Be Faithful & Victorious | Letter to the church in Pergamum | Rev. 2:12–17

INTRODUCTION

This would have been next on the circular route of the seven churches, further north of Smyrna.

Revelation 2:12–17

To the Church in Pergamum

¹²“To the angel of the church in Pergamum write:

These are the words of him who has the sharp, double-edged sword. ¹³I know where you live—where Satan has his throne. Yet you remain true to my name. You did not renounce your faith in me, not even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness, who was put to death in your city—where Satan lives.

¹⁴Nevertheless, I have a few things against you: There are some among you who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin so that they ate food sacrificed to idols and committed sexual immorality. ¹⁵Likewise, you also have those who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans. ¹⁶Repent therefore! Otherwise, I will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.

¹⁷Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give that person a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to the one who receives it.

BACKGROUND

Pergamum was an important city intellectually, culturally, and religiously with a library, shrines and altars in honour of pagan gods. This church was influenced by this culture.

The Church at Pergamum receives both a positive and negative evaluation; commendation and condemnation. Christ is portrayed in the first couple verses as having a sharp double-edged sword coming out of his mouth, Christ’s description back in Chapter 1. The sword coming out of the mouth is an OT symbol, which means Christ now comes to the Church of Pergamum primarily as a warrior, primarily as one who will judge.

Revelation 2:16

Repent therefore! Otherwise, I will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.

Christ is calling for repentance and if they refuse to repent, Christ will judge them.

COMMENDATION

They are commended because they live in a tough and hostile environment. This church faced opposition from outside.

Revelation 2:13

I know where you live—where Satan has his throne. Yet you remain true to my name. You did not renounce your faith in me, not even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness, who was put to death in your city—where Satan lives.

The Throne of Satan would have been a reference to the Altar of Zeus. There are other explanations of this throne. The throne of Satan is in contrast with God’s Throne that’s introduced us to in the first chapter. So that the Throne of Satan simply means: This is Satan’s domain; Satan rules over, this is his realm that he has control of. In Chapter 12 we’re introduced to the Dragon, Satan, who comes to deceive and to persecute God’s people. We see that happening already in Chapter 2 in the message of Pergamum.

So again, I think Throne of Satan is a way of John saying, “This is the domain of Satan; this is where Satan rules in in the City of Pergamum.”

And so the Christians find themselves in a rather tough and hostile environment. Yet the commendation reminds us that in the face of this, they have actually maintained their faithful witness of Jesus Christ. In fact, John tells us that just as Jesus died, at least one person has died for his faith, named Antipas, v13. When you read Revelation Chapter 4 through 22, we will see that persecution and martyrdom, or witnessing Christ the point of death, is a common theme and is a signal of more to come.

John’s Commendation: The Church in this environment where Satan rules and has his throne have maintained their faithful witness, and one person, Antipas, has even died for that witness.

CONDEMNATION

This church faced opposition from inside; there is false teaching.

Revelation 2:14

¹⁴Nevertheless, I have a few things against you: There are some among you who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin so that they ate food sacrificed to idols and committed sexual immorality. ¹⁵Likewise, you also have those who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans. ¹⁶Repent therefore!…

Balaam: Here John is alluding to the OT. John is demonstrating that in the same way God’s people were tempted by false teaching and by idolatry by Balaam, his readers are now susceptible to the same challenges.

In Numbers 22 & 24, you read the account of Balaam. Balaam was a gentile Prophet who the king of Moab called upon to try to pronounce a curse over the Nation of Israel; and instead he pronounces a blessing. In Numbers 5, the Israelites then end up straying into idolatry and into sexual immorality with the women of Moab.

So Balaam have become proverbial for false teaching which leads people astray.

Apparently, the Church in Pergamum is allowing some people to do the same thing that Balaam did in the OT; leading some of God’s People astray into Idolatry and sexual immorality.

They are teaching that it is okay for Christians in business or in the marketplace to engage in idolatrous feasts of Pagan Gods which leads them to eat food sacrificed to idols and indulge in sexual immorality.

Nicolaitans: The second group is called the Nicolaitans who also teaching the same thing: It is okay for the church to compromise with their Pagan surroundings by actually eating meats offered to idols and committing adultery.

In 1 Corinthians Chapters 8–10 (10:7-8) we find Paul addressing a similar situation of eating meat offered to idols, but Paul purohits them from eating food offered to idols in their feasts and sacrifices. Paul prohibits participating in situations where they would worship foreign pagan gods not eating food/meat in someone’s private home. This could have been part of the trade unions, part of their business meet where they would have participated in eating meat offering to idols in honour of the gods.

What about the Adultery that he warns them against?

John uses adultery spiritually and physically. According to the prophets, God was the Husband of His People, His People were their the Wife; and to go after other idols, to go after other gods, to forsake the covenant with God, was to commit Spiritual Adultery. In Rev. 19 & 21, we see the People of God as the Bride of Jesus Christ, Bride of the Lamb.

Here, committing physical adultery could be implied, but it also implies spiritually adultery by being unfaithful to Jesus Christ and worshiping idols and eating food offered to idols.

John’s Response:

Repent.

The Church stops permitting this Teaching that is leading God’s People to compromise.

Instead they maintain their faithful Witness. Otherwise, the sword coming out of His mouth will war with them. But if they do overcome, Christ promises eschatological or future blessing.

Revelation 2:16

Repent therefore! Otherwise, I will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.

PROMISES – THE ESCHATOLOGICAL, FUTURE BLESSINGS

1. Hidden Manna

Revelation 2:17a

Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give some of the hidden manna.

What is the Hidden Manna John promises to the one who Overcomes?

In the OT, as God brought Israel out of Egypt, one of God’s provisions for his people was the Manna that came down from Heaven as a gift from God to sustain the People. Manna was kept in the ark (Check this) and Revelation mentions the ark (check this as well). John uses manna as a symbol of End-time Salvation, that God’s People will participate in and enjoy if they remain faithful.

2. White Stone

Revelation 2:17b

I will also give that person a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to the one who receives it.

Obviously, 2,000 years’ distance has made it very, very difficult to be certain exactly what John was intending about the White Stone.

These are three major discussions of the White Stone:

• A White Stone could indicate in the Court System, a Vote of Acquittal “Not Guilty” and black stone “guilty.”
• A White Stone could also be used as a Pass to get into certain Events, especially a Banquet.
• A White Stone could also be worn on an Amulet/ornament to ward off Demons.

What we can be certain is that the White Stone symbolizes their heavenly reward, Heavenly Salvation. So the Mana and the White Stone are simply two Images that describe the same thing from different perspectives: their future Salvation.

3. The New Name

“The new name alludes here to Isaiah 56:5 and especially 62:2, which promises that God will give his people a new name, removing their shame (62:4); this fits the time of the new Jerusalem and new creation (65:15–19). The new name may represent a new description of a person’s identity (cf. Rev. 3:1, 5), but in the context of Revelation more likely the hidden name of God (3:12; cf. 2:13; 3:8; Isa. 43:1) and the Lamb (14:1; 19:12–13, 16), which they will bear forever (22:4).”

Isaiah 62:2

The nations will see your vindication,

and all kings your glory;

you will be called by a new name

that the mouth of the Lord will bestow.

The Promise that lies in store for the Church at Pergamum is that if they will Repent and if they will Overcome and refuse to compromise with the Pagan World Jesus will give them the future salvation and a new name as God’s people.

LIFE APPLICATION:

A Warning Against Assimilation

The church at Pergamum was tempted to compromise with the pagan culture for their job prospects, business deals, and social acceptance. We should be careful to distinguish between appropriate interaction with culture and compromise with it.

Culture & Faith

Paul had a fine balance between culture and faith. Paul as a first-century missionary spoke the language of his culture (adapting, for instance, Stoic models to promote his case in Rom. 1:19–32), and had friends who were high-ranking citizens regularly involved in pagan civic religion (Acts 19:31), yet he did not compromise his faith. The warnings against close relations with unbelievers (Ps. 1:1; Prov. 13:20) caution against imbibing the world’s values, not against being with others to promote Christ’s values (Matt. 11:18–19; Luke 15:1–2). Joseph (Gen. 41:45; 47:22, 26) and Daniel (Dan. 2:24; 4:19) both worked within and showed respect for their colleagues and kings in a pagan culture, and Jeremiah told the exiles to seek the good of the land where God had placed them (Jer. 29:7). But we need to make sure that we are influencing the world with the kingdom’s values, not embracing the world’s values where they conflict with those of the kingdom.

We do not confront emperor worship per se, but we have plenty of idols, whether materialism (Matt. 6:24) or celebrities who receive more attention than many people give to God. When we seriously examine Jesus’ teachings and parts of Acts to discern ideal models for the church, we find there Christians intensely committed to evangelism and other ministry, using all their resources and paying whatever price necessary to accomplish the task (e.g., Luke 14:26–35; Acts 4:32). When we see most of Christianity today, we see Christians deeply committed to their own material advancement, spending countless hours each week on entertainment, yet far less on learning God’s Word. Studies indicate that the vast majority of “evangelical” Christians today never share their faith and salvation with non-Christians. The church is in need of spiritual awakening. Balaam and Jezebel no longer represent factions within the church; they dominate it, and Revelation’s only solution for us is repentance (2:16, 21–22). Although only a few of the church has succumbed to such teachings, Jesus tells the entire church that he has this against them and asks them to repent. If we do not repent, then we must share in the Lord’s reproof.

Sexual Immorality

We live in a world where there is pressure to compromise in areas of sexual morality, silent accommodation of secularism and so forth. The Bible is firm against all premarital or extramarital sex and often uses the term “prostitute” to describe one who practices any such behaviour (17:5). Biblical sexual ethics require us to save our bodies for those who will value us not for a small fee but who will regard us as persons of worth equal to themselves and commit their lives to us. But we also need to be sensitive to those who have lived differently before they met Jesus, because all of us are dependent on his forgiveness for our sins, whatever our sins have been (Mark 2:14–17; Luke 7:47–50; 15:1–32; John 4:16–26). Those still involved in immorality must also be reached in Christian love; you are worthy to him and we need to repent and return.

When we value the world more thank the Kingdom of God, we forfeit our role as witnesses of Christ’s Kingdom in this world.

The Gospel Involves Suffering. Be a Faithful Witness no Matter What the Cost.

Revelation mentions only the martyrdom of Antipas, probably few Christians had already been martyred when Revelation was being written. But Revelation warns that suffering is there in the Kingdom; the gospel always suffering (Mark 13:9–10; 2 Tim. 3:12). If we pray for the Lord’s return we must also be ready to spread the gospel, a prerequisite for that return (Matt. 24:14; Rom. 11:25; cf. 2 Peter 3:9, 12, 15); yet with evangelism inevitably comes suffering (Matt. 10:16–39; Col. 1:23–24), right through the final generation (Rev. 6:9). Revelation prohibits us loving our lives more than his gospel; it summons us to follow the model of Antipas as faithful witnesses, no matter what the cost. Jesus seems patient with and encouraging to a suffering church (2:8–11; 3:7–12), but having suffered does not automatically validate everything we do or believe. The churches in Pergamum and Thyatira, tolerating invitations to compromise, merited Jesus’ rebuke.

Jesus Understands our Suffering. He Appreciates and Rewards our Faithfulness.

Jesus understands your sufferings. He appreciates and rewards our faithfulness.

In this letter to the church at Pergamum, those who avoid the idol food and sexual immorality will be admitted to a heavenly banquet with an unlimited supply of manna. It is easier for Christians to avoid compromise with the seductive values of the world when we keep in mind the much better world God has in store for us someday. Whatever we must overcome, he has a better hope in store for us.