The Lord did not point out any particular problem for the church at Smyrna; instead, He encouraged it since it was facing some intense persecution which was only about to get worse. He described Himself as the First and the Last, the One who was dead but who now lives. This church, He declared, was poor by the world's standards of wealth, yet they were truly wealthy in what counted. They were being slandered and were facing trials. He told them not to worry; things were only going to get worse! Just be faithful, He said, to death, indicating that some would indeed face martyrdom, yet He would give these the crown of life. Those that overcame by placing their faith in Jesus Christ alone would not be touched by the second death, that is, the condemnation to an eternity in hell.
The third letter is addressed to the church in Pergamum, which had also seen martyrdom in its midst. The city of Pergamum, next to Ephesus, was the most important city in Asia at this time. It was the capital of this Roman province until Caesar Augustus moved the capital to Ephesus. It was located about 16 miles inland from the Aegean Sea on a cliff high above the Caicus River valley below. Two small tributaries of the Caicus near the city allowed navigation to the sea, and a major road led from the city to the towns of Thyatira and Sardis. Pergamum was the main center of Pagan worship in Asia. It had several temples dedicated to the Roman emperors and was the center of emperor worship in Asia. There were also temples devoted to many of the other gods of Egypt and Greece.
To the church located here, our Lord writes,
Revelation 2:12-17
| 2:12 | “And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write: The One who has the sharp two-edged sword says this: |
| 2:13 | ‘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. |
| 2:14 | ‘But I have a few things against you, because you have there some who hold the teaching of Balaam, who kept teaching Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols and to commit acts of immorality. |
| 2:15 | ‘So you also have some who in the same way hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans. |
| 2:16 | ‘Therefore repent; or else I am coming to you quickly, and I will make war against them with the sword of My mouth. |
| 2:17 | ‘He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, to him I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, and a new name written on the stone which no one knows but he who receives it.’ |
The Description
In this letter, our Lord is described as the one who has the sharp two-edged sword. From other Scripture, we know that the Word of God is described as a sharp two-edged sword. It is a judge of actions and attitudes. It can discern and reveal motives and intents. Our Lord is coming to this church as a judge. His word will judge, and it carries power. Although our Lord praises this church for some things, there are issues, and He will decisively judge because they had not dealt with these.
This description would have also meant something else to the inhabitants of this city in that day. Pergamum was one of the select cities allowed to carry out capital punishment by Rome. This privilege was known as the Right of the Sword. Roman execution was if you were a Roman citizen, usually by beheading. Our Lord, described as the one carrying the sharp two-edged sword, a Roman sword, is thus pictured as the one who has that authority to judge rather than the rulers of that town or the representatives of the Roman government. He is in power and control, not they. He has the authority to carry out any judgment, including capital judgment, at His discretion.
The Declaration
He tells this church that He knows they live in a tough area, right in the midst of enemy territory. Satan’s throne probably refers to the fact that Pergamum was the center for false worship, emperor worship and the worship of other national gods in Asia. He tells them He is aware that in this difficult location, they had not denied the faith even when some were being put to death for the faith. This is a positive. They were living under difficult circumstances, and they had done well in many respects. Our Lord was aware of this. He knew where they were living.
Have you ever felt that God did not understand where you were living, the pressures you were facing? He does! If He were to write to us today, He could well say the same thing to each of us as He said to these believers at Pergamum. I do know where you are living; I do know what you are facing!
We do not get to choose at what point in history we will live, or even to a large extent where we will live. You did not choose to be born here; that was God's choice. You could have been born in Sudan, in Iraq or Iran, in China or any other location in our world. But by His grace, we have been placed wherever we are by God. This is our arena of struggle. And make no mistake; it is a very difficult one! Although we may or may not be facing the ravages of poverty and disease, or persecution and even martyrdom for our faith, we are living in enemy territory. We live in a non-Christian culture, in a place where the grasp of Satan, though it may not be as visible as other places, is extremely strong. Nevertheless, wherever we live, The Lord knows what we face, and just as is the case with the church at Pergamum, it is no excuse for disobedience and sin in our lives.
The Problem
Now, there were some problems our Lord found necessary to deal with in the church found in this city. First, some in the church held to the doctrine of Balaam and secondly, some held to the doctrine of the Nicolaitans. One is very easy to identify; the other is much more difficult.
John explains the doctrine or teaching of Balaam in his letter. When God would not permit Balaam, a false prophet, to curse the tribes of Israel coming out of Egypt, he counseled Balak, who had hired him to curse Israel, to place temptations before the people of Israel. Do not send your warriors out against Israel, he said. Send out your good-looking women. Send out your handsome men. When Israel sinned by intermarrying with the people of the land and adopting their lifestyle, they fell under God's curse. This has been one of Satan's most effective strategies in attacking God's people of any age, tempting them to sin, to compromise with the culture in which they find themselves so as to disobey God’s laws.
There was a group in this church that taught things God declared to be wrong to be acceptable. There was tremendous pressure to adapt and compromise in that day. Pergamum was the center for pagan worship and emperor worship. To get ahead or function in that culture, it was, at least convenient, if not required, to give lip service to the many pagan deities worshiped by others there. Many of the trade guilds had patron deities. Being a member of a guild required you to worship, or at the minimum, give lip service and go through the rites. Not doing so would put you on the outside and shunned by many. Remember that the church at Pergamum, as well as in these other cities, was probably a collection of small individual house churches. There was a group in Pergamum that advocated adapting to the culture. They taught that you could do the things they did, participate in the pagan rituals since you really did not believe it in order to get ahead or live. Is it any different in our culture today? Not really!
If you are in retail, you are pressured, not in so many words, to be sure, to represent a product in a way that often overstates what it is. In order to advance, you have to fit in. We face the same types of pressures. Now note that the problem was not just that the church should not ascribe to this teaching, but it should have dealt with those who taught it. Our Lord said, “you have those who teach this.” The fact is the church should have dealt with this group, but they had not done so and had allowed them to continue in the church.
They also had a group that held to the teaching of the Nicolaitans. Ephesus did not tolerate this, and our Lord commended them for it. Indeed, He highlighted this commendation by setting it off apart from the other things for which He commended the church. The church in Pergamum allowed this group to be part of its body, and our Lord condemned it. What then is this doctrine?
The problem is that we have very little information about this group. There are two major streams of thought concerning this doctrine; one derives from the context of the passage, the other from the name of the group itself. Many authorities suggest that since this is linked with the group that taught the doctrine of Balaam, it is similar to that doctrine.
Note the text states: “So you also have some who in the same way hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans.” Those who suggest this group is similar to the group that taught the doctrine of Balaam point out the words “in the same way.” This group taught in the same way as the first, the same teaching; that is, they advocated practices that God had forbidden.
The other idea comes from the name itself. The name for this group, Nicolaitans, comes from two Greek words (νικάω) meaning to conquer and (λαός) meaning the people. It is suggested that this group taught the separation of believers into two groups, the priestly caste or the clergy and the common caste or the laity. In this system, the priestly caste ruled over or was in authority over the common people. The question is, which of these two views is the most probable?
The weakness with this second view is that it is based upon the analysis of a name only, with no other corroborating evidence. While it does admittedly make for a weak argument, it is important to remember that, very often, names did and still do identify characteristics of a group.
As I see it, the weakness with the first view is this: the second group is differentiated in the text from those that taught the doctrine of Balaam. One group is identified by the doctrine they taught, the other by their name. The statement in the text does not sound strange to us, “you have there some who hold the teaching of Balaam, …So you also have some who in the same way hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans.” If, however, one were to substitute doctrines and names with which we are more familiar, it sounds much stranger, for example: “You have those who teach the doctrine of Lenin and Marx and in the same way you have the Communists.” Now that does not sound as right. It is redundant. If they were the same, why mention them again. It seems to me that they almost certainly have to be a different group.
I am inclined to take the second view then. There are a couple of other things that push me in this direction. First, with the early believers in the church coming first from Judaism, they would expect this type of system. Under the Old Testament economy of the Law, a person could not approach a holy God except by a mediator, a priest. Common people went through the priest. They were the authorities; they dictated what was right or wrong. They taught the Law, the Word of God; they interpreted the scriptures for you; God spoke through them (and the prophets). They declared your sins forgiven and so forth. There was the laity, and then there was the priesthood. Jewish believers familiar and comfortable with this system would expect it, and many would try to fashion the new faith into this mold. However, in the new economy of grace, Christ alone is our mediator, and in Him, we are all priests.
Secondly, the New Testament seems to indicate God did not want the church to emulate this system. He set up a new system.
The church is not a system in which a few selected people minister to the rest. It is a body in which all minister to each other. Not any member is to be exalted over another; no one member is inherently more holy or spiritual than another due to his or her calling of God. No one has more access to God’s presence than another due to the gift they exercise. Every believer is a priest with full access to the throne room of God through Jesus Christ our Lord. This is the New Testament concept of the church, and it is radically different from the Old Testament priestly setup.
However, it was too easy to fall back into the old system. For most people, it was a convenient way to shed responsibility. Let’s hire someone to do the work of the ministry, to teach, to visit, to encourage us, to pray for us, to evangelize. Let’s hire someone to minister in song and someone to teach our young people. Then we do not have to do it; all we have to do is shell out a little money. And if there are enough of us, even that amount will not be much.
For other people, it was and still is a convenient way to gain power, prestige and wealth. If you can control access to God (which you cannot do, of course!), if you can market religion (and that is done quite effectively today!), then you can make quite a comfortable living. This is what had taken place in Judaism. Furthermore, it has taken place in Protestantism as well.
Finally, if the letters to the churches are prophetic, and I believe they are, it fits the character of this age. For it was during this period, from the rise of Constantine, who legalized Christianity as a religion, to the establishment of the true papal church, that believers were beginning to be separated into two classes, the laity or common people and the clergy, those called to minister the grace of God.
There was a group in the church at Pergamum that promoted this arrangement. The church at Pergamum had not dealt with this group nor the first that advocated compromise with the popular culture of the day. That was the problem; they should have dealt with these groups.
The Warning
The warning to the church is serious. Either repent, deal with the problem or the Lord would come and deal with it with the sword of His mouth. He would judge; He would make war with them. Either you guys fix it, or I will!
If the picture of our Lord as the one with the Roman short sword pictures Him as the one with the “Right of the Sword,” that is, with the right to carry out capital punishment, then our Lord is telling this church they need to act or possibly they would be removed as a church!
The Exhortation and Promise
Those who had the spiritual capacity needed to listen and obey. Those who were indeed believers needed to act. For those in Pergamum to be blessed, they needed to respond.
To the one who overcame, our Lord would give some of the hidden manna and a white stone with a new secret name on it. Manna, we know from the Old Testament, is the food God provided for His people during their wilderness wanderings. The manna that was hidden was that which was placed in a jar in the Ark of the Covenant. Unlike the manna that appeared daily, it did not spoil and go bad. It remained good. God will provide sustenance for His people that will not be corruptible.
The white stone means little to us today, but to a person living in that day, it carried a wide variety of meanings. A white stone with his or her name written on it was given to a person acquitted of a crime. This was the proof of their innocence if the question ever arose. Those who were guilty received a black stone. The white stone was sometimes given to the victor in athletic games, and a white stone with a name on it was often given by a host to a special guest. It could be used to command the host’s servants or make a special request of the host. Our Lord gives to those that overcome a white stone with a new name on it. We are declared innocent and accepted into heaven with special privileges.
This church seems to represent the period in history from about AD 323, the rise of Constantine to power and the cessation of the great persecutions against the church, to about AD 604, with the establishment of the true papal church. If the Nicolaitans represented those who advocated a professional clergy that performed the work of ministry, supported by the ordinary people, the laity, then this period in history fits the description of this church. What was not tolerated in the early church was allowed in this period and would dominate in the next. This is the period of the state church. Christianity was recognized and supported by the Roman government. It began to adapt and compromise with the Roman culture. The differentiation of people into laity and clergy developed during this time.
What lessons are we to learn from the letter to this church? Two major things stand out. First, we cannot compromise with the world even if this seems to be the only way to get ahead. It does not matter if everybody is doing something. Popular opinion does not determine right or wrong.
Secondly, the work of the ministry is not limited to one class of persons. Whatever else God has called you to do, He has called you to full-time service. You are in the work of the ministry. The Holy Spirit has gifted you for that work. You are a priest with as much access to God the Father through Jesus Christ our Lord as any other believer, living or dead. You do not need to come to God through a priest today, or through Mary, or Peter or Anthony, Patrick, Gonzalez or any other living or dead saint. Moreover, you cannot shed your responsibility for ministry by hiring someone to do it for you. The chart, therefore, of this letter is:
