The Seven Churches: The Church in Pergamum

To the angel of the church in Pergamum write:
These are the words of him who has the sharp, double-edged sword.  I know where you live - where Satan has his throne.  Yet you remain true to my name.  You did not renounce your faith in me, even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness, who was put to death in your city - where Satan lives.  Nevertheless, I have a few things against you: You have people there who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin by eating food sacrificed to idols and by committing sexual immorality.  Likewise you also have those who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans.  Repent therefore!  Otherwise, I will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.  He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.  To him who overcomes, I will give some of the hidden manna.  I will also give him a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to him who receives it.  -Jesus in Revelation 2:12-17

You probably noticed that there's a theme in this letter, which is "where Satan lives."  Jesus makes it clear that Satan lives in their city (I know, sounds really bad!).  The church in Pergamum represents the mixed church, from about AD313 to around AD750.  This is when the church and the Roman Empire were wedded together in some sense, which is why Pergamum is "where Satan has his throne."  We know based on other parts of Revelation that Rome is a tool for Satan.  We know that the woman, who is a great prostitute, sits on seven hills (Revelation 17:9).  And Rome has always been known as the "city on seven hills" because it is surrounded by seven hills.  We also know that Rome is the throne of Satan, because Revelation 13:2 says that Satan gave the first beast his throne, and Revelation 17:9 says the seven heads of the first beast are the seven hills on which the prostitute (Rome) sits.  It makes perfect sense, because the church during this period existed in the Roman Empire, both east and west at first and then later only east.  And Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire during this time.

Because the church and the Empire were wedded together, a number of false teachings and practices began to creep into Christianity.  The council of Ephesus, where Mary worship essentially began, was during this period.  A number of the historic pagan temples and statues were not destroyed, but were simply converted to use in Christianity.  In this way, idolatry entered the church.  Honoring, and even praying to, certain saints became a practice.  Some Christian clergy were more concerned with pleasing the emperor and Roman authorities than pleasing God, and they taught things that corrupted Christian truth.  Pagan rituals, where food sacrificed to idols was eaten and sexual immorality taken place, did not cease, but took on a Christian disguise.  This is why its called the mixed church - because paganism and Christianity were mixed together.  It did much more harm to the Christian church than the many persecutions before it did.

But not everything was bad in Pergamum.  Jesus commends them for their faithfulness, even in persecution.  The persecution He speaks of is the lingering persecution following the Smyrna church age.  Even after the Edict of Milan in AD313, Christians were still poor and facing persecutions from people who hated them.  And certainly not all Christians during that time took part in the corrupt practices.  There had to have been many who remained faithful to Christ's teachings.  The rebuke is mainly aimed at the fact that they tolerated the false teachings and practices that crept in during that period.

Notice that it was the Roman Empire that persecuted Christians in the first few centuries, and notice that Jesus says that Antipas (a figure representing the persecuted Christians in the church in Pergamum) was put to death in their city - where Satan lives - which was the Roman Empire.