The letter was written because the church in Pergamos bowed in concession to something derogatory or prejudicial. They adjusted and settled wrongly against God’s word. In the letter, Christ introduced himself to the church as He that has the SHARP SWORD with two edges.
‘And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write; These things saith he which hath the sharp sword with two edges… Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth’ (Revelation 2:12, 16).
‘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’ (Hebrews 4:12).
Christ is a prince of life, savior, and prince of peace but can also fight with the sword in His mouth. The believers in Pergamos like many believers today know Christ one sided. They know Christ as extremely merciful, peaceful, kind and compassionate. Many because of such nature take Him for granted and live their lives anyhow. They live discredited lives in mischief without respect or principle. Their way of life brings shame, disrepute to the body of Christ. Their understanding is that Christ is so soft, merciful and cannot harm them. In Christ’s letter to such people, He warned them of the consequences. I will come unto thee quickly and will fight against you with the sword of my mouth. The two edges of the sharp sword has two functions. One is to cut away from sin-salvation. The other is to cut off from God eternally– judgment. The same word is the instrument of salvation and judgment.
‘And Jesus answered and said unto them, I also will ask you one thing, which if ye tell me, I in likewise will tell you by what authority I do these things’ (Matthew 21:44).
‘For we are unto God a sweet savor of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish: To the one we are the savor of death unto death; and to the other the savor of life unto life. And who is sufficient for these things?’ (2 Corinthians 2:15-16).
The truth is that whoever rejects the prince of life, the savior of the world has made a choice, which is judgment. The judgment comes from the same Christ as a result of your decision. The church in Pergamos like many today depend only on God’s, grace, mercy, His abundant life and salvation without considering the judgment against compromise. Every sin of compromise has judgment attached to it and unless you repent and forsake sin, you will face the sword of judgment. If you sin and quickly repent, I mean humble yourself, call upon the name of God, pray and seek God’s face, turn away from your wicked ways, the sword will cut you away from such sin unto salvation. I don’t mean believers who play with sin, sleep with sin and gamble with sin. Believers and unrepentant sinners that the sword will not cut away from sin to salvation are not those who only put embargo on sinful lifestyle only in the church or some places but lift it at home, offices, in hotel rooms, class room and lift it in secrets places. God will not cut you away from sin unto salvation if you lie with sinners, lie by sinners and be with sinners;
‘And Noah went in, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons’ wives with him, into the ark, because of the waters of the flood… And it came to pass after seven days, that the waters of the flood were upon the earth’ (Genesis 39:7, 10).
The Consequence of Rejecting the Prince of Life
For you to be cut away from sin unto salvation, you have to totally refuse sin, wicked acts, flee from sin and suffer for that if need be. It is better to go through any suffering than to be cut off from God eternally. It is better to please God than to please man and displease God. It is better to be condemned by the judges of this world than to be condemned by God. If the judges of this world condemn you because of your obedient to God, Christ will deliver you. But if Christ condemn you, no judge on earth can deliver you. Christ is the stone of every judgment and if you fall on His stone, you shall be broken without remedy. No one survives Christ’s judgment because you will be grinded to powder. It is better to face the wrath of man than to compromise with man and face God’s wrath. It is better to fight man than to fight God’s sword in His mouth, you will not survive it. Christ’s letter to the believers in Pergamos is, I give life, save life but I also judge. Sweet salvation comes from Christ for them that are saved but those who despise salvation are judged to perish. You can be cut from death to death and life to life by the same savior. It is wrong, lack of knowledge to understand Christ one sided. The same sword in His mouth is the instrument of salvation and judgment. The power of the word of God cuts the chains and releases a sinner, cutting him away from God eternally.
‘He, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy’ (Proverbs 29:1).
There are people who are in covenant with the devil with promises of life. The devil gives them hope and they believe that they will live long, enjoy life and wealth. Such people are deceived because Jesus is the prince of life. Devil and all his agents with their groups cannot give life. When such people enter into covenant with the devil, their neck are hardened by the devil to believe lie. There are many people like that in the church. They don’t belong to cults or in covenant with the devil. Satanic agents sends arrows of disobedience. They are in the church, they hear Gods word but they do not have power to obey. They sing, pray in the prayer team, preach as Pastors but has no power to obey. Some of them as preachers, pastors, bishops preach against immorality but they do not have power to say no to immorality. They defy their secretary’s right inside their offices. They sleep with their maids and members of their church. This people are under the influence of sin, under the power of sin, so they compromise.
‘Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools’ (Romans 1:22).
‘Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things… And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God?’ (Romans 2:1, 3).
The Urgency of Obedience and the Danger of Compromise
Jesus Christ is a righteous judge and will not spare you if you commit the sin you preach against. There are people who depend on God’s grace to commit sin. The word of God is saying; your judgment will take you unaware, sudden and without announcement. It means, you will not have the chance to repent, confess and be forgiven. It will come without remedy, second chance for you to repent. You cannot deceive God, instead you will end up deceiving yourself. One of the characters of Christ is judgment without remedy. Your life is inviting Christ to display such character each time you compromise in sin. God out of His mercy as Prince of life, Savior is warning you against compromise. If you refuse to repent, confess, forsake and live right, He will judge you. His judgment unto death has no appeal because His judgment is final. You need to be reminded that the same sword that cut you from sin at salvation, delivered you from problems, healed you or made you general overseer, bishop, etc.; can as well cut you off if you decides to remain unrepentant and compromise. God loves you and does not want you to perish or suffer eternally. By the time this letter arrived Pergamos, many members were guilty of compromise. The word of God which is the two edged sword was ready for judgment but as usual, the Prince of life presented life to them first. He was ready to save the repentant first before judgment. Likewise, God is ready presenting life to you and if you repent, you will be saved. The word of God is quick to save anyone who is ready to accept life from the Prince of life. The word of God which is the two edged sword is also quick to judge the unrepentant. It is powerful enough to separate you from any power holding you down in sin, sickness and death. The two edged sword is more powerful than all your problems put together and can quickly deliver you from destruction. It is sharp enough to take you away from any curse, household wickedness, destructions and death. The letter was sent to the believers in Pergamos to assure them that the two edged sword is quick and that deliverance is possible.
