Vital Signs: Pergamum -The Compromising Church

Pergamum/Pergamos – The Compromising Church

NOTE: Either spelling of the name of this church is correct.

It has been said that Christians should live with a newspaper in one hand, and a Bible in the other. Both are important in understanding the times in which we live. The newspaper records the visible events, while the Bible confirms and records unseen events. This is especially important as we consider the church at Pergamos. Let’s read what the Scriptures say about this church.

Revelation 2: 12-17

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, 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: You have people there who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin by eating food sacrificed to idols and by committing sexual immorality.

15 Likewise you also have those who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans.

16Repent therefore! Otherwise, I will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.

17 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to him who receives it.

The Church

The very name of this church, Pergamos, which means ‘married,’ should have been a reminder to the Christians that they were married to Christ. They were the bride of Christ, and had no business messing around with the doctrines of a godless people.
The church was probably founded on one of Paul’s missionary journeys

City

Pergamum was called ‘the greatest city in Asia Minor’ because it was built on a hill that towered about 1000 feet above the plain.
Earliest written city records date to the fifth century BC
Situated approximately 100 miles north of Ephesus
Population of 250,000
Today Pergamos is known as Bergama
The city boasted a library of about 200,000 handwritten volumes. Legend has it that parchment was invented by the people of Pergamos to provide writing material for the library.
Pergamos had the first temple dedicated to Caesar, and was a major promotor of emperor worship.
Temple dedicated to Aesculapius, the god of healing. Insignia of this Greek god was a serpent entwined on a staff. This insignia is still used today in the medical profession. The temple of Aesculapius was filled with non-poisonous snakes, which was the symbol of Aesculapius. People seeking healing from this god either lay down, or slept on the floors of the temple, in hopes that one of the snakes would touch them and they would experience healing.
In Pergamum there was also temples to Zeus, Athena, and Dionysus. The temple of Zeus was quite impressive, and may have been what is referred to as the seat of Satan and where Satan has his throne. The altar of the temple of Zeus was excavated in 1878. It was moved to Germany where it is on display today.

People other than the City Folks – Nicolatians and those who follow the teachings of Balaam

‘Nicolatians’ means to rule the people. We encountered this group when we studied the church in Ephesus.
“Balaam’ means lord of the people and is probably synonymous with Nicolatians.
The story of Balaam is found in Numbers 22-25
- He was a prophet who prostituted his gift of prophecy in order to earn money from King Balak of Moab
- Balak hired him to curse Israel (Numbers 22: 1-12)
- God wouldn’t allow Balaam to curse Israel and instead Balaam blessed Israel. (Numbers 23: 7-10; 18-24; 24: 3-9; 15-24)
- Balak decided to make friends with the Israelites and invite them to worship with him and feast at the pagan altars. It’s the old ‘if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em’ philosophy.
- Balak used Moabite women to lure the Israelites into the trap he had set. Numbers 31: 15-16 seems to indicate he did this at Balaam’s behest.
- Numbers 25: 1-3 – The Israelites fell into Balak’s trap, and ultimately ended up intermarrying with the people of Balak’s kingdom and worshipping their idols.
- Sexual immorality was prevalent among those who followed the teachings of Balaam and the Nicolatians. 24,000 people because of via a plague and a curse when the Israelites became involved with those who held to the teachings of Balaam. (Numbers 25: 4,9)
Antipas – the name means ‘against all’. Nothing solid is known about him other than what we are told here. He was likely one of the Pergamum church leaders, possibly the pastor referenced as the ‘angel of the church’. Tradition says that he was roasted to death inside a brass bull because he would not bow to Caesar.