And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write; These things saith he which hath the sharp sword with two edges;
The Church in Pergamos. 12 17
12. he which hath the sharp sword ] Mentioned because He threatens to use it, Rev 2:16.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
And to the angel of the church in Pergamos – See the notes on Rev 1:20.
These things saith he which hath the sharp sword, … – See the notes on Rev 1:16. Compare Heb 4:12; Ecc 12:11; Isa 49:2. Prof. Stuart suggests that when the Saviour, as represented in the vision, uttered words, as they proceeded from his mouth, the halitus which accompanied them assumed, in the view of John, the form of an igneous two-edged sword. It is more probable, however, that the words which proceeded from his mouth did not assume anything like a form or substance, but John means to represent them as if they were a sharp sword. His words cut and penetrate deep, and it was easy to picture him as having a sword proceeding from his mouth; that is, his words were as piercing as a sharp sword. As he was about to reprove the church at Pergamos, there was a propriety in referring to this power of the Saviour. Reproof cuts deep; and this is the idea represented here.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Rev 2:12-17
Pergamos.
Pergamum–the incomplete Church
Pergamum is the incomplete Church: valiant and earnest, it is oblivious of the new demand made upon it: it is indifferent to subtle inward influences, which are corrupting its teachers, and endangering the spiritual life of its members. Its earnest devotion is put in the forefront–I know where thou dwellest, where Satans throne is; and thou art holding fast My name. Out of that acknowledgment comes the rebuke of their fault: they who have done so much can do more; they can repent of their laxity, be faithful amid the requirements of to-day. The Church is in danger from erroneous thinking as well as from apostasy, and faithful leaders must not trifle with that danger. Thou hast there some that hold to the teaching of Balaam; thou hast them, and thou retainest them. Heretics inculcating immorality are tolerated. The pastor is not doing his duty; those are being cherished whose teaching the Lord hates. The heretics are in imminent danger; the Lord will correct by judgments the Church that allows itself to be careless. Repent therefore; or else I come to thee quickly, and I make war against them with the sword of My mouth. There are two or three general lessons coming out of this description:
1. The first is, that a Church cannot live on its past. The memory of Antipas was not enough for Pergamum, nor even the share of the Church in Antipass martyr spirit and martyr crown. A revived historical consciousness is one of the most marked features in the life of to-day: it has lent new interest to our studies, and given dignity to our social sense. But it has brought dangers with it; our appreciation of the past may weaken our feeling of personal responsibility and of present needs.
2. A second lesson is, that a Church cannot live on a single virtue. If days like those of Antipas had come back, doubtless Pergamum would have been faithful as before; but as the times were different, new graces were called for. Christian character is like the tree of life which John saw in the city of God, bearing twelve manner of fruits, yielding its fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
3. A third lesson may be read from the story of Pergamum to the Churches of to-day: earnestness is not everything in ethical and spiritual life. The easy demeanour which marked English society in the middle of this century has given place to a quickened moral intensity which is full of promise. But some ominous symptoms have also appeared. One man feels earnest, and straightway he does something eccentric; another feels earnest, and he indulges in outrageous speech; a third is reckless in conduct, pleading as his excuse when evil results follow that he was so deeply moved. Earnestness is a good foundation for a virtuous life, but it is not in itself a virtue; it may be of the temperament rather than of the character; without earnestness there is no stability, but a man may be very earnest and very defective. The special fault of Pergamum was indifference to the error of the Nicolaitans. What the error was we see clearly enough in verse 14–Balaam taught Balak to cast a stumbling-block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit fornication. There was a determined effort on the part of some false teachers among the Churches in Asia at this time to break down the wise restrictions of the Council of Jerusalem, and to declare both these practices lawful, even commendable. We see the prevalence of this error in Ephesus and Thyatira as well as in Pergamum. But the development of it was not the same in the various Churches. In Thyatira it was associated with the ecstatic utterances of a woman, and a reign of false sentiment was setting in. In Pergamum, as we gather from the reference to Balaam, there was a deliberate trading on the lusts of the people. This connection of heresy with covetousness is distinctly asserted in the Second Epistle of Peter and in the Epistle of Jude. Balaam, the son of Beor, loved the hire of wrong-doing; the ungodly men, who were turning the grace of God into lasciviousness, ran riotously in the error of Balaam for hire. Browning has shown us, in Mr. Sludge the Medium, how subtly covetousness and untruthfulness are intertwined; and how the self-deceiving impostor may become the cynical trader on human weaknesses. More than one revelation of the inner life of circles spiritualistic, aesthetic, theosophic, and circles for improving the relations of the sexes–has been made in our own time, showing how pruriency and greed and contempt for the credulous may all unite under the pretence of larger intuitions and more advanced knowledge than belong to the simple believer. We can understand what may have conduced to the spread of Nicolaitan teaching among simple persons who were very far from failing under the condemnation of Balaam.
(1) The teaching appealed to their curiosity, their longing after hidden knowledge, and flattered them with a promise of a freemasonry of thought. The desire to penetrate into the realities which lie behind received forms of truth, to draw clear distinctions between the abiding and the temporary in morals, is not wrong; it may come from a noble purpose and minister to human advancement. But it may also be very ignoble, If we be impelled by lust after what is forbidden, or an idle inquisitiveness concerning what is concealed, we are making ourselves ready to fall a prey to men who live upon the credulous.
(2) The teaching appealed to their love of freedom; and here, too, we may make modern applications. The man of science investigates all things; nothing is regarded by him as a forbidden subject of inquiry; he knows that all knowledge may be turned to high uses; and his mind is clean. But those who are tickled by a desire to know what is secret are sure to be defiled. The democrat who wants all to be able to do their best is followed by the man who is thinking only that he has as many rights as others; the woman who knows she has powers which she can use, and demands the liberty to use them, by her who clamours for the latchkey. The one motive is as debasing as the other is noble.
(3) A few words in the longer recension of Ignatiuss letter to the Philadelphians furnish a third reason for the spread of Nicolaitan error. One of the characteristic doctrines of the Nicolaitans is there said to be, that pleasure was set forth as the end of the blessed life–a doctrine which might too easily beguile simple souls who believed that joy was an essential element in the nature of God and one of the fruits of the Spirit. The subtlety of this error, the baseness of applying one of the loftiest truths of the sacrificial life to sanction revelry and fornication, may well have provoked the Lords reference to the two-edged sword here, and His words to the Church at Ephesus, which deeds I hate. There can be nothing in common between the preachers of self-indulgence and Him who pleased not Himself. The mystic words of promise to him that overcometh–to him will I give of the hidden manna. etc.
have reference to the pretense of esoteric teaching by which many innocent and gracious are ed astray. There is a wisdom which is revealed to the initiated, a higher doctrine which is ever appearing under every simple setting forth of truth. It is found by the obedient, by those who revere law, and control passion, and are content with a simple following of Christ. The secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him, and He will show them His covenant. All the ways of the Lord are ways of initiation into the Divine mysteries. The hidden manna falls day by day about the tents of those who are content to follow Christ without ambition, in prudent simplicity and pious order. The new name which Christ gives to each one who overcomes is not to be known except by him who receives it; that is to say, the deepest things of personal spiritual life are not for public preaching. (A. Mackennal, D. D.)
Christs message to the timid
I. Good in the worst places; or, the restraint of circumstances. I know where thou dwellest, says Christ, even where Satans seat is. I know, in the sense of making allowances for all thine hindrances, and of understanding thy peculiar needs.
1. We learn from this message how bad some places can be, and are. Satans throne was at Pergamum, an expression, says Andreas, which denotes that there were more idols in Pergamum than in all Asia. There are even districts in so-called Christian England, aye, and some homes, which are simply Satans thrones. We have, indeed, no right to thrust ourselves into any peril; but if by the call of Providence we are compelled to live where Satans seat is, we may expect that Goal will do for us what He has done over and over again.
2. We learn also from this message how much some people can bear; that is, without apostasy and collapse. Possibly Antipas was some ordinary Christian who had, to the surprise of his fellow-believers, been selected for the honour of martyrdom. Whoever he was, Christ knew all about him, and dates time by his death. Do they say in heaven, In the days when So-and-so did this, or endured that? Are the martyrdoms of earth, then, so interesting to the saints who are in heaven that they constitute the calendar of the blessed? May we so live and die that we may become conspicuous and known in the great company of the blessed! And how sweetly the Saviour here says of Antipas, My martyr! thus appropriating and owning the witness. Antipas belonged to the Church, it is true, but he also belonged to Christ, and his Master is not ashamed to acknowledge him.
II. Alloy of faithful service; or the perils of timidity. It was said of John Knox that he never feared the face of man; the fear of men had kept the Christians in Pergamum silent. Perhaps they feared the consequences of fidelity; certainly it required much courage on their part to rebuke the besetting Bin of their times. What good will it do? one might inquire. Whereas they should have remembered that Christ hated this iniquity, and that therefore His servants should hate and reprove it also. Love is the soul of the gospel, but right is also its conscience and ruler. For after all, in spite of our weakness, purity is affected by testimony. Christ presents Himself to the silent as the terrible witness for the truth. Out of His mouth proceeds a sharp two-edged sword, which represents the combative and sin-destroying influence of truth. The promises to the victor who shall overcome his timidity are very remarkable. There are, we are told, special delights for faithful witnesses, both now and hereafter. What have I gained after fifty years of toil for the friendless? asked Lord Shaftesbury. And he replied to his own question, thus–Peace of mind, and nothing else! But peace of mind is no slight boon; it is worth risking a little ridicule for, if we may but thereby obtain a good conscience and the favour of Christ. (J. J. Ellis.)
The address to Pergamos
I. The introduction. We have no account of the origin of the Church in this city. The only instance in which it occurs in Scripture is in this address. Ecclesiastical history is almost entirely silent respecting it. It has been supposed that Paul, during his extensive labours in this part of the world, must have visited a place of such importance, but this is mere conjecture. Who the angel of the Church in Pergamos was we know not. Eusebius, who wrote at Caesarea about three hundred years afterwards, informs us that his name was Corpus, and that he suffered martyrdom. Such, at least, was the uncertain voice of tradition at that time. The sharp sword with two edges is the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. This cuts two ways. It is capable both of a direct and a back stroke. The former is for conviction, the latter for destruction. With one edge Christ fights for us, with the other against us. The Church of Pergamos is threatened that unless it repents the sharp sword with two edges will be turned against it.
II. The commendation.
1. He commends their zeal. I know thy works. All their works for Christ were registered on high. This, however, did not render their deficiency in other duties less criminal. The most perfect performance of all Christian duties but one will not atone for the neglect of that one: it would only cause that one to stand out in a more aggravated light.
2. It is commended for its fidelity in seasons of persecution: Thou holdest fast My name, and hast not denied My faith; and during one period in particular, even in those days wherein Antipas was my faithful martyr, who was slain among you. When persecution raged with greatest violence, they had maintained the greatest constancy.
3. In commending this Church, the Saviour graciously concedes the unfavourable position in which it was placed. The character given of Pergamos is that it was the throne of Satan, and where Satan dwells. This city exceeded all others at that time in wickedness. Let us see how this accords with the testimony of history concerning it. Its foundation, as a place of importance, was laid in treachery, avarice, and usurpation. One of Alexanders generals, who after the death of their leader sought to obtain a part of his empire by the sword, having overrun this part of Asia, deposited the rich spoils he had acquired by war in Pergamos, and entrusted them with one of his private attendants, while he rushed forward to new conquests. The servant seized the treasures, made himself master of the place, raised it to the metropolis of an independent empire; and after reigning twenty years, transmitted it to his heirs, who retained it for a hundred and fifty years afterwards. The last of these kings having no descendants, bequeathed the kingdom to the senate of Rome. This was probably done to prevent the confusion and ruin that would have ensued from the number of pretenders at his death. An usurper arose, which compelled the Romans to enforce their claim by conquest. The Roman general prevailed, by the barbarous device of poisoning the fountains and channels that supplied the city with water. Pergamos was a rich booty to the Romans, but they paid dear for their conquest. The exuberance in dress, houses, furniture, and provisions was beyond all that they had seen before. Excess of luxury was accompanied with an equal excess of vice. It was here that the Romans were introduced to Asiatic grandeur and Asiatic voluptuousness at the same time. The simplicity of Roman manners from this period began to decline. The habits of the metropolis of the world were changed. The effeminacy of the East triumphed over the manliness of the West. The profuseness and profligacy of Asia spread through the imperial city, and over its vast empire, which all its historians agree were first imported from Pergamos. This was about a century before the Christian era. The continual intercourse with strangers at its port, from all parts of the Roman world, who came to do homage to its luxury and sensuality, inflamed still more the moral condition of Pergamos. It was just as Pergamos had arrived by these means to the height of his pride and corruption that a Christian Church arose in that city. The Saviour does not enjoin His disciples in this city to abandon it on account of its great wickedness, but commends them for remaining firm. There is no one, perhaps, who does not suppose that he could find a position less painful and discouraging than his own. There are reasons for his being called by grace, in the situation he occupies. It may be in mercy to others, as well as to himself. A testimony by this means is given before all of that gospel which is the power of God unto salvation. All the grace that is required to glorify the Redeemer in the sphere we occupy is ensured by the fact of His having called us in that sphere.
III. The reproof. But I have a few things against thee. They are only two, but they are both of a serious nature. The one is compliance with idolatrous practices, the other the encouragement they had given to heretical sentiments.
1. The former is thus stated, Thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam. The professed deity of the place was AEsculapius, a celebrated physician, who had resided in this city. Where there is most luxury there is most disease, and most encouragement is given to the healing art. Those who were converted to Christianity in Pergamos abandoned, of course, the worship of AEsculapius, refused to join in its festivities, and rejected with abhorrence the flesh that had been offered on his shrine. There were some, however, at this time, in connection with the Church, who not only united in these feasts, and the consequences that ensued, but endeavoured to draw others into the same snare. By sympathising with idolatry, and exposing themselves to its demoralising influence, they threw the same kind of stumbling-block in the way of Christians as Balaam did before the children of Israel. Whoever endeavours to beguile a Christian into conformity with worldliness and sin, or by any means throws a stumbling-block before him to turn him aside, or causes him so to fall that he becomes an occasion of scandal to his profession–for that is the precise meaning of the term here employed–holds the doctrine of Balaam.
2. The other subject of reprobation in this Church is the encouragement it had given to heretical sentiments.
IV. The admonition. Repent. This single word expresses the whole requirement of God, and consequently the whole duty of man, in reference to every deviation from the right path. It is that which is first and instantly demanded, and which, if genuine, leads to all the rest.
V. The threatening. Or else I will come unto thee quickly, etc.
VI. The application. To him that overcometh. The present is regarded as a time of severe conflict. Faith must be tried, and that only which is triumphant will be rewarded. Those who overcome in a place like Pergamos, where Satan has his throne, shall have a double reward. The one is to eat of the hidden manna, and the other to have a white stone given him, and in the stone a new name written which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it. Part of this description appears, at first view, to apply to the present and part to the future state. Faith in this life is its own reward. The faith by which we overcome every temptation and difficulty derives its strength from feeding on the heavenly manna. The flesh of Christ is its meat, and His blood its drink indeed. He who has this faith has the white stone of innocence in his possession, which enables him to look forward to the great day of account with joy, and fortifies him against all the accusations of his foes and of the law. The consciousness of a vital union between Christ and our souls is the great secret in the Christians breast. It were vain to attempt to explain it to others. What to him is the evidence of consciousness, to another is but the evidence of a single testimony from human lips. Nor can grace in the heart of one infallibly detect its existence in the heart of another. Each carries the secret of his sincerity in his own breast. The whole passage, however, is intended, without doubt, to express the peculiar character of their joy in heaven. The same life which the Christian now lives by faith in the Son of God he will then live by open and sensible communion. The manna on which he feeds is the same both in earth and in heaven. In the one case the manna descends to him, in the other he ascends to its hidden stores. This hidden manna for the supply of every desire, with an inward consciousness of the most unbounded liberty of access, constitutes the peculiar privilege to which the promise under consideration refers. (G. Rogers.)
The words of Christ to the congregation at Pergamos
I. A tone of authority.
1. Christs truth is authoritative.
2. Christs truth is mighty.
II. A discrimination of character.
1. Christ is fully acquainted with circumstances under which all moral character is formed.
2. Christ describes exactly the moral position in which the Church lived.
3. The eye of Christ recognises every part of a mans character, whether good or bad.
III. A reformative demand.
1. Repentance is moral reformation.
2. Repentance is an urgent necessity.
IV. A promise of blessedness.
1. The choicest nourishment.
2. The highest distinction. (D. Thomas, D. D.)
The Church faithful to the truth but defective in discipline
I. This Church was faithful in its adherence to the truth.
1. It held fast the name of Christ, and reposed a sincere confidence in Him.
2. It was faithful, notwithstanding the unfavourable circumstances in which it was placed.
3. It was faithful, notwithstanding the martyrdom of one of its prominent members.
II. This Church was defective in the discipline by which it was governed.
1. Defective discipline consists in allowing men of depraved conduct and unhallowed creed to enter and remain in the Church.
2. This defective discipline, unless repented of, will invite the judgment of Christ, severe and irreparable.
3. This defective discipline often mars the beauty and usefulness of an otherwise excellent Church.
Lessons:
1. At all times and under all circumstances to be faithful to the truth as it is in Jesus.
2. To be anxious to sustain the Church of Christ where it is most needed brave and pure.
3. That the office-bearers in the Church should be careful as to its government. (J. S. Exell, M. A.)
A Church with a serious defect
I. The wickedness of the city.
1. No slight importance is attached by the horticulturist as to the soil in which he seeks to rear his plants. Arctic zones and sandy deserts give little promise of success.
2. Is it not a matter of highest importance whether our homes are well ventilated and are free from malarial and sewer poisons?
3. In a spiritual point of view, healthful surroundings should be carefully sought.
II. The excellent features in the character of this Church.
1. Unflinching firmness in upholding Christs name–Thou holdest My name, etc.
2. Unflinching firmness to Christs cause–Hast not denied My faith, etc.
3. Unflinching firmness under severe trials.
(1) There is nothing more valuable in human character than unswerving adherence to Christ, especially when persecuted for Christs sake.
(2) Nothing more detrimental to true growth than unstability.
(3) The great lack of our day is moral backbone–power to stand for Christ amid the difficulties of life.
III. Serious defects in the character of this church.
1. Thou boldest the doctrine of Balaam! How many a young Christian has been led away from Christ and His cause by being tempted to attend an evening party, where a taste for worldly pleasure was again awakened, which ultimately destroyed all relish for spiritual things! And are there not Churches in our land, nay, in our city, who are seducing their own members away from Christ by providing for them worldly amusements, on the plea that if they do not provide amusement they will go elsewhere to enjoy them? What is this but the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to cast a stumbling-block before the children of Israel?
2. So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes, which thing I hate (verse 15).
(1) What the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes was cannot be fully determined.
(2) The testimony of the Fathers is that it was something akin to the doctrine of Balaam.
(3) It was, at all events, that which the Lord hated.
(4) And it was very evident that our Lord Jesus Christ holds pastors and Churches to a strict account for what they allow to be taught and practised by their members.
IV. Our Lords Solemn Warning.
1. We must never lose sight of the real thing here advised.
(1) To repent in Scripture language is to change ones mind; and this means a change which affects the life.
(2) The real life is ever the expression of the minds sentiment.
(3) There can be no true conversion without repentance, as there can be no true regeneration without faith; and the only real evidence of both is a life of holiness.
2. We must never lose sight of the judicial element in Christs dealings with His people.
(1) I will fight against them.
(2) A Church of Christ cannot go counter to the expressly revealed will of its great Head without suffering for it.
(3) This is no less true in respect to every individual Christian.
2. We must never lose sight of the fact that the words of Christ are the source of our weal and woe.
(1) If He says, Come ye blessed, etc., who can rob us of the joy?
(2) But if He says, Depart from Me, who can prevent our doom?
(3) My words, says Christ, they are spirit, and they are life.
V. Our Lords earnest counsel.
1. The meaning evidently is this: Let every one who hears this heed it!
(1) Let there be no listlessness.
(2) Let there be no indifference.
(3) Let there be no worldliness to neutralise the effect of the Word.
2. Oh, how much need there is to-day of this counsel!
(1) While listening to the blessed Word of God how many there are who scarcely realise what is said.
(2) How many who pay attention forget what they have heard!
(3) And many who truly desire and pray for grace to be obedient to the Word find themselves so involved in the cares of the world that they constantly come short of their fervent desire.
3. How may it be done?
(1) We must cultivate the habit of submission to Gods Word.
(2) We must become more familiar with Gods Word.
(3) We must be much in prayer while the Word is expounded.
(4) And we must take the Word to ourselves.
VI. Our Lords most gracious promises. (D. C. Hughes, M. A.)
Adherence to the truth of the gospel
I. The excellence of the truth. What was the truth that the Church at Pergamos held fast? Was it worth holding? Did it refer to politics, philosophy, literature, or science? There was considerable political zeal at Pergamos; learning, too, flourished there. It was the boast of the town that it encouraged literary and scientific men. Notwithstanding this, not a word is said in this letter commendatory of their holding fast to anything save the truth. Science, learning, art, are good, but not the good. There is a deep significance in Christ commending the educated and scientific Pergamians for holding fast His truth. What was His truth? My name and My faith. It is a saving name. There is none other name, etc. It is a pardoning name. In His name remission of sins shall be preached, etc. It is a royal name. At the name of Jesus every knee shall bow, etc. It is a soul-collecting name. Wherever two or three are gathered together in My name, etc.
II. The memory of the martyrs. Martyrdom is a motive for holy truth. The martyrdoms of our land are the most radiant events in its historic page. They are the most creative things in the chronicles of our country.
1. The triumph of the spirit over the flesh, the majesty and force of mind.
2. The invincibility of the mind when it goes with truth.
3. God-sustaining grace.
III. The perils that surround us. There is something beautiful in what Christ says, I know where thou dwellest. This may be regarded–
1. As the language of alarm. I know the perilous circumstances which surround thee–beware!
2. As the language of duty. I know where thou dwellest, where Satan dwelleth, therefore be on thy guard and work earnestly for the truth.
3. As the language of encouragement. I know all thy temptations and thy difficulties; I know human life; I know what it is to live in a corrupt world. I know where thou dwellest. If sin is around you My grace shall much more abound.
IV. The disapprobation of Christ.
1. Christ first employs mild measures to correct His Church. Truth, suasion, love, example, are me mild means He ordinarily employs.
2. When His mild measures fail severer ones are employed. The severest is abandonment. No sword more terrible than this–to be abandoned by Christ is of all evils the most tremendous.
V. The blessedness of the faithful. The hidden manna and the white stone may mean Divine sustentation and Divine distinction. Those who are faithful to truth shall be at once sustained and honoured by God. Conclusion: Let us hold fast the name of Christ. He is everything to us. Without Him what are we? Pilgrims in an intricate and perilous desert without a guide–voyagers on a tempestuous ocean, without a chart or pilot. (Caleb Morris.)
I know thy works, where thou dwellest, even where Satans seat is.—
Gods estimate of Christian works
I. It is possible to be a Christian anywhere. Christianity is not a thing of locality, but of character. There are plants which will bloom in some latitudes and die in others. Tropical shrubs will not flourish within Arctic circles, the Alpine flora are not found on low-lying plains. But Christianity can live wherever a man can live, for it is a thing of personal character, and as that is a matter of choice, and as a man is always what he chooses to be, he may be a Christian if he chooses in any circumstances or in any place. Obadiah kept his conscience clear even in the house of Ahab: Daniel preserved his integrity amid the corruption of the court of Babylon; and Nehemiah maintained his piety in the palace of the Persian emperor. And what is true of places is equally true of occupations. Unless a mans business be in and of itself sinful, pandering to the vices and demoralising to the characters of his fellows, he may serve Christ in Any profession or trade. The Roman army was a very poor school for morals, and yet, strangely enough, all the centurions mentioned in the New Testament seem to have been men with some good thing in their hearts towards the Lord God of Israel. Character may take some of its colouring from circumstances, but it is itself independent of them; for it is the choice of the personal will by which a man is enabled to breast circumstances, and make them subservient to his own great life-purposes. Now if it be true that a man may be a Christian anywhere, what follows?
1. This, in the first place–that we must not be prejudiced against a man because of the locality in which we find him. Test a man by what he is, rather than by where he comes from.
2. But still further, if it be true that it is possible to be a Christian anywhere, then it follows, in the second place, that we ought not to excuse ourselves for our lack of Christianity by pleading the force of circumstances, or the nature of our business, or the character of the place in which we live.
II. It is harder to be a Christian in some places than in others. Thus there are households in which it seems the most natural thing in the world for a child to grow up in the beauty of holiness, and there are others in which everything like loyalty to Christ is met with opposition, and can be maintained only by a strenuous exertion. The boy brought up in a rough and godless neighbourhood has far more to contend with if he is to be a Christian than he would have residing in a different kind of locality. It is also undeniable that the surroundings of some professions and trades are more trying to those who are seeking to follow Christ than those of others. What then? If it be true, then, in the first place, the Lord knows that it is so, and He will estimate our work by our opportunity. But as another lesson from this difference in our individual circumstances, we ought to learn to be charitable in our judgment of each other. The flower in the window of the poor mans cottage may be very far from a perfect specimen of its kind; but that it is there at all is a greater marvel than it is to find a superb specimen of the same in the conservatory of the wealthy nobleman. And there may be more honour to one man for all the Christianity he has maintained in the face of great obstacles, though it be marked by some blemishes, than there is to another who has no such blemishes, but who has had no such conflict.
III. The harder the place in which we are we should be the more earnest by prayer and watchfulness to maintain our Christianity. Here, however, it is needful that we clearly comprehend what the hardest place is. It is not always that in which there is the greatest external resistance to Christianity. An avowed antagonist he meets as an antagonist; he prepared himself for the encounter, and he is rarely taken unawares; but when the ungodly meet him as friends, then he is in real peril. The worlds attentions are more deadly to the Christian than its antagonisms, and it is against these that we must be especially on our guard. The Church is in the world as a boat is in the sea; it can float only by keeping above it; and if we let it become, as I may say, world-logged, it will be swamped thereby, just as surely as a boat will be that is filled with water. Another thing which makes a place hard for a Christian to maintain his loyalty in is what I may call its atmosphere. We talk loosely of the genius of a place. But every place has its own spirit, trend, tendency, or, if you will not be offended by the word, its own particular idolatry. In one the question regarding a new-comer may be, What does he know? Has he written anything? There we have the worship of intellect, or, as it is called by us over the way, culture. In another the inquiry is, Who was his grandfather? There the idolatry is that of family. In another the test is, What is he worth? There the idolatry is that of wealth.
IV. The greater the difficulty which we overcome in the maintenance of our Christianity, the nobler will be our reward. To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, etc. You see, here are three things–the stone, the name, and the secret. White stones were used for different purposes; sometimes for giving a vote of acquittal to one charged with crime; sometimes as tokens of admission to banquets; sometimes as mere expressions of love between two dear friends. The last seems to be the reference here: I will give him a special manifestation of My love. Then there is the new name written in the stone. You know that throughout the Scriptures, whenever a new name was given by God to any one, it was always connected with some particular crisis in his personal history, and especially commemorative of that. Bearing this in mind, we shall discover in this new name something distinctly commemorative of the personal history and conflicts of the individual; and when it is added that No man knoweth it saving he that receiveth it, we have the further peculiarity that, as referring to the most terrible struggles and experiences of the man, it is a matter of sacred confidence between him and the Lord, There are secrets between the Lord Jesus and each of His people, even now and here. The sun belongs to all the flowers alike, and yet he is to each something that he, is not to any of the rest, giving to each its own distinctive appearance, its crimson tips to the sweet mountain daisy, and its beautiful combination of colours to the fragrant violet. Just so, Christ has through my personal history and experience revealed Himself in some aspects to me that He has not shown to you, and to you in some that He has not shown to me. This new name at last will gather up into one external excellency all that personal revelation which Christ has made of Himself to each individual through His history, experience, and conflicts. (W. M. Taylor, D. D.)
Thou holdest fast My name, and hast not denied My faith.–
Holding fast the faith
I. Consider this fact.
1. The name of Christ is here made to be identical with the faith of Christ. Thou holdest fast My name, and hast not denied My faith. The faith of Scripture has Christ for its centre, Christ for its circumference, and Christ for its substance. The name–that is, the person, the character, the work, the teaching of Christ–this is the faith of Christians. The great doctrines of the gospel are all intimately connected with the Lord Jesus Christ Himself; they are the rays, and He is the Sun.
2. But how may the faith be denied?
(1) Some deny the faith, and let go the name of Jesus by never confessing, it.
(2) Christ is also denied by false doctrine.
(3) By unholy living. Christ is to be obeyed as a Master, as well as to be believed as a Teacher.
(4) Alas! we can deny the faith by actually forsaking it, and quitting the people of God. Some do so deliberately, and others because the charms of the world overcome them.
3. In what way may we be said to hold fast the name of Christ and the faith of Christ?
(1) By the full consent of our intellect, yielding up our mind to consider and accept the things which are assuredly believed among us.
(2) If we hold fast the name of Jesus, we must hold the faith in the love of it. We must store up in our affections all that our Lord teaches.
(3) We also hold it fast by holding it forth in the teeth of all opposition. We must confess the faith at all proper times and seasons, and we must never hide our colours. Let us never be either ashamed or afraid.
II. Having considered the fact, let us further enlarge upon it. What do we mean by holding fast the name of Christ?
1. We mean holding fast the Deity of that name. We believe in our Lords real Godhead. His name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, the mighty God. One of the names by which He is revealed to us is Immanuel.
2. We also hold fast the name of Jesus, and the faith of Jesus, as to the royalty of His name. He was born King of the Jews, and He is also King of kings, and Lord of lords.
3. Moreover, we believe in the grandeur of that name, as being the first and the last. Oh, what blessings have come to us through Jesus Christ!
4. We hold fast the name of Christ as we believe in its saving power.
5. We hold fast this name in its immutability.
III. Let me show the practical place of the name and of the faith with us. The practical place of it is this:
1. It is our personal comfort. For all time the Lord Jesus is our hearts content. Through this blessed name and this blessed faith believers are themselves made glad and strong. It is strength for our weakness, yea, life for our death.
2. And then this name, this faith, these are our message. Our only business here below is to cry, Behold the Lamb!
3. He also is our Divine authority for holy work. If the spiritually sick are healed, it is His name which makes them strong.
4. This also is our power in preaching. The devil will never be east out by any other name–let us hold it fast. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Courageous piety
This praise is great by reason of these circumstances. The governor of a ship and the mariners in a calm sea are not tried; it is no mastery nor praise for them to keep upright. But if in boisterous tempests and through the raging surges they can keep upright, and go safe through, it is to their great commendation. The captain in wars and his soldiers are not said to be valiant upon no assault of enemies, or for some light skirmish; but if they be set upon on every side, and compassed round about with fierce and terrible enemies and are not then abashed, but stand valiantly in the fight and give the repulse to their enemies, who doth not magnify their courage?
1. That they dwelled where Satan had his throne it showeth first what miserable estate all men are in without Christ, even under the cruel tyrant Satan, who ruleth in their corrupt lusts and holdeth them captive to do his will.
2. This doth magnify and extol the mercy of God that would send His gospel into such a place, even almost as it were into hell, for could it be much better where Satan had his throne?
3. As we may see, it extolleth the might of our Lord Jesus Christ, not only in planting His Church there, but in preserving it. For will Satan make final resistance when that is set up which casteth him down, and even in the place where he dwelleth? Men can better endure that which they mislike if it be further from them than if it be just by them. Then that He saith thou hast kept My name and not denied My faith, it is a most excellent thing. The devil laboureth nothing more than through terror of persecution to drive men from confessing Christ. (G. Gyfford.)
Testimony for Christ
If you are the only Christian in the shop, the store, or the office where you work, a peculiar: responsibility rests upon you, a responsibility which no other one shares with you. You are Christs only witness in your place. If you do not testify there for Him, there is no other one who will do it. Miss Havergal tells of her experience in the girls school at Dusseldorf. She went there soon after she had become a Christian and had confessed Christ. Her heart was very warm with love for her Saviour, and she was eager to speak for Him. To her amazement, however, she soon learned that among the hundred girls in the school she was the only Christian. Her first thought was one of dismay–she could not confess Christ in that great company of worldly, unchristian companions. Her gentle, sensitive heart shrank from a duty so hard. Her second thought, however, was that she could not refrain from confessing Christ. She was the only one Christ had there, and she must be faithful. This was very bracing, she writes. I felt I must try to walk worthy of my calling for Christs sake. It brought a new and strong desire to bear witness for my Master. It made me more watchful and earnest than ever before, for I knew that any slip in word or deed would bring discredit on my Master. She realised that she had a mission in that school, that she was Christs witness there, His only witness, and that she dare not fail. (J. R. Miller, D. D.)
Loyalty to the last
In the battle of Sadowa, after the Prussians had gained the victory over the Austrians, a young Austrian officer was found mortally wounded in a wet ditch. When the Prussian ambulance officers tried to remove him he besought them with such terrible earnestness to let him lie where he was and die in peace, that at last, seeing he had but a few hours to live, they yielded to his entreaties; and there, in that wet ditch, he died. When they moved the body they discovered the reason of his earnestness to be left where he lay. Underneath the body were found hidden the colours of his regiment. Rather than they should fall into the hands of the enemy he had covered them with his dying body. The noble foe forebore to touch them. They wound them round the young heros body, and buried him in that shroud with military honours. (Ellice Hopkins.)
Holding fast
, as with tooth and nail, or by main strength. (J. Trapp.)
Antipas, my faithful martyr, who was slain.—
Antipas; or, reliable principles
Antipas is probably the well-known name of some elder or pastor in the Church at Pergamos, and means against all, or one against many. Most interesting is the study of names and their meanings. There is always some peculiarity or strength of character indicated by a name which has been given, not by parents, but by common consent, as Richard Coeur de Lion, or William the Silent. If a man inherits a good name he should never stain it, if a commonplace name he should make it honourable. Antipas made his to be honoured both on earth and in heaven. When the principles of Christianity are embraced, they make a man a very Antipas with respect to the world. He will find, ofttimes, things that will clash with conscience, and circumstances such as will demand much casuistical reasoning in the effort to reconcile the claims of God and Mammon. Sometimes in business he must set himself against evil maxims. Sometimes in the Church itself there is need for a man to act as an Antipas. If he finds non-essentials made the pretext for useless divisions, and cumbersome creeds the means for lading mens shoulders with burdens grievous to be borne, he must speak out. If he finds out some truth long overlooked, and which it would be for the welfare of the whole Church to accept, he may not keep the truth to himself. In all his struggles, anxieties, and sufferings the true Antipas may always be sure of the support of Christ. When the trial comes he finds a strength given such as he little expected. Suffering for Christ, he is permitted to enter more into the fellowship of the mystery. What but this supported an Athanasius when alone he dared to raise a barrier against the Arian heresy on the one hand and imperial despotism on the other? What but this supported Savonarola under all his cares, and especially at that wonderful moment in the Piazza of Florence, before the great crowds, when, holding aloft the consecrated elements in his hands, his eyes uplifted, and quivering with excitement in his whole aspect, he said, Lord, if I have not wrought in sincerity of soul, if my word cometh not from Thee, strike me at this moment, and let the fires of Thy wrath enclose me! What but this led Bunyan to say to the judge, I am at a point with you, and if I were out of prison to-day I would, by the help of God, preach the gospel to-morrow? At this day, when there is so much unsettlement as to the principles necessary to be held, and the doctrines essential to salvation, it is of the highest importance to foster this spirit of fealty to Christ. Almost as much grace on the part of a Christian is needful to live consistently in the midst of the present subtile temptations of a smooth prosperity, as to go to prison or to the stake. When the storm is raging, the captains watchful eye and sailors ready help may keep the ship from wreckage, but what can they do against the calm and heat of the tropics? When a man is likely to suffer severely for his opinions he is sure to be careful as to what principles he embraces. Still, all should be as concerned to be right and to hold the truth whether they have to suffer or not for their opinions. (F. Hastings.)
The names of individual souls on the breastplate of Christ
Never did any man receive such a testimony as this. We are surer of his salvation than of that of any other; for of him alone has Jesus Himself testified that in the latest moment of this earthly life no shadow came between him and his Lord, that he was faithful unto death.
I. Antipas had not, like St. Paul, made converts in a hundred cities; he had not been in journeyings often, in perils by land and by sea, with the care of all the Churches upon him. He had lived in a heathen city, a simple believer in Christ, and, when the trial-hour came, holding fast to his principles; and his is the name which, before the judgment, the Judge has Himself pronounced blessed. We can scarcely overrate the importance of the truth here taught. How very few of us can really do much for Christ! To how very few is it given to produce any great results in the world! How few can be builders up of the faith, destroyers of heresy, converters of the heathen; aye, how exceedingly few are they who can recount that in their whole lives they have turned one sinner from the error of his ways! It may be so: but now our Lord tells us, that if only we have in our own lives and deaths witnessed for Him, if in our own souls we have held fast His Word, not allowing our faith to be shaken, doing quietly in our own sphere whatsoever our hand findeth to do, bearing what He sendeth on us–oh, we may be hidden and unknown amid the thousands of the people, and the busy world may have nothing to write on our gravestone, no triumph over sin or suffering to connect with us; but the name never heard among men shall be a familiar sound on high.
II. This passage implies our Lords intimate knowledge of the character of every individual man.
1. He knows at this minute the trial to which we are being subjected, and our conduct under it.
2. From the beginning He knew all that we should be, all that we should go through. We know no truth at once more solemn and more encouraging than this: solemn–for what an unutterable awfulness is imparted to our daily existence by the thought that we are unfolding the roll that was written before Adam was fashioned; encouraging–for how must God watch over this life of ours, care for it, regulate it, its joys and sorrows, its cloud and sunshine, if it is no chance string of events, but a portion of His own plan from the beginning I how will He call us, each one, Antipas-like, by his name, whose every member of body and disposition of soul He foreknew when as yet there was none of them! (Bp. Woodford.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
The Epistle to the Church at Pergamos.
Verse 12. The angel of the Church in Pergamos] See the description of this place, Re 1:11.
Which hath the sharp sword] See Clarke on Re 1:16. The sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, cuts every way; it convinces of sin, righteousness, and judgment; pierces between the joints and the marrow, divides between the soul and spirit, dissects the whole mind, and exhibits a regular anatomy of the soul. It not only reproves and exposes sin, but it slays the ungodly, pointing out and determining the punishment they shall endure. Jesus has the sword with the two edges, because he is the Saviour of sinners, and the Judge of quick and dead.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Pergamos was a famous city of Troas; we read of Pergamos no where else in Scripture, but of Troas we read of Pauls being there, Act 16:8,11; 20:5,6, and preaching Christ there, 2Co 2:12.
These things saith he which hath the sharp sword with two edges: see the notes on Rev 1:16.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
12. TRENCHprefers writing Pergamus, or rather, Pergamum, on theriver Caicus. It was capital of Attalus the Second’s kingdom, whichwas bequeathed by him to the Romans, 133 B.C.Famous for its library, founded by Eumenes (197-159), and destroyedby Caliph Omar. Parchment, that is, Pergamena charta,was here discovered for book purposes. Also famous for themagnificent temple of sculapius, the healing god [TACITUS,Annals, 3.63].
he which hath the sharp swordwith two edgesappropriate to His address having a twofoldbearing, a searching power so as to convict and convert some (Rev 2:13;Rev 2:17), and to convict andcondemn to punishment others (Re2:14-16, especially Re 2:16;compare also see on Re 1:16).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write,…. Of the city of Pergamos, [See comments on Re 1:11]. In it was a church of Christ, but when it begun, and how long it lasted, is not certain. Antipas, who is mentioned, Re 2:13; is thought, by some, to have been the pastor of it. Though, according to the Apostolical Constitutions s, Caius was the first bishop of it; and it appears, that in the “second” century there were several in this place that suffered martyrdom for Christ, as Carpus, Papulus, and a woman whose name was Agathonice t. Attalus, the martyr, who suffered in the same century, was also a native of this place u. In the “fifth” century there was a bishop of Pergamos in the council at Ephesus; and in the “sixth” century, there was one in the “fifth” synod at Constantinople; and in the “seventh” century, Theodorus, bishop of the church here, was in the sixth synod held at the same place; and in the “eighth” century one Pastilas was bishop of Pergamos; and in the same age, Basil, bishop of this place, was in the Nicene synod w; and the Christian name now is not wholly, though almost extinct; for when our countryman, Dr. Smith x, was there, there was a little church called St. Theodore’s, whither a priest was frequently sent from Smyrna, to perform divine service, there being but a very few Christian families in it. This church represents the church from the time of Constantine, and onward, rising up to, and enjoying great power, riches, and honour Pergamos signifies high and lofty; things that were sublime and lofty, were, by the Greeks, called , and also all high and lofty towers y. It was built under a very high and steep mountain, upon the top of which a tower was erected, by the lords of the lesser Asia, which still continues z. The church it represents had its principal seat at Rome, where Satan dwelt, Re 2:13; which signifies exalted likewise; and it introduces the man of sin, antichrist, the popes of Rome, who exalted themselves above all that is called God, princes, kings, and emperors; whom they excommunicated, dethroned, trod upon their necks, kicked off their crowns, and obliged them to hold their stirrups while they mounted their horses, with other haughty action, too many to name.
These things, saith he, which hath the sharp sword with two edges: of which [See comments on Re 1:16]; This title is used partly to show, that the only weapon this church, and the true ministers and members of it had, to defend themselves against the growing corruptions of antichrist, who in this interval rose up by degrees, and was revealed, and came to the height of his power, was the word of God, the Scriptures of truth; and partly to show, that in process of time, though not in this period, the man of sin should be destroyed, with the breath of Christ’s mouth, and the brightness of his coming; of which his fighting against the Nicolaitans, with the sword of his mouth, Re 2:16; is an emblem.
s L. 7. c. 46. t Euseb. Eccl. Hist. l. 4. c. 15. u Ib. l. 5. c. 1. w Hist. Eccl. Magdeburgh. cent. 5. c. 2. p. 3. cent. 6. c. 2. p. 4. cent. 7. c. 2. p. 3. c. 10. p. 254. cent. 8. c. 2. p. 4. x Notitia, p. 120. y Servius in Virgil. Aeneid. l. 1. p. 403, & l. 2. p. 633. Ed Basil. 1586. z Smith. Notitia, p. 112.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
| The Church in Pergamos. | A. D. 95. |
12 And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write; These things saith he which hath the sharp sword with two edges; 13 I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, even where Satan’s seat is: and thou holdest fast my name, and hast not denied my faith, even in those days wherein Antipas was my faithful martyr, who was slain among you, where Satan dwelleth. 14 But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication. 15 So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate. 16 Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth. 17 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.
Here also we are to consider,
I. The inscription of this message. 1. To whom it was sent: To the angel of the church of Pergamos. Whether this was a city raised up out of the ruins of old Troy, a Troy nouveau (as our London was once called), or some other city of the same name, is neither certain nor material; it was a place where Christ had called and constituted a gospel church, by the preaching of the gospel and the grace of his Spirit making the word effectual. 2. Who it was that sent this message to Pergamos: the same Jesus who here describes himself as one that hath the sharp sword with two edges (ch. i. 16), out of whose mouth went a sharp two-edged sword. Some have observed that, in the several titles of Christ which are prefixed to the several epistles, there is something suited to the state of those churches; as in that to Ephesus, what could be more proper to awaken and recover a drowsy and declining church than to hear Christ speaking as one that held the stars in his hand, and walked in the midst of the golden candlesticks? c. The church of Pergamos was infested with men of corrupt minds, who did what they could to corrupt both the faith and manners of the church and Christ, being resolved to fight against them by the sword of his word, takes the title of him that hath the sharp sword with two edges. (1.) The word of God is a sword; it is a weapon both offensive and defensive, it is, in the hand of God, able to slay both sin and sinners. (2.) It is a sharp sword. No heart is so hard but it is able to cut it; it can divide asunder between the soul and the spirit, that is, between the soul and those sinful habits that by custom have become another soul, or seem to be essential to it. (3.) It is a sword with two edges; it turns and cuts every way. There is the edge of the law against the transgressors of that dispensation, and the edge of the gospel against the despisers of that dispensation; there is an edge to make a wound, and an edge to open a festered wound in order to its healing. There is no escaping the edge of this sword: if you turn aside to the right hand, it has an edge on that side; if on the left hand, you fall upon the edge of the sword on that side; it turns every way.
II. From the inscription we proceed to the contents of the epistle, in which the method is much the same as is observed in the rest. Here,
1. Christ takes notice of the trials and difficulties this church encountered with: I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, c., <i>v. 13. The works of God’s servants are best known when the circumstances under which they did those works are duly considered. Now that which added very much lustre to the good works of this church was the circumstance of the place where this church was planted, a place where Satan’s seat was. As our great Lord takes notice of all the advantages and opportunities we have for duty in the places where we dwell, so he takes notice of all the temptations and discouragements we meet with from the places where we dwell, and makes gracious allowances for them. This people dwelt where Satan’s seat was, where he kept his court. His circuit is throughout the world, his seat is in some places that are infamous for wickedness, error, and cruelty. Some think that the Roman governor in this city was a most violent enemy to the Christians; and the seat of persecution is Satan’s seat.
2. He commends their stedfastness: Thou holdest fast my name, and hast not denied my faith. These two expressions are much the same in sense; the former may, however, signify the effect and the latter the cause or means. (1.) “Thou holdest fast my name; thou art not ashamed of thy relation to me, but accountest it thine honour that my name is named on thee, that, as the wife bears the name of the husband, so thou art called by my name; this thou holdest fast, as thine honour and privilege.” (2.) “That which has made thee thus faithful is the grace of faith: thou hast not denied the great doctrines of the gospel, nor departed from the Christian faith, and by that means thou hast been kept faithful.” Our faith will have a great influence upon our faithfulness. Men who deny the faith of Christ may boast very much of their sincerity, and faithfulness to God and conscience; but it has been seldom known that those who let go the true faith retained their fidelity; usually on that rock on which men make shipwreck of their faith they make shipwreck of a good conscience too. And here our blessed Lord aggrandizes the fidelity of this church from the circumstance of the times, as well as of the place where they lived: they had been stedfast even in those days wherein Antipas his faithful martyr was slain among them. Who this person was, and whether there be anything mysterious in his name, we have no certain account. He was a faithful disciple of Christ, he suffered martyrdom for it, and sealed his faith and fidelity with his blood in the place where Satan dwelt; and though the rest of the believers there knew this, and saw it, yet they were not discouraged nor drawn away from their stedfastness: this is mentioned as an addition to their honour.
3. He reproves them for their sinful failures (v. 14): But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there those that hold the doctrine of Balaam, c., and those that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate. There were some who taught that it was lawful to eat things sacrificed to idols, and that simple fornication was no sin they, by an impure worship, drew men into impure practices, as Balaam did the Israelites. Observe, (1.) The filthiness of the spirit and the filthiness of the flesh often go together. Corrupt doctrines and a corrupt worship often lead to a corrupt conversation. (2.) It is very lawful to fix the name of the leaders of any heresy upon those who follow them. It is the shortest way of telling whom we mean. (3.) To continue in communion with persons of corrupt principles and practices is displeasing to God, draws a guilt and blemish upon the whole society: they become partakers of other men’s sins. Though the church, as such, has no power to punish the persons of men, either for heresy or immorality, with corporal penalties, yet it has power to exclude them from its communion; and, if it do not so, Christ, the head and lawgiver of the church, will be displeased with it.
4. He calls them to repentance: Repent, or else I will come unto thee quickly, c., <i>v. 16. Observe here, (1.) Repentance is the duty of saints as well as sinners; it is a gospel duty. (2.) It is the duty of churches and communities as well as particular persons; those who sin together should repent together. (3.) It is the duty of Christian societies to repent of other men’s sins, as far as they have been accessory to them, though but so much as by connivance. (4.) When God comes to punish the corrupt members of a church, he rebukes that church itself for allowing such to continue in its communion, and some drops of the storm fall upon the whole society. (5.) No sword cuts so deep, nor inflicts so mortal a wound, as the sword of Christ’s mouth. Let but the threatenings of the word be set home upon the conscience of a sinner, and he will soon be a terror to himself; let these threatenings be executed, and the sinner is utterly cut off. The word of God will take hold of sinners, sooner or later, either for their conviction or their confusion.
III. We have the conclusion of this epistle, where, after the usual demand of universal attention, there is the promise of great favour to those that overcome. They shall eat of the hidden manna, and have the new name, and the white stone, which no man knoweth, saving he that receiveth it, v. 17. 1. The hidden manna, the influences and comforts of the Spirit of Christ in communion with him, coming down from heaven into the soul, from time to time, for its support, to let it taste something how saints and angels live in heaven. This is hidden from the rest of the world–a stranger intermeddles not with this joy; and it is laid up in Christ, the ark of the covenant, in the holy of holies. 2. The white stone, with a new name engraven upon it. This white stone is absolution from the guilt of sin, alluding to the ancient custom of giving a white stone to those acquitted on trial and a black stone to those condemned. The new name is the name of adoption: adopted persons took the name of the family into which they were adopted. None can read the evidence of a man’s adoption but himself; he cannot always read it, but if he persevere he shall have both the evidence of sonship and the inheritance.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
In Pergamum ( ). In a north-easterly direction from Smyrna in the Caicus Valley, some fifty-five miles away, in Mysia, on a lofty hill, a great political and religious centre. Ramsay (Op. cit., p. 281) calls it “the royal city, the city of authority.” Eumenes II (B.C. 197-159) extended it and embellished it with many great buildings, including a library with 200,000 volumes, second only to Alexandria. The Kingdom of Pergamum became a Roman province B.C. 130. Pliny termed it the most illustrious city of Asia. Parchment ( ) derived its name from Pergamum. It was a rival of Ephesus in the temples to Zeus, Athena, Dionysos, in the great grove Nicephorium (the glory of the city). Next to this was the grove and temple of Asklepios, the god of healing, called the god of Pergamum, with a university for medical study. Pergamum was the first city in Asia (A.D. 29) with a temple for the worship of Augustus (Octavius Caesar). Hence in the Apocalypse Pergamum is a very centre of emperor-worship “where Satan dwells” (2:13). Here also the Nicolaitans flourished (2:15) as in Ephesus (2:6) and in Thyatira (2:20f.). Like Ephesus this city is called temple-sweeper () for the gods.
The sharp two-edged sword ( ). This item repeated from 1:16 in the same order of words with the article three times (the sword the two-mouthed the sharp) singling out each point.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
Pergamos. The proper form of the name is Pergamum. It was situated in Teuthrania in Mysia, in a district watered by three rivers, by one of which it communicated with the sea. The original city was built on a lofty hill, which afterward became the citadel as houses sprang up around its base. The local legends attached a sacred character to the place, which, together with its natural strength, made it a place of deposit for royal treasure. The city was mainly indebted to Eumenes 2 (B. C. 197 – 159) for its embellishment and extension. In addition to walks and public buildings, he founded the library, which contained two – hundred – thousand volumes, and was second only to that of Alexandria. The kingdom of Pergamum became a Roman province B. C. 130; but the city continued to flourish, so that Pliny styled it by far the most illustrious of Asia. All the main roads of Western Asia converged there. Pergamum was celebrated for the manufacture of ointments, pottery, tapestries, and parchment, which derives its name [ ] from the city. It contained a celebrated and much – frequented temple of Aesculapius, who was worshipped in the form of a living serpent fed in the temple. Hence Aesculapius was called the God of Pergamum, and on the coins struck by the town he often appears with a rod encircled by a serpent. The great glory of the city was the Nicephorium, a grove of great beauty containing an assemblage of temples. The city has been described as a sort of union of a pagan cathedral – city, a university – town, and a royal residence, embellished during a succession of years by kings who all had a passion for expenditure and ample means of gratifying it. The streams which embraced the town irrigated the groves of Nicephorium and of Aesculapius, in which flourished the licentious rites of pagan antiquity. The sacred character of the city appears in coins and inscriptions which described the Pergamenes by the title claimed by the worshippers of Diana at Ephesus, newkoroi temple – sweepers or sacristans.
The sharp sword with two edges. See on chapter Rev 1:16.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write,” (kai to angelo tes en Pergamo ekklesias grapson) “And to the messenger of the church or congregation in Pergamos write thou; advise or inform them. This city was located about 100 miles north of Ephesus, and was known as: a) a pagan cathedral city, b) a university town, and c) a royal residence.
2) “These things saith he which hath,” (tada legei ho echon) “These things says the one having or holding; the protruding sword, the word of judgment for sin going forth from his mouth, as present, Rev 1:16; Psa 7:11-12.
3) “The sharp sword with two edges,” (ten hromphaian ten distomon ten okseian) “The sharp two-mouthed (edged) sword; mentioned in the introduction because he later threatens to use it, Rev 1:16. It is an instrument of judgment, as even the Word of God that goes forth from his mouth, Heb 4:12; Isa 55:10-11.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
THE CHURCH AT PERGAMOS
Rev 2:12-13
(Preached during the World War)
IN the Old World great metropolitan centers are being converted into heaps of ruins, and even their sanctuaries are not escaping the ravages of war; but, are perishing rather with the cities themselves. In our own land the walless cities seem all undisturbed, and their most characteristic sign is the multitude of church spires. And yet, American cities are little more safe than are those of Europe and Western Asia. Our menace is not as yet the modern cannon, but rather our increasing immorality, born as it is of unprecedented material progress.
Here is the moral of all human tales, Tis but the sum rehearsed of the past, First freedom, and then glorywhen that fails, Wealth, vice, corruption, pauperism at last.
If the author of this text had known New York, Cleveland, Chicago, Minneapolis, Los Angeles, and other American cities, and at the same time had been speaking of the Calvary Baptist Church, New York, or Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, or of Immanuel, Chicago, or of the First, Minneapolis, or of the Auditorium Temple, Los Angeles, he would have had no occasion to change more than one word, and that would have been to supplant Pergamos by the name of the more modern and American city.
The text, like all Scripture, is up to date; and the instruction and appeal like that which characterizes all inspiration is pertinent. It involves the Speech of Gods Son, The Seat of Gods Adversary, and the Stedfastness of Gods Servant.
THE SPEECH OF GODS SON
This is a part of a letter to a city pastor, and its Author is not John, but Jesus.
It is a message from the glorified Man. The moment before, John had looked upon Him; now he tells us he is listening to Him. The sight was that of the glorified Man
One like unto the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle.
His head and His hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and His eyes were as a flame of fire;
And His feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and His voice as the sound of many waters.
And He had in His right hand seven stars: and out of His mouth went a sharp two edged sword: and His countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength.
That is not the picture of a mortal! Nor is it the presentation of a mere immortal. Christ was more than a man! Christ was more than risen man. He was the God-man; hence the glorified Man! In the language of Campbell Morgan, Not God indwelling man; of such there have been a multitude; not a man deified, of such there have been none except in Pagan thought; but God in man, combining in one the two natures; a perpetual enigma and mystery, baffling human thought. And yet to be accepted as such, or the world is still without a Saviour. His speech, therefore, is not in the highest of human wisdom; it is the expression of wisdom Divine. A message from Him, therefore, is not the most important message: it is the only important one. See that ye refuse not Him that speaketh * * from Heaven. Forget not the Fathers injunction, Hear ye Him!
Hushed be the noise and strife of the schools, Volume and pamphlet, sermon and speech, The lips of the wise and the prattle of fools, Let the Son of Man teach.
His speech is symbolized by a two edged sword.
These things saith He that hath the sharp sword with two edges.
How this harks back to the opening vision Out of His mouth went a sharp two edged sword (Rev 1:16). It is a marvelNo, it is most natural that men writing by inspiration should speak together. Paul, addressing the Ephesian Christians and urging the whole armor of God, gives the place of climax to the sword of the Spirit, which, says he, is the Word of God. And the same Apostle, in his Epistle to the Hebrews, says of that Sword, that it is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword. There is little kinship between the mouth of that minister who constantly indulges in smooth things and the message of the glorified Man, symbolized by the sharp two edged sword. The effect of the former is that of a sleeping potion; the result of the latter that of a quickening goad. The first results in spiritual death and the second in accelerated life.
Quite often church members choose minister and sanctuary with these facts in mind. The man who wants to be at ease in Zion, the man who tells you that after six days of hard work, characterized by the disagreeable and the disconcerting, he wants, on the seventh to find in Gods House both creature comfort and moral consolation, will seek the man of smooth words een though the pen of inspiration has already indicted him with prophesying deceit. But the man who, realizing the sacrifice with which his own soul has been purchased, stands ready to throw himself into an active service, will never avoid the two-edged sword; but, in the language of Samuel of old, will be saying, Speak, Lord; for Thy servant heareth.
The special subject of this speech is the city church.
To the angel of the Church in Pergamos write.
The angel of this Church was its pastor. The Son of God will speak to every minister; but that He has a special message to the metropolitan pastor is past dispute. When, some years since, the Delineator, asked the question, What is the matter with the churches? it wisely requested city pastors to answer. That is not because country churches are without their defects; nor yet because country pastors have no opinions that are worth printing, but it is because the city-center has created the greatest problems of present-day Christianity. It is interesting to read the replies appearing in that magazine at that time.
Cardinal Gibbons declared that the fault was in the falling away from church attendance, and the remedy, the giving to the people some spiritual gift, some good which would be impossible for them to get elsewhere.
Chas. H. Parkhurst thought that an obliteration of the lines between the clergy and the laity, a change at least in the conditions of church membership, and an overlooking of doctrinal differences would materially aid.
Josiah Strong pled for a social gospel and an emphasis upon the social work of the church.
Len Broughton advocated a better knowledge of the Scriptures and a declaration of the faith once for all delivered.
Naturally Charles Aked wanted new theology, while Russell Conwell urged an active religion vs. a passive one and an open house vs. a sexton whose chief occupation was to keep the neighborhood children off the steps on the week-days and out of the vestibule on the Sabbath.
The very variety of opinion is proof positive that even the angelsor pastors, of the churches are not bringing their wisdom from the same source; and it presents rather a poor prospect for the immediate solution of our present problems. I suspect, after all, we will have to turn from the counsels of men to the Christ of God, and let Him speak:
Who has the key of the future but He?Who can unravel the knots of the skein?We have groaned and travailed and sought to be free:We have travailed in vain.
Bewildered, dejected, and prone to despair, To Him as at first do we turn and beseech Our ears are all open! Give heed to our prayer!O Son of Man, teach!
Only in the speech of this glorified Man will we ever find the solution of our city church problems.
But someone says, Why speak exclusively of the city church? For two reasons; first, to set some limitations upon the discourse, and secondly, to present, upon this important occasion, the more important subject.
The city church holds the fate of Christianity. Aye, more, the downtown church will determine success or failure for the future. That is suggested by our text.
THE SEAT OF GODS ADVERSARY
I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, even where Satans seat is.
It was in ancient Pergamos: it is in the middle of the modern metropolis. It is an undisputed fact that the heart of every considerable city, the world over, is being increasingly surrendered to Satan. What we call the downtown district is more and more marked by one general characteristicit is not only the commercial mart, but the moral sink. It is not only the center to which the crowds go, but where crime flourishes. Evolution contends that as men increase in the earth they rise in morals. History demonstrates that as human contact and fellowship increases corruption results. The final result is a deliberate adoption of a Red Light district, which is no more nor less than consent that immorality must characterize the citys center; and that neither legislation, moral administration, nor police regulation can drive the grosser sins from the citys heart. We practically draw up and sign a contract with the devil, ceding over to him the most central and crowded section of every metropolis. Without a blush, or even sense of shame, the churches retreat before this adversary; and when the devil boasts his victories, with true Teutonic astuteness we explain that we are not retreating at all, but only shortening and strengthening our battle line.
And yet, Scripture and science speak together in this language, out of the heart are the issues of life, and the Church of God ought to know that the heart of a city will finally determine the citys character. If surrendered, therefore, to the adversary, that he may there establish his throne, it is defeat for Christianity whether we confess it or not!
The armies that are locked in deadly combat today are fighting for one thing and one thing only, and that is vantage point. They know perfectly well that location determines everything. It is none the less true in our conflict with the forces of evil. Almost without exception the Church has at some time held the very heart of every American city. I never think of the battle that wages there without wishing for Christs men the disposition of the Confederate soldiers of whom my revered teacher Basil Manley used to tell. He said, One day after a most bloody battle of the Civil War, a little company of these soldiersa miserable remnant of their regimentwere found upon a knoll, and an officer riding up asked, Where is your Captain? One of them lifted a finger toward the prostrate form of young Poindexter, and said, There he lies. And what are you doing here? Doing what he told us. He said this was a vantage point and for us to hold it or die. Officer, we are doing what he said!
The commission for the true Church of God is voiced in two of Christs great commands. One of these we are still striving to regard: Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptising them in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.
The other is too often forgotten: Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind.
You will not find these, in any great companies, in your city out-skirts and resident districts; but their number is multiplied at the metropolis center. We know the meaning of our commission. The church that proposes to take up an offering for foreign missions and yet forsake the dark hole in its own city is truant to its call. There is not an argument in favor of endeavor in darkest Africa that will not demand a like endeavor in darkest New York. There is not an appeal for debased India that is not equally urgent for the neglected of Chicago, or the degraded of China that does not apply to the over-looked of Cleveland, of the sin-stricken of Manchuria that is not as essential to the sin-stained of Minneapolis.
For the Church of God to suppose that it can escape the unpleasant task of working with the wicked at home and the unpalatable contact with the submerged here, and condone the offense by gifts so far from home, that its dainty fingers are not stained, shows that it has missed the whole command of Christ and rejected its known commission.
The satanic forces of the citys center are at once an affront and challenge to the Church of God. It is there we find the most sensuous stage, a stage the putridity of which is conceded by all save moral perverts. It is there we find the lawless blind-pigan institution that is, in both nature and character, as devilish as is the devil himself. It is there we discover the social slums, which is only another name for satanic slime. And if the devil can get also into the downtown the theological skeptic he has in the fourthe sensuous stage, the lawless saloon, the social slums and the theological skepticthe four corner-stones by which his throne is both steadied and made stable.
What a challenge then! Shall the allied nations, marching against fortified strongholds, determined to take them at any cost, shame the allies of Christianity? Will the Church forget the example of the little Japanese who, when they warred against Russia, took their way to Meter Hill and added onslaught to onslaught until it was taken and Port Arthur was compelled to capitulate?
When I consider the history we are making at city centers I want to hang my head for sheer shame! We have fired our little pop guns against the adversarys gibraltars, and when they did not crumble at the touch of the wad, and all of his minions did not desert their trenches at the sound of the escape of compressed air, we have said, His throne is safe, and his seat is established, and our only safety is in retreat. Lest my figure should not be understood I will try to make it plain. An ordinary church, open for a small prayer meeting and for poorly attended Sunday services, located at the city center, is little more than a pop gun attack on Satans seat. The forces of evil hardly frown at it; they laugh rather! What we need is an adequate equipment and an adequate attempt at the downtown problem.
Practically every large city in the country is now the location of some church that is costing a million and more; but sad to say it is in the best residential section, and often times is simply an expression of pride, a new manifestation of aristocracy! The million dollar house at the heart of every city, open from early morning until late at night, meeting the social demands of its immediate vicinity, preaching the Gospel of the Son of God, not twice a week, but every day in the week, and many times in a day, is the immediate demand of our times, and it is, in the judgment of some of us, the only hope for the citys heart. Modern warfare demands modern machinery and modern methods; that the middle of the metropolis may be wrested from satanic control and presented to the crucified Christ by a conquering people. I confess to you that I stand all amazed that men give their money in large amounts to matters of lesser moment and overlook the opportunity of all opportunitiesa great downtown dominating church, the devils dread; it ought therefore to be the Christians determination. Think of what Tremont Temple has meant for Boston and New England, and let the memory of Lorimer never perish from the face of the earth; but rather, multiply his endeavor to redeem New York, and redeem Chicago, and hold our lesser cities against the day of needed redemption.
It is high time that men who have magnified their own private enterprises should cease to minimize the church. And it is equally important that churches that expect the assistance of great business men should plan and put into operation enterprises big enough to engage at least their respect.
But I pass to the concluding phrase of our text, and suggest, as it does
THE STEDFASTNESS OF GODS SERVANTS
Thou boldest fast My Name, and has not denied My faith, even in those days wherein Antipas was My faithful martyr, who was slain among you, where Satan dwelleth.
Let no man imagine that an adequate plant would give promise of redemption for the metropolis. That would provide only a center of operations, a seat of possible power.
If the city is to be saved it must be by a message and by a man, rather than by any mechanical devices constructible or even conceivable. The importance of personality is universally conceded! In the last analysis a man is the center of every movement worth while, and is the solution of every important problem. But in the case of Christianity, and in the work of the Church of God, he is a man with a definite message, and that message will run along the exact lines of this text.
No metropolis will ever be profoundly influenced for Christianity by a man who fails in either of the three particulars here mentioned. He must hold fast Christs Name! He must retain Christs faith! He must stand ready to know self-sacrifice.
He must hold fast Christs Name. Christs Name is the storm center of modern skepticism. The downtown preacher is himself determined and his ministry is forever to be gauged by the uses to which he puts that Name. If, in keeping with the Scripture, he presents it as the One and only Name under Heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved the Holy Spirit is committed to honor that ministry. If, on the other hand, he converts it into an interrogation point, and tells his auditors that we know little of Christ, that in all probability He was the son of Joseph, that His miracles are not in line with modern science, that His resurrection is not determined, that His Coming in power and glory to reign from sea to sea is a Judaistic dream adopted by modern visionaires, the Christian impress made will be no more positive in any other metropolis than it has been in San Francisco. The day we surrender the Christ of equality with God our Christianity is doomed, and our churches are without inspiration or commission. Truly, as Henry Van Dyke, in his The Gospel for an Age of Doubt says, The unveiling of the Father in Christ was, and continued to be, and still is, the Palladium of Christianity. All who have surrendered it, for whatever reason, have been dispersed and scattered: all who have defended it, in whatever method, have been held fast in the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God. His Name, and that alone, is the only justification for the existence of a Church; and the exaltation of that Name over every name is the solitary condition upon which God will set that seal of the Spirit which alone insures success.
He must also retain Christs faith. Even as the Pergamites did. The faith of Christ is another thing from faith in Christ. Faith in Christ is essential to our salvation; the faith of Christ is the basis of our teaching.
These are days of demands for abbreviated creeds. Even as brilliant a man as John Watson was caught by this far-cry and in The Mind of the Master he suggested the following foundation for a spiritual life: I believe in the Fatherhood of God; I believe in the words of Jesus; I believe in the clean heart. I believe in the service of love. I believe in the unworldly life. I believe in the beatitudes. I promise to trust God and follow Christ, to forgive my enemies and to seek after the righteousness of God. But a moments reflection shows that one must go farther than this. It will not do to say, I believe in the Fatherhood of Godyou have to define what the Fatherhood of God is; nor yet to say, I believe in the words of Jesus. That commits one to the whole creed of Jesus teaching, and if he be intelligent, he must know that creed and instruct in that creed, and he will shortly be back to the old position of orthodoxy, namely, The Word of God the only rule of faith and practice. No man can read the words of Jesus without finding out that His faith accepted, he is committed to the inspiration of the Pentateuch and the authorship of Moses. His faith appropriated the Psalms are from above. His faith rejoiced in the Prophets as Divine spokesmen. His faith anticipated the Apostles and their Spirit-inspired messages.
However great, therefore, our desire to avoid contention and to exhibit to the world good nature, we dare not tolerate those deadly heresies which deny the authority and integrity of Gods Word, write an interrogation point after the history of Jesus, and even dispute the wisdom of His speech.
As the great Dr. Lorimer once said, Our Lord Himself was not slow to answer His adversaries. The Apostles were polemics. The early Christians had their elaborate defenses. I question whether any assault has been checked by allowing it to continue unopposed. Truth is mighty, but it is not mighty when it skulks. Never has it prevailed, and never can it prevail until it bravely meets the enemy face to face. That battle fought, truth is more than conqueror, and the man who preaches it in the heart of the metropolis, and that man alone, will hold the crowd and build up a church that shall uncrown and discomfit the adversary.
But, as afore suggested, He must stand ready for self-sacrifice. Antipas, Christs witness in Pergamos, was killed where Satan dwelleth.
No man is fit to undertake the problem at the city center whose first proposition is to save himself. All such men are illustrations of the declaration of the Lord, He that findeth his life shall lose it; and he that loseth his life for My sake shall find it. It is no place for the man who prides himself on his meekness. It is a poor place for the man who boasts his mental balance and talks in terms of toleration and gospelizes about Gentleness. Moderation is a poor watchword for the middle of the metropolis.
A man needs the convictions of a Luther, the enthusiasm of a Wyclif, the hard-heartedness of a Hus, the unyielding stubbornness of a Savonarola, and the Scriptural bigotry of a Spurgeon. But to them all he needs still more to add a willingness to sacrifice himself for the citys sake, and die if need be, in body, that men who are dead in soul may live in Spirit.
But a sacrifice however great has no merit whatever except it be made in exalting Christ and presenting Him to the people and seeking His acceptance, since There is none other name under Heaven given among men whereby the city can be saved.
The reading public is fairly familiar with the eloquent words of Joseph Cook on The Ultimate of America. Once in the blue midnight, in my study on Beacon Hill, in Boston, I fell into long thought as I looked out on the land and on the sea; and passing through the gate of dreams, I saw the angel having charge of America stand in the air, above the continent, and his wings shadowed either shore. Around him were gathered all who at Valley Forge, and at Andersonville, and the other sacred places, suffered for the preservation of a virtuous Republic; and they conversed of what was, and is, and is to be. There was about the angel a multitude whom no man could number, of all nations and kindreds and tribes and tongues; and their voices were as the sound of many waters. And I heard thunderings and saw lightnings; but the face of the angel was above the brightness of the lightnings, and the majesty of his words above that of the thunders.
Then came forth before the angel three spirits, whose garments were as white as the light; and I saw not their faces, but I heard the ten-thousand-times ten-thousand call them by names known on earthWashington and Lincoln and Garfield. And behind them stood Hampden and Tell and Miltiades and Leonidas and a multitude who had scars and crowns. And they said to the angel, We will go on earth and teach the diffusion of liberty. We will heal America by equality. And the angel said, Go. You will be efficient, but not sufficient! Meanwhile under emigrant wharves, and under the hovels of the perishing poor, and under crowded factories, and under the poisonous alleys of great cities, I heard, far in the subterranean depths, the black angels laugh.
Then came forward before the angel three other spirits, whose garments were white as the light, and I saw not their faces, but I heard the ten-thousand-times-ten-thousand call them by names known on earthFranklin and Hamilton and Irving. And behind them stood Pestalozzi and Shakespeare and Bacon and Aristotle and a multitude who had scrolls and crowns. And they said to the angel, We will go on earth and teach diffusion of intelligence. We will heal America by knowledge. And the angel said, Go. You will be efficient, but not sufficient.
Meanwhile, under emigrant wharves and crowded factories, and under Washington, and under scheming conclaves of men acute and unscrupulous, and under many newspaper presses, and beneath Wall Street, and under the poisonous alleys of great cities, I heard the black angels laugh.
Then came forward before the angel three other spirits whom I heard the ten-thousand-times-ten-thousand call by names known on earthAdams and Jefferson and Webster. And behind them stood Chatham and Wilberforce and Howard and the Roman Gracchi and a multitude who had keys and crowns. And they said to the angel, We will go on earth and teach diffusion of property. We will heal America by the self-respect of ownership. And the angel said, Go. You will be efficient, but not sufficient.
Meanwhile, under emigrant wharves and crowded factories, and beneath Wall Street, and under the poisonous alleys of suffocated cities, I heard the black angels laugh.
Then came, lastly, forward before the angel three other spirits, with garments white as the light; and I saw not their faces, but I heard the ten-thousand-times-ten-thousand call them by names known on earthEdwards and Dwight and Whitfield. And behind them stood Wyclif and Cramner and Wesley and Luther and a multitude who had harps and crowns. And they said to the angel, We will go on earth and teach the diffusion of conscientiousness. We will heal America by righteousness! Then the angel arose and lifted up his far-gleaming hand to the Heaven of heavens, and said, Go! Not in the first three, but only in all four of these leaves from the Tree of Life, is to be found the healing of the nations, the diffusion of liberty, the diffusion of intelligence, the diffusion of property, the diffusion of conscientiousness. You will be more than very efficient; but not sufficient.
I listened, and under Plymouth Rock and the universities there was no sound; but under emigrant wharves and crowded factories, and under Wall Street, and in poisonous alleys of great cities, I heard yet the black angels laugh; but with the laughter there came up now from beneath a clanking of chains.
Then I looked, and the whole firmament above the angel was as if it were one azure eye; and into it the ten-thousand-times-ten-thousand gazed; and I saw that they stood on one palm of a hand of Him into whose face they gazed, and that the soft axle of the world stood upon the finger of another palm; and that both palms were pierced. I saw the twelve spirits which had gone forth, and they joined hands with each other and with the twelve hours, and moved perpetually about the globe; and I heard a voice, after which there was no laughter! You are efficient; but I am sufficient!
What then is the hope of the modern city? What then is the possibility of Satans dispossession and the conversion of his seat into a sanctuary? How can the crisis to which we have come be turned to conquest? The answer is in one nameChrist!
Fuente: The Bible of the Expositor and the Evangelist by Riley
CRITICAL AND EXEGETICAL NOTES
Rev. 2:12. Sharp sword.Suggesting unusual severity of asserting, and unusual severity of dealing (see Rev. 1:16; also Eph. 6:17). On the one hand, it was to smite that it might heal, cutting to the quick, reaching the conscience, laying bare the hidden depths of each mans life. On the other, it was also quick and powerful to smite and to destroy.
Rev. 2:13. Thy works.Better omitted, as in Rev. 2:9. Satans seat.Or throne. Reference may be to the worship of sculapius, under the symbol of a serpent; but Sinclair, on the ground of recent excavations, gives the suggestion that the phrase refers to the great altar of Zeus Soter, carved with the wars of gods and giants, which Attalus set up to commemorate his victory over the Gaulsthe last great triumph of Hellenism over barbarism. Another suggestion is, that the phrase merely indicates that Pergamos was, in a special sense, a home of the Satanic spirit of persecution. It may be better, however, to keep the idea of deceiver associated with the term Satan, and destroyer associated with the word Devil. Antipas.Probably short for Antipater; a man not otherwise known. Martyr.Strictly witness; but bearing witness unto death. The death of one of them reveals the severity of the persecution under which all passed. (The legend concerning Antipas cannot be traced earlier than the fifth century, and then legends of martyrs were freely invented.)
Rev. 2:14. Doctrine of Balaam.Which was this: if you cannot get your own way by open disobedience to God, get it by scheming; get it through offering gratification to human passion. Nothing can be baser, or more demoralising, than this doctrine of Balaam. Israel could not be cursed, but they might be made to bring a curse upon themselves by yielding to sin.
Rev. 2:15. Nicolaitanes.These people encouraged Christians to join in the idolatrous feasts of their neighbours, on the plea that to the spiritual man there can be no sin in any merely bodily, animal action. It is true that sin is in the will, but it is known by its expression in acts. I hate. . Probably should be , in like manner.
Rev. 2:16. Repent.Addressed either directly to the angel or to the loyal ones in the Church. Them.Those: embers who are yielding to surrounding evil influences. The discipline must be severe on them, and an anxiety for the whole Church.
Rev. 2:17. Hidden manna.Figure for the Divinely-provided, spiritual food, with which loyal souls are nourished. White stone.Sign of acquittal. See in Main Homiletic account of the tessara hospitalis, which explains the secrecy and value of the new name written upon the stone. New name.That which betokens their adoption into the family of God; a new character, new position and privileges.
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.Rev. 2:12-17
A Church Flagging in its Duty.Of this Church there is much complaint, and much need for stern discipline. Two evils were imperilling its very life. Christ deals with them hopefully, because they were yet in their early stages, and undeveloped. Only a few were really bad. Pergamos, or Pergamum (the original of the word parchment) was in the province of Troas, Asia Minor, some sixty miles north of Smyrna. It was not a commercial city, but its hill formed a natural fortress. It was the seat of the worship of sculapius, the god of healing, who was symbolled as a serpent, and represented by a live serpent which was kept in his temple. There is a legend about this god to the following effect: On one occasion, in the house of Glaucus, whom he was to cure, while he was standing absorbed in thought, a serpent entered, and twined round his staff. He killed it, and then another serpent came in, carrying in its mouth a herb with which it recalled to life the one that had been killed. sculapius henceforth used that herb, with healing effects, on man. But an elaborate system of magic grew up around this god, attended with deceptive practices. Pergamos became a focus of idolatrous worship, and could be described as the place where Satans seat is. Outward circumstances of temptation, rather than of trouble, are represented in the picture of this Church. Under pressure of these temptations the Church has partly yielded; but it does not seem to have recognised the seriousness and peril of this partial yielding; and therefore the Living Christ must come to it with the dividing and revealing two-edged sword.
I. A Church faithful to the truth.Hast not denied My faith. Antipas was probably the proto-martyr of the Asiatic Churches. I know thy works. We would like Christ to judge us by our Church activities alone; but He always seeks to judge the soul that is behind the activities. Christ takes due account of our disabilitieswhere thou dwellest; but not so much to excuse failure as to show that He expects energy. Only noble souls are put in dangerous places; they are honoured even as is the Forlorn Hope of an army. (The Nicolaitanes of Rev. 2:15 are best apprehended as the Antinomians of that day.)
II. A Church failing from its duty.Its practice was by no means so good as its profession. Some were going wholly wrong. Balaam and the Nicolaitanes are introduced as types of the two serious evils affecting this Church. 1. Unrestrained feastings, or self-indulgence in food. The story of Balaam which is specially brought before us here is given in Num. 31:16. Over-mastered by God, Balaam became a revengeful schemer, and taught Balak to show friendliness, and get the Israelites to mix with his people at the idol-feasts, whose great characteristic was riotous self-indulgence. This evil took a refined form in the early Church, and St. Paul had to advise on the question of eating meat which had been offered to idols, if a Christian was invited to a feast by a heathen friend. The difficulty was based on the Eastern idea of communion by eating. Fulness of self-indulgence in eating and drinking still involves the hopeless ruin of Christian piety.
2. Unrestrained passions, or self-indulgence in sexual relations. In Balaams day this over-feeding, and these idol associations, led to sadly immoral relations between Israel and Moabrelations that were in open and wilful opposition to the conditions of the Jehovah-covenant. In connection with this, bring in the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes, which supported immorality by its assertion that self-indulgence is not sin in the regenerate. There have been known cases in which men who were living in open immorality have persisted in coming to the Lords Table. But such men always have been, and are to-day, the canker of the Church. The sign that a man is a saved man is his wanting to be righteous, and trying to be righteous. A Christian absolutely must be self-restrained in matters of bodily appetite and passion.
III. A Church encouraged to become steadfast in holy living.Eat of the hidden manna, to satisfy the feast-feeling. The figure may be based on the legend that Jeremiah hid the Temple pot of manna. Manna is Divinely-provided foodspiritual food. The addition of hidden makes it clear that it was not such manna as was provided for Israelnot something to satisfy merely bodily appetite. The point is this: overcome, and hold in wise restraint bodily appetite, and Christs reward will be the culture of spiritual appetite, with abundant supply of spiritual food. White stone and new name, to satisfy the love for human relations. When houses of public entertainment were less common, private hospitality was the more necessary. When one person was received kindly by another, or a contract of friendship was entered into, the tessera hospitalis was given. It was so named from its shape, being four-sided: it was sometimes of wood, sometimes of stone. It was divided into two by the contracting parties; each wrote his own name on half the tessera. Then they exchanged pieces, and therefore the name or device on the piece of the tessera which each received was the name the other person had written on it, and which no one else knew but him who received it. It was carefully prized, and entitled the bearer to protection and hospitality. The idea is, that human friendships and relations should become wholly pure, freed from carnal strain, sanctified, heavenly, the friendship of purified souls. In heaven they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels. Overcoming carnal tastes will surely go with culture of the spiritual tastes, so that we shall prefer the hidden manna, and see glory in the white stone. Every Christian, and every Christian Church, is expected to wear the white flower of a blameless life.
SUGGESTIVE NOTES AND SERMON SKETCHES
Rev. 2:14. Doctrine of Balaam.Things sacrificed to idols, . Every convert from heathenism would acknowledge that he was bound to abstain from any participation, direct or indirect, in the false worship which he renounced at baptism. But the question, What acts involved an indirect participation? was one that gave rise to a perplexing casuistry, and yet could not be avoided. Was the convert to go out of the world, and turn from all social gatherings but those of his own community? Was he to refuse to join in the public meals, at inns, or elsewhere, which travel made almost indispensable? If he did so refuse, he cut himself off, not only from the pleasures, but from the duties and opportunities of family and social companionship. Yet if he accepted the invitation, there was the risk that he might be eating of the flesh of sheep or ox which the host had himself sacrificed, as a festive thank-offering, to Zeus or Apollo, or that the wine which he drank might have been poured out as a libation. If he did so eat, was he not, in eating of the sacrifice, a partaker in the worship, eating the flesh and drinking the cup which belonged to the demons that he had learnt to identify with the gods whom the heathen worshipped (1Co. 11:20). Yet another case presented itself, which followed the convert even to his own home. Of the sacrifices that were offered in heathen temples the greater part became the perquisite of the priests. When they had more than they could consume themselves, they sold it to the meat-dealers of the market. The Christian convert, therefore, could never be sure that what he bought had not been thus offered, and the sensitive conscience was harassed with the tormenting thought of an unknown and involuntary transgression, which yet brought with it defilement and condemnation. The Jew might avoid the danger by dealing only, as for the most part, Jews deal now, with a butcher of his own persuasion; but this implied a more settled and organised society than that of most Christian communities in the early days of the Churchs life, and many years would probably pass away before the convert was able to meet with a Christian butcher. On the other hand, in most cases the Jewish butcher would probably refuse to supply him; or, if that were not the case, would only do so under the restrictions (to the Gentile burdensome and vexatious) of the Mosaic law of clean and unclean meats. (See the discussion of this difficulty in 1Co. 10:14-33.) Those who are condemned by this message are precisely those whom St. Paul urges, on grounds of a moral expediency so high that it becomes a duty, to refrain from the exercise of the right and freedom of which they boasted. It was to be expected that some, in their self-will, would harden themselves against the appeal; that they might even use St. Pauls name, and boast that they were more consistent with his principles than he was himself. This, we know, was what Marcion and his followers actually did when they claimed a true liberty for themselves; and Marcion may well have had forerunners among the Gnostics of the apostolic age.Dean Plumptre.
Rev. 2:17. The New Name.The giving of new names is not uncommon in the bible; e.g., AbrahamIsraelBoanergesPeter. The new name expressed the step which had been taken into a higher, truer life, and the change of heart, and elevation of character, consequent upon it. Such are known in the world by their daily life, their business, their character; they are known above by the place they hold, and the work they are doing in the great war against evil. No man knoweth the characteristics of the growth of the character, the spiritual conflict in which the work is done, and the features of that change which has been, and is being, wrought, except he who experiences the love, the grace, and the tribulation, by which his spirit-life has grown.Bishop Boyd Carpenter.
ILLUSTRATIONS TO CHAPTER 2
Rev. 2:12. Pergamos.Pergamos, a celebrated city of Mysia, in Asia Minor, and for one hundred and fifty years the capital of a powerful and independent kingdom of the same name, is situated about sixty-four miles north-west of Smyrna. It was the residence of the Attalian kings, and a famous seat of Eastern learning, having a noble library, containing two hundred thousand volumes. The advantages of its situation, near the sea, and commanding an extensive plain, rendered it a place of great importance. The acropolis, or citadel (which was always the most ancient part, and the stronghold, of Grecian and Roman cities), stands on a hill two hundred feet above the plain, now crowned with its ruins, amongst which those of a castle or fortress, resembling those at Smyrna and Ephesus, covering the whole summit, and including about eight acres, stand prominent. It was built in the more prosperous times of Pergamos, though much of its present form is of a later date. The town afterwards became more extended, and the modern one lies in part on the slope of the hill, but principally in the plain. Among the antiquities of Pergamos may be mentioned the remains of the temple of Minerva, which rose on a high area, and was unrivalled in sublimity of situation, being visible from the vast plain and the Mediterranean Sea. Its columns now lie in a lofty heap. With a descent almost perpendicular, on the north and west sides is a very narrow valley, with a rivulet, over which, at one extremity, the great aqueduct of one row of lofty arches is constructed, and at the other a pile of massive buildings, which, filling the whole breadth of the valley, was the front and grand entrance into an extensive amphitheatre, the most complete edifice of the kind in Asia Minor. Here, at times, by retaining the waters of the rivulet, a Naumachia, or place for the exhibition of a mock sea-fight; was formed; while at others, when the arena was dry, and the stream confined within its narrow bounds, it was used for chariot, gymnastic, and other exercises. Of the site of the royal palace of King Attalus, celebrated for its beautiful prospect (and therefore probably occupying an elevated and commanding position), nothing can be positively asserted. Once there was at Pergamos the celebrated temple of sculapius, which was also an asylum, and the concourse of individuals to which was without number or cessation. They passed the night there to invoke the false deity, who communicated remedies either in dreams or by the mouth of his priests, who distributed drugs and performed surgical operations.
Rev. 2:17. The White Stone.We have here an allusion to an ancient mode of indicating approbation and acquittal, as described by Ovid:
A custom of old, and still ordains,
Which life or death by suffrage obtains;
White stones and black within urn are cast,
The first absolve, but death is in the last.
This ancient custom was something like our modern balloting, or voting by white and black balls. The White Stone promised by our Lord seems to mean full and complete justification at the great day, through His glorious imputed righteousness. Some interpreters refer to the ancient custom of acquitting an accused person by the jurors placing a white pebble in the balloting box. Thus the Christian, at the last great assize, shall receive, not the black stone of condemnation, but the white stone of salvation, through the merits of Him who died for sinners. The white stone has also suggested the token of triumph allotted to the victor at the Olympic games, entitling him to a triumphant reception on his return home. There is another tessera, or white stonethe tesseragladiatoria. Before a young man could appear as a gladiator in the great public games, he had to pass through a long and severe process of training. During that time he went under the name of tiro, or apprentice. When he made his first public appearance in the arena, if he proved victorious, he received an oblong tablet of ivory (tessera gladiatoria) as a reward and sign of his proficiency, on which was written his name, that of his master, and the day of his first fight and victory. He was then admitted to the rank of the spectati (distinguished persons). The name of tiro was dropped, and his new name of spectatus was inscribed upon his tessera. The tessera gladiatoria may not be so attractive in itself as the tessera hospitalis, but there is no objection to the employment of a symbol by St. John which is used by the apostle of the Gentiles. And, then, it fits the case, which the other does not. There is the change of name, the new name being more honourable, and commanding greater privileges, than the old. And this white stone is given as a reward of victoryof a victory, it should be observed, not in a single brief contest, but which was the crown and finish of a long and self-denying course of discipline.
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Strauss Comments
SECTION 6
Text Rev. 2:12-17
12 And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write:
These things saith he that hath the sharp two-edged sword: 13 I know where thou dwellest, even where Satans throne is; and thou holdest fast my name, and didst not deny my faith, even in the days of Antipas my witness, my faithful one, who was killed among you, where Satan dwelleth. 14 But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there some that hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to cast a stumbling-block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit fornication. 15 So hast thou also some that hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans in like manner. 16 Repent therefore; or else I come to thee quickly, and I will make war against them with the sword of my mouth. 17 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches. To him that overcometh, to him will I give of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, and upon the stone a new name written, which no one knoweth but he that receiveth it.
Initial Questions Rev. 2:12-17
1.
Where was the phrase the sharp two-edged sword used in The Revelation before this verse?
2.
What was the teaching of Balaam?
3.
Where is the Old Testament background for Rev. 2:14 located?
4.
Is it possible today that entire congregations like the 1st century Church in Pergamum needed to repent?
The Church in Pergamos
Chp. Rev. 2:12-17
Pergamos, (the Greek form is Pergamum) stood approximately 55 miles N.E. of Ephesus in the valley of the Caicus. Pergamos was the capitol city of the Attalid realm. Later, the Romans made it the capitol of the province of Asia. The inland location of the city precluded it as a candidate for taking over the trade of Smyrna and Ephesus.
There are at least two things which should be remembered about Pergamos: (1) That it had a great library of 200,000 books, and the word parchment is derived from the citys name; (2) It was internationally famous as a center of Asklepios worship. Asklepias was the god of healing. Asklepios chief descriptive title was (ster) saviour. The emblem of this Asian saviour is the serpent.
Pergamos was the outpost metropolis of Greek civilization. Beyond the citys borders lie the hordes of barbaric Celts. It is particularly important for our study of the Revelation, to know that Pergamos gloried in the presence of the Temples to Athene, Zeus, and was a center of the Caesar Cult. Caesar claimed to be god, but the Church in Pergamos acknowledged only one saviour (not asklepios) and one God (not Caesar) but rather the Lord Jesus Christ.
Rev. 2:12
John is once more commanded to write (same form as the other instances). Who is speaking, and how is He described? Christ is speaking as the one having the sharp two-edged sword. He speaks the word of God, and it shall not return unto Him void. (The nature of the Word of God, in both O.T. and N.T. will be traced in a Special Study in this volume.)
Rev. 2:13
I know where you dwell where the throne of Satan is. The word says that the Church was not to run away and hide but rather they were to dwell there permanently. (Here katoikeis or permanent resident versus paroiken, pilgrim or stranger.) The King James translation of thronos as seat is faulty. It means a throne from which he reigns as their lord. There is no neutral ground either Christ is our Lord, or Satan is our lord which is it to be?
And thou holdest (krateis sing. pres. act. they were constantly holding on to the faith; and they were doing it individually (force of the sing.) the name of me. Semetic background is present here in the use of name which stands for the person. And did not deny (ouk rns sing. 1st aor. ind.) in one act of refusal to deny Christ, most of the individuals (the sense of the singular form 2nd per. sing.) held fast to the faith once and for all delivered to the Saints. There was no compromise on the part of most church members in Pergamos (my faith). Christians at Pergamos held fast to Christ under heavy persecution, even under martyrdom. One martyr by the name of Antipas was singled out for special mention during the siege of hate. We know nothing more about Antipas than is mentioned here. We do know that Antipas held firm unto the end in the place where Satan continually dwells (katoikei pres. tense). Satan did not merely drop in and out of this city, but it was his constant home base.
Rev. 2:14
Their stand for Christ was a gallant one, but they permitted the ones holding the teaching of Balaam to remain in the Churchs fellowship. This is ample warning that the Lord is not merely concerned with the Church as a whole, but for every single individual claiming membership in it. It will not do to have available a good statistical report of the church. Many congregations today look on the surface to be progressing and successful; but what of the belief and behavior of every church member? It is not simply a matter of how many (even if statistically small) heretics are continually present in the Church life, but rather, are there any at all? Who was Balaam? (See Num. 25:1-9; Jud. 1:11; and 2Pe. 2:15.)
There were two heretical groups in this congregation the followers of Balaam and the Nicolaitans. Condemnation was Christs answer to the Nicolaites contamination of this congregation. Who were the Nicolaitans? No absolutely final answer can be given to this question, but they were probably committed to some form of Gnosticism.
Note: An understanding of Gnosticism is also imperative for a study of the Johannine Epistles as well as The Revelation. For further study see J. Doresse, The Secret Book of The Egyptian Gnostics. Viking Press, New York, 1960; The Biblical Archaeolgist, February, 1961 Floyd V. Filson, New Greek and Coptic Gospel Manuscripts, pp. 2, Religion in Life, Winter, 196162 William R. Schoedel, New Gnostic Papyri, pp. 99; Puech, Quispel, and van Unnik, The Jung Codex, Mowbrays, especially, van Unnik, The Gospel of Truth and the N.T. for a study in parallels; an excellent general study is R. Wilson, The Gnostic Problem, Mowbray, London, 1958. See also Jonas two works, and Bultmanns Primitive Christianity in its Contemporary Setting, 1956 for a multitude of ridiculous assertions about the Gnostic origins of several N.T. ideas. Bultmanns thesis is invalidated, because he uses antiquated views of Gnosticism which have been destroyed by the Nag Hammadi finds.
Rev. 2:16
Under the above circumstances, what can the Church in Pergamos do in order to become again acceptable to the Lord? Christ gave an immediate answer repent thou (metanoeson sing. 1st aor. imper. each individual was commanded to completely repent immediately). Unless they fulfilled the necessary condition of repentance completely and immediately Christ says to them I am coming to you quickly and will fight with (or against) them (autn them not the entire church, but the guilty, repentant ones) with the sword of my mouth. The Word of God shall prevail!
Rev. 2:17
The one having (the appeal was always to individuals not to groups) an ear let him hear what the Spirit keeps saying to the Churches. To the ones who are continually victorious I will give to him the having been hid (kekrummenou perf. pass. part) manna, and I will give him a white stone, It is impossible to completely identify the white stone symbolism, but it no doubt was a mark of identification to be given to all faithful Christians. On the stone would be inscribed their new name having been written (gegrammenon sing. pass. pt. p. the new name had already been inscribed on the white stone), which no one knows except the one receiving (it is supplied because the participle the one receiving needs an object).
Review Questions
1.
Pergamos was the center of what religious cult?
2.
What could the phrase where the throne of Satan is mean Rev. 2:13?
3.
What does the use of the name of me suggest Rev. 2:13?
4.
Was the Church in Pergamos free from false teachers? What did the Lord command that they do about them Rev. 2:14?
5.
What is the O.T. background of Balaam (see Num. 25:1-9) Rev. 2:14?
6.
What did the Lord require of the Church in Pergamos Rev. 2:16?
Tomlinsons Comments
The Church in Pergamos
Text (Rev. 2:12-17)
12 And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write: These things saith he that hath the sharp two-edged sword: 13 I know where thou dwellest, even where Satans throne is; and thou holdest fast my name, and didst not deny my faith, even in the days of Antipas my witness, my faithful one, who was killed among you, where Satan dwelleth. 14 But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there some that hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit fornication. 15 So hast thou also some that hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans in like manner. 16 Repent therefore; or else I come to thee quickly, and I will make war against them with the sword of my mouth. 17 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches. To him that overcometh, to him will I give of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, and upon the stone a new name written, which no one knoweth but he that receiveth it.
INTRODUCTION
This church was the farthest north, geographically speaking, of the seven churches in Asia. The city was a great religious center. The temple of Aesculapius was located there, to which sufferers came for healing from the four corners of the empire. Here also were the temples of Zeus, or Jupiter, Dionyson or Apollo. It was a perfect pantheon of pagan deities.
Here Polycarp, that great Christian martyr was burned alive.
Rev. 2:12 The salutation. Christ here presents Himself as, He that hath the sharp sword with two edges.
How appropriate this salutation! Owing to the fact that conditions were to be found in this church which called for refutation by the word of God it was altogether fitting that, the two-edged sword, which is the Word of God, should be the symbol under which Christ presented Himself to this church period.
The bearing of this is seen in Rev. 2:16, where speaking of those whom He had just reproved, He says, Repent or else I will come quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.
Rev. 2:13 This verse contains strong commendation. I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, even where Satans seat is. Seat here signifies throne. This church was in a place of peculiar danger, being directly exposed to the Adversary. Satans Seat here; some have supposed referred to the worship of Aesculapius, from the serpent being his characteristic emblem.
But there seems to be a deeper meaning here. It is called Satans seat here because it was where Satans authority was in some special way acknowledged.
It must be noted that his devices in this case did not take the form of either spurious Christianity, or of physical persecutions as at Smyrna, but were of the nature similar to the device employed by Baalam against Israel of old.
Of course, these epochs blend somewhat and we do find some faithful saint, named Antipas suffering martyrdom, and we also know Polycarp was burned alive, but the opposition took on a new dress here;something more subtle and deceiving.
Rev. 2:14 It will be profitable here to give a brief study of the doctrine of Baalam. Baalam taught Balak, the King of the Moabites, to cast a stumbling block before the children of Israel. Balak wanted the children of Israel cursed, but God would not permit Baalam to curse them as long as Israel was faithful to Gods commandments.
So Baalam then taught Balak to induce the children of Israel to indulge in the heathen worship and orgies, and then, of course, they would fall under the curse of God. This was accomplished through the women of Moab, by whom the Israelites were seduced into to take part in idolatrous practices and to commit fornication (Num. 25:1-3).
Evidently, here the true church, the Israel of God in the Christian dispensation, was enticed to commit spiritual fornication. The sin that answers to this on the part of the Israel of God today (Gal. 6:16) is their participation in the formal and ceremonial exercises of religious bodies, whose form of worship is not after the New Testament pattern.
And this is just what happened historically to the church in the Pergamos period. The church had just gone through the persecution under Diocletian A. D. 303 to A. D. 313. Myers describes that persecution:
Toward the end of his reign, Diocletian inaugurated against the Christians a persecution which continued until his abdication, and which was the severest, as it was the last, waged against the church by the pagan emperors. . . . For ten years, which, however, were broken by short periods of respite, the Christians were subjected to the fierce flames of persecution. It was during this and the various other persecutions that vexed the church in the second and third centuries that the Christians sought refuge in the catacombs. Pp. 522, 523 Myers Ancient History. Revised Edition 1904
After the abdication of Diocletian, and the joint reign of Galerius and Constantine of only one year, Constantine was proclaimed emperor. In the now famous Battle of Milvian Bridge A. D. 312, Constantines standard on this celebrated battle field was the Christian cross. And it was beneath this emblem that his soldiers marched to victory. This act constituted a turning point in the history of the Roman Empire, and especially the fortunes of the Church of Christ.
By a decree issued at Milan A. D. 313, the year after the battle of Milvian Bridge, the Edict of Toleration was issued and Constantine placed Christianity on an equal footing with the other religions of the empire. The Edict read as follows: We grant to Christians and to all others full liberty of following the religion which each must choose. Hear Myers again:
By subsequent edicts Constantine made Christianity in effect the state religion and extended to it a patronage which he withheld from the old pagan worship. By A. D. 321 he had granted the Christian societies the right to receive gifts and legacies, and he himself enriched the church with donations of money and grants of land. . . . From this moment can be traced the decay of its (the churchs) primitive simplicity and a decline from its high moral standard. It is these deplorable results of the imperial patronage that Dante laments in his well-known lines!
Ah Constantine! of how much ill the mother,
Not by conversion, but that marriage dower
Which the first wealthy Father took from thee.
Inferno XIX 115117
Myers Ancient History P. 526.
As Dante said, Constantine was not converted, but because he won the Battle of Milvian Bridge he embraced Christianity and made his soldiers and subjects Christian. Being a pagan, there were brought into the church many pagan practices.
Thus the doctrine of Baalam, the doctrine of Compromise characterized the Pergamos Period.
Constantine called the Council of Nicaea (A.D. 325) at Nicaea, a town of Asia Minor, and the first creed, or formula of faith was adopted, now known as the Nicene Creed. It was the fore-runner of all human creeds.
Rev. 2:15 Here we read, so hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes which thing I hate.
This departure made its first appearance in the first church periodthe Ephesian. There it was referred to as the deeds of the Nicolaitanes; here it is their doctrine.
The clue to an explanation is found in the name itself, and this is worthy of consideration because we find support in the meaning of the name Baalam, which occurs in the previous verse.
The name Nicolas which belonged to the person of whom these Nicolaitanes were followers, means one who conquers, or Lords it over the people.
Now it can hardly be a coincidence in a book where names and numbers, as well as objects, are used as symbols, that the name Baalam in Hebrew has practically the same meaning as Nicolas in the Greek.
This would point to the conclusion that Nicolaitanism was some form of heresy having for its object that of bringing the Israel of God into some sort of spiritual bondage.
In this church period there did occur such a compromise as portrayed in the doctrine of Baalam. Also there occurred in the same epoch, and following closely on the doctrine of compromise, a lording it over of Gods people.
How logical then that these Niclaitanes should first be mentioned in the first church epochthe Ephesian! There Christ saw the beginning of such a departure.
How many times the Holy Spirit leaves some hidden door, which when discovered, makes proof of a truth crystal clear!
In (Act. 20:28-31), we have an account of Paul calling the elders of this same Ephesian church, which Christ used to symbolize the first church period, to meet him at Miletus. (Act. 20:17).
His conference with them was in the nature of a stern warning, Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over which the Holy Spirit had made you overseers, to feed the church of God. For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them.
This clinches the proof of the nature of the Nicolaitane doctrinethe doctrine of overlordship. In the New Testament church, there was a plurality of elders over one congregation, but never was there one elder, or bishop over a plurality of congregations.
The departure from the primitive order of government began right in the eldership. The seed was dormant in the elders of Ephesus, but came to life and developed in the Ephesian period. And by the time we reach the Pergamos period, we find a bishop presiding over a group of congregations. This was the over-lordship of Nicolaitanes. And it was this very departure that changed the form of government of the first century church, and, the Nicolaitane government meeting in church councils, wrote the first human creedthe Nicene. This inaugurated the apostasy which produced bishops, arch bishops, prelates, cardinals and finally the papa, or pope.
It corrupted the church in government and substituted human creeds, catechisms, and human confessions of faith, for the Authority of the Word of God. No matter of wonder then, that Christ said of the Nicolaitanes in both the Ephesian and the Pergamos periods of church history I hate this thing. No wonder, then this doctrine only in the embryonic stage in the Ephesian, but now in full flower in the Permagos period, was so hateful to Christ that He introduced Himself in the salutation to this Pergamos church, These things saith He that hath the sharp sword with two edges. (Rev. 2:12)
Since the sharp sword with the two edges is the Word of God, His salutation becomes understandable. The only way to fight departures from the primitive order was to wield the sharp sword of the Spiritthe Word of God. Hence the call:
Rev. 2:16 Repent, or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.
From the wording of this warning it appears that we have here the case of a whole church being carried away with this evil doctrine, as the Ephesian church was charged with falling away from its first love. For Christ says, I will come to thee and fight against themthose who teach and practice this pernicious and hateful doctrine.
Yet the call to repent was to the whole church, which is, of course, responsible for the evils allowed to exist in its midst.
Rev. 2:17 Finally, came the wonderful promises: To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna. This appears in contrast to eating things sacrificed to idols. (Rev. 2:14) In connection with the mention of Manna, Christ calls Himself the Bread of life. (Joh. 6:48-49). Christ is unseen walking among the churches, hence called the Hidden Manna. He is the bread from heaven. And I will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written. Among the Greeks a white stone was a symbol of acquittal, as a black stone was one of guilt. The white stone speaks of justification and victory over this abominable doctrine of over-lordship.
The gift of a new name carries with it some great blessing of high honor. Christ is to have a new name known only to Himself, (Rev. 19:12) and His faithful followers also have a new name known only to themselves.
While the order of symmetry is changed, Christ gives the admonition He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. Again it is not addressed to one church, but to the churches, proving again as in the two former church periods, the Pergamos church is symbolical of a period or epoch in church history.
Without this Nicolaitan apostasy of the Pergamos period, there could have been no following fruition of abomination in the succeeding Thyatira period.
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
(12) Pergamos.Unlike Ephesus and Smyrna, Pergamos was not distinguished as a commercial city. Its importance was due to other causes. A striking coneshaped hill rose from the plain which bordered the northern banks of the Caicus. The hill was considered sacred. Its value as a strong natural fortress was early recognised, and it was used as a keep and treasury where local chieftains deposited their wealth. Its greatness as a city dated from Eumenes II., who was given by the Romans a large surrounding territory, and who fixed Pergamos as his royal residence. Under his auspices a splendid cityrich in public buildings, temples, art galleries, and with a library which rivalled that of Alexandriarose into being. It has been described as a city of temples, a sort of union of a pagan cathedral city, an university town, and a royal residence. It retained its splendour even after it passed by bequest to the Roman Republic, and was declared by Pliny to be a city unrivalled in the province of Asia.
Sharp sword with two edges.See Note on Rev. 1:16. The appropriateness of this language to the state of the church in Pergamos will best appear afterwards. (See Note on Rev. 2:15-16.)
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
III. PERGAMOS. The martyr Church, yet too tolerant of licentious heresy, Rev 2:12-17.
12. Pergamos Sixty miles northeast from Smyrna, would bring our apostle on his circuit to Pergamos, (more correct form of the word, Pergamum,) once the celebrated capital of a small kingdom ruled by a succession of noble monarchs. It was the seat of the temple of Esculapius, and once the possessor of a library of 200,000 volumes, collected by one of its kings, but afterwards added to the Alexandrian library in Egypt. But whatever its ancient intellectual or moral fame, it seems to have been in the time of the Apocalypse the headquarters of antichristianity, where the only martyr by John commemorated suffered death. In the other epistles the Churches are rebuked, in this the city is anathematized.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
The Letter To The Church in Pergamum ( Rev 2:12-17 ).
‘And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write, These things says he who has the sharp two-edged sword.’
Taken from Rev 1:16 this description suggests that the church in Pergamum is being reminded that it will be especially sifted, and if necessary exposed, by the word of God and judgment, because of the heresy in its midst. It may also be contrasting the glorious Son of Man with the throne of Satan (v. 13), the One having the word of truth the other the words of lies.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
The Epistle to the Church of Pergamos Rev 2:12-17 contains the epistle to the church of Pergamos.
Historical Setting – The ancient city of Pergamos (modern Bergama, Turkey) was located in the in the fertile valley of Caicus. Its early population of Greek colonists struck their own coins around 450 B.C. This city became recognized around 300 B.C. because of a Greek family named the Attalids whose wealth was able to establish it as a center of Hellinestic culture. It became the capital of the Roman province of Asia in A.D. 129 after the Roman army defeated Aristonicus, the son of the last king of the Attalid dynasty that ruled the region for over one hundred years. Thus, its earlier history was one of wealth as well as being highly developed in art and literature. The city of Pergamos contained a library of two hundred thousand volumes which later Anthony gave to Cleopatra. This ancient library was only rivaled by the one in Alexandria. Because the library was characterized by the extensive use of parchment, these paper documents took their name “parchments” after the name of the city. Pergamos also contained many marvelous architectural structures, the greatest being the altar of Zeus, which is considered one of the wonders of the ancient world. Because the city contained temples to three other Greek gods, Dionysus, Athena and Asklepios, as well as three temples to Roman emperors, it became known as the religious center of the Roman Empire as politics were married to religion. Although Smyrna later became the capital, Pergamos remained a religious center for this ancient culture. Also among its ruins archaeologists have discovered a Roman theater, an amphitheater, and a circus, which testify to its height of cultural development. [44]
[44] E. J. Banks, “Pergamos,” in International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, ed. James Orr (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., c1915, 1939), in The Sword Project, v. 1.5.11 [CD-ROM] (Temple, AZ: CrossWire Bible Society, 1990-2008).
The Altar of Zeus in Pergamos – From 1879 to 1886 the German government financed excavations among the ruins of Pergamos and were conducted by the German archaeologist Herr Humann. As a result, a number of these temples were brought to Germany and can now be seen in the Pergamon Museum of Berlin. [45] Perhaps the most famous of these temples is the altar of Zeus which dominates the museum. It was built during the time of Eumenes II (197 59 b.c.) to celebrate the victory of the Pergamenes over the Gauls in 190 b.c. [46] It is built with a set of ascending stairs decorated on the sides with an elaborate series of friezes. Humann discovered this altar in good condition, so that the Germans were able to disassemble and reassemble it in the former East Berlin.
[45] E. J. Banks, “Pergamos,” in International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, ed. James Orr (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., c1915, 1939), in The Sword Project, v. 1.5.11 [CD-ROM] (Temple, AZ: CrossWire Bible Society, 1990-2008).
[46] David E. Aune, Revelation 1-5:14, in Word Biblical Commentary: 58 Volumes on CD-Rom, vol. 52, eds. Bruce M. Metzger, David A. Hubbard and Glenn W. Barker (Dallas: Word Inc., 2002), in Libronix Digital Library System, v. 3.0b [CD-ROM] (Bellingham, WA: Libronix Corp., 2004), 182 [comments on Revelation 2:13 a].
It was upon the steps of this famous altar that the blood of many martyrs was shed, of which Antipas is mentioned in Rev 2:13 as one of these early martyrs. Some scholars believe that the phrase “Satan’s seat” refers to the fact that the city of Pergamos served as a stronghold of Satan during this period of history because of the large scale of temple worship conducted in this city both to Greek gods as well as to Roman emperors. Many scholars go so far as to suggest that the altar of Zeus, the most elaborate of these temples, is the focus of when referring to Satan’s seat. Within a few years, modern history records two world wars that find their roots in the German empire. Some scholars do not believe that this is a coincidence. It is as if Satan relocated himself to Berlin when the altar of Zeus was moved there. It is interesting to compare how the former president of Iraq, Saddam Hussien, has also attempted to rebuild the Tower of Babel in order to create for himself an empire.
Rev 2:12 And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write; These things saith he which hath the sharp sword with two edges;
Rev 2:12
The epistle to the church in Pergamos refers to two wicked men, Balaam and Nicolaus, who lured God’s people into acts of fornication.
Rev 2:13 I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, even where Satan’s seat is: and thou holdest fast my name, and hast not denied my faith, even in those days wherein Antipas was my faithful martyr, who was slain among you, where Satan dwelleth.
Rev 2:14 Rev 2:14
Rev 2:14 “to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication” – Comments – Eating meats offered to idols and temple prostitutes were a common form of pagan idolatry and temple worship in the Greco-Roman culture during this period of history. In the city of Pergamos where the famous temple of Zeus was located, these prostitutes could be found on the steps of this large temple. Partaking of idolatrous meat usually meant partaking of fornication during such temple worship. Both were indulgences of the flesh that fed the physical appetites of man, but deprived his spiritual being. Some of the church members of Pergamos had not been fully delivered from such activity.
Rev 2:15 So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate.
Rev 2:15
Eusebius (A.D. 260 to 340) makes mention of the sect of the Nicolaitans in his Church History. He tells us that Nicolaus, the founder of this sect that is referred to in Rev 2:6; Rev 2:15 as a heresy, used his beautiful wife to entice believers to commit fornication. As Balaam was used to lure the children of Israel into fornication, so were the Nicolaitans used to lure the New Testament believers into the same. Note:
“At this time the so-called sect of the Nicolaitans made its appearance and lasted for a very short time. Mention is made of it in the Apocalypse of John. They boasted that the author of their sect was Nicolaus, one of the deacons who, with Stephen, were appointed by the apostles for the purpose of ministering to the poor. Clement of Alexandria, in the third book of his Stromata, relates the following things concerning him. “ They say that he had a beautiful wife, and after the ascension of the Saviour, being accused by the apostles of jealousy, he led her into their midst and gave permission to any one that wished to marry her. For they say that this was in accord with that saying of his, that one ought to abuse the flesh. And those that have followed his heresy, imitating blindly and foolishly that which was done and said, commit fornication without shame . But I understand that Nicolaus had to do with no other woman than her to whom he was married, and that, so far as his children are concerned, his daughters continued in a state of virginity until old age, and his son remained uncorrupt. If this is so, when he brought his wife, whom he jealously loved, into the midst of the apostles, he was evidently renouncing his passion; and when he used the expression, ‘to abuse the flesh,’ he was inculcating self-control in the face of those pleasures that are eagerly pursued. For I suppose that, in accordance with the command of the Saviour, he did not wish to serve two masters, pleasure and the Lord. But they say that Matthias also taught in the same manner that we ought to fight against and abuse the flesh, and not give way to it for the sake of pleasure, but strengthen the soul by faith and knowledge.” So much concerning those who then attempted to pervert the truth, but in less time than it has taken to tell it became entirely extinct.” ( Ecclesiastical History 3.29.1-4)
Rev 2:16 Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.
Rev 2:16
Rev 2:17 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.
Rev 2:17
Exo 16:33-34, “And Moses said unto Aaron, Take a pot, and put an omer full of manna therein, and lay it up before the LORD, to be kept for your generations. As the LORD commanded Moses, so Aaron laid it up before the Testimony, to be kept.”
Jewish tradition records in its extra-biblical writings that God will again rain down manna for His people when the Messiah comes.
“And it shall come to pass at that self-same time [in the days when the Messiah comes] that the treasury of manna shall again descend from on high, and they will eat of it in those years, because these are they who have come to the consummation of time.” (2 Baruch 29:8) [47]
[47] Pseudepigrapha of the Old Testament, ed. R. H. Charles, in Libronix Digital Library System, v. 2.1c [CD-ROM] (Bellingham, WA: Libronix Corp., 2000-2004), 2:498.
Rev 2:17 may also be a reference to the Marriage Supper of the Lamb.
Rev 19:9, “And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.”
Rev 2:17 “and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it” Comments – The statement by Jesus Christ that He will give the church at Pergamos a white stone with a new name written has left many Bible scholars puzzled. There are a number of references in ancient literature to a “white stone.” We are most familiar with the Jewish Old Testament Scriptures that refer to the two stones called the Urim and the Thummim, which were used by the priests and Levites to pass judgment upon a matter. These two stones were placed in the breastplate of the high priest. The name “Urim” means “light” and might correspond to the white stone. In addition, the breastplate of the high priest had gem stones placed on it with the names of the twelve tribes of Israel written on these stones.
Archeologists have dug up small white stones in Rome with names and letters engraved upon them. One custom of the Roman Emperor was to throw small white stones among the crowd during athletic events with the names of gifts written upon them. Whoever caught a stone received the name of the gift engraved upon it. [48]
[48] Albert Barnes, Revelation, in Barnes’ Notes, Electronic Database (Seattle, WA: Hendrickson Publishers Inc., 1997), in P.C. Study Bible, v. 3.1 [CD-ROM] (Seattle, WA: Biblesoft Inc., 1993-2000), comments on Revelation 2:17.
Or, in the ancient custom of casting lots, two stones of black and white were used in casting a vote. The white stone was a symbol of good fortune or of innocence while the black stone symbolized bad luck or guilt. Adam Clarke [49] cites the Latin poet Ovid, who writes of just such a casting of stones:
[49] Adam Clarke, The Revelation of St. John the Divine, in Adam Clarke’s Commentary, Electronic Database (Seattle, WA: Hendrickson Publishers Inc., 1996), in P.C. Study Bible, v. 3.1 [CD-ROM] (Seattle, WA: Biblesoft Inc., 1993-2000), notes on Revelation 2:17.
“It was the custom in ancient times to use white and black pebbles, the black for condemning prisoners and the white for freeing them from the charge. At this time also the fatal vote was taken in this way; and every pebble that was dropped into the pitiless urn was black! But when the urn was turned and the pebbles poured out for counting, the colour of them all was changed from black to white; and so, by the will of Hercules, the vote was made favourable, and Alemon’s son was freed.” ( Metamorphoses 15.41) [50]
[50] Ovid, Metamorphoses, vol. 2, trans. Frank J. Miller, in The Loeb Classical Library, eds. T. E. Page, E. Capps, and W. H. D. Rouse (London: William Heinemann Ltd, 1958), 367-368. See Adam Clarke, Revelation, in Adam Clarke’s Commentary, Electronic Database (Seattle, WA: Hendrickson Publishers Inc., 1996), in P.C. Study Bible, v. 3.1 [CD-ROM] (Seattle, WA: Biblesoft Inc., 1993-2000), notes on Revelation 2:17.
Or, the white stone with a name inscribed may be an illusion to the winning athlete in public games who was given just such a stone, which entitled him to a life of maintenance at public expense.
“Trophies of many a well-fought field
He won in glory’s sacred cause,
The Theban tripod, brazen shield
At Argos, and Arcadia’s vase.
Her palms Boeotia’s genuine contests yield;
Six times Aegina’s prize he gain’d,
As oft, Pellene’s robe obtarn’d,
And graved in characters of fame,
Thy column, Megara, records his name.” [51]
[51] Pindar, trans. C. A. Wheelwright (New York: Harper and Brothers, 1846), 56.
Or, during public distributions of corn a person was given a stone, called a “tesserae frumentariae,” which entitled him to a portion of the grain.
Or, the “tesserae hospitales” was a stone given to mark a friendship between individuals. Sometimes a small oblong square piece of wood, bone, stone, or ivory, was taken and divided into two equal parts and given to the two parties to engravings served as a testimony to such contracts and agreements or friendships.
Or, a white stone with a person’s name inscribed, called a “tesserae conviviales,” was used by the ancients to serve as an invitation to a banquet. The one holding the stone had a right to attend the function that was being held. This idea of an invitation stone fits most appropriately the contrast of the invitations for the citizens of Pergamos to attend heathen banquets of idolatry and fornication to an invitation from Jesus Christ to attend the Wedding Supper of the Lamb. [52]
[52] Adam Clarke, The Revelation of St. John the Divine, in Adam Clarke’s Commentary, Electronic Database (Seattle, WA: Hendrickson Publishers Inc., 1996), in P.C. Study Bible, v. 3.1 [CD-ROM] (Seattle, WA: Biblesoft Inc., 1993-2000), notes on Revelation 2:17.
Rev 2:17 “and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it” Comment – God will give us a new name in Heaven. If we examine the people in the Scriptures whom God named (such as Solomon, the sons of Isaiah and Hosea), or renamed (such as Abraham and Sarah) we see that they these names reflected their prophetic office and ministry. We can also note that Jesus Christ’s name prior to His incarnation was “The Word of God.” His name “the Lamb of God” reflects His redemptive work on Calvary, and His name “King of Kings” reflects His office and ministry after the Great Tribulation when He will rule and reign over the nations of the earth for eternity. Rev 2:17 implies that our new names in Heaven will be given as a part of assigning us a heavenly office and ministry.
Scripture Reference Note a similar verse:
Isa 62:2, “And the Gentiles shall see thy righteousness, and all kings thy glory: and thou shalt be called by a new name, which the mouth of the LORD shall name.”
Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures
The letter to the congregation at Pergamos:
v. 12. And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write: These things saith He which hath the sharp sword with two edges:
v. 13. I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, even where Satan’s seat is; and thou holdest fast My name, and hast not denied My faith, even in those days wherein Antipas was My faithful martyr, who was slain among you, where Satan dwelleth.
v. 14. But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold to the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to cast a stumbling- block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication.
v. 15. So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes, which thing I hate.
v. 16. Repent, or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of My mouth.
v. 17. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the spirit saith unto the churches: To him that overcomes will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it. As in the case of the other letters, the Lord here introduces Himself by mentioning a special characteristic: And to the angel of the congregation in Pergamum write, These things says He that has the sword, two-edged, sharp. That is the way the Lord had appeared to John, chap. 1:16, to signify the penetrating power of His Word, Heb 4:12. The Word of power was intended to assist the pastor of the congregation in Pergamum in his apparently difficult position. His testimony, under the circumstances, was not to lack in sharpness and penetrating strength. All pastors are to preach the Word as it is written, regardless of the fact that their proclamation is to the one a savor of life unto life and to the other a savor of death unto death, 2Co 2:16.
The Lord describes the situation as it existed in Pergamum: I know thy works and where thou dwellest, where is the throne of Satan; and thou adhere to My name, and thou hast not denied faith in Me in the days when Antipas, My witness, faithful to Me, was put to death in your midst, where Satan lives. The statements that Satan sat enthroned, had his abode, in the city of Pergamum, is probably made with reference to the idolatry practiced in that city and district. For not only was Pergamum a center of emperor-worship in Asia Minor, where the Roman emperor was given divine honor, but the worship of the heathen god Aesculapius, the god of doctors, and of Zeus Soter, the chief god of Greek mythology, was practiced there. All this was particularly repulsive to the Christian religion, which condemned all idols and their cult with absolute emphasis as inventions of Satan. Thus the Christian congregation at Pergamum was in a difficult position. The Lord, therefore, acknowledges the faithfulness of the believers in adhering to His name, to the confession of their Christian faith, under very trying conditions. Even when Antipas, or Antipater, who is said to have been the bishop of Pergamum toward the close of the century, suffered martyrdom, thus becoming the first prominent victim in the local church, they did not flinch, they did not deny or renounce the truth which they had accepted. For this stand the Lord commends them highly.
But there was cause for a severe reprimand also here: But I have a few things against thee, that thou hast there such as adhere to the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to place a stumbling-block before the children of Israel, to eat meat sacrificed to idols, and to commit fornication; likewise thou hast also such as adhere to the doctrine of the Nicolaitans. Though the Lord had given the congregation of Pergamum high praise, the rebuke here administered had become necessary. A minority of the church had become contaminated with dangerous transgressions, and the fault of the majority was indifference. Sensualism and carnal sins were being tolerated. The Lord refers to Balaam, who, after having been thwarted in his attempt to curse the children of Israel, caused Balak, the king of the Moabites, to place a pitfall before the children of Israel by having the Moabite women seduce them to heathen worship and its attendant shameful orgies and sexual vices. It seems that certain members of the congregation at Pergamum had grown so lax that they deliberately took part in all the obscene practices of idol worship, and that they considered sexual excesses a harmless indulgence, the Nicolaitans holding this doctrine openly. See v. 6. These errorists were seducing the local Christians in the same way as Balaam succeeded in getting the Israelites enticed to ruin.
The Lord’s warning call: Repent; But if not, I am coming to thee quickly and shall battle with them with the sword of My mouth. Although only a few members of the congregation were actually involved in this sinning, yet the entire church, by its tolerant attitude, had become guilty before the Lord. Not to remove the cancerous growth and not to apply remedial measures was equivalent to abetting the guilty ones. So the Lord demanded repentance of the whole congregation for the sin of laxity in Christian discipline. And should the church delay in this change of attitude, then the Lord Himself will visit them. Not with the power of the government, but with the sword of His Word He intends to battle against the evildoers. He has ways and means of awakening strong witnesses for the truth and of showing all that profess the Christian truth that He will not be mocked. Laxity in Christian discipline is always a great peril for a congregation, for not only does the entire body become guilty of the transgressions committed by a few, but the evil, if unchecked, is bound to spread, for “a little leaven leavens the whole lump.”
The Lord closes this letter with a glorious promise: He that has ears, let him hear what the Spirit says to the congregations: To him that conquers I shall give to eat of the hidden manna, and I shall give him a white stone inscribed with a new name, which no man knows except the receiver. It is again the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Power, that makes this promise, not only to the Christians of Pergamum, but to those of all times and in every place. To him that conquers and overcomes all the tribulations and perils that beset his path the Lord will give heavenly food, hidden manna, Joh 6:31-35, Christ Himself being that true spiritual food which meets every need of the soul. As we truly receive Christ and all His blessings through the means of grace here in time, so we shall afterward, in heaven, on the eternal Sabbath, enjoy His glory in its very fullness. There the believers shall also receive a fine white precious stone, which is a testimony of the Holy Ghost to their faith. As their names were written in the hands of God by virtue of His eternal love, so they are here inscribed on the precious stones of eternity as belonging to the heavenly Jerusalem, where they will see and enjoy their sonship of the Father through the lore of Christ, world without end.
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
Rev 2:12. To the angel of the church in Pergamos Pergamos, formerly the metropolis of the Hellespontic Mysia, and the seat of the Attalick kings, is, by the Turks, with some little variation, still called Bergamo, and has its situation about 64 miles to the north of Smyrna. Here are good buildings, but more ruins: The place is almost wholly occupied by the Turks, very few families of Christians being left, whose state is very deplorable. Here is only one church remaining, dedicated to St. Theodorus: and that the name of Christ is not wholly lost and forgotten in Pergamos, is owing to the care of the metropolitan of Smyrna, who continually sends a minister to perform the sacred offices. The cathedral church of St. John is buried in its own ruins, its angel or bishop removed, and its fair pillars adorn the graves of its destroyers, the Turks, who are estimated to be two or three thousand souls in number. Its other fine church, called Santa Sophia, is turned into a mosque, and daily profaned with the blasphemies of Mahomet. There are not, in the whole town, above a dozen or fifteen families of Christians, who till the ground to gain their bread, and live in the most abject and sordid service. There is the less reason to wonder at the wretched condition of this church, when we consider that it was the very throne of Satan, Rev 2:13 that they ran greedily after the error of Balaam, Rev 2:14 and that they held the impure doctrine of the Nicolaitans. It was denounced to them to repent, or else Christ would come unto them quickly, and fight against them, Rev 2:16 as the event proves that he has done.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Rev 2:12 . The designation of Christ [1112] looks forward to the threat, Rev 2:16 .
[1112] Cf. Rev 1:16 .
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
Rev 2:12-17 . The epistle to the church at Pergamos.
Pergamos or Pergamum in Mysia, on the river Cacus, not to be confounded with ancient Troy or Pergamum considerably distant to the north, [1102] was distinguished for the temple of Aesculapius, which was regarded as an asylum, [1103] and much visited not only because of its worship, but also because of incubationes [1104] and dream-cures, [1105] vying in glory with the temple of Diana at Ephesus, and the sanctuary of Apollo at Delphi, [1106] as well as for its library. By the will of the last and childless King Attalus, this rich place [1107] tell to the Romans. According to Pliny, [1108] Pergamos was the seat of a Roman supreme court. The present Bergamo contains many relics of the ancient city. The earliest record of the Christian church at Pergamos is this in the Apoc. In conformity with Rev 2:13 , Tertullian [1109] speaks of Antipas the martyr. Eusebius, [1110] after having treated of Polycarp of Smyrna, makes mention of the martyrs in Pergamos, Carpus, Papylus, and Agathonice. The “ doctores ” mentioned by N. de Lyra held Carpus to be the bishop to whom John wrote. Others call the bishop of Thyatira by that name. [1111]
[1102] Against C. a Lap., Tir.
[1103] Tacitus, Annal ., iii. 63.
[1104] [The spending of nights in the temple of Aesculapius as an act of gratitude for some deliverance. Smith’s Dictionary Greek and Roman Antiquities , p. 376 b. ]
[1105] Herodian, Hist ., iv. 8. Cf. K.F. Hermann, Lehrbuch d. gottesdienstl. Alterth. d. Griechen , Heidelb., 1846, 41.
[1106] Cf. Wetst.
[1107] Hor., I., Od. i. 12; II., Od. xviii. 5.
[1108] H. N ., v. 33: “Pergamos, by far the most renowned of Asia. The jurisdiction of that district is called Pergamean. To it belong the inhabitants of Thyatira, and other less honored states.”
[1109] Adv. Gnost. scorp ., 12.
[1110] H. E ., iv. 15.
[1111] Rev 2:18 . Cf. Alcas., C. a Lap.
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
DISCOURSE: 2487
EPISTLE TO PERGAMOS
Rev 2:12-13. To the angel of the Church in Pergamos write; These things saith he which hath the sharp sword with two edges; I know thy works.
IN a former epistle we have noticed, that the particular parts of our Saviours character, with which the different epistles are introduced, are suited to the subject matter of each. In this address to the Church in Pergamos, our Lord has occasion both for reproof and menace: and therefore he describes himself as holding the sharp sword with two edges. Now, according to the plan we have proposed, of investigating more minutely every distinct description of his person, I will now call your attention to,
I.
The character with which our Lord is here invested
The description here given of our blessed Lord frequently occurs in the Holy Scriptures; and, by comparing the different passages, we shall see that it holds him forth,
1.
As a Sovereign
[The word of a king, especially in despotic governments, goes forth with great authority: as Solomon has said, Where the word of a king is, there is power: and who may say unto him, What doest thou [Note: Ecc 8:4.]? Now, by comparing our text with the larger description given of our Lord in the preceding chapter, from whence this smaller portion is taken, we shall see that this sword is his word, which proceedeth out of his mouth: Out of his mouth went a sharp two-edged sword [Note: Rev 1:16.]. And this word is indeed both quick and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword [Note: Heb 4:12.]. It is a law to every child of man: the greatest kings and princes, no less than the poorest of mankind, are bound by it, and must obey it at their peril. In reference to it there must be no demur, no hesitation, no delay. To question its authority, or to doubt its wisdom, is treason. As, in heaven, the angels do his commandments, hearkening to the voice of his word [Note: Psa 103:20.], so must it be with men on earth. There must be no resistance to him, even in thought: his word must be mighty, to pull down every strong-hold, and to cast down every high imagination that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ [Note: 2Co 10:4-5.].]
2.
As a Conqueror
[In this view the holy Psalmist addresses him: Gird thy sword upon thy thigh, O most Mighty, with thy glory and thy majesty: and in thy majesty ride prosperously, because (or in the cause) of truth and meekness and righteousness: and thy right hand shall teach thee terrible things. Thine arrows are sharp in the heart of the kings enemies; whereby the people fall under thee [Note: Psa 45:3-5.]. Armed with this sword, he goes forth in the chariot of the everlasting Gospel, conquering and to conquer [Note: Rev 6:2; Rev 14:6.]. Hear the description given of him by St. John, towards the close of this prophetic book: I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse; and he that sat upon it was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the wine-press of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, King of kings, and Lord of lords.And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse; which sword proceedeth out of his mouth [Note: Rev 19:11; Rev 19:15-16; Rev 19:21.]. Yes, verily, with this sword shall he get himself the victory [Note: Psa 98:1.]; insomuch that all kings shall fall down before him, and all nations shall serve him [Note: Psa 72:11.], and all the kingdoms of the earth become his undivided empire [Note: Rev 11:15.].]
3.
As a Judge
[The word that he hath spoken, the same shall judge us in the last day [Note: Joh 12:48.]. Amongst the books that shall be opened in that day, doubtless the sacred volume shall be one, and according to what is written therein shall every soul of man be judged [Note: Rev 20:12.]. And so the Prophet Isaiah distinctly declares: He shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears; but with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked: and righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins [Note: Isa 11:4-5.]. Then those who have resisted his authority as King, and withstood his power as a Conqueror, shall be constrained to submit themselves to him as their Judge: for he will then appear in flames of fire, to take vengeance on them [Note: 2Th 1:7-9.], and will consume them with the spirit of his mouth, and destroy them with the brightness of his coming [Note: 2Th 2:8.].]
Having marked the character of our Lord, I will endeavour to shew,
II.
The deep interest we have in it
It is obvious, that to the Church in Pergamos it was a consideration of vast importance; for the Lord himself said to them, Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth [Note: ver. 16.]. And is it of less importance to us? Methinks every Church under heaven, and every individual in the Church, should take occasion to inquire,
1.
What effect has the ministry of the Gospel produced upon us?
[The Gospel, by whomsoever ministered, is the word of Christ, which should dwell in us richly in all wisdom [Note: Col 3:16.]. And by all who hear it, it should be regarded, not as the word of man, but really and truly as the word of God [Note: 1Th 2:13.]. Our Lord said to his Disciples, He that receiveth you, receiveth me; and he that receiveth me, receiveth Him that sent me [Note: Mat 10:40.]. On the contrary, he who despiseth, despiseth not man, but God [Note: 1Th 4:8.]. Let me then ask, What reception has the Gospel found amongst you? If it have produced its proper effect amongst you, it has pierced your inmost souls: as it is written, The word of God is quick and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword; piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow; and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart [Note: Heb 4:12.]. O brethren, inquire, I pray you, whether it have thus penetrated the inmost recesses of your souls, so as to discover to you the hidden abominations of your hearts, and to make you cry mightily to God for the pardon of them! See the three thousand on the day of Pentecost, when smitten with this two-edged sword: what cries there were for mercy! Men and brethren, what shall we do? Believe me, brethren, this is the very first effect which it will produce on you; and it must have already produced it, if you have not received the grace of God in vain. This is the fruit which it brings forth in all the world, wherever the grace of God is known in truth [Note: Col 1:6.]. But is there not, in too many instances, reason for God to complain, I have hewed them by the prophets; I have slain them by the words of my mouth [Note: Hos 6:5.]; I have spoken to them the great things of my law; but they have counted them as a strange thing [Note: Hos 8:12.]: yea, though I called them unto the Most High, none at all would exalt Him [Note: Hos 11:7.]? And shall this be accounted a light matter? It was not deemed so in the case of Zedekiah, of whom God complains, He did evil in the sight of the Lord, and humbled not himself before Jeremiah the prophet, speaking from the mouth of the Lord [Note: 2Ch 36:12.]. Beloved brethren, though no prophet, I also have spoken to you from the mouth of the Lord; and ye must answer unto God for every word that has been delivered to you in his name. Now, our blessed Lord says to you, I know thy works. And he does know them, and record them in the book of his remembrance; and will bring them forth into judgment at the last day. Let not any of you imagine, that it is sufficient to yield an outward conformity, whether in sentiment or action, to the word of God. No, indeed; if you would really profit by it as you ought, you must be as sacrifices offered up to God upon his altar. The sacrifices, you know, were slain, and were so cut down as to expose to view their inward parts; and then were consumed on the altar, together with the meat-offerings and the drinkofferings that were presented on them. So must you, to whom I minister the Gospel of God, be offered up as an acceptable sacrifice to God; being sanctified by the Holy God [Note: Rom 15:16.]. Judge, I pray you, whether this has ever been truly wrought in you: for if the word be not thus a savour of life to your souls, it will be unto you a savour of death, unto your heavier and more aggravated condemnation [Note: 2Co 2:16.].]
2.
What do we expect from it in the time to come?
[The word, my brethren, is the sword of the Spirit [Note: Eph 6:17.]; and is raised, not to slay you, but to defeat and destroy your enemies. And it is a two-edged sword: every truth in it has a double aspect; speaking consolation to the obedient, as well as terror to the disobedient. By means of it, the Lord Jesus Christ carries on his work of grace in the souls of men; subduing all their enemies before them, and making them triumphant over all the powers of darkness. It was by the word that Christ himself repelled all the assaults of Satan in the wilderness [Note: Mat 4:4; Mat 4:7; Mat 4:10.]; and by it he will sanctify us throughout, in body, soul, and spirit [Note: Joh 17:17.]. We must therefore make use of it for this end; as it is said, Having these promises, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God [Note: 2Co 7:1.]. Regard not then our blessed Lord as an object of terror; but as the Captain of the Lords host, armed for your deliverance [Note: Jos 5:14.]. In the epistle before us, you will find a promise, as well as a threatening; and he will shew himself as mighty to fulfil the one, as to execute the other. Whilst, therefore, you fear him as an avenger, learn to confide in him as able to save to the uttermost all who come unto God by him.]
Fuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)
(12) And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write; These things saith he which hath the sharp sword with two edges; (13) I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, even where Satan’s seat is: and thou holdest fast my name, and hast not denied my faith, even in those days wherein Antipas was my faithful martyr, who was slain among you, where Satan dwelleth. (14) But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication. (15) So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate. (16) Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth. (17) He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.
Pergamos, now called by the Turks Bergamo, appears to have been about threescore miles from Smyrna. The features a character which Christ here adopts, seem to have been with a design, to intimate that as the Impostor, which in after ages would arise, to oppose the truth of Christ, would accomplish his wickedness with the sword, the Lord would only oppose him, with the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, Eph 6:17 . And it is worthy the Reader’s remark, that in this Epistle, while the Lord is speaking of those in Pergamos, who held the doctrine of Balaam, and the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes, and tells his people, that if they do not repent, that is, drive them out from their Churches, he will fight them not his people, but them, and by that sword of his mouth, namely, his holy word; convince them of their ungodly deeds, and of all their hard speeches, which they had spoken against him. See Jud 1:16 , and Commentary.
Of the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes, we cannot speak particularly. But we find great cause to thank God the Holy Ghost, for the light this passage, throws over the history of Balaam. We should not have known, as we now do, the full infamy of this wretch, but from this account. If the Reader will read the story in the book of N umbers, how this man hired himself out, to curse God’s people, while God compelled him to bless them, he will discover some very sweet and precious things. He will see, how much the seed of the Serpent, as Balaam evidently was, may learn by head knowledge, the truths of God, while like him, in heart they abominate them. And the Reader will further learn, how the Lord is unceasingly watching over his people for good, when they themselves, are most unconscious of it. Balak and Balaam, were planning and contriving Israel’s destruction, by all the mock services of religion; while Israel lay unconscious in their tents, either of the hatred of Moab, or the policy of Balaam. Reader! who shall say how often, in ten thousand instances, such things are going on now in the present hour! Precious Jesus! as oft as I think of it, how sweet is that scripture to my soul, and the assurance of its being minutely carried on, to my heart, Isa 27:2-3 .
I beg the Reader, before he goes further, to read the history of the Church, concerning this transaction, as it is recorded in the Book of Numbers. Moab saw Israel conquering the nations around. And under an alarm for his own safety, he sent for Balaam, a famous Magician from the East, to come and curse Israel. The great rewards Balak King of Moab offered him, soon prompted this man, to hasten to this employment, but be received continued checks from his conscience not to go. We have the account, the Book of Numbers, Num 22 ; Num 23 ; Num 24 , and Num 25 . But this relation of the Lord, in this Chapter of the Revelation, explains what those Chapters in the book of Numbers, do not acquaint us with. We here find, that it was Balaam’s advice to Balak, to entice Israel to get the displeasure of God, by first tempting their young men, with lustful desires to Moab’s daughters; and, then, Moab’s daughters to tempt Israel to their sacrifices. Reader! see what our corrupt passions tempt even God’s children to commit. And see what a mercy it is, that Jesus watches over his people for good! Well might one of old cry out, and say, hold thou me up, and I shall be safe! Psa 119:117 . Oh! Sir! how sure a truth it is, that they who are kept, are kept by the power of God, through faith unto salvation, 1Pe 1:5 .
I do not think it necessary, to the Reader of this Poor Man’s Commentary, to swell these pages, by leading him into enquiries from Ecclesiastical History concerning Antipas. That he was a faithful servant of the Lord is certain, from the honorable testimony the Lord hath given of him, and a Martyr to the cause of Christ. I would rather raise up a prayer from his faithfulness, and beg of Christ to give to all his redeemed, the hidden bread which is Christ himself; and the white stone with the new name, Written therein, even the Lord our righteousness; to testify whose we are, and whom we serve in the Gospel of God’s dear Son! Oh! for grace to hear what the Spirit saith unto the Churches.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
12 And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write; These things saith he which hath the sharp sword with two edges;
Ver. 12. And to the angel ] See Trapp on “ Rev 2:1 “ See Trapp on “ Rev 1:16 “
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
12 17 .] THE EPISTLE TO THE CHURCH AT PERGAMUM (see Prolegg. iii. 9; Trench, p. 106). And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write : These things saith He that hath the sharp two-edged sword (this is the logical order in English of the epithet-predicates, . . is the sword with two edges: and to the whole of this is added .
The designation of our Lord is made with reference to Rev 2:16 below): I know where thou dwellest ; (viz.) where is the throne of Satan (it is not easy to say, what these words import. Andr [30] and Areth [31] say in the Catena, . . , . And so Vitringa and Bengel. But Vitr. himself asks, “an Satanas in illa superstitione (sculapii cultu) se magis prodidit Pergami, quam in Dian cultu Ephesi?” Grot. Wetst. al. fancy that was the serpent form under which the god sculapius was worshipped at Pergamum. But even the fact itself is doubtful; and the interpretation halts, in that the text is not , instead of . . Zornius, mentioned in Wolf, h. l., explains it of the famous Pergamene library, and the writings of the Sophists therein contained. A more likely direction in which to find the solution is that taken by Lyra, “id est, ejus potestas, infideles inclinando ad persecutionem ecclesi:” for above, Rev 2:10 , the act of persecution is ascribed to the devil: and here we learn by what follows, that he had carried it at Pergamum to the extent of putting Antipas to death; which seems not to have been reached elsewhere at this time. Whether this may have been owing to the fact of the residence of the supreme magistracy at Pergamum, or to some fanatical zeal of the inhabitants for the worship of sculapius, or to some particular person or persons dwelling there especially hostile to the followers of Christ (Hengst., Ewald), must remain uncertain. The above view, with unimportant modifications, is adopted by De Wette, Ebrard, Stern (who combines the others with it), Grber, Dsterd., al. I may remark, that it is plainly out of the question to attempt, as has been done by some, to connect such an expression as this with the prophecies of the latter portion of the book, and to anticipate for the insignificant Pergamum a leading place in their fulfilment. The expression is relevant, as the context shews, merely to the then existing state of the city ( below), and not to any future part which it should take in the fulfilment of prophecy), and thou holdest last (reff.) my name (the profession of thy faith in Me) and didst not deny the faith of me in the days of Antipas (or, taking the other form of the text, ‘ in which Antipas:’ see var. readd. As the shorter text runs, and probably also if we read the of the Codex Sinaiticus, is regarded as indeclinable, which circumstance has apparently led to all the perplexing varieties of reading) my witness, my faithful one (or, if we omit the second , my faithful witness : the appositional nominative, see above, ch. Rev 1:5 . A motive for its use here may have been the nominatival form of the gen. . This consideration of itself would obviate the untenable objection which Dsterd. brings against the above account of the construction, viz. that there is no reason to suppose it to have been used except in the case of the Sacred Name, as in ch. Rev 1:5 ; but see Dsterd.’s own text in Rev 2:20 ; and reff. there), who was slain among you, where Satan dwelleth (of Antipas = Antipater (Jos. Antt. xiv. 1. 3), after the analogy of Hermas for Hermodorus, Lucas and Silas for Lucanus and Silvanus, nothing is known to us with certainty, except from this passage. Andreas says that he had read the account of his martyrdom: , : and Areth [32] in Cat. says, . Ribera gives the following account from Simeon Metaphrastes: “Pergami episcopum hunc fuisse tradunt, et ejus martyrium Metaphrastes Simeon scripsit, qui ad extremam eum senectutem pervenisse dicit, et cum res Christianorum propter Domitiani persecutionem magno in discrimine versarentur, nullo timore captum spius in publicum prodiisse et inter crudelissimorum tortorum minas intrepide sinceram fidei doctrinam ac Christi laudes prdicasse. Ita Christianis prsidio, dmonibus terrori erat, qui ab ipso se fugari et sacrificiis suis privari fatebantur. Quare a prfecto urbis captus et in Christi confessione generose persistens ad Dian templum tractus et in bovem neum, quem multo ante igne inflammayerant, conjectus, vitam in gratiarum actione precibusque finivit. Et tanta (inquit Simeon) prstitit virtute, ut locus hic ubi martyrium pertulit, in hodiernum usque diem miraculis excellat, et magn in eo fiant curationes.” The Greek and Roman menologies contain similar accounts at his day, April 11th. It is hardly possible to withhold indignation at the many childish symbolic meanings which have been imagined for the name, in defiance of philology and of sobriety alike. First is that of Aretius, – , the enemy of all, i. e. the child of God and enemy of the world; which has been taken up by Hengstenherg, who ought to have known better, and Antipas identified with the historic Timotheus. Such folly would hardly be credited, were it not before our eyes: “ Ist man big hieher gefolgt, so wird man es nicht zu khn finden, wenn wir die Beramtlung ausstellen, das durch Antipas Timotheus bezeichnet werde. Die beiden namen ‘Furchtegott’ und ‘Gegenall’ stehen in inniger Correspondenz mit einander ,” &c., Hengst. p. 190. This Commentator also finds remarkable meaning in the way in which the name is written in [33] , . Then that of E. Schmidt and others, who hold to be = : that of Cocceius, who makes Antipas represent the Athanasians, seeing that = = . I mention such interpretations, to shew how far men may go wrong when once they surrender their judgment to their fancy in search of a mystic sense for plain history, On . ., see above).
[30] Andreas, Bp. of Csarea in Cappadocia, Cent y . VI.
[31]
[32] Arethas, Bp. of Csarea in Cappadocia, Cent y . X. 2
[33] The MS. referred to by this symbol is that commonly called the Alexandrine, or CODEX ALEXANDRINUS. It once belonged to Cyrillus Lucaris, patriarch of Alexandria and then of Constantinople, who in the year 1628 presented it to our King Charles I. It is now in the British Museum. It is on parchment in four volumes, of which three contain the Old, and one the New Testament, with the Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians. This fourth volume is exhibited open in a glass case. It will be seen by the letters in the inner margin of this edition, that the first 24 chapters of Matthew are wanting in it, its first leaf commencing , ch. Mat 25:6 : as also the leaves containing , Joh 6:50 , to , Joh 8:52 . It is generally agreed that it was written at Alexandria; it does not, however, in the Gospels , represent that commonly known as the Alexandrine text, but approaches much more nearly to the Constantinopolitan, or generally received text. The New Testament, according to its text, was edited, in uncial types cast to imitate those of the MS., by Woide, London, 1786, the Old Testament by Baber, London, 1819: and its N.T. text has now been edited in common type by Mr. B. H. Cowper, London, 1861. The date of this MS. has been variously assigned, but it is now pretty generally agreed to be the fifth century .
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Rev 2:12-17 . The message to Pergamos, the Benares or Lourdes of the province.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
Rev 2:12 . The title is apt in view of Rev 2:16 .
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT Rev 2:12-17
12″And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write: The One who has the sharp two-edged sword says this: 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. 14But 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. 15So you also have some who in the same way hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans. 16Therefore repent; or else I am coming to you quickly, and I will make war against them with the sword of My mouth. 17He 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.'”
Rev 2:12 “The One who has the sharp, two-edged sword” This is the same reference to the glorified Jesus found in Rev 1:16. It was an OT metaphor for YHWH (cf. Isa 11:4; Isa 49:2). It is used in the NT for the penetrating power of the word of God (cf. Rev 2:16; 2Th 2:8; Heb 4:12).
Rev 2:13 “I know where you dwell” “Dwell” in the OT implied “to live permanently with.” These believers faced strong local governmental and demonic pressure. Jesus knew them and their perilous situation. He was there with them.
“where Satan’s throne is” There have been several possible interpretations of this phrase:
1. It could refer to the large throne of Zeus which was located in Pergamum.
2. It could refer to the god of healing, Asclepios, whose symbol was a serpent.
3. It seems that the whole city looked like a giant throne because of the Acropolis which stood hundreds of feet above the city itself.
4. It could be a reference to the Concilia, the local organization to promote emperor worship, which was very powerful in Pergamum.
Because of the historical context, either #1 or #4 seems best.
“you hold fast My name” This is a present active indicative. It shows the significance of the name as representing the character of a person. Believers trust by calling on His name (cf. Joh 1:12; Joh 3:18; Rom 10:9-13) and worship by calling on His name (cf. Gen 4:26; Gen 12:8; Gen 26:25) and persevere by calling on His name (cf. Joh 17:11-12).
SPECIAL TOPIC: THE NAME OF THE LORD
“and did not deny My faith” This is an aorist middle (deponent) indicative. During these early centuries of Christianity, and even today in certain societies, there was a real temptation to save one’s prosperity or life by denying faith in Christ during physical or judicial trials. The church has always struggled with how to handle these apostates.
SPECIAL TOPIC: FAITH (PISTIS [noun], PISTEU, [verb], PISTOS [adjective])
“Antipas, My witness” We know nothing about this man. The title given him is the same that was used for Christ in Rev 5:1. The term “witness” can mean “martyr” (cf. Rev 11:3; Rev 17:6). Tertullian said that Antipas was roasted in a brazen bull, but this is simply later tradition.
Rev 2:14 “yet I hold it somewhat against you” Jesus had a negative statement for six of the seven churches. Righteous living in some areas does not excuse sin in others!
“because you have there some who hold to the teaching of Balaam” Balaam was a prophet of God (cf. Num 24:2) who was lured into helping to compromise the people of Israel (cf. Num. Num 24:22-25 and Num 31:16). He is condemned in both the OT and the NT (cf. Num 31:16; 2Pe 2:15; Jud 1:11).
It is possible that the name Balaam in Hebrew meant “conqueror of the people” and the name Nicolaitans may have meant the same thing in Greek (Nicodemus of John 3 also has a similar meaning). This would identify these two groups as to their immoral practices (cf. Jezebel, Rev 2:20).
“who kept teaching Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel” Balaam’s suggestion to Balak, King of Moab, was to involve the children of Israel in the fertility worship of Ba’al (cf. Num 25:1-3). There was a continuing cultural temptation to the sexual worship practices of first century pagans.
SPECIAL TOPIC: ISRAEL (THE NAME)
“to eat things sacrificed to idols and to commit acts of immorality” These two sins involved pagan worship practices (cf. Num 25:1-3; Num 31:16). Not only were there pagan meals where the food was sacrificed to idols (cf. 1Co 8:1-13), but often sexual immorality was the normal and expected worship practice at these pagan assemblies. Human sexual activity was a supposed means of assuring the health and fertility of herds, crops, and society.
Rev 2:15 “you also have some who in the same way hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans” Because of the similarity of the teachings of Balaam, the Nicolaitans (cf. Rev 2:6), and Jezebel (cf. Rev 2:20), all three of these refer to pagan, idolatrous worship practices. Believers must not revert to, or compromise with, the pagan cultures.
Rev 2:16 “Therefore repent” See note at Rev 2:5.
“or else I am coming to you quickly, and I will make war against them with the sword of My mouth” This is an aorist active imperative. There is an ongoing emphasis concerning repentance (cf. Rev 2:5; Rev 2:16; Rev 2:22; Rev 3:3; Rev 3:19). The coming could refer to temporal judgment against the church or to the Second Coming of Christ to judge the world. It is significant that the church as a whole was called on to repent (cf. Rev 3:20; 2Ch 7:14) because of the sins of some; if they did not, the consequences were corporate discipline! See Special Topic: Soon Return at Rev 1:2.
Rev 2:17 “to him I will give some of the hidden manna” Manna was God’s supernatural provision for the children of Israel during the Wilderness Wandering Period (cf. Exo 16:14-15; Exo 16:31; Psa 78:17-33, especially Rev 2:24). There have been several theories proposed to interpret this cryptic phrase:
1. It could refer to the Ark of the Covenant being brought out of hiding by Jeremiah from Mt. Nebo (cf. 2Ma 2:4-8) because it contained a jar of manna (cf. Exo 16:32-34; Heb 9:4).
2. It could refer to the food of the new age of righteousness (cf. II Baruch 29:8).
The exact reference is uncertain but it was obviously an allusion to the new age of the Spirit inaugurated by Christ. Some have even asserted that because of Joh 6:31-35, the hidden manna referred to Christ Himself. This is a good example of the difficulty in interpreting the specific details of this book which the contemporary hearer understood, but the exact reference has since been lost.
“and I will give him a white stone” This stone, also called Tessera, had many usages in the Ancient Near East.
1. it could be used for a ticket to special banquets
2. it could be used to vote for acquittal by a jury
3. it could be used as a symbol of victory for an athlete
4. it could be used to show the freedom of a slave.
In this context, #1 seems to be the best, referring to the Messianic Banquet (a common theme in Jewish apocalyptic literature).
“and a new name written on the stone which no one knows but he who receives it” This new name seems to be a symbol of the New Age or a title for the Messiah (cf. Isa 56:5; Isa 62:2; Isa 65:15; see SPECIAL TOPIC: MESSIAH at Rev 1:1). This new name is mentioned often in the book of the Revelation (cf. Rev 3:12; Rev 14:1; Rev 19:12-13; Rev 19:16; Rev 22:4).
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
Pergamos. A city of Mysia famous for the worship of Aesculapius, to whom the title of soter (saviour) was given and whose emblem was the serpent. Identified with Apollo; compare Act 16:16. Some trace the Babylonian pagan priesthood as removing to Pergamos. there them that 1hold the doctrine
He Which hath, &c. See Rev 1:16.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
12-17.] THE EPISTLE TO THE CHURCH AT PERGAMUM (see Prolegg. iii. 9; Trench, p. 106). And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write: These things saith He that hath the sharp two-edged sword (this is the logical order in English of the epithet-predicates, . . is the sword with two edges: and to the whole of this is added .
The designation of our Lord is made with reference to Rev 2:16 below): I know where thou dwellest; (viz.) where is the throne of Satan (it is not easy to say, what these words import. Andr[30] and Areth[31] say in the Catena, . . , . And so Vitringa and Bengel. But Vitr. himself asks, an Satanas in illa superstitione (sculapii cultu) se magis prodidit Pergami, quam in Dian cultu Ephesi? Grot. Wetst. al. fancy that was the serpent form under which the god sculapius was worshipped at Pergamum. But even the fact itself is doubtful; and the interpretation halts, in that the text is not , instead of . . Zornius, mentioned in Wolf, h. l., explains it of the famous Pergamene library, and the writings of the Sophists therein contained. A more likely direction in which to find the solution is that taken by Lyra, id est, ejus potestas, infideles inclinando ad persecutionem ecclesi: for above, Rev 2:10, the act of persecution is ascribed to the devil: and here we learn by what follows, that he had carried it at Pergamum to the extent of putting Antipas to death; which seems not to have been reached elsewhere at this time. Whether this may have been owing to the fact of the residence of the supreme magistracy at Pergamum, or to some fanatical zeal of the inhabitants for the worship of sculapius, or to some particular person or persons dwelling there especially hostile to the followers of Christ (Hengst., Ewald), must remain uncertain. The above view, with unimportant modifications, is adopted by De Wette, Ebrard, Stern (who combines the others with it), Grber, Dsterd., al.-I may remark, that it is plainly out of the question to attempt, as has been done by some, to connect such an expression as this with the prophecies of the latter portion of the book, and to anticipate for the insignificant Pergamum a leading place in their fulfilment. The expression is relevant, as the context shews, merely to the then existing state of the city ( below), and not to any future part which it should take in the fulfilment of prophecy), and thou holdest last (reff.) my name (the profession of thy faith in Me) and didst not deny the faith of me in the days of Antipas (or, taking the other form of the text, in which Antipas: see var. readd. As the shorter text runs, and probably also if we read the of the Codex Sinaiticus, is regarded as indeclinable, which circumstance has apparently led to all the perplexing varieties of reading) my witness, my faithful one (or, if we omit the second , my faithful witness: the appositional nominative, see above, ch. Rev 1:5. A motive for its use here may have been the nominatival form of the gen. . This consideration of itself would obviate the untenable objection which Dsterd. brings against the above account of the construction, viz. that there is no reason to suppose it to have been used except in the case of the Sacred Name, as in ch. Rev 1:5; but see Dsterd.s own text in Rev 2:20; and reff. there), who was slain among you, where Satan dwelleth (of Antipas = Antipater (Jos. Antt. xiv. 1. 3),-after the analogy of Hermas for Hermodorus, Lucas and Silas for Lucanus and Silvanus,-nothing is known to us with certainty, except from this passage. Andreas says that he had read the account of his martyrdom: , : and Areth[32] in Cat. says, . Ribera gives the following account from Simeon Metaphrastes: Pergami episcopum hunc fuisse tradunt, et ejus martyrium Metaphrastes Simeon scripsit, qui ad extremam eum senectutem pervenisse dicit, et cum res Christianorum propter Domitiani persecutionem magno in discrimine versarentur, nullo timore captum spius in publicum prodiisse et inter crudelissimorum tortorum minas intrepide sinceram fidei doctrinam ac Christi laudes prdicasse. Ita Christianis prsidio, dmonibus terrori erat, qui ab ipso se fugari et sacrificiis suis privari fatebantur. Quare a prfecto urbis captus et in Christi confessione generose persistens ad Dian templum tractus et in bovem neum, quem multo ante igne inflammayerant, conjectus, vitam in gratiarum actione precibusque finivit. Et tanta (inquit Simeon) prstitit virtute, ut locus hic ubi martyrium pertulit, in hodiernum usque diem miraculis excellat, et magn in eo fiant curationes. The Greek and Roman menologies contain similar accounts at his day, April 11th. It is hardly possible to withhold indignation at the many childish symbolic meanings which have been imagined for the name, in defiance of philology and of sobriety alike. First is that of Aretius, -, the enemy of all, i. e. the child of God and enemy of the world; which has been taken up by Hengstenherg, who ought to have known better, and Antipas identified with the historic Timotheus. Such folly would hardly be credited, were it not before our eyes:-Ist man big hieher gefolgt, so wird man es nicht zu khn finden, wenn wir die Beramtlung ausstellen, das durch Antipas Timotheus bezeichnet werde. Die beiden namen Furchtegott und Gegenall stehen in inniger Correspondenz mit einander, &c., Hengst. p. 190. This Commentator also finds remarkable meaning in the way in which the name is written in [33], . Then that of E. Schmidt and others, who hold to be = : that of Cocceius, who makes Antipas represent the Athanasians, seeing that = = . I mention such interpretations, to shew how far men may go wrong when once they surrender their judgment to their fancy in search of a mystic sense for plain history, On . ., see above).
[30] Andreas, Bp. of Csarea in Cappadocia, Centy. VI.
[31] Arethas, Bp. of Csarea in Cappadocia, Centy. X.2
[32] Arethas, Bp. of Csarea in Cappadocia, Centy. X.2
[33] The MS. referred to by this symbol is that commonly called the Alexandrine, or CODEX ALEXANDRINUS. It once belonged to Cyrillus Lucaris, patriarch of Alexandria and then of Constantinople, who in the year 1628 presented it to our King Charles I. It is now in the British Museum. It is on parchment in four volumes, of which three contain the Old, and one the New Testament, with the Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians. This fourth volume is exhibited open in a glass case. It will be seen by the letters in the inner margin of this edition, that the first 24 chapters of Matthew are wanting in it, its first leaf commencing , ch. Mat 25:6 :-as also the leaves containing , Joh 6:50,-to , Joh 8:52. It is generally agreed that it was written at Alexandria;-it does not, however, in the Gospels, represent that commonly known as the Alexandrine text, but approaches much more nearly to the Constantinopolitan, or generally received text. The New Testament, according to its text, was edited, in uncial types cast to imitate those of the MS., by Woide, London, 1786, the Old Testament by Baber, London, 1819: and its N.T. text has now been edited in common type by Mr. B. H. Cowper, London, 1861. The date of this MS. has been variously assigned, but it is now pretty generally agreed to be the fifth century.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Rev 2:12-17
3. LETTER TO THE CHURCH AT PERGAMUM
Rev 2:12-17
12 And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write These things saith he that hath the sharp two-edged sword — This church is told that the letter came from the one who had the sharp two-edged sword. In the vision (1:16) John saw this sword proceed out of Christ’s mouth. As the word of God is said to be the “sword of the Spirit” (Eph 6:17), and “sharper than any two-edged sword” (Heb 4:12), it is evident that the two-edged sword proceeding from Christ’s mouth means his words. See note on 1:16.
13 I know where thou dwellest, even where Satan’s throne is; —It was, doubtless, encouraging to them to be assured that Jesus knew theunfavorable situation in which they dwelled, the temptations to which they were exposed, and the allurements that tended to draw them away from the truth. The place was so peculiarly filled with wickedness that it was represented as being the very location of Satan’s throne. Just what particular form of wickedness led to this designation is not known. It had the ordinary evils that go with a commercial city filled with idolatrous worship. It is said to have been the seat of emperor worship. Evidently Satan incited the people to such atrocious crimes that the place seemed to be his own personal abode. The last expression of the verse, “where Satan dwelleth,” has the same meaning as “Satan’s throne.”
and thou boldest fast my name, and didst not deny my faith, even in the days of Antipas my witness, my faithful one, who was killed among you, where Satan dwelleth.–They had confessed Christ and had not allowed any of their tribulations to make them deny that confession. The name “Christian” which had already been given at Antioch (1Pe 4:16) was held to in spite of all the dangers confronting them. They realized that suffering as Christians they would glorify God in that name. So the apostle Peter had taught in the passage mentioned. That Antipas was a martyr there on account of his faithfulness to Christ is certain from the text, but who he vas or the circumstances under which he was killed is not known. His case was probably a local outbreak of some kind like that when Stephen was killed (Act 7:51-60), not a general slaughter of Christians.
14 But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there some that hold the teaching of Balaam,–Like the church at Ephesus the Lord had a general commendation of them, but a few things to condemn. As the Savior condemned evil when he was on earth, so he now condemns the sins that existed in the church at Pergamum. Tolerating only a few serious errors would soon kill the church’s influence to do good. The teaching of Balaam is explained in the next clauses.
who taught Balak to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit fornication.–Figuratively a “stumblingblock” is something over which one would fall or be led into sin. Balaam taught Balak how to lead the Israelites into sin. Balaam had not been allowed to curse Israel as Balak requested, but later, because of his love for the “hire of wrong-doing” (2Pe 2:15), he taught Balak to lead Israel into sin through fornication and the eating of meats offered to idols. (Numbers 3 l:16.) The meaning is that there were some in the church at Pergamum that, like Balaam, led people into idolatry and licentiousness through their teaching; that is, taught that such things were not sinful. This was a serious condition.
15 So hast thou also some that hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans in like manner.–See note on verse 6. Just what distinction, if any there was between the teaching of Balaam and the Nicolaitans is not known. They were probably very similar, and some think possibly the same, or at least the same in the two particulars mentioned–fornication and idolatry.
16 Repent therefore; or else I come to thee quickly, and I will make war against them with the sword of my mouth.–Repentance–determination of mind–must result in a change of conduct. Two parties were involved in this threat–those guilty of the sins named and the rest of the church that tolerated them. The guilty parties would have to reform, or the rest would have to cease fellowshiping them. If the latter occurred, the guilty would still be subject to the punishment indicated. The “sword of my mouth” means that Christ would give the order for the punishment, or he would authorize it to be given. Just how this would be done is not stated, but presumably some natural means at hand would be used or allowed to do the work. It is referred to as making war because the word “sword” had been used.
17 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches.–See note on verse 7.
To him that overcometh, to him will I give of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, and upon the stone a new name written, which no one knoweth but he that receiveth it.–On overcoming and the possibility of being lost finally see note on verse 11. The one who ends this life victoriously will be saved and enjoy the “hidden manna” in heaven. The reference, of course, is to the manna that fell in the wilderness (Exo 16:32-34), a memorial portion being put in the ark (Heb 9:4). Those refraining from idolatrous meats and remaining pure would be permitted to eat the manna laid up in heaven which is typically represented by the manna in the ark. Leaving off the figurative language, it means that joys in heaven will satisfy our eternal wants as bread satisfies hunger.
There has been much speculation regarding the “white stone” and the “new name”; nothing entirely satisfactory has been suggested. As in voting a white stone indicated justification, it may here be used to indicate that one who overcomes is justified and will be received into the heavenly home. The new name is equally uncertain since no one knows it. It may be in some way the means by which God will receive those who gain the victory. Since it cannotbe known by others, it is useless to ask what it is. It is our business to overcome, the white stone and the new name we can leave, to God to make plain in his own time.
Commentary on Rev 2:12-17 by Foy E. Wallace
The letter to the church at Pergamos.-Rev 2:12-17.
1. He which hath the sharp sword with two edges”-Rev 2:12.
The sword is an instrument of war, hence Christ threatened to wage war against the church in Pergamos, because of the evils within it, with the weapon designated the sword of my mouth. A sword of the mouth would necessarily be the spoken word, and it meant the employment of the two-edged sword of his word (Heb 4:12), as a dual condemnation of the outside espionage of Satans seat in Pergamos, and the inside sabotage of Balaams doctrine within the church itself–the combined infiltration of pagan secular practices on one hand, and the Nicolaitane spiritual contaminations of erroneous doctrines on the other hand.
2. Where Satans seat is– Rev 2:13.
The stronghold of Satan consisted in the pagan and Jewish oppositions, which were combined in Pergamos into deadly threats against the church. The Pergamos church had been weakened by the heathen surroundings of Mysia, known for its famous temples, dedicated to Zeus, Minerva, Apollo, Venus, Bacchus, and Aesculapius. The figure, Satans seat, denotes the wickedness of these idolatrous temples and the nuptials to these gods. The name Pergamos meant the place of nuptials. It was a fitting figure of Satans seat.
3. In those days wherein Antipas was my faithful martyr– Rev 2:13.
There is a traditional claim that Antipas was once a bishop of the Pergamos church, but history does not identify him. In this book of symbols and code, the same reason for not mentioning other persons by name, such as Nero, the emperor, would also argue against the reality of these names. It is more consistent with the character of the book for Antipas to be a symbolic designation and representative for martyrdom. The word Antipas is derived from antipater: anti, against; and “pater,” father, or paternal–and its meaning was, against the gods: hence, symbolic of faithfulness to Christ to the extent of against all gods of paganism. It therefore stood for all who would become victims of martyrdom in the persecutions to follow.
4. Thou hast them that hold the doctrine of Balaam . . . also the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes– Rev 2:14-17.
The mongrel prophet of the Old Testament contrived the evil scheme to destroy the purity of the Israelites by a twofold seduction: first, seducing Israel into the worship of Baal; and second, tempting the men of Israel into lewdness by fornication. This doctrine of Balaam in the Pergamos church referred to apostate teaching. And the association of the Nicolaitanes with Balaam, in the teaching of immorality with the outward profession of Christianity, is a strong indication that the Nicolaitanes were identical with those who held the doctrine of Balaam, and it was a dual symbol of one party in the Pergamos church. Actually, then Balaam and the Nicolaitanes stood for the same things.
It is significant to mention here that the term Nicolaitane is the Greek equivalent of the name Balaam in the Hebrew, and they both meant the destroyer of the people. There is no factual authority for the view that the Nicolaitanes were the degenerate followers of a depraved and anonymous Nicolas, who is supposed to have demoralized and corrupted the Pergamos church. It is rather the symbolic association between Balaamism and Nicolaitanism. It seems too significant not to be true.
Commentary on Rev 2:12-17 by Walter Scott
THE SPIRIT’S ADDRESS TO PERGAMOS
(Rev 2:12-17).
PERGAMOS OR PERGAMUM.
12. “To the angel of the Church in Pergamos write.” The most northern of the churches is next addressed. The ancient capital of Mysia still exists under the name of Bergamo, but shorn of its greatness and glory. Pergamos, or Pergamum more generally read, has been described as a “sort of union of a pagan cathedral city, a university town, and a royal residence.” Attalus III. bequeathed his city to the great republic; then, and subsequently under the empire, it was considered one of the finest cities in Asia. Distinguished as it was for its idolatry, its learning, and medical science, nevertheless it was, from a Christian standpoint, one of the worst of the seven cities named. Christianity reverses the judgment of the world, inasmuch as it reveals things, principles, and persons in their true relation to God.
THE SHARP SWORD OF JUDGMENT.
12. “These things says He that has the sharp two-edged sword.” The glorious description of Christ, which constitutes the first vision beheld by the Seer (Rev 1:12-16), is applied in its various parts in the addresses to the churches, or more correctly to their respective angels. The character of Christ to Pergamos is taken from verse 16 of the great introductory vision. There, however, the sword proceeds out of His mouth as denoting the character of judgment, the authority of His Word. Here, it is not said to be out of His mouth, but He has it. In neither passage is the sword seen sheathed, but drawn and ready for instant and thorough work, “sharp and two-edged.” The sword is used as a symbol of judgment. It is employed to denote the Lord’s vengeance on the guilty world (Rev 19:15), as also of thorough and unsparing judgment of evil, not on His people, but of evil in them (Heb 4:12). Christ ever holds the sword, and uses it on friends and foes alike. He fights against evil, and by the simple authority of His Word it is exposed and judged. To those, whether in the Church or in the world, who refuse to bow before Him and own His absolute authority, the sword must do its mighty and sure work in the execution of judgment; for, be it solemnly remembered, judgment and the execution of it also, are committed to the Son of Man (Joh 5:22; Joh 5:27).
The sword is not to wound or kill the angel of the Church, but to be used against those for whose presence in the assembly the angel was responsible (Rev 2:16).
Rev 2:13
SATAN’S THRONE AND DWELLING.
Rev 2:13. “I know where thou dwellest, where Satan’s throne is.” In the Authorised Version the words “thy works and” coming after “I know” are an unwarranted interpolation, believed to be the work of a careless copyist. “Satan’s throne” (not “seat”), as in the Authorised Version and other modern versions, alone suits the demands of the context and of the general truth of the passage. The decay of first love was the first characteristic feature of the Church in its downward career. The second, or Smyrnean condition, was one of open persecution from the heathen imperial power. Probably the most severe but the most useful and sanctifying periods of persecution were those under Decius, A.D. 249, and Diocletian, A.D. 284.(*White, in his excellent and condensed history, “The Eighteen Christian Centuries,” gives the ten pagan persecutions as follows: The first under Nero, A.D. 54; the second under Domitian, A.D. 81; the third under Trajan, A.D. 98; the fourth under Adrian, A.D. 117; the fifth under Septimius Severus, A.D. 193; the sixth under Maximin, A.D. 235; the seventh under Decius, A.D. 249; the eighth under Valerian, A.D. 254; the ninth under Aurelian, A.D. 270; the tenth under Diocletian, A.D. 284. It is impossible in all cases to determine the exact year when persecution commenced. The legal enactments against Christianity were suspended or enforced according to the will of the then reigning emperor. The persecuting laws of Domitian were repealed by the gentle Nerva, and those of Diocletian by the first Christian (?) emperor, Constantine.) The effect of both was to separate the false from the true, and to purify the faith of the suffering Church. The cruelty of Satan from without was let loose against it, the heathen authorities being his instruments; but utterly baffled in his efforts to destroy Christianity his next move was to destroy the Church in its true character and testimony, and effect its ruin from within, using religious men and teachers to accomplish his deadly work. It has been said that “Paul feared the clergy, while Ignatius feared the people.” Paul’s prophetic forecast (Act 20:29-30) was amply verified, as the Pergamos and Thyatiran states of the Church fully demonstrate.
Pergamos at the time of the Apocalypse was the capital of the Roman government in Asia. Heathenism reigned supreme. From it as a centre idolatry and persecution spread all over western Asia, the Asia of the Apocalypse; hence the local force of the expressions “Satan’s throne” and where “Satan dwelleth.” Satan had his throne and dwelling in Pergamos, and from thence he sought to strangle Christianity in that part of the earth.(*Divine honours were paid to the Roman emperors, and in this impiety Pergamos took the lead in Asia. Says a Roman historian: “The city of Pergamos made a merit of having already built a temple in honour of Augustus,” and petitioned Tiberius for the honour of erecting another. It is significant that the last phase of public idolatrous evil is to be the worship of the Beast, or revived power of Rome, in an intense and malignant form.) Surely, however, a larger and more comprehensive use of these expressions must be sought for!
We must keep steadily in view that each of these three first churches describes a special condition of the whole professing Church at successive periods of its history. Thus the Pergamos period brings us up to the era of Constantine, the beginning of the fourth century. The repeated assaults of Satan as a “roaring lion” (1Pe 5:8) in open persecution for 250 years left the Church spiritually richer if poorer in the eyes of the world. Where Diocletian, the last of the persecuting emperors, failed, Constantine the first Christian emperor succeeded. The seductions of Satan effected the moral ruin of the Church.
After the death of Licinius, the colleague of Constantine the Great, the latter became sole emperor. On his accession to the throne the persecuting edicts of his predecessor were repealed, and liberty granted to the Christians to worship according to their conscience, A.D. 313. But the Christian religion was then simply regarded as one of the many religions of the empire. All were equally tolerated. But as time wore on Constantine got better acquainted with Christianity, and was sagacious enough to discern in it principles of an enduring character, and such as would tend to consolidate his power; his Christian subjects, too, could be relied upon to uphold the imperial dignity, whereas his pagan ones were continually raising insurrections in various parts of the empire.
Accordingly Constantine, A.D. 324, and frequently afterwards, issued edicts against paganism, and sought with might and main to force Christianity on the empire as its one and only religion. Pagans were banished from the court, and Christians advanced to posts of honour. Constantine offered his gold and patronage to the Church, and it eagerly swallowed the bait, sacrificed its conscience and allegiance to its Lord, and the Church and the world, which had hitherto walked apart (Joh 17:1-26; 2Co 6:14-16), were soon locked in each other’s arms. Fatal union! From this period we date the unhappy alliance of Church and State, and the rise of Church establishments endowed by the State. Christianity was in many instances forced upon unwilling subjects at the point of the sword. It was either the sword or baptism, although the august ruler himself put off observance of the Christian rite till a few days before his death at Nicomedia. The gorgeous heathen temples and vestments of the priests were consecrated for Christian service. Instead therefore of the plain and unpretending meeting rooms and halls, in which the early Church assembled, grand buildings and ostentatious display became the order of the day. Christianity walked in golden slippers. In order to reconcile the priests and people of the ancient superstitions to the new order of things many of the pagan rites and ceremonies were adopted by the Church. Thus it falsified its character as a witness for holiness and truth. The effects of that unholy alliance remain to this day, and although God has governmentally used it in checking the tide of infidelity, yet it has wrought incalculable mischief to the Church viewed as the body of Christ, and has done much harm in lowering the holy and unworldly character which the Church ought to show in this Christ-rejecting age. The true union of Church and State awaits the revelation of another day (Rev 21:9; Rev 22:5). The Church thus at her ease in the presence of the “throne” and “dwelling” of Satan, who is the god of this world, enables us to see the force of the unusually strong expressions in verse 13. Satan has both a “throne” and “dwelling” on earth, and for the Church to sit down thereon or therein is truly awful. There are enumerated twenty-eight items in chapter 18 of the Apocalypse as characteristic of the false Church: the first is “gold,” and the last “souls.”
This epoch of Church history is one of such importance that we have devoted to its consideration these lengthy remarks.
DWELLERS ON THE EARTH.
13. The Lord was not indifferent. I know “where thou dwellest” has a deeply moral and ominous significatian (compare with Php 3:19 and Rev 3:10; Rev 6:10; Rev 11:10; Rev 13:14; Rev 14:6; Rev 17:8). These passages point to a class of persons who are not simply on the earth, but whose sole interests are in it and bounded by it. They refer to a class of persons morally characterised as “dwellers on the earth.”(*”The dwellers upon earth are a moral class, the worst in it, seemingly, apostates who have had the offer of the heavenly calling, but have deliberately chosen earth as their portion instead. C. E. S.)
COMMENDED.
13. “Thou holdest fast My Name, and hast not denied My faith.” All that is vital in Christianity had been firmly maintained the Name and faith of Christ. They had been tested and proved under the most appalling circumstances, confiscation of goods, torture, and death. “Swear by the genius of Caesar” they would not. They held fast the Name of Him Who is holy and true. Deny the faith of Christ as Son of God in divine relationship, as Son of Man in Holy humanity towards men, and as Son of David in Judaic rights and glory they would not. They endured as “seeing Him Who is invisible.” They shrank not from the fiery trial, and the Lord delights to recount it and commend them for it, even when He has to strongly censure them for dwelling in the high places of the earth where Satan had established his throne and dwelling. It was Satan really who had his throne first at Rome, afterwards at Constantinople, and who employed the Caesars as his instruments and agents; from thence he governed. He dwelt there while also having access to Heaven. His overthrow is determined and the moment fixed (Rev 12:7-13).
ANTIPAS, THE FAITHFUL.
The orthodoxy of the angel as to vital truth was unquestionable. Pergamos, in the main, had not surrendered one article of fundamental truth, and this especially, “even in the days in which Antipas, My faithful witness (was), who was slain among you.” The name of this noble witness for Christ who sealed his testimony with his blood has been handed down to all ages.(*”Andreas speaks of the account of the martyrdom of Antipas existing in his time and his bold expostulations against his accusers. It is said that in the reign of Domitian he was cast into the brazen bull.” “The Apocalypse, with Notes and Reflections,” p. 30.) But although nothing certain is known of Antipas save the name, there is much wrapped up in that sentence, “My faithful witness, My faithful one” (R.V.). What Christ was to God (Rev 1:5), that Antipas was to Christ.
Rev 2:14-15
BALAAMISM AND NICOLAITANISM.
Rev 2:14-15. “But I have a few things against thee: that thou hast there those who hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to cast a snare before the sons of Israel, to eat (of) idol sacrifices and commit fornication. So thou also hast those who hold the doctrines of Nicolaitanes in like manner.” “But I have against thee,” words of definite complaint to the angel of Ephesus (Rev 2:4), and to that of Thyatira (Rev 2:20); in the former, departure from first love; in the latter, corruption of doctrine. Here, however, the plural “things” point to more than one just cause of complaint. Those who held the teaching of Balaam were one class, and those who held the teaching of the Nicolaitanes were another. Both were tolerated in the Pergamos assembly. But what was hated in Ephesus was accepted in Pergamos (Rev 2:6; Rev 2:15), Nicolaitanism being sternly rejected by the former, while permitted by the latter.(*There are certain parallel resemblances between the seven parables of Mat 13:1-58 and the seven churches of Rev 2:1-29; Rev 3:1-22, notably between the first and third parable with the first and third Church. The “kingdom” is the subject in Mat 13:1-58; the “Church” the subject in the Apocalypse 2 and 3.)
Balaam’s heart was not in the magnificent prophecies he was compelled by the Spirit of God to utter (Num 23:1-30; Num 24:1-25). The honours and gifts of the king of Moab filled his soul’s vision. For money he would curse the people of God. “He loved the wages of unrighteousness” (2Pe 2:15). Baffled in his attempts to curse those whom God had blessed, the wicked Mesopotamian prophet taught the wicked Moabite king to cast a stumbling-block in the path of Israel. We have no record of this transaction in the Old Testament. The prophet and the king went their respective ways (Num 24:25). But the stratagem succeeded. Under the direction of their guilty monarch the women of Moab caused Israel to sin (Num 25:1-18; Num 26:1-65; Num 27:1-23; Num 28:1-31; Num 29:1-40; Num 30:1-16; Num 31:1-54). Thus Balaam, even more guilty than the king, was the real instigator under Satan of the fall of Israel, which led to the signal judgment inflicted upon 24,000 of the people (Num 25:9).(*In 1Co 10:8 the number who perished is given at 23,000, but the words “fell in one day” sufficiently account for the apparent discrepancy in the numbers who perished. The full number destroyed would not necessarily be accomplished in one day. Moses states the larger number without reference to the time covered by the execution of the judgment.) Peter, Jude, and John are the only writers of the New Testament who specifically refer to Balaam. The two sins into which Israel was thus led were idolatry and fornication. These very evils were energetically denounced by Paul in a later day (1Co 10:19-28; and 1Co 6:15-18). Here the teachers and adherents of these impure practices were sheltered in the very bosom of the Church itself. These sins were the result of Balaam-teaching. For the Christian any object short of God Himself is idolatry (1Jn 5:21), and illicit intercourse with the world is fornication (2Co 6:14-16).*(Israel is charged with adultery in having fellowship with the Gentiles (Jer 3:8), because viewed as married to Jehovah. The Church is charged with fornication in its illicit intercourse with the world (Rev 2:21), because not yet married to the Lamb.)
Rev 2:15. “The doctrines of the Nicolaitanes” were not quite the same as those of Balaam, although the result was the same in both cases, namely, the moral ruin of all contaminated by these unholy teachings and practices. Balaam, the false prophet, has his modern representatives in the Church to-day. Men occupy responsible positions in it, who, Balaam-like, cling tenaciously to their emoluments and preferments, while they labour with a zeal worthy of a better cause to overthrow the faith they are paid to defend and uphold. The honesty of these men is on a par with their soul-destroying work. The teachings of Balaam act upon the souls of men; whereas the doctrines of Nicolaitanism are sown in the souls of the people. Between the two the corporate body is well-nigh ruined. From the fourth century till today rapid strides have been made in the wrong direction, so that now there is scarcely a feature of early apostolic Church character left. The angel is not charged with holding these doctrines, but they had not been resisted. Indifference to evil is an insult to God. The moral relaxation of the angel of Pergamos stands out in marked contrast to that of Ephesus. The sin of the Church is toleration of evil and evil men.
Rev 2:16
REPENTANCE OR JUDGMENT.
Rev 2:16. “Repent therefore: but if not, I come to thee quickly, and I will make war with them with the sword of My mouth.” In the warning to Ephesus “remember” precedes the call to repent. Not one of the assemblies had been so richly blessed, had enjoyed so much of the goodness and grace of God, as the assembly in the capital of western Asia. Paul had laboured in Ephesus for three years. His service and tears had borne abundant fruit, and in his epistle to the saints of that city he had unfolded truths of the most exalted character without one accompanying word of rebuke or censure. Faith in Christ and love to all saints were characteristics of their Church life. How fitting therefore the words of divine admonition, “Remember therefore whence thou art fallen, and repent.” But the assembly in Pergamos never had been in the enjoyment of such exalted grace and privilege; hence the omission of the word “remember.”
“Repent therefore,” omitted in the Authorized Version, is in view of the faithful exposure of grave evils in their midst. Personally the angel of the Church had neither imbibed the teachings nor practiced the deeds reprobated, but, on the other hand, he had not denounced them, nor had he opposed their entrance into the Church which the angel of the Church in Ephesus had energetically done. If no self-judgment followed the call to repent, the Lord threatens speedy judgment: “I come to thee quickly.” The imminence of the judgment is expressed in the use of the present tense, as also in the introduction of the word “quickly,” wrongly inserted in verse 5, rightly here in verse 16 (see R.V. for both texts). The coming here referred to does not signify the personal return of the Lord, or what is spoken of as the second Advent, but points to an immediate dealing with the assembly by the Lord Who would visit it in judgment. To the angel He says, “I come to thee,” but to the still more guilty, “I will make war with them.” Thus the Lord distinguishes. There are degrees of sin and, proportionately, of punishment. We, too, should distinguish between leaders and led. In the various forms and phases of discipline enjoined in the New Testament in order to preserve the holiness of God’s House this distinction should be carefully acted upon. “Of some,” says the apostle, “have compassion, making a difference; but others save with fear, snatching (them) out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh” (Jud 1:22-23). “The sword of My mouth” refers to the judging power of His Word; it pierces.
Rev 2:17
A CALL TO HEAR.
Rev 2:17. “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” In these addresses we listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit. In them He speaks to the churches of Christendom. Had Christendom listened to the voice of the divine Speaker the public ruin of the Church would have been averted. But whilst the Spirit speaks to the churches, it is individuals who are called to hear. The Church throughout is regarded as a body insensible either to the pleadings or warnings of the Spirit; hence the churches are not called upon to hear, but individuals are: “He that has an ear to hear, let him hear.” Corporate recovery is hopeless, hence individual responsibility, always of prime importance, is the more earnestly and continuously pressed. This is a cardinal truth in Christianity, on the denial of which the papacy flourishes. The very kernel of the papal system is the stern disallowance of individual thought and of one’s direct relation to God.
SPECIAL AND PERSONAL REWARDS.
17. “To him that overcomes, to him will I give of the hidden manna; and I will give to him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written, which not one knows but he that receives (it).” The overcoming here, as elsewhere, is an individual matter. If a company of overcomers is to be formed it can only be in the exercise of faith and spiritual energy by each one. The overcoming company, or “cloud of witnesses” of Heb 11:1-40, is separately presented. Each witness for God had to fight the foe alone, yet not alone, for the living God was for him and with him.
In our English Bibles the words “to eat” are not found in the Sinaitic and Alexandrine MSS., and are also deleted in the Revised Version, and rejected by Tregelles, Kelly, Darby, and others.
There is peculiar sweetness in these promises, as also in the way of their bestowal. “I give of the hidden manna.” The twice repeated “I give” enhances the value of the promised blessings. The manna is termed “angels’ food” (Psa 78:25) and “the bread of God” (Joh 6:33). Manna, meaning “What is this?” is the standing expression of Israel’s bewilderment at the manner and abundance of Jehovah’s provision for them in the desert (Exo 16:15), but certainly it was not “hidden,” since it lay on the face of the ground round their camp. For 12,500 mornings Jehovah rained down bread from Heaven for His people on earth. Israel’s God is our God, and He is even more to us than He was to them, owing to our present and living association with Christ in glory. As a memorial of God’s grace to His people a pot full of manna was laid up before the Lord (Exo 16:33), a “golden pot” we are informed by Paul (Heb 9:4). For about 500 years this “hidden manna” told its tale of Christ in humiliation, but to God alone. Hid in the ark, the most sacred of vessels, it was screened from the gaze of the people; probably during the long period of five centuries no human eye beheld it.
Now, says Christ, “I give,” not mediately, but personally, “of the hidden manna.” It is, of course, a reward in the future when the struggle is over. What a blessing! To learn then from Christ Himself in glory the secrets of His life here, the depths of His humiliation, the moral beauties and perfections of His life hid from the eyes of men. It will then be seen that the path of the overcomer is but a reflex of the life of Jesus here. What communings in the glory between the Victor and His victorious people. Life’s story understood and rehearsed above, but whose life’s history? ours or His? The unwritten records of His life, if penned, would require a larger world than this to contain them (Joh 21:25). The manna of old was rained from Heaven for the blessing and satisfaction of the people on earth. The hidden manna is to be given to the overcomers in Heaven. The public place of the Church in closest fellowship with the world, in which Satan established his throne and dwelling, had been refused by the overcomers in Pergamos; hence they had to abide in the shade, and suffer as they trod a solitary path in fellowship with Jesus, Who Himself had trod that separate path to Him more rugged and lonely surely than to any before or since.
But not only will He give the hidden manna, but also “I will give to him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written, which no one knows but he that receives (it).” What is to be understood by the white stone and secret name written thereon? A “white stone” was largely employed in the social life and judicial customs of the ancients. Days of festivity were noted by a white stone; days of calamity by a black stone. A host’s appreciation of a special guest was indicated by a white stone with a name or message written on it. A white stone meant acquittal; a black stone condemnation in the courts of justice. Here the overcomer is promised a white stone and a new name written thereon, which none knows save the happy recipient. It is the expression of the Lord’s personal delight in each one of the conquering band. It is by no means a public reward. There are common and special blessings now; there will be public and individual joys then. The Lord’s approbation of, and special delight in, each one of the triumphant company will be answer enough to the rejection and scorn heaped upon the faithful witness now. The new name on the stone, alone known to the overcomer, signifies Christ, then known in a special and peculiar way to each one, and that surely is reward beyond all price and beyond all telling. It is a secret communication of love and intelligence between Christ and the overcomer, a joy which none can share, a reserved token of appreciative love. In the glory the hidden manna is the expression of our appreciation of Christ in His humiliation; while the white stone equally sets forth His appreciation in us as overcomers. His and our individual path here are the points respectively set forth in the glory by the symbols of the “manna” and the “stone.”
Commentary on Rev 2:12-17 by E.M. Zerr
Rev 2:12. The author identifies himself in this place by His possession of the sharp sword with two edges. This refers to the word of God which is described in Heb 4:12. The Lord says he hath this sword or that He originated it and has a perfect knowledge of the proper use of it. And to the angel is explained at Rev 1:20.
Rev 2:13. I know thy works. (See comments at verse 2.) Know is used in the sense of approval with regard to the works in this verse. Where Satan’s seat is. Pergamos was in one of the worst centers of idolatry, making the temptation all the greater. This church as a whole withstood the influence of heathendom, holding fast to the name of Christ as the true person to worship. Not denied my faith denotes that they maintained the basis of that faith or system of religion which was the Gospel. Not much is said elsewhere about this Antipas further than what is said here. He is referred to as a “martyr” even as it is in our passage. However, the reason for so classifying him is an error, namely, because it is said that he was slain for his faith. He was a martyr before being slain because death is not what makes a man a martyr; it only proves that he was a martyr. That term is from the same Greek word as “witness” and it means the same. It is the word for “witness” in Heb 12:1 where we know Paul is speaking about the faithful servants of God enumerated in the preceding chapter. We also know that some of those “witnesses” (martyrs) did not die, for they “wandered in deserts and in mountains.” Hence a martyr is one who is true to the testimony of the Lord come what may, whether it be death or loss of goods or banishment like the case of John. Accordingly in the case of Antipas; he went to his death because he had been a true and faithful martyr for Christ.
Rev 2:14. Thou hast there means the church was holding within its fellowship these characters. hold the doctrine denotes that they believe and retain and endorse it. The doctrine of Balaam is briefly stated in direct connection with this passage. It nertains to the advice that Balaam gave Balac after the four speeches that he (Balaam) made under the control of the Lord. The historical account of it is quoted from Josephus in connection with Num 25:1-5 in Volume 1 of Bible Commentary. The persons in the church at Pergamos were endorsing the same practices which were a mixture of idolatry and immorality.
Rev 2:15. See the comments at Rev 2:6 on the Nicolaitanes.
Rev 2:16. Repent. (See comments at Rev 2:5 on this subject.) Fight against them means a spiritual war since the weapon is the sword of my mouth. It means these guilty members will be exposed and condemned by this sword which is the word of God.
Rev 2:17. He that hath an ear is commented upon at Rev 2:7. Him that overcometh signifies one who is faithful to the Lord until death. Eat of the hidden manna. This is a figure of speech formed from the circumstance recorded in Exo 16:32-34; it is referred to by Paul in Hebrews 4. This manna was in the ark in the Most Holy Place where none were permitted to enter and partake. It is used here to represent the exclusive spiritual blessings that the Lord will bestow only on His faithful servants. A white stone alludes to some practices of old in which a favored contestant was given this kind of stone as a badge of distinction, on much the same principle as a soldier’s decorations. This new name also signifies the special relation between a faithful servant and his Lord. No man knoweth in the sense that no man can realize or appreciate what it means to be thus blessed of the Lord.
Commentary on Rev 2:12-18 by Burton Coffman
Rev 2:12
And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write: These things saith he that hath the sharp two-edged sword:
PERGAMUM
Angel of the church … See references above on this.
The name Pergamum means citadel,[58] but the word parchment, meaning paper of Pergamum, also derives from it.[59] When political jealousy interrupted the supply of papyrus from Egypt, Pergamum invented the method of making paper from the skins of animals; and a great library was built there, which was later moved to Alexandria and consolidated with the library there. The founding of the city lay beyond the mists of long pre-Christian history, but coins were minted there as late as 452 B.C., and possibly much earlier. The principal importance of the place dates from the times of Lysimachus (355 to 281 B.C.), after whom Pergamum continued as a kingdom until Attalus III, upon whose death (133 B.C.) the kingdom was bequeathed to Rome. By Christian times, Pergamum had become the chief center of the Roman emperor-worship, no less than three temples being erected there to Roman emperors,[60] but with many other temples also, to Zeus, Athena, Dionysus, and Asklepios (the serpent-god of healing). Of these, the temple of Zeus (Soter Theos), the “saviour god,” had a huge altar 40 feet high carved like a great throne into the face of the mountain dominating the city, perhaps suggesting the words, “where Satan’s throne is” (Rev 2:13). A school of medicine was there, connected with the worship of Asklepios; and the city was also the principal seat of Roman authority in the area. All of these gave the city something of the character of a great imperial cathedral metropolis. It was the Roman sword which constituted the ultimate authority in the times and place of Pergamum, and thus it was most appropriate for John to speak of Christ to them as, “He that hath the sharp two-edged sword,” an authority infinitely greater than that of Rome. The sword, of course, is the word of the Son of God.
The climate of Pergamum, religiously, was especially threatening to Christians. “Pergamum had mingled and synthesized the deities of three races, and of three successive periods of their history.”[61] With these, they had also combined the worship of the Caesars, temples to both Augustus and Tiberius having already been constructed there when Revelation was written. In this atmosphere, there were some Christians, no doubt, who favored the incorporation of Christianity into the religious life of the community without a collision with the pagan world. As Billy Graham stated it, “The message to the church at Pergamum speaks of the danger of theological compromise … Their sin was tolerating theological error in their midst.”[62]
[58] F. F. Bruce, op. cit., p. 638.
[59] Funk and Wagnall’s Standard Dictionary (New York: Funk and Wagnalls Company, 1958), in loco.
[60] E. J. Banks, op. cit., p. 2322.
[61] E. M. Blaiklock, op. cit., p. 106.
[62] Billy Graham, The Seven Churches of Asia in Christianity Today (Dover, New Jersey: Christianity Today, 1978), Vol. XXIII, No. 4, November 17,1978, p. 20.
Rev 2:13
I know where thou dwellest, even where Satan’s throne is; and thou holdest fast my name, and didst not deny my faith, even in the days of Antipas my witness, my faithful one, who was killed among you, where Satan dwelleth.
I know where thou dwellest … Repeatedly, this affirmation of the omniscience of the Master emphasizes the truth that all things are open and naked to the eyes of the Lord.
Where Satan’s throne is … See under preceding verse.
Holdest fast my name … See under Rev 2:3.
And didst not deny my faith … The usage of “faith” in this verse is significant, standing, as it so frequently does in the New Testament, for the Christian religion.
Even in the days of Antipas … who was killed … Nothing is known of this Christian martyr except what is written here. The inference is that he died for his faith and that the event was known widely in the church.
Where Satan dwelleth … In all probability, like the expression above, “where Satan’s throne is,” this is a reference to the pagan emperor-cult which was centered in Pergamum. “It was a power which was then testing the church and had effected the death of Antipas.”[63]
Caird gives an extensive analysis of the arguments that might have been advanced by the compromise party in Pergamum, to the effect that “All that the emperors really wanted was a gesture of political loyalty,”[64] that actually the pagan “gods” were really “nothing,” and that gestures of honor given them were without meaning, etc.; but Blaiklock explains the adamant refusal of Christians to participate in such things thus:
Allow the pinch of incense before the emperor and the landslide would begin. The guild-feasts would follow, a problem for Christians in Thyatira. Then would come the immoralities of Corinth’s worship of Aphrodite, and the breakdown of Christian morality, the sanctities of Christian marriage, the whole challenging distinctiveness of the Christian faith, the whole purpose of its being.[65]
[63] Isbon T. Beckwith, op. cit., p. 458.
[64] G. B. Caird, op. cit., p. 34.
[65] E. M. Blaiklock, op. cit., p. 106.
Rev 2:14
But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there some that hold the teachings of Balaam, who taught Balak to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit fornication. So hast thou also some that hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans in like manner.
The teaching of Balaam … “Evidently this error of Balaam was the chief principle of the sect of the Nicolaitans.”[66] “The teaching of Balaam is merely John’s opprobrious name for the teaching of the Nicolaitans”[67] The nature of their teaching is clear enough. They advocated participation in pagan worship, eating things sacrificed to idols, and committing fornication, essential ingredients of all pagan worship. Significantly it is the “works,” the behavior of the Nicolaitans, that is condemned in the Ephesian church; but at Pergamum, the practice of immorality has become an established teaching by some who openly advocated it, perhaps on the basis that some kind of compromise with paganism was inevitable. Balaam, repeatedly mentioned by New Testament writers, is usually held up as an example of evil. His error is set forth in Numbers 25 :lff; 31:16. Regarding the Nicolaitans, some have supposedly found a connection between his name and that of Balaam; but Beckwith noted that:
The purely symbolical interpretation of the name based upon a supposed identity of the Greek word [@Nikolaos] with the Hebrew word [Balaam] is not supported by certain etymology and is too artificial.[68]
See further comment on Nicolaitans under Rev 2:6.
[66] Merrill C. Tenney, op. cit., p. 60.
[67] G. B. Caird, op. cit., p. 39.
[68] Isbon T. Beckwith, op. cit., p. 400.
Rev 2:16
Repent therefore; or else I come to thee quickly, and I will make war against them with the sword of my mouth.
The admonition here is that, “The church as a whole must repent of its too tolerant attitude to the errorists.”[69] As Graham noted, “They had taken no corrective action and had applied no discipline.”[70] Such a “broadminded” indifferent attitude toward gross sins would have to be repented of.
I will come unto thee quickly … “The one thing clear is that, when John speaks of an imminent coming of Christ, he is not necessarily thinking of the Parousia (the Second Advent).”[71] What is meant is that a divine judgment against them will be speedily enforced. This may be understood in either of two ways, or both: (1) Their effectiveness as a true church would soon disappear unless they repented. (2) A supernatural, divine visitation against them would be executed, as upon Ananias and Sapphira (Act 5:1-10). Moffatt understood it to be the latter, “some physical malady or mortal sickness.”[72] If Moffatt is correct in this, as would seem to be indicated by the more specific reference to Jezebel (Rev 2:20-23, below), then the very fact of such judgments, associated with the earliest years of the church, being threatened here would indicate an early date for Revelation.
Make war against them with the sword of my mouth … This is a symbolical reference to the word of God as the principal weapon employed in the destruction of error.
[69] James Moffatt, op. cit., p. 357.
[70] Billy Graham, op. cit., p. 21.
[71] G. B. Caird, op. cit., p. 41.
[72] James Moffatt, op. cit., p. 357.
Rev 2:17
He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches. To him that overcometh, to him will I give of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, and upon the stone a new name written, which no one knoweth but he that receiveth it.
On the first sentence, see under Rev 2:7, and also regarding “him that overcometh.”
I will give of the hidden manna … The great feasts in the idol-temples were nothing to be compared to the feast of one who eats of “the bread of life” (Joh 6:35). John remembered the words of Jesus who in that passage identified himself as the true manna that came down from God out of heaven. It is here called “hidden” because it was a secret unknown to the pagan world of the community to which Revelation was written. Finding some reference to the Hebrew myth about a literal pot of manna in this is ridiculous. As Bruce said, “This is another expression meaning eternal life.”[73] Many of the other expressions similarly used, such as the white stone, also have exactly that same meaning.
White stone … It is not necessary to find the meaning of this in ancient superstitions. Small pebbles (not necessarily white) were used as tickets to public functions, especially feasts; and what is meant is simply that the ones who overcome shall receive, “a ticket of admission to the heavenly banquet, a very permanent ticket to an eternal feast.”[74] The reference to the new name known only to the recipient … “The idea is conveyed that outside the Christian experience no one can really know what God is, or what he gives. The redeemed and victorious alone understand what it means to belong to God.”[75] Regarding the stone’s being white, Cox said that it was, “not the black stone of their condemnation, but a white stone to their exoneration, admitting them to the secret places of the Most High.”[76]
[73] F. F. Bruce, op. cit., p. 639.
[74] G. B. Caird, op. cit., p. 42.
[75] James Moffatt, op. cit., p. 359.
[76] Frank L. Cox, According to John (Austin, Texas: Firm Foundation Publishing House, 1948), p. 176.
Commentary on Rev 2:12-17 by Manly Luscombe
Pergamos (Rev 2:12-17)
The City–Pergamos was a city high in the mountains. It was located at 1,000 feet elevation. It was another city with a large population, around 200,000 and the worlds second largest library. It had a famous school of medicine. Pergamos was known for ointments, medicines, parchments and pottery. A large temple to Aphrodite, goddess of fertility, was located here. Pergamos was the beginning of emperor worship.
The Church–We have no information about the planting of the church here.
Things Commended–They are living in the seat of Satans throne, the origin of emperor worship. Being faithful here was more than just attending church services. They had already suffered the death of Antipas. His death was a great testimony to his faith in Christ. They had not denied the faith, even in the face of such persecution. What would you do? Justify? Cave in to the pressure? Would you stand firm in your faith?
Things Condemned–Heresy had entered the church. The teachings of Baalam were here. (See Num 23:1-30; Num 24:1-25) Baalam sought to make material gain at the cost of the spiritual and moral life of the people. He led the people to idol worship and fornication. Some were willing to make spiritual compromise in order to obtain personal safety. They would teach evil in order to save their own neck.
Sermon on Rev 2:12-17
Stand For Truth
Brent Kercheville
Have you seen this new symbol on t-shirts called COEXIST? Each letter in COEXIST is a symbol representing a religion or belief. The C is for Islam with its crescent moon. The O is for peace with the peace symbol that we have seen for decades. The E represents male/female, indicating no difference between males and females with an eye toward acceptance of homosexuality. The X is the star of David which represent Judaism. The I is a lowercase I and the dot of the letter I has a star inside a circle, representing Wican and pagan religions. The S is the yin and yang symbol representing eastern religions like taoism and confucianism. Finally, the T is a cross, representing Christianity. Now, this would be great if all this symbol meant was that we need to quit killing each other and coexist on this planet. However, this is not what this symbol means. The symbol represents tolerance. This tolerance is summed up on a quote on the homepage of the coexist foundation website. God has given us many faiths but only one world in which to co-exist. Shockingly, the person who said this is the chief rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations. A rabbi said that God has given us many faiths. We live in a world that is conditioning our minds to be tolerant. There is no right or wrong. There is no truth or error. Just coexist and believe what you want and it is good enough.
The church at Pergamum was dealing with a similar problem. They were tempted to tolerate teachings that were not true. The city of Pergamum was an important center for pagan and imperial religions in the Roman province of Asia. Pergamum was the center of four pagan cults. The city was a center of learning and education as it had a 200,000 volume library, quite an accomplishment for that time. Pergamum was the first city in the province of Asia to build a temple to a Roman emperor, and it was to Augustus Caesar. The city was considered the capital of the whole area for Caesar worship. They were tempted to coexist with error. Lets look at what Jesus says to the church in the city of Pergamum in Rev 2:12-17.
Jesus Knows (Rev 2:12-13)
Jesus self-description is interesting and gives us a clue about what Jesus is going to speak about. Jesus is the one who has the sharp two-edged sword. In Revelation 1 we see this sharp two-edged sword coming out of the mouth of Jesus. The image symbolizes the power of the word of God. Christs message is like a sword, not a pat on the back. We may not like sermons that cut to our core, but Heb 4:12 reminds us that the word of God is a sword that has the purpose of cutting us so that we can be what God calls us to be.
Jesus knows where these Christians live. They live where Satans throne is. This is a very severe statement about the wicked condition of this city. You are living where Satans throne is established. You live in a place that is the center of worship to pagan gods. You live where people do not care about God and will worship anything and anyone else but God. Even worse, one of Gods people has been killed for their faith. Jesus says that he knows about Antipas who was killed. Can you imagine one of the faithful people of this congregation being killed for his or her stand for Jesus? Without a doubt this would impact these Christians for a long time. This church has much to be commended. Even living in a place that Jesus could call, lochSatans throne, these Christians remained faithful to the Lord. They did not deny the faith even when a Christian was killed for not denying the faith.
The Problem of Tolerance (Rev 2:14-15)
However, Jesus says that he has some things against them. The problem is that they are tolerating all of these different teachings within their assembly. There are people who hold to the teachings of Balaam. There are people who hold to the teachings of the Nicolaitans. Jesus tells them that these teachings cannot coexist. There is no room for some to believe what they want to believe and others believe what they want to believe.
What is the teaching of Balaam? It does not seem that the teaching of Balaam was the name of the false teaching. Rather, Jesus is giving this description to this false teaching to show the church that what they are tolerating is false. Balaam is a reference to a prophet of God in the Old Testament. The Israelites were conquering their enemies as they made their way to Canaan. Balak, the king of Moab, hears that the Israelites are coming and wants to stop them. So he pays Balaam money to pronounce curses on the Israelites so that they will not be victorious when they come through Moab. Balaam attempts to prophetically declare these curses three times. But each time blessings come out of Balaams mouth rather than curses. Of course this makes the king of Moab irate. Balaam then comes up with another plan to curse the Israelites. Balaam devises a plan to have Moabite women seduce Israelite men into intermarriage. Therefore, the Israelites engaged in sexual adultery and spiritual adultery, as their hearts were taken away from God.
IGNITE: Before we leave this illustration, we must recognize that this is one way we lose our fire for the Lord. We get involved with people who are not passionate for God. We marry people who do not love the Lord. We spend time with friends and companions who are not zealous for Jesus. Being around these people rubs off on us. Just as much as our zeal is kindled when we are around others who are zealous for God, we also lose our zeal when we are with those who do not have a fire. This is the grave danger of our assemblies. If all of us are coming to worship and we are not excited about singing, excited to pray, excited to remember Jesus death, excited to hear the word of God, and excited to be together, our lack of enthusiasm will rub off on each other. If you are not engaging your heart and your mind in worship, not only are you dead toward God, but you are spiritually killing everyone in this room and everyone in your family. You are teaching them to be dead toward the Lord. Balaams plan worked as they united themselves with foreign women and lost their love for God.
Look at Rev 2:14 and you can see that what is going on in the Pergamum church is similar to what Balaam had done. There are people who are teaching that it is acceptable to eat meat sacrificed to idols. When we read 1 Corinthians 8-10 we learn that eating food offered to idols was directly condemned. Also, some are teaching that sexual immorality is acceptable. We are reading about a liberal Christianity. These people did not deny Jesus or reject him. The problem was that they did not reject any other teachings either. They tolerated the teachings that others had, even if the teachings were directly in conflict with the word of God.
This is a very large problem in the religious world today and a problem that we must be warned against. We cannot accept all teachings. We cannot accept all beliefs. The word of God is not subjective. Following Jesus is not a matter of personal preference. There are so many churches that are happy to have you sit in their building and will let you believe what you want to believe and let you do what you want to do. You can be a member and full participant in the church all the while teaching and believing things that are directly contrary to the scriptures. The world tells us to be tolerant and coexist. We are told to find the church of your choice that will let you do what you want to do and let you teach and believe what you want. We could have a very large church and need a new building if we simply said what you can teach what you want to teach and believe what you want to believe. The church at Pergamum was compromising the truth of Gods word.
There will always be teachers advocating sinful behaviors. There will always be teachers saying that sex before marriage is fine, living together unmarried is fine, affairs are acceptable, open marriages are great, divorce is fine, remarriage is good, a promiscuous lifestyle is fine, and homosexuality is acceptable. We cannot compromise Christs teachings. We cannot belong somewhere because we like the music, like the people, like the worship, or any other selfish reason. We must serve and worship where the truth of Gods word is revered and honored and where Gods word is never compromised. This does not mean that we act ugly or nasty toward people. Rather, in love we stand unwavering for Gods word.
IGNITE: We lose our fire for evangelism when we think that every teaching and every belief is acceptable. If what the rabbi said is true, that God has given us many faiths, then there is no need to evangelize or teach because everyone is included. When we recognize that this teaching is nonsense and contrary to Gods word, then we will be emboldened to tell our friends that they must come to the Lord because what they believe now is leading them to eternal punishment.
Jesus Solution (Rev 2:16)
Jesus commands for the people to repent. If they will not repent, Jesus says he will come to them soon and war against them with the sword of his mouth. Notice the you and the them in this declaration. Jesus will come to you and war against them. I believe Jesus is warning these Christians to get these who are teaching false things to repent. If you dont do something I am going to come to you and fight against them. Notice also that Jesus says he will fight with the sword of his mouth. We already pointed out that the two-edged sword that comes out of his mouth is a symbol of the powerful word of God. The image seems to be saying that Christ will use his word against us if we will not use it. His word tells us of a coming judgment if we will not listen to his words. We can either use his words and obey his words or Jesus will use his words against us in judgment. Christs truth and message is a sword, not a feather. Christs words graciously cuts to purify our lives.
To Those Who Conquer (Rev 2:17)
Jesus says that those who listen and overcome will receive some precious things. First, they will receive the hidden manna. The hidden manna reminds us of the manna that was hidden in the ark of the covenant. The manna was a reminder of Gods grace and faithfulness as he provided for his people through difficult times. The point is that those who listen and conquer will receive Gods grace and faithfulness as he provides for his people.
The second image is more difficult. To those who listen and overcome they will also receive a white stone with a new name written on the stone that no one knows. The white stone was used often as a picture of an acquittal in a court of law. But having a new name on that white stone causes some difficulty. There are a number of options given by scholars. The one that makes the most sense to me is something similar to a trophy with our name engraved on it. The stone with ones name on it allowed the victor admission into the victors feast. To those who overcome, they will receive the victory trophy with a new name on that trophy that no one knows. The image is that of victory in the face of living where Satans throne is established.
Conclusion
We must not be tricked into this tolerant coexistence that says there is no absolute truth. Teach what you want to teach and believe what you want to believe, they say. Jesus says that he will come against us if we allow all teachings to have equal footing. The word of God is the truth and is not subject to our opinions. God has clearly revealed his will in this book and we must follow it.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
Beware of Evil Teachers
Rev 2:12-17
Notice the Lords commendation of the church at Pergamos (from which we get our word parchment). He recognizes their peculiar dangers and their difficulties-where Satans seat is. It was an honorable thing to have held fast Christs name under such circumstances. To hold fast His name is to be loyal to Him in all circumstances. Not to deny His faith is to hold fast to the essential facts and doctrines of primitive Christianity, undeterred by the blandishments or threats of the world.
For the doctrine of Balaam, we must turn to Numbers, Num 22:1-41; Num 23:1-30; Num 24:1-25, and then especially to Num 25:1 and Num 31:16. Balaam had failed to curse, but though he had thereby forfeited his prestige and payment, he won them back by advising Balak to corrupt the morals of Israel and so break their union with Jehovah. The Nicolaitanes apparently promulgated similar tenets, and in their proud and wealthy city were prepared to admit orthodoxy of doctrine so long as it was combined with laxity of morals. But Christ cannot for a moment tolerate such a conjunction. His judgment sword must vindicate the purity of His Church.
Fuente: F.B. Meyer’s Through the Bible Commentary
Chapter 11
Christs letter to the church at Pergamos
‘And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write; These things saith he which hath the sharp sword with two edges; I know thy works and where thou dwellest, even where Satan’s seat is: and thou holdest fast my name, and hast not denied my faith, even in those days wherein Antipas was my faithful martyr, who was slain among you, where Satan dwelleth. But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication. So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes, which thing I hate. Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it’
Rev 2:12-17
Pergamos means ‘exalted, lofty, or elevated.’ It was a city in Asia Minor, which was built on a huge rocky hill. The Romans made it the capital of the province. In Pergamos Aesculapius, the pagan god of healing, was worshipped. The emblem of this god was a serpent, which to the people of God is the very emblem and symbol of Satan. Therefore, our Lord called Pergamos the place ‘where Satans seat is.’ The great altar to the Greek god Zeus was also in this city, as were many other pagan altars to pagan gods. In addition to these things, Pergamos was the center of emperor worship. Temples were dedicated to the worship of Caesar.
All men, including the disciples of Christ, were expected to offer incense to the emperors image and say ‘Caesar is Lord.’ Those who refused to do so suffered great hardship and persecution for their fidelity to Christ. One example was a man named Antipas, a faithful man, who suffered martyrdom because he would not deny Christ.
The majority of those who were members of the church in Pergamos were faithful. They held fast the name of Christ and would not deny his faith. But there were a few, even there, who tried to straddle the fence. Though they claimed to be Christians, they were willing to compromise with the pagans. They followed the doctrine of Balaam. In order to avoid persecution they tried to remove the offense of the cross by incorporating the worship of pagans into the worship of Christ. They would offer incense to Caesar, eat meat in the temple of Aesculapius, pay homage to Zeus, and then come to worship with the people of God on Sunday.
Others in the church went beyond the doctrine of Balaam. They followed the licentious practices of the Nicolaitanes. These Nicolaitanes were base antinomians. They openly taught and practiced fornication and adultery, and shared their wives with one another. In a word, they lived and acted like pagans, but called themselves Christians.
Notice the character under which our Lord Jesus Christ presents himself to the church at Pergamos. ‘Those things saith he which hath the sharp sword with two edges’ (Rev 2:12). Christ stands before the door of his church with a sword drawn and ready to do battle. The sharp, double-edged sword with which the Son of God does battle is the Word of God. There are two reasons for this picture.
Christ will destroy those who defile his name. He speaks to those in the church who hold the doctrine of Balaam and the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes, and says, ‘Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth’ (Rev 2:16).
Notice he says, ‘I will fight against them.’ Not against my church, but against them who are in my church but have forsaken me. There is a parallel passage in Mat 3:12. John the Baptist tells us that Christs ‘fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.’
Christs love for his church is manifest by his judgment against the traitors within her walls. The Word of God is a sword of judgment and destruction to hypocrites. By the preaching of the Word, our Lord disciplines his church, separates the wheat from the chaff, and binds up the tares for the burning (Mat 13:30). He turns his sword against those within the church who have no right to be there. Such a sight should make every hypocrite tremble; but nothing makes hypocrites tremble.
Christ presents himself here as a man of war, with his sword drawn, to comfort and defend his church. He is saying to the faithful, ‘I will defend you, I will fight off those who attack you, I will destroy your enemies, and I will purge you of all those wicked men within who would defile you.’ The Lord Jesus is our Joshua. He will chase the enemy before us, and lead us onward, conquering and to conquer. Thus, in this letter our Lord encourages us to persevere in the faith of the gospel.
The name of Christ and the faith of Christ
The passage shows us that the name of Christ and the faith of Christ are one. Our Lord says, ‘Thou holdest fast my name, and hast not denied my faith’ (Rev 2:13). These two things are identical. They can never be separated. The faith of the gospel has Christ for its center, Christ for its circumference, and Christ for its substance. The name of Christ, that is his Person, his character, his work, and his teachings, is the faith of the gospel.
The great doctrines of the gospel are all intimately connected with the Lord Jesus Christ himself. They are the rays; and he is the Sun. We never hold the faith of Christ, except as we hold Jesus Christ himself as the center and object of that faith. In the faith of the gospel Jesus Christ is all and in all.
Election is Gods choosing us in Christ before the world was made. Redemption is God purchasing his elect out of the hands of his own law by the blood of Christ. Regeneration is God giving dead sinners life in Christ, and Christ living in us. Forgiveness is God pardoning our sins through the blood of Christ. Justification is God clothing us with and imputing to us the righteousness of Christ. Sanctification is God forming Christ in us, imparting his righteousness to us. Resurrection is God raising us up by the power of Christ. Glorification is God conforming us to the image of Christ, to which end we were predestinated in the eternal purpose of his grace.
To the Jews the law was never in its proper place until it was laid in the ark, and covered with the mercy seat. And it is still true with us. We never see the law properly until we see it fulfilled in Christ. The same is true of the gospel. The gospel is the golden ring of our faith; but Christ is the diamond setting in the ring. Christ is the Author and Finisher of our faith. He is the sum and the substance, the top and the bottom, the Alpha and the Omega of the faith of the gospel. When we hold fast the name of Christ we have not denied the faith.
Denying the faith
Our Lord tells us that there are many who do deny the faith. In Pergamos there were some who held the doctrine of Balaam and others the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes. In doing so they had both denied the name of Christ and the faith of the gospel. This is a painful fact, but it is a fact, and one that we have to face. In every local church there are some who will, for one reason or another, deny the faith. How do men and women deny Christ and his faith?
Many let go of Christs name and deny his faith by simply refusing to confess it. Secret disciples are always suspect disciples. Those who confess Christ and the faith of the gospel only among his friends have, by their silence, denied him (Mat 10:27; Mat 10:32-33). Those who know the truth, but refuse to confess the truth in the teeth of Christs enemies, deny the truth.
Many, in this age of self-serving pragmatism, ‘I do not think we should offend people, or try to shove anything down their throats. We must try to get along.’ Are you of that opinion? This is what the Son of God says about the matter: ‘I came not to send peace, but a sword’ (Mat 10:34). ‘He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad’ (Mat 12:30). ‘And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple’ (Luk 14:27). If we are Christs disciples, sooner or later, he will see to it that we confess him before men, even before his enemies. The time will come when Nicomdemus will identify himself with his Lord (Joh 7:50-51) and Joseph will openly own his Master (Joh 19:38).
Others let go of Christ and deny his faith by embracing false doctrine. In Pergamos some had embraced the doctrine of Balaam and others the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes. Neither was an open denial of the gospel, but both were a practical denial of it.
The doctrine of Balaam was the acceptance of and compliance with false religion. It was an attempt to say, ‘We do not have to denounce the religions of men in order to hold to the truth of God’ (Num 25:1-2; Num 31:16). The doctrine of the Nicolaitanes said, ‘Faith in Christ does not require godliness and obedience to Christ.’
How does this apply to us today? If we embrace error regarding Christs person, work, or doctrine, if we believe what our Lord did not teach or refuse to believe what he did teach, then we have denied his name and his faith.
Let us ever focus our hearts and minds on Christ our Lord, and shun everything that would turn our thoughts away from him. Christ is the Way we must follow. That is practical Christianity. Christ is the Truth we must believe. That is doctrinal Christianity. Christ is the Life we must live. That is experimental Christianity. It matters not whether you talk about practical godliness, doctrinal truth, or experimental religion, all must be found in Christ, all must come from Christ, and all must direct us to Christ. We cannot be right in any area, unless Christ is the sum and substance of all. Our religion is Christ. Apart from this there is no true religion. Any doctrine divorced from Christ is heresy. Any precept divorced from Christ is legalism. Any religious experience divorced from Christ is fanaticism.
There are some who deny the faith by lives that are contrary to the gospel. Paul said to Timothy, ‘If any provide not for his own, and especially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel’ (1Ti 5:8). Morality will never produce faith; but faith always produces morality. This was the error of the Nicolaitanes. They held the truth in creed, but denied it in life. It matters not what I say I believe, if my manner of life is contrary to the gospel, I am an infidel, an unbeliever.
Others let go of Christ and deny the faith by actually forsaking Christ and the gospel (Joh 6:66; 1Jn 2:19). There are some who deliberately choose to forsake the gospel, while others are gradually overcome by the deceitful charms of the world; but all who forsake Christ, all who forsake the gospel of the grace of God, have denied the faith. And by their actions they prove that their faith was false.
Persevering faith
All true believers hold fast the name of Christ and will not deny the faith of the gospel. It is true that some, like Peter, fall at times and deny Christ for a season, but none of Gods elect do so permanently and totally. In the tenor of their lives, Gods people are faithful. All true believers will persevere in the faith to the end. This is clearly the teaching of Holy Scripture (Jer 32:37-40; Joh 10:27-30).
How do we hold fast the name of Christ and the faith of the gospel? How is it that Gods elect persevere in the faith? We must, in our hearts as well as in our heads, hold fast the faith of the gospel. The gospel is the message of Gods free grace to sinners in Christ. It is the message of full atonement and free justification by the obedience of Christ as the sinners Substitute. It is the message of salvation by grace alone without the works of man. It includes electing grace, redeeming grace, regenerating grace, and preserving grace. The grace of God in Christ is sovereign, free, irresistible, effectual, and saving. This is the faith of the gospel (Eph 1:3-14; 2Ti 1:9-12). Believing sinners hold it fast, knowing that we have no hope but the hope of free, sovereign grace in Christ.
We hold the faith by the full consent of our minds. God deals with the heart, but he does not by pass the mind. When Christ speaks our minds assent to what he says, and our hearts consent to his revelation. Our motto is, ‘Let God be true, and every man a liar.’
Yet, there is more, we not only agree to the truth of the gospel, we have received the love of the truth. We hold the faith of the gospel in the affections of our hearts (2Th 2:10-12). Many acknowledge the truth, but few love the truth. Gods people love the truth. Divine sovereignty, electing love, effectual atonement, imputed righteousness, and almighty, infallible, irrevocable grace are matters of unceasing joy, thanksgiving, and consolation to needy sinners who have been made to experience them.
We hold the faith when we hold forth the faith of the gospel in the teeth of all opposition. Those who believe the gospel do not hide their colors. They raise the banner high. If men resist, we hold it higher still. If they oppose, we hold it high and wave it in their faces. If I believe the gospel, I am not ashamed to confess the gospel. Men may count me a fool. Men may ridicule me as a fanatic. Men may denounce me as an instigator of strife, but I am honored to be counted a fool, ridiculed, and despised by men for Christs sake.
If we would hold the faith of Christ, we must hold fast the name of Christ. We must, like those disciples to whom our Lord said, ‘Will ye also go away?’ reply, ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life. And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God'(Joh 6:67-69).
Ever hold fast the deity of Christs name. We rejoice to know that our Savior is a man. But let us never forget that that man is ‘the mighty God’ (Isa 9:6). He is Immanuel, God with us, God in human flesh. When you put the finger of faith into the nail print in his hand, always cry with the heart of faith, ‘My Lord and my God’ (Joh 20:28).
The royalty of Christs name must never be forgotten (Rom 14:9; Php 2:9-11). Our Savior is The Lord Jesus Christ. He reigns as King over all things and must continue to reign as King of kings and Lord of lords until he has put all of his enemies under his feet. Believing hearts bow in submissions to Christs kingly throne, trust his kingly power, submit to his kingly will, and obey his kingly rule.
Never was there a name of such greatness and grandeur of Christs name. ‘His name is great in Israel’ (Psa 76:1). I will ‘praise thy great and terrible name, for it is holy’ (Psa 99:3). ‘There is none like unto thee, O LORD; thou art great, and thy name is great in might’ (Jer 10:6). ‘I am a great King, saith the LORD of hosts, and my name is dreadful among the heathen’ (Mal 1:14).
It is impossible to speak too highly, or even highly enough, of Christ’s name. It is impossible to make too much, or even enough, of him and his great name. His name is who he is. Surely, none can imagine that it is possible to make too much of him who is all. The Lord Jesus Christ is the Alpha and the Omega, and that he is all and in all. The whole Bible was written to set forth his name (Luk 24:27). The covenant of grace was ordered in his name. All the promises of God are yea and amen in his name. All the blessings of grace are received through his name. We are saved by faith in his name (Act 4:12; Rom 10:13). We prevail in prayer through his name. God’s servants are sent to preach his name. We find all comfort in his name.
‘Jesus, the name that charms our fears,
That bids our sorrows cease,
`Tis music in the sinners ears,
`Tis life, and health, and peace.’
In the name of Christ, only in the name of Christ, we have a confident hope of victory (Rom 7:24-25; Rom 8:35-39). Constantine once had a dream in which he imagined that God showed him the cross of Christ, and he took it as his emblem, with this motto, ‘By the cross I conquer!’ Believers care nothing for Constantine’s for his superstitious idolizing of the sign of the cross. But we hold forth and hold fast the doctrine of the cross, the doctrine of the gospel and the name of Christ in it, and we say, ‘By Christ we conquer!’ If we persevere in the faith and hold fast the name of Christ firm unto the end we shall be saved (Mat 10:22; Col 1:21-23; Heb 3:6; Heb 3:14; Heb 10:35-39). And all who are born of God shall persevere to the end, because God almighty who has ‘begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.’
Hidden manna, a white stone, a new name
This is our Saviors promise: ‘To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it’ (Rev 2:17). This is what that means: ‘If in the midst of much opposition from the world, the flesh, and the devil you hold fast my name and depart not from the faith of the gospel, you shall overcome your enemies and I will receive you into my heavenly kingdom.’
The hidden manna which Christ will give us to eat forever is the very manna which we now eat by faith – It is Christ himself (Joh 6:32-35). As today we live by feasting upon the merits of Christs righteousness and shed blood (Joh 6:54), even so in heaven our souls shall live forever, feasting upon him.
The white stone which Christ will give us is the stone of complete absolution in the day of judgment (Jer 50:20). The allusion here is to the common practice of the Romans in judgment. After a man had been tried for a crime, if he was found guilty, the judges would cast a black stone into an urn, which meant condemnation. If he were found innocent, they would cast in a white stone, which signified that he had been acquitted and absolved of all guilt.
The new name which Christ will give us, which no man can know but those who receive it, is ‘The Lord our Righteousness’ (Jer 23:6; Jer 33:16). We have been made so perfectly righteous and holy by the imputation of Christs righteousness to us that our everlasting name shall be ‘Jehovah our Righteousness’ (Isa 56:5; Isa 62:2).
Fuente: Discovering Christ In Selected Books of the Bible
angel
(See Scofield “Heb 1:4”).
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
the angel: Rev 2:1, Rev 1:11
Pergamos: Pergamos, now Bergamo, the ancient metropolis of Mysia, and the residence of the Attalian kings, is situated on the river Caicus, about sixty miles north of Smyrna, in long. 27 degrees e lat. 39 degrees 11 minutes n. It still retains some measure of its ancient importance; containing a population of 15,000 souls, and having nine or ten mosques, two churches, and one synagogue.
which hath: Rev 2:16, Rev 1:16, Rev 19:15, Rev 19:21, Isa 11:4, Heb 4:12
Reciprocal: Jdg 3:16 – two edges Isa 49:2 – he hath made Eze 44:15 – the sons Zec 9:13 – made Rom 1:7 – To all 2Co 3:3 – the epistle Phi 1:1 – the bishops 1Th 5:12 – and are Rev 1:4 – to the Rev 1:20 – The seven stars Rev 19:9 – Write
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
THE CHURCH IN PERGAMOS
And to the angel of the Church in Pergamos write.
Rev 2:12
The Church in Pergamos, with its constancy and self-devotion, and yet with the canker of grave moral and doctrinal evil, is surely typical of all communities, whether religious or civil, which are to a great extent in a sound and healthy condition, but are weakened and degraded by some deep-seated disease.
I. Take our modern English civilisation as a whole.There is so much in it that is deserving of respect and admiration. But side by side with them are features to which none of us can shut our eyes, and which are of a very different character. As long as this side of our modern civilisation continues to be so dark and awful, can we really say that things are well with us, and that we have as a nation no reason to fear the Divine verdict? Is there not a very real and grim possibility of our fatally deceiving ourselves as to our standing as a people in the sight of Him from Whom no secrets are hid? Has the Judge before Whom all the nations shall be gathered no cause for indignationindignation stern and fiercewhen such evils and shames are left by us to go on with no adequate effort to check them? These epistles, and not least this particular epistle to the Church in Pergamos, show us clearly that great virtues are not necessarily accepted by God as a set-off against gross sins. I will make war against them with the sword of My mouth is ever his warning to those communities in which are found crying moral scandals; and in that war all who have tolerated them must surely be to some extent fellow-sufferers with those who have actually committed them. I will make war against them. The words ought to rouse us to strive with all our might against our sins and vices as a people, to stir us to clear out the various plague-spots in our cities or neighbourhoods, to eradicate the foul weeds which defile our national garden. We may not, we dare not, we cannot, let these things go on. We must make unceasing war upon them. We must make war upon them or God will make war upon us. The wrath of God is revealed from heavenwrites the Apostle to the Gentilesagainst all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who hold down the truth in unrighteousness. Woe indeed to us if it be revealed against us.
II. Has not the Church in Pergamos also its counterpart in individual life?Are not these Nicolaitans, these propagators of the iniquity of Balaam, these who taught evil and tempted into open sin, representative of the dark blots to be found in characters which are otherwise clean and pure? There are such blotsnot the infirmities and frailties of the saint, but shameful illustrations of guiltin the natures of only too many of us. I have a few things against thee was the warning to the angel of the Pergamene Church; but those few things were provocative of the Divine vengeance. May it not be no with ourselves, with our own souls?
III. To him that overcometh.Yes, upon him that is victor over his sins and temptations, the Giver of all good things bestows rewards beyond all thought. Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard the wondrous gifts which await those who are more than conquerors through the strength of Him Who died and rose again.
Rev. the Hon. W. E. Bowen.
Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary
The Churches at Pergamos and Thyatira
Rev 2:12-27
INTRODUCTORY WORDS
We wish, by way of introduction, to set before you the various seven statements which occur in the Letters to the seven Churches.
1. In each case, the angel of the Church is addressed. It is “unto the angel of the Church of Ephesus”; “unto the angel of the Church in Smyrna”; “in Pergamos,” etc. What is the significance of this reiteration? The word “angel” comes from the Greek word “angelo.” It really means “messenger.” Angels, to be sure, are messengers. But so also is the pastor of the church a messenger. In the first chapter of the Book of Revelation we read, “The seven stars are the angels of the seven Churches.” These seven stars were held in the right hand of the Lord, and they were the messengers of God, the pastors, who were held responsible for the conduct of the Churches. The Lord addressed the angels, or the messengers, of the Churches, because it is at their hands that He requires the character and conduct of the various assemblies.
2. To each of the Churches the Lord says, “I know.” This shows that He is watching over the churches. He knows exactly what they are doing. He looks from above and tries the reins of the hearts of His people. In His description in the first chapter of Revelation, as He walks in the midst of the Church, we read, “And His eyes were as a flame of fire.” There is nothing that is not naked and open to the One with whom we have to do.
3. In each of the Churches is a word of commendation. The Lord Jesus does not fail to see the good things. He not only sees them, but He records them.
4. In each of the Churches, the Lord is described in a most befitting way. To Ephesus, He is the One who holds the stars in His hands. To Smyrna, He is the First and the Last, the One who liveth and was dead. To Pergamos, He is the One with a sharp sword with two edges. To Thyatira, He is the One who has eyes like unto a flame of fire. To Sardis, He has the seven spirits of God. To Philadelphia, He is the holy and true, who has the key of David. To Laodicea, He is the Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the beginning of the creation of God.
5. There are the seven overcomers. In Ephesus, the overcomer is given to eat of the tree of life. In Smyrna, the overcomer shall not be hurt of the second death. The overcomer in Pergamos receives the hidden manna, and the white stone, with a new name written in it. In Thyatira, the overcomer Is given power over the nations to rule them with a rod of iron. The overcomer in Sardis is arrayed in white raiment, and is confessed before the Father and the angels. The overcomer in Philadelphia will be made a pillar in the Temple of his God. The overcomer in Laodicea will be given the privilege of sitting with Christ on His throne.
6. There are the seven warnings, with a call to repentance. Ephesus is called to repent and do her first works. Smyrna is called upon to be faithful unto death, retaining her position in spite of the persecutions which surrounded her. Pergamos is called to repent, or else the Lord will come upon her, and fight against her with the sword of His mouth. In Thyatira, the woman Jezebel was given space to repent, but she repented not. In Sardis, the Lord said, “Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent.” To Philadelphia, the word is, “Hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.” To Laodicea it is written, “As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous, therefore, and repent.”
7. There are seven calls to those who have an ear, to hear what the Spirit is saying unto the Churches. God does not want His Word of warning and of commendation to fall on dull ears. He wants people to hear and to heed what the Spirit saith.
I. THE GOOD IN PERGAMOS (Rev 2:13)
1. “I know thy works.” This same thing was said of the Churches at Ephesus and Smyrna. But here is something different in the line of works. Here are works under the most trying and difficult circumstances. There are some people who will work for the Lord Jesus Christ when working is popular, when working brings forth immediate results. Smyrna, however, worked for God in the midst of tribulation and poverty. Pergamos worked for God where Satan’s seat was. That is not an environment conducive to Christian service.
2. “I know * * where thou dwellest, even where Satan’s seat is.” Milton describes the devil as being in hell, writhing in fury. He is plying his wicked works down there. The Bible, however, tells us that he is the prince of the power of the air. He is not yet cast into the pit of the abyss. His realm is in the Heavenlies, although, according to this verse, he had headquarters in Pergamos. That was his seat. It was from there that he operated, and the Church at Pergamos was, beyond doubt, the center of his attack.
3. “I know * * thou boldest fast My Name.” Here is a wonderful statement. The Names of the Lord Jesus stand for His character. They were holding those Names fast. They held fast to the Name “only begotten Son.” They held fast to the Name “Jesus,” which means the Saviour from sin. They held fast to the Name “Lord,” which meant the displanting of Satan’s authority, and the acknowledgment of Christ’s supreme power and rule. They held fast to the Name “Christ,” the Anointed of God.
4. “I know” that thou “hast not denied My faith.” Here is another remarkable statement. God is discovering in Pergamos certain vital characteristics which He did not find in Ephesus or in Smyrna. In the days when Antipas was His martyr, the saints at Pergamos did not deny the faith. They were not all martyrs in fact, but they were martyrs in spirit. They held fast Christ’s Name, and they also held fast to the faith which is in Him, even when they were threatened with death. They held fast to the faith, even when Satan, who dwelt in their midst, was slaying their comrades. God give us more Christians like this, who can say, “I shall not be moved.” These good things in Pergamos are certainly needed in the churches of today. Let us take our stand with the saints of old, and be unmoved by any and every wind which blows.
II. THE EVIL AT PERGAMOS (Rev 2:14-15)
There are two things which the Spirit had against the Church at Pergamos. God called them “a few things.” Let us see what these things were, and examine into the depth of these “few things.”
1. They had them there that held the doctrine of Balaam. We are more or less familiar with the doctrine of Balaam. The Bible talks of Balaam’s way, and of the error of Balaam, and of the doctrine of Balaam. Let us look at these one at a time. First, The way of Balaam was the way of least resistance. It was the way which goes against the voice of the angel, and the warning of God, and follows after the rewards of the world, and its honors and fame.
Balaam was told not to go to Balak, but he went. He was warned by the ass which spoke, and then he said to God, “If it displease Thee, I will get me back again”; but God knew that his heart was set on going. It was the large gift of money and of raiment and of preferment that pulled Balaam over into the land of the Moabites.
Again we have the error of Balaam. It was this that led him on to live after the things of the flesh instead of the Spirit; to lay up for himself money on earth instead of true riches in Heaven; to set his affection on things beneath and not on things above. Balaam lived for the things which are seen, and not for the things which cannot be seen, for the temporal instead of for the eternal, for the carnal instead of the spiritual. Are there any of us who fall into this error for reward? We lay up treasures on earth where the moth corrupts, and the thieves break through and steal.
Third, There is the teaching of Balaam, Balaam taught Balak how he could cause God to curse Israel. He said, literally, “If you will marry your sons to their daughters, and take their sons for your daughters, God will curse them.”
God would not allow Balaam to curse Israel, but Balaam well knew that if he could join hands with the devil, and cause Israel to commit fornication, in world mixing, that God Himself would send the judgment and the curse.
This teaching or doctrine of Balaam, is what the Lord had discovered in the Church at Pergamos. They had in their fellowship certain men who were walking in the ways of Balaam, who taught Israel to sin.
2. Thou hast “them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes, which thing I hate.” This was treated under the Church at Ephesus.
III. THE WARNING (Rev 2:16)
1. “Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly.” The word “repent” includes a turning away from the old attitude, and the taking of the new life in Christ. The word suggests a reversal of opinion, as well as of action. The things which I once loved, I now hate. The Lord Jesus is calling upon the Church at Pergamos to repudiate the doctrine of Balaam, and the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes.
2. “And [I] will fight against them with the Sword of my mouth.” We may say what we wish, and act as we will; however, if our churches do not take their stand against the doctrine which taught Balak to cast a stumbling-block before the Children of Israel, and unless they take their stand against the clergy dominating the laity, God is going to fight against them with the Sword of His mouth.
There is a good deal in this Book about the Sword of His mouth. We all know what that Sword is. It is the Word of God. When that Word is sounded forth, it will judge us of what manner of men we are. Where is he who would like for God to fight against him? Where is the church that would want the Lord to fight against her?
This is a terrible statement, and yet it is true; “Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men”; “for our God is a consuming Fire.” Again it is written; “The Lord shall judge the people.”
Think you that we can live as we list, and walk in the ways of the world, without judgment falling upon us?
IV. THE GOOD THINGS AT THYATIRA (Rev 2:19)
1. “I know thy works.” This expression occurs twice in the message to Thyatira. They evidently were filled with works, and works are not to be despised. It is written, “Created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” We can do nothing to become saved, but when we are saved we should do everything to serve Him.
We are saved by grace through faith, but we are saved unto good works. The truth is that if you show us a person who has faith, we will show you a person who has works. The two are inseparably linked, and cannot be separated. Thus we take it that the Church at Thyatira, having their works twice stressed, certainly were saved people.
2. “I know thy * * charity.” “Charity” is the kindness of God made manifest in them. It was no doubt love one to another; but love also to God. Even the Church in Ephesus lacked the full expression of this first love to God. “We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren”; “Every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.” God is always looking for the heart throbs of love within us.
3. “I know thy * * service.” What is the difference between service and works? Perhaps works were, toward God, but service was in behalf of their fellow men. The Bible says that we are to serve one another, and when we do this, we serve God.
4. “I know thy faith.” Here is something that is worth considering. “I know thy works,” “thy charity, (love),” “thy service,” and now “thy faith.” These saints believed God. They were fighting the good fight of faith. They were faithful unto Him who had called them.
5. “I know thy * * patience, and thy works; and the last to be more than the first.” So the Church at Thyatira was not slipping away. They were abounding more and more in all these manifestations of the grace of God, which He had wrought in them. They were not larger when they were born, as children of God, than they were afterward. They were growing in the knowledge of Christ, and in service for Him. They were increasing more and more. Here is the standard of every true believer.
V. THE BAD THINGS AT THYATIRA (Rev 2:20-22)
1. After having read so many good things relative to the Church saints at Thyatira, it seems too bad that the picture must be partially spoiled. There were some bad things there. Here is what the Lord had against the Church in Thyatira: “Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce My servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols.”
The Church itself did not walk with Jezebel. They would not have done what Jezebel did. However, they suffered Jezebel to teach, and to seduce God’s servants.
It was to the Church at Pergamos that the Lord said, “Thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam.” In Thyatira, they went so far as to suffer that woman Jezebel to seduce God’s servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols.
Jezebel was the wife of Ahab. She was the woman who brought in the prophets of Baal, displacing the true Prophets of God. These prophets did exactly the things which are spoken here. It was for this reason that God called this interloper in Thyatira, Jezebel, She professed to be a prophetess, and she came in as a teacher.
God had given this woman space to repent, but she had repented not. Therefore He pronounced a great judgment against her, with untold tribulation. He would cast her into tribulation, and all those who followed with her. He would kill her children with death. It is an evil thing and bitter when we forsake the Living God. It is especially so when, like Thyatira, we have works and love and service and faith and patience, and yet, withal, suffer a Jezebel to teach and to seduce true saints.
VI. THE JUST JUDGE (Rev 2:23-25)
1. Jesus Christ is not only the head of the Church, but He is also her Judge. In Rev 2:23 we read, “I am He which searcheth the reins and hearts.” This reminds us of the 139th Psalm, where it is written, “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: and see if there be any wicked way in me.” Yes, God is the One who judges His Church.
2. Jesus Christ will judge every one according to his works. That is the closing statement of Rev 2:23. That is also the statement of many verses of Scripture.
In Rom 14:10, we read, “Why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to Me, and. every tongue shall confess to God.” It is still true that every one of us shall give an account of himself to God.
Again it is written, in 2Co 5:10, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.” Then 2Co 5:11 says,-“Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men.” In Col 3:23-25 it is written. “And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ. But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done,” In Rev 22:12 it gives the great climactic on reward: “Behold, I come quickly; and My reward is with Me, to give every man according as his work shall be.”
All the Scriptures above are in line with the passage spoken to the Church at Thyatira: “I will give unto every one of you according to your works.” It behooves us who are members of various churches scattered throughout the world, to remember these things. God is going to judge us, and reward us according to our works, whether they be good or bad. If we have been like Jezebel, seducing the servants of God, He will judge us with judgments of fire.
VII. THE OVERCOMERS AT PERGAMOS AND AT THYATIRA (Rev 2:17; Rev 2:26-27)
It will be interesting to observe God’s rewards to the overcomers in these two churches, which we have just discussed.
1. The rewards to the overcomers in Pergamos. Let us remember as we study this theme that Pergamos was a Church where God held over it His sharp and two-edged sword. It was a Church where Satan’s seat was, and yet, in that place wherein Antipas was a faithful martyr, God had a group of saints who had not denied the faith. To be sure, the doctrine of Balaam and the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes were protected in the church, and they were allowed sway. Nevertheless, God knew that He had His faithful and His true ones there.
Let none of us ever think that we are the only ones who are standing true and faithful. Elijah said, “I, even I only, am left.” God, however, immediately said, (literally) “There are seven thousand in Israel who have not bowed the knee to Baal!”
Here is the promise to the overcomer in so difficult a situation as that which confronted the saints at Pergamos: “To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.”
In studying the overcomers in Rev 2:1-29 and Rev 3:1-22, we find that the greater the test, the greater the reward to those who overcome. How wonderful it will be to eat of the hidden manna! We must remember that Christ Himself is the manna that came down from Heaven, and to eat of the hidden manna must express some very definite and intimate relationship to the Lord Jesus who is the Bread of Life.
The white stone, and the new name, is a signet of special recognition and honor. Such shall belong to those who overcome in the midst of the churches which are patterned after the order of Pergamos.
2. To the Church at Thyatira were special rewards. “He that overcometh, and keepeth My works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of My Father.”
The second Psalm placed this power into the hands of the Lord. The Lord now promises to share the authority of His rule with the saints in Thyatira, who would stand against the wicked woman, Jezebel, and who had not known the depths of Satan.
Let those of the saved hold fast that they have, until He comes,
AN ILLUSTRATION
Thinking of Balaam’s going after Balak’s gold, reminds us of the following:
When Rowland Hill was going down a street one day he saw a number of pigs following a man. “This,” says Hill, “excited my curiosity so much that I determined to follow. I did so; and, to my great surprise, I saw them follow him to the slaughterhouse. I said to the man; ‘My friend, how did you induce the pigs to follow you here?’ He replied, ‘I had a basket of beans under my arm, and I dropped a few as I came along, and so they followed me.’ And so it is,” added Hill, “that Satan has the beans of pleasure, lust, passion, folly, and sins-innumerable and unnameable-in his basket; he drops them as he goes along, and what multitudes he induces to follow him to an everlasting slaughterhouse!” Be not, therefore, led captive by him who goeth about seeking whom he may devour (1Pe 5:8).
Fuente: Neighbour’s Wells of Living Water
Rev 2:12. The author identifies himself in this place by His possession of the sharp sword with two edges. This refers to the word of God which is described in Heb 4:12. The Lord says he hath this sword or that He originated it and has a perfect knowledge of the proper use of it. And to the angel is explained at chapter 1:20. Verse 13. 1 know thy works. (See comments at verse 2.) Know is used in the sense of approval with regard to the works in this verse. Where Satan’s seat is. Pergamos was in one of the worst centers of idolatry, making the temptation all the greater. This church as a whole withstood the influence of heathendom, holding fast to the name of Christ as the true person to worship. Not denied my faith denotes that they maintained the basis of that faith or system of religion which was the Gospel. Not much is said elsewhere about this Antipas further than what is said here. He is referred to as a “martyr” even as it is in our passage. However, the reason for so classifying him is an error, namely, because it is said that he was slain for his faith. He was a martyr before being slain because death is not what makes a man a martyr; it only proves that he was a martyr. That term is from the same Greek word as “witness” and it means the same. It is the word for “witness” in Heb 12:1 where we know Paul is speaking about the faithful servants of God enumerated in the preceding chapter. We also know that some of those “witnesses” (martyrs) did not die, for they “wandered in deserts and in mountains.” Hence a martyr is one who is true to the testimony of the Lord come what may, whether it be death or loss of goods or banishment like the case of John. Accordingly in the case of Anti-pas; he went to his death because he had been a true and faithful martyr for Christ.
Comments by Foy E. Wallace
Verse 12
The letter to the church at Pergamos.–Rev 2:12-17.
1. “He which hath the sharp sword with two edges”– Rev 2:12.
The sword is an instrument of war, hence Christ threatened to wage war against the church in Pergamos, because of the evils within it, with the weapon designated “the sword of my mouth.” A sword of the mouth would necessarily be the spoken word, and it meant the employment of the two-edged sword of his word (Heb 4:12), as a dual condemnation of the outside espionage of Satan’s seat in Pergamos, and the inside sabotage of Balaam’s doctrine within the church itself–the combined infiltration of pagan secular practices on one hand, and the Nicolaitane spiritual contaminations of erroneous doctrines on the other hand.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Rev 2:12. The third church addressed is that of Pergamos, now generally written Pergamum, a city which, in every thing except commerce, rivalled the most celebrated cities of Asia at the time. Without in any degree attempting to trace its history, which in no way concerns us here, it may simply be remarked that in the apostolic age Pergamos was especially noted for its worship of AEsculapius the god of medicine. With the genuine pursuit of medicine, however, there was then mixed up a great variety of other inquiries, which, dealing with the secret springs of life, and with drugs, philters, and potions, whose methods of operation no one could explain, invested the healing art with an air of impenetrable mystery. Licentiousness and wickedness of every kind were the inevitable result. Add to all this the temptations of wealth, learning, and art, together with an apparently indiscriminate worship of many deities, and we need not be surprised that Satan had at Pergamos an almost peculiar seat, and that what the Old Testament condemns under the name of witchcraftor attempts to traffic with any spirit, however evil, in order to obtain knowledge or gratify desirewas more than ordinarily prevalent among the inhabitants of the city.
Again, as before, we meet first of all a description of Him from whom the Epistle comes. It is taken from chap. Rev 1:16. Two only of the three characteristics there mentioned of the sword are here referred to, but it will be observed that the third meets us in Rev 2:16,an illustration of that style of the Apocalypse which leads it to scatter its details of the same object in different parts of the book, so that we have often to bring them together from great distances before we learn to know the object as a whole.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
In these verses is contained the third epistle, which St. John by direction had written and sent to the church of Pergamos, in which (as in the former) we have,
1. A description of Christ, as having a sharp two-edged sword in his mouth; denoting the word of God, and that piercing power which accompanies it to conquer the lusts and corruptions of men.
As also, 2. A commendation of what was good and excelling in that church, I know thy works; that is, with a knowledge of intelligence and observation, as also with a knowledge of approbation and acceptation. I know thee to be good in bad places, and in the worst of times, though thou dwellest where Satan’s seat is, that is, where Satan bears sway by idolatry and persecution: yet dost thou hold fast my name, that is, the doctrine of the gospel preached in my name, and by which I am made known to the world as a man is by his name; and hast not denied my faith, but openly professed it in a time of persecution, even then when blood and slaughter attended the professors and profession of it, namely, when Antipas was slain, (who probably was a bishop, or some minister in Pergamos, of extraordinary piety; for upon such the storm of persecution generally falls;) who died a faithful witness to the truth of my gospel; even then and there, I say, hadst thou the courage to profess my name, and bear witness to the truth.
Mark here, What an honourable mention Christ makes of the services and sufferings of his people; nothing we either do or suffer for Christ, but it is recorded, and shall be remembered to our commendation and honour in this life, and to our consolation and happiness in the next.
Yet note farther, The holy impartiality of our blessed Lord; at the same time when he commends this church for what was commendable and praiseworthy, he reproves her for what was faulty and blameworthy, Rev 2:14. But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, and the Nicolaitans; that is, the doctrine of the impure Gnostics, who teach men now to eat things offered to idols, and to commit fornication, even as Balaam of old directed Balak to ensnare the Israelites, by committing fornication with the Moabitish women, and to eat of what they sacrificed unto idols then.
Here observe, That it was not the being of those heretics and heresies among them that Christ blames them for, but the tolerating of these in their communion, who made light both of adultery and idolatry. They ought to have executed church discipline upon them, and denounced the church censures against them, as had been done by the church of Ephesus before them, that Christ might have said of them, as he did of those, Rev 2:6. Thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.
Observe next, The counsel which Christ gives this church, Repent; that is, be humbled for this thy connivance at and tolerating of this wicked sect and damnable doctrine, and amend, or verily I will come quickly upon thee and them in a way of judgment; and fight against them with a two-edged sword, that is, with my holy word, convince, wound, and condemn them, &c. The want of zeal and severity against sin and incorrigible sinners, is very displeasing to Christ, and provokes him to anger greatly.
Observe lastly, The conclusion and close of this epistolary letter, which is partly exhortatory, He that hath ears, let him hear, and with his mind ponder and consider what the Spirit saith, by way of counsel and caution, unto the churches; and partly consolatory, To him that overcometh will I give, &c.
Mark, he doth not say, to every one that fighteth; no, not to every one that conquereth in one, two, or more particular acts of resistance; but to him that perseveringly conquers, and finally overcomes both tempter and temptations, both persecutors and persecutions, both false teachers and false doctrines, to them will I give the hidden manna, laid up, not in the earthly tabernacle, but the heavenly sanctuary; by which understand Christ himself, and the joys and consolations of the Holy Spirit, which are hidden from the world, and the peculiar portion of such as sincerely believe in him, and cheerfully suffer for him.
It is added, I will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name; that is, absolution and pardon of sin, together with the privilege of adoption; it being a custom anciently, to give a white stone in token of absolution, and a black stone as a sign of condemnation, on which stones were written the names of the innocent and guilty; accordingly this new name signifies God’s pardoned and adopted ones; the sweetness and comfort of which privilege no man knows, but he that is possessed of it: the happiness of God’s sons both here and hereafter cannot be expressed; only they that are so, know what it is to be so: and whereas Christ says, I will give the hidden manna, I will give the white stone and the new name, to them that overcome; surely it affords a good argument to convince and prove his divinity; who but a God can pardon sin, and sanctify and save sinners?
Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament
To the Compromising Church
While most of the church at Pergamos was faithful, they tolerated the doctrine of Balaam. This must have reference to Num 23:1-30 ; Num 24:1-25 where Barak, king of Moab, tried to get Balaam to curse God’s people. When God would not allow such a curse, Balaam advised the king to use the women of Moab to entice Israel into idolatry through harlotry ( Num 31:16 ; Num 25:1-9 ). The word “stumbling block” comes from the word skandalon which is the part of a trap the bait is placed upon. The doctrine of the Nicolaitans must have been that one could be a Christian and still participate in the pagan feasts going on in the city. Such a doctrine would entice people away from service to God ( 1Co 10:21 ; 2Jn 1:7-11 ). Tolerating error in the name of love seems to have been the problem of this church ( Rev 2:14-15 ; 1Co 5:1-7 ).
God first wanted repentance from an indifferent church. Of course, the goal of their disciplinary actions would be to restore the erring, or their repentance. If the church does not take care of such matters, the Lord will because such is an effort to seduce his bride ( Num 31:8 ; 2Co 11:2-3 ; Eph 5:23-27 ). Seeking to bring a curse upon the Lord’s bride will cause one to be slain by his sword. There is the usual admonition to heed the words of this letter followed by a promise to those who overcome. Hidden manna seems to be a description of food at the Lord’s banquet table. This could even describe receiving Christ in his fullness in heaven ( Joh 6:33-35 ). McCord says, “As a white stone was a sign in a Greek trial of acquittal and innocence so Jesus was illustrating the complete justification of sinners in heaven according to the divine plan of the ages.” The name on it was known only to Christians who received the stone. It may well actually be a descriptive name for those Christians in their new relationship with the Lord in heaven ( Rev 2:16-17 ).
Fuente: Gary Hampton Commentary on Selected Books
Rev 2:12-13. And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write Pergamos, formerly the metropolis of the Hellespontic Mysia, and the seat of the Attalic kings, is by the Turks, with some little variation, still called Bergamo, and hath its situation about sixty-four miles to the north of Smyrna. Here are some good buildings, but more ruins. All the city, almost, is occupied by the Turks, very few families of Christians being left, whose state is very sad and deplorable. Here is only one church remaining, dedicated to St. Theodorus; and that the name of Christ is not wholly lost and forgotten in Pergamos, is owing to the care of the metropolitan of Smyrna, who continually sends hither a priest to perform the sacred offices. The cathedral church of St. John is buried in its own ruins; their angel or bishop removed; and its fair pillars adorn the graves and rotten carcasses of its destroyers, the Turks, who are esteemed about two or three thousand in number. Its other fine church, called Santa Sophia, is turned into a mosque, and daily profaned with the blasphemies of the false prophet. There are not in the whole town above a dozen or fifteen families of miserable Christians, who till the ground to gain their bread, and live in the most abject and sordid servitude. There is the less reason to wonder at the wretched condition of this church, when we consider what Christ here testifies concerning the corruptions which now prevailed in it, and the threatening denounced against it, if they did not repent, and purge out the destructive leaven.
These things saith he which hath the sharp sword Coming out of his mouth, with two edges To wound and pierce the unbelieving and disobedient, and bring them to the footstool of divine mercy for pardon and salvation; and to cut off the impenitent, and especially the persecuting enemies of his church; even that Word, which is quick and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword: I know thy works I observe them exactly; so as to reward or punish as the case requires: the ministers are commended for what is good, or blamed for what is amiss in their respective churches, because the state thereof depends much upon them, and they will be made accountable, in some measure, for it. And where thou dwellest What thy situation is, and the circumstances in which thou art placed; even where Satans seat is Fixed in the midst of idolatry, superstition, and persecution, by the union of which the kingdom of darkness is supported. Pergamos was above measure given to idolatry. And thou holdest fast my name Openly and resolutely confessing me before men; and hast not denied my faith Any great truth of my gospel; even in those days wherein Antipas Put to death under Domitian; was my faithful martyr Laying down his life in attestation of the truth. Happy is he to whom Jesus, the faithful and true Witness, giveth such a testimony! Slain among you, where Satan dwelleth Seems to take up his residence, as may be inferred from the enormities which are continually practised there.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Rev 2:12-17. The Letter to the Church at Pergamum.
Rev 2:12. Pergamum was a town of great importance about 50 miles NE. of Smyrna. It was one of the most renowned centres of paganism in Asia, and possessed many temples, among them one dedicated to the worship of Augustus. In such a stronghold of paganism as the letter indicates, Christianity was confronted with exceptional opposition.two-edged sword: for this description of Christ see Rev 1:16.
Rev 2:13. where the throne of Satan is: the specific reference in this phrase seems not to be to the prevalence of immorality or the strength of paganism at Pergamum, but rather to the fact that Pergamum was the chief centre of Emperor-worship in the province. It was, as Sir W. M. Ramsay says, the worship of the Emperor that was recognised, when the Apocalypse was written, as the special foe of Christianity. [Zahn and J. Weiss think the reference is to the worship of Asclepius the healer. Christians would regard this cult as a caricature of their own religion. Hort says, Doubtless those are right who refer this to the serpent-worship attached to Asclepius.A. S. P.]Antipas: nothing is known about this man, except the fact that he was one of the earliest Christian martyrs.
Rev 2:14. Balaam: cf. Num 31:16; Num 25:1 ff. Balaam advised Balak to attempt to seduce the children of Israel from the worship of Yahweh by tempting them to licentiousness.to eat things sacrificed: cf. the discussion in 1Co 8:1-9; 1Co 10:14-33, where Paul lays down the principle that while such eating is a matter of indifference to an enlightened man, yet for the sake of example it is better to abstain (p. 650). In a stronghold of paganism like Pergamum it would be necessary for Christians to take a firm stand in this matter (cf. Rev 2:20).
Rev 2:15. Nicolaitans: Rev 2:6*.
Rev 2:17. the hidden manna: Aaron was commanded (Exo 16:33) to lay up a gold pot of manna before the Lord. According to later Jewish tradition mentioned in 2Ma 2:1-8, this was placed in the Ark when it was hidden away by Jeremiah till the Messiah should appear, at which time, according to the Apocalypse of Baruch, the treasury of manna would again descend from on high (cf. Rev 11:19*).a white stone: this phrase has never been explained, and it is still impossible to be certain about the allusion. It has been interpreted of (a) the white pebble used by jurors to signify acquittal; (b) a tablet of admission to banquets or entertainments; (c) the Urim and Thummim (pp. 100f.) which were inscribed with the Divine name; d) the precious stones which are said in Jewish tradition to have fallen with the manna. But whatever be the origin of the metaphor, the meaning seems obvious. The white stone inscribed with the new name (i.e. the name of Christ) is a kind of charm or amulet which will secure entrance for the Christian into the new kingdom which is to be established. The white stone is thus the symbol of citizenship in the Kingdom of Heaven.
Fuente: Peake’s Commentary on the Bible
Verse 12
As sharp sword; spoken of particularly Revelation 1:16.
Fuente: Abbott’s Illustrated New Testament
2:12 {11} And to the angel of the church in {d} Pergamos write; These things saith he which hath the sharp sword with two edges;
(11) The third passage is to the pastors of Pergamos. The introduction is taken from Rev 1:16 .
(d) Pergamos was the name of a famous city of old in Asia, where the kings of the Attalians were always resident.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
C. The letter to the church in Pergamum 2:12-17
The purpose of this letter was to encourage the Christians in Pergamum for their faithfulness to Christ and to urge them to reject the false teaching in their midst.
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
1. Destination and description of Christ 2:12
Pergamum (modern Bergama) lay about 55 miles north of Smyrna inland a few miles from the Aegean coast. The meaning of the name "Pergamum" is "citadel." The town was noteworthy for three reasons. It was a center for many pagan religious cults, and emperor worship was more intense there than in any other surrounding city. [Note: Barclay, Letters to . . ., p. 45.] Second, it boasted a university with a large library. Third, it was the leader and center of the production of parchment.
Jesus Christ described Himself as the One who judges with His Word (cf. Rev 1:16; Rev 19:15; Rev 19:21). God’s Word separates believers from the world and sinners from God. This is perhaps its double-edged quality. Or perhaps life and death are in view. Roman officials who had the right to carry this sword (Gr. hromphaia, cf. Rev 1:16; Rev 2:16) had the power of life and death in cases of capital offenses.
"It is interesting that Pergamum was a city to which Rome had given the rare power of capital punishment (ius gladii), which was symbolized by the sword. The Christians in Pergamum were thus reminded that though they lived under the rule of an almost unlimited imperium, they were citizens of another kingdom-that of him who needs no other sword than that of his mouth . . ." [Note: Johnson, p. 440. Cf. G. B. Caird, The Revelation of St. John the Divine, p. 38.]