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“Hedging One’s Bets” is a common English idiom you’ve likely heard before. The authors at Grammarist.com define it like this: “To hedge one’s bets means to mitigate one’s risk; to leave oneself an escape; to counterbalance one’s risk or avoid committing to only one course of action. For instance, a gardener may hedge his bets by planting different varieties of tomatoes in case one variety fails to produce. The expression hedge one’s bets came into use in the 1600s and is derived from a definition of the word hedge that was popular at the time, which was to avoid commitment.” Consider hedging one’s bets when it comes to your relationships with Christians. Of course, I would rather convince you to become a Christian. This is our prayer and aim. However, at the very least, I would urge you to keep your options open and keep Christian friendships alive. Along the time that I became a Christian, I had a friend, we will refer to him as, “Joe.” When Joe discovered I became a Christian, he relayed a message back to me, that was, “Be sure to tell him not to bring that Christian message around me.” Joe was hostile to the gospel. Joe wanted God’s messengers out of His life. Joe did not see the potential value. Joe did not want Christian preaching in his life. With regard to Christianity, Joe did not even “hedge his bets.” Don’t be like Joe. Here’s why. Thirty-five hundred years ago, during the zenith of the Egyptian empire, the ruler of Egypt did what Joe did. The ruler of Egypt, Pharaoh, told God’s chief messenger, Moses, that he didn’t ever want to see him again. He cut him totally out of his life. He threatened him. And, by extension, he cut all of God’s messengers and God’s word out of Egypt. What were the results? Disaster! Moses was described as like God to Pharaoh. God’s name had fallen on hard times. In an effort to restore knowledge of God to people, God sought to liberate his people from Egyptian slavery. Pharaoh had isolated God’s people to a specific geography in Egypt for housing, conscripted them to cruel construction slavery, and mandated population control measures against God’s people through forced infanticide and partial birth abortion. God saw. God responded. But not all at once. Graciously, over a three month period, God meted out ten plagues with opportunity to repent in each one. Despite the pain of plagues, each plague up to the last one lacked finality. Frogs and fleas, boils and livestock, water impurity and crop destruction were not total separation, death, and loss of the future. But that’s what came with the tenth plague. Egypt’s decimation came. But not before salvation. Consider the next to last plague, the plague of darkness. There, the Egyptians faced utter darkness for three days—it was a darkness they could feel! For three days, no one could see to do anything. They stayed in bed. Economic activity halted. Pain ensued. But, in the midst of groping in the dark, over on the horizon, they could see the living quarters assigned to God’s people. There, was light. So long as God’s people were on the horizon, there was hope. So long as God’s preacher, Moses, was on the horizon, there was hope, too. But this was all about to change. After the plague of darkness ended, most of Pharaoh’s cabinet of officials as well as many of the people knew that Moses’ God was the one true God. The plagues bore witness to the systematic deposing of Egypt’s false gods as well as ironic repayment for injustices done against God’s people. The plot thickened. The drama built to the death of Egypt’s firstborn—an eye for an eye for the deaths of Israel’s first borns drowned in the Nile River. However, there was a way out from due punishment. And some took it. Here's what happened. Hard-headed and hard-hearted Pharaoh called Moses in after the three days darkness. This would be the last time Moses entered as an underling to the king. He was about to become a regent all himself. He was about to upend Pharaoh. But Pharaoh was blind to it. Pharaoh was still trying to bargain his way around with Moses. Moses wisely made no deal with Pharaoh. For God insisted his people depart a certain way. So frustrated Pharaoh commanded Moses to get away from him forever. Moses, in righteous anger, obliged. And, just like that, Pharaoh stopped hedging his bets with God’s people. God’s judgment was swift on the Egyptians; however, thanks to the grace of previous events, many Egyptians knew whom was delivering the judgment and why. Rather than blaming God’s people, they sent God’s people with much riches. Rather than killing or keeping them, they sent them packing. Rather than cutting God’s people out of their lives, some Egyptians completed the “exodus” from Egypt as converted Israelites. The host of over a million that exited that day represented several ethnicities—an early picture of what heaven will be! So there’s a lesson for you in this. There’s a move in our land for the convinced irreligious to blatantly disregard the religious—for folks that have little use for religion to relegate biblical religion to the edges of the public square. Learn the cautionary tale of Exodus. Do not make this mistake. It’s not too late until it’s too late. So long as you breathe, keep the people of God in your orbit. Welcome them in your neighborhood. Seek them in the city. Ask them for dinner. Listen to their messages. Perk up at their preaching. Tolerate their reaching. Even if you disagree, stay curious and inviting. You never know which plague in your life that God will use to bring you from tolerance to acceptance of Christianity. For now, though, at the very least, take care to “hedge your bets.”
When we think of Revelation we think of signs and wonders and the apocalypse and predictions and concerns and the lordship of Christ on grand display defeating foes in the last battle. What we don’t often think of, when we think of Revelation, is, the local church. But we should. Revelation has as its audience the local church in totality, completely, represented by seven (a complete #) of local churches known to the first century reader. Each of the seven messages are from Jesus and carry modern messages for our local churches today and are practical for your Christian life: to Ephesus—love; to Smyrna—keep on; to Pergamum—teach right; to Thyatira—live moral; to Sardis—wake up; to Philly—endure; and to Laodicea—live on mission! Today, let’s consider the message to a church like Pergamum—teach right—found in Revelation 2:12-17.
“And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write: ‘The words of him who has the sharp two-edged sword. “ ‘I know where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is. Yet you hold fast my name, and you did not deny my faith even in the days of Antipas my faithful witness, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells. But I have a few things against you: you have some there who hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, so that they might eat food sacrificed to idols and practice sexual immorality. So also you have some who hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans. Therefore repent. If not, I will come to you soon and war against them with the sword of my mouth. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it.’” ~ Revelation 2:12-17
Now, let’s try to make a little sense of Revelation 2:12-17. These are Jesus’ words to the church. He has the spiritual sword, the Word of God. He intimately knows who His people are and where they live. They live “where Satan’s throne is,” likely, a reference to the literal throne of Zeus, the pagan god recognized in Pergamum. But we all live where Satan’s thrones are, and, we must hold fast to Jesus’ name anyway. This is what it means to be a true Christian—to witness faithfully to Christ, not denying the faith, even when satanic influences try to get you to acquiesce to the coercive power of the state. The state wields a “sword” too. The “sword” is understood as an instrument of justice used by the state to encourage good. For good or ill, the state uses its sword for its purposes. Always for good, Jesus uses his sword, the Word, for Christian purposes. He knows who and where we are, always, and forever. Jesus never checks out from your situation.
The early Jewish Church leaders knew they needed to provide guidance to new Christians coming into the faith. The gospel brought Jews and Gentiles together under the religion of Christ but guidance was needed. The Jewish Christian leaders wrote an affirming letter to circulate to the Gentile churches, urging them to be compliant, to not eat food sacrificed to idols or engage in sexual immorality. See Acts 15 for that. There were professing Christians at Pergamum being taught exactly the opposite of what they were supposed to do. These were being taught to eat and sexually engage in a pagan and impure manner. Teaching leads to action. Jesus is trying to pre-empt their sinful actions. So he sounds the alarm against false teaching! He compares them to Balaam and Balak in the book of Numbers. The problem back then was a scriptural teacher who put personal gain ahead of faithful witness. We must repent of holding to such false teaching. Teaching and teachers matter. What type of teachers do you listen to? Have you thought carefully enough about it? Have you sought to ensure that your teachers teach in accordance with Scripture? Have you considered that Jesus holds you personally accountable for whose teaching you “hold to?” Repent of any haphazard attitude you’ve taken toward vetting your teachers. Learn to insist on Scripture teaching teachers.
Jesus’ last book in the Bible has the local church and your Christianity in view. Jesus knows who are his and where his are. Jesus insists you vet your teachers based on what they teach. Hear His love for you in this passage, Revelation 2:12-17. He has expectations of you but he also advocates for you. He promises to conquer. He will protect and provide for you. He knows your name. Revelation is more than predictions. Revelation is practical. Revelation is for you.
