The Seven Churches: Pergamum
What do you do when the world’s depravity is weaponized against you? What if you’re living in the very heart of the enemy’s empire? How do you handle it when you have to pass Satan’s throne on your way to work? Sound extreme? This was daily life for the believers who dwelt where Satan reigned. If you can’t run from such a place, you run to Jesus to keep you safe. Jesus calls on the Pergamum church to do just that—stick close. Hold fast, listen well and repent so that they can conquer this extreme situation. It’s good advice for us, too.
"'I know where you dwell, where Satan's throne is.” Revelation 2:13a
All scripture citations are from the English Standard Version (ESV) unless otherwise noted.
Chief Characteristics
Whole books are written about most of these crucial components. These characteristics are summaries of what is grounded in scripture, not fabricated through speculation.[1] Speculation is trying to “see” more than we are being shown. What we see by Biblical revelation is real enough, but a fuller view will only come as these still distant components draw nearer.
Travellers, commerce and correspondence from Greece or Italy would arrive at Asia Minor's major seaport, Ephesus, then journey up the coast towards Pergamum, before turning east on the interior highway to Laodicea. The letter to the church at Pergamum would have been the third letter delivered.
Though Pergamum was seen by the Lord to be the place where Satan had his throne, no pagan citizen would have seen it that way. Their civic pride would have been through the roof. Pergamum had been one of the most beautiful and prestigious cities in Asia Minor during the Greek period. It competed with Ephesus for being the province’s first city under Roman rule. Her architecture, however, knew no rivals. Treasures of art adorned her public buildings. Unparalleled city planning filled her squares with gymnasium, temples, a theater, a racetrack, a library and oh, by the way, the Altar of Zeus, Satan’s throne.[2]
Pre-Figured in Scripture
Every crucial component of the Last Days has already “appeared” in the Biblical prophetic narrative in the past, somewhat like a dress rehearsal for the final drama. These foreshadows are called “types” because they precede their ultimate expression (the “antitype”).[3] As shadows of the future reality, however, they cast a revealing light of their own.
Righteous Lot: Surviving in Sodom
Lot gives us an Old Testament portrayal of someone who dwelt where Satan reigned. The enemy’s hold over Sodom and Gomorrah was so complete that the cities had to be destroyed. Depravity reached a point where redemption became impossible. Get ready: This will happen around us in the days to come. As it does, we’ll understand Lot’s predicament. We’ve heard the story of how Abraham interceded for the wicked city, how the Lord rescued Lot and his family at the last minute, and how the fire from heaven fell in judgment. That’s not the whole story.
Peter gives us insight into the part we don’t usually see. He shows us the distress that the wickedness around Lot caused that righteous man to suffer. Without a doubt, depravity brings punishing consequences upon those who pursue it, but it also has a “tormenting” effect upon those who live within sight and sound. Pure hearts grieve for those who grieve God—not wishing any to be so lost. They also cringe in horror over the devil’s incarnation in human flesh and blood and the appalling things he “inspires” them to do. This part of Lot’s experience will come our way, too. As much as we may not want to think about these things, it helps to prepare our hearts in advance in case they show do up.
And if he rescued righteous Lot, greatly distressed by the sensual conduct of the wicked (for as that righteous man lived among them day after day, he was tormenting his righteous soul over their lawless deeds that he saw and heard); then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials. 2 Peter 2:7-9
The Book of Revelation Chapter 2:12-17
The Bible exposes the secret plans and deceptive operations of the dark kingdom, even as it unveils the glorious realities of what our God is doing. The truths of scripture are, therefore, our rock-solid building blocks for interpreting the times we are entering. Nevertheless, for biblical information to become true revelation both prayer and the Holy Spirit are needed.
To the Church in Pergamum
"And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write: 'The words of him who has the sharp two-edged sword. Revelation 2:12
Jesus begins the letter in His customary way with an address “to the angel” of the church in Pergamum.[4] Since the message of this letter (as with the others) is clearly directed to the people of the church, the opening words strike a familiar cord heard in the formal speeches of our day. Our best speakers typically give honor to the principle dignitaries present, before taking up the real theme they are bringing to the larger audience. By including the angel in this address Jesus accomplishes a dual purpose: He gives honor to the angelic dignitary (something Peter also advises us to do)[5] and makes the church aware that they have one watching over them at the same time. We all tend to behave better if someone we respect is watching. Knowing that Jesus sees all we do should be enough both to keep us in line and to keep us feeling secure. “But He’s in heaven!” may be the thought in the back of our mind. In that case church, let it be known that there is an angel in the house!
Our divine and heavenly Watcher is not sitting on His Hands fretting over the state of His poor, beleaguered church unable to affect events. No, He has a sword ready to Hand and not just any sword, but “a sharp two-edged sword.” To understand the image in the context of its historic setting, we should recall that early swords of bronze and iron could not hold a sharp edge as more modern techniques later allowed. For that reason alone, a two-edged sword proved its worth on ancient battlefields for once the first edge grew dull, a second sharp edge remained. Jesus is not only saying that His sword is sharp, but that it stays sharp.
From other texts of scripture, we understand that a sword represents the authority that even our own governments have for keeping the peaceful reign of law within their borders and keeping unlawful invaders out. Paul wrote that our rulers do not “bear the sword in vain” but know how to carry out “God’s wrath on the wrongdoer.”[6] Jesus is about to warn some in the church against compromise with certain notorious wrongdoers of their day. He does not hold the sword in vain either.
These letters offer yet another example of the sword He wields. His very words are “sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”[7] Who among us has not known what it is like to have our secret thoughts instantly exposed and overturned by the entry of His word? We need Him to cut through the foolishness of our thinking and get us back on track with His wisdom. It’s a great good thing for us that His sword stays sharp.
"'I know where you dwell, where Satan's throne is. Revelation 2:13a
In studying scripture, a key guiding principle is “context is king.” This little verse proves it in a powerful way. First, we see Jesus saying He knows their context. They “dwell” in a territory that lies under the enemy’s power and influence. They are living in a spiritual battle zone and their Lord knows what they are up against. For them the challenge to be faithful with be vexed by powerful temptations; their daily life will be assaulted beyond what other believers face. He knows our context too. He knows everything in our past that makes it so hard to be faithful in the present. He completely understands. And just as with these Pergamum believers, He is present to help us dwell in safety by His side.
The Pergamum believer’s special challenge is that they dwell “where Satan’s throne is.” Evidently, the enemy laid claim to the area of Pergamum in such a way that it became the center of his power, the very seat—the throne—of his reign in that part of the world. For the last two thousand years of biblical study, this would likely have seemed an esoteric reference to a by-gone era. There are no thrones, no temples dedicated to the pagan deities in the Middle East. Almost all those shrines were destroyed when Christianity first conquered the Mediterranean area. It is indeed true that Satan is still the “god of this world” who blinds the minds of unbelievers.[8] We also understand from Paul that as “Prince of the Power of the Air” he rules over the world from “heavenly places.”[9] But surely his throne in ancient Turkey is a thing of the past.
The pagan worship of Asia Minor (present day Turkey) was centered in Pergamum.[10] The throne of Satan that Jesus referred to would have been the city’s monumental altar dedicated to Zeus, the most powerful god of the Roman world. The evil one’s pride is such that he would have occupied the highest seat of worship, hence his “throne” was visibly present in those days. Of course, the people would not have known it was Satan they were worshipping any more than they would have realized they “fellowshipped” with demons when they bowed before their idols.[11] Jesus knew. Through Him—through the sword of His Word—we also know. All these invisible layers of deception are pieced through and the enemy is unmasked. Satan was hiding in plain sight! When the fire of Christian faith burned through these lands, the ancient gods were exposed as frauds and abandoned as deities. Their empty temples were neglected or destroyed, literally covered by the shifting sands of time. If only the story could have ended there!
The great thing about the past in the Mediterranean Basin is that you can dig it up. The past is so rich and so thoroughly scattered about that practically any stone you kick in modern Turkey (for instance) may have fallen from a ruin or will strike one before it stops. So, it happened that when a German engineer, Carl Humann, began excavating the old city in 1864, he unearthed the massive Altar of Zeus, previously lost to history. No one knew it was there. No one that is except our Lord and His arch Enemy. From Turkey the historic “treasure” was taken stone by stone to Berlin and housed on the city’s Museum Island where it stands to this day.
When the Pergamum museum opened to the public in 1930, the Altar caught the attention of Adolph Hitler and his chief architect, Albert Speer. When called upon by his Chancellor to design an imposing stage platform for the upcoming Nuremburg rallies, Speer turned to the throne of Satan for inspiration. The six mass rallies held there from 1933-1938 proved critical for the rise of National Socialism as a quasi-religious ideology which captured the hearts and minds of so many of the German people. The Nazi party went from being a gang of thugs and political extremists to a national movement which carried a galvanized and united country into world war. Once again, Satan occupied his throne during those terrible years of “blood and iron.”[12]
The Altar of Zeus still stands within the Pergamum Museum in Berlin. It should be noted that two prophets with long-standing track records of holy living and accurate words, say that they have been informed by the Lord through divine visitations that the antichrist will use Berlin as his political center of influence. One is Sundar Selvaraj Sadhu. The other is Neville Johnson. Search for them on the internet. If you believe they may have a true word, pray for Berlin, for Germany and for the church that “dwells” there.
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. Revelation 2:13b
This is a wonderful word of praise. Despite the oppressive context of their location, the believers of Pergamum still “hold fast.” They remained faithful to the Lord of heaven against efforts by the god of this world to get them to “deny” the faith. The darkest time of persecution they passed through so far happened “in the days of Antipas,” who was martyred for being a “faithful witness.” This killing is directly linked by Jesus to the working of Satan, since this is the location where he “dwells." Since the days of Job, the evil one is known for going "to and fro upon the earth."[13] Pergamum is where he pitched his tent.
Interesting, the Lord says that it is “His faith” that the Christians did not deny. We usually think of it as “our faith” or as faith that is given to us because we fell into doubt and unbelief and required the gospel to help us recover the faith we need. Our faith is in Jesus, or in God, or in the scriptures, but this is different. It is the faith of Jesus, the faith that Jesus relies upon. His faith. It’s not faith in Himself. As God He has no need of anyone, no need for faith. It would be as the “son of man” that Jesus needed faith. In fact, we see Him exercising faith everywhere in the gospels, but in one place it shines brightest. Where? In the Garden of Gethsemane. In His moment of greatest trial, our human representative looked up the Father and yielded in entire faith-surrender to whatever was required. That’s the faith of Jesus and it’s the faith He commends the Pergamum believers for having during their time of excruciating trial.
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. Revelation 2:14
Unfortunately, though their faith held steadfast, their walk was not without stumbling. Jesus says He has “a few things” against them. This indicates that there will be more than one, but also hints that they aren’t big problems yet, when compared to the big thing he had just praised them for—their faithful grip on His faith. If we don’t let go His Hand, He can pull us through. He holds those who hold on to Him. That’s the paradox of faith and faithfulness.
Though that paradox may hold mysteries for us, there’s no mystery here about the problem Jesus wants resolved. This is one that has a long history with God’s people, going back to the Wilderness—sexual compromise. Then, the renegade prophet Balaam was enlisted by the pagan king Balak to curse the Israelites. That he could not do. He held firm against the bribes saying he could not curse what God blessed. Nevertheless, he gave treacherous counsel to Balak that God would bring a curse on His own people if the Moabites could entice them into sexual sin.[14] Upon being invited to their festivals, the Israelites compromised sexually and ate food sacrificed to the Moabite gods.[15] One sin led to the other. Then came the plague that killed 24,000 before it was finally averted. This is what earned Balaam his unique place of infamy in the biblical record.
For the Lord to name the ideas going around the church as “the teaching of Balaam” is therefore to expose them as false and castigate them as thoroughly wicked. The judgment upon the sins that Balaam’s counsel inspired was swift and deadly. It is not the Heart of our Lord to be other than compassionate, merciful and slow to anger—qualities He revealed to Moses at Sinai before setting out on the journey which led to Moab.[16] He doesn’t want to bring judgment to the Pergamum believers, but He will have to if they keep going in this wrong direction.
So also you have some who hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans. Revelation 2:15
The other “thing” that needed correction is the “teaching of the Nicolaitans.” This is the very thing He brought as a charge against the church of Ephesus. False teaching in the church acts like a disease and can spread as easily. Many germs are airborne. They spread from mouth to mouth, as one coughs and the other breathes. False teachings spread from mouth to ear, as one speaks and the other listens. Jesus would have this church stop listening. What it was that they were hearing is a thing lost to time. For speculation, see the previous passage in Letter 1: Ephesus. For now, it is enough to know that Jesus may deal with us about more than one thing at a time. Even so, it is never His intention to overwhelm us—that He could easily do—but to liberate us.[17]
Therefore repent. If not, I will come to you soon and war against them with the sword of my mouth. Revelation 2:16
Having made plain the danger, the hoped-for response is now given: “therefore repent.” Repentance is always the way of escape. Turn from the wrong thing to the right thing. Turn from sin to the living God. It sounds so simple in theory and it works so well in practice. Why don’t we repent immediately? The answer could lie here in the way Jesus speaks to motivate them. The lie of the wrong way is that it can go on forever and that there will be no negative consequences. Jesus slices through both those fabrications. First, He will come “soon”—this party’s not going to last. Second, He Himself will “war” against them if they don’t repent. Who would want the Lord for an adversary? He uses the sword of His words to warn them that the “sword of my mouth” is coming. Indeed, it is. We will see this scene unfold dramatically towards the end of the book.
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 2:17
The Lord wants us all to listen well. He desires no one to be lost, or to have to experience the difficulty of His dealings. If these believers hold fast (as they have under other trials) and if they keep repenting (as this time of temptation requires), they will arrive victorious on the other side of the struggle. Therefore, to become “one who conquers” means we will have to learn to listen well. To such a one three things are promised: manna, a stone and a name.
The manna is “hidden manna” indicating that we will never find it by looking for it. Only by looking to Him in faithful obedience, will we be led to feed upon it. Believers undergoing persecution such as Pergamum experienced would need supernatural measures of provision to keep them going which is what the manna represents. The church of our day may soon be going under darkened days of persecution world-wide. We may also need the Lord’s release of hidden manna. There is nothing we can do to prevent persecution from coming. However, there is much we can do for the manna to be revealed. We can look to Him, listen well, repent often and the promised manna will appear.
We are promised also a “white stone” with a “new name” written upon it. In ancient times a white stone would be cast to render a favorable verdict. Jesus cast His vote in our favor when He declared us “Not guilty!” through faith in His Blood. The stone speaks of the unchangeable nature of that verdict. The name indicates that what this divine restoration will bring home is nothing less than a brand-new identity in Him. Indeed, we are already new creations with old things passing away.[18]
Even now, our new life—our true life—is a mystery “hid with Christ in God.”[19] John, this John, wrote in his first letter that “what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.”[20] Is Jesus promising here that if we keep our eyes on Him, if we listen with a heart to repent and obey, that He will bring forth the person we already are deep inside? We don’t even know yet who that person really is. The mystery unfolds only as we “conquer” each new challenge clinging to His life and leadership.
Next Piece of the Puzzle
Letter 4: Thyatira Tolerance is a lovely virtue when it is exercised to allow the full variety of God-given life to grow with freedom. It has its place and its limits. God gives all manner of personalities and gifts to people, but He never gives sin. The Thyratiran believers thought that they were giving grace to a questionable prophetess in their community, but in Jesus’ eyes they were “tolerating” her sin. That put fire in His eyes! This letter begins as a wake-up call to a church drifting from its moral moorings. Then, Jesus opens the letter and speaks through it to us. We need to hear what He’s saying here just as much as they did.
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Endnotes
[1] Cambridge Dictionary defines speculation as “the act of guessing possible answers to a question without having enough information to be certain.” It derives from the Latin word “speculari” which means “to look at, view, observe” and originally indicated “close observation and intelligent contemplation.” By the late 1500s it gained the disparaging sense it carries today of “mere conjecture.” See etymonline.com.
[2] Britannica online encyclopedia: https://www.britannica.com/place/Pergamum
[3] Adam is the type; Jesus, the “second Adam” is the antitype: Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come. Romans 5:14
[4] This cannot mean that only an angelic dignitary from the invisible realms is the intended recipient, since the rest of the letter makes it clear that Jesus is sending both encouragement and correction to the church’s Christian believers. It does, however, reveal to us that this church has an angel who is over it in some ordained role: as a watchman, a helper or guardian, or a ministering spirit. In fact, according to Jesus’ previous greeting to John, we know that all seven of the churches has its own angel. Does this mean that every Christian church everywhere also has its own angel? Due to silence on this point, it is impossible to say from scripture one way or the other, although the likely supposition would be that this is indeed the case, since God shows no partiality. What then is our protocol for addressing them? What are their proper responsibilities over us and what are ours to them? More silence! (from “Letter 1: Ephesus”)
[5] Peter warns against being showing the angelic beings any dishonor with this example: Whereas angels, though greater in might and power, do not pronounce a blasphemous judgment against them before the Lord. But these, like irrational animals, creatures of instinct, born to be caught and destroyed, blaspheming about matters of which they are ignorant, will also be destroyed in their destruction. 2 Peter 2:11-12
[6] For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer. Romans 13:3-4
[7] For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account. Hebrews 4:12-13
[8] And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 2 Corinthians 4:3-4
[9] In which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience. Ephesians 2:2; For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Ephesians 6:12
[10] http://cfi-usa.org/pergamon-to-berlin/
[11] What do I imply then? That food offered to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything? No, I imply that what pagans sacrifice they offer to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be participants with demons. I Corinthians 10:19-20
[12] From German Chancellor Bismarck’s famous speech: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood_and_Iron_%28speech%29
[13] The LORD said to Satan, “From where have you come?” Satan answered the LORD and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.” Job 1:7
[14] Behold, these, on Balaam's advice, caused the people of Israel to act treacherously against the LORD in the incident of Peor, and so the plague came among the congregation of the LORD. Numbers 31:16
[15] While Israel lived in Shittim, the people began to whore with the daughters of Moab.
These invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and bowed down to their gods. Numbers 25:1-2
[16] The LORD passed before him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness. Exodus 34:6
[17] “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.” John 16:12
[18] Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 2 Corinthians 5:17
[19] For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. Colossians 3:3
[20] Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. 1 John 3:2