Context is Everything

Day 5 of our exploration of Turkey brought us to two new cities: Thyatira and Pergamum—2 of the 7 churches Jesus wrote letters to in Revelation 2. These letters increase in value and understanding tremendously when you have the context involved.

In the morning, we visited Thyatira. Thyatira was a small industrial city. They produced bronze, iron, wool, pottery, and more. It makes sense then that Jesus would describe himself as having “eyes like a flame of fire and feet like burnished bronze” in verse 18. Reading further, in verse 27, he writes about the one who holds fast to His works ruling the natiooons with “a rod of iron” and breaking them “like pottery”. This is all language they live every day. 

Later in the day, we traveled northwest to Pergamum, a city with developing healthcare and wellness and known for their large medical centers. Four temples were erected in the acropolis of Pergamum. You can see where Roman hands had been to build the immaculate arches and walls that still stand today. We walked through the remains of the temples of Demeter, Athena, Trajan, and Zeus (where the actual temple, depicted as a throne, is now in Berlin). As an offering to believed healing from their god Asclepius, the “cured” would give a stone making of the healed body party with their name inscribed to him.

When we look at the letter Jesus writes to Pergamum, he says they “dwell where Satan’s throne is”, like the depicted throne in the temple of Zeus, and that he will “give a white stone, with a new name written on the stone” in verse 17. Again, this is language they understand living in Pergamum.

With these letters, we can see why context is important. Understanding the context of the people helps us to understand the whys behind the words of Jesus. And it also reminds us that Jesus is saying “I see you. I understand you. I’m with you.”

Shayla Basset