Revelation 2:12-17 / The Church of Pergamum Part One
In Revelation 2:12-17, John takes his Jesus Edict to Pergamum, the two-tiered neokoros-honored city once designated the capital of Asia Minor. John introduces Jesus to the Pergamene Christians as the one who has the sharp-two edged sword, a counter-statement to the city’s title as Potesti Gladii ( “right of the sword”), an imperial designation granting the local governor the right to rule as the emperor himself, often through the use of violence. Clever John created an image that subverts the Potesti Gladii. He points out that while the beast may rule with a sword in hand, Jesus rules with the sword of his mouth and to be lamb-allegiant, cross-shaped dissidents means not taking up the dull sword of Rome, but to disarm enemies with co-suffering love.
In verse 13, John reminds them that Jesus “knows where they live, the place where Satan’s throne is.” John is familiar with Pergamum’s Altar to Zeus, a throne-shaped altar wrapped with a frieze depicting mythological warfare, beasts, and serpents. John connects the altar and the city’s worship of the serpent god Asclepius to the Old Testament imagery of Satan as a serpent. He reminds them that while “Satan’s Throne” may be casting a shadow upon them down in the valley where they live, but it is a footstool for God, a throne made of lego blocks when compared to the throne of King Jesus. He encourages them that he is with them in that city, grieving the loss of their friend Antipas alongside them. Yet, John wants them to imitate their fallen brother, who didn’t forsake the word of the Lamb despite the presence of the Beast’s sword.
For you and I—-we modern folks—, what does any of this look like in practice? These are the questions that Revelation forces us to ask. The book forces us to step back from the categories we’ve adopted (Liberal, Conservative, Middle Class, Upper Class, Lower Class, American) and from a distance—and in conversation with others on the journey—-question where we are being mis-shaped and mis-guided. Where are we even marginally participating in the propaganda machine of Babylon? Where have we silenced the prophetic witness of the Spirit in us? To that I point us to the words of David Desilva, when we participate in the Babylonian system, even marginally, “we withhold from society the gift of preserving the voice that could call into question the “world-taken-for-granted”.
Next month, we will revisit Pergamum and unpack the rest of John’s message to the Pergemane Christians. Join us!
Discussion Questions:
What does it mean to call into question the 'world-taken-for-granted'?
How do we critique our society or community without just becoming a judge or constant critic?
Have you spotted the attributes of Babylon in circles that you frequent? If so, are you afraid to address it? Why?
What are some ways that your time, money, and energy binding you to Babylon?
How does the power of Christ's Word contrast with the power of Caesar's sword? How have you seen the power of truth cause change or dismantle worldly power?