maintain that endurance for which they were initially praised: “Hold fast to what you have until I come” (v. 25; see v. 19). The concrete experiences of a young Christian church in the Greco-Roman world continue: virtue and strength in the midst of false prophecies leading to idolatrous practices that parallel those described in the church at Pergamum, a widespread challenge for these early churches (see 2:14; 1 Cor. 8–10).82 The judgment of such practices lies ahead, and all the churches must recognize