DISPENSATION OF THE PERGAMOS CHURCH

The Dispensation of the Pergamos Church

 

This includes the name, its meaning, and the general conditions of the church.

The Name of the Church is Pergamos or Pergamum. Two or possibly three ideas grow out of this word.

Married: Taking the word in its root significance. It means joined to or married. That is "gamos" which gives that sense. The church is joined to Christ as the bride of Christ (Eph. 5:25-32).
"Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;" "That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word," "That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish." "So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself." "For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church:" "For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones." "For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh." "This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church."

Elevated: As a result of marriage, the bride is always raised to the position of the husband. In this case, the church is raised to sit with Christ in heavenly places (Eph. 2:6).
"And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:"

Twice-married: The word prefixed to the root makes a compound word which means twice-married or married often. This fits in exactly with the heathen religions of that day and is a token of the paganizing of the church.

The Period Which the Pergamos Church Represents

Though the Pergamos church was an historical church existing during the first century, the characteristics of the church were destined to become predominate during a period of history in all churches, from 300 A.D. to 500 A.D.

Up until the time of Constantine (311 A.D.) the church was suffering persecution from the Roman Empire. It was regarded as an illicit religion.

The night before Constantine faced Maxentius in battle, he is supposed to have seen a vision in the sky. It was of Christ, a cross and on the cross were the words, "In hoc signo vinces" meaning, "in this sign you shall conquer." Defeating Maxentius, he became Emperor and in 324 offi­cially espoused Christianity and strove to force it upon the empire.

He repealed former edicts against the church but still retained the heathen high priestly title "Pontifex Maximus" and assumed headship of the church. Thus the church and the state were united and remains so in practice almost universally to this day. Pagan temples became Christian. Pagan priests slipped into office as Christian pastors, and worst of all, unconverted people were brought into the church by the thousands.

This situation made it impossible to tell the difference between the saved and the lost. They all carried on the same outward ceremonies.

The Conditions During This Period

Politically, the church became the legal religion.

In 324 Constantine declared Christianity to be the official religion of the Roman Empire. It was in 313 that his colleague "Licinius" died and left Constantine in sole control of the throne of the empire.

He then repealed all the edicts of persecution against the church and from 313 to 324 Christianity was just one of many religions in the empire with freedom to worship.

But in 324 he had finally become convinced that Christianity would be a great help to him and he established it as official by decree. From this time on he enacted decrees against the pagans. Pagans were banished from courts and Christians placed in posts of honor. Constantine offered his gold and patronage to the church,

Doctrinally the Church Became Pagan

Constantine became the official head of the church and still retained his title as Pontifex Maximus. Pagan priests became pastors within the church. Belonging to the church was merely a matter of joining. And pagans were forced to join at the point of the sword. Pagan temples became Christian churches. Pagan festivals became Christian festivals.

Spiritually the Church was Polluted With the World

This unholy alliance began and has continued to this day (John 17:15; 2 Cor. 6:14-16).
"I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil."
"Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?" "And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?" "And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people."

This made it impossible for true holiness to survive. This made it impossible for true unity in the Church.

This made it impossible for the true Word of God to be preached.

This made it impossible to distinguish between the genuine and the spurious. No wonder Christ described himself as that one with the two-edged sword. He alone was able to separate the true from the false (2:16 cf. Heb. 4:12).
"Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth."
"For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged 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."