Tuesday
Tuesday
The Letter to Pergamum—Truth
You remain true to my name. You did not renounce your faith in me …
Revelation 2:13
The church in Pergamum was dedicated to truth. This fact is all the more remarkable because of their religious and cultural environment. Twice Jesus writes that he knows where they live, namely “where Satan has his throne” and “in your city—where Satan lives” (v. 13). It is not certain what Jesus meant by these expressions. In general he was referring to the non-Christian society with which they were surrounded. In particular he may have meant either pagan idolatry or the imperial cult.
Pergamum has been described as a strong center of paganism. Many temples and altars had been erected there. Near the summit of Pergamum’s acropolis there was an immense altar to Zeus, and Pergamum was famous as the headquarters of the worship of Aesculapius, the god of health and healing.
But some scholars think it more likely that Satan’s throne was associated with the imperial cult. Back in 29 BC permission had been granted to the citizens of Pergamum to erect a temple to Augustus. It was the first provincial temple to be built in honor of a living emperor, and some think that the imperial cult had its center in Pergamum.
In spite of these Satanic influences, the church of Pergamum had not capitulated. On the contrary, Jesus was able to write to the church his words of congratulation: “Yet you remain true to my name. You did not renounce your faith in me, even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness, who was put to death in your city” (v. 13). It is moving that Jesus gives Antipas the very title “faithful witness,” which has earlier been given to him (1:5).
Nevertheless, Jesus adds a word of complaint. It is that, although Pergamum as a whole remained loyal to him, it tolerated in its fellowship some false teachers who held to “the teaching of Balaam” and to “the teaching of the Nicolaitans” (vv. 14–15)—teaching that seems to have condoned both idolatry and immorality.
For further reading: Revelation 2:12–17