Pergamos: Fortified Against Satan

“All this power will I give You,” the devil offered Christ, after showing Him all the world’s kingdoms, “for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it” (Luke 4:6).

The tempter’s one requirement: “If You therefore will worship me, all shall be Yours” (vs. 7).

Jesus Christ plainly refuted the devil’s offer by quoting God’s Word: “Get you behind Me, Satan: for it is written, You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only shall you serve” (vs. 8).

All are familiar with this titanic clash Christ had with the devil.

But pay close attention to the adversary’s tactics. The battle was not a literal wrestling match—Satan knew he was not allowed to harm Jesus. Rather, he tried to get Him to compromise His obedience to God by offering an easier path.

This involved twisting Scripture. After carrying Jesus onto the pinnacle of the Temple in Jerusalem, the fallen angel sneered, “If You be the Son of God, cast Yourself down from here: for it is written, He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you: and in their hands they shall bear you up, lest at any time you dash your foot against a stone” (vs. 9-11).

Christ again refuted with Scripture, pure and simple: “It is said, You shall not tempt the Lord your God.”

Through a series of misapplied Bible passages and appeals to Jesus’ physical weaknesses, Satan attempted to pry Christ’s mind away from the full truth.

It is no wonder, then, that the same Christ who successfully overcame Satan’s tactics warned what Christians living near “Satan’s seat” (Rev. 2:13) would face. His message to Pergamos, the third era of God’s Church, reveals the devil’s tactics do not change much.

It begins in Revelation 2:12-13: “To the angel of the church in Pergamos write; These things says He which has the sharp sword with two edges; I know your works, and where you dwell, even where Satan’s seat is…”

The era labeled Pergamos, which is a Greek word meaning “fortified,” withstood centuries of Satan’s political dominance. True to its name, it was commended for its steadfastness in the true faith.

Verse 13 continues: “and you hold fast My name, and have not denied My faith, even in those days wherein Antipas was My faithful martyr, who was slain among you, where Satan dwells.”

But the label could also serve as a warning to fortify the mind against doctrinal deception—a challenge particular to the third era. It should remind each of us to safeguard God’s truth from any watered-down or false thinking.

Passing the Baton

The transition from the Smyrnan to Pergamos eras is clearly identifiable in history. In AD 313, Christianity went from being “a crime against the state” to the official religion of the Roman Empire. Emperor Constantine, formerly a sun-worshipper, championed the transition after supposedly receiving a heavenly vision instructing him to conquer in Christ’s name.

At first, the union of church and state brought a respite for God’s true Church. Up until that point, Smyrnans were systematically slaughtered for their beliefs (Rev. 2:10).

But it would soon prove another challenge that would define Christians for the next seven centuries.

In 325, Constantine convened the Council of Nicaea to resolve differences in doctrine throughout the empire. His “chief concern was that a divided church would offend the Christian God and so bring divine vengeance upon the Roman Empire and Constantine himself. Schism, in Constantine’s view, was inspired by Satan” (Britannica).

The result of the meeting was the establishment of a “universal” doctrine that outlawed seventh-day Sabbath keeping.

The emperor declared: “We have directed, accordingly, that you be deprived of all the houses in which you are accustomed to hold your assemblies, and our care in this respect extends so far as to forbid the holding of your superstitious and senseless meetings, not in public merely, but in any private house or place whatsoever.

“Let those of you, therefore, who are desirous of embracing the true and pure religion, take the far better course of entering the Catholic Church…” (The Life of Blessed Emperor Constantine).

Those who faithfully kept God’s Law were deridingly labeled “Judaizing Christians.”

The Pergamos era was born. Christians of this period from AD 325 to about 1000 lived under the authority of the counterfeit Christianity system backed by the most powerful political and military force at the time.

Additionally, the Roman emperor officially moved the seat of the empire from Rome to Byzantium (renamed Constantinople) in AD 330—in the midst of true believer’s congregations in modern-day Greece and Turkey. There, he oversaw the building of structures, such as the Church of the Twelve Apostles, establishing his brand of Christian religion.

Constantine considered himself the 13th apostle and leader of all Christians. Britannica reported: “He was buried at Constantinople in his church of the Apostles, whose memorials, six on each side, flanked his tomb. Yet this was less an expression of religious megalomania than of Constantine’s literal conviction that he was the successor of the evangelists, having devoted his life and office to the spreading of Christianity.”

Sabbath-keeping Christians found themselves literally living near the devil’s seat—meaning “throne” or base of power. They were routinely singled-out as heretics of the “universal” Christian church, and faced enormous pressure to integrate with the majority.

This would be akin to Washington, D.C., regulating Christianity and instructing Sabbath-keeping churches to keep Sunday. How would you continue obeying the truth without running into trouble from police or the public?

At Satan’s Throne

Christians of this era went by various names. The most notable were the Paulicians and Bogomils. The Paulicians settled in Armenia from the 300s to the 800s, and the Bogomils in the Balkans and Bulgaria in the 10th century.

Brethren of this era had to remain faithful in all points of God’s Law, and many did. Christ confirmed this by commending them: “…you hold fast My name, and have not denied My faith, even in those days wherein Antipas was My faithful martyr, who was slain among you…” (Rev. 2:13).

The term Antipas, short for anti (against) pater (father), could be translated “against the pope.” This would have been applicable to the first leader of the Paulicians, Constantine of Mananali, who was martyred by the Byzantines.

F.C. Conybeare wrote a summary of the Paulicians’ tenets as interpreted through their texts, labeled The Key of Truth:

• Paulicians labeled themselves the “holy, universal, and apostolic Church,” founded by Jesus Christ and his apostles. Yet they shrank back from the use of the terms “catholic” and “orthodox” as they closely identified their persecutors—the Catholic Church in Constantinople and later Rome.
• The Church consisted of baptized individuals, and preserves apostolic tradition that Christ revealed to the apostles and they to the Church.
• Repentance and baptism are required for salvation.
• Infant baptism is invalid and a “Satanic mimicry” of the true faith.
• A candidate for baptism must be of “mature age, as was Jesus of Nazareth, in order that he may be able to understand, recognize, and repent of his sin.”
• Baptism is only to be performed by an ordained member of the Church.
• The trinity is a false concept.
• The use of idols and crosses is immoral.
• Church government was top-down. The so-called “elect one” bears “the authority to bind and loose given by the Father to Jesus…handed on by Jesus to the apostles and by them to their successors.”

These are earmark teachings of God’s true Church—naturally they would invite Catholic opposition.

Yet it must be noted that The Key of Truth manuscripts were written during an age about 850-950 when the Pergamos Church had adopted some false doctrines. Among them were additional, Catholic-flavored practices, such as following a full-immersion baptism ceremony with the pouring of three handfuls of water over a person’s head to represent the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

This reveals the tendency Pergamos-era Christians had of allowing false doctrine to creep in.

Doctrinal Battle

Read further in Revelation 2: “But I have a few things against you, because you have there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication” (vs. 14).

Pergamos brethren were praised for sticking with God’s Church and retaining faith amid the imposition of Roman-flavored Christianity. Yet they allowed some counterfeit teachings to creep in. The doctrine of Balaam, which started the process, was listed first.

One definition of the doctrine of Balaam is found in the 1911 edition of Encyclopaedia Britannica: “They [Pergamos-era Christians] permitted external conformity with the dominant Church, and held that Christ would forgive it.”

The doctrine of Balaam leads to another problem—a second weakness of the Pergamos era. Notice: “So have you also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate” (Rev. 2:15).

The doctrine of the Nicolaitans was that of unrestrained indulgence. Once brethren broke down their walls of resistance and started following pagan practices, their mental defenses eventually vanished as they returned fully to the world. Thus, the doctrine of the Nicolaitans usually completed the job that the doctrine of Balaam had begun—wholesale abandonment of God’s Law.

This doctrine permits individuals to engage in sin. This sort of thinking can be seen in statements such as, “We are only human”—“Other people do the same thing”—“Their church allows them to do this.”

In other words, conformity with worldly teachings allowed God’s people to feel free to practice sin.

Christ warned this era: “Repent; or else I will come unto you quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of My mouth” (Rev. 2:16).

Two-edged Sword

Retaining true doctrine involves a mental fight to distinguish between right and wrong and to choose to follow the right even amid pressure.

Notice Christ’s reference to the two-edged sword and the “sword of My mouth.” The connection to His battle with the devil is clear. As Christ did then, we must fight against falsehood with God’s truth—plain and simple!

It is our most powerful weapon against doctrinal confusion. Remember: “The word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” (Heb. 4:12).

In this world of confusion, consider the lessons of the Pergamos era:

• Resist the instruction of Balaam, which was to place temptation before people to lead them into sin. Instead, “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (Jms. 4:7).
• We must beware of any who give permission to live deviant lifestyles and disobey God’s commands. This is the doctrine of the Nicolaitans!
• We must hate sin. Learn to abhor sin as God does, and cling to His Law! “Through Your precepts I get understanding: therefore I hate every false way” (Psa. 119:104).

Do you find yourself looking for little ways out of God’s Law to “ease the burden”? Do you find yourself wanting to assimilate with popular doctrines to avoid sticking out?

Remember Christ’s words: “For whosoever shall be ashamed of Me and of My words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when He shall come in His own glory, and in His Father’s, and of the holy angels” (Luke 9:26).

Stick to God’s Word. Reject the doctrines of men. Yearn to qualify for the same reward mentioned in Revelation 2:17: “To him that overcomes will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knows saving he that receives it.”

Read Where Is the True Church? – and Its Incredible History! to learn more lessons from this era of God’s Church.