Rev. 2:12 “And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write:
The One who has the sharp two-edged sword says this:
Rev. 2:13 ‘I know where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is; and
you hold fast My name, and did not deny My faith even in the days of Antipas,
My witness, My faithful one, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells. 14 ‘But I have a few things against
you, because you have there some who hold the teaching of Balaam, who kept
teaching Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, to eat
things sacrificed to idols and to commit acts of immorality. 15 ‘So you also have some
who in the same way hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans. 16 ‘Therefore repent; or
else I am coming to you quickly, and I will make 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 him who overcomes, to him I will give some
of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, and a new name written
on the stone which no one knows but he who receives it.’
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| Map created in Accordance Bible Atlas 2.2 |
1.
To whom are verses 12-17 addressed?
“And to the angel of the church in Pergamum . . .” (2:12).
- Pergamum was a city located 16 miles from the Aegean Sea and 70 miles north of Smyrna. Perched on an acropolis, the city overlooked the Caicus River. Pergamum was the third city of the seven-church book tour of the Revelation of Jesus Christ.
2. How is Jesus described? (2:12)
“The One who has the sharp two-edged sword”
- Other NT occurrences of “two-edged sword”:
o Heb 4:12 For the
word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword,
and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and
marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
o Rev 1:16 In His
right hand He held seven stars, and out of His mouth came a sharp two-edged
sword; and His face was like the sun shining in its strength.
3. Of what does Jesus know concerning the church
in Pergamum? (2:13)
“I know where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is; and you
hold fast My name, and did not deny My faith even in the days of Antipas, My
witness, My faithful one, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells” (2:13).
- “Among the impressive buildings that cover the acropolis of Pergamum, two important structures may shed light on the elusive identity of ‘the throne of Satan’ in our letter (Rev 2:13). To commemorate the defeat of the Celts in 230 BCE, a monumental altar to Zeus was constructed. Sacrifices continued on the altar night and day, seven days a week (Aune 1997:180). In addition, two centuries later, in 29 BCE, Pergamum was the site of the first temple in Asia, dedicated to Dea Roma and the Roman emperor, Caesar Augustus (Dio Cass. 51.20.6; Tac. Ann. 4.37). Yet, the mention of persecution and martyrdom of a certain Antipas, ‘who was killed among you where Satan dwells’ (Rev 2:13), suggests that the persecution experienced during the reign of Domitian—as well as the identity of the throne of Satan—was related to Roman emperor worship and not to the pagan cult of Zeus” (Sacred Bridge: Carta’s Bible Atlas, 380-81).
4. What does Jesus have against the church in
Pergamum? (2:14-15)
- “. . . you have there some who hold the teaching of Balaam, who kept teaching Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols and to commit acts of immorality” (2:14).
o The “teaching of Balaam” is a reference
to the attempt of the Mesopotamian prophet Balaam, hired by Balak, the king of
Moab, to place a curse on the divinely blessed children of Israel as they
camped in the plains of Moab at the conclusion of their forty-year wilderness
wanderings (Num 22-25). Balaam did not have the capacity to curse the children
of Israel, but inadvertently spoke blessing over them. Afterwards, Israel was
enticed to commit sexual immorality with the Moabite women and to eat the
sacrifices of their pagan gods (Num 25:1).
- “So you also have some who in the same way hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans” (2:15)
§ Jesus previously commended the church in
Ephesus for hating the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which Jesus also hated. Jesus
warns the church in Pergamum that there were those among them “who in some way
hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans” (2:15). The association of the
Nicolaitans with the “teaching of Balaam” suggests that the heretical teaching
was enticing the church of Pergamum to interact with the local pagan culture. The
early church fathers, such as Irenaeus, Clement of Alexandria, and Tertullian,
seem familiar with a group whose origin was from the Nicolaitans, mentioned
only in Revelation. Irenaeus reports, “The Nicolaitans are the followers of that Nicolas who was one
of the seven first ordained to the diaconate by the apostles. They lead lives
of unrestrained indulgence. The character of these men is very plainly pointed
out in the Apocalypse of John, [when they are represented] as teaching that it
is a matter of indifference to practise adultery, and to eat things sacrificed
to idols. Therefore the Word has also spoken of them thus: ‘But this you have,
that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans,
which I also hate’” (1 Iren 26:3).
5. What does Jesus tell the church in Pergamum
to do? (2:16)
- “Therefore repent . . .” (2:16).
- “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches . . .” (2:17).
6. What does Jesus promise/warn the church in
Pergamum? (2:16-17)
Warning:
- “Therefore,
repent; or else I am coming to you quickly, and I will make war against them
with the sword of My mouth” (2:16).
- The “sword of My mouth” (2:16) is the “two-edged sword” (2:12):
o Heb
4:12 For the
word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the
division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the
thoughts and intentions of the heart.
o Rev
1:16 In His
right hand He held seven stars, and out of His mouth came a sharp two-edged sword; and His face was like the sun shining in its
strength.
o Rev 2:12 And to the angel of
the church in Pergamum write: The
One who has the sharp two-edged sword says this:
Promise:
- “. .
. To him who overcomes, to him I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will
give him a white stone, and a new name written on the stone which no one knows
but he who receives it” (2:17).
7. How does the message to the church of
Pergamum apply to the church today?
Commitment to Christ is expressed through refusal to condone
false teaching and sin.
Father, the
grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever. You
are righteous and true, incorruptible and immutable. In this world of shifting
shadows, Your Word remains tested and true, living and active and sharper than
any two-edged sword. The mouth of Jesus is like a sharp sword, speaking truth
that endures forever, piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of
both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the
heart. Search our thoughts and the intentions of our hearts. Cleanse our
thoughts of wrong thinking and our hearts of impure motives. May we not condone
nor commit the sin which grieves the Holy Spirit. Turn our eyes away from
worthless things which entice us to sin against You. Since we have a great
priest over Your house, let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance
of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from a evil conscience and our
bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope
without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. May we fix our eyes on
Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him,
endured the cross, despising its shame, and has sat down at the right hand of
Your throne. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
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