The most prominent feature on the citadel was the gleaming temple structure and altar dedicated to Zeus Soter, or Zeus the Savior. Attalus I, who ruled from 241 to 197 BC, also referred to himself as Attalus Soter, apparently a title that he took after defending the city against the marauding Gauls. This temple and the altar to Zeus were unquestionably the most spectacular features to greet the eye of the visitor coming through the valleys from any of three directions

the Lord may simply be indicating through John that he is well aware of the efforts of Satan to destroy the work of Christ and of Christians in the city of Pergamum through its various pagan affections

In any event the church at Pergamum could obviously anticipate persecution, not so much from the Jewish sector as in Ephesus, Smyrna, and Sardis but from the Roman establishment with its focus on the worship of the emperor and the pantheon of Roman gods.

The first expression literally states that “you have held on to my name.” The second says, “You did not deny my faith.” In this more common reading, the initial phrase suggests personal faith in Christ while the second may include faithfulness to “the faith” (i.e., to all that Christ is and what he taught). In any case this affirmation is remarkable.

after Balaam left, record that Israel committed harlotry with the women of Moab. Little in chap. 25 suggests that Balaam had anything to do with this. However, Moses speaks in chap. 31:

“Have you allowed all the women to live?” He [Moses] asked them. “They were the ones who followed Balaam’s advice and were the means of turning the Israelites away from the LORD in what happened at Peor, so that a plague struck the LORD’s people.” (15–16)

Here the reader is introduced to the fact that before Balaam departed, he had given to Balak counsel, which perhaps can be reconstructed as follows: “I cannot curse what God has blessed; but you have paid me handsomely, and I do know people very well. These folks have been in the wilderness a long time, and you have many beautiful women in Moab. I suggest you send your women among them, and my guess is that with their behavior they will bring down God’s curse upon themselves.” Balak followed this advice; Israel did exactly what Balaam had anticipated, and the children of Israel brought the plague and curse on themselves with their own actions

Hemer has appropriately alleged that the apostle Paul had to war against two opposite philosophies during his own ministry: legalism and antinomianism. He further suspects that both the Nicolaitians and those who were promoting the doctrine of Balaam may have been part of an early or incipient Gnosticism, making itself known primarily in the ethics of antinomianism

What was going on at the Pergamum church may simply have been that there were people advocating and practicing an antinomian lifestyle, which included the “freedom” to eat that which had been sacrificed to idols.

They are serious, for he promises that unless repentance is immediately forthcoming, the Lord himself will become their opponent and will fight against them with the sword of his mouth. Whether the mandate to repentance is addressed to the antinomians themselves or to the church is not clear in the text. Perhaps the best option is to see the warning as addressed to both but with not much hope of repentance on the part of the antinomians.

the whole world will be amazed at the sustaining providence of God for his churches and for those who overcome

the color white is often associated with holiness, and more probably the white stone may merely be John’s reference to the imputed holiness and righteousness of the overcomer. Scott sums up the matter, “It is the expression of the Lord’s personal delight in each one of the conquering band

To assign to the overcomers at Pergamum a name that no one but the recipient of the name knew is not only to suggest the authority of the divine Christ over the believer but also to establish a personal intimacy with the individual believer