Letters to the Churches: Pergamum

Today's letter is to the church at Pergamum.

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. ¹⁵Likewise, 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.


Pergamum was located in the fertile Caicus valley about fifteen miles from the Aegean Sea. It was the center for art, culture and learning, having the largest library outside of Alexandria. Paganism was a large part of the culture of this city, and there were three types that were popular. First was the worship of Dionysus, god of wine, and Aesculapius, god of medicine and healing (the serpent was his symbol). Second faction were the Greek worshipers of Zeus, king of the gods and Athena, goddess of wisdom. The third major worship was Roman emperor worship. Several temples were built to Roman emperors where they were worshiped as gods.


The sharp, double-edged sword represents Jesus power to judge and conquer His enemies. Jesus tells the church that He is aware that they are surrounded by paganism, the worship of Satan. He commends them for being faithful to Him, even through the adversity they were suffering. Jesus then criticized them for allowing false teachers into their church, these teachers are compared to the worshipers of Baalam in the old testament, who encouraged the Christians to "bend" the laws of morality. They are also compared to the Nicolaitans, which also "bent" the laws of morality. Jesus urges the church to repent, or suffer the penalty. Jesus then encourages the church, and lets them know that if they repent, they will receive eternal life. Eternal life is represented by both the manna and the white stone. Jewish tradition says that the jar of manna in the ark of the covenant would be divinely multiplied when the Messiah came. In the ancient world, white stones were used as tickets of entry for festivals, and the new name engraved on the stone may signify that the stone is genuine.