If we were visiting the seven churches, as we left Smyrna following the trade route, we would travel further north and come to the modern Turkish city that is called Bergama. That is the Turkish version of the word Pergamos. Pergamos is the third of the seven churches.
The name of this city differs in the different translations of the New Testament: it is called Pergamos, which is the feminine form of the name, and Pergamum, which is the neuter form. In the ancient world it was known by both forms. The word Pergamos is a compound of two Greek words, that mean throughly and marriage. Thus the name Pergamos means "throughly married." The church at Pergamos had married the world. It pictures the church or believer which joins to the world and thus compromises their testimony for Christ. Pergamos pictures the church in compromise.
The city of Pergamos was located in the Caicus Valley about 15 miles from the Aegean Sea. Built on a cone-shaped hill a thousand feet in height, it dominated the surrounding valley. In the third century B.C., it became the capital of the kingdom of Pergamum, which was bequeathed to Rome in 133 B.C. Thereafter, Pergamos became the chief city of the Roman province of Asia. In 29 B.C., Pergamos became the city with the first temple in Asia dedicated to a Roman Emperor, Augustus.
Pergamos was an important religious center; not only was it given over to the cult of the emperor, but four main temples were located there: the temples to Athena, Asclepius, Dionysus (better known as Bacchus), and Zeus. All four prominent temples were built on a large hill in the city of Pergamos.
There was a large university in Pergamos with a library of two hundred thousand volumes. This great library was given by Mark Antony to his girlfriend, Cleopatra. She lugged it off to Alexandria in Egypt, and that library was considered the greatest library the world has ever seen.
While the city of Pergamos was important, we don't know who started the church there or when it began. Pergamos is only mentioned twice in Scripture and both of these mentions are in Revelation.
Christ identifies Himself to the church at Pergamos this way: "These things saith he which hath the sharp sword with two edges." Who is this? This is a picture of Christ from Revelation 1:16. Each introduction to these churches uses a portion of the description of Christ from chapter one that is suited to the state of that particular church. To the church at Pergamos He is the one with the sword. Rome claimed the right of the sword. Roman governors were divided into two classes--those who had the right of the sword, and those who had not. Those who had the right of the sword had the power of life and death: on their word a man could be executed on the spot. The proconsul, who had his headquarters at Pergamos, had the right of the sword, and at any moment he could use it against any Christian. Rome asserted that its right of execution was original, but the message of Christianity was that all power and authority outside the triune God was derivative. The various rulers and authorities are created, and receive their dominion from God (Romans 13:1-4). Jesus Christ wields all power in heaven and on earth according to Matthew 28:18 (KJV):
The ultimate power of the sword belongs to Him. He warns the believers at Pergamos that He would use it against them if they did not repent (Revelation 2:16).
The two-edged sword is an instrument of judgement. It is spoken of here and in Hebrews 4:11-13, where it clearly speaks of judgement:
The word `fall' in verse 11 is translated from the Greek word pipto, and refers to the punishment inflicted upon the disobedient Israelites. Hebrews 4:12 begins with "for" which logically connects the disobedience mentioned at the conclusion of the previous verse to a word spoken to express the will of God. The Word of God can never be disobeyed with impunity (without punishment) precisely because it is the Word of God.
The writer of Hebrews and the apostle John are reminding us that God's Word cannot be taken lightly: if we do not listen to His Word we will face His judgement. God's Word demands a response, because God does not tolerate indifference or disobedience. Hebrews 4:13 tells us that no one escapes from this judgmental operation of the Word. Christ addresses the church at Pergamos as the One who has the sword of judgement which will be used against those who do not repent.
Although Christ holds a sword of judgement, He still has a commendation: "I know thy works and where thou dwellest, even where Satan's seat is" (Revelation 2:13). Dwellest is from the Greek word katoikeo which means to house permanently or to have one's permanent residence in a place. It is a very unusual word to use of Christians in the world. Usually the word used for believers is paroikein, which means to be a sojourner. Our author is saying that the Christians at Pergamos have their permanent residence, so far as this world is concerned, in Pergamos; and Pergamos is the place where Satan's rule is strongest.
We see a principle here that the Christian life is not one of escape, but of conquest. We may feel that it would be much easier to be a Christian in some other place with some other circumstances, but the duty of the believer is to witness for Christ where life has set him. We can't be salt and light if we are not living and working among the unsaved.
These believers at Pergamos were living where Satan's seat was. Seat is the Greek word thronos which means throne. The church was right in the middle of Satan's territory. Isn't Satan's throne in hell? No, Satan's throne is here as Scripture makes clear.
Satan's rule is here; when he is finally sent to hell, he'll simply be one of the inhabitants, not a ruler.
What did the Lord mean when he said that Satan's throne was in Pergamos? Obviously this must refer to something which the Church regarded as particularly evil. The term could refer to several different things all centering around the religious function of the city of Pergamos.
The temple of Dionysos was located in Pergamos. Dionysos is also known as Bacchus, the god of wine, the goat-god. He is depicted with the torso of a man with horns, the legs of a goat with cloven feet, and a tail. That is the modern idea of Satan, but the notion that Satan has horns, cloven feet, and a forked tail did not come from the Bible. It came from the temple of Dionysos. 2 Corinthians 11:14 says, "And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light."
The altar to Zeus located in Pergamos was one of the largest and most famous wonders of the ancient world. It was built on the side of a hill and protruded about forty feet over the edge. It looked like a giant throne. It has been suggested that this altar was Satan's seat. This could be what the Lord meant.
There was a gigantic temple in Pergamos devoted to Asclepius, the god of medicine. He was represented by a snake. There were many snakes crawling inside the temple. Whenever someone had a disease, he would lay on the floor of the temple. Every time he was touched by a snake, that was supposed to be the healing touch of the god Asclepius. Attached to the temple was a medical school. The most common and most famous title for Asclepius was "Asclepius the Saviour." Because Asclepius was represented as a snake and because of this title, Christ may well have been referring to Asclepius when He said that Pergamos was Satan's throne.
Emperor worship was at a high point in Pergamos. As Rome had become the center of Satan's activity in the West, so Pergamos had become his throne in the East. Christ may have been referring to this.
Any or all of these reasons to name Pergamos as Satan's throne could be correct; the atmosphere in Pergamos was Satanic: all false teaching is Satanic. The little body believers at Pergamos were face to face with the Enemy in his own territory.
In spite of their evil environment Christ says to the Pergamos Christians, "and thou holdest fast my name, and hast not denied my faith". The reference to "my name" seems to embody a personal loyalty and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ with all that this represented; they also have not denied the body of Christian truth which accompanies faith in Christ. Our faith will have a great influence on our faithfulness.
They held fast "even in those days wherein Antipas was my faithful martyr, who was slain among you". We don't know anything about Antipas other than he died for his faith. There is a late legend in Tertullian that he met his death by being slowly roasted to death within a brazen bull. Christ calls Antipas "my faithful martyr," which is very significant for two reasons. First , martyr comes from the Greek word "martus" which is the normal Greek word for witness. In the early church to be a witness and to be a martyr were one and the same thing. Witness often meant martyrdom. Secondly, when Christ calls Antipas "my faithful martyr", He is giving him His own title. In Revelation 1:5 Christ himself is called the faithful martus. To those who are true to him he gives nothing less than his own name.
Would you remain true to Christ in the face of death? We might say, "I would never deny Christ!" But in reality how many times have we had opportunity to share Him with others and not done it? In effect we have denied Jesus Christ the expression He wanted through us. For the sake of protecting our ego and popularity, we sacrificed the name of Christ and compromised with Satan. All to often we are like the believers in John 12:
The believers in Pergamos were willing to suffer and die for the name of Christ; they had the mindset of the apostle Paul.
The believers in Pergamos held fast to Christ's name. They were courageous even when it cost them their lives. Some of us aren't even willing to sacrifice our popularity or our friends, so we compromise instead. Antipas died rather than compromise with the world, but most of the time we will readily compromise rather than change the simplest pattern of our life.
Not all in the church were of the faithful character of Antipas as we see in the complaint in Revelation 2:14-15. They were tolerating some people who held the doctrine of Balaam and others who held the teaching of the Nicolatians. Ephesus hated these false doctrines, but Pergamos tolerated them. The Lord says "You have some there who hold the doctrine of Balaam". What is the doctrine or teaching of Balaam? The account of Balaam is recorded in Numbers 22-25. Balak, who was king of the Moabites, was afraid of Israel so he wanted to hire a prophet, Balaam, to curse them. God speaks to Balaam, so he tells Balak's men he could not go with them. Balak eventually bought him off and Balaam tried to curse Israel three times, but each time God stopped him (Numbers 23:1-24:10). On one occasion God even stopped him through his donkey (Numbers 22:22-31). God stopped Balaam every time he tried to curse Israel.
Since he couldn't curse Israel he came up with another plan: cause Israel to sin and then God will curse them. The only way to destroy Israel was through corruption. Numbers 25:1-9 recounts how Israel joined with the Moabites in sin and how God subsequently judged Israel. In Numbers 31:16 we learn that Balaam had advised King Balak to corrupt Israel through intermarriage which would induce Israel to worship idols.
The doctrine of Balaam is to seduce the people of God into sin, to get them to love the world so that they become enemies of God. The doctrine of Balaam is to cause the church to marry the world, thus bringing the judgement of God upon them. Satan can't hurt the child of God: if he can lure a believer into sin, Satan knows that God will judge that believer.
Christians in the church at Pergamos were marrying the world; they were falling in love with the things that God hates. We as believers are to be separate from the world. When we get involved with the world we corrupt our relationship with God. The Scriptures are clear about our separation.
What is worldliness? Have you ever heard someone say "he is worldly"? Are amusements like playing pool, movies, dancing, playing cards, and going to the beach worldly? Can a believers' friends make him worldly? What about Jesus, the "friend of sinners"? Does appearance, clothes, hairstyles make a Christian worldly? These things could be manifestations of worldliness, but in and of themselves they are not worldly. We often judge others by an external standard and this is wrong. Worldliness is adopting the world's philosophy and living by it. It's seeking to please oneself apart from God; it's pleasure seeking and self seeking. Worldliness makes a person an enemy of God. There were some believers at Pergamos who were joining themselves to the world and destroying their testimony for God.
Not only do some believers at Pergamos hold to the doctrine of Balaam, but Christ also says: "So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes, which thing I hate." The Greek word Nicolaos means Conqueror of the people. In Hebrew, Balaam means Conqueror of the people. These sysnoymous words and the structure of this verse tells us that their doctrines are the same. The opening word "so" refers to the preceding verse and indicates a comparison between the doctrine of the Nicolations and the doctrine of Balaam. "Thou also" emphasizes this comparison. The Nicolaitions are essentially the same group as the Balaamites. They both taught a sinful lifestyle, a joining of the believer with the world. They were conquering the people of God through joining them with the world.
What counsel does Jesus give to these people holding these doctrines? "Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth". In Revelation 2:14 the Lord said, "I have a few things against thee." The church that fails to discipline its sinning members will be destroyed. Continuing in communion with persons of corrupt principles and practices is displeasing to God, and He will judge those who are joined to the world as well as those who tolerate them in the church.
Christ provides His counsel so that He can help the believers attain His promise: "He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it". According to Revelation 12:11, the overcomers are those who continue faithful to Christ even at the cost of their lives. The overcomers at Pergamos are promised three things which offer almost endless interpretations.
The overcomers will "eat of the hidden manna". This is the refreshing food of fellowship with Jesus Christ that the overcomers will enjoy throughout all eternity. Hebrews 3:14 bears this out: "For we are made partakers [metacos: companions] of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end."
The overcomers will receive a white stone. In the ancient world objects called tessera were much used. A tessera was a stone that had writing on it; generally speaking, the possession of a tessera conferred some kind of privilege upon a man. They often served as a token for admission to a banquet.
The stone will have "a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it". The Old Testament tells of many people who were given a new name to mark a new status. So Abram became Abraham and Jacob became Israel. Here Christ is promising a new status to those who are faithful to him.
The new name is one that "no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it". The meaning of this expression is rooted in a Hebrew idiom: the name is "known" by the receiver in the sense of owning it. In other words, the new name is not secret, but it is exclusive: Only the overcomer possesses the name, and the name identifies the overcomer as the Lord's companion, just as He called Antipas "my faithful martyr", a name that identified him with the Lord Jesus Christ.
The church of Pergamos represents any church or any believer that tolerates false doctrine, or worldliness. The message to the church in Pergamos is a warning against compromise in morals or teaching. We must not deviate from the purity of doctrine required of Christians. Believers, we are to be separate from the world; we are not to join ourselves to its sinful practices. No matter how corrupt or sinful our environment is, we are to keep ourselves pure.
The only way that Satan can hurt the child of God is to get him to sin. Our practical holiness is our protection from Satan. James says "Resist the devil and he will flee from you, Draw near to God and He will draw near to you."
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