REVELATION 2:12-17: PERGAMOS

The third church was in the city of Pergamum. This church followed Satan's typical way of doing things by combining truth with false teachings. Truth, when coupled with the false, becomes a lie.

"And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write; These things saith He which hath the sharp sword with two edges; 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. But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast 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. So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate. Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of My mouth. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh 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 knoweth saving he that receiveth it" (Rev. 2:12-17).

Clarence Larkin, in Dispensational Truth, wrote:

"In this Message Pergamos is spoken of as "Satan's Seat." When Attalus III, the Priest-King of the Chaldean Hierarchy, fled before the conquering Persians to Pergamos, and settled there, Satan shifted his capital from Babylon to Pergamos. At first he persecuted the followers of Christ, and Antipas was one of the martyrs. But soon he changed his tactics and began to exalt the Church, and through Constantine, united the Church and State, and offered all kinds of inducements for worldly people to come into the Church. Constantine's motive was more political than religious. "Pergamos" means "marriage," and when the Church entered into a union with the State it was guilty of "spiritual fornication" or "Balaamism."

It was at this time that "Post-Millennial(ism)" had (its) origin. As the Church had become rich and powerful, it was suggested that by the union of Church and State, a condition of affairs would develop that would usher in the Millennium without the return of Christ, and since some scriptural support was needed for such a doctrine, it was claimed that the Jews had been cast off "forever," and that all the prophecies of Israel's future glory were intended for the Church. (Today, we call this false view, "Replacement Theology.").

This "Period" extends from the accession of Constantine, A. D. 312 to A. D. 606, when Boniface III was crowned "Universal Bishop."