Let’s begin this blog by telling you a little about the city of Pergamum. Pergamum was a unique city, which would be located in modern day Turkey; you can still visit the ruins. What made it so unique was that it was very high in elevation. It was built on a hill 1,000ft above the surrounding countryside. In addition, it was a sophisticated city. According to scholars and archeologists, Pergamum had one of the largest libraries in the ancient Roman world, making it the center of Greek culture and education. And as you will see later, Pergamum was the center of cults or pagan religions.
Now let me tell you a little bit about the church in Pergamum. If you recall, Jesus’ letter to the church at Ephesus included commendations for resisting false teaching, and his letter to the church at Smyrna included commendations for enduring persecution. The church in Pergamum had to face both – they faced false teaching and persecution. Unlike Smyrna however, where Jesus gave commendations only, in this letter you will see that Jesus both commends and criticizes the church in Pergamum.
This letter is found in Revelation 2:12-17, but in this blog we are only going to look at verses 12 and 13. These verses speak of Jesus’ commendation to the church, and involves Jesus specifically praising one particular person whose name is Antipas. There is much to say about him. Okay, with that said, let’s jump into shall we.
The first observation I want you to see is how Jesus introduces himself.
Revelation 2:12 states, “And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write: ‘The words of him who was the sharp two-edged sword.” What does Jesus mean by introducing himself in that way? That’s Jesus’ way of saying to the church in Pergamum: 1) he is the Word of eternal life. 2) he has ultimate authority over the church, and 3) he holds the final judgment over believers and unbelievers.
Next we observe Jesus commenting on the city where the church is located.
In Rev. 2:13, Jesus says to them, “I know where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is.” That’s Jesus saying, ‘I know where you live, I know that you live in the city where Satan has his throne.’ Now, does that mean this is literally where the throne of Satan is? I don’t believe so. I believe Jesus makes this statement because of Pergamum’s vast pagan worship. If you recall, I told you that this city was home to cults or pagan religions that rivaled the city of Ephesus.
Here they are: 1) They worshiped the Greek goddess Roma, the goddess of strength and wisdom. 2) They worshiped the Greek god Asklepios, the god of healing, symbolized by serpents. 3) They worshiped the Greek god Zeus, the god of the sky, and was believed to be the ruler, protector, and father of all gods and human beings. 4) They worshiped the Greek god Dionysus, the god of fruitfulness and vegetation. 5) They worshiped the Greek goddess Athena, who was considered to be the best Greek goddess, and was believed to be the goddess of knowledge, wisdom, crafts, civilization, and justice. And lastly, they worshiped the Roman Emperor. It was strongly emphasized and some believe it was even required that the Roman Emperor be worshiped as a god.
So, why does Jesus refer to Pergamum as the place where Satan’s throne is? It’s because by worshiping all these pagan Greek gods and goddesses, and even the Roman Emperor, they were essentially worshipers of Satan.
Now we observe Jesus commending or praising the church.
In verse 13, Jesus begins by saying, “Yet you hold fast to my name.” This means that despite all of the pagan religion happening in this city, the church of Jesus Christ remained loyal to follow Christ. Then Jesus says, “and you did not deny my faith even in the days of Antipas my faithful witness, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells.” This means the believers in Pergamum did only remain loyal to Jesus, they refused to deny Jesus, even when a man by the name of Antipas was put to death.
Who is Antipas? We do not know very much about him. What we do know is that he was a loyal follower of Jesus. So loyal in fact, that Jesus gave him the title – “my faithful witness” – which tells us Antipas was someone who did not compromise his faith in a city where Christianity was opposed by the majority. In fact, his unwillingness to compromise his faith in Jesus is what cost him his life. According to tradition, Antipas was the first martyr of Asia. How did he die? The people of Pergamum, according to tradition, slowly roasted Antipas to death in a bronze kettle. Can you imagine being placed in a bronze kettle, which would be heated up slowly, roasting you slowly, until you drew your last breath, all because you stood with Christ rather than society? The death for Antipas was slow and agonizing, but for Antipas he would have rather died than to compromise his faith and deny Jesus Christ.
I believe we can relate Pergamum to the United States in the fact that we live in a post-Christian nation.
We live in a nation where Christianity is rapidly becoming the minority. According to Pew Research in 2019, Christianity has decreased to 65%. In 2009, 80% of America professed to follow Christ. This means in ten years there was a 15% drop in people who claim to profess Jesus as their Lord and Savior from 2009 to 2019. And studies suggest a continuous decline.
Again, this means, whether we like it or not, we are living in a post-Christian nation. A nation where Christianity is no longer the dominant religion or faith of this nation. According to Pew Research, we are a nation where atheism is rapidly growing and could one day surpass Christianity. And you are already beginning to see the effects of this in this nation.
As atheism and secularism increases and Christianity decreases, you will see an increase in hostility towards those who do not stand for what the society stands for.
What you are beginning to see in America, even in the world, is a clash of two cultures, which is what happened in Pergamum. The culture of this godless society is clashing with the culture of Jesus’ church, and the clash between these two is getting more severe.
As Christianity continues to decline in this nation, the greater immorality will become. This means practices such as homosexuality, abortion, transgenderism, gender identity will be welcomed and celebrated. As Christinity declines in this nation, lawlessness will abound, because love, which is the central tenant to Christianity, will grow cold. This means you will see greater violence. You will see higher crime rates. You will see a nation where the majority of people will live contrary to the law and be uncontrolled by law. You will even see a nation that does what it can to get rid of the law. And as the clash between these two cultures – the world and the church – continue to grow you will see a new hatred towards those who stand on the Word of God and oppose the immoral practices of this nation, such as homosexuality, abortion and gender identity.
You’re living in a time where, as a Christian, you do not have a right to your personal conviction, and if you should say something about your beliefs as a follower of Jesus, you will come under fire.. Just this week our Lt. Govenor, Mark Robinson, came under pressure for making comments about transgenderism and homosexuality while standing in a pulpit; he made this remarks not as an elected official but as his personal conviction. This clash is even setting up at public universities. Just this week 7K students, who are pro-abortion, signed a petition at a college in the UK, for that college to rid of pro-life students. This clash is setting up at your elementary, middle, and high schools, where the public school system is indoctrinating your children to CRT, homosexuality, and gender neutrality. This clash is even happening on your television screens where this society is attempting to indoctrinate your children to accept what God calls sin.
My point is this: You are beginning to see a rapid growth of people in this nation who abhor the truth of God’s Word; they reject it, they loathe it, and they hate it. To many the Bible is hate speech. Therefore, as this nation continues to decline in Christianity and increase in atheism and secularism, those who follow Christ, and stand on God’s Word, can expect to be hated. It could even come to a point that one day, those who follow Christ in this nation, who remain loyal and refuse to deny Christ, will suffer such persecution that remaining faithful and loyal to Jesus will even cost you your life, just like it did for Antipas.
But this should not be surprising to any of us. Jesus teaches those who stand with him, those who do not compromise with the world, and refuse to deny him, like Antipas, will be hated, persecuted, and even put to death.
In John 15:18-21, Jesus said, “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you…If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you…All these things they will do to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me.” The reason the world is growing in hostility and hatred against the people of Jesus Christ, is because they do not know God. And since they do not know God, they hate and persecute Jesus, and since they hate and persecute Jesus, the world will hate those who are loyal and faithful to Jesus. Therefore, as followers of Jesus in a world that is declining in Christianity and growing in atheism, it should come to no surprise to any of us when we watch on the television, read on the internet, or hear from others the persecution of those who follow Jesus.
By the way, persecution might not be in the form of physical suffering like it was for Antipas. It could be slander; in Matthew 5:11 Jesus said, “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.” It could be the loss of a job. It could even be betrayal from those closest to you like friends or family; in Matt. 10:21 Jesus said, “Brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death, and you will be hated by all for my name’s sake.” This is why Jesus, in Matt. 10:34-39, says that anyone who is going to follow him must love him more than they love their own family, because following Jesus may cause division in your marriage, or division in your relationship to your kids, grandkids, and even your parents. And if you do not love Jesus supremely, when you undergo such pressure to compromise from society or your job or a stranger or those closest to you like your friends and family, you will compromise your faith, which will make you unworthy of Jesus Christ.
When I think of Antipas, I believe that is the kind of follower or disciple Jesus wants. Jesus wants followers who are loyal to him and refuse to deny him, even if it should cost them their life.
We need believers like Antipas. We need believers who are so loyal and so faithful to Jesus that even in the face of persecution and death, they will not deny Christ. We need believers who are willing to take a stand for the cause of Christ! Unfortunately, in a nation where church membership has fallen to 48% as of this year, I think those believers are few and far between in America where the gospel is softened and following Jesus has been reduced to entertainment.
You live in a nation where Christianity is easy, at least for right now. You live in a nation where we have made following Jesus comfortable, where all you have to do is show up to a Wednesday night or Sunday morning meeting, and nothing else is expected of you. A nation where following Jesus has been accepted and has known no persecution.
However, the time is coming where some of you might actually have to live out your Christianity. The time is coming for some of you where your Christianity will have to be more than lip service. The time has come and is coming where some of you might actually have to take a stand for Jesus. The time has come where some of you are going to be forced to examine where your loyalties lie – the world or Christ. The time has come where some of you might actually have to suffer for the cause of Christ in some way.
My question to all of you is this: Are you a modern day Antipas? Will you remain loyal to Jesus in a world that is loyal to Satan? Will you refuse to deny Jesus in a world that is growing in its hostility towards Christianity? Will you refuse to compromise your faith in Jesus Christ even if you were persecuted to the point of death? Will Jesus crown you with the title – “my faithful witness” – like he did Antipas, because of your unwillingness to compromise your faith? Will you be a modern day Antipas?