But I have a few things against thee that thou hast there those who hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to cast a snare before the sons of Israel, to eat [of] idol sacrifices and commit fornication.
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.
So thou also hast those who hold the doctrine of Nicolaitanes in like manner.
Pergamos made room for two groups of error, not one: some held the teaching of Balaam, others that of the Nicolaitans. The question is not whether the church believed the error, but why it let the error stay.
The Lord's complaint here is plural. It falls on two separate sets of people, and the same assembly sheltered both.
Here the plural "things" points to more than one just cause of complaint. Those who held the teaching of Balaam were one class. Those who held the teaching of the Nicolaitans were another. The Pergamos assembly tolerated both.
Older Bibles end this verse with "which thing I hate." The true word is "likewise," and it ties the second group to the first.
The true reading of verse 15 is "likewise," instead of "which thing I hate," which was probably copied from Rev. 2:6. The sense is that there were some who held the Nicolaitan doctrine, as well as those who held that of Balaam.
The Nicolaitans appear at Ephesus too. What changed by Pergamos is how far the evil had gone.
The Lord commended Ephesus for hating the deeds of the Nicolaitans. But this is an advance in evil. After the "deeds" came a doctrine. It justified the deeds and taught on purpose the very things Christ hated. Satan moved with caution at Ephesus. At Pergamum the evil is let in and taught. There is nothing to show that the Nicolaitans were a sect that had separated from the flock… The Lord holds the assembly responsible for having them there. They had not separated as a sect, and the assembly had not put them away as evil persons.
Look at the verb the Lord uses: they hold the teaching.
The words used are very significant. It is not that the church has adopted the teaching. There are people inside who "hold" the doctrine. It seems they were allowed to hold it without being disturbed and without rebuke.
Commentators differ on what the Nicolaitans actually taught. One reading takes it as grace twisted into permission to sin.
The doctrine of the Nicolaitans seems to be an evil from within, while that of Balaam came from without… It was a corruption of grace, turning grace into licence to sin… Grace has set us completely free through Him who died and rose again. What claim does it not have on our hearts?… Even when we are certain of our deliverance, if the joy of it fades a little, we begin to use the Lord's grace just to serve ourselves. This, carried on without conscience, is Nicolaitanism.
Others read the name itself as the clue, and find in it a clergy set over ordinary believers.
Nicolaitans is Greek; it is a compound. Nikao is a verb and means to have the upper hand, to domineer; laos means the people (our English "laity"). Nicolaitans means "the dominators of the people." A priestly class had grown up in the Church. It domineered over the rest of the people, the so-called laity… Ephesus rejected this evil, but Pergamos fully approves and tolerates it.
The man addressed in this letter was sound himself. That did not clear him.
To be sound himself was not enough. He should have allowed no compromise with evil. He was sound in himself, yet he let evil spread among them. The Lord could not rest satisfied with that state of things… They had authority to act. If they had used it, they would have found they had the power as well. But since they failed to act, the Lord Himself must fight the corrupters with the sword of His mouth. What a place then the assembly occupies, and what responsibility rests on it!
The Lord's answer to this state is a call to repentance. It reaches the whole assembly, and it reaches each believer in it.
To overcome here is not only to resist the teaching of these groups, and to resist it with success. It is also to listen to the call to repentance. The message comes to believers one by one, and each one is responsible to heed what is said. Even so, no believer can shake off responsibility for the state of the assembly… They must humble themselves before God, because these evils are tolerated, even if they are not accepted. They must mourn over the dishonour this brings on the Lord's name.
- Hated — at Ephesus the Nicolaitans showed up as deeds, and the Lord commended that church for hating them.
- Held — at Pergamos the deeds have hardened into a doctrine that defends them. People inside the church held it, and the church never put them away.
- Tolerated — the Lord does not accuse Pergamos of believing the error. He accuses it of housing those who do.
- Disputed — commentators differ on what they taught. Some read it as grace turned into licence to sin. Others read it as a priestly class ruling over ordinary believers.
- Repent — a sound personal creed is no cover for allowed evil. If the assembly will not judge it, the sword of His mouth will.
Repent therefore but if not, I come to thee quickly, and I will make war with them with the sword of my mouth.
The church at Pergamos was sound in what it believed, yet it let evil teaching run on among its members. This verse asks whether a church answers for evil it only tolerates, and what the Lord does when the church will not act.
(Note: the ESV says "soon" here. The older translations quoted below say "quickly.")
The Lord did not charge the angel of Pergamos — the one He holds responsible there — with false doctrine. He charged him with letting others hold it.
To be sound himself was not enough; he ought to have allowed no compromise with evil. Personal soundness, while allowing evil to be rife among them, was a state of things with which the Lord could not rest satisfied. So He must use the sharp two-edged sword out of His mouth (Rev. 1:16) against the evildoers, unless the angel repented. That same sword will one day judge the nations (Rev. 19:15). The effect of repentance would be the expulsion of the evil from among them.
The call to repent carries an offer with it, and it reaches back to how God dealt with Israel.
The warning to repent goes to the church. The Lord wants to rouse her to self-judgment for having tolerated this evil teaching among her own people. He will give her the chance to share His own mind about the evil. Then she may have the privilege of caring for the honour of His name. It was so in Israel. When evil and corruption spread, the LORD always called on His people to sanctify His great name. At the same time He warned them: if they failed to do it, He would take the matter in hand Himself and sanctify His own name.
This warning aims at cleansing, and mercy drives it.
The Lord does not say, "I will fight against you with the sword of My mouth," but "against them" (v. 16). It is true that the sword of judgment may act by taking them away in death. That is what happened to the Corinthian saints. The Lord judged them here below so that they would not be condemned later with the world. Christian discipline does not mean putting away those who are not Christians from those who are. It aims at purging out Christians who walk wrongly, to keep the honour and holiness of the Lord among them. Mercy is the great motive of discipline, next to maintaining Christ's character in the church.
The sword comes out of His mouth. That tells us what it is.
This is divine judgment carried out by the simple force of His Word. No one can ward that judgment off. The sword is two-edged, and that is the point of the picture. We never read of our Lord personally putting His hand on His enemies. He speaks, and it is done… The ungodly in the Church are the first to be threatened with judgment, which it is hopeless to escape unless they repent (Rev. 2:16).
The coming promised here is not the return Christians look for at the end of the book. It is a nearer visit, and it does not fall on everyone alike.
If no self-judgment followed the call to repent, the Lord threatens speedy judgment: "I come to you quickly." The present tense shows how near the judgment is, and so does the word "quickly"… This coming does not mean the personal return of the Lord, or what people call the second Advent. It points to an immediate dealing with the assembly by the Lord, who would visit it in judgment. To the angel He says, "I come to you," but to the still more guilty, "I will make war with them." So the Lord distinguishes. There are degrees of sin and, in proportion, of punishment.
The Lord leaves a space between the call and the blow.
The angel was responsible to take steps to banish the evil, but he had not done it, so the Lord Himself would take it in hand. He calls first of all on the angel to repent. The Lord would allow a period of grace to give time for self-judgment. If the angel did not use it, the Lord Himself would come quickly. With the two-edged sword of the word of His mouth He would search through and through, and expose the state of those who were prominent in Pergamos. If we shut our eyes to what grieves the Spirit of God in ourselves or among the people of God, the Lord does not.
- Tolerated. Sound belief was not enough at Pergamos. The Lord was not satisfied while the church let evil run on inside it.
- Warned. The sword out of His mouth is His Word — judgment carried out by speech alone, and impossible to ward off.
- Given time. The call to repent opens a period of grace for self-judgment. It offers the church a share in the Lord's mind about the evil and a part in guarding the honour of His name.
- Targeted. He comes to the church, but He wars on the guiltier ones inside it. There are degrees of sin and, in proportion, of punishment.
- Answered. If the church will not judge the evil, the Lord comes and judges it Himself. Discipline shown in mercy now spares the church that search.