Pt1-18-PERGAMUM: "WHERE SATAN's THRONE IS"
PERGAMUM: "WHERE SATAN’s THRONE IS"
Revelation 2:13. ON a rocky eminence, about twenty miles from the West Coast of Asia Minor, stood the proud city of Pergamum, "unequalled for majesty in the whole ancient world". Unlike many other cities of the time, the history of which went back to the dawn of Greek civilisation, Pergamum rose to a position of prominence in the first half of the third century before Christ. During the troublous period when Alexander’s generals were dividing his empire, one of them, Lysimachos, put his treasures in the fortress on the lofty site of Pergamum, in charge of an officer named Philetairos. The latter seized an opportunity to get the power, and became ruler of Pergamum as an independent kingdom. Successful in repelling the hordes of Gauls who overran the district, the kingdom prospered. It reached its zenith in 197 B.C., under Eumenes II. At this time the Romans were making their influence felt in the East, and Eumenes thought it wise to ally with the Roman legions. In 133 B.C., Attalos III, the last king of Pergamum, died, and by his will left the kingdom to the Romans. Pergamum then became the capital of the Roman province of Asia.
Christian interest in Pergamum centres in the fact that one of the letters in "Revelation" was addressed to the church in that city. In Revelation 2:13 a startling phrase is used to describe the church’s dwelling-place: it is "where Satan’s throne is". What was it that marked out the city for such unenviable distinction? Can modern discoveries throw any light upon this interesting phrase?
Excavations were made on the site as early as 1878 by German archæologists, and since that time many important finds have been made. We are told that in the days of its glory the citadel was adorned with temples and other buildings, public and private, which made it of surpassing beauty and magnificence. Chief among these was the famous Great Altar of Zeus. This huge altar of sacrifice stood upon a base about one hundred feet square, surrounded on three sides by colonnades, and approached on the western side by a broad staircase. A frieze of sculpture depicting the Battle of the Giants adorned the base, one hundred and fifty yards in length. Elevated some eight hundred feet above the plain, with its smoke ascending far, the Altar of Zeus must have attracted the gaze of all eyes. Some scholars think that this was the throne of Satan mentioned in "Revelation". Adolf Deissmann, in his Light from the Ancient East (the title of this book, by the way, was suggested by the brilliant sunshine which bathes the citadel of Pergamum and other Eastern sites), writes: "Actual inspection of the place suggests that ’Satan’s throne’ can only have been the altar of Zeus; no other shrine of the hill-city was visible to such a great distance and could therefore rank so typically as the representative of Satanic heathendom."
Rival theories have been advocated, however. Some think that the reference is to the worship of Asclepius, called the Saviour. To the temple of Asclepius, "royal patients came for healing from every land". The temple was "the centre of a medical school, with the right of asylum". Asclepius was represented by the snake-symbol, which to the Christian was a symbol of evil. Deissmann mentions a magician’s outfit which was discovered at Pergamum, where magic was widely practised. A strong claim has also been made that the reference in Revelation 2:13 is to the fact that "Pergamum was the headquarters of the official worship of the Roman Emperors in Asia". Dr. Charles, in his commentary on "Revelation", says: "But from the standpoint of our author the most important cult was that of the Roman Emperors, which was established in Pergamum--as the chief city of the province--in 29 B.C., where a temple was dedicated to Augustus and Rome by the Provincial Synod. . . . Thus Pergamum won the honour of the Neocorate (Temple guardianship) before Smyrna, which did not obtain it till 26 B.C., and Ephesus, which was not so honoured till the reign of
Claudius or Nero. A second temple was built in Pergamum in honour of Trajan, and a third in honour of Severus. The imperial cult had thus its centre at Pergamum; and as the imperial cult was the keystone of the imperial policy, Pergamum summed up in itself the intolerable offence and horror that such a cult, the observance of which was synonymous with loyalty to Empire, provoked in the mind of our author." Christianity certainly met with strong opposition in Pergamum, for Antipas died as a martyr there for his faith (Revelation 2:13).
Some other matters are worthy of mention. The English word "parchment" is derived from pergamena, meaning "of Pergamum". In the ancient city was a library second only to that of Alexandria. The librarians of Alexandria became jealous of their rival, and prohibited the export of writing material (papyrus) to Pergamum. Thereupon the scribes of Pergamum produced a substitute from the skins of sheep or goats--parchment. When the library at Alexandria was partly destroyed, Cleopatra requested Mark Antony to make a grant of books from Pergamum. It is said that 200,000 books were taken to Alexandria.
Among the many inscriptions found at Pergamum, one only will be cited. It is an interesting parallel to James 2:8, which speaks of the "royal law". This inscription reads: "He set up the royal law out of his own means." Deissmann says: "The law is called ’royal’ because it was made by one of the kings of
Pergamum. So, too, in the Epistle of James we must probably understand the term in the first place with reference to the origin of the law." It came from the divine King.