Grace Presbyterian Church, Montclair, New Jersey

I. The Letter to Pergamum – Revelation 2:12-17

Pergamum was an official administrative capital of the eastern part of the Roman Empire. Jesus addresses this church very much in terms of his title as the Word of God (John 1:1, Revelation 19:13). Using the language of Hebrews 4:12, Jesus speaks as the one who “has the sharp two-edged sword” (Revelation 2:12). The power of this sword, according to Hebrews, is that “it divides the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12).In other words, the Word of God not only reveals the will of God. It exposes the reality of human beings. As John Updike once put it, when God describes human behavior he doesn’t blink. The role of the Living Word, Jesus Christ, as well as that of the written Word, Scripture, is critical in the life of the church in Pergamum. This church is on the front line in the encounter between the Word of God and the idolatry of the world.

Jesus acknowledges that the church is “living where Satan’s throne is” (Revelation 2:13). This probably refers to the stature of Caesar Augustus which had been set up in the year 29 A.D. proclaiming Augustus to be divine. This was the first such statue and many followed. It was the basis of the cult of the emperor that spread throughout the Roman Empire in the first century. Pergamum was a center of idolatry. It was a center of worship for Zeus, Athena, Dionysus and Asclepius. Zeus as the king of the gods was given the title, “King of Kings and Lord of Lords.” Later this title was applied to Augustus as the son of a god. Athena was the goddess of wisdom. Dionysus was literally the god of wine. More to the point, he was the god of excess and frenzy. He was also identified through the imagery of the vine as a symbol of fertility and the life cycle. His worship focused on irrational exuberance often identified with intoxication and sexual indulgence. In fact sexual promiscuity in the service of Dionysus was itself regarded as a source of fertility. This was especially important for ancient cultures where the greatest fear was famine. Asclepius was the son of Apollo and was viewed as the god of medicine and healing. Asclepius actually went so far as to raise someone from the dead. For this defiance of death he himself was struck dead by Zeus.

From the standpoint of the Word of God these gods are false, not in the sense that they are non-existent but in the sense that they are tools of Satan. Hence the church of Pergamum lives where Satan lives (Revelation 2:13). The four gods who were central in Pergamum are still very much with us today. Zeus represents power. People today easily seek for and often worship the idea of power whether this is military power, economic power or some form of personal power. Athena represents wisdom apart from the Word of God. Most of the early colleges and universities in the United States were founded by churches. Princeton’s theme of being built under the Word of God was typical of most colleges. By the twenty first century this has changed radically. In most centers of higher learning the Word of God has been replaced by Athena, an ideal form of human wisdom. Dionysus is the expression of excess principally in the areas of drinking and sex. Wine and sex are both gifts of God but taken away from him they become not sources of life but rather sources of destruction. Asclepius represents the authority of medicine which like education can become a god in itself. We thank God for the gift of medicine but that can never be separated from the healing power of Jesus Christ who, unlike the false gods, has the keys of Death and Hades (Revelation 1:18). The gods of power, wisdom, drinking, sex and medicine flourish in our world similar to the way they did in ancient Pergamum.

The church is commended for holding fast to Jesus’ name. One of their congregation, Antipas, had gone to his death for faithfulness to Christ’s name. The inference is that he refused to acknowledge the divinity of the emperor and was therefore executed for treason. Yet in spite of this commendation Jesus has “a few things” against them (Revelation 2:14). Jesus compares them to Israel in the wilderness when they were confronted by Balak, the king of Moab, who sent the false prophet Balaam against Israel (Numbers 22-25, 31:16). These two were symbols of idolatry throughout Scripture (Deuteronomy 23:3-6, Joshua 24:9-10, Judges 11:25, II Peter 2:15-16). The symbol of this idolatry was sexual immorality similar to the cult of Dionysus (I Corinthians 10:8).  We encounter here again the Nicolaitans (Revelation 2:15). The problem then appears to be that the church in Pergamum lived with a dual identity. On one side they sought to be faithful to Jesus. Yet on the other there were practices in the church that went back to the ancient heresies of Israel. In effect then this church was living a delusion. Like ancient Israel (Jeremiah 7) they were trying to be both faithful and faithless at the same time. They were caught in a contradiction. It must also be said that the sexual standards of Scripture were totally alien to the world in which they lived, a situation not unlike our own. This is why the role of the Word of God as the two edged sword is so important. It cuts through the illusions. It must also be noted that other churches failed on the other extreme by denying the basic goodness of God’s gifts (Colossians 2:20-23; I Timothy 4:1-5).

Jesus’ word to the church ends with two allusions, one to the Old Testament and the other to Pergamum’s history. Jesus promises the hidden manna to those who conquer in his name. This of course was the bread from heaven given to the Israelites in the wilderness (Exodus 16:4-5). Jesus refers to himself as the embodiment of this bread in John 6:30-40. This is to say that Jesus will provide us with all our needs for this life and indeed for eternity. We are to fear neither the famine of food nor the famine of the spirit since Jesus gives us himself as bread (John 6:48-51). Jesus also promises them a white stone. Pergamum was the location of the black stone which was believed to have been the goddess Cybele who came down from heaven (probably an asteroid actually). The people of Pergamum had given this stone to the Romans believing it to be the presence of Cybele who brought Rome victory over Hannibal in the second Punic War (216-202 B.C.). This then led to the establishment of the worship of Cybele, the “great mother” in Rome. Caesar Augustus had promoted her worship to the point of making her Rome’s chief deity
(cf. Revelation 17-18).

II. The Letter to Thyatira – Revelation 2:18-29

Thyatira was known for its bronze work which was exported all over the empire. Hence Jesus describes himself as having feet “like burnished bronze” (Revelation 2:18). Bronze was used extensively in both the Tabernacle and the Temple (Exodus 27:2-6, I Kings 7:45). The issue in Thyatira was essentially parallel to the problem in Pergamum. Here was a church that was commended for “love, faith, service and patient endurance” (Revelation 2:19). They were growing spiritually to the extent that their last works were greater than the first. One would think any church would be proud and pleased to receive this evaluation from the Lord. However this church, like Pergamum, has a dual identity. In the midst of their “love, faith, service and patient endurance,” they are tolerating a false prophetess. She is referred to symbolically as the idolatrous Queen of Israel, Jezebel (I Kings 16:31-33). She was clearly inciting members of the church to idolatry. This was no small issue since most business and commerce in the Roman Empire was carried on in the name of one of the gods. Banquets which were essential meeting places for doing business were also sites where the food was offered to the false god before being eaten. Paul had dealt with this problem extensively in Corinth (I Corinthians 8-10). He also referred to it in Rome (Romans 14).

The issue here was that Christians were being encouraged to participate in these cults. This could easily be rationalized by saying that to do so was necessary for economic survival. Clearly sexual practices were included (Revelation 2:22). This was not the first time Jesus had spoken such a warning (Revelation 2:21). Jezebel then was the female equivalent to Balaam. It is important also to realize that the image of the witch in Greece and Rome was not that of the old hag which we often associate with Halloween. The old witch is essentially a medieval invention (think of Shakespeare’s Macbeth). The witch in Greek culture was often beautiful and alluring (like Circe in The Odyssey). The image of Jezebel here alludes to this idea of the witch. Jesus will show no tolerance. He will strike her children dead (Revelation 2:23)! Jesus appeals to the faithful remnant in the church, those who do not follow “the deep things of Satan” (Revelation 2:24), to hold fast to the teaching they have received. Jesus is not about to impose harsh restrictions on them. He will not sacrifice their freedom in him as a reaction to those who have compromised (Revelation 2:24-25, cf. Galatians 5:1).

In the face of so much temptation and opposition Jesus reminds the church of their ultimate victory in him (Revelation 2:26-28, John 16:33). We are not to be intimidated or threatened by the world, nor should we fall into the trap of following the world’s agenda because “everyone is doing it” (Romans 12:2). Jesus ends with the image of the morning star, an image found throughout Scripture of the new hope and life found in him alone (Numbers 24:17, II Peter 1:19).

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