An Exposition of the
THE PERGAMEAN CHURCH AGE
Revelation 2:12-17
And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write;
These things saith He Which hath the sharp sword with
two edges;
I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, even where
Satan's seat is: and thou holdest fast My Name, and
hast not denied My faith, even in those days wherein Antipas was My faithful
martyr, who was slain among you, where Satan dwelleth.
But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold
the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumblingblock before the children of
So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes,
which thing I hate.
Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with
the sword of My mouth.
He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith
unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give
to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a
new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that
receiveth it.
PERGAMOS
158-2
THE AGE
158-3 The Pergamean
Age lasted about three hundred years, from 312 to 606 A.D.
THE MESSENGER
159-1 Using
our God-given rule for choosing the messenger to each age, that is, we choose
the one whose ministry most closely approximates that of the first messenger,
Paul, we unhesitatingly declare the Pergamean messenger
to be Martin. Martin was born in 315 in
159-2 Martin was converted to Christ
while he was following a career as a professional soldier. It was while he was
still engaged in this occupation that a most remarkable miracle occurred. It is
recorded that a beggar lay sick in the streets of the town where Martin was
posted. The winter cold was more than he could bear for he was poorly clad. No
one paid any attention to his needs until Martin came by. Seeing this poor
man's plight, but not having an extra garment, he took off his outer cloak, cut
it in two with his sword, and wrapped the cloth around the freezing man. He
attended him the best he could and went on his way. That night the Lord Jesus
appeared unto him in a vision. There He stood, like a beggar, wrapped in the
half of Martin's garment. He spoke to him and said, "Martin, though he is
only a catechumen has clothed Me with this
garment." From that time on Martin sought to serve the Lord with all his
heart. His life became a series of miracles manifesting the power of God.
159-3 After having left the army and
having become a leader in the church, he took a very militant stand against
idolatry. He cut down the groves, broke up the images and pulled down the
altars. When confronted by the pagans for his deeds he challenged them in much
the same manner that Elijah did the prophets of Baal. He offered to be tied to
a tree on its underside so that when it was cut down it would crush him unless
God intervened and turned the tree around while it fell. The wiley heathen tied him to a tree that was growing on the side
of a hill, assured that the natural pull of gravity would cause the tree to so
fall as to crush him. Just as the tree began to fall, God swung it around and
uphill, contrary to all natural laws. The fleeing heathen were crushed as the
tree fell on several of them.
159-4
Historians
acknowledged that on at least three occasions he raised the dead by faith in
Jesus' Name. In one instance he prayed for a dead baby. Like Elisha, he stretched himself upon the babe and prayed. It
came back to life and health. On another occasion he was called to help deliver
a brother who was being carried away to his death in a time of great
persecution. By the time he arrived the poor man was already dead. They had
hanged him upon a tree. His body was lifeless and his eyes protruded from the
sockets. But Martin took him down, and when he had prayed the man was restored
to life and to his rejoicing family.
160-1 Martin never did fear the enemy
regardless of who it was. Thus he went to personally face a wicked emperor who
was responsible for the death of many Spirit-filled saints. The emperor would
not grant an audience, so Martin went to see a friend of the emperor, one Damasus, a cruel bishop of
160-2 Such was his ardour
in serving the Lord that the devil was mightily aroused. The enemies of truth
hired assassins to kill Martin. They came by stealth to his home and as they
were about to kill him, he stood erect and bared his throat to the sword. As
they leaped forward, the power of God suddenly hurled them back across the
room. So overcome were they in that holy and fearful atmosphere that they
crawled upon their hands and knees and begged forgiveness for the attempt upon
his life.
160-3 Too often when men are signally
used of the Lord they become lifted up with pride. But not so
with Martin. He ever remained the humble servant of God. One night as he
was preparing himself to enter the pulpit, a beggar came to his study and asked
for some clothing. Martin referred the beggar to his head deacon. The haughty
deacon commanded him to leave. Thereupon he went back to see Martin. Martin
arose and gave the beggar his own fine robe, and bade the deacon bring him
another robe which was of lesser quality. That night as Martin preached the
Word, the flock of God saw a soft white glow of light around his person.
161-1 Surely
this was a great man, a true messenger to that age. Never desirous of aught but
to please God he lived a most consecrated life. Never could he be induced to
preach until he had first prayed and was in such spiritual frame as to know and
deliver the full counsel of God by the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven. Often
he would keep the people waiting while he prayed for full assurance.
161-2 Just to know about Martin and his mighty ministry might
make one think that the persecution of the saints had abated. Not so. They were
still being destroyed by the devil through the instrumentality of the wicked.
They were burned at the stake. They were nailed to logs face down and wild dogs
were turned loose upon them, so that the dogs would tear away the flesh and
bowels, leaving the victims to die in terrible torture. Babes were ripped from
expectant mothers and thrown to the hogs. Women's breasts were cut away, and
they were forced to stand erect while each heart throb poured out the blood
until they crumpled in death. And the tragedy was even greater to think about when
one realizes that this was not solely the work of the heathen, but many times
it was caused by so-called Christians who felt that they did God a favor in
exterminating these loyal soldiers of the cross who stood for the Word and
obedience to the Holy Spirit.
John 16:2, "They shall put you out of the
synagogues; yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth
you will think that he doeth God a service."
Matthew 24:9, "Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall
kill you; and ye shall be hated of all nations for My Name's sake."
161-3 By signs and wonders, by the
power of the Spirit, Martin was truly vindicated as the messenger to that age.
But not only was he gifted by a great ministry, he himself was forever true to
the Word of God. He fought organization. He withstood sin in high places. He
championed the truth in word and deed and lived out a full life of Christian
victory.
161-4 A biographer wrote of him on this
wise. "No one ever saw him angry, or disturbed, or grieving, or laughing.
He was always one and the same, and seemed something beyond mortal, wearing on
his countenance a sort of celestial joy. Never was anything on his lips but
Christ, never anything in his heart but piety, peace and pity. Often did he
weep for the sins even of those his detractors, who when he was quiet and
absent attacked him with viperous lips and poisoned tongues. Many hated him for
virtues they themselves did not possess and could not imitate; and alas! his bitterest assailants were bishops."
THE SALUTATION
Revelation 2:12b "These thing saith
He Which hath the sharp sword with the two
edges."
162-2 The message to the third church
age is about to come forth. The third scene of this unfolding drama of
"Christ in the midst of His church" is about to be revealed. With
trumpet-like voice, the Spirit presents the Matchless One, "He Which hath the sharp sword with the two edges!" How
vastly different is this presentation from the time when Pilate introduced the
Lamb of God, clothed in mocking robes of purple, smitten and thorn crowned,
saying, "Behold your King!" Now, regal robed and crowned with glory
stands the risen Lord, 'Christ, the power of God.'
162-3 In these words, 'He Which hath
the sharp sword with two edges' lies another revelation of Godhead. In the Ephesian Age, you will recall, He was set forth as the
Unchanging God. In the Smyrnaean Age we saw Him as
the ONE TRUE God and beside Him there was no other. Now in this Pergamean Age there is a further revelation of His Godhead,
set forth by His association with the sharp two edged sword, which is the Word
of God.
Hebrews 4:12 "For the Word of God is quick, and
powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing
asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of
the thoughts and intents of the heart."
Ephesians 6:17 "And take the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of
God."
Revelation 19:13 & 15a, "And He was clothed with a
vesture dipped in blood: and His Name is called the Word of God. And out
of His mouth goeth a sharp two-edged sword."
John 1:1-3, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God
and the Word was God. The Same (Word) was in the beginning with God. All things
were made by Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made."
I John 5:7, "For there are three that bear record in Heaven: the
Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost, and these three are ONE."
162-4 Now we can see His association
with the Word. HE IS THE WORD. That is Who He is. THE WORD IN
HIS NAME.
In John 1:1 where it says "In the beginning was
the Word," the root from which we get our translation for 'Word' is
'Logos' which means 'the thought or concept.' It has the double meaning of
'thought' and 'speech.' Now a 'thought expressed' is a 'word', 'or words.'
Isn't that wonderful and beautiful? John says the concept of God was expressed
in Jesus. And Paul says the very same thing in Hebrews 1:1-3,
"God, Who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath
in these last days spoken unto us by His Son, (Logos) Whom He hath appointed
heir of all things, by Whom also He made the worlds; Who being the brightness
of His glory, and the express image of His Person, and upholding all things by
the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down on the
right hand of the Majesty on high."
God became expressed in the person of Jesus Christ. Jesus was the Express Image
of God.
Again in John 1:14, "And the Word was made flesh and
dwelt amongst us."
The very substance of God was made flesh and dwelt amongst
us. The great Spirit-God unto Which no man could approach, Which no man had
seen or could behold was now tabernacled in flesh and
dwelt among men, expressing the fullness of God to men.
John 1:18, "No man hath seen God at any time; the
only begotten Son, Which is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared
Him."
God, Who on occasions would manifest His presence by the
cloud or pillar of fire that struck fear in the hearts of men; this God, Whose
heart characteristics were made known only by revelation of words through the
prophets, now became Emmanuel (God with us) declaring Himself. The word,
'declare,' is taken from the Greek root which we often interpret as exegesis,
which means to thoroughly explain and make clear. That is what the Living WORD,
Jesus, did. He brought God to us, for He was God. He revealed God to us with
such perfect clarity that John could say about Him in I
John 1:1-3
"That Which was from the beginning, Which we have
heard, (Logos means speech) Which we have seen with our eyes, Which we have
looked upon, and our hands have handled of the Word of Life; (For the Life was
manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew
unto you that Eternal Life, Which was with the Father, and was manifested unto
us;) That Which we have seen and heard declare we unto
you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with
the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ."
When God
was truly revealed, He was manifested in the flesh. "He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father."
164-1 Now back in Hebrews 1:1-3 we made
note that Jesus was the express image of God. He was God expressing Himself in
man to man. But there is something else to note in these verses, especially
verses one and two. "God Who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by His
Son." I want you to notice here in the margin of your Bible you will
see a correction. The word, 'by' is not a correct translation. It should be
'IN.' Not 'by.' It then reads correctly, "God spake
in times past unto the fathers IN the prophets by means of the Word".
I Samuel 3:21b, "For the Lord revealed Himself to Samuel in
164-2 When Jesus was upon earth He
said, "Believest thou not that I am in the
Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak unto you, I speak not of Myself; but the Father that dwelleth
in Me, He doeth the works." John. 14:10. Here
it is most evidently set forth that the perfect manifestation of God in the Son
was by the indwelling Spirit manifesting in Word and works. That is exactly
what we have been teaching all along. When the bride will get back to being a
Word bride, she will produce the very works that Jesus produced. The Word is
God. The Spirit is God. They are all ONE. One cannot work apart from the other.
If one truly has the Spirit of God, he will have the Word of God. That is how
it was with the prophets. They had the indwelling Spirit of God and the Word
came to them. That is how it was with Jesus. In Him was the Spirit without
measure and the Word came to Him. (Jesus both began to do and TEACH. My
doctrine is not My own, but the Father's That sent Me.
Acts 1:1, John. 7:16.)
164-3 Remember now, John the Baptist
was both the prophet and the messenger of his day. He was filled with the Holy
Ghost from his mother's womb. When he was baptizing in
165-1 In I Corinthians 14:37, "If
any man think himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge that
the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord."
Now see that. The proof of the indwelling Spirit was to acknowledge and FOLLOW
what God's prophet gave for his age as he set the church in order. Paul had to
say to those who claimed another revelation, (verse 36) "What, came the Word of God out from you? or
came it unto you only?" The evidence of a Spirit-filled Christian believer
is not to produce the truth (Word), but to receive the truth (Word), and to
believe and obey it.
165-2 Have you noticed in Revelation 22:17
"And the Spirit and the bride say, Come,--And let him that heareth say, Come." See, the bride speaks the same
Word as does the Spirit. She is a Word bride proving she has the Spirit. In
every church age we hear these words, "He that hath an ear, let him
hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches."
The Spirit gives the Word. If you have the Spirit you will hear the Word for
your age, as those true Christians took the Word for their age.
166-1 Did you get that last thought? I
repeat, every church age ends with the same
admonition. "He that hath an ear, let him (an individual) hear what the Spirit saith to the
churches." The Spirit gives the Word. He has the truth for each age. Each
age has had its own elect, and that elect group always 'heard the word,' and
received it, proving they had the Seed in them. John 8:47, "And he that
is of God heareth God's Words. Ye therefore hear them
not, because ye are not of God." They refused the Word (Jesus) and His
Words for their days, but the true seed received the Word because they were of
God. "And ALL Thy children shall be taught of God." (Holy Spirit)
Isaiah 54:13. Jesus said the same thing in John 6:45. Being ONE WITH THE WORD
proves whether you are of God and Spirit-filled. No other criterion.
166-2 But what are tongues and
interpretation and the other gifts? They are manifestations. That is what the
Word teaches. Read it in I Corinthians 12:7, "But
the MANIFESTATION of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal."
Then Paul names those manifestations.
166-3 Now comes
this very good question I know that you are all anxious to ask. Why isn't the
manifestation an evidence of being baptized with the Holy Ghost, because you
surely could not manifest the Holy Ghost unless you truly were Spirit-filled?
Now I wish I could say that is right, because I don't like to hurt people or
walk on their doctrine; but I wouldn't be a true servant of God if I didn't
tell you the whole counsel of God. That is right, is it not? Just let us take a
little look at Balaam. He was religious, he worshipped God. He understood the
proper method of sacrificing and approaching unto God, but he was not a True
Seed prophet for he took the wages of unrighteousness, and worst of all he led
the people of God into sins of fornication and idolatry. Yet who would dare to
deny that the Spirit of God manifested through him in one of the most beautiful
portions of absolutely accurate prophecy the world has ever seen? But he never
had the Holy Ghost. Now then, what do you think of Caiaphas,
the high priest? The Bible says that he prophesied the kind of death the Lord
should die. We all know there is no record of him being a Spirit-filled and
Spirit-led man like dear old Simeon or that sweet saint called Anna. Yet he had
a genuine manifestation of the Holy Ghost. We can't deny that. So where is
manifestation as an evidence? It isn't there. If you
are truly filled with the Spirit of God you will have the evidence of the WORD
in your life.
167-1 Let's
show you how deeply I feel and understand this truth by a revelation God gave
me. Now before I tell it, I want to say this. Many of you people believe me to
be a prophet. I don't say that I am. You said it. But we both know that the
visions God gives me NEVER FAIL. NOT ONCE. If anyone can prove a vision ever
failed I want to know about it. Now that you follow me this far here is my
story.
167-2 Many years ago when I first came
across the Pentecostal people, I was in one of their camp meetings where there
was much manifestations of tongues, interpretation of tongues, and prophecy.
Two preachers in particular were engaged in this kind of speaking more that any
of the other brethren. I thoroughly enjoyed the services and was truly
interested in the various manifestations, for they had a ring of reality to
them. It was my earnest desire to learn all that I could about these gifts, so
I decided to talk to the two men about them. Through the gift of God resident
in me, I sought to know the spirit in the first man, whether he was truly of
God or not. After a brief conversation with that sweet, humble brother, I knew
that he was a genuine, solid Christian. He was real. The next young man was not
at all like the first one. He was boastful and proud, and as I spoke to him a
vision moved across my eyes and I saw that he was married to a blond lady but
was living with a brunette and had two children by her. If ever there was a
hypocrite, he was one.
167-3 Now let me tell you, I was shocked. How could I not be?
Here were two men, one of which was a real believer and the other was a sinful
impersonator. YET BOTH WERE MANIFESTING GIFTS OF THE SPIRIT. I was troubled by
this confusion. I left the meeting to seek God for the answer. I went alone to
a secret place and there with my Bible I prayed and waited on God for the
answer. Not knowing just what portion of Scripture to read I casually opened
the Bible to some place in Matthew. I read for awhile and then laid the Bible
down. In a moment a wind blew into the room and turned the pages of the Bible
to Hebrews, chapter six. I read it through and was particularly impressed by
those strange verses, Hebrews 6:4-9,
"For it is impossible for those who were once
enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of
the Holy Ghost, And have tasted the good Word of God, and the powers of the
world to come, If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance:
seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put Him to an open
shame. For the earth which drinketh in the rain that
cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for
them by whom it is dressed, receiveth blessing from
God: but that which beareth thorns and briers is
rejected, and is nigh unto cursing; whose end is to be burned. But beloved we
are persuaded better things of you, and things that accompany salvation, though
we thus speak."
168-1 I closed the Bible, laid it down,
and meditated awhile and prayed some more. I still had no answer. I again
opened the Bible aimlessly but did not read. Suddenly the wind blew into the
room again, and once more the pages turned to Hebrews 6 and remained there as
the wind ceased. I read those words over again, and when I did, then came the Spirit of God into the room and I beheld a vision.
I saw in the vision a man dressed in the purest white who went forth into a
freshly plowed field and sowed grain. It was a bright day, and the sowing was
done in the morning. But late at night after the sower
in white had gone, a man in black came and stealthily sowed some more seed
amongst that which the man in white had sown. The days went by--the sun and
rain blessed the ground; and one day there appeared the grain. How fine it was.
But a day later appeared the tares. The wheat and tares grew together. They
partook of the same nourishment out of the same soil. They drank in the same
sun and rain.
168-3 Then one day the skies turned to brass, and the plants all began to droop and to die. I heard
the wheat lift their heads and cry to God for rain. The tares also lifted up
their voices and pleaded for rain. Then the skies darkened and the rain came,
and again the wheat, now full of strength lifted up their voices and cried in
adoration, "Praise the Lord". And to my wonderment I heard the
revived tares also look up and say, "Hallelujah!".
168-4 Then I knew the truth of the camp
meeting and the vision. The parable of the Sower and
the Seed, the sixth chapter of Hebrews, and the evident manifestation of
Spiritual gifts in a mixed audience--all became wonderfully clear. The sower in white was the Lord. The sower
in black was the devil. The world was the field. The seeds were people, elect
and reprobates. Both partook of the same nourishment, water and sun. Both
prayed. Both received help from God, for He maketh
His sun and rain to fall on both good and evil. And though they both had the
same wonderful blessing and both had the same wonderful manifestations, THERE
WAS STILL THAT ONE GREAT DIFFERENCE, THEY WERE OF DIFFERENT SEED.
169-1 Here also was the answer to
Matthew 7:21-23,
"Not every one that saith unto Me, Lord,
Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of My
Father Which is in heaven. Many will say to Me in that
day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Thy Name? and
in Thy Name have cast out devils? and in Thy Name done
many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you:
depart from Me, ye that work iniquity."
Jesus does
not deny that they did the mighty works that only the Holy Ghost can accomplish
by way of men. But He did deny ever knowing them. These weren't backsliders.
These were wicked, unregenerate, reprobates. These were the seed of Satan.
169-2 And there it is. You CAN'T claim
that manifestation is the evidence of being Spirit-born, Spirit-filled. No sir.
I will admit that true manifestation is the evidence of the Holy Spirit doing
mighty acts, but it is NOT the evidence of the individual being Spirit-filled,
even though that individual has an abundance of those manifestations.
169-3 The evidence of receiving the
Holy Ghost today is just the same as it was back in the day of our Lord. It is
receiving the Word of truth for the day in which you live. Jesus never did
stress the importance of the Works as He did the Word. He knew that if the
people got the WORD the works would follow. That is Bible.
169-4 Now Jesus knew that there was
going to be a terrible drift away from the Word in the Pergamean
Age which was as yet two hundred years off from the
170-1 I wonder if we are sufficiently
impressed with the Word in our midst. Let me give you a thought here. How do we
pray? We pray in Jesus Name don't we? Every prayer is
in His Name or there isn't any answer. Yet in I John 5:14, we are told, "This
is the confidence that we have in Him that if we ask anything according to His
will, He heareth us; and if we know that He hear us,
whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of
Him." Now we ask, "What is the will of God?" There is only
ONE WAY to know His will and that is by the WORD OF GOD. Lamentations 3:37, "Who
is he that saith, and it cometh to pass when the Lord
commandeth it not?" There it is. If it isn't
in the Word you can't have it. So we can't ask unless it's in the Word, and we
can't petition or ask unless it is in His Name. There it is again. JESUS (the
Name) is the WORD (will). You can't separate God and the Word. They are ONE.
170-2 Now then, this Word He has left
behind on the printed page is a part of Him when you accept it by faith into a
Spirit-filled life. He said that His Word was life. John 6:63b. But that is
exactly what He is: John 14:6, "I am the Way, the Truth and the
Life." Romans 8:9b "If any man have
not the Spirit of Christ he is none of His." There it is, He is Spirit
and He is Life. That is exactly what the Word is; that is exactly what Jesus
is. He is the Word. So when a Spirit-born, Spirit-filled man in faith takes
that Word into his heart and places it upon his lips, why that is the same as
Deity speaking. Every mountain has to go. Satan cannot stand before that man.
170-3 If the church, way back there in
that third age had only held on to the revelation of the living Word in their
midst, the power of God would not have faded as it did in those Dark Ages. And
right today, when the church returns to the Word in faith, we can say without
doubt that the glory of God and the wonderful acts of God will be in her midst
again.
170-4 One night as I was seeking the
Lord, the Holy Spirit told me to pick up my pen and write. As I grasped the pen
to write, His Spirit gave me a message for the church. I want to bring it to
you... It has to do with the Word and the bride.
171-1 "Here is what I am trying to
say to you. The law of reproduction is that each specie brings forth after its
own kind, even according to Genesis 1:11, "And God said, Let the earth
bring forth grass, and the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding
fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was
so." Whatever life was in the seed came forth into a
plant and thence into fruit. The very same law applies to the church
today. Whatever seed started the church will come forth and be like the
original seed because it is the same seed. In these last days the true
171-2 The first son (Adam) was the
spoken seed-Word of God. He was given a bride to reproduce himself.
That is why the bride was given to him, to reproduce himself; to produce
another son of God. But she fell. She fell by hybridization. She caused him to
die.
171-3 The second Son (Jesus), also a spoken
Seed-Word of God was given a bride like as was Adam. But before He could marry
her, she also had fallen. She, like Adam's wife, was put to the test whether
she would believe the Word of God and live, or doubt the Word and die. She
doubted. She left the Word. She died.
171-4 From a little group of the true
seed of the Word, God will present Christ with a beloved bride. She is a virgin
of His Word. She is a virgin because she knows no man-made creeds or dogmas. By
and through the members of the bride will be fulfilled all that was promised of
God to be made manifest in the virgin.
171-5 The word of promise came to the virgin Mary. But that Word of promise was He, Himself, to be
made manifest. God was made manifest. He, Himself, acted at that time and
fulfilled His own Word of promise in the virgin. It was an angel that had
brought her the message. But the angel's message was the Word of God. Isaiah
9:6. He fulfilled at that time all that was written of Him because she accepted
His Word to her.
172-1 The members of the virgin bride
will love Him, and they will have His potentials, for He is their head, and all
power belongs to Him. They are subject to Him as the members of our bodies are
subject to our heads.
172-2 Notice the harmony of the Father and
the Son. Jesus never did anything until it was first showed Him by the Father.
John 5:19. This harmony is now to exist between the Groom and His bride. He
shows her His Word of life. She receives it. She never doubts it. Therefore,
nothing can harm her, not even death. For if the seed be
planted, the water will raise it up again. Here is the secret of this.
The Word is in the bride (as it was in Mary). The bride has the mind of Christ
for she knows what He wants done with the Word. She performs the command of the
Word in His name for she has "thus saith the
Lord." Then the Word is quickened by the Spirit and it comes to pass.
Like a seed that is planted and watered, it comes to full harvest, serving its
purpose.
172-3 Those in the bride do only His will. No one can make them
do otherwise. They have 'thus saith the Lord' or they
keep still. They know that it has to be God in them doing the works, fulfilling
His own Word. He did not complete all His work while in His earthly ministry so
now He works in and through the bride.
She knows
that, for it was not yet time for Him to do certain things that He must now do.
But He will now fulfill through the bride that work which He left for this
specific time.
172-4 Now let us stand like Joshua and
Caleb. Our promised land is coming in sight even as theirs did. Now Joshua
means "Jehovah Saviour", and he represents
the end-time leader that will come to the church even as Paul came as the
original leader. Caleb represents those that stayed true with Joshua. Remember,
God had started
173-1 Take the
example we see in Moses. This mighty anointed prophet of God had a peculiar
birth, being born at the right time for the deliverance of Abraham's seed from
173-2 Then there is Elijah to whom the
Word of the Lord came. When he got through preaching the truth and that group
back there that is the forerunner of the American Jezebel group would not
receive the Word, God called him off the field and plagued that generation for
rejecting the prophet and the message that God had given. God called him to the
wilderness and he would not come out even for the king. Those who tried to
persuade him to do so, died. But God spoke to His faithful prophet by vision.
Out of hiding he came and brought back the Word to
173-3 Then came
John the Baptist, Christ's faithful forerunner, the mighty prophet for his day.
He did not go to his father's school, nor the school
of the Pharisees--he went to no denomination, but out to the wilderness called
there by God. There he stayed until the Lord sent him out with the message,
crying, 'The Messiah is at hand.'
173-4 Now let us take a Scriptural
warning here. Was it not in the days of Moses whom God had vindicated that Korah rose up and withstood that mighty prophet? He
disputed with Moses and claimed that he had as much from God to lead the people
and that others shared in the Divine revelation as
well as did Moses. He denied the authority of Moses. Now the people back there,
after they had heard the true Word and were well acquainted with the fact that
a true prophet was vindicated of God, I say those people fell for Korah and his gainsayings. Korah was not a Scriptural prophet but the people in great
numbers with their leaders went for him. How like the evangelists today with
their golden calf schemes like Korah's. They look
good to the people as Korah looked good then. They
have blood on their foreheads, oil on their hands and balls of fire on the
platform. They allow women preachers, let women cut
their hair, wear slacks and shorts, and by-pass the Word of God for their own
creeds and dogmas. That shows what kind of seed is in them. But not all the
people turned on Moses and left the Word of God. No. The elect stayed with him.
The same is happening again today. Many are leaving the Word but some are staying
with it. But remember the parable of the wheat and tares. The tares have to be
bundled for burning. These apostate churches are getting bound closer and
closer together, ready for the fires of God's judgment. But the wheat is going
to be gathered to the Master.
174-1 Now I want you to be very careful
here and see this. God has promised that at the end time Malachi 4 is going to
be fulfilled. It has to be for it is the Spirit-quickened Word of God spoken by
the prophet Malachi. Jesus referred to it. It is just before Christ comes the
second time. By the time Jesus comes all Scripture must be fulfilled. The
Gentile dispensation will be in its last church age when that messenger of
Malachi comes. He will be right with the Word. He will take the whole Bible
from Genesis to Revelation. He will start at the serpent's seed and carry on to
the messenger in the latter rain. But he will be rejected by the denominations.
174-2 He has to be for that is history
repeating itself from the time of Ahab.
175-1 The strange behaviour
of Moses, Elijah, and John withdrawing from the people into seclusion left many
confused. They did not realize that it was because their messages had been
rejected. But the seed had been sown, the planting was over. Judgment was next.
They had served their purpose as a sign to the people, so judgment was next.
175-2 I believe according to Revelation
13:16 that the bride will have to stop preaching for the beast is demanding the mark in the hand or forehead if permission
to preach be granted. Denominations will take the mark, or be forced to quit
preaching. Then the Lamb will come for His bride and judge the great harlot.
175-3 Now remember that Moses was born
for a certain work, but he could not do that work until he had received the
gifts which would enable him to do the work. He had to go out in the desert and
wait there; God had an appointed time. There was to be a certain Pharaoh on the
throne, and the people had to be crying for the bread of life, before God could
send him back. This is true for our day.
175-4 But what do we have in this our
day? Multitudes are working signs until we have a generation of sign seekers
that know little or nothing about the Word, or a true move of the Spirit of
God. If they see blood, oil and fire they are happy; it matters not what is in
the Word. They will support any sign, even unscriptural ones. But God has
warned us about that. He said in Matthew 24 that in the last days the two
spirits would be so close together that only the very elect could tell them
apart, for they alone would not be deceived.
175-5 How can you tell the spirits
apart? Just give them the Word test. If they don't speak that Word, they are of
the evil one. As the evil one deceived the first two brides, he will try to
deceive the bride of this last day, by trying to get her to hybridize herself
through creeds, or just plainly turning from the Word to any sign that suits
her. But God never placed signs ahead of the Word. Signs follow the Word, as
when Elijah told the woman to bake a cake for him first, according to the Word
of the Lord. When she did as the Word said, the proper sign came. Come to the
Word first and then watch the miracle. The seed Word is energized by the Spirit.
176-1 How can any messenger sent from
God believe only a part of the Word and deny some of it? The true prophet of
God in this last day will proclaim the whole Word. Denominations will hate him.
His words may be as harsh as John the Baptist who called them vipers. But the
predestinated will hear and be ready for the rapture. The Royal Seed of
Abraham, with like faith as Abraham's will hold to the Word with him, for they
are predestinated together.
176-2 The last day messenger will
appear in God's appointed time. It is the end time now as all know, for
176-3 Many will misunderstand him
because they have been taught Scripture in a certain way which they consider
truth. When he comes against that, they will not believe. Even some true
ministers will misunderstand the messenger because so much has been called
God's truth by deceivers.
176-4 But this prophet will come, and
as the forerunner to the first coming cried, "Behold the Lamb of God
that taketh away the sin of the world," even
so will he no doubt cry out, "Behold the Lamb of God coming in
glory." He will do this, for even as John was the messenger of truth to
the elect, so is this one the last messenger to the elect and Word-born bride.
CHRIST EULOGIZES THE CHURCH
Revelation 2:13, "I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, even where Satan's seat is: and thou holdest fast My Name, and hast not denied My faith, even in those days wherein Antipas was My faithful
martyr, who was slain among you, where Satan dwelleth."
176-6 "I know thy works." These are the
identical words uttered to each of the seven messengers relative to the people
of God in each age. As they are spoken to the two vines (true and false) they
will bring joy and gladness to the hearts of one group, but they ought to
strike terror in the hearts of the other. For though we are saved by grace,
apart from works, true salvation will bring forth works, or deeds that will
please God.
I John 3:7, "Little children, let no man deceive
you; he that DOETH (worketh) righteousness is
righteous, even as He is righteous." If this verse means anything at
all, it means that what a man DOES he IS.
Romans 6:2, "How shall we that are dead to sin live any longer
therein?"
Matthew 12:33-35 "Either make the tree good and his fruit good; or else
make the tree corrupt and his fruit corrupt; for the tree is known by his fruit.
O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak
good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the
mouth speaketh. A good man out of the good treasure
of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil
man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil
things."
Now if a
man is born of the Word (Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of
incorruptible, by the Word of God which liveth and abideth forever. I Peter 1:23) he will produce the Word.
The fruit or works of his life will be a product of the kind of seed or life
that is in him. His works, therefore will be
Scriptural. Oh, what an indictment this truth is going to be against the Pergamean Age. There stands that Matchless One, and in His
hand the sharp sword with the two edges, the Word of God. And that Word will
judge us in the last day. In fact the Word is judging even now, for it is the
discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. It cuts asunder the carnal
from the spiritual. It makes us living epistles read and known of all men to
the glory of God.
177-1 "I know thy works." If
a man fears that he might not please God, then let him fulfill the Word. If a
man wonders if he will hear those words, "Well done, good and faithful
servant," let him fulfill the Word of God in his life, and assuredly he
will hear those words of praise. The Word of truth was the criterion then; it
is the criterion now. There isn't another standard; there isn't another plumb
line. As the world is going to be judged by one Christ Jesus, even so it is
going to be judged by the Word. If a man wants to know how he is making out,
let him do as James suggested: "Look into the mirror of God's Word."
178-1 "I know thy works." As
He stood there with the Word, examining their lives in the light of the blue print
He had laid out for them, He must have been pleased in a goodly measure, for
they, like the others who had gone on before, were enduring the persecution of
the unjust and still joyfully cleaving unto the Lord. Difficult though it was
at times to serve the Lord, yet they served Him and worshipped Him in Spirit
and in truth. But with the false vine it was not so. Alas, they had repudiated
the life that is built upon the Word and were now going further and further
away from the truth. Their actions bore witness to the depths to which they had
sunk.
THOU HOLDEST FAST MY NAME
178-2 "To whom can we go? Thou
alone hast the words of eternal life!" They held fast then; they were
holding fast now, but not with fatalistic dread as men who live out barren lives.
They were holding fast in His strength, in the assurance of the Spirit that
they were one in Him. Theirs was the sure knowledge of sins forgiven and they
bore the name of 'Christian' in testimony to it. They knew and loved that Name
that was above every name. Their knees had bowed to that Name. Their tongues
had confessed to it. Whatsoever they did, they did it all in the Name of the
Lord Jesus. They had named that Name and departed from evil, and having taken
their stand they were now prepared to die for that Name, being assured of a
better resurrection.
Take the Name of Jesus with you,
Child of sorrow and of woe.
It will joy and comfort give you.
Take it then where ere you go.
Precious Name, O how sweet,
Hope of earth and joy of heaven.
178-3 Already
in the second century those words "Father, Son and Holy Ghost" had
spelled out 'Trinity' to many, and the polytheistic idea of three Gods had
become a doctrine in the false church. It would not be long until the Name was
taken away, as indeed it was in this age, and in its stead the titles of the
ONE GREAT GOD would be substituted for the NAME, Lord Jesus Christ. While the
many apostatized and embraced a trinity and baptized using the titles of
Godhead, the Little Flock still baptized in the Name of Jesus Christ and so
held to the truth.
179-1 With so many dishonoring God,
turning Him into three gods, and changing His gracious Name to titles, one
would wonder if the signs and wonders that attend such a great Name would still
be visited amongst the people. Indeed those signs were mightily and wonderfully
manifested, though certainly not in the false vine. Men like Martin were
greatly used and God bore them witness both by signs and wonders and gifts of
the Holy Ghost. That Name was still effectual as it always has been and ever
will be where the saints honor Him through the Word and faith.
THOU HAST NOT DENIED MY FAITH
179-2 In Acts 3:16 when Peter was asked how the mighty miracle
had taken place upon the crippled one at the Gate Beautiful, he explained it on
this wise, "And His (Jesus) Name through faith in His (Jesus) Name hath
made this man (former cripple) strong, yea, the faith which is by (from) Him
(Jesus) hath given him (the man) this perfect soundness in the presence of you
all." See, there it is. Jesus' Name, and
Jesus' Faith brought about the miracle. Peter did not claim it was his own
human faith any more than he claimed that it was his own name. He said that
Jesus' Name used in the faith which is from Jesus performed that great work. This
faith is what the Lord was speaking about in Revelation 22:13. It was HIS
faith. It was not faith IN Him. But it was HIS OWN faith that He had given to
the believers.
Romans 12:3b, "According as God hath dealt to
every man (according to verse 1 the men are BRETHREN) the measure of
faith."
Ephesians 2:8, "By grace are ye saved through faith, and that (Faith)
not of yourselves, it is the gift of God."
And it also says in James 2:1, "My brethren (notice he, too, is talking
to BRETHREN) have not the faith OF (not in) our Lord Jesus Christ with respect
of persons."
179-3 In this Pergamean
Age where men were humanizing salvation, having turned from the truth that
"Salvation is of the Lord,"--having cast aside the doctrine of
election and opened wide the church door and their fellowship to any and all
who subscribed to their tenets (never mind the Word), in this age of rapid
degradation, there were still the few who had the measure of that faith of our
Lord Jesus Christ, and not only used that faith in acts of power but withstood
those who dared to say that they were saved simply on the grounds of joining a
church. They knew that no man could truly believe unto eternal life and the
righteousness of God apart from the measure of the faith of the Lord Jesus, Himself.
As today's church is filled with mental believers who endorse the virgin birth,
the shed blood, going to church and taking communion, and are not reborn at
all, even so in that third age was the same problem. Human faith wasn't enough
then and it is not enough now. It takes the very faith of the Son of God to
drop into a man's heart so that he can receive the Lord of glory into the
temple not made with hands.
180-1 This was a living faith. "I
live by the faith of the Son of God." Paul did not say that he lived
by faith IN the Son of God. It was the faith of the Son of God that had given
him life and kept him living in Christian victory.
180-2 No, they had not denied that
salvation was supernatural from start to finish. They kept alive the truth of
His Name and His Faith and they were blessed by the Lord and accounted worthy
of Him.
ANTIPAS MY FAITHFUL MARTYR
180-3 There is
no other record in the Word or in any profane history concerning this brother.
But surely there need not be. It is more than enough that he was fore-known and
known of the Lord. It is more than enough to see his faithfulness unto the Lord
recorded in the living Word. He was a Christian. He had the Name of Jesus. He
had the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ and he was amongst those who lived by
it. He had responded to the words of James, "Have not the faith of our
Lord Jesus Christ with respect of persons." Full of the Holy Ghost and
faith as was Stephen, he respected no one, he feared no one; and when death was
pronounced upon all who would take that Name and walk in the faith of Jesus
Christ he took his stand with those who would not turn back. Yes, he died, but
like Abel, he obtained a witness from God (his name is written in the Word),
and though dead, his voice still speaks in the pages of God's Divine Record.
Another faithful martyr was carried to his rest. But Satan did not triumph
then, even as he did not triumph when he killed the Prince of Peace, for as
Satan was despoiled at the cross, even so now will the blood of Antipas cry out
to hundreds more who will take up their crosses and follow Him.
WHERE SATAN'S SEAT IS
181-1 The reason that this is part of
the eulogy of the Spirit is because these brave soldiers of the cross were
overcoming Satan right in the midst of his own throne room. They were winning
the battle through the Name and Faith of Jesus right in the camp of the leaders
of darkness. What a tremendous commendation. Like the mighty men of David who
invaded the camp of the enemy to bring David thirst-quenching water, so these
giants of faith invaded the realm of Satan's earthly stronghold, and by
preaching and exhorting brought the water of salvation to those who lived under
the shadow of death.
181-2 Now as much as these words
concerning the throne and realm of Satan are a part of God's praise for His
elect, they actually set the stage for the denouncement of the evil that has
gained supremacy in the church.
181-3 PERGAMOS: Satan's Throne and
181-4 Pergamos was not originally the
place where Satan (as concerning human affairs) dwelt.
Genesis 10:8-10, "And
Genesis 11:1-9, "And the whole earth was of one language, and of one
speech. And it came to pass as they journeyed from the east, that they found a
plain in the
182-1
182-2 Since the Bible does not deal in
the histories of other nations in detail, it will be necessary to search the
ancient profane records to find our answer as to how Pergamos
became the seat of the Satanic religion of
183-1 The ancient histories agree with
the Bible that this Babylonish religion was most
certainly not the original religion of earth's early peoples. It was the first
to drift away from the original faith; but it was not itself the original one.
Historians such as Wilkinson and Mallett have proven
conclusively from the ancient documents that at one time all the peoples of the
earth believed in ONE GOD, supreme, eternal, invisible, Who by the Word of His
mouth spoke all things into existence, and that in His character He was loving
and good and just. But as Satan will always corrupt whatever he can, we find
him corrupting the minds and hearts of men so that they reject the truth. As he
has always attempted to receive worship as though he were God and not the
servant and creation of God, he drew worship away from God to the end that he
might draw it unto himself and so be exalted. He certainly did accomplish his
desire to spread his religion throughout the whole world. This is authenticated
by God in the Book of Romans, "When they knew God, they glorified Him
not as God, until they became vain in their imaginations, and through darkness
of heart accepted a corrupted religion to the extent that they worshipped
creatures and not the Creator." Remember, Satan was a creature of God
(Son of the Morning). Thus we find that where once truth was disseminated
amongst men, and all held to that one truth, there later came a day when a vast
group turned from God and spread a diabolical form of worship around the world.
History bears it out that those of the tribe of Shem that stood with the
unchanging truth were in solid opposition to those of Ham who turned away from
truth to the devil's lie. There is no time to engage in a discussion of this;
it is merely introduced that you may see there were two religions and two only,
and the evil one became world wide.
183-2 Monotheism turned to polytheism
in
184-1 The polytheistic religion of the
enemy began with the trinitarian doctrine. It was way
back there in antiquity that the "one God in three persons" idea came
into existence. How strange that our modern theologians have not spotted this;
but evidently just as duped by Satan as their forebears were, they still
believe in three persons in the Godhead. Let us be shown just one place in
Scripture where there is any authority for that doctrine. Is it not strange
that while the descendants of Ham went on their way in Satanic worship which
involved a basic concept of three gods that there is not one trace of the
descendants of Shem believing such a thing or having any ceremonial worship
that involved even a type of it? It is not strange that the Hebrews believed, "Hear,
O
184-2 Now how was this trinity expressed? It was expressed by
an equilateral triangle even as it is expressed in
But the most revealing of all is that which sets forth the
trinitarian concept of God in a triune form of:
1. The head of an old man symbolizing God the Father,
2. A circle which in the mysteries signified "Seed" which in turn
means the Son.
3. The wings and tail of a bird (dove).
Here was
the doctrine of Father, Son and Holy Ghost, three persons in the Godhead, a
veritable trinity. You can see the same thing in
185-1 According to history it did not take long for a change to
be made in this concept of a Father and a Son and the Holy Ghost. Satan took
them a step at a time away from the truth. The evolved concept of Deity was
now:
1. The eternal father,
2. The Spirit of God incarnate in a HUMAN mother. (Does that make you think?)
3. A Divine Son, the fruit of that incarnation, (Woman's seed).
185-2 But the devil is not content. He
hasn't achieved worship of himself yet, except in an indirect way. So he takes
the people away from the truth still further. Through his mysteries he reveals
to the people that since the great invisible father God does not concern himself in the affairs of men, but remains silent relative
to them, then it follows that he may well be worshipped in silence. Actually it
means to ignore him as much as possible, if not altogether. This doctrine
spread around the world also, and right today in
185-3 Since it was not necessary to
worship the creator-father, it was only natural that worship swung to the
"Mother and Child" as the objects of adoration. In
185-4 It now behooves us to discover
the original mother and child. The original goddess-mother of
186-1 That this Ninus
is the Nimrod of the Bible we can affirm by comparing history with the Genesis
account. Pompeius said, "Ninus,
king of
186-2 Since we have discovered who Ninus was, it is now necessary to discover who his father
was. According to history it was Bel, the founder of
187-1 Hyginus
says this about that god who was known variously as Bel,
Hermes, Mercury etc, "For many ages men lived
under the government of Jove (not the Roman Jove, but Jehovah of the Hebrews
who predates Roman history) without cities and without laws, and all speaking
one language. But after that Mercury (
187-2
187-3 Now up to this point we have seen
whence polytheism or the worship of many gods came. But did you notice that we
also found a mention of a man named Cush who was
given a title of "the father of the gods."? Did you notice here the
old theme of ancient mythologies, that gods identify themselves with men? That
is where ancestor worship comes from. So we might just examine history to find
out about ancestor worship. Well, it was brought out that
188-1 But it wasn't too long until the
woman began to attract more attention than the son, and soon she was the one
who was depicted as trampling underfoot the serpent. They called her "the
queen of the heaven" and made her divine. How like today wherein Mary, the
mother of Jesus, had been elevated to immortality and right now as of September
1964 the
188-2 Not only was ancestor worship
originated in
188-3 But how did Pergamos
become the seat of Satan if
188-4 This has been a very short resume
of the history of the Babylonish religion and its
advent to Pergamos. Many questions are no doubt left
unanswered and much more, no doubt, could have been said to enlighten us, but
this is not intended to be a study of history, rather it is intended to be a
help to the study of the Word.
THE DENUNCIATION
Revelation 2:14-15 "But I have a few things against
thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam who taught Balak to cast a stumbling block before the children of
Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication. So hast
thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes,
which thing I hate."
189-2 In this Pergamean Age the Lord
denounces two doctrines which He hates:
1. The doctrine of Balaam which brought idolatry and
sinful excesses to
2. The doctrine of the Nicolaitanes, which had been
but deeds in the Ephesian Age.
Combine this denouncement with the fact that He has been emphasizing Pergamos as the seat of Satan, and it is very easy and
proper to conclude that somehow the religion of
189-3 Now this is not merely an
assumption but an historical fact which we will prove by going back into
history to about 36 A.D. and coming up to the Nicene Council of 325. When the
Christians (mainly Jews by birth) were scattered abroad from
189-4