Letters so far
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Ephesus was doctrinally pure but lacked
heart.
Smyrna faced severe persecution and
needed steadfast courage.
Pergamum…
Pergamum
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This letter is amazing that it has a
clear teaching on the Lord’s Supper
not so evidently obvious at first.
Invented parchment
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Prior to the creation of parchment,
manuscripts were transcribed on papyrus,
which was produced only in Alexandria.
When the Ptolemies of Egypt refused to
export any more papyrus to Pergamum,
King Eumenes II commanded that an
alternative source be found. This led to the
production of parchment -- a thin sheet of
sheep or goat skin. Parchment reduced the
Roman Empire’s dependency on Egyptian
papyrus. The introduction of parchment also
greatly expanded the holdings of the Library
of Pergamum.
Letter to Pergamum
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Pergamum was the center of emperor
worship and had many other shrines to
various gods. It was a beautiful city built to
be an impregnable castle. It’s major claim
to fame was its library. Scribes at
Pergamum used expensive sheep and
lambskins. They were called pergamena
charta. The name for Pergamum and our
word for parchment come from this
luxurious writing material in the city’s
renown library.
Invented parchment

Prior to the creation of parchment,
manuscripts were transcribed on papyrus,
which was produced only in Alexandria.
When the Ptolemies of Egypt refused to
export any more papyrus to Pergamum,
King Eumenes II commanded that an
alternative source be found. This led to the
production of parchment -- a thin sheet of
sheep or goat skin. Parchment reduced the
Roman Empire’s dependency on Egyptian
papyrus. The introduction of parchment also
greatly expanded the holdings of the Library
of Pergamum.
Letter to Pergamum
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This city was actually an ancient fortified
city from Thrace.
The Thracian descendants in the region
became known as the Attaliads and
established a kingdom that covered Asia
Minor. This period established Pergamum
as a wealthy and important city.
The city always supported artisans.
They believed low taxes were an incentive
to stimulate the economy and the arts.
Letter to Pergamum
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Emperor Tiberius invested heavily into
Pergamum and enjoyed his ego boosting
worship. He used the serpent as his own
personal motto. He died in 37 A.D. but
forthcoming emperors continued the
worship of the emperor for themselves at
Pergamum. Tiberius’ many serpent reliefs
remained. To those who were familiar with
the Scriptures, the serpents were easily
identifiable as symbols of Satan.
Letter to Pergamum
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The reference to Satan in this letter is the
self-proclaimed god, Caeser.
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Domitian reigned from October 24, 51 AD
until September 18, 96 AD.
Letter to Pergamum
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The city required emperor worship
among its citizens. At times,
persecution followed as this law was
enforced.
Letter to Pergamum
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Temples to the emperor, Zeus,
Athena, Dionysus, Ascelepis, Serapis,
Demeter, etc. have been found.
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Letter to
Pergamum
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Sanctuary of Asclepius
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Three kilometers south of the
Acropolis in the valley, there was the
Sanctuary of Asclepius (also known as
the Asclepium), the god of healing.
The Ascelpium was approached along
a 820 meter colonnaded sacred way.
Sanctuary of Asclepius
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In this place people with health
problems could bathe in the water of
the sacred spring, and in the patients'
dreams Asclepius would appear in a
vision to tell them how to cure their
illness. Archeology has found lots of
gifts and dedications that people
would make afterwards, such as small
terracotta body parts,
Sanctuary of Asclepius
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no doubt representing what had been
healed. Galen, the most famous doctor
in the ancient Roman Empire and
personal physician of Emperor Marcus
Aurelius, worked at the Pergamum
Asclepium for many years.
The Great Library
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Being the world center of parchment and
home to many who worked to transcribe
works, pergamum was home to a library
said to house approximately 200,000
volumes, according to the writings of
Plutarch. Built by Eumenes II and situated
at the northern end of the Acropolis, it
became one of the most important ancient
libraries. Legend has it that Mark Antony
later gave Cleopatra all of the 200,000
volumes at Pergamum for the Library at
Alexandria as a wedding present, emptying
the shelves.
Letter to Pergamum
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NIV Revelation 2:12 "To the angel of the
church in Pergamum write: These are the
words of him who has the sharp, doubleedged sword. 13 I know where you live-where Satan has his throne. Yet you remain
true to my name. You did not renounce
your faith in me, even in the days of
Antipas, my faithful witness, who was put to
death in your city-- where Satan lives.
Two Edge Sword
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Pergamum was famous for words, but
Christ has THE ULTIMATE WORDS to
pierce the heart.
Pergamum was famous for its hidden
knowledge in books, but Christ has the
WORD that can pierce the heart.
Letter to Pergamum
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According to Christian tradition, John the
Apostle ordained Antipas as bishop there
during the reign of the Roman emperor
Domitian. The traditional account goes on to
say Antipas was martyred around 92 AD by
being burned in a pagan brazen bull-shaped
altar. This would be four years before John
received this revelation.
Letter to Pergamum
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14 Nevertheless, I have a few things
against you: You have people there
who hold to the teaching of Balaam,
who taught Balak to entice the
Israelites to sin by eating food
sacrificed to idols and by committing
sexual immorality. 15 Likewise you
also have those who hold to the
teaching of the Nicolaitans.
Letter to Pergamum
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Balaam taught Midianite women how
to lead the Israelites astray with sex
(Numbers 25:1-2; 31:16; Jude 11).
Pagan worship often involved
prostitutes who would be paid for
services. This is why it is mentioned
that followers of the Nicolaitan sect
were also at Pergamum.
Nicolaitans???
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Eusebius writes that Nicolas was a
moral man (Ecclesiastical History,
3.29). Here is the gist of Nicolas. He
believed that the sexual libido was a
hindrance to spirituality. Since many
could not rid themselves of it, even
with the greatest of piety, one ought
curb these desires as best as possible.
Nicolaitans???
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Nicolas taught that one could use a
woman to curb these desires so that
one could focus on spirituality. This is
why church members were visiting the
temple prostitutes.
In other words, though he held himself
up as sincere and devout follower,
Nicolas taught that faith was a matter
of the heart and that bodily actions
were an entirely separate matter.
Nicolaitans???
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Over the years, however, this teaching
took on a more Gnostic spin: Since the
flesh is unimportant, even contemptible,
what one does in the flesh is of no
consequence. Spiritual life, growth and
ultimately salvation occur in the soul, and
since God is spirit, He has no regard for
the flesh or its animalistic desires that
need be released and curbed.
Letter to Pergamum
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16 Repent therefore! Otherwise, I will soon
come to you and will fight 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 him who overcomes, I will give
some of the hidden manna. I will also give
him a white stone with a new name written
on it, known only to him who receives it.
Letter to Pergamum
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Sword of the mouth.
– The Word of God would not stand for this.
– The congregation might be danger of the Word
no longer shared.
– The members who did not repent might be
excommunicated.
Letter to Pergamum
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The hidden manna is taken by many to
mean the Lord’s Supper which is a gift to
sustain those who journey to the promised
land. Only those who repent would now be
allowed to the Lord’s Supper at Pergamum.
Exclusion from the Lord’s Table for open
and unrepentant immorality was common in
the early church.
Letter to Pergamum
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The White Stone looks like a piece of bread
in Communion.
Once the litigants and men speaking in their
behalf made their presentations—the
number and length of the speeches varied
with the sort of case being heard—the jury
proceeded at once to cast their ballots. In
the Athenian system, jurors were ordinary
local citizens.
Letter to Pergamum
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There was no formal deliberation, though
the unruly shouting might have served as a
primitive substitute. “Cast” is no metaphor,
since Athenian jurors voted by dropping
ballots into baskets.
Letter to Pergamum
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The jurors marched past two urns, and
dropped the ballots to be counted into one
basket, the ballots to be discarded into
another. By holding thumb and forefinger
over the axle ends, the jurors were able to
conceal their vote from onlookers. The
ballots were immediately counted and the
totals announced.
Letter to Pergamum
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The White Stone…
Token of Innocence - A white pebble was
placed in a ballot box by (an) appointed
judge(s) pronouncing a sentence of
acquittal (a black pebble indicated
condemnation).
BUT THIS VERDICT WAS KNOWN TO ALL.
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“This is known only to him who receives it”
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Letter to Pergamum
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The White Stone…
Token of Privilege - A tessera was given
at Olympic games to the victor. This
exempted him from any future harm. Many
such tokens survive. They bear the name of
a man, the letters ‘SP’, and the day and
year, often incised in sequence on the four
faces.
THIS VERDICT WOULD BE REVEALED AS
REQUIRED.
Letter to Pergamum
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The White Stone…
Token of Asklepios Secret Society – If
someone was received into the secret cult
of Asklepios, they would be handed a white
stone on January 1st. This special stone
would identify them as one of their own.
With the reference to mysteries in this
letter, there is strong support for this
understanding.
Closed Communion?
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Just as 1 Corinthians, chapter 10, says
Communion is not for those who
worship other religions, here we see
that Communion (the Manna with the
promise of new life) is not to be
received by those who are sexually
immoral and not desiring to repent.
Letter to Pergamum
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The new name has a few possible
meanings. Someone is free from their
old life.
– Abram to Abraham.
– Sarai to Sarah.
– Jacob to Israel.
– Yeshua to Joshua.
– Saul to Paul.
Letter to Pergamum
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1. A literal new name.
NIV Isaiah 62:2 The nations will see
your righteousness, and all kings your
glory; you will be called by a new
name that the mouth of the LORD will
bestow. See also Isaiah 65:15.
Examples of this are Abram – Abraham,
Sarai – Sarah, Jacob – Israel, Simon –
Peter, Saul – Paul.
Letter to Pergamum
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2. And the new name of the Lord which is revealed
in the New Testament. The Triune name is placed
upon a person in Baptism and is experienced
(known by familiarity) by the elect.
NIV Revelation 3:12 Him who overcomes I
will make a pillar in the temple of my God.
Never again will he leave it. I will write on
him the name of my God and the name of the
city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is
coming down out of heaven from my God;
and I will also write on him my new name.
Application
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The Church should not condone or
license sexual immorality. Each
Christian should learn to control
himself or herself in a pleasing
way.
Communion identifies repentance
and shares forgiveness received
in Sacrament so that previous
guilt does not remain (the white
stone).
Application
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What sexual immorality is overlooked in churches?
NIV Ephesians 5:3 But among you there must
not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of
any kind of impurity, or of greed, because
these are improper for God's holy people.
NIV Acts 15:20 Instead we should write to
them, telling them to abstain from food
polluted by idols, from sexual immorality,
from the meat of strangled animals and from
blood.