In the quote from Dr. Bates (below) we now find evidence for what the writer of Hebrews is talking about. Think about it! If becoming a Christian in the first century meant not only disavowal of gods, demons, world, and flesh, but also of Greco-Roman emperors as gods and "sons of god", what would you think happens in the eyes of Jesus if such a person disavows Jesus and reaffirms his allegiance to Caesar? Read the following quote closely and carefully
Other terms that we today traditionally associate with Christianity were also popular as part of imperial propaganda. In the broader Greco-Roman world, the word euangelion, “gospel,” could mean good news of military victory or of the emperor’s birth or reign.
The term kyrios, “lord,” along with sōtēr, “savior,” was a favored term used by the emperor. In fact if one had ceased to be a Christian and wanted to prove that to the Roman authorities, then one could offer a sacrifice in the presence of a statue of the emperor while saying “Caesar is Lord,” which was understood in such contexts as incompatible with the sworn confession “Jesus is Lord.” We have a detailed description of this process in the letter of Pliny to the emperor Trajan, written around AD 112. Pliny certainly understood that allegiance to Jesus as a sovereign was more fundamental to Christianity than anything else, even if it is not readily recognized today.
The Temple in Pergamum, now modern-day Turkey, was a significant structure built during the reign of Emperor Augustus. This temple was significant because it was one of the first to be dedicated to a living Roman emperor. It marked an important shift in religious and political dynamics as the Romans began deifying their rulers, attributing divine lineage, and conferring the title "Son of God" upon them.
The title "Son of God" was not a new concept but was borrowed from Hellenistic traditions where Alexander the Great and later the Ptolemaic and Seleucid kings were considered divine. The Romans took this idea a step further by declaring their Emperor as "Divi Filius" which means "Son of God". In this way, Caesar Augustus was not the first god-king, but he became the template for later Roman emperors.
The temple at Pergamum was dedicated to Rome and Augustus, introducing the imperial cult worship. Citizens of the Roman Empire were then expected to offer sacrifices and swear allegiance to the emperor as the "Son of God". They were to pledge their faith and declare that Caesar was Lord.
This act was not just religious but had political implications as well. It demonstrated one's loyalty to the empire and to the reigning emperor. Those who refused to take part in these practices were seen as potential challenges to the social order and could be persecuted. This was one of the challenges faced by the early Christian community, whose faith prohibited them from participating in these rituals.
As for the specific rituals and practices, they would likely have involved offering sacrifices, perhaps of animals, and burning incense. The exact nature of these allegiances and rituals may have varied across the expansive Roman Empire, adapting to local customs and traditions.
Despite the scarcity of detailed records concerning the exact ceremonies taking place in the temple at Pergamum, the site is recognized as a significant landmark in the development of Roman imperial cult practice. The implications of citizens swearing allegiance to the "Son of God" remain a significant factor in understanding the relationship between state and religion in antiquity.
Now consider
On one side is the Gospel of Jesus Christ, where the primary feature of this gospel is a two step process: First, disavowal of former allegiances and then second, the taking up of a solitary allegiance to Jesus as the King of kings. The disavowal would include gods, demons, and worldly living emperors (not to mention personal flesh and lusts as the vehicle of expressing such allegiances).
To really bring the matter into sharper view, let's bring a couple of quotes from the book of Hebrews into sharp view: Hebrews 6 and 10 are our target.
1 Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, 2 and of instruction about washings, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. 3 And this we will do if God permits. 4 For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, 5 and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, 6 and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt. 7 For land that has drunk the rain that often falls on it, and produces a crop useful to those for whose sake it is cultivated, receives a blessing from God. 8 But if it bears thorns and thistles, it is worthless and near to being cursed, and its end is to be burned.
9 Though we speak in this way, yet in your case, beloved, we feel sure of better things—things that belong to salvation. 10 For God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love that you have shown for his name in serving the saints, as you still do. 11 And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness to have the full assurance of hope until the end, 12 so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith [allegiance to Christ] and patience inherit the promises.
The other troublesome Hebrews passage is found in chapter 10. Let's bring that into view as well.
19 Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, 20 by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith [allegiance to Christ], with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful [loyal to us]. 24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.
26 For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, 27 but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries. 28 Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses. 29 How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace? 30 For we know him who said, “Vengeance is mine; I will repay.” And again, “The Lord will judge his people.” 31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
32 But recall the former days when, after you were enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings, 33 sometimes being publicly exposed to reproach and affliction, and sometimes being partners with those so treated. 34 For you had compassion on those in prison, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one. 35 Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. 36 For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised. 37 For,
“Yet a little while,
and the coming one will come and will not delay;
38 but my righteous one shall live by faith,
and if he shrinks back,
my soul has no pleasure in him.”
39 But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith [loyalty to Christ] and preserve their souls.
The Book of Hebrews is traditionally believed to have been written for Jewish Christians, possibly those residing in Rome, though the actual intended audience and their location are not definitively known. The name "Hebrews" comes from the way the letter addresses its recipients—people who are familiar with the Jewish law and the prophets, suggesting a Jewish Christian audience.
The letter seems to be intended for people living in a Hellenistic (Greek-influenced) context, as it uses concepts and language familiar to Greek philosophy and rhetoric, which was influential in the Roman Empire. So, it is likely that they were in Greco-Roman territory. However, the exact location and identity of the original audience remain a topic of debate among biblical scholars.
King Jesus vs the Roman Emperor Cult
I have quoted quite a bit of scripture above and I apologize for the heavy wordiness of it, but I am doing it to provide a wider context in order to demonstrate a simple, poignant, and critically important point: Given what we know now from Pliny—that the Romans specifically gave a "road back" from Jesus and Christianity to the Roman Emperor by means of threat and coercion by way of switching allegiances, we have now a very coherent means of evaluating what's going on in the book of Hebrews and these traditionally troubling texts.
To sum it up: It appears that these Jewish converts to Christ by public disavowal of allegiances to Roman emperors and a taking up of public allegiance to Christ alone as a requirement to salvation in Christ at the Day of the Lord—this entire matter presents now a problem that Hebrews is addressing.
Consider that if this letter is in fact being written to Jews living in Roman or deep in Roman territory, surrounded by the cultic worship of the Roman emperor as a "son of God" and add to this that these Hellenized Jews would be both wealthy and hob-knobbing with their wealthy Roman counterparts—we find a life and lifestyle that is not only given to easily flowing with declarations of Caesar as the "son of god", but also of a lifestyle of the sinful actions and practices involved, especially after the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 AD.
However, it is believed that the Book of Hebrews was written before the Second Temple and Jerusalem was destroyed. Moreover, we know that the Jews rebelled against Rome starting in about 66 AD. Neither the destruction of the temple or the Jewish rebellion is mentioned in Hebrews. From this, we assume that the book was written prior to 66 AD and this has implications because it means that there may have already been "stirrings" of rebellion, which was drawing attention specifically to Jews in the Roman empire. This would have been especially true of Jews converted to Christ who were openly and actively refusing to declare allegiance to the Roman emperor as a "son of god".
If all of this is accurate and true as a backdrop for the time and climate behind the book of Hebrews, we may well have a strong reason to suspect that what Hebrews 6 and 10 are really focused on is this struggle that former Jews, now loyal to Christ publicly, are facing. They are being confronted by Roman officials and society who are demanding them to disavow Christ and re-establish allegiance to the emperor under threat of confiscation of property, prison, or even death. This can be seen from the quotes from Hebrews above.
For example, in Hebrews 10:32-34, we find the writer of Hebrews mentioning first their "hard struggle with sufferings, sometimes being publicly exposed to reproach and affliction". This sets the stage for verse 34 and the specific mention of prison and property confiscation as a result of refusing to disavow Christ and come back to open and public allegiance to Caesar. Given such information, the story behind passages like Hebrews 6 become very transparent. Yet, we have another matter in chapter 10 that is closely allied.
In chapter 10 we find the lead idea is that of "if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins". How does this play into the framework we have outlined above? The proposed solution involves the wider scope of what it mean to be a Hellenized Roman who was wealthy and participating in the benefits of being a loyalist to the "son of god" Roman emperor—namely—the sins of the Watcher Roman-style.
Lifestyles of the Roman rich and famous
It is doubtless that Greco-Roman culture, especially that of wealthy and elite Roman citizens was steeped in decadence and certainly "sin" from the Christian point of view in the late first century. Below is an overview of the lifestyle of Roman emperors, but it is not limited to them and extends into both the wealthy and elite of Rome.
1. Sexual Immorality: Extramarital affairs, homosexuality (which was considered a 'sin' or 'immoral' by some cultures and religions, but was often accepted in Roman society), orgies, pedophilia, prostitution, incest, and rape were crimes of sexual immorality often associated with some Roman emperors.
2. Gluttony: Excessive feasting and consumption of alcohol. Emperors like Nero and Vitellius are known for their extravagant banquets and overindulgence.
3. Greed: Embezzlement, misuse of public funds, and excessive taxes levied on citizens were common practices.
4. Idolatry: The worship of the emperor as a deity, including the emperor cult, could be seen as a 'sin' or excess from a monotheistic perspective.
5. Pride and Vanity: Some emperors were known for their obsession with personal glory, prestige, and their self-portrayal as godlike figures.
6. Violence: Many emperors indulged in cruel and violent behavior, including arbitrary executions, exhibits of public cruelty, and violent military campaigns.
7. Laziness: Some emperors are reported to have enjoyed a life of leisure at the expense of their duties.
The surrounding environment that these Jewish converts lived in and the evidence that they were property owners asserts that they may well have been at the top end of the social ladder around them. This would have exposed them to any number of the features of the list above. Therefore, these brothers and sisters in the Lord would have had a double exposure to both fear on one side (allegiance to Christ or Caesar) and hedonistic temptations to the sins of their Roman counterparts.
Therefore, it is my suggestion that the writer of Hebrews is addressing both of these matters in order starting in 6 through 9 to deal with the matter of the Emperor Cult and then in chapter 10 to deal with the matter of just the flat-out sinful environment they were surrounded by and the temptations to continue in it. It may well be that their wealthy Roman citizen friends were using the enticements of their deliberately sinful lifestyle to woo these Jewish converts back, plying them with promises with an ultimate aim of luring them into publicly disavowing Christ (chapter 6).