Revelation 2:12-13

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;
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.”

Pergamos represents the birth of the state church (AD 313 – 590, more or less). Notice how Jesus says that he has “the sharp sword with two edges”; this is a reference to the Word. In the Bible a sword is symbolic of the Word of God – in fact, the Scriptures are actually called a double-edged sword.

AD 313 is when Emperor Constantine made Christianity the official state religion of the Roman Empire. This is when the church became married to the state (something that ended in disaster, but that is outside the scope of this post).

Antipas was the bishop of Pergamos and was martyred in AD 92. Notice that this passage says that he was “slain among you” – meaning that when this letter was written Antipas had already been martyred. This is another piece of compelling evidence that Revelation was written after AD 70, which disproves preterism. Since the early church itself reported that the letter was written in the early 90s then that fits together pretty well.

It’s also interesting to note that the passage says that Satan’s seat (or throne) is at Pergamos. Esculapius (an idol in the form of a serpant) was worshipped at Pergamos, so that may be what this is referring to. It’s also possible that the verse was meant to be interpreted more literally than that; perhaps Satan’s headquarters on Earth is (or was) at Pergamos. No matter how you interpret it, though, Pergamos seemed to be a terrible place to live.