The Letter to Pergamos – Revelation 2

Revelation 2:12 And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write; These things saith he which hath the sharp sword with two edges;

Jesus identifies Himself to the church in Pergamos as the one who “hath the sharp sword with two edges.” This is significant since this represents God’s authority and ability to judge and convict as necessary in this body of believers.

Revelation 2:13 I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, even where Satan’s seat is: and thou holdest fast my name, and hast not denied my faith, even in those days wherein Antipas was my faithful martyr, who was slain among you, where Satan dwelleth.

Again, He knows their works/deeds/actions/behaviors. He is aware that they are living in the middle of one of Satan’s strongholds, where Satan was choosing to dwell at that time. The great altar of Zeus, one of the wonders of the ancient world, was in Pergamos. In spite of this, they have not denied His truth, His gospel, even at point of death—as proven by the death of Antipas, God’s faithful witness.

Again I will quote from The Revelation Record: “According to Alexander Hislop’s book, Two Babylons, the evidence indicates ‘that Pergamos had inherited the religious mantle of ancient Babylon…. The priests who had kept the secrets of the ancient mystery religions centered at Babylon ever since the days of Nimrod, were forced to migrate, transferring what amounted to the headquarters of Satan’s religious system away from Babylon north and west to Pergamos where it endured for several centuries in that great center of evolutionary pantheistic paganism.”

My pastor, Bob Coy, had an interesting thought on this church. The fact that they had chosen to stay as “lights” in a wicked (dark) place was part of their commendation.

Revelation 2:14-15 But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication. So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate.

Still, God has words of chastisement for them:

1. They are tolerating those who hold the doctrine of Balaam (who because of his greed encouraged the followers of Balac to lure the children of Israel into eating things sacrificed to idols and committing fornication). Cf Numbers 22-24 and Jude 11.
2. They are also tolerating those who hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans. We already learned in the letter to Ephesus that God hates the deeds of the Nicolaitans.

I found an interesting statement from Arthur Pink regarding this section: “….in Ephesus it was the deeds of the Nicolaitanes that were mentioned, here it is the ‘doctrine of the Nicolaitanes’ – false practices had now become articles of faith. Observe that at first the church ‘hated’ their deeds, here their evil beliefs were tolerated and cherished.”

This appears to be a church that is trying to compromise with the world and not offend anyone. That seems to be an apt description of many churches today. They are afraid to speak out strongly on issues in the Word that would meddle in the way people are choosing to live their lives. They are not diligent in guarding against the intrusion of those in the body who would pervert the Word of God.

Revelation 2:16 Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.

The church is warned to repent—have a change of heart/mind/purpose. If they don’t, the Lord says He will come unto “thee” (the church) and fight against “them” (perverters of the truth—false teachers) with the sword of His Word. I think this is indicative of God’s willingness to apply whatever judgment/punishment/discipline necessary to preserve His church.

Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

Revelation 2:17 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.

Those who are willing to listen to and heed the message to this church--the overcomers--will:

1. be allowed to eat the hidden manna--Manna represents bread from heaven, sustenance, God’s provision. I’m not quite sure what hidden manna is unless it is referring to the truth from the Word that can only be discerned through “spiritual” eyes and ears. Only those who have accepted the Savior and have the Spirit dwelling in them can see through spiritual eyes and hear with spiritual ears.

2. be given a white stone with a new name that will be known only to the recipient of the stone--The white stone represents a verdict of acquittal or ticket of admission—acquittal regarding their sin that is covered by the blood of the Lamb and admission to the presence of God forever. It is not clear in the wording, but I believe the new name is for the overcoming believer since God often gave His followers new names to reflect their relationship to Him (i.e., Abram to Abraham, Sarai to Sarah, Jacob to Israel, Simon Peter to Cephas, etc.).