DANGERS WITHIN, WITHOUT

The congregation at Pergamum (modern Bergama) faced serious challenges, from within and without. Commentators have speculated that the “throne of Satan” (13) alludes to the appearance of the hill on which the upper city sits, or the shape of the temple to Zeus. More likely it refers to Pergamum being the center of emperor worship. The challenge here was living in a culture and an ideology systematically opposed to the Christian claim that Jesus—not Caesar—is Lord.

The second kind of opposition was more direct. We know nothing more of Antipas than this mention, though he was not the last in Pergamum to die for his faith. In not loving his life “so much as to shrink from death” (Rev. 12:11), Antipas (13) is following in the footsteps of Jesus the “faithful witness” (Rev. 1:5)—and introducing a new association between witness and death in the word “martyr” (13). The Christians here have withstood these external pressures, but have not done as well resisting internal ones. “Balaam” (14) alludes to Numbers 31:16: the prophet couldn’t follow Balak’s command to speak directly against God’s people, but defeat came indirectly, through their susceptibility to temptation. We know nothing of the Nicolaitans (15) or their specific teaching, but the name suggests “victory over the people” and that it is inner weakness that has caused them to stumble.

It is Jesus, however, not the emperor, who holds the “double-edged sword” of truth, the word spoken from his mouth (12,16). He is the true victor, the one who rewards those who share his victory. He sustains his people, as they were sustained in their desert wanderings; it is he who knows our true name (17), that is, our character. He knows both our trials and our needs.

Pray for Christians facing opposition and those faced with living amid an ideology that undermines faith and discipleship.