PERGAMEAN CHURCH AGE

“PERGAMOS”

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• Revelation 2: 12-17
• The 3^rd Age
• Started at 312 AD to 606 AD (Nicene Council 325 AD)
• The Star or Messenger was Saint Martin
• Saint Patrick was in this era also, he was St Martins nephew
• Catholic church recognized St Patrick, but not St Martin, St Martin was too spiritual for the Catholic church
• Nicolaitane “Doctrine” was in the majority in this age, (went from Deed to Doctrine to Incarnation)
• St Martins life was one of the most miracle filled life of anyone in the church ages, his life work was in France
• He was a Soldier
• First Miracle - giving his coat to a beggar, when he laid down to sleep he saw a vision of Jesus with his coat on
• He demolished heathenism and was firmly against the church at Rome, he disagreed with all the bishops of Rome
• Second miracle - destroyed a pagan grove one day, tearing down a pagan alter and cutting down one of the heathens “sacred trees”, people standing by resented this action. He told them “If I be a man of God, tie me to this tree on the side it is leaning and let the tree fall on me, if I am not a man of God the tree will fall on me and kill me, but if I am a man of God, my God will twist this tree uphill. They took his challenge and begun to cut the tree down, when it began to fall it switched uphill and killed a bunch of the spectators.
• A baby was raided from the dead
• St Martin heard that the emperor was going to kill some of God’s people, his name was Damasur, and he was killing all the Christians he could. St Martin wanted an interview with him, to intercede for the Christians; the guards stopped him at the gate of the palace and would not let him enter. St Martin fell on his knees and prayed until God showed him what to do. He rose up from praying and walked up to the locked gates, they opened by themselves and he walked in. St Martin walked by every guard, right up to the emperor, the emperor turned his head away from St Martin and remained seated, showing God’s servant no respect. He would not listen to anything St Martin

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said until God set the chair where the Emperor was sitting on fire and It scorched him right out of his seat, made him stand up and respect the man of God.

• St Martin was constantly doing the right things for God
• While preaching on day it was reported that his garment had a glow of light about it
• He was a bishop in Tours, France until his death in 399
• Pergamos means “thoroughly married”
• Church and state was married in this age
• In this age Revelation 13: 3 was made manifest. The beast was wounded to death (Pagan Roman Empire), but now came back to life as “Holy Roman Empire”
• City was in Mysia, a district watered by 3 rivers, one of which went to the sea
• A city of culture with a huge library
• City of great sin, they worshipped the god, Aesculapius who was in the form of a living serpent housed and fed in the temple
• A beautiful city of irrigated groves, public walks and parks
• A small group of dedicated believers lived there
• Verse 12 – Sharp, two edged sword – refers to Chapter 1 verse 16
• Again declaring His Deity, The Word – Hebrews 4:12
• You are Deity speaking by the Holy Spirit (Borned Again Bride)
• Verse 13 – Where thou dwellest, even “satin’s seat”, holdest fast my name, has not denied my faith
• In this city where satan’s seat was (worshipping the snake god), the believers still held to His Name (Lord Jesus Christ) He gave them My Faith (Pentecostal Faith) one God
• “satan’s seat” was pronounced by God in Genesis to be Babylon. It is still “satan’s seat” in Revelations
• Babylon changed itself from “pagan to papal”
• Attalus, the “king-priest” of Babylon fled to Pergamos and set up a “New Babylon”
• Verse 13 – Antipas my “faithful martyr” was slain where satan dwelleth
• Attalus persecuted Christians in the beginning until he changed his attitude and consolidated with Constantine

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• Constantine was the founder of the “Knights of Columbus” – catholic hierarchy – kill anyone opposing the catholic church
• He never was converted
• He had a dream on night and he saw a cross and by this he would win a battle that was before him, he woke up and had crosses painted on the shields of his warriors, thus the “knights of Columbus” was born
• The knights oath is to kill anyone opposing the catholic church
• Constantine was a politician and when he was emperor of rome he and the pagan priest Attalus consolidated “thoroughly married” church and state together to form the lukewarm church called Nicolaitane
• They had high-priest but no called a pope yet, just archbishops and priest and cardinals
• They were labeled as “infallible”
• They were never recorded as having miracles or signs and wonders, God had left this church
• This denomination church rejected the leadership of the Holy Spirit
• Constantine wanted power not Christianity. He consolidated church and state (papal and pagan) Rome. This made him the greatest ruler in the world at that time
• He brought pagan ceremonies over into this Nicolaitane church and that was the birth of Catholicism
• The Nicene Council took place during this age, 325 AD. This council brought together the bishops and fathers of the Christian faith, about 1500 delegates came to this convention and the laity outnumbered the bishops 5 to 1, but yet through the Nicolaitane and Constantine’s political plan, they out voted the true church and won the victory and issued in bishops, cardinals and popes
• Constantine used a strategy
• Verse 14 – Few thing against – some hold “doctrine of balaam”
• Constantine used the strategy of balaam. He could not curse Israel, so he got them to mingle with Moabites (read Numbers 22-25), causing Israel to eat things sacrificed to idols and to commit fornication, the doctrine of balaam worked for Constantine also to get the church to mingle with the pagans causing spiritual fornication, “teaching something to the people that is not God’s Word”

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“Father, Son and Holy Ghost baptism” is a doctrine of balaam

• Balaam's feast, Constantine’s feast – feast of the winter solstice worship of the sun god – December 21^st, the shortest day of the year. The Sun – god’s birthday. Sun-gods birthday (pagan) son of gods birthday (papal)
• Verse 15 – some hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes which I hate
• Now the DEED has become a DOCTRINE that all must go by. Now the people had a “god” in human form to rule over them along with golden alters and fine buildings and untold riches. They now also controlled the state
• The riches of this Nicolaitane church brought about the thinking that this church, because of all its “blessings”, was in the Millennium, trying to bring it in before Jesus comes. That is the reason the catholic’s do not teach the coming of Jesus Christ. They say “it’s all in the Church’. This is the Millennium
• Constantine was assassinated between this time and Boniface 111 was made the universal pope over the whole church
• Verse 16 – Repent or will fight against thee with a sword
• A choice given to repent or perish
• Sword is the WORD, The WORD will always prevail, verse 17 – hear what the Spirit says, overcomers will get to eat of the “hidden manna”, will be given a white stone, in the stone a new name written, no man knows except he that receives it
• “Hidden Manna” was manna kept in a place that was only for the priest
• Manna types Christ, our manna is Christ
• The blessing of the Holy Ghost
• The hidden manna was a special revelation that allowed the messenger to the age to teach deeper revelation
• “A White Stone” white means “purity” revelation
• God will make Himself known
• No man knoweth but Himself – a personal revelation that no other person will know
• “in” not “on”
• Name changes, Saul to Paul, Simon to Peter, Abram to Abraham
• Overcoming names