In Jesus’ message to the church of Pergamum, He commended the Pergamene believers who refused to be intimidated by the forces of darkness that were lambasting them from all sides, trying to make them abandon their commitment to the gospel (see Rev. 2:13).
These opposing forces took on a variety of forms for all early believers, ranging from strife among family members to communal ostracism to large-scale government crackdowns against the church.
However, despite the diverse ways in which this antagonism might manifest, these attacks against the early church were all deeply rooted in one common defining characteristic—an adamant adherence to the system of beliefs collectively known today as “paganism.”
Now we are approaching the end of this age in an educated, highly sophisticated, and technological world, and we are witnessing a return to that pagan premise of the past that everyone’s belief system can be right. More and more, society has no stomach for spiritual or moral absolutes.
In fact, the public reaction to moral proclamations is often so adverse that many pastors today are hesitant to take strong positions on issues of morality, even though these truths are clearly stated in the Word of God. Rather than answer difficult moral questions, they dodge the questions and skirt around the issues in an attempt to avoid conflict.
We will discover that this is precisely what the errant leaders, whom Christ called Nicolaitans, were doing in Pergamum. Theirs was a doctrine of self-protecting compromise and accommodation with the pagan culture that surrounded the Pergamene congregation.
As a result, it is possible that the pastors and spiritual leaders in that city who decided to “take a stand” and preach the gospel in its pure, unadulterated form were labeled as irrelevant or intolerant hate-mongers.
Early believers endured bullying, ridicule, imprisonment and even death because they refused to conform to the pluralistic pagan world that surrounded them on all sides. The religious, social, cultural and political forces of the city exerted tremendous pressure to coerce these Christians into modifying their message to encompass a more moderate, inclusive view that would make them compliant with the spirit of the age. Although some believers collapsed under this pressure, many steadfastly resisted this coercion to conform and held fast to their faith.
