Jesus’ Letter to the Church of Pergamum
by Rick Renner

The following article is excerpted from Rick Renner’s eBook entitled Jesus’ Message to the Church of Pergamum, which is part of the Light in Darkness eBook series and includes many unique interactive features, including a multitude of photo galleries, videos, and interactive illustrations.

Visit pergamumebook.com to learn more or to purchase this new, groundbreaking eBook that prophetically declares the critical significance of Christ’s message to the Church in these last days before He returns.

I Know

Jesus continued His message to the church of Pergamum by saying, “I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, even where Satan’s seat is: and thou holdest fast my name, and hast not denied my faith, even in those days wherein Antipas was my faithful martyr, who was slain among you, where Satan dwelleth” (Revelation 2:13).

The phrase “I know” is translated from the Greek word oida, which means to see. Specifically, it describes seeing with one’s own eyes or firsthand knowledge. Therefore, when Christ said, “I know,” He was testifying to what He had personally witnessed about the church in Pergamum.

Although the believers in Pergamum had not personally seen Christ walk amongst them and examine their actions, He had done just that. Furthermore, He had lingered long enough to see everything that was taking place inside their church. This should be taken as both a warning and an encouragement to the Church in every age. As the Head of the Church, Jesus oversees everything that happens in the Body of Christ. He knows every victory won, every misstep taken, every challenge faced, every demonic attack withstood, and every error that is tolerated. That is why He was so intimately aware of Antipas’ suffering and so concerned about the false doctrines of the Nicolaitans and of Balaam that had begun to worm their way into the hearts and minds of certain believers in Pergamum. He had seen it with His own eyes.

In Revelation 2:1, John specifically wrote that Jesus “…walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks….” As we saw earlier, the verb tense used here means Christ continually walked in the midst of the seven churches. As He strolled through each church, He inspected, observed, contemplated, probed, and uncovered the true condition of each congregation. The word oida used in Revelation 2:12 describes this type of personal knowledge, and it unequivocally affirms that the knowledge Christ possessed was obtained through His own personal observation. He had been inside the Pergamene church and had viewed every aspect of its condition with His own eyes.

As one reads Jesus’ message to the church of Pergamum, it becomes readily apparent that He knew everything about this local congregation. For example, Jesus knew about:

• The demonic environment in which they lived.
• The dreaded “right of the sword” possessed by the proconsul.
• The martyrdom of Antipas.
• The life-and-death challenges that were assailing believers from every side.
• The errant spiritual leaders who were teaching false doctrine and worldly compromise.
• The need for some to repent quickly or to suffer the consequences of noncompliance.

Hebrews 13:8 proclaims that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. This means that His work in this present age mirrors that which He has done in the past. Therefore, if Christ walked in the midst of the Church nearly 2,000 years ago, He is still walking in the midst of the Church today. We may not see Him with our natural eyes, but He is walking among us nonetheless, closely examining our actions and attitudes. Nothing escapes His attention. He knows exactly what is happening in every congregation. As Hebrews 4:13 declares, “…All things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.”

What Did Christ Know About the Church of Pergamum?

In Revelation 2:12, Jesus went on to tell the church of Pergamum, “I know thy works.…”

The word “works” is erga, which denotes deeds, actions, or activities. When one considers the meaning of the word oida (personal knowledge), this phrase in verse 12 could be taken to mean, “From my personal observation of you, I know about all of your activities. I have seen it all. I know all there is to know. In fact, there is nothing about you or your works that I do not know.”

In the modern New Testament, this Greek word appears in each of Jesus’ messages to the pastors and congregations of the seven churches in Asia (see Revelation 2:2,9,12,19; 3:1,15). However, the earliest manuscripts of the New Testament do not include the words “thy works” in Christ’s messages to Smyrna or Pergamum. Although this does not change the truth that Christ knew everything about these two churches, it is interesting to consider why this phrase would be absent in the older manuscripts but appear in later manuscripts.

Some scholars suggest that the absence of these words in the oldest texts and their appearance in later texts could be explained by copyists who wanted to make the messages to Smyrna and Pergamum consistent with Jesus’ other messages to the churches of Ephesus, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea. This hypothesis is quite probable — although by the same token, it is at least possible that the phrase “thy works” was included in even earlier copies of the book of Revelation but then lost in the annals of time. However, if the words “thy works” did not appear in Christ’s message to the churches of Smyrna and Pergamum, would this omission hold any special significance? Let’s take a moment to discuss this question.

Regarding Christ’s words to the church of Smyrna, the absence of the phrase “thy works” would mean that He went straight to the heart of the issue. Instead of saying, “I know thy works and thy tribulation, and poverty…,” Jesus would have simply said, “I know thy tribulation, and poverty….” In other words, it would mean that Jesus was so aware of the hardships this congregation was facing that He bypassed a review of their works in order to directly address their pain. Given the extreme poverty and persecution the believers in Smyrna were experiencing on account of their faith, it would be understandable for Christ to immediately acknowledge their tribulation and hardship. By directly addressing the Smyrnean believers’ unique situation, Jesus demonstrated that He was sensitive to the urgent needs pressing against them.

A similar implication exists concerning Jesus’ message to the church of Pergamum. If the words “thy works” were not included in His message to this congregation, it would simply read, “I know where thou dwellest, even where Satan’s seat is….” This phrasing would indicate that first and foremost, Jesus felt the need to acknowledge the deadly environment in which they were living. Jesus knew that this congregation desperately needed to hear that He was intimately aware of their predicament and that this recognition and encouragement took precedence over a review of their works. It is true that Jesus eventually did review the works of the Pergamene believers in His message to them. However, this review would have come only after He had acknowledged their pain.

Regardless of whether or not the phrase “thy works” appeared in Christ’s original messages to the churches of Smyrna and Pergamum, it is clear that He knew everything there was to know about all seven churches. For example, He knew that:

• The church of Ephesus was a hardworking church that had lost its first love (see Revelation 2:4).
• The church of Smyrna faced severe poverty and tribulation, making it difficult for them to survive in their community (see Revelation 2:9).
• The church of Pergamum lived under the political shadow of the Roman proconsul and experienced political pressures that resulted in deadly persecution (see Revelation 2:13).
• The church of Thyatira had done many good works but were being influenced by damnable doctrines that jeopardized the longevity of their existence as a ministry (see Revelation 2:19,20).
• The church of Sardis was smug about its reputation and superior role but was actually in danger of dying spiritually (see Revelation 3:2).
• The church of Philadelphia had been given open doors through which to minister (see Revelation 3:8).
• The church of Laodicea was spiritually tepid and lukewarm in its attitude toward the things of God (see Revelation 3:16).

As Christ addressed the church of Pergamum, He made it known that He was aware of every detail transpiring among them. He knew they were in a political, social, and cultural environment that was incredibly antagonistic to their faith. In fact, Jesus was so aware of this hostility that He even referred to Pergamum as a city “where Satan dwells.”

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Jesus’ Message to the Church of Pergamum eBook.