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Well, as we come to consider 
the third church in Asia Minor in Revelation chapter 2, we're 
looking at the church in Pergamos. And I'll just read beginning 
in chapter 2, verse 12. You may have a Bible that says 
Pergamum. It's the same place. There is 
a variant reading which does not make a whole lot of difference 
in terms of our understanding of this letter. So, Revelation 
2, beginning in verse 12. And to the angel of the church 
in Pergamos write, These things says he who has the sharp two-edged 
sword. I know your works and where you 
dwell, where Satan's throne is. And you hold fast to my name 
and did not deny my faith, even in the days in which Antipas 
was my faithful martyr, who was killed among you where Satan 
dwells. But I have a few things against 
you, because you have there those who hold the doctrine of Balaam. 
who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the children of 
Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit sexual 
immorality. Thus you also have those who 
hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate. Repent, or 
else I will come to you quickly and will fight 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 to eat, and I will give him a 
white stone, and on the stone a new name written, which no 
one knows except him who receives it. Amen. Well, let us pray. Father, we thank you for the 
Holy Scripture, and we pray for the Holy Spirit now to guide 
us, to lead us, and to instruct us in the things of the Lord. 
We thank you for the relevance of these letters to the churches 
in Asia Minor, for the church today. And we pray that we would 
receive the encouragement and the reproof that such letters 
contain. We ask God that you would forgive 
us and cleanse us from all sin and from all unrighteousness. 
And I want to pray for my brother and for his family, that you 
would see them through this. And Father, even through it, 
you would draw them unto yourself. We pray for the funeral on Friday 
and for the ministry of the word. We know, God, it is better to 
go to the house of mourning rather than the house of feasting. And 
we pray that that would be the case on Friday, that people would 
hear the good news concerning the Lord Jesus Christ and hear 
the way of salvation. And we ask through Christ our 
Lord. Amen. Well, Pergamos was the provincial 
capital of Asia. And if Ephesus, the first letter 
that we had already considered, was the New York City of the 
first century, then Pergamos was the Washington, D.C. Not only in terms of its political 
prestige, but also it was a place of religious prestige. There 
were temples erected to Caesar Augustus, to Zeus, and to the 
serpent god Asclepius. Robert Mount said, of all the 
seven cities, Pergamos was the one in which the Church was most 
liable to clash with the imperial cult. And basically what the 
imperial cult was, is that in the Roman Empire, Caesar was 
to be worshipped as Lord and Savior. That's why it is so significant 
throughout the pages of the New Testament that Jesus is addressed 
as Lord and Savior. This was a direct assault upon 
the claims of Caesar to this title of deity. There was a cult 
set up to promote the worship of Caesar. They erected temples 
and idols and all these particular things, and I realize It is tough 
for us to sort of enter into such status worship, but it does 
happen. In North Korea currently, the 
leader is part of a trinity, of a so-called religious trinity, 
and there is to be worship given in that country to the authority, 
to the leader. Beasley Murray comments, George 
Beasley Murray, who actually ministered in Spurgeon's Tabernacle 
in the 20th century. He says that Pergamos was the 
first city in Asia Minor to have a temple dedicated to Augustus 
and to Rome. As capital of the province, it 
became the center of the imperial cult in the whole region. So 
you can see why Jesus refers to their city as being where 
Satan's throne is. It was a tough place to live. 
It was a tough place to be a Christian. It was a tough place to own Christ. as Lord and as Savior. And I want to consider, first 
of all, Christ's self-description given in verse 12. As we have 
seen, he describes himself in a particular way that has application 
to the church that he is addressing. We'll notice, secondly, the commendation 
of the church by Christ Thirdly, their condemnation for imbibing 
false doctrine. And then fourthly, the exhortation 
to repent and to discern. But notice, first of all, in 
verse 12, Jesus writes, and to the angel of the church in Pergamos 
writes, These things says he who has the sharp two-edged sword. Now, the fact that he refers 
to Balaam gives us some way or gives us some help in understanding 
this reference to the sword. You remember Balaam in that account 
where he is upset with the donkey. What the donkey is saying is 
the angel of the Lord holding a sword toward Balaam. Balaam 
ultimately leads the nation of Israel, or the people of God, 
into harlotry, into adultery, into idolatry, and then Balaam 
ultimately dies by the sword. Jesus threatens this church in 
Pergamos that if they do not repent, he will come to them 
quickly and fight with them with the sword of his mouth. And as 
well, there is a reference in the passage concerning Antipas, 
Christ's faithful martyr who was killed among you. The idea 
being that he was martyred for the cause of Christ, and often 
times that martyrdom would be associated with the sword. So what Christ is claiming is 
that he possesses the sword. Again, Beasley Murray comments, 
this element of the vision of Christ anticipates verse 16 and 
denotes the Lord as the administrator of the divine justice with almighty 
power to execute judgment. So Christ comes, he commends 
them, but he condemns them, and he threatens them that if they 
do not repent, he will fight with them with the sword that 
comes from his mouth. Hence the description found in 
verse 12. Now notice, secondly, his commendation 
of them. He acknowledges their difficult 
location. I love this. Verse 13. I know 
your works and where you dwell, where Satan's throne is." Again, 
probably the seat of the imperial cult. Greg Beal says, the city 
proudly referred to itself as the temple warden of a temple 
dedicated to Caesar worship. Now, in some of my reading about 
what goes on in the world around us in terms of evangelical and 
reform theology, there's a lot of people who say, you don't 
know what it's like to minister in this city. It's the most unreached, 
it's the most unchurched, it's the most difficult, it's the 
most pagan environment. Well, as far as I've been able 
to tell, none of them are the seat of the imperial cult in 
Roman Empire. We often bemoan our circumstances 
and our situation thinking that nobody's ever trodden it like 
we have. Well, I'm here to tell you in 
Pergamos in the first century, they had a rough road to wander. Jesus Christ knows their difficulty. Jesus Christ acknowledges that 
difficulty. He is mindful of the difficult 
situations His people find themselves in. He is available to aid His 
people in the difficult situations they find themselves in. This 
was a rough town. And notice what He says concerning 
their specific commendation. He says in verse 13, I know your 
works and where you dwell, where Satan's throne is. And you hold 
fast to my name and did not deny my faith, even in the days in 
which Antipas was my faithful martyr, who was killed among 
you, where Satan dwells. Jesus knows of their faithfulness 
to his name. Isn't this the essence of Mark 
8? Jesus says, whoever is ashamed of me and my words, of him the 
Son of Man will be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his 
Father. These brethren, even when one 
of their own was being martyred, didn't disown the Lord Christ. They didn't recant. They didn't 
go join the imperial cult. They didn't call Caesar Lord 
and Savior. They maintained fidelity to the 
Lord Jesus Christ even where Satan dwells. Again, you think 
you've got problems with your unconverted boss, or your unconverted 
neighbor, or the difficulty of a government encroaching upon 
your rights. This still is not the place where 
Satan's throne is. We tend to minimize the genuine 
persecution that our first century brothers and sisters went through. They went through a whole host 
of suffering for the cause of Jesus Christ. You can read of 
instances and of accounts in the very Book of Acts itself. 
Pick up Fox's Book of Martyrs sometime and read what the brother 
says concerning the several persecutions that the Roman Empire inflicted 
upon the people of God. It was no walk in the park. It 
was no, well, you know, it's just another group. Let's live 
and let live. No, they didn't do that. They 
persecuted. They were unrighteous. They were 
ungodly. Jesus says they did not deny 
my faith. Verse 13. And did not deny my 
faith. That doesn't mean they didn't 
deny their subjective belief in the Savior. They didn't deny 
the objective truth of Christianity. They held fast to those things. The gospel was precious to them. In the midst of suffering, in 
the midst of a murderous assault upon one of their own, they were 
faithful in that trial. You've probably heard me say 
it before. It's hard to be holy. It's hard 
to be holy even when you're healthy. It's hard to be holy even when 
you're in favorable circumstances. And again, I'm not discounting 
that there is encroaching threats to our liberty, but as I say, 
we've seen nothing yet. As far as I know, right now, 
currently, I can't click on the internet and find a Colosseum 
setting where Christians are being fed to lions. I cannot 
find that in existence at this stage in the history of the world. It was going on in the first 
century. And if you think it's hard to be holy when things are 
going well, imagine when your buddy Antipas is being put to 
death for the faith. And you know good and well they 
may ask you, where do you stand? Are you going to side with Christ? 
Are you going to own him as Lord and Savior? Are you going to 
see things our way? We have ways of making you talk. 
These brethren remained faithful in the midst of a murderous assault 
upon one of their own. But notice, thirdly, the condemnation 
of the church. This is amazing. Verse 14, But 
I have a few things against you. I just want to make an observation 
here. Jesus doesn't cut them any slack. 
That may sound harsh, it may sound brutal, it may sound unkind 
and lacking grace, but it is a reality. Jesus, in a sense, 
does cut us slack in a whole lot of things. Doctrine, no. He won't do that. I've often seen in my own life 
and in the lives of others that when there is a particularly 
trying circumstance going on in the family or going on in 
the, you know, in the environment, we tend to cut slack to our children. There's a lot happening. There's 
a lot of, you know, unrest and instability. We're not as quick 
to discipline that. We cut them slack. Jesus doesn't 
say, I know you're dwelling where Satan's throne is, and as a result, 
I'm just going to look the other way as you engage in doctrinal 
compromise. They didn't deny the faith. They 
made a profession of faith in him. They held fast on that. So it wasn't like they abandoned 
the gospel, but they were letting in some heresy. So Jesus comes 
to deal with them concerning that heresy. Jesus comes to condemn 
them because he wants to purge that evil out and he wants them 
to be holy, even where Satan's throne is. So you see the point. We often, because of our circumstances, 
actually think God should cut us some slack. We think that 
because we have such a challenging environment, where there's so 
little friendliness to our Christianity, and there's so much antagonism 
to our Christianity, certainly God's not going to get upset 
if I compromise in this way. If I lower my guard in this sense. If I turn my back in this protein. He's not going to begrudge me 
that, because after all, I'm going through a real trial. You 
will not find that mindset in the Bible. You will not find 
that substantiated in the Scriptures. God never says, because you're 
living where Satan's throne is, and there's a lot of threat to 
your Christianity, you get to slack off a little bit. We need 
to be faithful. That's one of the reasons why 
the letter to Pergamos is in the book of Revelation. So that 
when you live where Satan's throne is, you need to understand that 
you need to not only not deny the name of Christ, you need 
to hold on to the name of Christ, but don't for a moment think 
it's okay to entertain false doctrine. There's never a justification 
for engaging in false doctrine. Notice specifically, I have a 
few things against you. Verse 14, because you have there 
those who hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to put 
a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things 
sacrificed to idols, and to commit sexual immorality. Thus, you 
also have those who hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, 
Which thing I hate. I believe the doctrine of the 
Nicolaitans was the modern heresy plaguing the churches of Asia 
Minor. And its Old Testament counterpart 
or illustration was Balaam's activity in Israel. Balaam was 
hired to curse the people of God. When it was found that the 
people of God would not be defeated in open combat and warfare, that 
is when Balaam introduced corruption. If we can't beat them from without, 
let's beat them from within. Chapter 25, in the book of Numbers, 
we see that the children of Israel played the harlot with the daughters 
of Moab. It is in that particular instance 
that that man, that Israelite man, after the leaders had been 
publicly executed by order of Jehovah himself, there was an 
Israelite who came with a Midianite woman and took her into his tent. And that, remember, is the occasion 
when Phineas took the javelin and sent it right through the 
Israelite and the Midianite. And God didn't say, you harsh, 
vicious man. He commended Phineas for being 
zealous with his zeal. Well, later in Numbers 31, we 
learn that it was Balaam who sowed those seeds of apostasy 
in the children of Israel. That was the Old Testament counterpart. The doctrine of the Nicolaitans 
worked in a similar fashion. We can't get you to just renounce 
Christ. We can't get you to just say 
we hate Jesus and we're going to worship the Caesar. No, it 
came subtly. It came through eating food sacrificed 
to idols, and it came through sexual immorality. The same types of things done 
in numbers at the time of Balaam. the same things that the Jerusalem 
Council had addressed in Acts 15. They said that the Gentile 
churches were not to engage in eating things sacrificed to idols. They were not to engage in sexual 
immorality. The doctrine in its essence was 
antinomianism. That means to go against the 
law. God, through his church, has 
spoken. God had mandated that they were 
not supposed to do these things. I can almost hear it now. Oh, come on. It's tough here. 
We live where Satan's throwing us. Let's lighten up a little 
bit. Let's relax a little bit. Go 
ahead and eat this food. But it was sacrificed to idols. 
That's not that big of a deal. I mean, the fact that you're 
not denying Jesus' name, the fact that you are keeping the 
faith, those are good things. In fact, God owes you. Maybe 
this doesn't resonate with anybody in here because you're all too 
pure and holy and have never been in such situations or circumstances 
where you actually think you should get to sin. You should 
actually get a pass, because after all, you have such a difficult 
lot in life. You can almost hear the church 
picnic or the fellowship luncheon. Just eat it. It's okay. Well, 
wait a minute. We're not supposed to. The Jerusalem 
decree said don't do that. That's no big deal. What about 
sexual immorality? You know, it's not that big of 
a deal. Everybody around us is doing it. As long as we don't 
worship Caesar, we can get away with it. Notice that the church 
in Pergamos was the exact opposite in this regard to the church 
in Ephesus. Remember, Ephesus, they were 
doctrine, doctrine, doctrine, and forgot about love. In Pergamos, 
they're love, love, love, and they forgot about doctrine. Beal 
says an overemphasis on internal doctrinal purity can lead to 
a lack of concern for the outside world. It's good. That's Ephesus. An overemphasis on internal doctrinal 
purity can lead to a lack of concern for the outside world. If all you ever do, I think you 
should do this quite a bit, but if all you ever do is sit in 
your room and read theology, it will be very hard for you 
to go out and do what that theology calls you to do. Allah, love 
your neighbor. Serve your brethren. evangelized 
sinners. So an overemphasis on doctrinal 
purity or internal doctrinal purity can lead to a lack of 
concern for the outside world. But he goes on, whereas a de-emphasis 
on internal doctrinal purity can lead to over-identification 
with the world. You see, we're always navigating 
the tightrope there. We'll either sit and read theology 
to the neglect of the outside world, or we'll go hang out with 
the outside world, not reading the theology, and over-identify 
with that. These are real, live issues going 
on in the churches in Asia Minor. Do you know what else? There 
are real, live issues going on in churches today. the church's 
relationship to culture. Gene Edward Veith has summarized 
it well when he says that the church has always had to confront 
its culture and to exist in tension with the world. To ignore the 
culture is to risk irrelevance. To accept the culture uncritically 
is to risk syncretism and unfaithfulness. the balance, that's the tension, 
that's the tightrope. Do we over-identify, then we 
become syncretic or unfaithful, or do we never identify and thereby 
become irrelevant to the church? These were the real live issues 
going on in the first century churches. We do well as 21st 
century churches to come and investigate, to study, to see. Hey, in Ephesus, they had doctrinal 
purity, but they were reproved for leaving their first love. 
We get to Pergamos, and they were excited and zealous, and 
they stood fast when Antipas was being murdered. But you know, 
they allowed some heresy in the back door, and Jesus is angry 
with that. We get to Philadelphia and they're 
commended, only commended, because they have a little strength, 
but they do a whole lot with it. Little strength there does 
not mean they were sort of weak and just hanging on. It probably 
means they were a small church with little resources and little 
things at their disposal to operate with. real, live churches going 
through the real, live issues that we as real, live churches 
today face. That's why this study is important. If we neglect these seven letters 
to the churches of Asia Minor, we are neglecting what God says 
to us in the 21st century in North America. And notice the 
way Jesus describes the doctrine of the Nicolaitans. Verse 15, 
Thus you also have those who hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, 
which thing I hate. Isn't that great? I love the dogmatism of Jesus. Just reading J. Adams, who's 
an older brother. He's a proven faithful servant 
in the Lord. He made a prediction. This is 
not the predictions of Gene Dickson or the National Enquirer. He 
says, by 2015, liberalism will have seriously affected the church. He says, evangelicals today who 
are studying, who are writing, who are learning, by 2015, the 
evangelicalism of today will have gone to seed and be liberalism 
by 2015. He says, I'm not a prophet. I'm not, you know, he's just, 
you know, in a sort of tongue-in-cheek way, says in 2015, if they ever 
look back on this blog entry, they'll say, hey, that was a 
prophetic statement. He says we have books written by professing 
up evangelical scholars who affirm inspiration and who affirm inerrancy, 
and yet we don't really know what Daniel meant. We can't really 
know what Daniel meant. We have the deutero-Isaiah school. Isaiah couldn't be responsible 
for the entirety of Isaiah. You know, one of the charges 
against Daniel writing when he wrote is because his prophecies 
were so accurate, there's no way it could have been predictive. 
It had to happen after the fact. It's a denial of God. I'm not saying all evangelicals affirm 
that right now, and that's not what J. Adams was saying, but 
he does suspect that the sort of stuff that passes for evangelical 
religion today is going to be liberalism in 2015. I like what 
Gary North has said. This was a couple of years ago. 
He says, if you're a conservative and you go into a seminary today, 
you usually leave a liberal. If you're a liberal and you go 
into a seminary today, you usually leave an apostate. Why? Because nobody wants to say the 
doctrine of the Nicolaitans is wrong and I hate it. We don't 
want to be dogmatic. We don't want to be divisive. 
We don't want to be insensitive. Could you imagine some who embrace 
the Nicolaitan doctrine sitting there and hearing their Lord, 
their Savior, their Master, the Lord God of truth say, I hate 
what you're subscribing to. Well, that doesn't feel good, 
Jesus. Remember, it's a condemnation. 
It's not supposed to feel good. It's supposed to result in good. It is supposed to call them to 
repentance. Beal said, like Balaam, this 
was a group of false prophets who were encouraging participation 
in idol feasts by teaching that such permission was permissible 
for Christians. And then let us look fourthly 
and finally at the exhortation to repent and discern. Isn't 
that great? The very fact that he says repent 
in verse 16 is a great symbol, a great token, a great expression 
of Jesus' mercy. Let's say you guys embrace the 
doctrine of the Nicolaitans. Here I come. I'm with my sword. 
I'm going to cut your heads off. Repent. What are you supposed 
to do when you're found out in sin? Repent. What are you supposed 
to do if you've entertained heresy? Repent. What are you supposed 
to do if you've given attention and time to a theory that is 
godless? Repent! Isn't that blessed and 
merciful and kind and gracious for our Savior to call them to 
repentance? He commends them, He condemns 
their heresy or departure, and then He says, repent. This is 
the way to healing. This is the way to peace. This 
is the way to wholeness and completeness. This is the way to joy. This 
is the way to safety and security and stability in Christ's presence. 
If you are found out in sin, don't try to justify it. Well, 
Lord, you know, these guys were pretty persuasive. Well, Lord, 
you know, we live where Satan's throne is. Lord, you know, it's 
really tough when we watched Anabas die. We thought we deserved 
a break today. No, you're not supposed to do 
that. You're supposed to argue and 
try to justify why it is you have fallen prey to this sin. 
You're supposed to repent. It's that simple. You're to change 
your mind. You're to bear fruits consistent 
with that repentance. If at one point you embrace the 
doctrine of the Nicolaitans, don't, or let go of it and turn 
from it and press on the right way. J. Gresham Machen, one of 
the earnest contenders for the faith in the 20th century. You 
know that he went to Germany and almost got sucked in with 
Neo-Orthodoxy? He almost became a liberal? This 
champion of the faith? In his early career, his early 
academic career, he goes to study in Germany, which was a hotbed 
of liberal theology at the time. He said their passion, their 
joy, their piety, their delight in Jesus was infectious. Yeah, 
but they also denied the virgin birth. They denied the resurrection. They denied blood atonement. 
They denied, they denied, they denied. But you see, he was almost 
caught up in it. This stuff happens. Praise God 
if it hasn't happened to you. Right now it's two clicks of 
a mouse button away. You can not only see all of the 
wicked pornography that this world has to offer, but you can 
see all the wicked heresy that this world has to offer. Click, click, click. You can 
see any website propagating any heresy, propagating any kind 
of false religion. You know, in our churches, we 
will warn men, and we will warn women, and we will tell the young 
people, stay away from internet pornography. Stay away from the 
doctrine of the Nicolaitans. Stay away from the heresy that 
will rot your soul. Don't leave here saying, well, 
I can look at pornography. No! You can't look at that. You 
can't look at heresy either. One of the biggest mistakes young 
Christians do is they want to fight the cults. And that's a 
noble thing. Man, you want to beat the Jehovah's 
Witnesses. I guarantee you as a first year 
Christian, a 20 year Jehovah's Witness is going to clean your 
cloth. You ain't got it. You're not that strong. You're 
going to hear his arguments. You're going to wait a minute. 
Don't do it. There's a battle for your soul 
and the devil wages it through false doctrine. And again, I doubt these heretics 
came in the front door of the church at Pergamon and said, 
let's just throw out Jesus. That's not how it happens. comes 
in steps, it comes in stages, it comes in a compromise here, 
and a compromise here, and a stop being so fastidious here, and 
stop being so careful here, and stop being so dogmatic here, 
and stop insisting that there's only one Isaiah. Stop insisting 
that Moses actually wrote the Pentateuch. Don't you know that 
does not wash in academia today? Oh, well, well, oh. gives a rip 
what washes in academia today if it contradicts the law and 
the testament. That's why Jesus came to this 
church and he said, but I have a few things against you. He 
calls them to be discerning. He who has an ear to hear, let 
him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. Christ as prophet 
speaks to his churches by the Spirit and by his word. He threatens to come to them 
quickly if they do not repent. Now, this is an instance where 
Jesus comes not physically. Jesus comes in judgment. Jesus 
comes to remove the lampstand. Every time the word Jesus comes 
is in the book of Revelation does not refer to his physical 
coming at the end of the age to judge the living and the dead 
and consummate all things. There are comings spoken of by 
Christ that refer to judgment. And in this instance, that's 
what it is. And he says that the sword is 
the sword of his mouth. His word will be that means by 
which he condemns them. And then he gives this promise, 
blessed promise in verse 17. To him who overcomes, I will 
give some of the hidden manna to eat. Isn't that a beautiful 
statement? The Nicolaitans were coming with 
things sacrificed to idols, coming with bad food, coming with rotten 
food, coming with those things that would take and disturb and 
destroy the people of God. Not because it was poison, but 
because of the spiritual association with it. Christ promises to the 
faithful overcomers, I will give you the real food. I will give 
you spiritual delicacies and treats that will sustain you 
and delight you throughout all eternity. I will give him a white 
stone, probably a reference to victory. and I will and on the 
stone a new name written which no one knows except him who receives 
it." This new name written probably harkens back to Isaiah 62 and 
verse 2. This letter and the one to Philadelphia 
refer to not denying Christ's name and therefore they receive 
the name which identifies them as belonging to God. So a blessed 
promise on the heels of a sharp regrowth and a call to repentance. Is that not the Savior who we 
have come to know and to love? Remember, Christ is present among 
the lampstands. This church in Pergamos demonstrates 
something of faithfulness even in the midst of persecution. 
The next time you want to complain about your circumstances, The 
next time you want to complain about the godlessness around 
you, the next time that you want to moan and grumble that nobody 
knows how bad you've got it, read this letter to the church 
in Pergamon. You see, it's simply not the 
case that the 21st century is the first one where the Christian 
church has been openly persecuted. I think the 20th century was 
actually the bloodiest of all the centuries in terms of martyrdom, 
but the first century was quite bloody as well. Satan lived in 
Pergamos. Satan's throne was in Pergamos. Antipas died for Jesus Christ. I think we need to ask the question, 
would we be willing to do the same? If we lived where Satan's 
throne was and they brought us before that, That tribunal, and 
they said, you own Christ as Lord and Savior, and they pointed 
a sword at your throat. What would you say? What would you say? Would you 
say, as Holycarp, the early church martyr did, in 82 years I have 
served him, he has never, ever, ever turned me down. I will certainly, certainly own 
him now. They fired up, they threw polycarbon 
flames. Antipas had the sword at his 
neck. They said, do you deny Jesus 
Christ? He said, oh no. Off with his 
head. That's what happened to Paul. He had his head chopped off. 
Peter was crucified upside down. It's vicious, vicious murders 
in the first century to our brothers and sisters. So sometimes tonight 
or tomorrow, whenever you're alone with your Bible and God 
again, ask yourself, do I have the stuff of an antipas? Am I 
the kind of guy or the kind of girl that is going to press on, 
that is going to overcome, that is going to feast on that manna 
that Jesus Christ alone will give and receive that name, that 
fact that I am marked by God himself and sealed as one of 
his servants? Let's dare to be We may not live 
in Satan's throne, but there are certainly expressions of 
Antipas-type Christianity that we can engage in each and every 
day. Let us pray. Our Father, we give 
You thanks for the Holy Scripture. We give You thanks for faithful 
men and faithful women. We know ultimately they're faithful 
because of Your grace. So, Lord God, should the occasion 
arise when we are threatened with death or execution, or the 
sword, or trial, or prison. May we know your grace. May we 
know your presence. May we know your help. May we 
know your strength. May you grant each of us the 
ability, God, to overcome, to persevere, to realize that the 
glories of Christ are far more excellent than anything this 
world has to offer. And do protect us doctrinally. 
God, we thank you for your word. We thank you for the truth. that 
we have in our confession of faith, and we just pray that 
you would help us jealously guard these things, to contend earnestly 
for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints. 
And we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.