Revelation 2:12: And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write; These things saith he which hath the sharp sword with two edges.

John wrote his third letter to the angel (servant) in Pergamos.¹ The content in this letter is all that is known with any certainty about the ancient church in this location.²

Pergamos (Pergamum) was a celebrated city³ located north of Smyrna and about 15 to 20 miles inland from the Aegean Sea in modern Turkey.⁴ Pergamos was famous for its 200,000-volume library that was gifted by Mark Antony to Cleopatra.⁵ It was the first city to make sheepskin parchment,⁶ from which that material derives its name.⁷ Pergamos was a natural fortress that was home to various rulers with vast wealth.⁸ When Asia first became a Roman province, Pergamos was the capital.⁹ By the end of the first century AD, however, Smyrna had become the capital because of its greater commercial importance.¹⁰ Pergamos, however, remained the religious center of Asia Minor.¹¹

Pergamos had multiple pagan temples,¹² but the healing god Aesculapius (Asklepios) was the most prominent idol worshiped in the city.¹³ Aesculapius was the Greco-Roman god of medicine and healing.¹⁴ His emblem was two interlaced serpents on a rod, which is still in use today as the emblem for the American Medical Association.¹⁵ A live serpent was kept, fed, and worshiped in the temple of Aesculapius.¹⁶ The practice of medicine in Pergamos led to immorality and great wickedness because the medicinal practices were mixed with mysteries and healing arts in the form of witchcraft.¹⁷

John's letter to the saints in Pergamos begins with an ominous salutation from the Savior, saying: These things saith he which hath the sharp sword with two edges.¹⁸ The sharp sword¹⁹ is Christ's word of truth.²⁰ In Revelation 1:16, this double-edged sword is figuratively in Christ's mouth.²¹ This symbolic sword²² is antithetical to the sharp sword used by Rome to enforce false emperor worship in the religious capital of Pergamos.²³ Eventually, the pagan temples of Pergamos were hewn asunder by Turkish invaders and the temples no longer exist.²⁴ The symbolic sword in Revelation 2:12 may also allude to the sword used to block the way of Balaam, mentioned in Revelation 2:14.²⁵

Revelation 2:13: 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.

Christ knew the works of the saints in Pergamos, as he knew the works of saints in all seven churches.²⁶ He knew the saints in Pergamos were exposed to great wickedness²⁷ because they dwellest, even where Satan's seat is.²⁸ Pergamos was Satan's seat (throne)²⁹ because: (1) This very wicked religious capital exported its wickedness to other cities,³⁰ (2) it was a center place for idol and emperor worship in Asia,³¹ (3) it was the place Christians were brought for trial because of their beliefs,³² and (4) it had the temple of Aesculapius, whose image was a serpent³³ (Satan's sign).³⁴ The evil emblem of Aesculapius imitated the brazen serpent from the days of Moses³⁵ as a symbol of Christ's healing power.³⁶ In Pergamos, however, Satan replaced the true healing power of Jesus Christ³⁷ with the false magical arts of Aesculapius.³⁸

Despite extreme wickedness in the city of Pergamos, the Lord commended the saints that holdest fast my name.³⁹ They had not denied my faith,⁴⁰ as others had done to save their lives.⁴¹ The faithful were steadfast, even in those days wherein Antipas was my faithful martyr, who was slain among you.⁴² Nothing more is known about Antipas beyond this single reference,⁴³ but Christ knew him personally by name.⁴⁴ The name Antipas means against all or one against many.⁴⁵ He may have been the bishop of Pergamos at the time of his death sometime before John's letter.⁴⁶

Antipas probably died in a Roman execution⁴⁷ after the Jews in Pergamos accused him of disloyalty to Rome on account of his devotion to Christ.⁴⁸ The first Christian execution of this type occurred in Jerusalem, when the Jews in that city accused Jesus Christ of treason against Rome.⁴⁹ After Christ died, other Christians died at the hands of the Romans in and around Judea based on false accusations made by the Jews.⁵⁰ From Judea, Satan the accuser⁵¹ inspired the Jews to falsely accuse Christians in other Roman provinces.⁵² The accusations eventually reached Asia, where Antipas became one of many Christian martyrs.⁵³ Satan earned his title again from the premortal existence where he was called the accuser of the brethren.⁵⁴