REVELATION SIMPLIFIED

 

CHAPTER 2.12a

Gleanings from the Book of Revelation:

A Weekly Verse-by-Verse Bible Study Series

 

The

REVELATION TO JOHN

(The Apocalypse)

                                                                                                                                          

LETTERS TO THE SEVEN CHURCHES

 

CHAPTER 2

 

Outline

1.  The Addressee – To whom the letter is addressed (2:12)

2.  The Address – To where the letter is addressed (2:12)

3.  The Addresser – From whom the letter is addressed (2;12)

4.  The Approval – The acclamation of good qualities (2:13)

5. The Accusation – The presentation of bad qualities (2:14-15)

6.   The Appeal – The application to change (2:16)

7.  The Advice – The recommendation to change (2:17)

 

Review

1.  The Book of Revelation is about Jesus Christ.

2.   A blessing is given to anyone who reads this prophecy

3. A blessing is given to anyone who hears this prophecy

4.  Jesus is talking or dictating

5.  John is transcribing

6.  The angel, minister, elder, or pastor

7.  Saith (present tense), is saying (to us)

 

 

(Verse 12)

 

1. The Addressee – To whom the letter is addressed (2:12)

And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write; These things saith He which hath the sharp sword with two edges.

 

PERGAMOS

The Church

The letter to the church at Pergamos is the third letter in a series of seven to the churches in Asia Minor. Pergamos (f.), or Pergamum [(neut.) used both ways] in Greek is translated, as fortified, taken from the root word meaning tower, elevation, or height. The word itself is also associated with marriage. It represents a morally compromising church or believer that is married to the world. In history, the church period is characterized by spiritual adultery, fusing Christianity with paganism.

 

The early beginnings of the church are unclear. Amidst a heathenistic society, most likely it began like Smyrna: The Word of God regarding the Resurrection of Christ was heard - a small group embraced the Gospel - and it grew into a full-blown church.

 

Constantine

For the first three centuries, Satan used persecution as a method to exterminate Christianity. Upon failure, his tactic drastically changed for the next two centuries. The Pergamon Stage was birthed because of one man – Roman Emperor Caesar Flavius Constantine. 

 

On the eve of October 27, 312 A.D. Constantine’s armies were bivouacked in northern Italy along the Tiber River near the Milvian Bridge facing Maxentius' army. It was a power struggle between Constantine - who controlled Britain and Gaul - and Maxentius, having jurisdiction over Italy and Africa.

 

After Constantine received a supernatural vision or dream - a sign of the cross in the sky - the next day, Maxentius’ army was defeated. Constantine took this as an omen and defined Christianity as the state religion of Rome, taking Christianity on a long spiritual journey. The church had now been labeled the Catholic Church (meaning universal), consisting of mainly Jews. Ironically, one week prior, the members we are being fed to the lions, tortured, and burned.

 

The Roman Empire had been failing over theological issues, a threat to not only Christianity but also society as well. As a result, unlike any other religion, Constantine combined Christian theology and pagan philosophy, making it more respectable and at the same time intellectual. He then coerced everyone to convert to Christianity.

 

Citizens faced the sword into transformation, thus concluding the Smyrnean Period of persecution. Satan’s thinking was, “If you can’t beat them from without, join them and defeat them from within.” Pagan festivals became Christian. Pagan cult leaders offered gold and positions of honor and were baptized. Pagan temples and vestments were used for Christian services. Imagine the priests of Zeus and Athena being baptized and then preaching a sermon.

 

By sanctioning the church to become the State Church, it gradually advanced into decline:

1.  By declension

2.  By corruption

3.  By complacency

4.  By degeneration

5.  By heresy

6.  By worldliness

7.  By dead orthodoxy

 

Later, a division occurred between Constantinople and Rome. The two churches were named respectively: The Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church of Constantinople where Constantine ruled. This caused more major theological changes regarding the Kingdom. The Roman Catholic Church proclaiming “We are the Kingdom” theologically paved the way for the priesthood and its hierarchy.

 

Concurrently, the Eastern Orthodox Church claimed, “There is no Kingdom.” Thus, the amillennialism position was established, meaning the tribulation ceased, God was finished with Israel and the Kingdom commenced (to be discussed later). All this was borne out of the Pergamum Era after the cessation of the Smyrnean Period.

 

Major theological changes, departing from the sound doctrine of the Apostles’ teachings, poisoned the church for the next sixteen hundred years. The Christianity Constantine established (the Church Age) moved into the Dark Ages until the day of Martin Luther and the Reformation.

 

Constantine died from battle wounds in A.D. 337. Before his death, it is recorded he asked to be baptized - whether he was born again remains undetermined.

 

Ultimately, the Church of Pergamos became like Old Testament Israel, difficult to distinguish from the world. However, the church finally culminates in Revelation chapter seventeen with divine judgment. As our study continues, these elements will unfold. A small Christian assembly exists in the city today.

 

 

2. The Address – To where the letter is addressed (2:12)

And to the angel of the church in Pergamos

 

The City

Geography

The city of Pergamum, in the western part of Asia Minor, is about sixty-six miles northeast of Smyrna, approximately seventy-eight miles northeast of Ephesus, and sixteen miles inland from the Aegean Sea. It rested on a large mountain (standing alone) between two rivers streaming into the fertile plain of the Caicus River Valley that flows westward toward the Aegean Sea. The location made Pergamum a naturally fortified city, built to withstand enemy attacks.

 

Education

Educationally, a great university was built there and was known as a great institution for learning, namely science, and medicine. The university housed the Library of Pergamum (used for educational and entertainment purposes) – the second of the three greatest libraries of the pagan world.

 

Its library consisted of over two hundred thousand parchments. The word parchment stems from the word Pergamena (another meaning for Pergamos). For years writing was on Papyrus, taken from bulrushes along the Nile River in Egypt.

 

Records show one day the Pergamum king tried to steal the librarian from the rival Alexandrian Library. When the Pharaoh discovered the plot, he immediately incarcerated the librarian and then placed an embargo on the export of all papyrus goods to Pergamum, causing Pergamum to manufacture parchment as a substitute. Later, Mark Antony gifted the volumes to Cleopatra, and they were transported to Alexandria, Egypt, the greatest library in the world.

 

Apart from this great university and library, a prominent medical school, the Asclepeion, with mineral baths and healing spas, was on the campus. When Rome’s climate became frigid, Agustus Caesar frequented its pools. A temple was erected there as a memorial. Some scholars believe the first psychological school was also part of this complex. And it is also said Hippocrates was educated here.

 

Athletics

Comparable to ancient Athens, sports were a favorite pastime. A three-level gymnasium existed on the Acropolis where public games, philosophical and scholarly debates, communal bathing, and naked exercise were a commonality.

 

Commerce

Pergamum had little or no commerce. Unlike Smyrna, it was not a seaport town and had no trade routes. Commodities were imported. Its major business was the manufacture of parchment or vellum, made from treated animal skins.

 

The Arts

A theater was also located in the city's Acropolis. It was categorized as the largest Greek theater in the empire, having a ten-thousand-seat capacity.

 

History

For many centuries Pergamum remained a capital city. It survived several dynasties and empires. At the time of John’s writing, Pergamum became the seat of the Roman government (A.D. 133) in Asia Minor. Author politician Pliney the Younger once described the city as, “By far the most illustrious city in Asia.” The impressive temple ruins on the Acropolis stand today northwest of the modern city of Bergama (a Turkish corruption of the word Pergamos).

 

Religion

Pergamum also became the religious center for pagan cults. It was recognized for its famous temples to polytheistic deities:  

1.  Zeus - Near the top of Mount Pergamos was an immense altar to the Greek mythological god Zeus, known as the Father God or Soter Theos (Savior God). Later he became regarded as the father and creator of the world and men. The statue of Zeus at Olympia, Greece is one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

 

2.  Athena – A short distance from her altar was an elegant temple to Athena. In Greek mythology, she is the daughter of Zeus, born full-grown and armed with her father’s brain. Athena was commonly known as the goddess of wisdom, industry, and war. In Homer's Iliad, she is called “the goddess of counsel and law.” Afterward, she was identified as the goddess of peace. The city of Athens Greece derived its name from her.

 

 

3.  Dionysus - Better known as Baccus (Latin) or the goat god was the son of Zeus. Dionysus was the god of nature and all growing things, especially grapes (associated with wine and alcohol).

 

He is depicted as having horns, the upper part of a man, and the lower part of a goat, with cloven feet and a forked tail. [The idea many people think Satan looks like that today does not come from the Bible – it comes from Baccus, the god of wine].

 

Note: The presentation of this background on myth-gods is for you to notice how Satan counterfeits God Almighty and everything He represents to us as believers. This directly points to verse 13 where Jesus says, “I know where Satan’s throne is.”

 

Presently, Satan’s throne is not in Hell. At the time of this letter, Satan’s throne was in Pergamum. Remember, he is the God of this world:

2 Corinthians 4:4 - The god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious Gospel of Christ, Who is the image of God, should shine unto them.

 

1 Peter 5:8 - Be sober (clear-minded), be vigilant (alert); because your adversary (enemy) the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.

 

By observing major metropolitan cities in retrospect to Pergamum, you can determine where Satan's throne is at present. The introduction of the next temple will clarify some other doubts or misconceptions.

 

4.  Asklepios (Greek) or Aesculapius (Latin) – Asklepios was the Greek god of medicine, health, and healing. Visitors from all over the world flocked to worship at the Temple of Asklepios for healing from sickness or disease.

 

The temple was void of furniture. If a person were to attend one of its healing services, here is what they would expect:

Sick persons would lie on the temple floor overnight. They would be subject to having over one-thousand non-venomous snakes crawling around. Each time someone was touched, music and soothing female voices were heard (from holes in the floor) crying, “You are healed, you are healed.” That would be considered the healing touch of the god Asklepios.

 

Unique to this temple was also a medical college. The symbol, on which they prided themselves, was a wreathed serpent on a pole (known as the serpent savior) – Ironically, the symbol of the AMA (American Medical Association).

 

Question: What was one aspect of Jesus’ ministry on earth?

Answer: The Ministry of Healing.

Mark 9:12 - But when Jesus heard that, He said unto them, “They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick.”

 

Luke 9:11 – (Jesus) spake unto them of the kingdom of God, and healed them that had need of healing.

So, Satan’s tactic is substituting Jesus’ healing ministry with Asklepios.

 

Other Worship:

A. The practice of Emperor Worship

1.  The Temple to Caesar Augustus – Making this a royal city

 

2.  The Temple to Emperor Trajan – The Jewel of Pergamum

 

B. An Egyptian Temple called The Red Basilica honoring Isis or Sarapis (signifying abundance and resurrection) dates back to Babylonia.

 

C.  Lesser temples to various Anatolian gods and goddesses.

 

The key to understanding the Church at Pergamum being married to the world is a moral compromise. The above discussion is only the setting, part and parcel of our discussion thus far. In the proceeding study, major theological issues surface. Biblical truth and worldliness – like oil and water – do not mix.

 

QUESTIONS:

1.  In this letter, to whom is Jesus speaking?

2.  What is the meaning of the word Pergamum?

3.  Why was A.D. 312 vital to understanding church history?

4.  In what way(s) is Pergamum comparable to our cities?

5.  What factors made Pergamum a capital city of Asia Minor?

6.  Why was the serpent used as a symbol?

7.  How could a Christian survive in Pergamum’s setting?

 

 

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