The situation in the church community of Pergamum was, as can be seen, rather complex. It is no accident that Jesus says it dwells "where Satan's throne is." The point is that in Pergamum there was one of the oldest and most highly revered...
The situation in the church community of Pergamum was, as can be seen, rather complex. It is no accident that Jesus says it dwells "where Satan's throne is." The point is that in Pergamum there was one of the oldest and most highly revered pagan sanctuaries, the famous Pergamon Altar, and the local cult was rather dark. Of course, human sacrifices were no longer offered there as in ancient times, but among Christians the place had a grim reputation. Yet, judging by the Savior's words, the issue was not only the place as such.
The problem was inside the church, in the teaching of the Nicolaitans, which is mentioned more than once in the letters to the churches. Here Jesus compares it with the sin of Balaam, who wanted to make the Jews the same pagans as all their neighbors. To subject them to his god. We know almost nothing about the Nicolaitans; we can only guess who and what is being discussed.
Judging by the crumbs of information that can be gathered from sparse mentions and hints in different sources, one can suppose that the teaching of the Nicolaitans amounted to this: a Christian cannot sin by definition, and therefore all spiritual and ascetic efforts directed toward keeping the Torah, external or internal, are meaningless. Do whatever you want - the grace received at baptism will not leave you anyway, and therefore in the end, one way or another, you will be saved. Morality was not denied completely, but it was not considered the foundation of spiritual life.
Besides, the Nicolaitans, without being spiritualists in the traditional sense, were nevertheless evidently sure that the spiritual and natural components of the human personality are not connected so closely that a person's natural states seriously affect his spiritual life, and therefore they considered any so-called "sins of the flesh" either unimportant or of little importance. In practice, of course, such an approach to the person destroyed spiritual life and led away from the path of salvation, which is what Jesus tells John.
And there certainly could be no talk here of spiritual renewal and transfiguration, with which the "new name" mentioned by the Savior is clearly connected. A change of name always presupposed one or another initiation, a change in the quality of a person's life. And Christianity as life in the Kingdom implies such a change. Meanwhile the path proposed by the Nicolaitans presupposed nothing of the kind and could not lead into the Kingdom. That is why this movement receives such a harsh assessment from Jesus: it was a spiritual dead end, a path to nowhere, and this had to be said clearly and unambiguously.
2 Of the following letters to the angels of the seven churches it may be necessary to speak first in general, and then particularly. In general we may observe, when the Israelites were to receive the law at Mount Sinai, they were first to be purified; and when the kingdom of God was at hand, John the Baptist prepared men for it by repentance. In like manner we are prepared by these letters for the worthy reception of this glorious revelation. By following the directions given herein, by expelling incorrigibly wicked men, and putting away all wickedness, those churches were prepared to receive this precious depositum. And whoever in any age would profitably read or hear it, must observe the same admonitions. These letters are a kind of sevenfold preface to the book. Christ now appears in the form of a man, (not yet under the emblem of a lamb,) and speaks mostly in proper, not in figurative, words. It is not till Rev 4:1, that St. John
enters upon that grand vision which takes up the residue of the book.There is in each of these letters,
- A command to write to the angel of the church;
- A glorious title of Christ;
- An address to the angel of that church, containing A testimony of his mixed, or good, or bad state; An exhortation to repentance or steadfastness; A declaration of what will be; generally, of the Lord's coming;
- A promise to him that overcometh, together with the exhortation, "He that hath an ear to hear, let him hear"
The address in each letter is expressed in plain words, the promise, in figurative. In the address our Lord speaks to the angel of each church which then was, and to the members thereof directly; whereas in the promise he speaks of all that should overcome, in whatever church or age, and deals out to them one of the precious promises, (by way of anticipation,) from the last chapters of the book.2:12 The sword - With which I will cut off the impenitent, Rev 2:16
2:13 Where the throne of Satan is - Pergamos was above measure given to idolatry: so Satan had his throne and full residence there. Thou holdest fast my name - Openly and resolutely confessing me before men. Even in the days wherein Antipas - Martyred under Domitian. Was my faithful witness - Happy is heto whom Jesus, the faithful and true witness, giveth such a testimony!
2:14 But thou hast there - Whom thou oughtest to haveimmediately cast out from the flock. Them that hold the doctrine of Balaam - Doctrine nearly resembling his. Who taught Balak - And the rest of the Moabites. To cast a stumblingblock before the sons of Israel - They are generally termed, the children, but here, the sons, of Israel, in opposition to the daughters of Moab, by whom Balaam enticed them to fornication and idolatry. To eat things sacrificed to idols - Which, in so idolatrous a city as Pergamos, was in the highest degree hurtful to Christianity. And to commit fornication - Which was constantly joined with the idol - worship of the heathens.
2:15 In like manner thou also - As well as the angel at Ephesus. Hast them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans - And thou sufferest them to remain in the flock.
2:16 If not, I come to thee - who wilt not wholly escape when I punish them. And will fight with them - Not with the Nicolaitans, who are mentioned only by the by, but the followers of Balaam. With the sword of my mouth - With my just and fierce displeasure. Balaam himself was first withstood by the angel of the Lord with "his sword drawn," Num 22:23, and afterwards "slain with the sword," Num 31:8.
2:17 To him that overcometh - And eateth not of those sacrifices. Will I give of the hidden manna - Described, John vi.The new name answers to this: it is now "hid with Christ in God." The Jewish manna was kept in the ancient ark of the covenant. The heavenly ark of the covenant appears under the trumpet of the seventh angel, Rev 11:19, where also the hidden manna is mentioned again. It seems properly to mean, the full, glorious, everlasting fruition of God. And I will give him a white stone - The ancients, on many occasions, gave their votes in judgment by small stones; by black, they condemned; by white ones they acquitted. Sometimes also they wrote on small smooth stones. Here may be an allusion to both. And a new name - So Jacob, after his victory, gained the new name of Israel.Wouldest thou know what thy new name will be? The way to this is plain, - overcome. Till then all thy inquiries are vain.Thou wilt then read it on the white stone.