A Commentary in Simple English on Revelation

Chapter 2:12-17 Pergamum - City of kings and 'gods'

Pergamum stood on a great rock or hill, which was about 330m high. The lower parts of the hill are very steep all the way round. The hill rises from the plain of the river Caicus, and it is about 15Km to the east of the Aegean Sea. The rock is a very dark brown 'granite'. The city spread out onto the plain to the south. The city was there by about 400B.C. But from 282-133 B.C. a family of kings reigned there. We call them the Attalids. They were rich and their power grew until they ruled much of Asia Minor, but when the last king died, he left it all to the Romans. They already had the real power.

These kings built many temples in Pergamum for heathen 'gods' such as Athena, Dionysius and Asklepios, a snake god. He was also thought to be a healing god and was called 'the god of Pergamum'. There was a very large altar of Zeus. The Attalid kings and queens were also honoured as 'gods' and then more temples were added for the worship of Rome and its Emperors.

But many people were given lesser honours than the gods were. The lower slopes have many white blocks of stone (marble) fixed on to them. They were put there to record someone or other who lived 2000 years ago. So Pergamum was not a centre for trade. But it was the great centre for heathen religion. There was no agreement as to whether Ephesus, Smyrna or Pergamum was the most important city in Asia. This pleased the Romans, who were quite happy for the cities to quarrel with each other. The Roman government was probably at Pergamum at this time. Only the Roman governor had the right in law to use the 'great sword' to put people to death. Heathen religion was so strong that this was a city where Jews would not wish to live. They would not be comfortable and they mostly were traders. Some ancient kings helped the Jews to make their homes in new cities but the Attalids did not do this. So although there were probably not many Jews in Pergamum, there may have been a few who were in the church.

We know nothing about the start of the church, or about what happened there in later years. There is a modern town called Bergama south of the great rock. When we read about the New Jerusalem in Revelation 21, we may think about Pergamum when we get to verse 19. We have seen that the dark brown stone of the rock at Pergamum had many blocks of white stone - 'marble' - fixed to it. These recorded the lives of its men. The New Jerusalem has a wall made of bright green stone, and the stones fixed to it are jewels, stones that are costly.

The Message to Pergamum

a) What Jesus says about Himself

Jesus says that he is the one who has the 'great sword'. The Roman Governor had the 'great sword' and he had also the right to have people put to death with it. This took a long time to change, but in the end it was not the power of Rome, but the Word of Jesus which won. It will always be like that. The Good News of Jesus will win in the end.

b) The good things that Jesus sees in the church (verse 13)

All that Jesus says is: 'I know where you live'. Just to live in Pergamum was so difficult for a Christian that Jesus does not look for more. They live where 'Satan has his seat as king': but God has His seat in glory as King too, and in glory we shall live with Him! But already God has another 'throne'. He rules as king in our hearts and lives. These Christian people had shown by their faith that He was their King.

'Satan' means 'the Adversary'. He is the great enemy who fights against God, and who also fights against us. So we too must fight against him. Right at the start, he appeared to Adam and Eve like a snake (Genesis 3:1-4). We have already said that one of the 'gods' of Pergamum was a snake god called Asklepios. The snake had to do with magic and with other 'gods' too. Christians found that Asklepios was horrible.

'Satan's throne' or seat as king may mean the temple of Asklepios; but it may also mean the great altar of Zeus cut out of the rock. It may just mean that Pergamum was the place where the Roman Governor of the Province of Asia lived. The Christians at Pergamum may have had different thoughts about just what the message meant when it was read to them.

We do not know anything more about Antipas than what is said here. The church had been through serious trouble and Antipas had given his life for the faith. He had died 'at their side' (not 'in your city'). He was faithful to Jesus but so was the whole church then. Antipas died where Satan lives! God cannot leave it like that. Antipas must rise from death and Satan must come to his end. Even in that time of bad trouble, the Christians had been faithful to Jesus. No doubt people had tried to make them say that they did not believe the Good News. But they did not 'deny their faith'.

c) Jesus tells us what is wrong in the church (verse 14 and 15)

Jesus has only a few things to say against the church. But what He says is serious. There were people in the church who taught the Christians that it did not matter if they ate meat which priests had killed in offerings to the false 'gods', the 'idols'.

This could happen in two ways. A Christian might go to a temple of a false 'god', and eat the meat there. This would mean that he had to join in the meal. That was part of the worship of the false 'god'. (See 1 Corinthians 8:10.) But then the Christian might want to buy some meat to eat at home. He went to the market. He saw what he wanted and he was ready to buy it. But then the man who was selling it might say: - 'Look at that. A lovely joint. That was part of an offering to Asklepios' - or some other 'god'. And the Christian would have to say: 'No. Can I look at another piece of meat'. He did not have to ask about the meat. (1 Corinthians 10:25.) But if the butcher proudly told him that it was part of an 'idol sacrifice', he could not eat it. (1 Corinthians 10: 28). Probably all the best meat came from the idol sacrifices. There may not have been much else in the markets (1 Corinthians 8:13).

Now this teaching goes right back to a meeting of the churches in Jerusalem about 45 years before. (See Acts 15:20 and 29.) Paul took copies of what the church decided then (the 'Apostolic Decree') into Asia Minor. He gave them to the churches. (See Acts 16:4.) The church at Pergamum probably knew about this. The 'decree' also warned Christians against doing wrong in matters of sex. This also went on in connection with heathen worship in the temples.

Now Jesus says that this warning goes back much further. You will find the story about Balaam and Balak in Numbers. See especially Numbers 31:16 and 25:1, and also 1 Corinthians 10: 6-14, where Paul uses the same teaching. Balaam was the false prophet. Balak was a king who worked against God's people. Now that is a picture which is very important in the Book of Revelation; the king and the prophet who make use of each other to work against the people of God.

God has His prophet, Moses, who stood against Balaam in the Book of Numbers. We shall need to remember that later. (See 11:3.) I think that these words of Jesus stood against these sins in Pergamum. Christians cannot play about with sin at any time. But if we live where Satan sits on his seat of power, we have to be more careful than ever.

This teaching may have been 'the teaching of the Nicolaitans'. If it was something different, we do not know what it was. [2.5].

d) Jesus tells them what to do (verse 16 - first part)

They have to 'repent'. They must change their minds. They must no longer let these people spread their wrong teaching in the church. The false teachers must be stopped, and if the words of Jesus are not enough to stop them, then they must be put out of the church. That was not easy. The church was a tiny group of people in a great city. To shut these people out of the church would make it even smaller. And they would be unhappy about what the church had done, and they might make more trouble for the Christians. Sadly there are times when bad people have to be shut out of the church. (See 1 Corinthians 5:9-13.)

e) Jesus gives a warning (verse 16)

This is a warning but it is a kind one. Jesus will come as Judge and Governor to the whole of the church. But He will only fight against the false teachers.

f) Jesus gives a promise (verse 17)

The Christians at Pergamum who win the fight against sin might not find it easy to buy enough food. So Jesus promises to give them 'the hidden manna'. 'Manna' was the 'bread from heaven' which God gave to the Jewish people when they left Egypt. (See Exodus 16:4-35.) Verses 33 and 34 in that Chapter of Exodus show us part of what is meant by 'the hidden manna'. (But see 1 Kings 8:9.) But we should remember that Jesus talks about the 'manna' in John 6:31-33 and 48-51. So the 'hidden manna' is really Jesus Himself. 'Manna' was food for the Jews when they were in the desert. This life may seem like a 'desert' to us at times: but Jesus is 'the hidden manna'. He will feed us.

Then Jesus promises to give to the Christian who wins the fight against sin a little white stone or 'pebble'. [2.6] People used such stones in many different ways. But perhaps we should think of the many white stones fixed onto the dark brown rock on which Pergamum stood. The names of well known men were cut in the white stone. The work which they had done and the offices that they had held were written down there too.

The white stone, which Jesus promises to give to us, is much smaller than those white stones. The new name may be a 'new name' for Jesus. Or it may be a new name to honour us. The 'new name' means that we can enter a new life. We should think about those white stones on the dark stone of Pergamum because it will help us to understand something about the New Jerusalem. In 21:14, we shall find that the New Jerusalem has twelve gates, and between the gates are parts of the wall, or 'bastions'. Just as at Pergamum they wrote the names of important men on the stones, so it is here. Then when we come to verse 18, we find that the wall is not of dark stone. It is made of 'jasper', a costly stone which is bright green. And instead of white stones, now costly stones are fixed onto the wall. These stones have all sorts of colours.

Pergamum had its glory. Its glory has long since gone. John wants us to know that the glory of the New Jerusalem will be far greater than all earthly cities put together. It will never fade away.