Revelation 2:13 “I know where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is; and you hold fast My name, and did not deny My faith even in the days of Antipas, My witness, My faithful one, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells.
I know where you dwell…where Satan dwells.
The church at Pergamum and Satan have one thing in common, their home town. They κατοικεο/katoikeo or live or dwell in Pergamum. The verb tense in the Greek is present which indicates continuous action. Translation, Satan dwells in Pergamum and continues to dwell in this location moving forward. A permanent residence is the idea.
…where Satan’s throne is…
Pergamum was the home of the Altar of Zeus. It was built from 197-156 BC. And that is where the altar remained until the Germans came. A German engineer discovered the ruins in 1864. His name was Carl Humann. The Germans moved the Altar of Zeus piece by piece to Germany. The Pergamon Museum was opened in 1930. To this day, the altar is housed in the Pergamon Museum in Berlin.
The altar was used as a pattern by Hitler’s architect Albert Speer. This was used as a backdrop for one of Hitler’s speeches to the Nazi’s in Nuremburg. It was known as the Zeppelintribüne.
Curiously, many have made the following observation. In 2008, Barack Obama was nominated by the Democratic Party as their nominee for president. The setting was Denver, Colorado. Critics of the former president think the stage was a dead ringer for the Altar of Zeus. I will leave that to the individual to make their own assessment.
Pergamum is Satan’s capital. The grammar of the verse suggests this is still Satan’s capital. This is not to say the people of Pergamum or modern day Bergama are Satanic. Jesus’ church was located in the same city and those people were not Satanic.
…and you hold fast My name, and did not deny My faith even in the days of Antipas, My witness, My faithful one, who was killed among you…
Living in Satan’s backyard should not keep one from believing and worshiping Jesus Christ. The church in Pergamum “held fast” and “did not deny” belief of the Head. The church came under intense pressure during those days. The example given by Jesus Himself was Antipas.
The term Holocaust was Hitler’s “Final Solution”. In the Greek Holocaust means: a wholly burnt animal sacrifice.
Tradition has Antipas as the Bishop of Pergamum. In 92 AD, Antipas was martyred “a wholly burnt” sacrifice on the Altar of Zeus. From this same altar in Nuremberg, Hitler produced his “Final Solution”. The result was six million sacrificed Jews.
