Revelation 2:12

Angel. See on ch. 1:20.

Pergamos. Or, Pergamum. This city had been the capital of the Roman province of Asia for two centuries after its last king, Attalus III, bequeathed it, together with the kingdom of Pergamum, to Rome in 133 B.C. (see p. 95). Since the early 3d century B.C. the city of Pergamum had been a chief center of cultural and intellectual life of the Hellenistic world. Although by John’s time Ephesus was beginning to supersede it as the leading city of Asia, Pergamum continued to retain much of its former importance. The two cities long contended for this honor. For further information concerning the ancient city of Pergamum see p. 93; John’s Literary Productions.

The meaning of the name Pergamos is uncertain, but “citadel,” or “acropolis,” seems to be one of its derived meanings. The characteristic experience of the church during the Pergamos period was one of exaltation. From the status of a proscribed and persecuted sect it rose to a position of unchallenged popularity and power (see on v. 13).

Sword with two edges. Like the descriptive titles that introduce the messages to the churches of Ephesus and Smyrna, this is drawn from the description of the glorified Christ in ch. 1:16 (see comment there and on ch. 2:1).