Revelation 2:12-17 (MSB) To the angel of the church in Pergamum, write: These are the words of the One who holds the sharp, double-edged sword. [13] I know your works and where you live, where the throne of Satan sits. Yet you have held fast to My name and have not denied your faith in Me, even in the day when My faithful witness Antipas was killed among you, where Satan dwells. [14] But I have a few things against you, because some of you hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to place a stumbling block before the Israelites so they would eat food sacrificed to idols and commit sexual immorality. [15] In the same way, some of you also hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans. [16] Therefore, repent! Otherwise, I will come to you shortly and wage war 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 the one who overcomes, I will give the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone inscribed with a new name, known only to the one who receives it.
V12 “To the angel of the church in Pergamum write: These are the words of the One who holds the sharp, double-edged sword.” As mentioned in earlier posts, the “angel” is most likely the pastor of the assembly. Pergamum is in western Turkey. The “One” is Jesus Christ. The start, double-edged sword is mentioned two times in Scripture: 1) the Bible—Hebrews 4:12, and 2) the sword of Jesus—here, Revelation 1:16, and Revelation 19:25. The sword refers to the authority, strength, ability, kingship of the Lord Jesus. Jesus’s sword is powerful: Hebrews 4:12-13 “It judges the thoughts and intentions of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight; everything is uncovered and exposed before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.”
V13 “I know your works and where you live, where the throne of Satan sits. Yet you have held fast to My name and have not denied your faith in Me, even in the day when My faithful witness Antipas was killed among you, where Satan dwells.” Jesus knows. The Bible is the standard to assess if we are aligned with it in our words and deeds. Jesus knows that the throne of satan is there. Despite all this hate from the evil one, they have remained faithful. It is reported that the Great Altar (the most important) of Zeus was located there. A number of commentators believe this is what is referred to. The other common view is that satan has a headquarters. When Jesus gave this critique, this is most likely so. Jerusalem is referred to as God’s throne (Matthew 5:33-34).
Another view from Precept Austin Revelation 2:13 commentary: “Satan’s throne may also denote the activities of the secret mystery religions at Pergamum: Alexander Hislop, in his famous book Two Babylons, gave much documentation to show that Pergamos had inherited the religious mantle of ancient Babylon when Babylon fell in the days of Belshazzar. 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 at that time, transferring what amounted to the headquarters of Satan’s religious system away from Babylon north and west to Pergamos (Morris, The Revelation Record, 57).”
V14 “But I have a few things against you, because some of you hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to place a stumbling block before the Israelites so they would eat food sacrificed to idols and commit sexual immorality.” When Jesus rebukes, it is not with anger or threats. He just states the facts and wishes for us to repent. The Holy Spirit brings conviction (John 16:8). Compare 1 Timothy 5:20, Titus 1:9, and Jude 1:15. These are serious issues. The sexual immorality that Balaam recommended to King Balak (Numbers 31:16) was greatly hated by God, and Balaam was killed for his evil ways (Joshua 13:22). A true warning to this church and to all believers. Compare 2 Peter 2:15 and Jude 1:11). We are not to eat meat sacrificed (dedicated and blessed) to idols (1 Corinthians 10:28 and Acts 15:29).
V15 “In the same way, some of you also hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans.” Another group whose beliefs Jesus hated. The Nicolaitans are mentioned in this comment from Precept Austin: “Irenaeus (Haer. 1.26.3) basically repeats the biblical material, adding the assertion that the Nicolaitans were heretical followers of Nicolaus, the proselyte of Antioch who was chosen to be one of the Seven (Acts 6:5). Hippolytus (Haer. 7.24) underscores Irenaeus, adding that Nicolaus departed from true doctrine. Clement of Alexandria (Str. 2.20) claims that Nicolaus was an ascetic, and then current Nicolaitans were not his true followers because they perverted his teaching that it was necessary to abuse the flesh.” (Source: https://www.preceptaustin.org/revelation-topics-nicolaitans#4.13).
V16 “Therefore repent! Otherwise I will come to you shortly and wage war against them with the sword of My mouth.” Repentance is a change of mind resulting in asking for forgiveness and a change of life (not doing these sins again). The alternative is to disobey the Lord Jesus and suffer the consequences. The sword of the Lord is the verbal pronouncement of verdict and sentence. Warren W. Wiersbe writes: “Antipas had felt the sword of Rome, but the church at Pergamos would feel the sword of Christ — the Word (Heb 4:12) — if they did not repent. This is not a reference to our Lord’s return but to a present judgment that comes to a church when it is disobedient to the Word of God. The Lord had presented Himself as “He which hath the sharp sword” (Rev 2:12), so the church could not have been ignorant of its danger.”
V17 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who overcomes, I will give the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone inscribed with a new name, known only to the one who receives it.” The opportunity to repent was at the hearing of the message. Let us always be quick to repent. Jesus is the Lord and Shepherd of the church, and the Holy Spirit is the inspirer of the words. The consequences for obedience are the right to eat the hidden manna. Manna was the name of the food that God provided Israel in the 40 years of wandering in the wilderness (Exodus 16:31). It represents the life given by the Word of God (Deuteronomy 8:3 and Matthew 4:4).
Cambridge Greek commentary has: “Whatever be the precise meaning of this figure, the white stone and the name are closely connected. This excludes the notion that the white stone is given as a token of acquittal because judges who voted to acquit the prisoner dropped a white stone, sometimes called the pebble of victory, into the urn; though the stone is white because that was the colour of innocence, of joy, of victory. The white stone is a gift in itself, not merely a vehicle of the new name, which it would be if the new name were the new name of Christ Himself, Rev 3:12 (which may be identical with His hidden Name, Rev 19:12), though this too is written upon those who overcome, as the Father’s Name is written on the hundred and forty and four thousand. The stone and the name are the separate possession of each to whom they are given. Most likely both are a token entitling the bearer to some further benefit. It is no objection to this that we do not find the technical Greek word for such tokens, for the “token” might be described without being named.”
Revelation 2:17 (Holman Commentary) The commitment Christ makes is double: to eat hidden manna and to receive a white stone with a new name. These are two different symbols for eternal life, the first Jewish; the second Gentile. The ancient Israelites had “hidden” a pot of their divinely given bread in their ark of the covenant. Jewish tradition held that this manna had been miraculously preserved and would be multiplied to feed God’s people when the Messiah came (Exod. 16:32-35; 2 Macc. 2:5-7). Later in Revelation the wedding supper of the Lamb (19:9) similarly symbolizes eternal life.
Revelation 2:17-18 (Walvoord Prophecy Commentary) Invitation and promise. As in His messages to the other churches, Christ gives a promise and an invitation to the conqueror. The promise has three elements. First, the believer is assured that he will eat from the hidden manna. Just as Israel received manna from heaven as its food in the wilderness, replacing the onions and garlic of Egypt, so for the true believer in the Lord Jesus there is the hidden manna, that bread from heaven that the world does not know or see—the present spiritual food of believers as well as a part of their future heritage. This seems to refer to the benefits of fellowship with Christ and the spiritual strength that comes from this fellowship.
The second element of the promise is a white stone, possibly a brilliant diamond. There has been a lot of speculation about the identity and purpose of this stone, possibly as an inscribed invitation to a banquet. Whatever the exact nature of the stone, it certainly indicates being accepted or favored by Christ, a wonderful assurance especially for those who have been rejected by the evil world and are the objects of its persecution.
The third promise is the new name, which is unknown until the time it is given. This is an individual name given to the believer, symbolizing the personal heritage of the glories of heaven and the assurance of eternal salvation. We are reminded by this passage that God’s purpose is to separate believers from all evil and compromise and to have them as His inheritance throughout eternity. The new name that Christ gives speaks to this relationship.
We learn:
• Jesus knows everything.
• Jesus is the Lord and Judge of the churches.
• There are consequences for obedience and disobedience.