Revelation 2:12-17 (Pergamum)

Sermon Exegesis for October 17th, 2010.
St. Paul's Lutheran Church, New Ulm, MN


REVELATION 2:12

12 Καὶ τῷ ἀγγέλῳ τῆς ἐν Περγάμῳ ἐκκλησίας γράψον· Τάδε λέγει ὁ ἔχων τὴν ῥομϕαίαν τὴν δίστομον τὴν ὀξεῖαν·

12 "And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write: The One who has the sharp two-edged sword says this:

Pergamum (Περγάμῳ) means "citadel" or "fortress" (perg and burg are somewhat related). It was located in a valley on the river Caicus about 20 miles from the west coast of Asia Minor. It had once been the capital city of Mysia, and was the chief city of the Roman province of Asia Propria. One of its rulers, King Eumenes II, vastly expanded the city's library until Pergamum's collection (more than 20,000 hand-copied volumes!) was second only to the great library of Alexandria. It was in Pergamum that the science of making a kind of paper out of the skins of sheep and goats was vastly improved. Their famous pergamena has come down to us in the word "parchment."

The second century physician, anatomist, author and atheist Galen (born in Pergamum in 113 AD about 35 years after John wrote Revelation) was influenced by the city's great temple of Aesclepius (god of healing). A live snake was kept in the temple and was perhaps believed to be an incarnation of the god himself (the medical symbol called a caduceus is a serpent coiled around a staff).

The "sharp two-edged sword" is the word of God, which is shown coming from the mouth of Jesus in Revelation 1:16. Strictly speaking, a ῥομϕαίαν was a long sword, not the short stabbing gladius of the Romans.


REVELATION 2:13

13 Οἶδα ποῦ κατοικεῖς, ὅπου ὁ θρόνος τοῦ Σατανᾶ, καὶ κρατεῖς τὸ ὄνομά μου, καὶ οὐκ ἠρνήσω τὴν πίστιν μου καὶ ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις ᾽Αντιπᾶς ὁ μάρτυς μου ὁ πιστός μου, ὃς ἀπεκτάνθη παρ' ὑμῖν, ὅπου ὁ Σατανᾶς κατοικεῖ.

13 'I know where you dwell, where Satan's throne is; and you hold fast My name, and did not deny My faith even in the days of Antipas, My witness, My faithful one, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells.

ὁ θρόνος τοῦ Σατανᾶ "Satan's throne" could refer to something specific in Pergamum, like a cult or a shrine, but there is no hint in the Bible, in archaeology or in history to tell us what it might be. But we also know that the goal of Satan is to win souls away from Jesus -- and anything that does that is a throne for Satan. Jesus commends the people of this city because they have stayed firm in their faith despite the temptations of the shrines, the bars, the magazine racks; despite surfing the local TV channels (or whatever passed for entertainment in the first century), and despite the example of their friends and neighbors. This was similar to the belief of the Nicolaitans, who turn up here again. These sins were especially sexual, but there were undoubtedly other temptations as well.

Antipas (᾽Αντιπᾶς) had been martyred -- killed for his faith. This had probably only just happened. The Greek indicates that this actually happened, but doesn't really indicate when. In the last century, more Christians have died for their faith than in all previous centuries combined. Although it's true that many more people are in the world today, the truth is that persecution and martyrdom still thrive in a world that hates and despises its Creator. But Jesus says: stay firm! Trust in Jesus.

The verse ends with a chilling reminder from Jesus that there in Pergamum among those very people is ὅπου ὁ Σατανᾶς κατοικεῖ "where Satan dwells." Not that Satan had a house there and didn't terrorize any other location at that time, but we had certainly set up shop there, as evidenced by the martyrdom of Antipas.

REVELATION 2:14

14 ἀλλ' ἔχω κατὰ σοῦ ὀλίγα, ὅτι ἔχεις ἐκεῖ κρατοῦντας τὴν διδαχὴν Βαλαάμ, ὃς ἐδίδασκεν τῷ Βαλὰκ βαλεῖν σκάνδαλον ἐνώπιον τῶν υἱῶν ᾽Ισραήλ, ϕαγεῖν εἰδωλόθυτα καὶ πορνεῦσαι·

14 'But I have a few things against you, because you have there some who hold the teaching of Balaam, who kept teaching Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols and to commit acts of immorality.

Balaam was the false prophet that dominated the last few chapters of the book of Numbers. When he was unable to curse Israel (he was paid to try) he suggested that they could be led astray by the idolatry of the Moabites. Perhaps there were people in Pergamum who wanted to mix their religion with the faiths of other people. You can almost hear the familiar nonsense: "We all believe in the same God," "God loves all of us," or "We just interpret things differently, that's all." And lately, "It's important that we should be tolerant of other life-style choices, because that's the loving thing to do," even if it directly violates Scripture itself.


REVELATION 2:15

15 οὕτως ἔχεις καὶ σὺ κρατοῦντας τὴν διδαχὴν Νικολαϊτῶν ὁμοίως.

15 'So you also have some who in the same way hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans.

We spoke about the Nicaloaitans with the letter to the Ephesians earlier in this chapter. They were compromising their faith with the pagans in their city. The two errors, toleration and compromise, solidify false doctrine like a cement wall that creates a self-imposed prison around Christians.


REVELATION 2:16

16 μετανόησον οὖν· εἰ δὲ μή, ἔρχομαί σοι ταχύ, καὶ πολεμήσω μετ' αὐτῶν ἐν τῇ ῥομϕαίᾳ τοῦ στόματός μου.

16 'Therefore repent; or else I am coming to you quickly, and I will make war against them with the sword of My mouth.

Here the ἔρχομαί "coming" of Jesus is shown to be something that is on the one hand distant (the Last Day) but on the other hand imminent, about to happen at any moment for any one of us. That coming could be experienced as an entire city as well, if God were to call down his judgment in the form of a war or an attack of some kind. God has often used pagans and unbelievers to be the instruments of his call to repentance; when God's people fail to listen to the call, worse punishments arrive. Plagues of frogs and fleas can quickly become plagues of hail and death. The exile of my neighbor to Assyria can become my own kidnapping and deportation to Babylon.

An important question here is, Who is "them" (μετ' αὐτῶν) in the second half of the verse? "Them" are the ones who have embraced the ecumenism of the Balaamites and the toleration and compromise of the Nicolaitans. The Lord himself will fight against them with his holy word.


REVELATION 2:17

17 ὁ ἔχων οὖς ἀκουσάτω τί τὸ πνεῦμα λέγει ταῖς ἐκκλησίαις. τῷ νικῶντι δώσω αὐτῷ τοῦ μάννα τοῦ κεκρυμμένου, καὶ δώσω αὐτῷ ψῆϕον λευκὴν καὶ ἐπὶ τὴν ψῆϕον ὄνομα καινὸν γεγραμμένον ὃ οὐδεὶς οἶδεν εἰ μὴ ὁ λαμβάνων.

17 'He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, to him I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, and a new name written on the stone which no one knows but he who receives it.'

The τοῦ μάννα τοῦ κεκρυμμένου "hidden manna" and the ψῆϕον λευκὴν "white stone" need to be explained. Manna was the bread that kept Israel alive in the wilderness even during Balaam's time, and here it seems to be a symbol for God preserving his people to eternal life. The white stone, Greek ψῆϕον, was also the Greek word for "vote." When the democratic Greeks needed to vote in a trial, they dropped white or black stones into a container -- white meant "acquitted," black meant "guilty." Jesus was telling the Christians of Pergamum that they will receive his "acquitted" vote -- and there is only one person who votes. That's Jesus himself. Not only did Jesus die to pay for our sins, but he is also our judge. He will not forget us or forsake us.

We are at peace with God.