A Strange and Unacceptable Paradox

There was in the church at Pergamum a strange and unacceptable paradox, an inconsistency that Jesus simply will not tolerate, then or now. . . . Whereas they had maintained their own theological convictions, they were, at the same time, tolerating in their fellowship certain false prophets who advocated licentious behavior, ostensibly in the name of Christian freedom (see Rev. 2:14–15). This simply will not do. Although they had not themselves denied the faith, they had become inexplicably...