By: Tom Lowe Date: 5-12-2015
Lesson 7: The Church at Pergamos (Revelation 2:12-17)
Revelation 2:12-17 (NIV)
12 “To the angel of the church in Pergamum write: These are the words of him who has the sharp, double-edged sword.
13 I know where you live—where Satan has his throne. Yet you remain true to my name. You did not renounce your faith in me, not even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness, who was put to death in your city—where Satan lives.
14 Nevertheless, I have a few things against you: There are some among you who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin so that they ate food sacrificed to idols and committed sexual immorality.
15 Likewise, you also have those who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans.
16 Repent therefore! Otherwise, I will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.
17 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give that person a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to the one who receives it.
Introduction
After leaving Smyrna, a letter carrier traveled along the coast of the Aegean Sea for about 40 miles. Then the road turned northeast along the Caicus River. About 10 miles inland stood the impressive city of Pergamum, built on a hill 1000 feet above the surrounding countryside, creating a natural fortress. Rivaling Ephesus as the leading city in the region, Pergamum had become the capital of the province of Asia and the center of Asian culture. It was proud of its links with Rome.
The city of Pergamos had little or no commerce, but was revered for its institutions of learning. It was a city of refinement, and science—especially medicine. Many kings lived in Pergamos over a period of years. Bible history tells us that the library at Pergamos consisted of 200,000 books! It was in Pergamos that the art of curing skins for writing, was perfected. (The word “parchment” was derived from the process of curing skins to be used for writing.) Ephesus and Smyrna were evil and wicked cities of idolatry, but Pergamos was even worse. It was known as “Satan’s throne,” and also as the place “where Satan dwelleth.”
The letter to Pergamos was addressed to a church which was drifting into worldliness and carnality. There were some who were resisting the general flow of the tide, but the majority were being swept out to sea. The application of this message to our day must be obvious to all. Worldliness has swept into the church. There are some who still hold to the truth of separation, but the majority are content, like Lot to seek the best of both this world and the one to come. Marten Luther, with his resounding “Here I stand!” would be a misfit in many Christian congregations today. It is more popular to seek a comfortable compromise with the world.
It is significant that Christ begins His letter with the statement, “I know where you live” (2:13). He knows the environment in which His people live. He is not ignorant of the fact that His Church is in the midst of a religious, non-Christian world. In no other place did the Christians have a more difficult time than in Pergamos, the center of paganism in that day. In Smyrna it is a “synagogue of Satan” (2:9); in Pergamos it is the throne of Satan, his base of operations.
Message
12 To the angel of the church in Pergamum write: These are the words of him who has the sharp, double-edged sword.
There is a difference in the name of this city in the various translations of the New Testament. The Authorized Version calls it Pergamos, while the Revised Version, and the Revised Standard Version call it “Pergamum.” It was the capital city of Mysia, a Roman province in the northwest of Asia Minor. It was situated on the river Caicus. “Pergamum” literally means “citadel.” It was known chiefly for its religion—it was the center for four of the most important gods of that day—Zeus, Athene, Dioiysus, and Asclepius. The city’s chief god was Asclepius, whose symbol was a serpent and who was considered the god of healing. People came to Pergamum from all over the world to seek healing from this god.
As usual, the Lord begins the letter to Pergamos with a reference to Himself and with a word of commendation. He says, “To the angel of the church in Pergamum write: These are the words of him who has the sharp, double-edged sword.” These words were used in the glorious description of Christ in the first vision in revelation (1:12-16), and are applied several times in the addresses to the churches. This letter was addressed, as were other letters, to the angel or messenger of the church, which was probably the one we would call the pastor. In chapter one, the sword proceeds out of His mouth, while here He is said to have a sharp, twoedged sword. The sword is a symbol of Judgment, and of course the sword that precedes out of His mouth is the Word of God. Paul tells us that “the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword” (Hebrews 4:12, NIV). Every believer knows that the Bible possesses swordlike qualities. It was this weapon that Christ used when He was tempted by Satan in the wilderness (Matthew 4:4, 7, 10). God’s way to overcome satanic error and opposition is by the faithful setting forth of His Word. Nothing but His truth can defeat error, and we have this divinely inspired weapon of victory. Let us use it fearlessly.
13 I know where you live—where Satan has his throne. Yet you remain true to my name. You did not renounce your faith in me, not even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness, who was put to death in your city—where Satan lives.
“I know where you live—where Satan has his throne. Yet you remain true to my name.” Loyalty to the Lord’s Person was being maintained in a most difficult and dangerous place—“where Satan has his throne.” He praises those, who were dwelling in the shadow of Satan’s throne, for their faithfulness to His name. They might have saved themselves from persecution by merely whispering His name among themselves. Or they might have concluded that they must get along with Satan’s crowd, and so, in order to maintain peaceful coexistence and satisfy the enemy, they wouldn’t make a spectacle of themselves by identifying themselves publicly with Jesus Christ. But no, they maintained a love for, and loyalty to, Christ’s name, and He appreciated their stand. The reference to Satan is a reminder that their persecution is a product of spiritual warfare rather than simple government persecution.
Christ’s name stands for Himself. It represents the fullness of His divine Person, His deity, His sinlessness, and His saving work for sinners. To “remain true to my name” is not the equivalent of caring a card or wearing a medal to show that one belongs to some “holy name society.” Rather, it is holding to the firm conviction that He is the Lord Jesus Christ—“Lord” [Master], “Jesus” [Mediator], “Christ” [Messiah]. His name suggests His honor, His glorious nature, His holy character, and His redeeming power.
Satan’s ambition from the very beginning has been to exalt his throne above the stars. It was this which brought about his fall. Satan is a created being and therefore possesses none of the attributes of deity. He is not omniscient, though he does have at his disposal an efficient organization of fallen angels and demons united in a highly functional system of espionage and obstruction. When Daniel began to pray, for example, that organization went to work to hinder and obstruct the answer (Daniel 10:12-14, 20-21). Satan is not omnipotent, even though he is very powerful and exerts his power through an hierarchical structure made up of thrones, dominions, principalities, powers, the rulers of this world’s darkness, and wicked spirits in high places (Ephesians 6:12; Colossians 1:16; 2:15). Nor is Satan omnipresent. As a created being, he can be in only one place at a time. He appeared before the Lord in the book of Job from his wanderings to and fro across the face of the earth. He is “the prince of the power of the air (Ephesians 2:2) and, as such, no doubt has a throne somewhere in the heavenlies. He is also “the prince of this world” (John 12:31) and, as such, maintains a throne somewhere on earth. In John’s day, it was at Pergamos. Now Satan’s throne is not in hell. This whole idea of Satan’s headquarters being in hell is preposterous. He has never been in hell because hell hasn’t opened up for business as yet. Satan’s “the prince of this world” (John 12:31; 40:30; 16:11). Christ himself said so on at least three occasions. Paul and John taught likewise that Satan held leadership over this world system (2 Corinthians 4:4[1]; Ephesians 2:2; 1 John 4:3-4[2]; 5:19). His rule extends to both the celestial and the terrestrial spheres.
Commentators suggest that the expression “where Satan has his throne” refers to the fact that Pergamos had become the center of the Babylonian mystery cult. This seems to be an inadequate explanation of the phrase. There is no reason why Satan, a created being, limited to being in one place at a time, should not have had his earthly seat at Pergamos in John’s day.
Faithful Christians at Pergamos were confessing the blessed name of Jesus in the very capital city of Satan’s power structure on earth. It was an especially dangerous place in which to maintain a dynamic Christian testimony. “You remain true to my name,” says the Lord. That glorious, saving, sovereign name, how it rings the changes on all the dark and dreadful passions of the pit that rage in the twisted and tormented soul of Satan! He loathes and detests the name of Jesus, for it spells out his impotence and his doom. The believers at Pergamos were loyal to the Lord’s Person. The saints who lived in that city were tempted and tested, and even though their goods had been taken, and they had been tortured, robbed and martyred, they did not deny the name of the Lord Jesus, nor did they deny their faith. Satan is a powerful person—but his overthrow is already determined, and the moment of his eternal imprisonment is fixed (Revelation 12:7-13; 20:10[3]).
The Lord says, “You did not renounce your faith in me, not even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness, who was put to death in your city—where Satan lives.” The great precepts of the Christian faith was in good hands with the faithful ones at Pergamos. The great precepts of the Lord’s virgin birth, His miraculous life, His atoning death, His bodily resurrection, His ascension into glory, His coming again, these were all doctrines loyally held by the believers there. He praised them for their doctrinal faithfulness—“You did not renounce your faith in me.” They did not merely give intellectual assent to the fact of Jesus Christ; they trusted Him as Savior and Lord.
“Antipas,” probably the pastor of the church, was martyred during the reign of Domitian, being shut up in a red-hot brazen bull, but he ended his life in thanksgiving and prayer. All we know about this faithful, uncompromising, fearless witness is given in this verse. We do not know one thing about him except his name and the fact that he gave his life for his faith; but there is so much wrapped up in that one sentence, “MY FAITHFUL WITNESS!” What the Lord Jesus Christ was to God the Father (Revelation 1:5[4]) “Antipas,” was to the Lord Jesus Christ! Greater words could not be spoken about any saint of God.
Verses 14-15: There were false creeds in this church. There were two of them. There was the doctrine of Balaam. This was an outward-looking heresy, a form of neoecumenicalism that might be summed up in the statement, “Let’s be more relaxed in our loyalties.” There was “the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes.” This was an inward-looking error, a form of new ecclesiasticism which might be summed up in the statement: “Let’s be more restricted in our leadership.” Both of these cults advocated license in matters of Christian’s conduct and apparently a return to religious rituals by clergy, ignoring the priesthood of all believers. Christ says that He hates it! You see, Christ hates as well as loves. We had better be careful that we are not indulging in the things that He hates.
14 Nevertheless, I have a few things against you: There are some among you who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin so that they ate food sacrificed to idols and committed sexual immorality.
Verse 14 opens with the words, “Nevertheless, I have a few things against you.” These words were spoken to the angel at Ephesus (2:4) and also to the angel at Thyatira (2:20). At Ephesus, it was the departure from first love. In Thyatira it was the corruption of doctrine; and here in Pergamos it is plural “things,” pointing to more than just one evil. Always remember that when a minister begins to compromise in the least, the compromising will spread and grow. If we give the devil an inch he will take a mile. A believer cannot do business with the devil in any form, regardless of how insignificant or little it may seem. It does not seem to be such a terrible sin just to love the Lord Jesus a little less; but when our love cools, that always opens the door for other things to happen.
There can be no doubt about the seriousness of this heresy. “Nevertheless, I have a few things against you: There are some among you who hold to the teaching of Balaam.” Balaam was a picturesque individual with a reputation as a prophet, hired by King Balak to curse the children of Israel whose forward advance he feared. Balaam is mentioned a dozen times in Scripture (the history of Balaam is recorded in four chapters of the Old Testament (Numbers 22-25). He had God’s Word in his mouth while his heart was possessed with a satanic covetousness for the honors and rewards of this world. He made merchandise of the gospel, prostituting it for gain. That Balaam was greedy for gain is supported in 2 Peter 2:15[5] and Jude 11. He had unusual gifts and was an eloquent preacher, but he was willing to compromise for a price. He was a Gentile prophet with a most remarkable grasp of truth, a thorough knowledge of the character of God, a deep insight into the future of Israel, and possessed of a praiseworthy desire to die the death of the righteous. His two fatal lusts were for wealth and women. He is consistently held up to us in the New Testament as an outstanding example of an apostate. The cynical maximum, “every man has his price” was certainly true of Balaam. Although warned by God not to respond to Balak’s invitation, Balaam went anyway. Four times he sought to curse Israel, and each time God changed the curse into a blessing. Faced with the rising wrath of King Balak, fearing loss of his remuneration and possibly loss of liberty and life, Balaam came up with the devilish suggestion which has earned him his disgrace in Scripture. “My lord king,” he said “If you cannot curse these people, then corrupt them” (see the Numbers 22-25).
The doctrine of Balaam, as summarized by the Lord in His letter to Pergamos, was in three parts. It was characterized first by the wisdom of this world. We are told that he taught Balak; “If you corrupt them,” he intimated, “then God will have to correct them; and if God corrects them, King Balak, you can be sure that their numbers will diminish and their threat to your kingdom will decrease. Their God is a holy and a jealous God. He will not stand by and allow them to sin against Him with impunity.” Balaam taught Balak how to use the holiness of God’s character for his own evil ends. Just as many today abuse the grace of God, so Balaam taught Balak how to abuse the government of God. How? By following Balaam’s advice Balak was making friends with Israel, and then inviting the Jews to worship and feast at the pagan altars. “If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em!”
The Jewish men fell right into the trap and many of them became “good neighbors.” They ate meat from idolatrous altars and committed fornication as part of heathen religious rites. Twenty-four thousand people died because of this disobedient act of compromise (Numbers 25:1-9). The congregation or the individual Christian that compromises with the world just to avoid suffering or achieve success is committing “spiritual adultery” and being unfaithful to the Lord.
Moreover, his doctrine was characterized also by the worship of this world. He “taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin so that they ate food sacrificed to idols.” His philosophy was simple: Involve them in idolatry, and judgment will be swift and sure. The divine hatred of idolatry and anything connected with it blazes out again and again throughout Scripture. Balaam knew enough of the true and living God to realize that any deliberate entanglement by Israel in that which God consistently calls abomination would inevitably bring retribution upon them. The divine prohibitions against involvement in the idolatrous worship of this world are clear and plain.
Apparently some in the church at Pergamum were followers of Balaam and were corrupting others in their attempt to justify idol worship—perhaps by joining in with civic ceremonies where idols were worshipped. Eating food offered to idols probably refers to these people’s taking part in pagan feasts. Sexual sin may also be understood as being part of certain pagan festivities.
The fact that a large segment of the professing church has espoused idolatry makes the judgment of Christendom certain and sure. Idolatry is satanic, however, it can be more subtle than the brazen worship and adoration of graven images. The doctrine of Balaam, in its broadest aspect, is to bring some object between the soul and God. It is all too easy to set up some cherished thing, some idolized person, some secret ambition, and allow that to come between us and God so that God is robbed of both worship and service.
The temptation to eat idol meats was a particularly strong one to the Gentile converts. For not to do so involved almost a withdrawal from partaking of any social meal with heathen friends. Idol meats, after a part had been offered in sacrifice, were almost sure to be on the heathen entertainer’s table.
Balaam’s doctrine was characterized by the wickedness of this world. He taught Balak, in a roundabout way, how to persuade Israel to sin by influencing some in Israel to worship idols by eating food offered to idols and by committing sexual sin. Many of the Canaanite cults employed sexual immorality as a part of religious worship. Balak seized on the idea and, so far as Israel was concerned, with a great measure of success. The doctrine of Balaam suggests simply that some wicked practices of the world are not really sinful and can be employed as a means of gaining an end.
So then, the doctrine of Balaam is really an attack upon the standards of separation and sanctification God expected Israel to maintain.
15 Likewise, you also have those who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans.
The Lord is emphatic in His repudiation of the doctrine of the “Nicolaitanes.” He says, “Likewise, you also have those who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitanes.” The deeds of the Nicolaitanes are mentioned in the letter to Ephesus. The deeds have now become a doctrine. What was at first tolerated as an unscriptural practice is now accepted as an unscriptural principle. The Nicolaitanes were a sect whose deeds were strongly condemned. They may have been identical with those who held the doctrine of Balaam. They seem to have held that it was lawful to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit fornication, in opposition to the decree of the Church rendered in Acts 15:20[6] and Acts 15:29[7]. The teachers of the Church branded them with a name which expressed their true character. The men who did and taught such things were followers of Balaam (2 Peter 2:15[5]; Jude 1:11[8]). The outstanding sin in the church at Pergamos was the sin of tolerating evil men and their teaching in the church.
These two groups, Nicolaitanes and the followers of Balaam, were essentially the same in their practices. The Nicolaitanes are described in 2:6 as those whose actions Christ hates. The believers in Ephesus had recognized the error of these people, but apparently the believers in Pergamum were being deceived by it or tolerated it. The Nicolaitanes were Christians who had compromised their faith in order to enjoy the simple pleasures of their society and perhaps to be able to burn incense on the altar to the emperor to avoid the penalty for not doing so. Their sin was in compromising their faith for the world. They thought that the best policy was to peacefully coexist and go along with what they could of Roman society in order to be left alone. But such compromise could only dilute their faith; thus, Christ said it could not be tolerated.
Verses 16-17: The Lord is seen standing in the midst of the congregation at Pergamos with a two-edged sword. It is interesting that Balaam himself was slain with the sword (numbers 31:8; Joshua 13:22).
16 Repent therefore! Otherwise, I will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.
Repent therefore! Not only the Nicolaitanes, but the whole Church of Pergamos is called on to repent for not having hated the Nicolaitane’s teaching and practice. It is a sin to not hate what God hates. If the church did not repent of its sin and deal with the compromisers, then God would come and do it—and that would be disastrous.
What a mistake we make if we think that the church has the authority to decide what is right and what is wrong. The true church is made up of believers in Jesus Christ, and they form what Scripture calls the body of Christ. They are to be lights in the world. And if we are going to be lights in this dark world, we need to be careful to identify with the person of Jesus Christ and to recognize, not the church, but the Word of God as our authority.
He comes straight to the point. The Lord says, “I will soon come to you and will fight against them.” The church is still His, but those who are defiling it, He disowns. Against them, in fact, He declares war. Truly the Lord knows them that are His. He knows how two separate the wheat from the chaff, the sheep from the goats. He promised that judgment would come “soon” which here means “suddenly” (1:1; 22:7, 12, 20).
“The sword of my mouth” refers to the judging power of the Word of God. “There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; the very words I have spoken will condemn them at the last day” (John 12:48). The Word of God is a sword, able to slay both sin and sinners. It turns and cuts every way; but the believer does not need to fear this sword; yet this confidence cannot be supported without steady obedience.
17 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give that person a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to the one who receives it.
“Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give some of the hidden manna.” Three things marked the heresy at Pergamos—idolatry, immorality, and infidelity. The overcomer in the church “kept from all three, and his reward is commensurate with his conduct. “To the one who is victorious” refers to the Christian who is an “overcomer;” that is the definition of a genuine Christian. WE OVERCOME BY THE BLOOD OF THE LAMB. Never are “we” overcomers, but we’ve overcome by His shed blood. We know that the victory was won by Christ and not by ourselves. Overcoming the world, the flesh, and the devil is an individual matter. We MUST be overcomers. Overcoming refers to individuals, not to a group. To him the Lord said, “Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give some of the hidden manna.” To the overcomers at Pergamos Christ says, “I will give some of the hidden manna.” The manna was angel’s food, poured down from heaven in miraculous provision for the children of Israel throughout their wilderness journey. A pot of that manna was hidden by Moses in the Ark of the Covenant in the holy of holies of the tabernacle. The overcomers will be given the hidden manna to eat to express in a symbolic way that the overcomer may feast upon Christ in the hidden place. The “hidden manna” referred to here is to be given to the overcomers in Heaven. The wicked would prefer the luxurious banquet of the world, spread with all that would appeal to carnal appetite, and which is deliberately served to insult the living God. The saint of God would prefer to be alone with the Lord enjoying spiritual food.
The overcomer kept himself from immorality and refused to partake in the loose living of the cult. The Lord says, “I will also give that person a white stone.” This, surely, if nothing else, is a symbol of changeless purity. Christ is that White Stone, the “stone cut without hands,” the stone of dazzling purity.
Small stones served many purposes in ancient times. Some were given to the poor to help them obtain food, like food stamps. Some were used as invitations to a banquet. The invited person would bring along the stone in order to be admitted. Each stone would have an invited person’s name on it. For those who refused to go to the pagan banquets, a place was reserved at the Messiah’s banquet in heaven.
The Lord says, “I will also give that person . . . a new name.” The stones may be significant because each will bear the “new name” of every person who truly believes in Christ. Alternately, the new name may be Christ’s name as it will be fully revealed (19:12[9]). Or perhaps, because a person’s name represented his or her character, it may be that the new name signifies the believer’s transformed life and character because of Christ’s saving work. The new name may be the evidence that a person has been accepted by God and declared worthy to receive eternal life. In any case, we know that God will give believers new names and new hearts. We will enter God’s glory without spot or wrinkle, without anything at all against us, completely free from any and all sin. The overcomer will have a new name written on the white stone. No one will know the name but the happy person who receives it. “I will also give that person a white stone with a new name.”
The overcomer is given evidence that he has entered into a knowledge of the Lord Jesus as the victor over every defiling thing. The overcomer kept himself from infidelity. The Nicolaitanes were setting up the names of men in the place of His all-sufficient name. The overcomer refused to have any part of that. The Lord, in the white stone He bestows, will give the overcomer “a new name written on it, known only to the one who receives it.” The name is secret. The overcomer and the Lord are so close that the Lord can give him a knowledge of Himself no one else can share: some new revelation of Himself which shall hereafter be imparted to His people, and which they alone are capable of receiving.
Each victorious Christian is to have an eternal secret with God. There is a central sanctuary in each personality which only God shares. God completely cleanses a man’s life. So the stone he gives him is a “white stone.” The “new name” represents the individual personality achieved only through the grace of Christ. He is a new man; but he is not a new man just like every other new man. He is eternally something individual, and different, and eternally prized by God.
One of the features of the Old Testament is the giving to a man of a new name to mark a new status. So Abram becomes Abraham when the great promise is made that he will be the father of many nations and when he, as it were, acquires a new status in the plan of God for men (Genesis 17:5). So after the wrestling at Peniel, Jacob becomes Israel, which means the prince of God, because he had prevailed with God (Genesis 32:28). Isaiah hears the promise of God to the nation of Israel: “The nations shall see your vindication, and all the king’s your glory; and you shall be called by a new name which the mouth of the Lord will give” (Isaiah 62:2).
This custom of giving a new name to mark a new status was known in the heathen world as well. The name of the first of the Roman Emperors was Octavius; but when he became Emperor he was given the name Augustus to mark his new status.
Taken as a whole, the message to the church in Pergamum is a warning against compromise in morals or teaching and against deviating from the purity of doctrine required of Christians.
Special Notes:
[1] (2 Corinthians 4:4, KJV) “In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.”
[2] (John 4:3-4, KJV) “And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world. Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.”
[3] (Revelation 20:10, KJV) “And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.”
[4] (Revelation 1:5, GW) “and from Jesus Christ, the witness, the trustworthy one, the first to come back to life, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. Glory and power forever and ever belong to the one who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood
[5] (2 Peter 2:15, GW) “These false teachers have left the straight path and wandered off to follow the path of Balaam, son of Beor. Balaam loved what his wrongdoing earned him.”
[6] (Acts 15:20, NIV) “Instead, we should write a letter telling them to keep away from things polluted by false gods, from sexual sins, from eating the meat of strangled animals, and from eating bloody meat.
[7] (Acts 15:29, NIV) “by keeping away from food sacrificed to false gods, from eating bloody meat, from eating the meat of strangled animals, and from sexual sins. If you avoid these things, you will be doing what’s right.
[8] (Jude 1:11, NIV) “How horrible it will be for them! They have followed the path of Cain. They have rushed into Balaam’s error to make a profit. They have rebelled like Korah and destroyed themselves.
[9] (Revelation 19:12, ESV) “His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself.”
