Antipas
Summary
A faithful Christian martyr at Pergamos commended by Christ in the book of Revelation, and also the name of Herod Antipas, the tetrarch who executed John the Baptist.
☩The Martyr of Pergamos
In the letter to the church at Pergamos, Christ commends the congregation for holding fast to His name even in the days when "Antipas was my faithful martyr, who was slain among you, where Satan dwelleth." Tradition identifies him as bishop of Pergamos who was martyred during a tumult raised by the priests of Asclepius, whose famous temple made Pergamos a center of pagan worship. Later tradition relates that he was burned in a brazen bull under Domitian.
☩Herod Antipas
Another Antipas was a son of Herod the Great by Malthace, who inherited Galilee and Perea as tetrarch. Though not called Antipas in the New Testament, he is the "Herod" who executed John the Baptist at the instigation of Herodias, and before whom Jesus appeared during His trial. His unlawful marriage to Herodias, his half-brother Philip's wife, led to John's rebuke and eventual martyrdom.
Related Verses1 mention
Revelation· 1 verse
References
- 1.John McClintock and James Strong, "Antipas," in Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature, vol. I (Harper & Brothers, 1867–1887).
- 2.Andrew Robert Fausset, "Antipas," in The Englishman's Critical and Expository Bible Cyclopædia (Hodder & Stoughton, 1878).
- 3.George Morrish, "Antipas," in Morrish's Concise Bible Dictionary (George Morrish, 1898).