Post by Admin on Oct 5, 2018 4:42:06 GMT
Jesus letter to the congregation at Pergamum in Revelation 2:12-17 (NIV):
12 “To the angel of the church in Pergamum write:
These are the words of him who has the sharp, double-edged sword. 13 I know where you live—where Satan has his throne. Yet you remain true to my name. You did not renounce your faith in me, not even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness, who was put to death in your city—where Satan lives.
14 Nevertheless, I have a few things against you: There are some among you who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin so that they ate food sacrificed to idols and committed sexual immorality. 15 Likewise, you also have those who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans. 16 Repent therefore! Otherwise, I will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.
17 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give that person a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to the one who receives it.
Here is some background on Balaam, from a Bible study on Revelation:
What is the teaching of Balaam? It does not seem that the teaching of Balaam was the name of the false teaching. Rather, Jesus is giving this description to this false teaching to show the church that what they are tolerating is false. Balaam is a reference to a prophet of God in the Old Testament. The Israelites were conquering their enemies as they made their way to Canaan. Balak, the king of Moab, hears that the Israelites are coming and wants to stop them. So he pays Balaam money to pronounce curses on the Israelites so that they will not be victorious when they come through Moab. Balaam attempts to prophetically declare these curses three times. But each time blessings come out of Balaam’s mouth rather than curses. Of course this makes the king of Moab irate. Balaam then comes up with another plan to curse the Israelites. Balaam devises a plan to have Moabite women seduce Israelite men into intermarriage. Therefore, the Israelites engaged in sexual adultery and spiritual adultery, as their hearts were taken away from God.
12 “To the angel of the church in Pergamum write:
These are the words of him who has the sharp, double-edged sword. 13 I know where you live—where Satan has his throne. Yet you remain true to my name. You did not renounce your faith in me, not even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness, who was put to death in your city—where Satan lives.
14 Nevertheless, I have a few things against you: There are some among you who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin so that they ate food sacrificed to idols and committed sexual immorality. 15 Likewise, you also have those who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans. 16 Repent therefore! Otherwise, I will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.
17 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give that person a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to the one who receives it.
Here is some background on Balaam, from a Bible study on Revelation:
What is the teaching of Balaam? It does not seem that the teaching of Balaam was the name of the false teaching. Rather, Jesus is giving this description to this false teaching to show the church that what they are tolerating is false. Balaam is a reference to a prophet of God in the Old Testament. The Israelites were conquering their enemies as they made their way to Canaan. Balak, the king of Moab, hears that the Israelites are coming and wants to stop them. So he pays Balaam money to pronounce curses on the Israelites so that they will not be victorious when they come through Moab. Balaam attempts to prophetically declare these curses three times. But each time blessings come out of Balaam’s mouth rather than curses. Of course this makes the king of Moab irate. Balaam then comes up with another plan to curse the Israelites. Balaam devises a plan to have Moabite women seduce Israelite men into intermarriage. Therefore, the Israelites engaged in sexual adultery and spiritual adultery, as their hearts were taken away from God.