Pergamos
We began a discussion of few weeks ago of the 7 Churches of Asia that the Book of Revelation is addressed to. We have talked about the severe persecution from the Roman Government that the Church was enduring even before the time of the writing of this book and that would continue for many years into the future. It was as a result of this persecution that the Apostle John had been exiled to the Island of Patmos
While on Patmos, Jesus dictated to John these seven short epistles to the Churches in Asia. We have discussed the letter to the Church at Ephesus. They had many, many good things they were doing that Jesus commended them for. But they had a major problem. They had lost the love for Christ they once had and because of it Jesus commanded them to repent and to return to their first works.
We also discussed last time the Church at Smyrna. What a wonderful example of how Christians should conduct themselves in the face of persecution and poverty. In spite of all of their physical problems, Jesus did not tell them that everything here was going to get better because they were Christians. He told them things were going to get worse physically for them. He then left them with these words of encouragement. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.
Now we want to begin our discussion of the Church at Pergamos. Lets first begin with a little bit of background on this city. This city was in existence several centuries before the birth of Christ It was the capitol of its own kingdom which at one point included Mysia, Lydia, Caria, Pamphylia and Phrygia. It had become both a very beautiful and wealthy city during the days of its kings
Art and literature were encouraged, and in the city was a library of 200,000 volumes which later Antony gave to Cleopatra. International Standard Bible Encyclopedia The books were made of parchment which was first used as a writing material in this city. The word parchment comes from the Greek word for Pergamos One of the most impressive structures in the city was the temple of Zeus, which stood over 40 high. When the last king of Pergamos died in 133 bc he willed the kingdom to the Roman Government
When the Romans took over Pergamos they formed the new Roman province of Asia and made Pergamos its Capitol. There were 4 temples in the city devoted to the Greek Gods Zeus, Athena, Asklepious and Dionysus. Asklepious: was the God of medicine and was worshipped in the form of a serpent Along with them temples of these gods were 3 more devoted to worship of the emperor.
By the end of the 1 st century Pergamos was no longer the capitol of the province. It had lost that title to the city of Smyrna but it was still the major religious center of the region. It was the home of the concilia the cult that was dedicated to emperor worship. Evidently this cult, backed by the emperor and the Roman army, controlled much of what went on in the city. This included the right to buy and sell.
They were unrelenting when it came to the enforcement of emperor worship, especially under Domitian who insisted upon it. It was possibly this group that banished John to the isle of Patmos, most probably during the reign of either Vespasian or Titus. It was certainly the Concilia who saw to it that the material possessions were taken from the Christians when they refused to serve in the Roman army or refused to bow down to the "gods" of the Romans including the emperors. It was the Concilia who issued certificates to those who they witnessed burning incense and offering worship to the Roman Emperors without which no one could buy or sell food, participate in land transactions or benefit from any government programs. Granberry Church of Christ Web-Site
It was in the middle of all of this wickedness and persecution that these Christians were living when Jesus addresses the following letter to them. Re 2:12 "And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write, 'These things says He who has the sharp two-edged sword: 13 "I know your works, and where you dwell, where Satan's throne is. And you hold fast to My name, and did not deny My faith even in the days in which Antipas was My faithful martyr, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells.
14 "But I have a few things against you, because you have there those who hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit sexual immorality. 15 "Thus you also have those who hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate. 16 'Repent, or else I will come to you quickly and will fight against them with the sword of My mouth.
17 "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give some of the hidden manna to eat. And I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written which no one knows except him who receives it." Lets go back now and examine what Jesus tells them in more detail. First off Jesus describes Himself as the one with the sharp two edged sword.
The sword that Jesus has is depicted as coming out of His mouth in Rev 1:16 It is no doubt that this sword represented the words of Christ. Eph 6:17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; Heb 4:12 For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. It is the defender of those on His side and the destroyer of His enemies
Jesus next tells them He knows their works. He makes this statement to each of these Churches. Whether they are good or bad, Jesus knows their works. He also knows our work both as a congregation and individuals. Nothing is hid from His eyes! Heb 4:13 And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account. We may think we are getting away with some things in this life because we are able to fool men but we will never be able to fool God!
There is an idea I have heard several times in the past its not against the Law unless you get caught Some in our society really believe that it is ok to commit a crime as long as you don t get caught. Since we are dealing with Human Beings, many times the criminal won t get caught. Don t be fooled into thinking this will happen with God. Pr 15:3 The eyes of the LORD are in every place, Keeping watch on the evil and the good.
Jesus also knew where they dwelt. Where they dwelt was not mentioned to any of the other Churches. The place where this Church in Pergamos dwelt must have been an especially wicked place! Jesus called the place the dwelt where Satan s throne is There are several reasons this place may have been called Satan s throne It could have been a reference to the altar of Zeus which reportedly looked like a giant throne on the mountainside
It may have been a reference to the temple of Asklepious, who was the God of medicine. He was worshipped in the form of a Serpent. We could easily understand how this serpent could be a symbol of Satan. Or it may have been a reference to the worship of the emperor of Rome. He was the guy that sat on the throne. In my opinion it probably did not refer to anyone of these in particular but rather to the city as a whole because it was given over to such wickedness.
Jesus also commend them for holding on to His name and His faith after having one of their own executed because he was a Christian. Men have over the years wanted to come up with their own: Professions of faith Articles of faith Creeds, etc But only the System of faith that belongs to Christ can save us thru belief in and obedience to His Word. Remember that Sword cuts both ways. It will both save and destroy
Vs 13 you hold fast to My name, and did not deny My faith even in the days in which Antipas was My faithful martyr, who was killed among you We don t know very much about Antipas from the Scriptures Secular history tells us that Antipas was an Elder in the Church at Pergamos and he was executed because of his promotion of the Gospel He was supposedly warned: "Antipas, the whole world is against you!", to which he replied: "Then I am against the whole world!"
Again according to secular history, Antipas was roasted alive inside of a bronze bull. In spite of having one of their own executed for the cause of Christ, in the midst of all this wickedness. These Christians in Pergamos had not become discouraged and given up the faith. When we see such examples of faith and courage it should help bolster our faith and determination. It should also make us ashamed of ourselves when we give into sin for some of our petty reasons.
Although they had endured in such a place, there were some among them who were teaching a false doctrine. Re 2:14 "But I have a few things against you, because you have there those who hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit sexual immorality. Re 2:15 "Thus you also have those who hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate.
Not all of the Christians there were teaching or holding to this doctrine but the ones who were evidently had been allowed to remain a part of the congregation. We don t know a lot about these Nicolations other than what we are told here. There teaching was evidently similar to that of Balaam. Who, for money, taught Balak to get the Israelites involved in Idolatry and fornication in order to destroy them.
Evidently these Nicolatians or followers of Nicolas were teaching these Christians it was ok for them to worship these idols and partake in their idolatrous feasts and they were doing this as a means of making money. Think how comforting this doctrine may have been physically If they participated in these things they wouldn t be ostracized from society They could buy and sell in order to feed their families The threat of physical persecution would be almost completely removed
From a physical standpoint there was a lot of good things that could happen if they just followed this doctrine of the Nicolatians. But there was a huge problem with this. Jesus hated their deeds and their doctrine. Re 2:6 "But this you have, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. Re 2:15 "Thus you also have those who hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate. We simply cannot participate in things that are wrong and sinful no matter how good our excuse may be!
Jesus conclude with the following statement: Re 2:17 "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give some of the hidden manna to eat. And I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written which no one knows except him who receives it. These are just my thoughts on what these statements may mean. Hidden Manna: Manna was what sustained the Israelites in the wilderness.
The Word of God is what sustains the Christian in times of trial today. Its meaning is hidden to those of the world who do not want to understand it but available to all who want it. Given a White stone with a new name: Johnson s notes has this to say about the White Stone: Among the Greeks a white stone was a symbol of acquittal, as a black stone was of guilt. The white stone implies justification, innocence and victory. This new name in my opinon may be the name of Christ or Christian designating one who belongs to Christ. Isa 62:2 The Gentiles shall see your righteousness, And all kings your glory. You shall be called by a new name, Which the mouth of the LORD will name.
This new name of Christian was not worn by any until after the establishment of the Church. Ac 11:26 And when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. So it was that for a whole year they assembled with the church and taught a great many people. And the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch. Though many may call themselves by this name it is only truly known and worn by those faithful followers of God.
What can we learn from this Church at Pergomas That we can endure no matter what type of area we live in or how bad things may be for us a Christians we can endure. Many of them had, not all had fallen to this teaching of the Nicolatians Getting involved in sin is not acceptable no matter what our excuse is. If we do, God will fight against us and that is a battle we cannot win!