 15 and also in 1 Corinthians 10.

So that's what's going on. Jesus is calling out the Christians in Pergamum because, though they were faithful to not deny Jesus, what else were they doing? They're saying, "We're not going to deny Jesus, but we're also going to have" what? Some of the pagan religion of the day. "We're going to participate in some of this stuff." That's syncretism, isn't it?

I was thinking about how we apply this. It's not like there's a temple to a Greek god in the center of the Grand Barrier, and you're going to be tempted to go offer incense and eat their food this afternoon. You're not going to be tempted. But I think the reference here, combining the fact that they didn't deny Jesus but were wanting to participate in other forms of idolatry and sin, is a good word for us.

Idolatry of the Heart (30:33)

Remember, when the Bible talks about idolatry, it doesn't just mean there's a pagan deity and you've erected a Buddha in your bathroom and you're bowing down to worship it. Don't do that, right? That's part of it. But write down Ezekiel 14 if this is new to you. The Bible gives us more insight about idolatry there. Idolatry is not just about the posture of your body in bowing down to a physical idol. Ezekiel reminds us that the real problem with idolatry is what's going on in your heart. Ezekiel talks about idols of the heart.

You say, why would idolatry be about our heart? Because what's going on in Pergamum is the same thing you and I are tempted with. It's not that we would deny Jesus, although that is a risk, but that we would divide our loyalty between Jesus and something else.

Competing Loyalties (31:35)

This is a really important word for us. I really think it is. As you and I examine our hearts, we look in the mirror of God's Word. Can we ask ourselves the question: are there things in my life that are competing with Jesus for my loyalty, my heart, my allegiance? Are there times I listen to things other than Jesus? Are there times I entertain myself with things that Jesus died for? Are there times my heart is pulled away by some other influence when Jesus is wanting me to go this way? Does that ever happen to you, like it happens to me?

Your Xbox can be a temple of worship. Your Netflix account can be a temple of worship. Your sports team, your college sports team, can be a temple of false worship. How you use your money, how you use your time, a relationship, comfort, anything can become a false idol that would pull our love and our heart, and ultimately pull our allegiance away from the King of Kings.

Guys, the danger at Grace Bible Church is not that we're just going to get up and abandon Jesus. Sometimes that happens. I've been here long enough to have seen people leave these same seats in full rejection of Jesus, and that's horrible. But for most of us, the danger is not going to be a full-out denial. It's going to be, "I worship Jesus, he's awesome, but I'm also going to have this pantheon of other idols in my life, maybe not physical, but heart idols that are pulling my heart away from Christ."

We need to take a moment and ask, is that going on in my life? Are there things like that I need to repent of quickly, as Jesus is going to call us to do here? What Jesus wants, what God wants, what Christianity wants, we saw it in Psalm 51: "Create in me a clean heart, O God." What God is looking for is total and complete sellout, love, and allegiance to King Jesus. I know that's what you want, and that's what I want. And so we have to guard ourselves from idols, like John tells his church to do, don't we?

The Nicolaitans (34:37)

Back to our text. The critique here is this syncretism, right? He parallels this with the teaching of the Nicolaitans. We talked about the Nicolaitans. We don't know exactly who they were. What we do know, based on the language here, is that the issues of idolatry, eating food, religious rituals, and the sexual part of that are in some way the same as the teaching of the Nicolaitans. So apparently the Nicolaitans were advocating this among Christians.

Remember, I gave you a couple of options for who they could be, followers of Nicolaus, who's mentioned in Acts 6:5. Perhaps he later abandoned Christianity to follow the doctrine of Balaam. It could be. I mentioned this a couple of weeks ago, and none of you caught it. I didn't catch it either. I read in a commentary that the other option is that they were Christians who ate meat sacrificed to idols, from the Greek word Nikolaos, meaning "conquer the people." I read right over that. Then I was restudying and I thought, that's not Greek. It's not Greek, is it, Tanner? What is it? It's Hebrew. The aleph on the end of the word kind of gives it away.

Word Origins and Balaam's Name (35:42)

I traced it. This is what I do all week. This is the nerdy part of what I get to do as a pastor. I read in a commentary that it was the Greek word Nicola, and then I'm going, that's not a Greek word, that's a Hebrew word. So where did it come from? I traced it back to a commentator who noted it, but he didn't say it was a Greek word. He just said it came from this word, and then another commentator assumed it was Greek. Obviously, a commentator who didn't know Greek. So be careful what you read.

Nicola, it's a Hebrew word. The nun on the front and the he on the end make it first person plural from akal, the Hebrew word to eat. So it's a first person plural: "Let us eat." So maybe that's another option. I don't know. But in any case, whoever these Nicolaitans were, they were advocating the idolatry, the eating, and the sexual immorality that went with it.

Can I give you a fun conjecture? I don't want to go nuts on this, and I'm not going to beat the pulpit over it, but enough commentators pointed this out that I thought I had to talk about it. Look at this. The Hebrew word Balaam. You've heard your whole life that it's called "the Bails," the Bails. You heard that in Sunday School. The Baals of the Old Testament, the false gods. There's an accent in the middle. It's Baal. That's how you say it. The Baals. Not Bail, the Baals.

The verb baal means to rule. Am, as in, remember Noah's son Ham? It's actually ha-am, the people. Baal-am means "rule over the people." That's what Balaam's name means. If you take apart the Greek word Nicolaus, you know nikaō. Where do you know that word? I should have worn my Nikes today. Nike, N-I-K-E. Nike means victory, conquer. Nike doesn't mean just do it. It means conquer in Greek. So nikaō, which is the verb form, means to rule or conquer laos, the people. It means the same thing. So there's an association even between the name Balaam and Nicolaus. I don't know if that was significant or not, but that sure seems awesomely coincidental if it is.

Repentance (37:44)

All right, move on. What does he say? "I have a few things against you." You're engaged in sexual immorality related to religion. You're sacrificing and eating things sacrificed to idols. You're involved in this. Verse 16: "Therefore repent." What is the immediate action of the believer when he or she discovers sin? Repentance. I know it feels like spiritual kindergarten, but another great reminder from this text is,

The Call to Repent (38:49)

Is that what I do when Jesus calls out my sin? Jesus isn't going to write us a personal letter, but when you're reading your Bible and asking God to work through His Word, whether in the morning, the evening, or whenever you do it, and all of a sudden that Word convicts you, repentance is the first thing you want to do. Because that's what Christians do. That's what healthy Christians do. And that's what Jesus is calling them to do. He says, "Therefore repent."

Let me remind you what repent means. It's a Christian word we use all the time. The Greek word means a change of mind that leads to a change in behavior. Your heart changes, and then your behavior changes. It means I was going this way, and I do a spiritual U-turn and go back. That's what the Hebrew word emphasizes, a turning around, a spiritual U-turn. We see this described in 1 Thessalonians 1:9. When people turn away from sin to God for help, Ephesians reminds us that repentance always involves putting off the sin and replacing it with righteousness. So my heart changes, and now my behavior needs to change.

How's that going to happen? I'm going to turn away from my sin to God for help, and then I'm going to replace the sin with the righteous equivalent of what I should have been doing. Okay, that's repentance.

So here's a quick test. I put it in your notes so you can ask yourself these questions this afternoon. There are three tests of repentance:

  1. Has my heart changed, leading to a change in behavior?
  2. Am I actively turning away from sin and actively seeking God's help?
  3. Have I replaced the sin with righteousness?

If the answer is no to any of those questions, you and I haven't repented yet. So when Jesus says "therefore repent," that's what He means: a change of heart leading to a change in behavior. Okay?

Or Else: The Warning of Judgment (40:55)

Jesus says "therefore repent," and then He says these words that none of us ever want to hear: "or else." Teenagers, your mom or dad ever said that? "If you do this, you need to do this. Or else." Old people, remember your mom and dad saying that? "Or else."

So Jesus says repent. This is serious. It's so serious that if you don't turn, He says, "I'm coming to you." The Greek dative there could actually be translated "I'm coming against you." That's another way to take it. But whether we take it as a simple "to you" or "against you," the point is He's coming, and it's not going to be a party. He's coming to deal with the sin that was not repented of.

Notice the pronoun change here. He says, "I'm coming to you. I'm coming against you. And I will make war against," what's the word? "Them." Jesus says that all the Christians, the so-called Christians, who are engaged in these pagan, sinful practices, He is coming to deal with all of them if they don't repent. So He gives them a chance. Notice He doesn't say, "I'm going to come and call you to repentance. I'm going to come and let you know I'm serious. I'm going to come and count to three." No, He doesn't say that. "I am coming to you quickly." Notice the language, guys. "And I will," what does He say? "Make war." This is not Jesus coming to give them a second opportunity to repent. This is Jesus coming, say it, in judgment.

Why is delayed repentance such a danger? Because you don't know if you're going to get a second chance. I hope, whether you're a teenager, a young adult, or maybe older, that in your heart of hearts you are sincere in your faith toward Christ. Because there's a warning here, isn't there? You may not get another chance to repent. Young adults, you may not have a life where you're 60, 70, 80, 90, where you could say, "Yeah, I can go. Jesus is important, but my life's about this other thing." You don't know if you have that. Jesus gives them one warning and then says, "I'm coming in judgment."

So I'd plead with you to examine your heart, that there would not be any insincerity, no playing Christian games, no going through the motions. But that you would really, truly have a heart that is trusting Christ and walking with Him. You're not perfect, and I'm not either. But you desire to grow, you desire to repent. When you're convicted, and it's like, "Yes, that's me," in the brokenheartedness we read about in Psalm 51, don't presume on a second chance to repent. Get serious about your walk with Christ. You may not have that. The Christians at Pergamum apparently didn't have that.

He says, "I'm coming to you quickly and I will make war." Remember that sword? He's coming with His sword. He's coming in judgment. We see that in chapter 19, where He comes to wield that sword. And with that sobering conclusion, He says, "If you've got an ear, hear." What's He saying? Take this to heart. Heed it. Listen. Take it seriously. Don't play games. Don't move on to, you know, "What's for lunch?" Let it sink in and do something about it.

To Him Who Overcomes (45:12)

And then He says this: "To him who overcomes." There's our Nike verb again, overcome, conquer. "To him who overcomes, I will give him," and you ready for it to get really weird? "Hidden manna and a white stone with a new name on it that no one knows except the one who gets the stone." And then the end of the letter. I mean, do you just... Okay, let me take a stab at this. This is where you talk about how you've got a desk full of commentaries, and none of

Since the passage is future looking, what's manna? It goes back to that same generation, the Exodus generation we talked about with Balaam, the generation to whom God provided manna. Why? So that they would learn to depend on Him daily for provision, right? Elsewhere the Bible calls it the bread of heaven. In John 6, Jesus brings this up. They said, "Our fathers ate the manna," and Jesus said, in effect, "I am the bread of life." So that daily provision of physical sustenance, designed to teach the Israelites to trust God daily, was pointing forward, ultimately, to the Lord Jesus.

So here, manna refers to what we could call spiritual food or sustenance that God will supply in future glory. Specifically, it pointed forward to the work of Christ. And it may be intended here as both an encouragement to the Christians at Pergamum and a contrast to the food they were eating, the food sacrificed to idols. He says, "That's not your food. If you're a Christian, that's not your food. Your food is the future hidden spiritual manna. You can't see it now, but you're going to get it in glory if you stay faithful. So abstain from this food now, but remember, better food is coming. And that food is wrapped up in the person and work of Jesus." That's the best I can do. There are other options, but that's the best I can do.

The White Stone (47:15)

Now let's get really weird. The white stone. Can I be honest? I have no idea what this means. White stones were used in several ways:

All of those could have significance. Think about acquittal in a court case. That makes sense, right? Jesus is the one who forgives us of our sins. Think about banquet access: Jesus is the means by which we come into the kingdom. We understand that. And the new name could be the name of Jesus, as referenced in Revelation 19. It's also used in Isaiah 62 and Isaiah 65 for the new name of Jerusalem and for all those who serve the Lord. So, like I said, I don't know what it means.

Interestingly, before we quit here, do you guys know the tradition about the manna stored in the jar in the Ark of the Covenant? There's a tradition that says the prophet Jeremiah, before the Babylonians invaded, took the Ark to a cave on a mountain and hid it. I know you've watched Raiders of the Lost Ark. Like I said, not that. But if that tradition is true, it's interesting, because it says the manna will once again come down in the future kingdom. We don't know if it's tradition or history, but if it's accurate, that hidden manna will be revealed when Jesus comes in His kingdom. So maybe there's another reference there to actual manna in this tradition, when Jeremiah hid it, with the thought that the manna will be revealed in the kingdom.

But regardless, you can write this in pen. What we know is that these are two gifts God gives believers that ensure their future blessing. They guarantee the certainty of inheriting that future blessing. They are gifts from God, and they are reminders and encouragements to press on.

Are you exhausted? All right, let's pray.

Closing Prayer (50:20)

Father, thank You. There's a lot here, but so much to think about and be thankful for. Would You make us faithful in whatever way our Christianity might cost us? Will You help us identify ways our loyalty and allegiance to Jesus are divided? We all have idols of the heart that we battle. Help us to repent quickly. Help us take the threat of not repenting seriously, that Jesus comes in judgment, and we don't know the day or hour. We don't know if we have a second chance. Today is the day of salvation, and might some who hear this need to repent, perhaps for the first time, and come to Christ? Might they be sobered by these passages? And thank You, Father, that You ensure these blessings for those who trust You and overcome by means of Your grace. Make us faithful in this hour for Your glory. In Christ's name. Amen.

* = the audio was unclear here and the words were reconstructed from context. Scripture read aloud is in red.

Taught by Dr. Keith Palmer, Grace Bible Church, Granbury, Texas — from the church’s Sunday School series on Revelation. These are lightly edited transcripts of the audio, posted for personal study; the teaching and its content belong to Dr. Palmer and Grace Bible Church. Listen to the originals and find his notes on the church website. Transcribed from the audio by AI. Edited only where the audio was unclear (all edits marked with *). Errors are possible — the recording is the authority.

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