Antipas: The Forgotten Martyr in the New Testament

In the New Testament, there are five named martyrs who died because of their testimony to the truth. But you probably only know four of them:

1. John the Baptist is the first. (Matthew 14:1-12)
2. Jesus is the second. (Revelation 1:5)
3. Stephen is the third. (Acts 7:54-60)
4. James, son of Zebedee is the fourth. (Acts 12:1-2)

Many of us forget the fifth—Antipas of Pergamum (Rev 2:13)! Yet Jesus himself commends the fifth martyr as one worthy of honour and respect.

Antipas stands as an example of one who resisted evil and gained a reward

“I know where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is. Yet you hold fast my name, and you did not deny my faith even in the days of Antipas my faithful witness, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells.” (Rev 2:13)

That said, not everyone has forgotten about Antipas. He is venerated as a saint in several traditions, with April 11 often observed as his feast day in Eastern Orthodox and Catholic churches. But for most Protestants, we only come across him if we read Revelation.

So what is going on here with Antipas? What can we learn?

Jesus’s Letter to Pergamum

In the Book of Revelation, Jesus dictates seven letters to seven churches in Asia Minor. This is significant because while Jesus didn’t physically write anything during his earthly ministry, he does narrate these seven letters that John the Seer records in the Book of Revelation and delivers to the seven churches.

In his letter to Pergamum, Jesus mentions Antipas as “my faithful witness” (the Greek word for “witness” is martys, from which we derive the word “martyr”). This implies Antipas remained faithful to his testimony until death. The cause of his death seems connected to the spiritual reality of Pergamum. Jesus twice mentions it as a place “where Satan’s throne is” and “where Satan dwells.”

While Satan is identified as the implied cause behind Antipas’s martyrdom, there would have been human agents carrying out the execution. Just as Jesus writes to “the angel” of each church while addressing the earthly congregation, similarly, Satan works through human instruments. This is why understanding the religious and political context of Pergamum in the first century is key to understanding Antipas’s martyrdom.

Pergamum: “Where Satan’s Throne Is”

Pergamum had three major religious elements that likely explain the reference to “Satan’s throne” and to his dwelling place:

1. Imperial Cult: Emperor Worship

• Around 29 BC, a major temple dedicated to Emperor Augustus was established in Pergamum, one of the earliest centers for emperor worship.
• Augustus used coins that proclaimed him “Divi Filius” (son of god), creating a direct challenge to Christian confession of Jesus as God’s Son.
• By the time Revelation was likely written (80s-90s), Emperor Domitian had gone further, adopting the title “Dominus et Deus” (Lord and God).
• This imperial claim directly contradicted the Christian confession reflected in John’s Gospel, where Thomas calls Jesus “My Lord and my God” (John 20:28)
• Antipas’s martyrdom may have resulted from his refusal to acknowledge the emperor’s divine claims, instead confessing Jesus alone as Lord and God. His resistance wasn’t armed rebellion (as Romans 13 advised against), but simply maintaining his Christian confession.

2. The Altar of Zeus

• Pergamum housed a massive altar dedicated to Zeus, the chief deity in the Greek pantheon (equivalent to Jupiter in the Roman idiom).
• As the ruler of the pagan gods, Zeus’s altar could be what Revelation refers to as “Satan’s throne.”
• However, the imperial cult seems more likely to be the “throne of Satan” given how Revelation portrays Rome as a “destroying Beast” and “vicious Beast ridden by a harlot” (Revelation 13 and 17).

3. The Asclepion

• The city also housed the Asclepion, a healing center dedicated to Asclepius, the god of medicine.
• This house featured rituals connected to serpents and religious healing practices.
• Patients sought cures through various rituals, including incubation sleep and sacred water treatments.
• The famous physician Galen later studied at this center.
• While perhaps not as central to the “Satan’s throne” reference, the Asclepion formed part of the pagan religious context of Pergamum.

For the church of Pergamum, they were threatened by the teaching of Balaam and the teaching of the Nicolaitans among them (Rev 2:14–15). Antipas stands as a valiant and faithful martyr, a witness to the truth of Jesus, amid the temptations of these early false teachings that were threatening the church.

Interestingly, Jesus also speaks of the sword He holds, warning of judgment against evil. Yet, He also offers a promise: hidden manna, a white stone, and a new name (Revelation 2:17). Antipas, who remained faithful until the end, receives this reward—the hidden manna, the white stone, and his name written in the book of life—because of his unwavering stand against the “throne of Satan,” where Satan dwells.

The context suggests that Pergamum was a highly religiously threatening city—not only due to emperor worship and the worship of Zeus but also because of those who embraced the teachings of Balaam and the Nicolaitans. The teachings of Balaam may have been linked to emperor and Zeus worship, particularly in their encouragement of eating food sacrificed to idols and engaging in pagan practices, as mentioned in Revelation 2:14.

Antipas stands as an example then of one who resisted evil and gained a reward. So the Pergamums and anyone after ought to do the same for the sake of the joy set before them.

Further Reading

“Domitian: An Innovative Emperor?” | American Journal of Archaeology: Vol 127, No 1 https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/full/10.1086/723402

Suetonius, Life of Domitian 13:2: “With no less arrogance he began as follows in issuing a circular letter in the name of his procurators: ‘Our Lord and God (dominus et deus noster) bids that this be done.’ And so the custom arose of addressing him in no other way even in writing or in conversation. Yet he forbade statues to be erected to him in the Capitol, except those of gold and silver, and even these he allowed only on condition that they should be dedicated to Jupiter. He permitted himself to be called nothing more than ‘Germanicus’ in public.”