Jesus and the Church in Pergamos (Rev. 2:12-17)

As we noticed previously, most of the seven letters in Revelation 2 and 3 have a fivefold structure beginning with a characteristic of Christ, followed by his commendation, criticism, counsel, and comfort. This third letter was sent to the church in the city of Pergamos. The city, which at that time was the capital of the Roman province of Asia, was a cultural centre, possessing a very large library of 200,000 volumes, and in order to help the development of this library the city rulers encouraged the use of a new form of writing material. It was also known as a place of medical cures (the famous Galen lived there), although even they were connected to pagan forms of idolatry, with the god of healing depicted in the form of a serpent. Sadly, it was a pagan city, having the dubious record of being the first city to build a temple in Asia for emperor worship. Unlike the church in Smyrna, whose persecutions involved the Jewish synagogue, the church in Pergamos faced trouble from Gentile sources.

The characteristic of Jesus (v. 12)

It is possible that Jesus alludes to a local feature when he describes himself as the one with a sharp two-edged sword. If that is the case, the here he may be referring to the fact that Pergamos was governed by a Roman proconsul, a position of almost unlimited authority. The symbol of authority was a sword. Whether that be the case or not, it is evident that Jesus is describing himself as a judge.

First, Jesus does not need earthly weapons in order to be a judge. When he comes in such a manner, all he has to do is speak. He possesses divine authority, which no-one can disobey.

Second, we should note that Jesus is here coming to judge one of his churches. We could ask, Why does he not judge the world for its sins? The answer is that he will, but first he will judge his church. Peter reminds us: ‘For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?’ (1 Pet. 4:17). Jesus cares about the state of his own kingdom and will keep it pure. This was predicted of him by the prophet Malachi when he said: ‘But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner's fire or a launderer’s soap. He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver’ (3:2-3).

But Christ’s judgment on the church is a reminder of the further judgment on the world. That will be an awful occasion, when the gracious Saviour will act as a judge. If he is so determined to judge his people for their sins, surely it should tell us that he will judge all others for their sins.

The commendation of Jesus (v. 13)

Jesus reveals that he knows three things about them that please him. First, he knows their labour, all that they did for him. He appreciates every little action done for him. Second, he knows their location; twice he links it with Satan, the god of this world – Jesus knows well the subtlety and malice of the devil. Third, he knows their loyalty, even when facing intense opposition that included martyrdom. As we think of such a place, it is a wonder that there was a Christian church in such a city. But that is a reminder that the gospel of Christ is able to work in the most unlikely of situations.

The activities of God’s servants are best seen against the circumstances in which they live. Jesus knows both the difficulties and dangers that his people in Pergamos faced. This knowledge he has is not discovered from a distance, but is the result of fellowship with his people in their troubles. Not only is he the sovereign judge, but he is the sympathetic friend, able to help in such times.

This church in Pergamos was marked by courage, by devotion to the Christ who had rescued them from perishing. They loved his name and showed their faith by their loyalty. For loyalty, along with love, is a feature of true faith. Jesus here connects his name and his faith. As Spurgeon put it, ‘The faith of scripture has Christ for its centre, Christ for its circumference, and Christ for its substance.’ It is said of Ignatius, the early church father, that he always mentioned the name of Jesus when he spoke, because he so loved his Saviour.

We can deny the faith in several ways, for example, by believing wrong doctrines or doing wrong practices. But the easiest way to deny it is by not professing it.

The criticism by Jesus (vv. 14-15)

Nevertheless Jesus, in his examination of the church, had found some major problems. To understand what is meant, we need to realise that pagan worship affected every aspect of life in the city. One could not take part in trade guilds or social occasions without participating in the pagan rituals, which involved both feasting and immorality. The problem in the church was that some, who followed the teachings of this obscure group, the Nicolaitans, were saying that there was nothing wrong with taking part in these occasional gatherings. But the reality was, that while Satan had not got through the front door by persecution, he had got through another door by false teaching.

The church was guilty of two sins. First, some of them were guilty of compromising the clear standards of Jesus. They may have had their excuses. It may have been a response to the persecution they had faced or they may have wanted to remain on good terms with the city’s guilds. In the process, they had compromised their faith in Jesus by giving the impression that it was not sinful to take part in these rituals. But Jesus likens it to the occasion when Balaam tricked the Israelites into immorality (Numbers 22–24). The second sin was committed by all the church, and it was toleration of the minority’s behaviour. Why they did this is not said.

Although in Britain we don’t face the problem of pagan rituals, we are continually tempted to compromise on Christ’s demands. It can happen in a wide variety of ways, although the usual idea is to reduce the distinction between the world and the church. Compromise can happen at the denominational or ecclesiastical level or it can occur at the personal level. It is not easy to be different, but Jesus demands it. Toleration often occurs as a means of avoiding confrontation, of dealing with a problem. Compromise and toleration of the wrong practice are often found together.

The counsel of Jesus (v. 16)

The church in Pergamos seemed content with the situation, but Jesus was not. He will not allow his kingdom to be watered down. He has a message for all the church and a threat to the compromisers. His message is the same one as he gave to the church in Ephesus, that of the necessity of repentance. Repentance here involves ceasing to be tolerant with the compromisers.

When we think of Christ’s counsel here, we see that repentance is a duty of both saints and sinners. How Jesus must love to see repentance; when it occurs, we will feel the kiss of his mouth and not the sword of his mouth.

Repentance is also a church activity. There was corporate guilt here, therefore there had to be corporate repentance. Daniel realised this when he confessed the sin of the nation, although he himself was not guilty. We cannot sit on the sidelines and avoid the implications of the connections we have with all God’s people, including compromisers. The entire church in Pergamos was called to repent of a sin of which only a few of the members were guilty.

There are sore wounds from Christ’s sword. If repentance prevents it being yielded, let us all repent.

The comfort of Jesus (v. 17)

We have already noticed who the overcomer is, because that person is mentioned in each letter. But it is worth reminding ourselves that the overcomer is the person who has a faith in Jesus that is marked by love and loyalty. True faith may be weak, but it is not cold or clinical.

Jesus makes wonderful promises to the overcomers, not just in Pergamos, but also from every church, as is seen in the repeated command in verse 17, ‘He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.’

The promise contains two details: eating of the hidden manna and receiving a white stone. Sometimes the promises to the overcomers refer to the present and sometimes to the future. Here I think the first, eating of the hidden manna, has both present and future aspects, and the second, receiving the white stone, has future aspects.

The hidden manna is obviously an allusion to the food that God miraculously provided for his people Israel as they journeyed through the desert. In John 6, Jesus says he is the fulfilment of what the manna depicted, food from God. The connection to the church in Pergamos concerns the practice of some to eat the pagan sacrifices.

Today Jesus is hidden in heaven from the eyes of humans. But that does not mean that he is not the food that sustains his people. Jesus feeds his people with himself, and he does this in a variety of ways and a mixture of diets. He feeds them privately and he feeds them corporately. His diets include promises of forgiveness, guidance, protection; he nourishes them by conveying to their hearts his own character. In this connection, it may be worth mentioning a dispute concerning the Lord’s Supper that has taken place within the Reformed community and which has been linked to two of the Reformers. On the one hand, there is the alleged view of Zwingli, which is that the Lord’s Supper is merely a memorial, an activity in which God’s people remember what Jesus did for them. On the hand, there is the view of John Calvin, which is that Christians not only remember Jesus but also receive from Jesus in the sense that when they feed on the symbols of Christ’s body and blood by faith, they are simultaneously being fed by Jesus by the Spirit. The food he gives is the fruit of the Spirit, which was and is exemplified in himself.

Jesus does all this secretly, which is why it is called ‘hidden’ manna. He will also feed his people with himself in the eternal state. The food that he will give will be hidden in the sense that there will continuous fresh discoveries of who he is and what he can do.

In addition to giving himself as manna, Jesus also promises to give a white stone to each of the overcomers. The issuing of a white stone had several meanings in the ancient world. First, when a person was in court for a crime, if he was pronounced innocent he was given a white stone. The meaning of Jesus’ promise includes the public declaration of innocence that will be made concerning his people. Second, when a person was invited to a public feast, he was given a white stone with his name on it. Here is Jesus’ assurance that the overcomers will be invited to the eternal feast, the marriage Supper of the Lamb. Third, Jesus promises that each overcomer will still have an individual, secret relationship with him in heaven; this is what is signified by the words, ‘which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.