Last modified on May 14, 2018, at 19:52

Antipas of Pergamum

Antipas of Pergamum, Christian bishop and martyr in the first century of the Christian Era (C.E.).

In A.D. 92, according to tradition, Antipas of Pergamum, a personal disciple of the Apostle John, was roasted to death in a brazen or copper bull during the persecutions of Emperor Domitian. The Hieromartyr Antipas, the priest-martyr Antipas,[1] had been made Bishop of the Christian church of Pergamum by the Apostle John during the reign of Nero. His witness to the Lord Jesus Christ by word and deed and miracles of healing began turning the people of Pergamum from offering sacrificial worship to idols that can neither see, nor hear, nor move, nor breathe. The pagan priests complained vehemently that he was misleading the people by causing them to commit apostasy from their faith in their ancestral gods by his personal example of moral and spiritual virtue, the firmness of his faith in his God, and his constant preaching about Jesus the Anointed One. When they demanded that he stop, he refused. He would not submit to their demand to stop preaching Christ and offer sacrifice to the idols. They became enraged and dragged him to the temple of Artemis, and there they threw him into a glowing, red-hot copper or brazen metal bull where they normally put their sacrifices to the idols to cast demons out of their own people. He loudly prayed God to receive his soul and strengthen the faith of the Christians, and begged God to forgive those who were inflicting on him this torment. He then departed as peacefully as if he fell asleep. It is said that he died during the persecutions under Nero or Domitian sometime after A.D. 68, according to the majority of biblical scholars most probably about the year 92. If true, this places the dating of the Book of Revelation most probably A.D. 95-96 near the end of the reign of Domitian.

Jesus Christ bears witness to him in Revelation 2:13, calling him "Antipas my faithful witness".[2]

See also

Revelation, Book of (historical exegesis)

Harmony of the Gospel (Conservative Version) Chapter Fifty-five

Historical-critical method (Higher criticism)

Persecution

Roman Empire

Paganism

Other gods

References

  1. ↑ The Orthodox Greek title Hieromartyr is from the Greek prefix Ιερο hiero- "priest, priestly" + μάρτυρος martyos, martyr "witness"—Ιερομάρτυρος, Hieromartyros, Hieromartyr.
  2. ↑ See multiple commentaries on Revelation 2:13 (biblehub.com)

External links