Thyatira
BackgroundThyatira was the smallest and least influential of the 7 churches. Ancient Thyatira is under modern-day Ahkisar, with just one city block excavated. That’s all that apparently will ever be excavated.
Apollo, a son of Zeus (king of the gods) was the chief deity of the city. He was the god of the sun.
The city was founded along the road in a vulnerable position, not on high ground, but on main communications and trade lines. It developed into a thriving and prosperous manufacturing and marketing center.
This is a manufacturing city; a blue-collar city; a trade city. All kinds of goods were produced here. There were different guilds, which were like unions, organized around different trades: bronze, tanner/leather, wool, linen, dyers, potters, bakers. Its bronze workers made idols. The city was known for its purple dye.
Acts 16:14 Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth, was from Thyatira.
More guilds were found here than in any other contemporary Roman city in Asia. Every guild owned property in its own name, made contracts and wielded wide influence in the city's political, economic, social and religious life. Guild membership was compulsory for anyone pursuing a trade. Each provided specific benefits and took actions to protect its interests. Each guild had a patron deity, and all proceedings and feasts commenced with paying homage to that god or goddess. The guilds held banquets, probably in temples, which included sexual orgies in a room with many couches where all would participate together, and wild feasts where food that had been offered to idols was served. If you want to work, you're part of the guild. If you’re part of the guild, you need to attend, or you lose your membership. There was a lot of pressure on these Christians to compromise.
Letter
Revelation 2:18-29 This is the longest of the letters, to the smallest of the churches.
V18 Son of God. The image matches Rev 1:15, and smacks a little of Daniel 7. But the greatest significance for this church may be its contrast to Apollo, the son of the king of the gods, and the god of the sun.
V19 I know your deeds. You are doing better. There is quite an emphasis here and in subsequent verses on deeds and what you do. The point is your deeds, not just your “beliefs” or theology.
V20-23 You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophet. This speaks directly to the guild feasts:
- She misleads my people into sexual immorality and eating food sacrificed to idols.
- I will cast her on a bed of suffering and make those who commit adultery with her suffer intensely.
- I Corinthians 8:4 An idol is nothing; so what's the problem about eating?
- I Corinthians 10:27 Eat whatever is put in front of you without asking; what's the problem?
- I Corinthians 5:11 Don't eat with a believer who is living like an unbeliever. Having a meal together indicates comradery. It is fellowship. You're part of it. It's one thing to eat something sold in the marketplace for your own use, but it's another thing altogether to participate with other people in the worship of idols by eating at their feasts which occur for that purpose.
- I Corinthians 10:21 You can't participate in both the Lord's table and the table of demons. Worship of idols is actually demonic.
- 1 Kings 16:29-33 Ahab is Israel’s worst king. And not only that, he married Jezebel, daughter of the Sidonian king, and she imported Baal worship into Israel. This is only 85 years after Solomon’s temple is constructed, in the glory days of Israel’s worship of God.
- I Kings 21:20-26 This exchange between Ahab and Elijah was in response to Jezebel having Naboth killed so Ahab could have his vineyard. Jezebel was ruthless. She synchretized Baal worship into Israel’s worship of God. She influenced Ahab to further evil. There was never anyone like Ahab, who sold himself to do evil in the eyes of the Lord, urged on by Jezebel his wife. He behaved in the vilest manner by going after idols, like the Amorites the Lord drove out before Israel.
- 2Kings 9:30-37 The entire chapter deals with the death of Ahab’s family, and gives a lot of air time to Jezebel’s demise. You don’t really have any confusion about what God thought of Jezebel.
This brings up the whole “faith vs works” tension. Can you truly have faith without deeds? Greek pistis is “faith”, and ergon is "deeds". Two separate words. In Hebrew, the word translated “faith” is emunah which carries with it both the concepts of belief and action. You can’t have one without the other in the Hebrew mind. It is more along the lines of “faithfulness”, just like the Sh’ma is about the concepts of hearing and doing tied together.
- Ephesians 2:8-10 You have been saved through faith, to
produce good works. We often quote verses 8 and 9 to emphasize the faith and grace aspects, but verse 10 is equally important. Your faith has to result in works. If you believe, you "do"; equivalently, if you do not "do", you do
not believe.
- James 2:17-19 You show your faith by what you do. Jesus said you would know them by their fruit. Your deeds show what you really are. The whole chapter is oriented along these lines. It gives old testament examples of Abraham and Rahab’s faith being lived out.
- Matthew 7:20 Jesus said you would know them by their fruit. Your deeds show what you really are.
- Matthew 7:21 Not everyone who says to me “Lord, Lord” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
- Matthew 7:22-23 And not everyone who “does” will enter the kingdom of heaven. “Depart from me; I never knew you. And all the good things you did are no better than doing evil." It requires a relationship with Jesus, that then needs to be lived out.
- Acts 10:34-35 God accepts those who fear him and do what is right.
But I do keep hearing the command to “hold on to what you have”. That’s either been implied or explicitly stated in all of the messages to the churches we’ve looked at. “No compromise”. I think that’s the message for us in our world today, as the gospel of Jesus Christ is increasingly opposed and disregarded. How are we going to stand?
Pergamum
HistoryPergamos (in Greek) means "elevation, height or citadel". The city was built 1300 feet above the valley floor. It is a fortress city, defending the Caicus river valley and trade. It had to channel its water via aquaduct for 26 miles. It had running water and sewage drains to each home.
Many of the city's buildings were built on terraces because the hills are so steep.
Pergamum was the capital of the Roman province of Asia. Before the Romans, it was the capital of the Pergamine empire. Ephesus, Smyrna, and Pergamum were always vying to be the chief city. During the 1st century AD, the chief city status was shifting from Pergamum to Ephesus, which excelled over time because of its harbor.
Attilus III ruling in the Pergamine empire, died without an heir, and willed his empire to Rome in 133BC. In 89 BC, Pergamum became the 2nd city in Asia to build a temple to Roma (a goddess representing the personification of Rome) (Smyrna does it first). In 29 BC, Pergamum was the first city to build a temple to the emperor (Caesar Augustus).
This is Augustus’ neokorus. Emperor worship is introduced by Pergamum. It was another 50 years before another emperor temple is built anywhere. People came here for pilgrimages.
150,000 people lived here; the biggest city we’ve seen to this point. Pliny the Elder said, “Pergamum is the most famous place in Asia”. It was the seat of the governor of all Asia. He ruled here on behalf of Rome.
Ius Gladii = the right of the sword. The governor alone had the right for capital punishment. It was done by gladiator fights. This was the superbowl of gladiator contests, held here twice a year. The governor was still ruling from here at the time of the letter. He had the power of life or death. Think of Pilate, the governor of Judea, speaking to Jesus in John 19:10-11, where he says, “Don’t you realize that I have power either to free you or to crucify you?” That was Ius Gladii at work.
This was one of the most wicked cities of the ancient world, for a variety of reasons.
Letter
Jesus letter to Pergamum in Revelation 2:12-17 would have been understood by the people of that time in the light of the present and historical culture.
V12-13
- The sharp double-edged sword reminds us who really has Ius Gladii. Think of Jesus’ answer to Pilate, “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above”.
- You are faithful in spite of what happened to Antipas. Tradition
says he was the Bishop of Pergamum, appointed by the apostle John. He
was martyred in 92 AD under Domitian. He was roasted alive in the belly
of a bull-shaped brazen altar that was used for casting out demons
worshiped by the local population. His refusal to acknowledge Domitian
as lord and god was likely the reason for his execution.
- You are faithful in spite of the fact that you live where Satan has his throne. How difficult must that be? And what does it mean? Is it literal or figurative? Satan was cast to earth. He is not omnipresent. He has to live somewhere. It is thought that Satan originally lived in Babylon (in association with Nimrod and mystery cults in Genesis), but moved his headquarters to Pergamum when the mystery cult priests had to flee as Babylon fell to the Persians. You can find a lot of information on the web to fill in the details if you want.
- Balaam taught Balak to entice Israel to sin by eating food sacrificed to idols and committing sexual immorality.
- Numbers 22-24 Balak, the king of Moab, fears Israel. He summons Balaam from his native land near the Euphrates river (which suggests that Babylon is at least a possibility) to curse Israel. God won’t let him. He only speaks a blessing. Balak finally gives up, and Balaam goes home. (It is curious that Balaam knew God, so this again suggests some connection to Satan and his possible throne in Babylon).
- Numbers 25:1-3 The very next thing that happens is Israel committing sexual immorality with the Moabite women. How did this happen?
- Numbers 31:15-16 Balaam recommended this be done. Balaam in Hebrew means “devourer of the people”. What devours God’s people? Compromise!
- How can you think of holding to sexual immorality and idol worship and of being a Christian at the same time?
- Nicolaitans are compromisers.
- Named from the goddess Nike (nie-key) (yes, think of the shoes), which personified victory. Loas means “people”, so their name means "conqueror/victor of the people".
- Acts 6:5 Church tradition says the cult was started by Nicholas of Antioch, one of the 7 deacons chosen by the early church.
- It is interesting to note that Nicolas was a proselyte of Antioch, a convert from Judaism. A proselyte is one who converts from one religion to another. In Nicolas’ case he had converted from paganism to Judaism and then from Judaism to Christianity.
- "According to the writings of the Early Church leaders, Nicolas taught a doctrine of compromise, implying that total separation between Christianity and the practice of occult paganism was not essential. From Early Church records, it seems apparent that this Nicolas of Antioch was so immersed in occultism, Judaism, and Christianity that he had a stomach for all of it. He had no problem intermingling these belief systems and saw no reason why believers couldn't continue to fellowship with those still immersed in the black magic of the Roman Empire and its countless mystery cults.”
- So, basically, according to the Nicolaitans, the God of Abraham and the Savior of the world would have no problem with people worshiping Him and Satan at the same time. No wonder Jesus hated their teachings.
V17 I'm not sure what is meant by the hidden manna. Manna was God’s provision for Israel. Perhaps Jesus is saying, "You might think it impossible to live here, but I will give you what you need. Persevere, even to death if necessary. It will be worth it."
Satan’s Throne
For the curious, there’s always the question of what Satan’s throne actually is. You could spend a lot of time on this, and we did while we were there, because there’s a lot to see in Pergamum. There are several possible candidates, each with its own twisted imitation of God’s truth; after all, Satan is the master counterfeiter.
1. Zeus Altar. The only one in the ancient world. 117 feet long, 110 feet wide, 40 feet tall, 66 steps leading up. It was built in 170 BC by Eumenes II. We don’t know if it was for sacrifices or incense. It towered over everything else here. It had a commanding view. A huge surface area. A German excavation took it apart, and moved it all to Berlin, and reconstructed it in the Pergamum museum there.
- Revelation 19:16 Zeus is recognized in the ancient world as king of kinds and lord of lords.
- Isaiah 14:12-14 Satan’s aspiration: “I will be like the Most High”. It's not a stretch to see him counterfeiting the Most High in the person of Zeus.
2. Athena Temple. It was built in the 3rd century BC. Eumenes II built the temple complex to Athena. She was the goddess of wisdom. The Pergamine library was found in her temple precincts, containing 200,000 scrolls. The library in Alexandria (Egypt) was damaged during the fighting with Julius Caesar. Cleopatra got Mark Anthony to capture the Pergamine library and move it to Egypt. This is an interesting aside, but it illustrates the importance of the library as a source of knowledge and wisdom.
Parchment was made on a large scale here first, using leather of animals. It was thicker than papyrus, so it couldn’t roll very well, and lead to the development of individual pages and books.
Athena would say of herself “Wisdom guides/provides the way which gives life”. Consider Jesus' statement in John 14:6, "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life". This statement is recorded only in the gospel of John; John wrote his gospel to an Asian audience. It seems like John included the statement to oppose what Athena would say of herself. Again, it's not a stretch to see Satan using Athena to counterfeit Jesus as the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
3. Emperor worship (Imperial Cult). Pergamum was the neokorus for Caesar Augustus for 50 years, though we have nothing of that temple remaining. But there are temples to later emperors Trajan and Hadrian, both of whom also had Pergamum as their neokorus. It is interesting that their temple is far higher on the hill than Zeus’ Altar, which would have to indicate Zeus’ approval of Emperor Worship. The emperor is the bringer of prosperity and life and peace. The “Imperial Cult” is a title given to emperor worship, and it was happening big-time in Pergamum at the time the letter was written. So here we’ve got the worship of deified emperors, the Roman gospel (euangellion), Augustus the chosen son of god to bring peace (Pax Romana) to the world -- a whole host of counterfeits to the gospel of God.
4. Dionysius. The god of wine, the vine, party, theatre, and resurrection (recall the Dionysius Spring Festival). All of the gospels have ample evidence of Jesus' resurrection, but John is the only one which records Jesus saying that he was the resurrection and the life (John 11:25). Again, John may have been targeting this directly against Dionysius, whom Satan could use as a counterfeit of Jesus' resurrection.
We talked a couple sessions ago about the symposium, the drunken orgy parties held by patrons for clients, in the andron (men’s room or men’s club), so we’re not going to revisit that today, but it certainly took place here in Pergamum. One of the points from that discussion was that the various passages in the New Testament that talk about the immorality of the Gentiles are not talking about some theoretical sort of thing – they are addressing the kind of lifestyle that was prevalent among the Gentiles, exemplified by the symposium. And in Paul’s letters to the Ephesians and Colossians, where he is addressing this, he makes a big point of putting off that former behavior, and putting on new behavior.
- Ephesians 4:17-19 Symposium behavior to get rid of
- Ephesians 4:20-24 Put off the old, put on the new
- Colossians 3:5-9 Put off the old behavior and old self
- Colossians 3:10 Put on the new self
- Colossians 3:12 “Clothe yourself.”
Take this a little further. God took Israel out of Egypt where they were slaves and he changed their identity. He made them priests representing him to the world; the priest is the greatest representation of what God is like -- the hands and feet of the Divine. This same purpose and privilege now belongs to Christians. Wear the blue well. Be the best representation you can. Your fundamental identity is now as a priest. Wear the clothes well. Stand between God and the world. You've got no business trying to look like the world.
5. Temple of Demeter. You had to be covered with the blood of piglets to enter her temple. Her cult worship was for all gods known and unknown. The only altar to an unknown god ever found was found here. Her Latin name is Ceres, from which the word cereal comes. She is the goddess of grain. She provides food from the earth. The bread that sustains life. Jesus' words, "I am the bread of life" (John 6:35) come to mind, again recorded only in the gospel of John, written to Asia Minor, perhaps to oppose Satan counterfeiting God as the source of life in the person of Demeter. And having to be covered with the blood of an unclean animal to enter her temple certainly stands out as a grotesque parallel to Jesus' sacrifice and the entire sacrificial system of the Old Testament.
6. Asclepius - the god of healing. He was the son of Apollo, who was the god of the sun. John declares Jesus to be "The Light", (John 1:9) and records Jesus saying of himself that he was the light of the world (John 8:12). Again, these statements are only recorded in the gospel of John and may be directed against Apollo/Asclepius. Obviously Jesus' miraculous healings recorded in all of the gospels contrast him with Asclepius.
The Asclepion was the “destination medical center” of the day. It started in the 4th century BC. People came from all over the world. The second-most important Asclepion in the world was here, second only to the one in Greece. This was an international hub for the worship of Asclepius, the great god of healing. All parts of the Greco-Roman world are here in microcosm:
∙ Library
∙ Stoa - covered colinaded walkway
∙ Theatre for 3500, all comedy, no tragedy
∙ Gymnasium
∙ Bathhouse
You come here, and a priest escorts you to your room, where you expect to meet Asclepius. They give you a supplement to relax you, make you groggy. “Asclepius” then speaks to you through a tunnel into the room area. He either heals you or prescribes a treatment. Priests/doctors would interpret his message. When you awake, you either are healed or know what to do to be healed.
They would prescribe a slower lifestyle, teach you to exercise, teach you nutrition, let you use the mudbaths, the hot pool, the cool pool, and give you education on how to take care of your body. You get better, so obviously Asclepius healed you, even though maybe all that was done for you was to put you in a position where the body could heal itself. But everything is done in the name of Asclepius.
This was affordable for everyone. It worked. The body was created to heal itself if given some rest. But it was more than that, as miracles are also recorded here, and it can't be brushed off as just a hoax.
However, they didn’t let old or terminally ill people in – people who probably would die there. But still some patients would die, and they had the same problem that we Christians have in accounting for it: “For his own reasons, Asclepius didn’t intervene”.
What is Satan’s throne? There is a lot of information out there that says it is Zeus' Altar, but no one really knows. Our conclusion was that everything about this city says that everything is controlled by the gods. You put it all together and it’s a perfect storm. Satan’s throne might very well be all of the above –Satan's counterfeits for God's attributes.
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