To the angel of the church in Pergamum write: These are the words of him who has the sharp, double-edged sword. Rev 2:12

We are looking at the messages that Jesus sent to seven Churches of the Roman Province of Asia as recorded in the book of Revelation. In each of the messages Jesus starts by describing Himself as the one that the message is originating from. In this case, He describes Himself as “him who has the sharp, double-edged sword”. He proceeds to commend them because they had remained true to His name and kept faith in Him. He then gives out a warning and calls then to repent and says “Repent therefore! Otherwise, I will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.”

What’s this sword business? Well we should recall from Hebrews 4:12 what the Bible says about the Word of God: “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” Also in John 1:1 Jesus is referred to as the Word and in John 14:6 as the Truth.

The warning he gives the Church in Pergamum is that there are some among them who hold to wrong or false teachings. And the warning is REPENT! The tone of it is you would rather repent now on your own accord rather than have me come and fight you with the sword of my mouth. That’s judgement!

It is important that we keep our minds and hearts full of the teachings of Jesus and that we also stay full of the Holy Spirit who leads us into all truth. Without the Word of God and the accompanying work of the Holy Spirit, this world is a mess and if we are careful, we get swept by the latest waves of teaching that come up.

Today, let’s be studious. Let’s be prayerful. Let’s be humble. Let’s be alert. Let’s soak ourselves in the Word and Presence of of God. And let us hold fast to these!

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