Revelation Verse-by-Verse 2:12-17

12 And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write; These things saith he which hath the sharp sword with two edges;

13 I know thy works and where thou dwellest, even where Satan's seat is: and thou holdest fast my name, and hast not denied my faith, even in those days wherein Antipas was my faithful martyr, who was slain among you, where Satan dwelleth.

14 But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication.

15 So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes, which thing I hate.

16 Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.

17 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.

The one aspect of the revelation of the Glorified Lord from chapter one that is brought forward in addressing the assembly at Pergamos is that He is the One ‘which hath the sharp sword with two edges.’ [Verse 12] This plainly suggests that the overall way that the Glorified Lord wants those at Pergamos to relate to what He is saying to them is that He is speaking as One Whose judgement is entirely just and unflinching. Very shortly after identifying Himself in this specific manner to them, the Glorified Lord warns them to repent or face severe judgment at His hand.

14 But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication.

15 So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes, which thing I hate.

16 Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them WITH THE SWORD OF MY MOUTH.

Looking back to verse thirteen, we see that the Glorified Lord knows the special challenges faced by those at Pergamos. He says that He knows where they dwell, ‘where Satan’s seat is.’ The Greek word translated ‘seat’ is θρόνος[thronos], from which we clearly derive our English words ‘throne.’ This Greek word is actually translated ‘throne’ fifty-four of the sixty-one times it is used in the NT.[1] In our passage here in Revelation 2, it is translated ‘seat,’ but certainly seems to suggest something more than a mere chair.

At the end of verse thirteen the Glorified Lord, when commending an early martyr in the assembly at Pergamos (Antipas), states that his martyrdom took place [Pergamos] ‘where Satan dwelleth.’ From these two definitive statements by the Glorified Lord, we learn that Satan had a formidable stronghold there in Pergamos. It is actually in the context of having established the fact of Satan’s powerful presence in Pergamos that the Glorified Lord offers His commendation of the assembly there.

13…thou holdest fast my name, and hast not denied my faith…

In the midst of the trying times that resulted in the martyrdom of Antipas, the overall truth about the assembly at Pergamos was that they held fast Christ’s name and did not deny His faith [the Truth about Him].

This makes the Glorified Lord’s condemnation of the assembly all the more distressing. Consider verses fourteen through sixteen once more.

14 But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication.

15 So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes, which thing I hate.

16 Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.

Even though the Glorified Lord has commended the assembly for holding fast to the Truth during trying days in the past, He now swings the sword the other way,[2] identifying that they were too willing to permit false teaching among them in the present day. The specific application of the doctrine of Balaam the Glorified Lord identifies is ‘to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication.’ The idolatry in Pergamos has been noted by historians to have included numerous different ‘deities’ and immorality of the vilest kind. Sadly, the assembly at Pergamos was relaxing its standards enough to allow such things in its ‘church life.’

Additionally, they accepted the ‘doctrine of the Nicolaitanes.’ As we have seen in our overview of chapter two in the detailed study notes, this doctrine had to do with church polity [government]. The leaders evidently ruled with an iron fist, so to speak. Once again, the Glorified Lord makes it clear that He hates this serious error, which opened the way for church leaders to ‘lord it over the faith’ of the saints. If the leaders wanted to permit lewdness and aspects of idol-worship in the assembly, who would stop them?

17 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.

The Glorified Lord closes out His epistle to the assembly at Pergamos with an exhortation to the saints there to listen to His words and align with them by active faith. As we have repeatedly suggested, speculating about the exact meaning of much here in The Revelation is ill-advised. We will, instead seek to hold to what appears to be clear.

In the context of all that the Glorified Lord has said to those at Pergamos, the sense of the ‘hidden manna’ would seem to be in contrast with those things that had crept into the assembly there through the ‘doctrine of Balaam,’ with its immorality and flesh-pleasing ‘worship activities.’ Instead of embracing such things, the saints are being encouraged to be partakers of the ‘hidden manna’ given to them freely through the Truth by the ministry of the Holy Spirit.

Similarly, the ‘white stone’ with a ‘new name written’ in it seems to suggest a strength [stone] of purity [white] that will enable them to withstand the onslaught of Satan and all his devices. The fact that the name written in the stone is unknowable by anyone but the one receiving it simply suggests the exceptionally personal nature of true purity or doctrine and life that becomes the reality only of those that truly embrace the Glorified Lord.

Modern Christianity has little to offer of such intimate purity between ‘Christians” and the Glorified Lord.

[1] The remaining 7 times it is translated ‘seat(s).’ Six of these are in Revelation. It also occurs once in the song of Mary when she was told she would bear the Messiah in Luke 1:52. Interestingly, in Revelation 4:4, the same word is translated ‘throne’ once and ‘seats’ twice. Presumably, the translators felt that to translate the word the same way when referring to the ‘throne of God’ and the ‘thrones of the elders’ was unwise. [2] “And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” and “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharperthan any twoedged sword.” [Ephesians 6:17 and Hebrews 4:12].