Il1 To THE CHURCH in PERGAMOS (2:12-17)

A. Destination

Jesus' third letter was addressed to the church in Pergamos. In those days Pergamos was the capital of Asia Minor and a flourishing centre of politics, power, heathen worship and learning. It had temples to Zeus and altars offered to Aesculapius, its tutelary god. The people put serpents on their altars and worshipped them. Moreover, the cult of emperor worship flourished here too. It was the duty of every citizen to burn incense once a year to his deified image.

B. The Description of Jesus

The Lord appeared to the church in Pergamos as “he which hath the sharp sword with two edges” (v. 12). Because this church “hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam...to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication” (v. 14), it needed to repent, or He would come in judgment. With the sword of the Word (v. 12; see Heb. 4:12), the Lord will reveal and sever false doctrine.C. Commendation

Jesus commended the church in Pergamos for keeping its pure faith and not compromising with heresies. He especially pointed out a man named Antipas. Tradition relates this concerning the martyrdom of Antipas:

At that time emperor worship was in full force. One day a Roman official took Antipas before the image of the emperor and said, “Antipas, worship the image.” Antipas answered, “The King of kings and the Lord of lords is Jesus Christ only, so I will not worship any other god. Only Jesus.”

The Roman official was infuriated and shouted, “Antipas, don't you know that all the world is against you?”

Antipas responded, “Then I, Antipas, acknowledge Jesus as the Lord of lords against all in the world.”

Enraged at this answer, the official ordered some men to heat up a brazen bull, and Antipas was put into it. There he was slowly roasted to death. Yet he never denied Jesus.

D. Rebuke Jesus also rebuked the church i~ Pergamos, saying, “Thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam”

(v. 14). When the children of Israel came out of Egypt and entered the land of Canaan, Balak, king of Moab, called Balaam, the prophet, and asked him to curse Israel. Balsam, whose eyes were darkened by power and money, advised Balak that if the Moabites tempted the Israelites with fornication, God would destroy them (see Num. 25:1-9; 31:16). So Balak had beautiful Moabite women dance lewdly on the altars of the idol, and the men of Israel committed fornication with the women of Moab and worshipped the idol. As a result, God's judgment came upon them, and thousands of people died in a single day. The church in Pergamos harboured fornicators, and the Christian church of that day committed spiritual fornication by joining itself with the Babylonian religion. The Lord also rebuked the church in Pergamos for including some who held the doctrine of the Nicolaitans. As previously explained, the Nicolaitans were the followers of Satan. They introduced Greek philosophy into the church and also caused it to commit fornication and adultery.

E. Exhortation Jesus exhorted the church, “Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth” (v. 16). From this we know how indignant He was. The church He bought with His own blood was tainted with heresy and immorality.

F. Promise

He promised, however, that He would give the hidden manna to the person who repented and overcame temptation. This hidden manna is heavenly, spiritual food —Jesus Himself. He also promised He would give a white stone to those who overcame. This refers to the stone the court of that day gave as a token to accused criminals when they were found not guilty. (If they were found guilty, they were given a black stone.) Therefore Jesus was promising that when people repented, He would forgive their sins and make them righteous. The promise extends to us as well. Hallelujah!

G. Interpretation of the Prophecy (AD. 312-590)

Prophetically, the church in Pergamos refers to the. church period from A.D. 312, when Constantine the Great proclaimed Christianity as Rome's state religion, until the year 590. Pergamos means “marriage.” While Constantine made Christianity the state religion, he also took advantage of it politically. He used the marriage of state and church (including the incorporation of the Babylonian religion's heresy) to consolidate the empire's unity. Accordingly, in the annals of church history the church in Pergamos represents the adulterous church that compromises with the world. When suffering persecution, they become pure. But when they receive blessings again, they compromise with the world, turning into Pergamos and falling to depravity in pursuit of worldly pleasure.

Next Part IV. To THE CHURCH IN THYATIBA (2:18-29)