The third church: Pergamum (Pergamos - feminine form). It comes from the same root word we get the words bigamy and polygamy. Pergamum was a cultural center famous for its library which contained 200,000 rolls - second only to Alexandria. The library had a reading room of 44’ by 52’. When Egypt refused to sell papyrus to Pergamum, they developed a form of writing tablet made out of sheepskin. Today we know this as parchment (from Pergamum).
Pergamum was the Roman capital of Asia. It contained one of the seven wonders of the ancient world - the altar to Zeus. This was a 90’ * 90’ * 40’ structure that was placed on a hill and from a distance looked like a throne. Tremendous evil was perpetrated here. Pergamum also contained the temple to Asklepious called Asklepious Sator which is translated as Asklepious saviour to the world. It was a precursor to the modern hospital where doctors and priests would heal people who came from all over the world. The word scalpel is derived from Asklepious. Its symbol was that of a rod with serpents coiled around it. In the Bible, the serpent is symbolic of Satan. This is found as early as the Garden of Eden when God pronounced judgment on Satan through the serpent.
Pergamum represents the church age from 312 to 606. The beginning of this period starts with the emperor Constantine. Constantine quit persecuting the church and chose to adopt Christianity as the church religion. Without any evidence of conversion, Constantine became Pontifax Maximus - the head of the church. Church and state were united. Overnight, the Christians went from being persecuted to sought after. Wholesale forced conversions of soldiers and others occurred and many of the idol priests (who were paid by Rome) converted to Christianity and continued to lead people in worship. Pagan temples became churches. Idols became figures of the saints. They performed the same rituals and ceremonies now with Christian names. This lead to the spiritual bigamy (Pergamum) in a marriage of the church to the world - or the idolatrous religions of the world.
Verse 12-13
: Notice the sword is mentioned as a reminder of God’s standard. Notice that Jesus says that He knows where they dwell, where Satan’s throne is and where Satan dwells. Many feel that Satan’s throne is the altar to Zeus and where Satan dwells is a reference to Asklepious Sator. Others have suggested that where Satan dwellest is Pergamum itself. That from the time of Nimrod to the fall of Babylon the center of Satanic activity was Babylon. After the fall of Babylon, the center of Satanic activity was moved to Pergamum.Christ knows their works and how they have held fast to Christ and have not denied him. This even when Antipas was martyred. There is no historical record of Antipas, but it should be noted that his name means against all which is obviously what he did. Also note Antipas’s title: martyr. This is the same Greek word found in Rev 1:5 in describing Christ as the faithful witness. By being faithful even unto death, we will be given the same title as Christ.
Verse 14
: After commending the church, Christ now rebukes. The doctrine of Balaam is being taught and followed. The end result is that people are eating things sacrificed to idols and committing fornication which is exactly what the gentile Christians were told not to do (Acts 15:19-20). Clues to the doctrine of Balaam are found in Num 22-24, Num 25:1 and Num 31:16. Balaam was hired to destroy Israel through curses. When God would not allow Balaam to curse Israel, Balaam counseled Balak, king of Moab, to intermingle the two peoples giving their women to Israel’s men and using their influence to cause the children of Israel to compromise and worship other Gods. In other words, if you can’t beat them, weaken them through compromise. This is what happened to the church of Pergamum where pagan rituals crept into the church.Verse 15
: Again the Nicolaitanes corrupt the church. This time it is not just the deeds but also the doctrine is being taught. During the third and fourth centuries, a separate priesthood was established with special rights and privileges. This gives supporting evidence to those who suggest that this doctrine is that of a separate priest class. In Rev. 1:6 we saw that we are all priests.Verse16-17
: In verse 16 Christ wields the sword in judgment. Manna was used to feed the children of Israel in the wilderness. Some of the manna was hidden away in the ark of the covenant with the commandments and the mercy seat. It is suggested that the white stone is taken from ancient courts where a black pebble was guilty vote and a white pebble is an innocent vote. If there were a majority of white pebbles, then the verdict was innocent.[ Smyrna ] [ Overview ] [ Church Age ] [ Thyatira ]