Our journey through the churches of first century Turkey takes us next to Pergamum and Thyatira.
Pergamum
The modern city of Bergama on the site of Ancient Pergamum consists of a large flat plain in Anatolia dominated by a steep, thousand-foot-high mountain. From this vantage point, one can see the far ranges, the plains of Anatolia and the sea twenty-one kilometres away. This incredibly steep acropolis consists of high walls, several temples, a palace, library, three theatres and a great sacrificial altar to Zeus.
Unlike the Athenian acropolis, which was entirely sacred in nature, Pergamum was a mixture of sacred and secular: temples and theatres, market places, arsenals, the palace and the gymnasium. The populace could mix and talk, buy and sell, worship and play sports in the one area on the top and precipitous side of the mountain. The city was safe from attack and provided a good defensive position for the surrounding countryside.
Early artifacts, similar to those found in Troy, indicate the area has been continuously inhabited since at least 800 BC. An early tomb of a princess became a famous temple for people from the Phrygian area. Xenophon and his ten thousand marauding Greek troops stayed here, conquering some of the surrounding countryside. Pergamum sided with Alexander the Great against the Persians in 334 BC. Under his successors the acropolis was heavily fortified and became the centre of the Pergamum kingdom, which lasted until captured by the Romans following a twenty-seven year war. Under the Romans the city spread down onto the plain and reached a population of 150,000. In the Christian ere, Arabs and Turks have successively occupied the area.
In 1878, teams of German archeologists commenced excavations of the acropolis and the various temples and theatres, removing much of the statuary to East Berlin, including the famous Altar of Zeus. German archeologists have worked hard to present to the world the wonderful city of Pergamum. As the visitor travels the site today – in parts a very demanding physical exercise! – he notices three areas: the acropolis, the town centre and the Asklepieum.
Pergamum was a cultural centre. There is a large theatre and two smaller ones, a cultural centre for theatre and arts, and the second largest library in the ancient world. Wide stoas surrounded the library, providing shelter for citizens. The two-storey library at Pergamum held 200,000 volumes and every shelf was free-standing half-a-metre from the wall, thus protecting the volumes from damp. Rows of windows topped the walls. It was here the art of writing on skins known as parchment was developed and the very word ‘parchment’ developed from the words ‘he pergamene chart’ or ‘the Pergamene sheet’. It was developed when the king of Pergamum, anxious that his library should outstrip the greatest library in the world, bribed the Alexandrian librarian to shift to Pergamum. But the librarian was imprisoned so he could not go, and the Ptolemy of Egypt banned the export of Egyptian papyri to Pergamum. The experts in Pergamum then developed a vellum from animal skins which was superior to papyri and which eventually replace papyri altogether.
The palaces were the homes of the kings and luxurious in their fittings. Nearby are four arsenals including a good supply of rounded boulders from three kilos to seventy-five kilos in weight. These were fired down upon enemies and would have had an immediate effect in scattering the enemy.
Dominating the area were a number of temples to Athena, Dionysus, Hera Basileia, Asklepios, Hermes and Heracles. Crowning the area from the viewpoint of anyone approaching fro the plain was an enormous temple to Zeus Soter. Most of this temple to Zeus was taken pillar-by-pillar and stone by stone to Germany by nineteenth-century archeologists where it has been re-erected in the Pergamum Museum in East Berlin.
While most of the statuary is still in place, one battered marble giant, which had lain for two centuries in a council junkyard in Worksop, London has been identified as once having been part of the frieze. To early Christians, this temple to ‘Zeus the Saviour’ would have been quickly identified as ‘Satan’s Throne’. The altar to Zeus Soter – the very word means Saviour – would have been seen by the Christians as being the very opposite to what they believed: Jesus Christ was the only Saviour. This temple stood on the highest point above the flat valley.
The central township consists of a number of temples, marketplaces, stoas, fountains, baths, gymnasia, shops, colonnades, and the interests of the general public.
The temple of Asklepios was dedicated to the serpent god of healing, also known as ‘Saviour God’. This led down to the Asklepieum, one of the most important therapeutic centres in the ancient world. People came here for healing from the fourth century BC. The approach was along a sacred road nearly a kilometre long, lined with columns. Statues, fountains, a library, transparent alabaster windows and marble stairs made an imposing centre. A theatre seated 3,500, with a forty-seat men’s toilet and a seventeen-seat (much plainer) women’s toilet, and beautiful colonnades that led to the hot water baths, cold-water baths, mud baths, massage rooms and ointment rooms. One feature is the long eighty-metre tunnel which led to the centre of the Asklepieum. In this Asklepieum people brought for treatment would sleep the night, and while still in the dark would walk through this long tunnel where snakes would hiss at them and cold water and objects be dropped upon them from the roof above. The psychological relief from fear at the end aided psychosomatic healing!
Pergamum was known as one of the centres for healing in the ancient world. It manufactured healing drugs and developed scientific methodology. This Asklepieum was so named because of the symbol of the snake around the pole – still used as a sign by medical doctors today. Galen, one of the greats of early medicine and the famous anatomist, practised in the Asklepieum. It was visited by Hippocrates, the father of medicine, from his birthplace on Cos, and island near Patmos. His Hippocratic Oath guides doctors all round the world even in the twentieth century. But the serpent, so central in Pergamum, would have a symbolism for the early Christian that was associated with Satan.
Confrontation between the Christian believers and the state religion and the medical practices of Pergamum was bound to occur. We do not know who founded the church in this city, but by the final third of the first century it was under the oversight of Bishop Gaius, the same man to whom John wrote the third epistle that bears his name. That little letter gives some guidance to Gaius for his leadership in the church, and warns about a rather terrible man by the name of Diothrephes who had done John a great hurt.
The successor to Gaius was Antipas who became the leader of the church and its first martyr. His name is perhaps symbolic, meaning that he stood for the faith against all or anti pas.
The Letter
In the letter to the church at Pergamum, Jesus said: ‘This is the message from the one who has the sharp two-edged sword. I know where you live, there where Satan has his throne.’ As mentioned earlier, the giant altar of Zeus Soter was probably known as the throne of Satan.
The first letter has three messages in it.
Firstly, he says, ‘You are true to me and you did not abandon your faith in me even during the time when Antipas, my faithful witness, was killed there where Satan lives.’ This was a word of approval. Here was a church that deserved to be praised because they were true to their Lord and refused to abandon their faith. Antipas was dragged before the proconsul of the area and an attempt was made to force him to say ‘Caesar is Lord’, but that to him was not possible. He would rather die than deny his Lord, by being roasted alive within a bronze statue of a bull.
The others in the church were strengthened in their resolve to be faithful due to the courage of Antipas. Did you notice that Satan dwells where they lived? Satan’s throne towered above the city and Satan’s serpent was seen in their streets. The source of evil is never far from us. If love was essential for the church at Ephesus, then truth was its partner and the church at Pergamum had stuck with the truth. They were ‘true to me and you did not abandon your faith in me’ says the Lord. The church must always stand for doctrinal truth and acknowledge Jesus Christ as the only Saviour in the face of Zeus, Asklepios and other modern ‘saviours’ of our world.
The second message, however, concerned some in the church who did not hold fast as Antipas did. For them there is the word of accusation:
But there are a few things I have against you: there are some among you who follow the teachings of Balaam, who taught Balak how to lead the people of Israel into sin by persuading them to eat food that had been offered to idols and to practise sexual immorality. In the same way you have people among you who follow the teaching of the Nicolaitans.
These Nicolaitans were some people in the local community who tried to get the church to compromise on its stand by accepting the influence of idol worship and by practising sexual immorality. Those who tempted the church were like the tempter Balaam who tried to seduce the Israelites into idolatrous and immoral conduct with some Moabite girls. Christians are always under the temptation to compromise their behaviour from the high standards of Christ. But we are called not only to be true to him, but true to the standards of his faith. Correct belief must be accompanied by correct behaviour.
The final thing in the letter is a word of admonition. The challenge was: ‘Now turn from your sins! If you don’t I will come to you soon and fight against those people with the sword that comes out of my mouth.’ They, like the other churches throughout this area, were called upon to turn, to repent and to obey in order to have spiritual life.
And how does Christ fight against those who deny the faith and betray his standards? With the word of the Lord, the word of God – the Bible. So we are expected to use the sword of the Lord in keeping to the standards of Christ. Like the short, sharp Roman two-edged sword, so the Bible, in both the Old and the New Testament, cuts at our sins, pierces our pride, severs our dependency upon this world, lays bare our inadequacies and kills all that is wrong within.
The letter finishes with the usual admonition to ‘listen to what the Spirit says to the churches!’ and then adds ‘To those who win the victory I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give each of them a white stone on which is written a new name that no one knows except the one who received it.’
The promise was for spiritual food that would sustain them. The heavenly manna, which was Christ himself come from heaven, was an invitation to be with him in heaven free from guilt. The people of Pergamum would have seen a white stone taken by a judge who would cast it as a ballot of acquittal. They would have known of a name being written on a flat white stone as a ticket of admission to a great feast. Christians still sing, ‘Write thy new name upon my heart, thy new best name of love.’ Perhaps the Lord was reminding them of their acquittal from sin and of the great bridal feast of heaven to which they had been invited. The promise was of his abiding presence and the hope of heaven.
Thyatira
The person who delivered the letters, from the words of Jesus delivered to John on Patmos, wound his way up the great trade route that connected all seven churches. Having started in Ephesus, he had travelled north to Sardis and Pergamum. Now he turned southeast and journeyed seventy kilometres to Thyatira.
Thyatira was the only one of the seven churches that was situated on flat land with absolutely no defences at all. It was a city of little strategic importance and possessed no political or cultural achievements in its history. Many times it had been overrun by invaders intent on capturing the wealthy city of Pergamum. For the previous two hundred years it had not even possessed its own coins.
But it was widely known for its commercial interests, especially its textile industry. There was a large woollen industry in the region and this was the home of a great industry in weaving and dyeing cloth. The rich, flat plains were ideal for raising both black sheep with their thick curly wool, and the fine goat-hair that still is the proud export from their area. And through their city traversed a significant trade route to Byzantium.
This was the home of Lydia whom Paul saw converted at Philippi in Macedonia. She was a seller of purple cloth highly prized by the Romans, and still used today by royalty and cardinals. Her business had stretched from Asia to Europe and evidently she was a wealthy woman. It is not surprising to read later that when Paul was in prison the church of which Lydia was a leader was very generous in sending financial support and goods to help Paul. In 1872, archeologists discovered in Philippi an inscription of gratitude to one Antiochus from Thyatira who was a dyer of purple cloth.
But the city of Thyatira had another feature. It hosted the movement of workers’ guilds, which later in modern times developed into trade unions. The records tell us of unions of weavers, dyers, clothiers, bronze workers, bakers, cobblers, tanners, slave-dealers, linen workers, garment makers and potters: in fact, more different kinds of guilds have been revealed in Thyatira than in any other ancient city. Every workers’ guild was attached to a temple and, in order to get work, it was necessary to make sacrifices to idols. It was simply a matter of being economically viable by not being so particular about their faith commitment. This was the old problem faced by the Corinthians who had to share the idols’ meat if they were going to have permission to work at their trade.
The early Christians who refused to do this were therefore refused permission by the unions to participate in any work and therefore earn their living. They were persecuted greatly because they were faithful in their belief and insisted upon holiness of living.
The Letter
The longest of the seven letters was sent to the church in the smallest town. But their faith had been severely compromised. Wherever the guilds were strong – and they were nowhere as strong as in Thyatira – immorality and idolatry were rife.
John had four things to say to this church. The letter starts with approval. Jesus reveals how much he knows about the church in the city to which he sent the letter when he says, ‘This is the message from the Son of God, whose eyes blaze like fire, whose feet shine like polished brass.’ This is the only use of this expression ‘polished brass’ in the New Testament and comes directly from the guild of brass burnishers. Those people in Thyatira were famous for polished brass throughout the ancient world.
This is the only time in the book of Revelation that Jesus claims to be the Son of God. That claim is deliberate, for in Thyatira there was a significant temple to Apollo, the Sun God.
Jesus says, ‘I know what you do. I know your love, your faithfulness, your service, and your patience. I know that you are doing more now than you did at first.’ Incredible as it seems to those who know what their church life was really like, those Christians in Thyatira had the love that Ephesus lacked, they were faithful to their doctrine which was under threat in Pergamum, their service was equal to that at Ephesus, and their patience was like that in Sardis.
But further: Ephesus was losing her first love, yet Thyatira was doing more now than she ever had done for the sake of Christ. She was practising church growth principles! He approves their loyalty and service. What a tremendous message of praise to a church whose love, faithfulness and service were even greater now than they were in the earlier days.
Secondly, there is accusation: ‘But this is what I have against you: you tolerate that women Jezebel, who calls herself a messenger of God. By her teaching she misleads my servants into practising sexual immorality and eating food that has been offered to idols.’ Jezebel again! We first met her in the Old Testament where she tried to seduce the priests of God. Now in Thyatira there was another one of her kind. Indeed, every generation has its quota of seductive women who try to adulterate the faith by their immoral practices. In every great city of the world today there are still those who deny their faith by not disciplining their sex lives.
The name is symbolic of some person who acted like the original Jezebel. She married Ahab and brought the worship of Baal alongside Jehovah. She did not try to remove the worship of the one true God, but simply tried to dilute it by adding her own god. She seduced believers into lowering their standards, in compromising their faith on the matters of idolatry and immorality, in order that they might keep their jobs. The church was tolerating evil in their midst. Jesus says he had ‘given her time to repent of her sins, but she does not want to turn from her immorality.’ What an accusation!
Thirdly, there is a word of warning, of admonition: ‘And so I will throw her onto a bed where she and those who committed adultery with her will suffer terribly. I will do this now unless they repent of the wicked things they did with her. I will also kill her followers.’ That severe warning to repent lest they be terribly punished must have caused the Christians in the centre to sit up and take notice! That letter would have had a powerful effect as it admonished their sinfulness.
Finally, the letter closes with a promise that repentance would bring them a new authority:
But the rest of you in Thyatira have not followed this evil teaching, you have not learnt what the others call ‘ the deep secrets of Satan’. Until I come, you must continue to the end to do what I want. To those who win the victory… I will give them the same authority that I received from my Father: I will give them authority over the nations… I will also give them the morning star.
Here was a promise to them: that if they remained true and faithful, they would have God’s authority upon them and the presence of the one who was called ‘the bright and morning star’, Jesus himself. The symbolism of the morning star lies in its apparent immortality. Authority and immortality – what great gifts!
God’s call to repentance is not only for sinful people who are disobedient to his commands, but to church members who have lowered their standards. We must all hear ‘ what the Spirit says to the churches’. In a world where compromise is common, the letters to the churches at Pergamum and Thyatira have a great relevance to us today. Libertinism is always a threat to the purity of the gospel and to the holiness of a Christian life. Christians are called to live a distinctive lifestyle. ‘The unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God’, said Paul bluntly.
In every major city of the world, Christians are being called to moral and spiritual compromise by those people who would easily deny faith. They may dress up their proposals to sound reasonable and modern, but the new moralities are just the old immoralities in a new dress. But the church is not called to be well-adjusted to a society that is going to hell. The church is not called to conform to the standards of this world. Christians today are called to march to the beat of a different drum. We are called not to be trendy, but to be transformed into the image of Christ.
For personal reading
Theme: The Lord of the Churches II
Monday_The message to the church at Pergamum
Revelation 2:12-17
Tuesday_The teaching of Balaam
Numbers 24:14; 32:15-16
Wednesday_The lawless one
2 Thessalonians 2:1-12
Thursday_The church at Thyatira
Revelation 2:18-29
Friday_The prophetess Jezebel
1 Kings 16:29-34
Saturday_Jezebel’s punishment
1 Kings 21:17-26
Sunday_God the potter
Jeremiah 18:1-12
For group study
Topic: Jesus speaks to Pergamum and Thyatira
1_The church at Pergamum was in the midst of idolatry and immorality. What was the teaching of Balaam that John’s letter refers to? (See Tuesday’s personal reading.)
2_How can this be a problem for the church today?
3_The church at Thyatira was in the midst of material wealth. What warnings were given to the church there?
4_The Western church today is a part of a materialistic culture. How can the teaching in the letter of Thyatira help us?
5_How is the picture of God in Jeremiah 18:1-12 relevant to us?
1 Revelation 2:12-13
2 Revelation 2:13
3 Revelation 2:14-15
4 Numbers 22-24
5 Revelation 2:16
6 Revelation 2:17
7 Revelation 2:18
8 Revelation 2:19
9 Revelation 2:20
10 Revelation 2:21
11 Revelation 2:22-23
12 Revelation 2:24-28