In Revelation 2:12-17, Jesus sent a letter to the church in Pergamum (also often known as Pergamon or its modern Greek form Pergamos), saying that they lived where Satan’s throne is. Pergamum was an idolatrous city with many temples to the gods of the Greeks and the imperial cult of Rome.
The church of Pergamum was the third of the Seven Churches in Asia Minor to which Jesus had the Apostle John send letters. Each letter began with an outline of Christ, the church’s circumstances, a rebuke, and a promise. The letter to the church in Pergamum described a church struggling to be faithful to Christ in a world searching for to drag it away. Jesus called the church in Pergamum to repent and switch back to Him, or else He will include judgment.
What Was the Church at Pergamum Known For?
The church of Pergamum is certainly one of the Seven Churches mentioned in Revelation (Revelation 2:12-17). Jesus accused the church of being influenced by the local idolaters and of not remaining faithful to him.
Pergamum was an influential city throughout the Hellenistic and Roman periods. During the Hellenistic Period, it was the capital of the Kingdom of Pergamum. When Rome rose to power, Roman leaders made Pergamos the seat of the regional assembly.
Pergamum, a Roman city, featured a significant pagan worship center, with distinguished temples dedicated to the Greek gods Zeus, Athena, Isis/Serapis, and Apollo. During the time of Revelation, Caesar Augustus claimed to be divine and demanded worship from the people under Roman rule, including the Jews and Christians in Jerusalem.
Between the worship of the Greek gods and the Roman rulers, the Christians in Pergamum were under intense persecution. Revelation 2:13 mentions the martyrdom of Antipas. According to Christian tradition, Antipas was the primary bishop of Pergamum and had been ordained by John the Apostle. In 92 AD, an indignant mob of worshippers of Serapis grabbed Antipas and burned him alive in front of the Temple of Serapis.
What Does “Satan’s Throne” Mean?
The term “Satan’s Throne” that Jesus used for Pergamum (Pergamos) was very applicable due to the city’s bent to idolatry. Whether the term was used to discuss with town’s immorality or to a particular example, the purpose of their unfaithfulness continues to be valid. Some specific examples are:
- The Imperial Cult: Augustus Caesar established the cult of emperor worship on the turn of the primary century BC, and a lavish temple was in-built honor of Rome and Augustus in Pergamum.
- The Pergamon Altar: The Pergamon Altar, the Altar of Zeus, was a big, throne-shaped altar in-built the primary half of the twond century BC on the terraces of the acropolis. Listed as certainly one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, the structure was 117 ft. wide and 109 ft. deep. In 1878, German engineer Carl Humann began excavations on the Acropolis. He dismantled the relief panels and transferred them to Berlin, where they sat in storage for years. In 1930, the altar was displayed in East Berlin’s Pergamum Museum throughout the rise of Hitler. It still resides there today.
- The Temple of Aesculapius: Pergamum had a temple dedicated to Aesculapius, the god of healing. The sick and disabled visited the temple searching for healing through dreams and rituals with snakes.
Where Was Pergamum Located?
The site of the ruins of Pergamum is near the modern-day town of Bergama, within the Izmir province of Turkey. Its location in Asia Minor, near the Aegean Sea, made it a strategic location for commerce and military purposes. Pergamum is the northernmost of the Seven Churches in Revelation. UNESCO designated the location as a World Heritage site, and it’s currently a well-liked tourist destination.
The city of Pergamum was abandoned within the 14th century AD when the Ottoman Empire got here to power. Excavations of the ruins began within the 1870s by the German Carl Humann. Although many artifacts were relocated to Berlin, the ruins still include the foundations of town’s temples, theaters, and its famous library.
Jesus’ Warning and Promise to the Pergamum Church
The letter to the church at Pergamum in Revelation 2:12-17 accommodates a warning and a promise. The warning was to remind Jesus’ followers to not worship or follow other gods. Then, He promised to “he who has an ear,” to offer for his or her needs (manna) and to have a private relationship with them (white stone). We will have a look at each of those warnings and guarantees more below.
Since the church in Pergamum lived in a city with such a pagan influence, Christ acknowledged their faithfulness to Him. However, He also gave examples of how the church had slipped of their stand on biblical teachings.
1. First Warning: The Teachings of Balaam
The story of Balaam and Balak could be present in Numbers 22-25. King Balak of Moab hired the prophet Balaam to curse the Israelites as they traveled through the wilderness. After Balaam refused several times to curse the multitude, he advised the Moabites to entice the Israelites to hitch of their sacrificing and worshipping to their idols. God responded by sending a plague, and 24,000 died (Numbers 25:1-9).
2. Second Warning: The Teachings of the Nicolaitans
The Nicolaitans, also mentioned in Acts 6 and Revelation 2:6 within the letter to the church in Ephesus, were a heretical Christian sect. Traditionally, the Nicolaitans were followers of Nicolas the Deacon in Acts 6, who encouraged the early believers to just accept pagan practices and disrespect the teachings of the apostles.
In contrast to Jesus’ warnings to the believers tempted to follow the pagan worshippers, he made two guarantees to “he who has an ear” and “to him who overcomes” (Revelation 2:17).
1. First Promise: Hidden Manna
When the Israelites were traveling through the wilderness, they cried out to God because there wasn’t enough food. God sent down manna (in Hebrew, manna means “what’s it”) to feed the vast multitude. In the text in Revelation, this manna could also be seen as a promise from Jesus to offer for His followers’ needs.
2. Second Promise: The White Stone
A white stone had a few meanings within the culture of that day. First, in ancient Greece, when an individual stood for trial in a courtroom, the members of the jury would signify the defendant was guilty by casting a black stone. In contrast, a white stone showed they’d found her or him innocent. In this case, Jesus is saying that he finds the one who remained faithful to be innocent.
Another use of a white stone was as an award to the winner of an athletic competition. The winner can be given a stone inscribed together with his name, and it could function his ticket to the special awards. This shows Jesus inviting His followers to the everlasting banquet He will hold for His followers in Heaven.
What Lessons Can We Learn from the Church in Pergamum?
The pagan culture surrounding the Church in Pergamum was just like our culture today. By holding true to the teachings of Jesus and the apostles despite temptations to compromise, the church in Pergamum is an example of how we must always live holy lives, separate from the world.
1. God Demands Total Obedience.
The first commandment is, “You shall haven’t any other gods before Me.” God is a holy and jealous God. He will allow nothing to take the worship due only to Him.
2. God Sees Us Where We Are.
In all His letters to the Seven Churches, Jesus starts with the status of the church and the way they’re following Him. We might assume that because God is spirit and holy, that He isn’t aware of what we do or who we’re. But that isn’t true. There is an old hymn that has the road, “His eye is on the sparrow, so I do know He watches me.” Not only does He see our sins, He also sees our faithfulness.
3. God Accepts True Worship.
Contrary to Pergamum’s many altars to false gods and idolatrous practices, there is simply one God worthy of worship who enables us to face before Him blameless through His Son, Jesus. Even though we’ve all sinned and usually are not worthy of entering His presence, He sent His Son, Christ Jesus, to die for our sins so we are able to imagine in Him and have everlasting life (John 3:16). All the magnificent temples in Pergamum were built for lifeless idols. Only God is the living, omnipotent, Sovereign Savior who invites us to hitch Him.
As the letter to Pergamum declares in its closing, “Let him who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says.”
This article is an element of our larger End Times Resource Library. Learn more in regards to the rapture, the anti-christ, bible prophecy and the tribulation with articles that specify Biblical truths. You don’t have to fear or worry in regards to the future!
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