The Book of Revelation: Part 5

To the Church in Pergamum

 Revelation 2:12-17 (BSB)

We are in week five of our sermon series on the Book of Revelation, and today we are reading the third of seven letters written to specific churches—this week’s letter is to the church in Pergamum. Before we read it, I want to give us some background on the city where this church was located.

The city of Pergamum (or Pergamon as it’s sometimes spelled) was in what is now known as Bergama, which is roughly 60 miles north of Izmir, Turkey. The most famous landmark in Bergama is the Acropolis of Pergamum. If you visit there today, you can see the remains of this ancient city, perched up high on a steep-sided hill. At this site, among other things, are the remains of the Altar of Pergamum, the Trajaneum (built by the Roman Emperor Trajan as a temple to worship him), and the Temple of Athena.

As you can probably guess from the archaeological remains, in the 1st century, when this letter was written, Pergamum was famous for its many temples to Greek gods and Roman rulers. It was also the capital of this region until the capital was transferred to Ephesus, and as the Myers NT Commentary says, according to Pliny, Pergamos was the seat of a Roman supreme court and the most important city in the province. 

Pergamum also had a giant library that is said to have rivaled the famous library in Alexandria, and a steep outdoor theater, besides its many temples. One temple in particular was the ‘Pergamum Altar’ or the ‘Altar of Zeus’ which was a huge altar for making sacrifices that had over 100 carved panels depicting Greek gods in battle with giants. But despite all that grandeur, by the 14th century, the city lay in ruins. Then, in the late 19th century, archeologists began excavating the ancient sites, and the Altar of Zeus was moved to Berlin, and it’s been on display in a museum there since 1930. Visitors can walk up the recreated stairs (not that anyone should want to).

Now, with this background on Pergamum in mind, let’s read the letter. Revelation 2:12-17 (BSB) says:

12 To the angel of the church in Pergamum write: 

These are the words of the One who holds the sharp, double-edged sword.

13 I know where you live, where the throne of Satan sits, yet you hold fast to My name. You did not deny your faith in Me, even in the days of My faithful witness Antipas, who was killed among you where Satan dwells.

14 But I have a few things against you, because some of you hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to place a stumbling block before the Israelites so they would eat food sacrificed to idols and commit sexual immorality. 

15 In the same way, some of you also hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans. 

16 Therefore repent! Otherwise I will come to you shortly and wage war 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 the one who overcomes, I will give the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone inscribed with a new name, known only to the one who receives it.

This letter, like each of the others, begins as verse 12 does, “To the angel of the church in,” and then the name of the city. This time, it is directed to those in Pergamum. There doesn’t seem to be any particular person who is known to have been an elder of this church, so again, I think that adds more evidence to the possibility that the angel it is written to is an actual angelic being.

The, also, like the other letters, there is an additional unique detail. This time it says, “These are the words of the One who holds the sharp, double-edged sword.” If you remember, at the start of the Book of Revelation, we learned that when the Apostle John first turned to see who was speaking to him, he said he saw someone who looked like the “Son of Man,” and who “held in His right hand seven stars, and a sharp double-edged sword came from His mouth” (Revelation 1:16).

Now here, Jesus makes it clear that the words He is telling John to write, “are the words of the One who holds the sharp, double-edged sword.”

This double-edged sword is mentioned other times in Scripture. Hebrews 4:12 says, “For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it pierces even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow. It judges the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”

What’s interesting to note is that if Pergamum was the center of court, it would have been the place where judgement was decreed, if not also carried out. The people there all lived under the threat of the court, and so it might be that Jesus is alluding to the fact that He is the One who actually holds a sharp, double-edged sword. It’s probable that the church in Pergamum would have noted this reference to their city.

Because then Jesus says in verse 13, “I know where you live, where the throne of Satan sits, yet you hold fast to My name. You did not deny your faith in Me, even in the days of My faithful witness Antipas, who was killed among you where Satan dwells.”

There is a lot to look at in this verse. The first thing we see is that they are to be commended for keeping their faith. Jesus says, “I know.” He knows where they live and sees how difficult things are for them. He says that He knows they live “where the throne of Satan sits, yet you hold fast to My name.”

Jesus describes the city of Pergamum as the place where Satan’s throne sits. It was therefore a commendable thing that there were Christians who could live in that city and still hold fast to Jesus’ name.

I don’t know whether there was then, or there is now, just one place where the actual demon leader known as Satan dwells, but for sure there are places in our modern world where it seems like Satan has set up a throne, don’t you agree? There are cities today which have become dens of wickedness. Places where you can “feel” the spiritual oppression that’s there, just by visiting there. There are also countries and cities in which to be a Christian is to be under the direct threat of death. Whether Jesus is referring to the idol worship or the direct opposition to Christianity in Pergamum, the center of an evil nation’s government probably should be viewed as the place “where the throne of Satan sits” because the evil laws and judgements of a nation come from its leaders.

For whatever reason, these Christians stayed in this corrupt and evil city. Maybe they were called to be there, for they had a church. Or maybe they were born in that city. What is important, though, is that they maintained their faith, as the rest of the verse goes on to say. It says, “You did not deny your faith in Me, even in the days of My faithful witness Antipas, who was killed among you where Satan dwells.”

To me, how this verse is worded is more evidence that this book of Revelation was written right at the end of John’s life, close to A.D. 96 or so. Antipas is not mentioned in the New Testament by any other writer. So, it makes me think that he was converted and became a martyr after the other books were written. Regardless of when he lived, though, he is one of the many, many Christians who have been killed for holding fast to the name of Jesus. He is unknown to us, but he was not unknown to Jesus. Jesus knew him, just as He says He knows each of these believers in Pergamum. 

And because He knows them, He’s impressed they were not denying their faith in Him even though they lived in a city where Satan palpably dwelled, because that meant they were under a lot of spiritual attack. As we see with Antipas’ death, they were being threatened with persecution and death. A threatening sword hung over their heads. But that was not the sword which they needed to fear. Jesus tells them that He is “the One who holds the sharp, double-edged sword.” But it seems like some of them may have forgotten that, and that’s probably what led to problems for them.

Because verses 14-15 tell us that not everything was as it should be. Jesus warns them. He says, “But I have a few things against you, because some of you hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to place a stumbling block before the Israelites so they would eat food sacrificed to idols and commit sexual immorality. In the same way, some of you also hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans.”

Not all of them, but some of the members of this church, were not holding to the name of Jesus alone; they were holding to the teaching of Balaam and the Nicolaitans. You might remember, the Nicolaitans were mentioned in the first letter to the Ephesians when the Ephesians were commended for not being deceived by them. Revelation 2:6 says, “But you have this to your credit: You hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.”

Some of these Pergamum Christians, instead of hating these works of the Nicolaitans, were holding to their teachings. While we don’t know what these works or teaching of the Nicolaitans were, we do know what the teachings of Balaam were.

We first learn about Balaam in the Old Testament, in the book of Numbers. If you’ve ever attended Sunday School, then you’ve probably heard about him and his donkey who spoke to him. Balaam was a corrupt prophet who was motivated by riches. Balak, the king of Moab, offered him a lot of money to curse Israel so he could wipe them out. But even though he tried to curse them, Balaam could not, so he found another way to curse them. Balaam is mentioned again in the New Testament, and it’s not just to verify that a donkey literally spoke to him, which she did. 2 Peter 2:15-16 warns believers, telling them to watch out for the false teachers who, “have left the straight way and wandered off to follow the way of Balaam son of Beor, who loved the wages of wickedness. But he was rebuked for his transgression by a donkey, otherwise without speech, that spoke with a [human] voice and restrained the prophet’s madness.” And Jude 1:11 says, woe to the false teachers who “have rushed for profit into the error of Balaam.” And as we see in our text for today, Jesus says, “Balaam…taught Balak to place a stumbling block before the Israelites so they would eat food sacrificed to idols and commit sexual immorality.”

Jesus is warning the church in Pergamum that some of them are holding to the false teachings of Balaam and the Nicolaitans, and He isn’t going to let it slide because by doing this, they’re placing stumbling blocks before other Christians causing them to sin.  

At the time of this letter, it seems that the stumbling blocks were the same as Balaam's: encouraging others to eat food sacrificed to idols and committing sexual immorality. Some theologians say that the Nicolaitans were teaching the same thing. Whatever they were doing, by holding to the teachings of some other group, it meant they weren’t holding solely to the teachings of Jesus; they were compromising their faith, and it was causing people to stumble and sin.

In Pergamum, most likely, it would have been difficult to find food that wasn’t sacrificed to idols. But the early church leaders had set up some basic ground rules, as we see in Acts 15:29. The Jerusalem Council had met together and said: “You must abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals, and from sexual immorality. You will do well to avoid these things.” The issue wasn’t so much about avoiding the food as it about not participating in idol worship. Paul speaks to this in some of the letters he wrote, too. He said that if a believer knew that food had been offered to an idol, then they shouldn’t eat it. He says in 1 Corinthians 10:20, “…the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God. And I do not want you to be participants with demons.” And he also added in verse 28, “If someone tells you, ‘This food was offered to idols,’ then do not eat it, for the sake of the one who told you and for the sake of conscience.”

The greater point that Paul was making is that if what you do causes you or your brother or sister in Christ to stumble, then you should not do it. And in whatever we do, we must not let the culture we are in lead us to compromise what God’s Word says.

It’s as Jesus warns us in Matthew 18:6, “But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.” We must be careful that we do not encourage our brothers and sisters to sin by placing stumbling blocks in front of them.

But sadly, nothing has really changed. Today, there are still false prophets who act just like Balaam. All for the sake of money, they are teaching people to live immoral lives by wrongly telling believers that it’s okay to do things that directly contradict the word of God. They tell believers that their actions don’t matter. Like Balaam, they teach that it’s okay to compromise their faith with the surrounding culture instead of remaining faithful to Jesus. They are following Balaam’s plan for popularity. But like Balaam, their end will come, and they will face judgement. That’s why Jesus then says in verse 16, “Therefore repent! Otherwise I will come to you shortly and wage war against them with the sword of My mouth.”

It’s not clear whether the war that will be waged is directed at those who do not repent, or only at the teachers of Balaam and the Nicolaitans. My guess is both. Because then, to conclude, verse 17 says: “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who overcomes, I will give the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone inscribed with a new name, known only to the one who receives it.”

If these Christians in Pergamum repent and overcome, then they will be given “hidden manna” and “a white stone inscribed with a new name, known only to the one who receives it.” If they don’t, then they will face words of judgement from Jesus.

But note, Jesus doesn’t condemn these Christians; He urges them to repent. He wants them to turn away from compromise. He’s offering His forgiveness. He doesn’t want to wage war against them; He wants them to stop their compromise and return to following Him wholeheartedly. That’s why He started by commending them, and now He’s patiently calling them to repent. He wants them to overcome so He can bless them.

Since only the one who overcomes will be given these blessings, then how do we overcome? 1 John 5:5 tells us: “Who then overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.” So, first of all, faith in Jesus Christ is the only way to be an overcomer. We see this truth in the things that overcomers receive, too: the hidden manna and a new name.

The manna, of course, reminds us of the manna that the Lord provided for the Israelites in the Old Testament. Out of obedience to God, they followed Moses out of Egypt into the desert, and God gave them food to eat. Psalm 78:24-25 tells us, “He rained down manna for them to eat; He gave them grain from heaven. Man ate the bread of angels; He sent them food in abundance.”

But this manna was not just provision for them in their time of need, although it was certainly that. This manna was symbolic of what Jesus would provide for us by dying on the Cross. In John 6:32-36, it says: “Jesus said to them, ‘Truly, truly, I tell you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but it is My Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world…I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to Me will never hunger, and whoever believes in Me will never thirst.”

This manna is Jesus, who is the bread of life, and we partake of Him today by faith here on earth. But there is also this “hidden manna” which speaks of what is yet to come. Now, we see only in part, and we love Jesus though we haven’t physically seen Him. Then we will see Him face to face. And part of seeing Him will involve a wedding feast as we will read more about in Revelation 19.

So, the first way to overcome is through faith in Jesus, who is the bread of life. And the second way we overcome is through obedience to God’s Word. Because in addition to that hidden manna, believers will receive “a white stone inscribed with a new name, known only to the one who receives it.”

There seems to be no way of knowing what these stones signify. N.T. Wright, in his book, Revelation for Everyone, makes note of something unique to Pergamum, though. He says, “Pergamum’s great buildings were made of a black local stone. When people wanted to put up inscriptions, they obtained white marble on which to carve them. This was then fixed to the black buildings, where it stood out all the more clearly. In addition…there was a custom of guests at a feast being given a stone with their name on [it] as a ticket of admission” (p. 23).

These stones could be in reference to those cultural things unique to Pergamum. But what is universal to all of us believers is that when we became a Christian, we became a new person; we were born again. As 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away. Behold, the new has come!” We all have been given a new name and take on the name of Christian, becoming imitators of Christ and members of His family. But also, we are given new, unique individual identities. We see this throughout Scripture.

In the Old Testament, as just two examples, we see that Abram becomes Abraham, and Jacob becomes Israel. Then, in the New Testament, we see many of the disciples are given new names. Even Saul is given the new name of Paul. We will see, as we go on to other chapters of Revelation, even more about the significance of names. For example, we will discover in chapter 19 that the Lord Himself has a name written on His crown that is known only to Himself. So, all that to say, renaming His people seems to be a pattern and seems to be something we all can look forward to receiving from Him.

But in order to receive the hidden manna and the stone with a new name, we must overcome by having faith in Jesus Christ. And we must not lose that faith in Jesus Christ by holding instead to other teachings that would lead us astray. We must be careful to walk in obedience to God’s Word, living in a way that is consistent with our identity in Christ and not compromise our walk with the Lord by trying to fit in with our culture.

Because what if the new name written on our stone reflects what we have overcome during our time on earth? I could see our names being a description of something we are known to God as being. For example, what if someone who is full of joy is given the name “Joyful” or someone who had great faith is given the name “Faithful”? Maybe our names reveal our true identities in Jesus. We don’t know what our names will be, but whatever is written on the stones, we should all strive to have Jesus call us good and faithful servants.

Which leads me to ask you an important question: Are you holding fast to Jesus’ name? If so, can you continue to hold fast to Jesus’ name even when false doctrines and false teachings threaten to derail your adherence to Jesus’ message? Are there any teachings that you realize you are holding onto that contradict the Word of God?

We are bombarded all day long with false teachings and ideas. The devil is real and is actively trying to lead us astray. Are you compromising your faith in any way? In our modern day, it’s rare we encounter food sacrificed to idols, but without a doubt, most cultures of the world are corrupted by sexual immorality. Daily we must stand strong in order not to compromise our faith. We must be careful not to let the false teachings of our day seep into our lives or churches. 

Let us pray that the Lord will give us ears to hear what He is saying to this church, because compromise is still a real problem. Just because the culture we live in behaves in certain ways, it does not make it okay for followers of Christ to behave likewise. There are things we cannot avoid simply by living in this sinful world and there is pressure on us to participate in things that compromise our faith, so we must carefully study God’s Word, so we don’t hold to any of the teachings that contradict it. If we know that something contradicts God’s Word, then woe to those of us who participate in it knowingly. And woe to those of us who encourage other believers to participate in it, too. We must not compromise God’s Word. He does not change. We must strive to walk in holiness, just as Jesus walked, overcoming the sin and temptations that surround us, not indulging in the things the world does. If we fail and mess up, let us repent and turn away from the compromise, so that we too may overcome, and receive the hidden manna and receive a new name when Jesus returns.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, we confess that we have not always held fast to Your Word. We confess that we have sometimes mistakenly adopted and participated in things that have compromised our faith and walk with You. Please forgive us and help us to repent from these things. We want to follow You in all things, holding tight to You. Please give us eyes to see and ears to hear clearly, so we can rightfully discern what is good and proper and what is to be avoided. Thank You for Your grace and for Your Holy Spirit who helps us to overcome. We love You and thank You for sending us Jesus, who triumphed over sin and death so we can be with You for eternity. In His name we pray. Amen.