Antipas

This past Sabbath we studied more of the Apostle John’s Revelation. Specifically we focused on a guy named ANTIPAS. You can find him in this verse:

‘I know where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is; and you hold fast My name, and did not deny My faith even in the days of Antipas, My witness, My faithful one, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells. (Revelation 2:13)

We wanted to know who this guy was in order to understand the impact of that verse on us today. This blog will disclose our findings about ANTIPAS.

We tracked down the below historical sources that reveal information on Antipas.

This one is by Andreas [Andrew] of Caesarea, Cappadocia. He lived during the 7^th century, and wrote a whole commentary on Revelation (611 AD). It has 72 chapters! We found his commentary online, translated into English by Eugenia (Jeannie) Scarvelis Constantinou, with her commentary.

This is a monumental work! If you want to skip right to Andrew’s Commentary, then go to PART 2 on page 286. Be aware that Andrew’s opinions are very different from Apostolic opinions found in the New Testament. Andrew’s thought process is also different from the 2^nd Temple mindset (Jesus and his Apostles). So when you read his commentary, make sure you understand that this is RELIGIOUS RHETORIC instead of technical/legal commentary. Regardless of the opinionated nature of this commentary, the FACTS found in the text maintain their historical value.

Here is Andrew’s commentary on Antipas (as translated in English) with explanatory notes:

Antipas, whose name had become known as the bravest martyr in Pergamum, whose martyrdom I have read,¹⁵² the evangelist now mentioned to point to both their patience and the cruelty of those who had been led astray.¹⁵³ (footnotes by Scarvelis)

¹⁵¹ The reputation of Pergamum for its idolatrous past was well known and it is hardly surprising that Andrew was familiar with it. Andrew’s comments are too vague to reveal to us precisely what he knew about Pergamum as a pagan center of worship, however a number of famous temples were located there, including a gigantic altar dedicated to Zeus Soter (Savior). (See Aune, 52A: 182-3 and 194 for some of the possibilities for the “throne of Satan.”) Although pagan worship in the empire had largely, if not entirely, disappeared by the time of Andrew, it had not been gone for long. It was only a few decades before the composition of this commentary that the Emperor Justinian had taken measures to finally erase the last vestiges of paganism in the Empire, including the closure of the School of Athens.

¹⁵² Exactly which martyrdom Andrew had read is unclear. St. Antipas, (whose feast day in the Orthodox Church is listed as April 11 in the Acta Sanctorum and the Greek Menaiori), is said to have been a disciple of John the Theologian and the bishop of Pergamum. The Great Horologion states that he was put into a hollow bronze bull, which was a Roman torture device. The individual to be executed was placed inside and the device was heated over a fire until red-hot and the person inside roasted to death. See Bibliotheca Hagiographica Graeca, (3 vols, in 1) 3rd edition, ed. François Halkin, (Brussels: Société des Bollandistes, 1957) 1:48.

¹⁵³ The cruelty is a reference to the martyrdom endured by Antipas.

¹⁵⁴ For the early Christians, including the Church Fathers, “Greek” was almost synonymous with “pagan.” Even those Christians who were linguistically, culturally or ethnically Greek would not identify themselves as “Greeks” but as “Christians.”

I included notes 151 & 154 as added background so you could see this scholar’s findings for the historical context of this topic.

Here is the text out of the BHG (Bibliotheca Hagiographica Graeca) from 1909 2^nd Edition by the Bollandistes & Delehaye  written in both Latin & Greek:

Translated:

Antipas ep. m. At Pergamon, under Domitian. — April. 11.
Passion. Inc. Persecution initiated under Domitian throughout the ages,
Dec. memory, and for a century, a flowing legacy of the pillar… amen.
[138 Act. SS. April. II, 965-66; 3rd ed. 1*-2*.

Here is the text from the 1957 version of the BHG, 3^rd Edition, page 48:

Translated:

48                                                                     ANTIPAS

Antipas ep. m. At Pergamum under Domitian. — April. 11.

1. 1. 1. Passion. Persecution instituted under Domitian during the times of the apostles flourishing — Des. on each day they follow him in the footsteps of the state, as he said aloud… amen. [138
      Act. SS. April. II (1675), 965-966; 3rd ed. 1*-2*.
   2. Passion. Domitian holding the scepter of the Romans, manly as just superstitious — Des. every day they go in the footsteps of the state urging him. He testified and… against us reigning of the lord… amen. [138a
      Cod. Genuensis 34, saec. XI, fol. 95v-100v. Cf. EHRHARD II, 64810.
   3. Passion. Domitian holds the scepter of the kingdom, that of Christ’s disciples beloved and trusted — Des. and odoriferous odors were honestly made in this city of Pergamum… glory… amen. [138b
      Cod. Naples. II AA 26, saec. XV fol. 346n-347n. Cf. Anal. Boll. 21 (1902), 3823.
   4. Praise Inc. headless | We are not offered as victims nor are we partaken of — Des. relics became a glorious work of the ear building a house, a… many and great dreams… are fulfilled, of which there is no number, by whom I am glorified… amen. [138c
      Cod. Lugduno-Batavus Perizon. F 10, sec. XI-XII, fol. 25-27v. Cf.
      Calais. Germ. 2505 ; EHRHARD III, 143 cum annot. 2.

Here is the account of Antipas’ martyrdom from the 1727 Edition of the Menologium Graecorum, Volume 2, page 51:

Translated (from the Latin):

On the Eleventh Day of the Same Month
The contest of the Holy Martyr Antipas, Bishop of Pergamum.
Antipas, the adversary of the demons, became famous during the reign of Domitian in the days of the Saints of the Apostles, when John the Theologian was exiled on the island of Patmos. Now when he was bishop of Pergamum, and very old, he was seized by the worshipers of idols, to whom demons had appeared, and said that that place could not be inhabited because of Antipas. On this account he was brought before the President, and was commanded to deny Christ, and to sacrifice to idols. It is true that he did not assent, but rather, by example, he repeated the error of the Greeks, saying that he was an old man, but evil; (For the president had objected to him, that the religion of the Greeks was ancient, but that of the Christians was new; and the wise man answered, that Cain was as old as it was, but still a slayer:) he was cast into a red-hot brazen bull, and there he completed his martyrdom.

Note the facts listed are the date, geographical location and persons involved in the martyrdom.

I worked hard to dig up the primary source evidence for Scarveli’s statements so I could show it to you in this blog. The above is all I could find. Remember that whatever documents were available to the ancients may or may not be available to us. Many wars have trashed the nations between Antipas’ days and ours. And a lot of ‘religious’ politics has hidden from view many ancient documents that would shed light on many important facts necessary to understand the Bible better. So the best we can do may not even come close to the best they could do over 1 ½ millennia ago. So mostly we rely on CHURCH TRADITION, however accurate that may or may not be.

Based on the above information, you can see that Antipas comes from the Eastern church. He is one of their Church Fathers (like Polycrates, whom we discussed in a previous blog). The Eastern church TRADITION considers Antipas a Heiromartyr. That means he’s a priest-martyr (heiro = priest in Greek). He is said to have been murdered by government bureaucrats in 92 AD. That means he was contemporary with the Apostle John. Here’s an ‘image’ of Saint Antipas of Pergamum inside the IDOL BULL caldron where he ‘served his time’:

Fresco from Rousanu Monastery, located in Meteora, Greece

Church tradition has it that ANTIPAS was the Bishop of the church at Pergamon. The Apostle John Appointed him. That means he acquired his office directly from Apostolic authority. That is quite different compared to church offices today, which are authored by man’s authority. In other words, today‘s church offices are STATE-SANCTIONED, BY LAW. That means today’s religious ministers are operating under SATAN’s authority, not under God’s. Here in America Christian religious ministers don’t have to ‘cow toe’ to the state. So why then do they do it? Because IT’S GOOD BUSINESS! Does that sound right to you? What do you think Antipas would say about it? I briefly discussed this in another blog under the topic of obeying God’s Commandments.

Remember that Antipas’ was a bishop in an Apostolic church. Paul has this to say about their qualifications:

5 For this reason I left you [Titus] in Crete, that you would set in order what remains and appoint elders in every city as I directed you, 6 namely, if any man is above reproach, the husband of one wife, having children who believe, not accused of dissipation or rebellion. 7 For the overseer must be above reproach as God’s steward, not self-willed, not quick-tempered, not addicted to wine, not pugnacious, not fond of sordid gain, 8 but hospitable, loving what is good, sensible, just, devout, self-controlled, 9 holding fast the faithful word which is in accordance with the teaching, so that he will be able both to exhort in sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict.

10 For there are many rebellious men, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision, 11 who must be silenced because they are upsetting whole families, teaching things they should not teach for the sake of sordid gain. 12 One of themselves, a prophet of their own, said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.” 13 This testimony is true. For this reason reprove them severely so that they may be sound in the faith, 14 not paying attention to Jewish myths and commandments of men who turn away from the truth. 15 To the pure, all things are pure; but to those who are defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure, but both their mind and their conscience are defiled. 16 They profess to know God, but by their deeds they deny Him, being detestable and disobedient and worthless for any good deed.
(Titus 1:5-2:1)

I’m taking you on this little detour because Antipas was appointed by the Apostle John (according to church tradition). John lived in Ephesus, which is close to Pergamon, so it’s not unreasonable to see how and why this could be done. Did the elderly John want to regularly travel to Pergamon to deal with the issues that occurred with the ‘Christians’ living there? I doubt it. So he appointed an Apostolic delegate to manage the communities there, as well as deal with opposition in protection of those communities.

Considering that John was an Apostle to ‘the circumcision’ (the ‘Jews’-Galatians 2:8-9), we can assume that he worked with the Jews (primarily) in Ephesus. Since Paul also worked in Ephesus, we can assume he worked with the Gentiles (primarily). I’m betting there was some overlap, but how much, is unknown.

One has to wonder if Antipas was one of John’s disciples, or if he was raised ‘observing the Torah’ like Timothy was (2 Timothy 1:5). Or maybe he was born a Jew and raised in ‘the Jewish law’? No telling at this point, because there’s not enough information to make a determination on the subject. In any case, since John appointed him, and since John’s qualifications for bishop were as strict as Paul’s, then we can assume that Antipas was a ‘holy man’ who obeyed God’s law (the Torah of Moses). Remember that God’s law was the ONLY law that ALL the Apostles subscribed to. It was their national law that was enforced as such. So a reasonable assumption is, they obeyed and taught God’s law.

My point is, it’s likely that Antipas was a protégé of the Apostle John in his lifestyle and his teachings. He was well versed and seasoned in living God’s law. His world view was the same as the Apostles with respect to the One True God and Jesus Christ whom he had sent (John 17:3). So for Antipas to rail against IDOLATRY was normal. And since idolatry was a normal part of Pergamon society and daily living, he was at odds with Pergamon society, it’s leaders, it’s social norms, it’s commerce…everything!

As a result, Antipas was martyred during the Emperor Nero’s reign, in Domitian’s district of authority. Domitian wasn’t involved though. The local MERCHANTS are the guys who ‘sued him’ with the help of the Temple priests (religious leaders). That resulted in a DEATH SENTENCE. So, this holy man eventually GOES UP IN FLAMES. Tradition has it that he was 82 years old when he ‘bit the bullet’. Tradition also says that his recovered body didn’t have even one small burn on it! That’s probably why they worship him today in Eastern churchianity as one of their IDOLS. They remember him on April 11^th, indelibly marked off in their official church calendar.

Sadly, today he is the ‘patron saint’ of TEETH. Imagine! He’s been tossed into the religious trash heap of DIVINE DENTISTRY. Amazing! It’s like wearing a St. Christopher medal while driving. You do that because St. Crissy is the Catholic patron saint of travel. He’s supposed to PROTECT you while you go on a trip. Don’t leave home without him! Really? What nonsense! You gotta admit, that’s a brilliant propaganda coup against the real reason to remember Antipas. HE GAVE UP HIS LIFE TO THE FLAMES FOR JESUS BECAUSE HE DISAGREED WITH THE SOCIAL NORMS AND MADE A RUCKUS ABOUT IT. What do you think? Today when someone gets a TOOTH ACHE and prays to this guy while fondling their IDOL, do you think they’ll think about Antipas? Do you think they even care? What about the children who carry around AMULETS of him while harboring deep dark superstitions about what’ll happen to their TEETH if they lose him? LOL, how amazing this power of superstition is!

Anyway…the likely reason why the MERCHANTS sued Antipas is because he was convincing the general population to forsake their IDOLS, and instead, to believe in JESUS. In the public forums he openly condemned their IDOL WORSHIP. So you can bet that didn’t go over well with those who loved their sex cult, murdering babies in the Bull caldron (think: abortion and ‘Planned Parenthood’), and their sumptuous dinners at the local temple-sponsored steak house. And what about the upper tier MERCHANTS of the TRADE GUILDS who profited from all the idolatry-related goods and services? One has to wonder who ‘complained’ about Antipas to the authorities. We see a similar event in Acts 28, specifically verse 17. Yet, many of Pergamon’s citizens forsook their idols and the associated lifestyle. The result was lost memberships at the Temple and lost profits for the local merchants’ guilds. I suppose one can say that Jesus caused a major upset in Pergamon society! Imagine the lost profits!

Let me briefly add some background about Pergamon so you can get a better picture of life in that city. Before the days of the Apostle John, Pergamon was the capitol of the great Pergamonian empire under the Attalid dynasty. It was one of the major culture centers of the world. After Rome acquired Pergamon, due to the politics involved, it waned in prominence. But it maintained its political influence with Rome. It became the capitol of the province of Asia, which status eventually transferred to Ephesus (see a previous blog). Pergamon was a major COMMERCE center during Antipas’ time, second only to Ephesus.

Pergamon was the medical center of the Roman world at that time. It had one of the greatest libraries in the entire Roman empire, making it a famous knowledge center. Knowledge is power. Pergamon housed three of the most prominent and powerful patron gods (idols) of the ‘civilized’ world (Zeus-GrecoRoman, Serapus-Egyptian and Trajan-Roman Emperor). Each lived in its own magnificent TEMPLE COMPLEX. Idolatry was a way of life for those living in Pergamon. It was the social norm.

Moreover, idolatry was big business back then, just like it is today. It encompassed animal husbandry (farming), the food processing and restaurant industries, the sex/porn industries (prostitution, sex paraphernalia, human trafficking, ‘images’ and their craftsmen, etc.), and RELIGION in all its facets (propaganda, ‘images’, social events, legislation, law enforcement, etc.). You can guarantee that Antipas made enemies of the city’s merchants. He was cutting in on their business and they didn’t like it one bit!

Consider today’s equivalent of yesteryear’s IDOLATRY. We have professional movie stars promoted as society’s role models. Professional athletes who rake in millions a year in contracts, besides the revenues amassed through sporting events and from corporate sponsorships and sporting paraphernalia. The profiteering involved with modern idolatry in Hollywood and athletics alone is mind boggling! Imagine the other ‘industries’ such as news media, entertainment, education, medical, etc. Jesus had this to say about that in Matthew 6:24:

No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth [from the Greek word that is Greek transliterated from the Aramaic: mammon = EVIL PROFITS].

One has to wonder how much mammon-profits the merchants of Pergamon lost by Jesus coming into the picture? It must’ve been a lot, because they sued Antipas to death on account of it!

The point I want to make is that ANTIPAS WAS AN IMPORTANT PERSONA in early Christianity, even though the Apostle John only mentions him in passing. Seeing his name in the Bible is our que to take note of him and understand his significance. And since he appears in prophetic-apocalyptic literature, he has extra-special importance. Moreover, anyone named in prophetic-apocalyptic literature is very important, whether good or bad (such as Jezebel). The reason is simple. It’s because prophetic-apocalyptic literature pertains to the AUDIT that God will do on everyone’s life after they die. He also will AUDIT every nation’s society on Judgment Day. Like the Apostle Paul says, BE CAREFUL HOW YOU BUILD! (1 Corinthians 3:10) God will judge them all according to their DEEDS, whether good or evil. And He will judge them according to HIS law. That is why Antipas is so important. He lived a life that was antithetical to the society in which he lived. He spoke out against it, and paid the price for it.

The bottom line is this:

Antipas died because he lived according to God’s law and boldly spoke out against idolatry in contemporary pagan society. In other words, he told everyone that they were living wrong and were going to get into big trouble with God on Judgment Day. He offered them a new authority, purpose and lifestyle. He was calling the Temple officials (priests) liars and condemned the greedy merchants who profited from their mass brainwashing scheme and for their part in the debauchery of social morality. Essentially Antipas was condemning their entire culture. Today he would be labelled a RACIST! Regardless, he was showing everyone a new way to live that would be good for them, their families and their community, in contrast to the old way they were accustomed to living. And he obviously had a profound influence on society.

Now let’s revisit John’s ‘Apocalypse’ (Hebrew: ‘The Secret Counsels’) and see what he says about Antipas:

I know where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is; and you hold fast My name, and did not deny My faith even in the days of Antipas, My witness, My faithful one, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells. (Revelation 2:13, GNT)

I know your works, and that your place is at the place where the throne of Ha-Satan is. And that you believe in my name and in my  faith,  also  in  the  times  when  my  faithful joined-one Antipas was  killed  near  you,  at  the  place  where  Ha-Satan dwells.  (Revelation 2:13, Hebrew Gospels)

Satan’s throne is likely a reference to the importance and power of the city in that region. Pergamon was an official keeper of the Temples, and excelled in IDOL WORSHIP (= propaganda for social engineering), particularly Emperor worship. The MERCHANT INDUSTRIES (= profits for the rich and powerful) thrived in Pergamon. This city was a powerful center of knowledge, medicine and the arts.

Hold fast my name refers to the ‘god’ you name as your authority, which determines laws and rules you live by. In this case it was Jesus instead of Zeus, the Egyptian gods, or even the Emperor himself.

Not deny my faith refers to obeying God’s commandments and ‘love of the brethren’ instead of following along with society’s customs and legal demands that contradict God’s LAW (as found in the Mosaic law and prophets). Remember, these people worshipped the Emperor besides their Temple gods. Idolatry was integral to the fabric of their daily life. Idolatry involved the perversion of daily necessities such as idol food, prostitution, deviant sexuality, murder, fraud, profiteering, etc.

Knowing what we discovered about Antipas, we can see that my witness / my faithful (my faithful joined-one) is a reference to A BISHOP OPERATING UNDER THE APOSTOLIC AUTHORITY. Joined-one is the Aramaic word NAMN that means trustworthy. Paul says this about it:

…moreover, it is required of stewards that one be found trustworthy. (1Corinthians 4:2)

Why? Because ALL management is based on TRUST-HEIRARCHIES. If you can’t trust your down-lines, then you can’t maintain ORDER and STABILITY in your organization. This is a fundamental principle of leadership and POLITICS. Even evil rulers need to be able to trust their downlines. If they can’t, then they won’t be able to accomplish their goals, and their kingdom will come apart at the seams.

Now let me paraphrase Revelation 2:13 based on the above information:

I know where you live, under some of the worst forms of slavery, moral perversion, political oppression and social opposition imaginable; you unswervingly cling to Jesus as your authority, which means you live your life by God’s law and take care of one another. You live like that Instead of giving your allegiance to Pergamon’s idols, including the Emperor himself, which leads to a lifestyle of sin and debauchery and enslavement to the evil state. You maintain your faith in Jesus and good lifestyle in the toughest of political circumstances. You did right even when the rich and powerful used the police to hunt-down those who refused to serve their idols and debauch their lifestyles for profit. You did all that during the days of Antipas’ anti-idolatry publicity campaigns, and eventual execution, which lead to these persecutions. Satan (God-denying Rome) rules this city, which most certainly is unfit for Christians and good people to live in and raise their families in.

That’s it for now. Hope you got a handle on who ANTIPAS was, how important he was, what kind of example he was and still is today. And I hope the info about him in this blog helps you appreciate the meaning of the Apostle John’s words to the church at Pergamon. Thanx for stopping by and reading my thoughts on this important subject!