Blog

The Throne of Satan

Revelation 2:13 – “I know where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is.” – spoken by the Lord Christ Jesus, in His letter to the Church in Pergamum.  Further in the same verse of Revelation 2:13, Jesus continues and says – “where Satan dwells”, still referring to Pergamum.  Both times it is written in the present tense.  Christ Jesus is telling us the throne of Satan is located in Pergamum.  Satan’s throne was in Pergamum when the Book of Revelation was written and it’s still there to this day.

Pergamum is in present day Turkey.  It was considered Asia Minor in Biblical times.  Its location: (far) north of Jerusalem.

A photo on the right is of the ancient ruins of the Roman amphitheatre from Pergamum, with modern day Bergama in the valley below.

Pergamum was a major metropolis in its day.  It even held the second largest library in the ancient world; second only to Alexandria, Egypt.

Check out this old map: 

Pergamum wasn’t just a major city, it was even a kingdom

unto itself – the ‘Kingdom of Pergamum’.

Isaiah 14:13 writes of Satan’s claims:

• “I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north” in the KJV.
• In the NASB, it is written, “I will sit on the mount of assembly in the recesses of the north.’
• In the NIV, “I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of the north (‘sacred mountain’)”.
• In the NLT, “I will preside on the mountain of the gods far away in the north.”
  

In Revelation 13:2 the Dragon gives his throne to the Beast – “The dragon gave the beast his power and his throne and great authority.”  The throne that Satan gives the Beast is in Pergamum and that is where the Beast will establish his epicentre of ultimate power.  His kingdom will rule from Pergamum.

Click on The Beast for the commentary about him.

A little background of the city of Pergamum:  It was an ancient Greek city that existed at least as far back as the 5th century BC.  It’s situated a mere 16 miles from the Aegean Sea, accessible via the Caicus River.

Pergamum’s oldest temple was a sanctuary to the Greek goddess Athena, built in the 4th century BC.

In Biblical times there was a Christian church established in Pergamum, however it had its struggles with heretics and idolatry.  In His letter to their church Jesus warned them against the teaching of Balaam and the teachings of the Nicolaitans.

Of Pergamum an ancient writer stated it was “given to idolatry more than all Asia.”

In 29 BC the city of Pergamum became the site of the first Imperial Cult of a living Roman emperor.  A temple was built to the joint worship of the goddess Roma and the emperor Augustus.  It was the first like it in Asia Minor.

Pergamum went on to become the ‘religious’ capital of Asia Minor. It built many pagan temples, including the Great Altar of Zeus, the king of the Greek gods.  It was on this altar of Zeus that faithful Antipas, the first bishop of the Church of Pergamum, was martyred in 92 AD, as a ‘wholly burnt sacrifice’.  It was an extremely evil, satanic ritual.  By the way, this is the same Antipas mentioned in Revelation 2:13, confirming the Book of Revelation was written sometime after 92 AD.

Yet another temple erected in the city of Pergamum was to Serapis, a Greco-Egyptian god of the underworld and fertility.

This artist’s sketch suggests that the assembly of these Pergamum temples was indeed like no other.  So many temples all in the side and the top of one mountain, all worshipping a wide range of major gods.

This scripture verse is worth repeating.  Isaiah 14:13 – “I will preside on the mountain of the gods far away in the north.” – NLT; “I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north” KJV.  Isaiah is quoting Satan.  This passage is very revealing for a number of reasons.  The phrase ‘the gods’ has special significance.  Many key gods were worshipped in Pergamum.  The likes of Zeus, Athena, Roma, Isis/Serapis, and Dionysus.  You just have to look at the colossal size of some of  these temples and know temple worship was serious business. The truth is that these ‘gods’ aren’t gods.  They are demons, and they are some of the principalities and powers warned against in Ephesians 6:12.  This makes for quite a “congregation” of very powerful demons all gathered together on one mountain.   And Satan’s throne is over it all.  Jesus: Revelation 2:13 – “I know where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is.”  The phrase: “in the sides of the north” also matches Pergamum.  This metropolis was built into the side of a mountain.  And ‘far away in the north’ – Turkey is well north, far away, from the holy city of Jerusalem.  Ezekiel 28:14 refers to God’s holy mountain in Jerusalem, Mount Zion, as “the holy mount of God”.  Satan will ‘sit on the mount of assembly’, assembly meaning “a group or gathering”.   All the phrases: mountain of the gods, mount of the congregation, mount of assembly, far away in the north, in the sides of the north, recesses of the north – all reveal important facts to know.

The Germans moved the Altar of Zeus to Berlin and the Pergamum Museum was opened in 1930.  Hitler believed the altar was the ‘seat of Satan’.  From this altar, Hitler produced his ‘Final Solution’.  In the Greek, ‘holocaust’ means burnt offering/sacrifice.

The temples, shrines, altars and even the coins at Pergamum all demonstrated  their strong affinity to the worship of pagan gods and the Emperor, underworld gods and even those associated with the serpent.  Besides portraits of the emperors and several gods and goddesses, the serpent was the most prolific image depicted on the coins of Pergamum.

Pergamum was quite the thriving epicentre of satanic worship.  The Lord Jesus’ statement, “where Satan’s throne is”, was quite revealing.

Pergamum was – and still is – the city ‘where Satan’s throne is’ and ‘where Satan dwells’.

2 Thessalonians 2:3-4 – “Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshiped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.”  The Beast may at times sit in the temple of God during his reign in order to gloat, but his throne and his kingdom, will be in Pergamum, ‘Kingdom of Pergamum’.

Pergamum – the city in Chapter 18 – Babylon is Fallen – Revelation 18.

Pergamum is now modern day Bergama, in the province of Izmir, Turkey with a  population of 102,000.

There are so many independent articles on the internet writing that Turkey will be a major player in the End Times.  This Islamic nation even now hates and is persecuting Christians for their faith.

With the throne of Satan in Pergamum, this city has the spirit of Babylon, the essence of Babylon, the Fall of Babylon.

In Chapter 18 at the Fall of Babylon, the whole earth mourns her destruction which occurs in one hour.  What other city could possibly elicit such global grieving, the epicentre of their Beast Empire.

The Lord Christ Jesus Himself stated: ‘I know where you live, where Satan’s throne is … where Satan lives.’ – Revelation 2:13, so there would be no mistake.

This is recorded in the Book of Revelation, it’s said by the Lord Himself, it is written in present tense which shows continuous action (some writers say it means a ‘permanent state’) and it’s repeated for wisdom and understanding.

“Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say to Gog (The Beast): “This is what the Sovereign Lord says: ‘In that day, when my people Israel are living in safety, will you not take notice of it?  You will come from your place in the far north, you and many nations with you, all of them riding on horses, a great horde, a mighty army.  You will advance against my people Israel like a cloud that covers the land.’ ” – Ezekiel 38:14-16

“This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am against you, O Gog (the Antichrist), chief prince of Meshech and Tubal.  I will turn you around and drag you along.  I will bring you from the far north and send you against the mountains of Israel.  Then I will strike your bow (first horseman – Revelation 6:2) from your left hand and make your arrows drop from your right hand.  On the mountains of Israel you will fall, you and all your troops and the nations with you.  I will give you as food to all kinds of carrion birds and to the wild animals.  You will fall in the open field, for I have spoken, declares the Sovereign Lord.” – Ezekiel 39:1:5

2 Thessalonians 2:3 – “Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way.”