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Pergamum, Turkey | The Brave Church

Lorraine Marie Varela

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Noted by ancient historians as “the most illustrious city of Asia” and a “royal city,” Pergamum in all its ruin still has the power to take your breath away. Built on a mountaintop precipice 1,000 feet above the plain—with a sharp dropoff to the city below—we discovered the best way to reach the acropolis was to use the funicular cable cars we stumbled across after our GPS led us onto a dead-end street.

The Biblical Significance of Pergamum

entrance-to-ancient-city-colossae-turkey

The Biblical Significance of Pergamum

entrance-to-ancient-city-of-colossae


Conquered by Alexander the Great in 334 B.C., Pergamum had become the seat of government and Roman power by the first century A.D., ruling over the entire province of Asia Minor as the region's capital city. It was a huge center for pagan worship, containing more temples than any other contemporary city, paying homage to sixty-one various gods—including Zeus and Ceasar himself, becoming the first city to create a worship site noting Ceasar as both god and king. 

Among the ruins was found an altar dedicated to “The Unknown God” (one of only three altars known with this inscription from that period, the most famous in Athens mentioned by Paul in Acts 17:23). The people of this day routinely sacrificed to the gods. If there was a tragedy, a sickness, or a problem that needed fixing, sacrificing to the “right god” could help. If the known gods provided no relief, the “Unknown God” became Plan B. Many believe this altar was referencing the God of the Hebrews—the only God who forbade an image or idol to be made of Him. All their other gods looked like human beings, but the Hebrew’s God was unseen. To be unseen was to be unknown. 

Every word of Messiah Yeshua's message to Pergamum in Revelation chapter 2 challenges and refutes their gods, setting Himself up as the one, true God. It begins with these words, “Thus says the One who has the sharp, two-edged sword (v. 12) . . .” 

To the angel of Messiah’s community in Pergamum write: “Thus says the One who has the sharp two-edged sword. I know where you live—where satan’s throne is. Yet you continue to hold firm to My name, and you did not deny your faith in Me even in the days of Antipas, My faithful witness, who was killed among you, where satan resides.” 


“But I have a few things against you. You have some there who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who was teaching Balak to put a stumbling block before Bnei-Yisrael, to eat food sacrificed to idols and to commit sexual immorality. Likewise you also have those who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans. Repent then! If not, I will come to you soon and make war against them with the sword of My mouth. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Ruach is saying to Messiah’s communities. To the one who overcomes I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone—and written on the stone a new name that no one knows except the one who receives it.” Revelation 2:12-17

Of all the governors of the Roman provinces, it was the Roman governor in Pergamum who was given the double-edged sword—giving him the power to determine life and death for an accused person. Believers there witnessed the martyrdom of their church leader Antipas—the only martyr listed in the book of Revelation—yet they held firm to His Name and did not deny their faith. John says of his encounter with Messiah in Revelation chapter 1, “. . .out of His mouth came forth a sharp, two-edged sword” (v. 16). This is One with true power and authority!


Satan works overtime to draw our attention away from the Living God and onto ourselves or our own idols of worship—money, luxury, fame, comfort, health, self, and so much more. If the believers in Pergamum could hold fast to His Name and not deny their faith—living in the place where satan's throne was located—then so can we. Our lives are strategically placed for this point in time.


May the testimonies of our lives create examples for the world to see—His love and power at work in us.

The Seven Churches of Revelation

Community Reputation: The Brave Church

Correction Needed: Repent from false teaching and committing sexual immorality

Promise Given: Overcomers will receive hidden manna and a white stone with a new name

decreeing-gods-promises-over-colossae-turkey

Walk down this tunnel to the steepest theater of the ancient world!

Key Verse


“You continue to hold firm to My name, and you did not deny your faith in Me.”
Revelation 2:13


Spiritual Inheritance

Courage to hold firm to the Name of God and not deny your faith, no matter what circumstances surround you

Points of Interest

  • Pergamon Ancient City & Acropolis

Points of Interest

  • Pergamon Ancient City and Acropolis

What to Expect in Pergamum Today

unexcavated-tell-of-biblical-colossae-turkey

The ancient city of Pergamum and its acropolis (located here) are among the largest remaining ruins of the seven churches of Revelation, second only to Ephesus. Located in the modern region of Bergama, this community was noted as the place “where satan's throne is” and the place “where satan resides” (Revelation 2:13). Knowing this, it brought a whole new awareness to us as we walked these ruins high on a mountain that overlooked the valley below. We couldn't help but think of Yeshua's testing in the wilderness, when the devil led Him up, showing Him all the kingdoms of the world in an instant: 


“I'll give to You all this authority along with its glory, because it has been handed over to me and I can give it to anyone I wish. Therefore, if You will worship before me, all this shall be Yours.”


But answering, Yeshua told him, “It is written, ‘You shall worship Adonai your God, and Him only shall you serve’” (Luke 4:5-8).


To reach the heights of the ancient city, we took the cable car leading up the mountain. As we wandered across the ruins, we came to stairs leading into a tunnel on the side of the mountain. Following the path, we emerged in front of the steepest theater in the ancient world. We peered down the cliff and that was enough—we didn't want to take one more step! The theater was massive, seating more than 10,000 people. It was built to honor Dionysus, the god of the Theater. A small temple was to the side of the stage where his statue was kept—but the stadium theater was where his worship took place.


The pagans believed Dionysus was born of a union between a god, Zeus, and a mortal woman. He was also the god of the grape harvest, wine, fertility, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, as well as resurrection, renewal, and transformation. His promise to the people was to live a meaningful life now through his control over their wine, and life after death. Pergamum was the “temple keeper” for Dionysus, the official place to teach others about him. Thousands would flock to Pergamum to worship and celebrate him there. Call him the “party god,” for his celebrations always included drunkenness and ritual madness. It was so out of control that for a period of time Rome outlawed the Dionysus practice of worship and its accompanying sexual immorality. It was that bad!


The culture of Pergamum resonates deeply with our culture today. It was here the symbol carried on the Hippocratic Oath originated—a snake coiled around a staff representing Asclepius, their snake god of healing. Patients were interviewed before being accepted for care. If you were elderly or about to give birth, you would immediately be turned away. The lives of babies and old people held no value. Treatments for illness included exercise, dietary changes, rest, and watching a good show in the theater. Really! Those who were healed had their names engraved on pillars of white stone as a testimony to their gods. It's no wonder the overcomers in Pergamum were promised a “white stone with a new name” from the Lord.


Yet in the midst of this powerful, pagan culture, Christianity had a remarkable impact. 


unexcavated-land-of-colossae-turkey
The ancient city of Pergamum and its acropolis (located here) are among the largest remaining ruins of the seven churches of Revelation, second only to Ephesus. Located in the modern region of Bergama, this community was noted as the place “where satan's throne is” and the place “where satan resides” (Revelation 2:13). Knowing this, it brought a whole new awareness to us as we walked these ruins high on a mountain that overlooked the valley below. We couldn't help but think of Yeshua's testing in the wilderness, when the devil led Him up, showing Him all the kingdoms of the world in an instant: 

“I'll give to You all this authority along with its glory, because it has been handed over to me and I can give it to anyone I wish. Therefore, if You will worship before me, all this shall be Yours.”

But answering, Yeshua told him, “It is written, ‘You shall worship Adonai your God, and Him only shall you serve’” (Luke 4:5-8).

To reach the heights of the ancient city, we took the funicular cable car leading up the mountain. The magnitude of this site truly is awe-inspiring. As we wandered across the ruins, we came to stairs leading into a tunnel on the side of the mountain. Following the path, we emerged in front of the steepest theater in the ancient world. We peered down the cliff and that was enough—we didn't want to take one more step! The theater was massive, seating more than 10,000 people. It was built to honor Dionysus, the god of the Theater. A small temple was to the side of the stage where his statue was kept—but the stadium theater was where his worship took place.

The pagans believed Dionysus was born of a union between a god, Zeus, and a mortal woman. He was also the god of the grape harvest, wine, fertility, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, as well as resurrection, renewal, and transformation. His promise to the people was to live a meaningful life now through his control over their wine, and life after death. Pergamum was the “temple keeper” for Dionysus, the official place to teach others about him. Thousands would flock to Pergamum to worship and celebrate him there. Call him the “party god,” for his celebrations always included drunkenness and ritual madness. It was so out of control that for a period of time Rome outlawed the Dionysus practice of worship and its accompanying sexual immorality. It was that bad!

The culture of Pergamum resonates deeply with our culture today. It was here the symbol carried on the Hippocratic Oath originated—a snake coiled around a staff representing Asclepius, their snake god of healing. Patients were interviewed before being accepted for care. If you were elderly or about to give birth, you would immediately be turned away. The lives of babies and old people held no value. Treatments for illness included exercise, dietary changes, rest, and watching a good show in the theater. Really! Those who were healed had their names engraved on pillars of white stone as a testimony to their gods. It's no wonder the overcomers in Pergamum were promised a “white stone with a new name” from the Lord.

Yet in the midst of this powerful, pagan culture, Christianity had a remarkable impact. 

Why Christians Should Visit


Pergamum is a place where kingdoms were in conflict—light versus dark, holiness versus sinfulness, the Kingdom of God versus the kingdom of satan. The level of perversity was so strong here that even the Roman government issued a scathing rebuke. Believers who lived here in the first century did so at the peril of their own lives. And yet, they were commended for holding fast to the Lord and not denying their faith, even when martyrdom was knocking at the door.


This is the heritage for all who have put their faith in Messiah Yeshua (Jesus Christ). As culture around us continues to descend to deeper levels of depravity, we can look to those who came before us and step into the inheritance they left behind—receiving a new measure of courage . . . bravery . . . unwavering faith.


Pergamum is a place for all Christians to visit and encounter the heart of Jesus, and leave behind a blessing of your own. He is our Living Hope!

About Lorraine Marie

Lorraine Marie Varela is an author, screenwriter, and professional photographer. She and her husband Gabriel are the co-founders of Inspiring Faith International, a ministry founded to draw people closer to the heart of God.

Lorraine Marie Varela is an author, screenwriter, and professional photographer. She and her husband Gabriel are the co-founders of Inspiring Faith International, a ministry designed to help people draw closer to the heart of God.

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