Hosea 7-14; Joel 1-3; Amos 1-2; Psalms 137-139; Revelation 2-6
In Revelation this week, you’ll start reading the famous section in chapters 2 and 3, where John writes seven “letters” to churches in western Asia Minor (Turkey today). Remember that John is imprisoned on a small island called Patmos, just off the coast in the Aegean Sea. Last May, my wife and I led a trip to Greece and Turkey that stopped at Patmos. In ancient times, it was a non-descript, barren island, but John’s association with it has made the island a pilgrimage spot, and as a result Patmos has an interesting history. But that’s another story.
As we traveled through Turkey, we stopped at three of the archaeological sites related to the churches of Revelation: Pergamum, Smyrna, and Ephesus. Ephesus is the most famous and accessible, and it’s wonderful. This was our third visit, and I’d go back any time! But the site that stood out for me most on this trip was Pergamum, which I hadn’t seen before. It is located around and on top of a high, steep hill. The town could be defended easily, and it became important as the ruling city of western Turkey.
With the conquest of the East by Alexander and the Greeks, Hellenistic culture took hold in Pergamum. That led to huge building projects, including a famous altar to Zeus. You can still see where it stood when you take the funicular up to the top and visit the ruins. If you want to see the altar itself…you have to go to Berlin! The altar, like lots of other ancient structures, survived for centuries but couldn’t avoid western archaeologists, who used to feel that they could cart off what they liked to their museums back home. (Think, the “Elgin Marbles” in the British Museum.) Later, in the first century B.C., the Romans pushed eastward too. They gained possession of Pergamum (also an interesting story!), and added their own monuments to the city, including temples and other structures.
Now, what’s all of this have to do with Revelation? Well, when John was writing at the end of the first century A.D., the early Christians were a small and oftentimes unpopular group. He seems to have been especially worried about the tiny community in Pergamum, which may have been facing hostility from much better known religions at the time. So John tells them to watch out, because “Satan’s throne” is in the city. (2:13). The environment of Pergamum must have been especially threatening for the Christians.
But here’s the big question: what was “Satan’s throne”? It might have been that spectacular altar to Zeus, the king of the Greek gods. Or maybe it was the seat of Roman Imperial authority – one of their temples perhaps. After all, the Caesar demanded worship of himself as a divinity, a son of the gods. Or maybe it was simply the whole religious atmosphere of the city. After all, there were plenty of high-profile worship centers for other imposing gods there too.
One way or the other, the environment was threatening. Enough so that John warned the Christians there to watch out. Whatever the threat was exactly, John warns them not to get trapped in the wiles of their culture, which happened to be very religious. He would probably have the same message for us today, who live in a very different cultural setting. Culture is a human creation, for better and worse. There are good elements in any culture, and bad ones too, and we had better learn to distinguish them, if we wish to avoid Satan’s power. What are the dangers in our own culture? Well, luckily (smile) I’m out of space, so I’ll just leave that as a question for you to ponder: where do you see “Satan’s throne” in our own time?
Here’s a link to a Wikipedia photo of the Altar to Zeus in Berlin:
theyearofthebible 
Leave a comment