The Letter to the Church at Pergamum (Rev. 2:12–17)

Prepared and preached by Pastor Steve Rhodes for and at Bethel Friends Church in Poland, OH on Sunday, March 23, 2025

I recently saw an article which stated that bad doctrine is what led to the apartheid in West Africa. This made me think it is wrong beliefs that have always plagued the church and caused much of our problems. We used Scripture, though wrongly, to justify slavery. On the other hand, many don’t even care about Scriptures; therefore, we have our own problems for lack of study. Most of the Bible is fairly easy to understand. When we make the Bible part of us, the Holy Spirit will guide our lives by His Own Words. Then there is the problem that happened with slavery, this occurs when we read the Scriptures trying to make them say what we want them to say. That is called Eisegesis. We can make the Bible say the wrong things instead of letting the Bible speak.

But generally, the problems arise because we don’t know better. We don’t know any better than the wrong beliefs, the wrong doctrine that is taught.

Looking at the church in Pergamum, we see they held true to the faith, even in persecution, but they tolerated false teaching. They tolerated false doctrine.

Let’s look at the good and the bad of Pergamum and apply this to our lives.

Theme: Pergamum stuck with Christ, but they tolerated false teaching.

Application: Stick with Christ, watch out for false teaching, and know correct teaching.

Please turn to Revelation 2:12-17 and we will look at the verses as we talk about them:

1. Learn: Let’s learn about this church, and then we will be encouraged to apply.
   1. The church at Pergamum was an important city: The Life Application Study Bible says it very well:
   2. The city of Pergamum was built on a hill 1,000 feet above the surrounding countryside, creating a natural fortress. It was a sophisticated city, a center of Greek culture and education, with a 200,000-volume library. But it was also the center of four cults, and it rivaled Ephesus in its worship of idols. The city’s chief god was Asclepius, whose symbol was a serpent and who was considered the god of healing. People came to Pergamum from all over the world to seek healing from this god.[1]
   3. We get our word parchment from Pergamum.
   4. Just as a note, back then libraries were not for lending. You went to the library, and you would read the scroll there, and books, called “Codex,” were not yet invented. The book form, codex, was likely invented by Christians.
   5. In verse 12, we, once again, see the idea of the two edged sword. It reads:
   6. 2:12: “And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write: ‘The words of him who has the sharp two-edged sword.
   7. Then we come to verse 13: “ ‘I know where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is. Yet you hold fast my name, and you did not deny my faith even in the days of Antipas my faithful witness, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells.
   8. Notice that Jesus knows, we’ll come back to that.
   9. The church in Pergamum is kissed before they are hit, isn’t that nice? In other words, they are encouraged before they are rebuked. They are commended because despite the area where they live, they have not renounced their faith. They stayed true to Jesus’s name. May we stay true to Jesus’s name.
   10. Pergamum was called the city where Satan had his throne.
   11. They were in heavy persecution, but still did not renounce the faith. We don’t know much about Antipas, but there are thoughts about him:
   12. “Antipas is said to have been a dentist and a physician, but the Aesculapiades suspected that he was propagating Christianity secretly and they accused him of disloyalty to Caesar. He was condemned to death and was shut up in a brazen (or copper) bull, which was then heated until it was red-hot.”^[2]
   13. This idea of satan’s throne. It is thought that there was all this pagan worship, but there was also imperial worship, and in Revelation, satan’s throne, or the ways of satan, are the ways of the Roman culture. So, to give into Satan’s ways means to surrender to the dominant ways of the culture.
   14. James 4:4 says that friendship with the world is enmity against God.
   15. Verses 14-15 show that there are a few things against them:
   16. But I have a few things against you: you have some there who hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, so that they might eat food sacrificed to idols and practice sexual immorality. So also you have some who hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans.
   17. This is where we come to teaching. Teaching matters. Doctrine matters. I don’t know if this is a literal teaching of Balaam or not. You can read about Balaam and Balak in Numbers chapters 22-25 and 31. Balaam was told to curse Israel by the local king Balak, but God would not let him and he only blessed them.
   18. However, in Numbers 25 we see that the Israelites intermarried with the Moabite women, which was forbidden, and we see that Balaam realized if you get them to intermarry, then you can take down Israel internally (Deut. 7:3; Joshua 23:12; 2 Cor. 6:14). We receive some of this information from the Jewish Historian Josephus.
   19. This could be a metaphor for what is going on here. In this case, some Christians are participating in worldly practices.
   20. The passage says that they are eating food sacrificed to idols and participating in sexual immorality. Paul dealt with this in Romans 14 and 1 Cor. 8-10, but the problem is not the food.
   21. The problem is what goes on with the food. When the food was sacrificed, there were pornographic sexual activities, temple prostitution, and pagan, idol worship. It was not just the eating; it was the festival.
   22. The problem was that the trade guilds or business unions often would have their own idol, and having a job meant participating in these trade guilds. For the Christian, participation in these guilds meant idolatry and sexual immorality.
   23. This means that part of the persecution meant that Christians could not work.
   24. This may be a definition of the Nicolaitans in verse 15.
   25. Verse 16: Therefore repent. If not, I will come to you soon and war against them with the sword of my mouth.
   26. We once again see the idea of the Word of God. The Word of God is Truth, and it exposes and takes down the falsehood of the imperial and satanic systems.
   27. Verse 17: He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it.’
   28. We are not dumb, fake idols. We have ears, listen. The Holy Spirit is speaking.
   29. Mulholland from Asbury Seminary shares:
   30. In the midst of the problems at Pergamum, Jesus gave a call for the believers to rise up and be “victorious” (2:17). The promise to those who become “victorious” relates directly to the situation of the church in Pergamum. In contrast to “food offered to idols,” Jesus promised “the manna that has been hidden away” (there is no mention of “in heaven” in the Greek text of 2:17). This promise would resonate with John’s audience, shaped by Jewish understanding. One of the Jewish expectations associated with the restoration of the kingdom was the full restoration of the Temple in Jerusalem. This meant the return of the manna that had been in the Ark of the Covenant in the Holy of Holies until Jeremiah took it out and hid it just before the destruction of the Temple by the Babylonians. (See Heb 9:4 for the tradition of manna in the Ark of the Covenant, 2 Macc 2:4–8 for Jeremiah hiding the sacred objects from the Temple [although the manna is not explicitly mentioned], and 2 Baruch 29:8 for the restoration of the manna in the consummation.) By promising this manna, Jesus was giving the church another intimation that the restoration of the kingdom had come.^[3]
   31. In Roman times they would vote with stones. A white stone was a positive ballot and black was negative. So, a white stone means that we overcome and we have entrance into Heaven.
   32. Again from Dr. Mulholland:
   33. Jesus also promised the victorious ones a “white stone” with “a new name” (2:17). This may refer to the ballot that was used by citizens of a Roman city to cast their votes during meetings. To have such a stone, one’s name had to be on the citizenship rolls of the city. Jesus seems to be indicating that God’s faithful people are citizens of God’s kingdom. This would appear to be confirmed by the presence of the new name on the white stone. Since a person’s “name” is representative of their nature (see note on 2:13), faithful believers have a new nature as citizens of God’s New Jerusalem. Jesus’ final remark that “no one understands” the new name “except the one who receives it,” points to the experiential reality of citizenship in the New Jerusalem. Citizenship is not a legal formality conferred from without, but an existential reality of life in intimate union with Christ.^[4]
2. Be encouraged.
   1. As I look at this passage, I am greatly encouraged that Jesus knows.
   2. I see that Jesus knows that though they are in a city of satan, they are holding fast to their faith (verse 13).
   3. Jesus knows about their persecution and the death of Antipas (verse 13).
   4. Jesus knows what we go through as well. Jesus knows if we are persecuted. He knows if we are making stands for our faith and how difficult it is to stand firm. He knows.
   5. I am also encouraged that Jesus gives us the opportunity to repent. Jesus gives second chances in this life.
   6. This opportunity to repent is for us as well. This instruction is for us. Be encouraged that Jesus has given us this instruction (verse 16).
   7. Overcoming means eternal life (verse 17).
3. Apply: Let’s make some final applications.
   1. Stay true to Jesus’ name (verse 13). I see they are commended for holding fast to the faith. This is an application for us.
   2. If you are with your family, your friends, or your co-workers, stay true to Jesus.
   3. Staying true to Jesus means that you don’t deny the faith.
   4. Staying true to Jesus means you don’t fail to say anything about the faith. Sometimes we deny the faith by omitting to share when we need to.
   5. Sometimes we deny the faith by not living as a Christian. In their case, they would have denied the faith by going into the idol’s temple and participating. Are we participating in things like that? What about pornography? What about the sexually explicit and crude conversations? What about how we are entertained? Ask God to Create in you a clean heart… (Psalm 51:10). Don’t deny Christ in commission or omission.
   6. Teaching matters, doctrine matters (verses 14-15). Learn the Gospel, the true Gospel. Learn doctrine, read the Bible. They are essentially rebuked because of false doctrine. We can know false doctrine by learning true doctrine. Just read the Bible.
   7. Twice we have a reference to the Word of God, the Sword of the Spirit. This is in verses 12 and 16 (Eph. 6:17; Heb. 4:12).
   8. Repent: if we are involved in these false beliefs or lacking the faith, repent. Jesus has given us a second chance right here.

I stand by my belief that false Doctrine, which means incorrect and improper beliefs, hurts the church and people. When we have wrong beliefs, we harm many in the name of a supposed religion, we harm ourselves. So, don’t be afraid to get into the Bible and know the Truth.

Right now, we are coming up on the most important holy day of Christianity, Resurrection Sunday. It is a true, and major part of Christianity that Jesus lived, died, and rose again. That doctrine is the correct teaching of the Bible about Jesus. But people have tried to thwart it (1 John 4:2). This is why we must stand on the strong foundation of the Word of God. We must stand for the Word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ (Rev. 1:2, 9).

Stand strong in your beliefs and in not denying Christ.

Prayer                               

God created us to be with him. (Genesis 1-2)

Our sin separated us from God. (Genesis 3)

Sins cannot be removed by good deeds (Gen 4-Mal 4)

Paying the price for sin, Jesus died and rose again. (Matthew – Luke)

Everyone who trusts in him alone has eternal life. (John – Jude)

Life that’s eternal means we will be with Jesus forever. (Revelation 22:5)

[1] Tyndale House Publishers (2011-08-01). Life Application Study Bible NLT (LASB: Full Size) (Kindle Locations 161746-161749). Tyndale House Publishers. Kindle Edition.

^[2] Tom Constable, Tom Constable’s Expository Notes on the Bible (Galaxie Software, 2003), Re 2:13.

^[3] M. Robert Mulholland Jr., “Revelation,” in Cornerstone Biblical Commentary: James, 1–2 Peter, Jude, Revelation, ed. Philip W. Comfort, Cornerstone Biblical Commentary (Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2011), 440–441.

^[4] M. Robert Mulholland Jr., “Revelation,” in Cornerstone Biblical Commentary: James, 1–2 Peter, Jude, Revelation, ed. Philip W. Comfort, Cornerstone Biblical Commentary (Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2011), 441.