The City of Pergamos

 

By Dale Babinsky      Pergamos, also called Pergamum was a major city in the Roman province of Asia and was located approximately 50 miles north of Smyrna and was about 15 miles from the sea.  The city was built on a hill that stood out 1,000 feet above the plains around it.  Perhaps because of the height of the city compared to the surrounding area, it became a center of pagan worship with altars and temples built to four pagan gods.  Of these were Zeus, Dionysus, Athena, and Asclepius.  It is speculated that the reason that Pergamum is called the place where Satan’s throne is located may be due to these pagan altars.  However, the real reason for Christ referring to Pergamum as the place of Satan’s throne in the book of Revelation (2:13), seems likely to be because Pergamum was the center of the cult of emperor worship in the time of Domitian.      Because of its natural position of strength being elevated over the surrounding plains, Pergamos became a logical place for the storage of wealth.  Sometime after the death of Alexander the Great, the city achieved splendor during the reign of Attalus I (241-197 BC).  He defeated the Gauls in the area and formed an alliance with Rome.  Pergamos became associated with Hellenistic culture, many theaters, temples and a library.  Later, Pergamum became the first city in Asia to request permission to worship the Roman Emperor during the reign of Augustus in 29 BC.  This likely led to it being the place where Satan’s throne is located, referring to the worship of the emperors that would escalate in the reign of Domitian.  Pergamum is the modern day city of Bergama in Asiatic Turkey.      In Scripture, Pergamos is only mentioned in the book of Revelation.  Christ states that some of them were holding to the doctrine of Balaam, which may mean that they were willing to compromise with paganism and/or emperor worship.  They also had those who held to the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which was condemned.  The church at Pergamos also received some commendation for holding fast to the name of Christ even in the face of persecution and death.  It would appear that Antipas was martyred here, perhaps because the throne of Satan, the center of emperor worship, was in Pergamum.

- Dale J. Babinsky preaches for the Great Smoky Mountains Church of Christ in Pigeon Forge, TN. He may be contacted through the congregation's website - https://gsmchurchofchrist.com/