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| The Theater at Pergamum |
The city of Pergamum provides us with an important view of Roman imperial ambition during Paul’s ministry. Pergamum was the site of the first temple erected for the imperial cult in Asia Minor. Especially in the East, the imperial cult of deified emperors was celebrated as a test of loyalty to the state. As Christ’s emissary to the nations, Paul preached a gospel that announced “another King, Jesus” (Acts 17:7). Paul believed that Jesus was the real ruler of the world, his death and resurrection brought peace, and all nations are now united by faith in him. Christians worshiped Jesus as God. Their highest loyalty belonged to him. Their communities claimed to be colonies of heaven lived out upon the earth. Their relationships with one other became like a new family. They abandoned the traditional gods and could not offer worship to any man. They could no longer embrace the cultural institutions of paganism as a guide for their own civic life. For many Romans, Christian belief and behavior aroused suspicion, mistrust, and in some cases persecution.
We will then continue north until we reach the city of Alexandria Troas, where Paul received an important vision from the Lord during his second missionary journey. He arrived in Troas with Silas and Timothy after traveling almost 1000 miles from Antioch on the Orontes. Timothy first joined the missionary team in Lystra (Acts 16:1-3). As they journeyed west toward the coast, the Holy Spirit prevented Paul from speaking the word of Christ in the Roman province of Asia (Acts 16:7). He attempted to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow him. When they reached Troas, the Lord gave Paul a vision in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing there, urging him “Come over to Macedonia and help us!” (Acts 16:9). Luke records that “when Paul had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go on into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them” (Acts 16:10). Note well the pronoun in Acts 16:10 -- the narrative has changed from he to we. Luke, the beloved physician, who became Paul’s coworker in the gospel, has joined the missionary team (Col 4:14; Philem 1:24; 2 Tim 4:11). He will one day be moved by the Holy Spirit to write the gospel of Luke and the book of Acts. From the harbor of Troas, they made a direct voyage to the island of Samothrace, the following day to Neapolis, and eventually reached Philippi, a leading city of the district of Macedonia and a Roman colony (Acts 16:11-12).
Paul visited Troas again at the end of his third missionary journey on his way to Jerusalem in Acts 20:5-13. We see Paul’s heart to communicate the richness of Christ from the Scripture. As believers gathered on the first day of the week to break bread, Paul opened the Scripture with them and spoke at length. A young man named Eutychus (meaning “Good Fortune”) listened attentively to Paul’s preaching while sitting in the window sill. Around midnight, he drifted asleep and fell from the third story height of the apartment building. He was presumed to be dead, until Paul went over and “taking him in his arms, said, ‘Do not be alarmed, for his life is in him’” (Acts 16:10). Paul continued his teaching until daybreak and then departed (Acts 16:11).
Key sites: Pergamum, Troas
Key Scripture Reference:
Acts 16:1-11; 20:5, 6, 2 Tim 4:13, 2 Cor 2:12
Revelation 1:1-11, 2:12-17 (Jesus’ letter to the church at Pergamum)
Key Readings:
Peter Walker, In the Steps of Paul, chapter 7
Mark Wilson, Biblical Turkey, 281-295, 384-386
David Palmer, CASKET EMPTY: God’s Plan of Redemption through History New Testament Study Guide, Pentecost part 2
Videos:
Reconstruction of Pergamum
Altar of Zeus at Pergamum
Archaeology Illustrated reconstruction drawings of Pergamum around the time of Paul’s ministry
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| Pergamum Imperial Temple |
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