Where Satan’s Throne Is

“Write to the angel of the church in Pergamum: “The One who has the sharp, double-edged sword says: I know where you live — where Satan’s throne is! And you are holding on to My name and did not deny your faith in Me, even in the days of Antipas, My faithful witness who was killed among you, where Satan lives. But I have a few things against you. You have some there who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to place a stumbling block in front of the Israelites: to eat meat sacrificed to idols and to commit sexual immorality. In the same way, you also have those who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans. Therefore, repent! Otherwise, I will come to you quickly and fight against them with the sword of My mouth. “Anyone who has an ear should listen to what the Spirit says to the churches. I will give the victor some of the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name is inscribed that no one knows except the one who receives it.” (Revelation‬ ‭2‬:‭12‬-‭17‬ ‭HCSB‬‬)

Pergamum was the capital city of the Roman province of Asia. It was physically located north and slightly east of Smyrna and was on the major Roman trade route that connected all of these cities. Pergamum was the seat of Roman emperor worship and had long been loyal to Rome. It was also home to a large temple to Zeus, to Asclepius – the Greek god of healing symbolized by a serpent, and several other large and prominent pagan temples. It was also home to a large library, second only to the Alexandrian Library in Egypt. One writer noted, “if Ephesus is the New York City of Asia Minor, then Pergamum is its Washington DC.” 

As before, Jesus’ words to this church are preceded by one of the characteristics noted in His appearance in Revelation 1 – the sharp, double-edged sword. This speaks to judgment, authority, and power, but, as you’ll recall, proceeds from His mouth and thus references His word. The message to the church in Pergamum starts out a bit ominous when the one speaking is referencing His judgment, authority, and power based on a double-edged sword, which is His word. 

Many churches and Christians need this reminder – Christ’s judgment, authority, and power over us is based on our obedience to Him and His word. There’s a reason why John refers to Him as the Word of God. When God speaks, Jesus is the fulfillment and embodiment of God’s word and His will. To know and faithfully follow Jesus is to be in obedience to God’s word and His will. Everything right and wrong in this church and in any church is based on this simple but profoundly deep truth.

Next, Jesus tells these believers that He intimately knows the challenges they face by living in “Satan’s throne.” Some think the reference is about Asclepius and the serpent entwined staff he holds and the apparent tie between a serpent and Satan. Others think it is because of the Altar of Zeus that overlooks the city and is home to pagan rituals and sacrifices. While there might be several possible reasons why He would call it that, I think the most obvious and likely reason is because it is the world’s seat of worship to the Roman Emperor, Caesar. They can be socially pressured to participate in pagan religious rituals that promise economic and personal blessings, but they can be killed for refusing to proclaim Caesar as lord.

The intense pressure to submit to emperor worship and its threat to their very lives seems to be clearly in view when He says: “…you are holding on to My name and did not deny your faith in Me, even in the days of Antipas, My faithful witness who was killed among you, where Satan lives.” Thus, the seat or throne of Satan seems to be tied directly to emperor worship and the direct threat upon their lives. While you and I are not facing a death threat if we fail to fall down and worship Caesar, we do face intense social pressure to conform to political ideologies and party affiliations. 

As Christians who have submitted ourselves to His rule and reign, we must align ourselves with God and His word. I can promise you, no political ideology or political party is truly and fully aligned with the will and word of God. Even as individuals, we often embrace political positions that are more favorable to our personal lives and preferences than they are to God’s will. Instead of asking, “is this best for me and my family,” we should be asking “is this best for God’s kingdom”. Those are VERY different questions and will often result in very different answers. Too many Christians are asking that first question instead of the second one. We must be aligned with the second one, if Christ is LORD.

Quick side note: We have no direct information as to the identity of Antipas. There are legends surrounding him and this reference in Revelation, but not direct evidence. Some speculate that he may have been a pastor at Pergamum, but that is only based on the assumption that the pastor would have been the first and most likely target of this persecution as a means to influence his flock. What we do know is that he remained faithful to his witness of Jesus and died for Him. The phrase “My faithful witness” is only used elsewhere in Revelation to reference Jesus (Rev. 1:5). What an amazing legacy to leave – to have Jesus use the very phrase that is used to describe Him and to apply it to this faithful witness. Jesus uses this positive reinforcement to say, “Remember Antipas? Believe like him. Stay faithful in your witness of Me.” May we all strive to be that faithful in our obedience to our LORD.

Now we get to the issue Jesus has with the church in Pergamum: “But I have a few things against you. You have some there who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to place a stumbling block in front of the Israelites: to eat meat sacrificed to idols and to commit sexual immorality. In the same way, you also have those who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans.” First, notice this is not a church-wide issue, only some hold to this teaching. But a little leaven soon spreads through the whole batch of dough. This issue needs to be addressed directly and it needs to be addressed quickly.

This is not two issues, one dealing with the teaching of Balaam and one dealing with the Nicolaitans. It is the same issue, but Jesus uses the historical reference to Balaam and Balak (see Numbers 22-25, especially 25:1-3) to illustrate the core issue with the Nicolaitans. I mentioned in my earlier notes regarding the letter to Ephesus (insert link) that we would deal with the threat from the Nicolaitans. This is not a direct threat, but an indirect threat that is developing inside the church’s fellowship. In the story of Balaam, the Israelites are “infected” with sin because of the influence Balaam had on them when they began to eat food sacrificed to the god of the Moabites and to intermarry with their women.

Notice, “In the same way, you also have those who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans.” So, like Israel and Balaam, the church in Pergamum has an issue with the Nicolaitans. While little is known about the Nicolaitans, we know enough in the reference here to grasp the gravity of the situation. The Nicolaitan teachers are influencing some of the Pergamum Christians to eat food sacrificed to idols and participate in sexual immorality. Many New Testament scholars believe the Nicolaitans must hold to some form of Gnosticism and are teaching a dualistic approach to sin in the flesh and life in the spirit. Simply put, whatever you do in the flesh has no effect on your spiritual life. You can eat whatever you like and participate in any sinful activity, and it won’t affect you spiritually.

I hope you realize Jesus has real problems with that teaching. I also hope you realize our world and our culture, in particular, seem to think more like the Nicolaitans on this subject than like Jesus. At its core, the issue in Pergamum is that some in the church are embracing a cultural idea and a false religious teaching regarding food and sex that puts them at odds with Jesus. We face the same issue in our own day. The church is facing cultural ideas and false religious teachings regarding these things, too. We’re being told it doesn’t matter what you eat or drink or what your sexual desires and preferences are because they don’t affect your religious beliefs. Let me state this directly, it DOES matter and Jesus does care about our life choices and how we live out our religious beliefs. Sin DOES impact you spiritually, physically, emotionally, and relationally.

Listen to His response to the Pergamum church, “Therefore repent! Otherwise, I will come to you quickly and FIGHT against them with the sword of My mouth.” While we are commanded to love our neighbors, we are being cautioned about adopting and adapting their lifestyles, beliefs, and life choices into our lives. We are called to live and love like Jesus, not like them. If we embrace their beliefs and actions, then Jesus will come quickly and fight against them with the sword of His mouth. By the way, that sword is double-edged and is used for judgment, correction, and healing. God’s Word is redemptive and destructive, redemptive when we repent and turn to Him and destructive when we rebel and turn away from Him.

One more note on this topic: the word used for sexual immorality in this passage is the Greek ‘porneuo’ and is used for any and all forms of sexual immorality. It is unfortunate that the church has often been guilty of focusing on condemning specific forms of sexual immorality when scripture is clearly targeting all of them. Let me be blunt: scripture says the only form of sexual activity that is pleasing to God is between a man and woman within the bonds of the marriage vows. As Jesus said, “Haven’t you read,” He replied, “that He who created them in the beginning made them male and female,” and He also said: “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two will become one flesh? So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, man must not separate.” (Matthew‬ ‭19‬:‭4‬-‭6‬ ‭HCSB‬‬)

Finally, we come to the promise given to the church in Pergamum: “Anyone who has an ear should listen to what the Spirit says to the churches. I will give the victor some of the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name is inscribed that no one knows except the one who receives it.” I believe the promise is directly related to the challenges this church faces. It appears some of them may be participating in ritualistic pagan worship involving food and sexual immorality. Instead, Jesus promises them “hidden manna” and a white stone with a new name.

The promise of hidden manna may reference the manna that was placed in the Ark of the Covenant. It is a reminder to God’s people that He cares about them and for them in the midst of this wilderness journey. When food became scarce in the wilderness, God provided manna sufficient for their needs. Jesus reminded the crowds when they clamored to make Him king because He fed them, “Moses didn’t give you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the real bread from heaven. For the bread of God is the One who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” When we get hungry, we often let our bellies make our decisions and they tend to drive us away from God’s Word and towards the world’s answers. Jesus is the bread of life, don’t ever forget that. Trust Him, follow Him, obey Him, and seek His kingdom and He has promised to take care of you and your needs.

The promise of the white stone with a new name is not quite as clear as the hidden manna. It’s possible that the stone is referencing a judge’s or magistrate’s decree of innocence or guilt in a trial regarding the law(s) pertaining to emperor worship. A black stone would indicate guilt and conviction while a white stone would indicate innocence and acquittal. The new name that’s known only to God and the recipient seems to be tied to intimacy with God and personal character. The intimacy is implied by the private communication of the new name and the new name is indicative of their true character. So, God is presenting them with an acquittal judgment through an intimate relationship where He reveals their new name which is indicative of their true character.

What these Christians in Pergamum are seeking through a compromise to their Christian commitment is only truly found in being faithful to their Christian commitment to Jesus Christ. The same can be said of our own faith and cultural compromises. What we truly seek can never be found in this world’s empty promises. Our hopes and dreams can only be fulfilled through the faithful promises of our God and our obedience to Him and His Word. We need to be honest before God about our tendency to believe the lies our world has embraced and strive to strengthen our resolve to seek and obey the truth of His Word. 

The lies of the Nicolaitan teachers still ring in our ears, “Just trust us – this is the best and easiest way to avoid all that struggle.” Will you believe them or will you hear and follow the words of your LORD: “Repent, or I will come to you quickly and fight against them with the sword of My mouth!”