Revelation 2:12-17

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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. ~ Revelation 2:12-17

We come back to the third message from the Lord Jesus to the third of the seven churches in Revelation 2-3. The church at Pergamum was dealing with enticement and corruption. The devil has only two approaches to get believers off track. He either uses the violence of a roaring lion or the corruption of an angel of light. 

In v.12 we read, "To the angel of the church in Pergamum write: These are the words of him who has the sharp, double-edged sword." 

The Word of God is a double-edged sword that cuts two ways and it is effective at changing hearts and minds, if we let it. By the Word of God our minds see truth that we never saw before. We see things the way they are, and it motivates us to go with God. The Word of God, then, pierces our hearts, so that we are changed from the inside out.

Pergamum, also known as Pergamos was the Roman capital of the province of Asia. Located about 50 miles north of Smyrna. It was the center of pagan worship.

In v.13 we read, "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." 

In Pergamum was the throne or altar of Zeus which was on the hillside overlooking the city. It was forty feet high, and it was known as the center of pagan worship. In the 1880's, a German archaeologist removed the throne from the hillside and took it to Europe. Today, it can be viewed in the Pergamum Museum in Berlin, Germany. 

In 2008, many were disturbed when the former US President Barak Obama visited Germany to give a speech, after which, he insisted upon commissioning the construction of a replica of this throne of Satan which was used as the stage at the Democratic Nominating convention in Denver, Colorado in 2008.

Then, the Lord says, "Yet you remain true to my name." The church in Pergamum refused to budge on their view of the Lord Jesus. They saw Him as the God-man, combining in one person two natures, both of God and of man. That is the teaching of the church from its very beginning, and clearly evident in the Scriptures. Against all the corrupting influences around them, these people had held to that truth. Most all heresies today come from the denial of the deity of the Lord Jesus believers in Pergamum remained true to the Lord's name at the risk of their own lives. 

The remainder of v.13 reads, "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." 

Antipas means "against all." We do not know much about Antipas, though he is said to be the first martyr under the Roman persecution in Asia. Tradition says he was roasted to death in a brazen bull that was heated to a white heat. That is the price that he paid for being true to biblical doctrine about the Lord Jesus.

In v.14 we read, "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."

Two errors undermined the church in Pergamum: The first, they embraced "the teaching of Balaam." Balaam was a false prophet who had been hired by Balak, the King of Moab, to curse Israel, but when he tried to do so he found he could not. Every time he tried to curse God's people, words of blessing came out of his mouth. God would not let him curse his people. So, in order to achieve the end for which he had been hired, he paid beautiful maidens from Moab and Midian to parade before the young men of Israel, tempting them into sexual immorality.  

The second error of the church at Pergamum is read about in v.15, "Likewise, you also have those who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans." 

They were seduced into the error by the Nicolaitans who claimed to have a special relationship to God. They professed to be the beneficiaries of intimate revelations that were not given to others, and that they therefore had an inside track with God. They presumed to take the place of the priesthood in Judaism, and carried that error into the Christian church. 

In v.16 we read, "Repent therefore! Otherwise, I will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth."

In addition to repenting from these teachings, this kind of error is best addressed with the sharp, two-edged sword! The Word of God always exposes both the error of immorality and the error of priestly superiority. This is one reason why the exposition of Scripture is resisted in so many churches today.

In v.17 we read, "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 Lord Jesus promises that if we stand against immorality and the love of religious power we will be given the "hidden manna and a new name." Notice both the manna and the new name are secret. It is a picture of close intimacy with the Lord Himself. Manna, of course, was the food that Moses fed the Israelites in the wilderness. The Lord Jesus said in John 6:41, "I am the bread sent down from heaven." The Lord Jesus is the hidden manna. He is food for the inner spirit, food that others know nothing about. 

Then, with the hidden manna, is promised the white stone with a secret name upon it. White stones were used among the Romans as a mark of special favor. A secret name, of course, is another sign of intimacy. If you know the Lord Jesus, and your heart is kept from the corrupting influences of the world, you will become stronger and more developed in your faith, which will enable you to enter into a deeper intimacy with Him. That is His promise to you.