seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Revelation 2:12 “To the angel of the church in Pergamum write:
These are the words of him who has the sharp, double-edged sword. 13 I know where you live—where Satan has his throne. Yet you remain true to my name. You did not renounce your faith in me, not even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness, who was put to death in your city—where Satan lives.
14 Nevertheless, I have a few things against you: There are some among you who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin so that they ate food sacrificed to idols and committed sexual immorality. 15 Likewise, you also have those who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans. 16 Repent therefore! Otherwise, I will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.
17 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give that person a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to the one who receives it.
These are the words of him who has the sharp, double-edged sword. 13 I know where you live—where Satan has his throne. Yet you remain true to my name. You did not renounce your faith in me, not even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness, who was put to death in your city—where Satan lives.
14 Nevertheless, I have a few things against you: There are some among you who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin so that they ate food sacrificed to idols and committed sexual immorality. 15 Likewise, you also have those who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans. 16 Repent therefore! Otherwise, I will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.
17 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give that person a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to the one who receives it.
The easy english commentary has a lot to say about these verses.
Pergamum was to the north from Smyrna. It was about 55 miles away. Pergamum was famous for its schools and colleges. There was a large library there. It had over 200 000 books. In those days, people wrote books by hand. They wrote on a material called parchment. They made it from the skins of animals. They invented parchment in Pergamum. This was in the third century BC. ‘Parchment’ comes from the name of the city. Pergamum was like a royal city. The most important Roman official lived there. He held his court of law there. There were 120 000 people in the city. There were 3500 theatres.
But this was where Satan lived. This was where the dark kingdom was. Satan is the ruler of this dark world. He hates the light (Luke 22:53; Ephesians 6:12; John 3:20). Pergamum was where Satan had his throne. People worshipped many gods in this city. There was a large altar to the god Zeus. He was a Greek god. His statue stood on a rock. It was 40 feet high. It was 800 feet up on a hill. It looked like a great throne on the hill.
There was another god there. He was Asclepios. He was the god of Pergamum. He was the god of healing. People came to Pergamum from all over the world. They came to get better from their illnesses. ‘Asclepios’ means ‘the saviour’. The Christians would not have approved of this. To them only Jesus is the Saviour. He is the Saviour of the whole world. Also, the sign of Asclepios was a snake. The Christians would not have accepted that either. Satan came to Adam and Eve as a snake. The people in the city worshipped many other gods.
Pergamum was the centre of government in Asia. The head of the government was Caesar, the emperor. He called himself a god. People had to worship him. They had to say, ‘Caesar is Lord’. If they would not say it, the rulers would kill them. Christians could not make this statement. To them only Jesus is Lord. John used the words ‘the throne of Satan’. This is probably why he used this description.
Jesus says, ‘I know where you live’. ‘Live’ here means ‘stay’. It is the place where they have always been. It is their permanent home. Jesus is always with them. So he knows all about them. He knows about their troubles. He knows the kind of people that they live with. These are not friendly people. They worship many other gods. This is the place where Satan is very strong. The Lord says; ‘but you remain true to my name’. ‘You did not stop having faith in me’.
But this was where Satan lived. This was where the dark kingdom was. Satan is the ruler of this dark world. He hates the light (Luke 22:53; Ephesians 6:12; John 3:20). Pergamum was where Satan had his throne. People worshipped many gods in this city. There was a large altar to the god Zeus. He was a Greek god. His statue stood on a rock. It was 40 feet high. It was 800 feet up on a hill. It looked like a great throne on the hill.
There was another god there. He was Asclepios. He was the god of Pergamum. He was the god of healing. People came to Pergamum from all over the world. They came to get better from their illnesses. ‘Asclepios’ means ‘the saviour’. The Christians would not have approved of this. To them only Jesus is the Saviour. He is the Saviour of the whole world. Also, the sign of Asclepios was a snake. The Christians would not have accepted that either. Satan came to Adam and Eve as a snake. The people in the city worshipped many other gods.
Pergamum was the centre of government in Asia. The head of the government was Caesar, the emperor. He called himself a god. People had to worship him. They had to say, ‘Caesar is Lord’. If they would not say it, the rulers would kill them. Christians could not make this statement. To them only Jesus is Lord. John used the words ‘the throne of Satan’. This is probably why he used this description.
Jesus says, ‘I know where you live’. ‘Live’ here means ‘stay’. It is the place where they have always been. It is their permanent home. Jesus is always with them. So he knows all about them. He knows about their troubles. He knows the kind of people that they live with. These are not friendly people. They worship many other gods. This is the place where Satan is very strong. The Lord says; ‘but you remain true to my name’. ‘You did not stop having faith in me’.
Meanwhile David Guzik describes Balaam pretty well for me.
Balaam was a prototype of all corrupt teachers. According to Numbers 22-24 and 31, Balaam combined the sins of immorality and idolatry to please Balak, the king of Moab, because he could not curse Israel directly.
When Balaam counseled Balak, he taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the children of Israel. The stumbling block was connected with idolatry (to eat things sacrificed to idols) and sexual immorality. If the church in Pergamos has those who hold the doctrine of Balaam, it shows they have tendencies towards both idolatry and immorality.
Sexual immorality marked the whole culture of the ancient Roman Empire. It was simply taken for granted, and the person who lived by Biblical standards of purity was considered strange. To paraphrase the Roman statesman Cicero, cited in Barclay: "If there is anyone who thinks that young men should not be allowed the love of many women, he is extremely severe. I am not able to deny the principle he stands on. But he contradicts, not only with the freedom our age allows, but also with the customs and allowances of our ancestors. When indeed was this not done? When did anyone find fault with it? When was such permission denied? When was it that what is now allowed was not allowed?" To keep from sexual immorality in that culture, you really had to swim against the current.
When Balaam counseled Balak, he taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the children of Israel. The stumbling block was connected with idolatry (to eat things sacrificed to idols) and sexual immorality. If the church in Pergamos has those who hold the doctrine of Balaam, it shows they have tendencies towards both idolatry and immorality.
Sexual immorality marked the whole culture of the ancient Roman Empire. It was simply taken for granted, and the person who lived by Biblical standards of purity was considered strange. To paraphrase the Roman statesman Cicero, cited in Barclay: "If there is anyone who thinks that young men should not be allowed the love of many women, he is extremely severe. I am not able to deny the principle he stands on. But he contradicts, not only with the freedom our age allows, but also with the customs and allowances of our ancestors. When indeed was this not done? When did anyone find fault with it? When was such permission denied? When was it that what is now allowed was not allowed?" To keep from sexual immorality in that culture, you really had to swim against the current.
There's not much left of Pergamum either.
