Pergamum – A New Name


Revelation 2:12-17
12“And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write: ‘The words of him who has the sharp two-edged sword.
13“‘I know where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is. Yet you hold fast my name, and you did not deny my faith even in the days of Antipas my faithful witness, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells.
14But I have a few things against you: you have some there who hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, so that they might eat food sacrificed to idols and practice sexual immorality.
15So also you have some who hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans.
16Therefore repent. If not, I will come to you soon and war against them with the sword of my mouth.
17He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it.’

Jesus now comes to the church in Pergamum with the authority to judge all – “the sharp two-edged sword.” He comes with the full knowledge that the people of Pergamum live in the heart of pagan worship practices. The deification of the emperor was rampant in Pergamum. This city was known for its huge library and may even be the place where parchment was invented. There was a huge temple to Zeus, Athena, Dionysus, and Asklepios found in Pergamum. The martyr’s death by burning of Antipas loomed large in the minds of the Christians of Pergamum and yet they remained strong in the faith.

There are a couple of references in this passage that requires further explanation. First, Jesus says that “you have some there who hold the teaching of Balaam”. Here Jesus recalls the story that all of John’s readers would know; the story of Balaam and Balak. This part of Israel’s history is recounted in Numbers 22-25. At that time, the Children of Israel were wandering in the desert. They had been freed from slavery in Egypt only to defy God when they stood on the brink of receiving the Promised Land. As a result of that sin, God denied them entrance into Canaan for 40 years. During those 40 years we find the story of Balaam and Balak. Balak was the king of Moab and sought out the help of Balaam to help him keep God’s people under control. He offered Balaam a great deal of money to curse Israel. While Balaam didn’t necessarily love God, he was smart enough to fear Him. So he refused to curse Israel after being told by God not to do so. After 4 rounds of Balak requesting Balaam’s help, Balak finally gives up although Balaam was sorely tempted to go for the cash. Finally, Balaam tells Balak how to defeat the Children of Israel. He suggested that Balak welcome God’s people into his kingdom, mix with them and marry them. Balaam knew that God’s people would quickly turn to the idols of Moab and God would curse them anyway. And that is what happened! Balaam’s sin was the desire to have both money and God’s favor. He wanted to serve two masters. Jesus warns against that in Matthew. Apparently this attitude was a problem for the people of Pergamum.

Matthew 6:24
“No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.

“Balaam represents the sin of syncretism, that is, adopting elements of other religions for the sake of bettering oneself. Syncretism is akin to unionism, the willingness to relativize beliefs (each person’s or church’s beliefs are as valid as the beliefs of others) and join contrary viewpoints. Therefore Balaam’s sin resembles modern religious pluralism, as well as New Age syncretism and relativism, which usually are motivated by pragmatism: the desire to embrace whatever beliefs and practices work to one’s own advantage.”
Brighton, L. A. ©1999. Revelation. St. Louis, MO: Concordia Pub. House.

Also we (along with the people of Pergamum) are warned against the beliefs of the Nicolaitans who taught a gospel of licentiousness. They believed that since Jesus died for our sins we are free to go out and sin all the more for there are no longer any consequences for sin. This is most certainly not what the Bible teaches.

Finally we need to understand the references to the hidden manna and the name on the white stone. Both of these are references to the grace and blessing we already receive in Holy Communion and Baptism. We receive the body of Christ (hidden manna) in Communion and His very name is placed upon us in our Baptism. While the reference may be somewhat veiled, it still brings great comfort.

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