Traveling north another 55 miles brings us to the church in Pergamum, the next recipient of John’s Revelation. Pergamum (also known as Pergamos or Pergamon) was known for developing parchment for writing, after Egypt cut off their supply of papyrus. Pergamum was the capital of the province of Asia for over two and a half centuries, and its plentiful wealth was used in large part to maintain temples dedicated to idol worship. The gods were plentiful here. Besides that, this city was the first to devote a temple entirely to the worship of the Roman emperor. In many places, residents were required to burn a pinch of incense publically, once a year, to show this worship; in Pergamum, this requirement was daily. Thus, life here, as in Smyrna, was difficult for the Christian.
Christ here is described as the one having the two edged sword, representing His total authority over and ultimate conquest of all world powers.
Both Christians and Satan dwelled here. The “throne of Satan” seems to refer to the emperor worship, non-compliance to which was the greatest threat to Christianity. Satan used this to his advantage.
Believers here are commended for their faithfulness, and for their unwillingness to deny their faith in Christ. Apparently there were specific instances in the past where Christians were pressured to deny such faith. “Holding fast” here is meant to be related to personal trust in Christ.
Mention is made of Antipas, a witness for Christ, who was martyred for his faith. He was likely the first of many to follow to be martyred in Pergamum. There is even support for the word “witness” to eventually transform to “martyr” (they are very similar in the Greek) because of Antipas. Polycarp’s trial took place here, too, years later.
The condemnation of this church is very direct, pointing to those inside the church family (“you have those there”) who were tolerant of false teaching and immoral living. There were people “holding fast” to Balaam’s teaching (see Numbers 31:16, 2 Peter 2:15, Jude 11). Balaam could not curse God’s people, so he advised the Moabite king Balak to get God’s people to sin. He did so by enticing them with immorality and idol worship. Balaam’s motivation was his desire for personal gain. Church members living accordingly were tolerated by the church, wrongly so.
Remember the Nicolaitans? Apostate and immoral, devoid of the teaching of Christ; many in the church in Pergamum tolerated them as well. There simply was no place for this toleration in the church family.
“Repent, or be judged” is the command. People should not want to be on the wrong side of the truth when Christ returns. Specifically, this church was to repent of their lenience toward those in error who were also part of their local fellowship.
“Hidden manna” is interesting. Christ is the “true manna”, and should be the present source of satisfaction for believers, envisioning the “true ark” in heaven. Tradition held that Jeremiah hid the ark of the covenant (which contained manna from the wilderness) when Judah went into exile, with Jews awaiting the restoration of Israel someday for the ark to resurface. Here, the manna is referring to Christ, as described.
In this day, for people to attend a special event would have required a “ticket”, and these tickets were often in the form of small white stones. You had a white stone, you got in. What great imagery here, if you are a believer in Christ, you have a ticket to the Messianic feast to come, and the name written on it is yours, belonging to Christ. The use of the word “secret” implies it being invulnerable. That name cannot be removed. This is the comfort to the faithful in Pergamum.
SO WHAT…?
So, what errors do I tolerate improperly? How much do I hold fast to Christ, and how much do I hold fast to that which is not Christ?
So, what are my motivations in following Christ? Am I motivated to live for God? Am I willing to succumb to the motivation of personal gain, and if Christ somehow fits into that picture, then fine?
So, I cannot wait to get my “white stone”, and to feast with the Lamb. “When we all get to heaven, what a day of rejoicing that will be!”
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