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To the Churches
This short section at the beginning of Revelation is really, really good. John writes to the churches that will receive this letter, commending or rebuking them for various things. This section is so good, in my opinion, because these are very similar struggles that many churches have today.
I want today to deal with the final two letters in chapter 2. John writes about issues in a very symbolic way - some would say because of persecution, causing him to write in a kind of "code" - making some of these matters difficult to understand. I hope some of this background helps you to understand a bit more about what John is writing here and the context behind it:
Pergamum:
"This church faced external as well as internal opposition. Although its general sense is clear enough, the precise referent of “Satan’s throne” (2:13) is disputed. The healing cult of Asclepius was famous at Pergamum; Christians from this city may recognize in Revelation’s serpent (12:9) the chief symbol of their city’s deity. More often scholars think of the famous huge throne-like altar of “Zeus the Savior,” whose sculptures included serpents; it was “a monumental colonnaded court in the form of a horseshoe, 120 by 112 feet,” whose podium “was nearly 18 feet high.”
In addition to opposition from the outside, Pergamum is also experiencing internal problems. Like “Jezebel” in Thyatira (2:20), “Balaam” (2:14) is undoubtedly not the prophet’s own preferred name, but a code name signifying that this prophet is a false one, leading astray the people of God. In the Bible and more clearly in Jewish tradition, Balaam acted out of greed for money (Num. 22:19; Deut. 23:4; Neh. 13:2; 2 Peter 2:15; Jude 11). He led Israel into sin in order to take them out of God’s favor, recognizing that this was the only way to destroy them (Num. 31:16). Others also acknowledged that Israel could only be crushed if first lured into disobedience to God (Judith 5:20–21; 11:10). The particular sins of Israel in connection with Balaam were sexual immorality and food offered to idols (Num. 25:1–2; cf. 31:8, 16), sins that remained temptations in later pagan society and brought judgment on Christians (1 Cor. 10:7–8; Did. 6.3)." [1]
Thyatira:
"Jesus knows that the Christians in Thyatira, in contrast to those in Ephesus, are doing his works more than they have before (2:5, 19), but one flaw in the congregation proves serious enough to offset this praise: Unlike Ephesus, they are tolerating a false teacher of compromise (2:2, 20). Thyatira was known for its merchants, crafts, and their guilds (cf. also Acts 16:14). Those who participated in this aspect of public economic life would risk a substantial measure of their livelihood by refusing to join trade guilds. The guild meetings, however, included a common meal dedicated to the guild’s patron deity—a meal thereby off-limits to more traditional Christians (Acts 15:20; 1 Cor. 10:19–22). Starting in this general period, aspects of the imperial cult also began to affect nearly every trade guild.
A large number of commentators envision this situation as a primary contributor to “Jezebel’s” appeal. Not surprisingly, a prophet or prophetess who tells people what they want to hear can become readily popular (cf. 2 Tim. 4:3–4). Yet as some in Ephesus falsely claimed to be apostles (Rev. 2:2), some in Smyrna and Philadelphia falsely claimed to be Jews (2:9; 3:9), and the Laodicean Christians claimed to be rich (3:17), this Jezebel falsely claims to be a prophetess (2:20) and to offer “deep secrets” (2:24). Like Satan (12:9; 20:2, 8, 10) and the world system (13:14; 18:23; 19:20), she is a deceiver who misleads God’s servants.
Like “Balaam,” this false prophetess receives a nickname undoubtedly not of her own choosing. Jesus’ title for her, “Jezebel,” immediately calls to mind multiple associations. The biblical Jezebel was not a “prophetess,” but sponsored 850 false prophets (1 Kings 18:19; Josephus, Ant. 8.318); she also sought to take the lives of God’s true prophets (1 Kings 18:13; 19:2; Josephus, Ant. 8.334, 347). She is never accused of literal harlotry, but she sponsored spiritual harlotry by leading Israel away from its God (2 Kings 9:22, where her religious activity is also compared with witchcraft; cf. Rev. 9:21; 18:23). Babylon the prostitute later in this book is probably modeled partly on “Jezebel,” Thyatira’s local embodiment of the larger system of “Babylon,” because she advocated participation in local civic and commercial life even where they demanded compromise with paganism." [2]
To the Churches
This short section at the beginning of Revelation is really, really good. John writes to the churches that will receive this letter, commending or rebuking them for various things. This section is so good, in my opinion, because these are very similar struggles that many churches have today.
I want today to deal with the final two letters in chapter 2. John writes about issues in a very symbolic way - some would say because of persecution, causing him to write in a kind of "code" - making some of these matters difficult to understand. I hope some of this background helps you to understand a bit more about what John is writing here and the context behind it:
Pergamum:
"This church faced external as well as internal opposition. Although its general sense is clear enough, the precise referent of “Satan’s throne” (2:13) is disputed. The healing cult of Asclepius was famous at Pergamum; Christians from this city may recognize in Revelation’s serpent (12:9) the chief symbol of their city’s deity. More often scholars think of the famous huge throne-like altar of “Zeus the Savior,” whose sculptures included serpents; it was “a monumental colonnaded court in the form of a horseshoe, 120 by 112 feet,” whose podium “was nearly 18 feet high.”
In addition to opposition from the outside, Pergamum is also experiencing internal problems. Like “Jezebel” in Thyatira (2:20), “Balaam” (2:14) is undoubtedly not the prophet’s own preferred name, but a code name signifying that this prophet is a false one, leading astray the people of God. In the Bible and more clearly in Jewish tradition, Balaam acted out of greed for money (Num. 22:19; Deut. 23:4; Neh. 13:2; 2 Peter 2:15; Jude 11). He led Israel into sin in order to take them out of God’s favor, recognizing that this was the only way to destroy them (Num. 31:16). Others also acknowledged that Israel could only be crushed if first lured into disobedience to God (Judith 5:20–21; 11:10). The particular sins of Israel in connection with Balaam were sexual immorality and food offered to idols (Num. 25:1–2; cf. 31:8, 16), sins that remained temptations in later pagan society and brought judgment on Christians (1 Cor. 10:7–8; Did. 6.3)." [1]
Thyatira:
"Jesus knows that the Christians in Thyatira, in contrast to those in Ephesus, are doing his works more than they have before (2:5, 19), but one flaw in the congregation proves serious enough to offset this praise: Unlike Ephesus, they are tolerating a false teacher of compromise (2:2, 20). Thyatira was known for its merchants, crafts, and their guilds (cf. also Acts 16:14). Those who participated in this aspect of public economic life would risk a substantial measure of their livelihood by refusing to join trade guilds. The guild meetings, however, included a common meal dedicated to the guild’s patron deity—a meal thereby off-limits to more traditional Christians (Acts 15:20; 1 Cor. 10:19–22). Starting in this general period, aspects of the imperial cult also began to affect nearly every trade guild.
A large number of commentators envision this situation as a primary contributor to “Jezebel’s” appeal. Not surprisingly, a prophet or prophetess who tells people what they want to hear can become readily popular (cf. 2 Tim. 4:3–4). Yet as some in Ephesus falsely claimed to be apostles (Rev. 2:2), some in Smyrna and Philadelphia falsely claimed to be Jews (2:9; 3:9), and the Laodicean Christians claimed to be rich (3:17), this Jezebel falsely claims to be a prophetess (2:20) and to offer “deep secrets” (2:24). Like Satan (12:9; 20:2, 8, 10) and the world system (13:14; 18:23; 19:20), she is a deceiver who misleads God’s servants.
Like “Balaam,” this false prophetess receives a nickname undoubtedly not of her own choosing. Jesus’ title for her, “Jezebel,” immediately calls to mind multiple associations. The biblical Jezebel was not a “prophetess,” but sponsored 850 false prophets (1 Kings 18:19; Josephus, Ant. 8.318); she also sought to take the lives of God’s true prophets (1 Kings 18:13; 19:2; Josephus, Ant. 8.334, 347). She is never accused of literal harlotry, but she sponsored spiritual harlotry by leading Israel away from its God (2 Kings 9:22, where her religious activity is also compared with witchcraft; cf. Rev. 9:21; 18:23). Babylon the prostitute later in this book is probably modeled partly on “Jezebel,” Thyatira’s local embodiment of the larger system of “Babylon,” because she advocated participation in local civic and commercial life even where they demanded compromise with paganism." [2]
[1] Craig S. Keener, Revelation, The NIV Application Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1999), 123-24.
[2] Ibid, 133-34.
[2] Ibid, 133-34.
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