Dearly Beloved,
Many people wondered why and what is the significance of Pergamos glory on 9 February 2012. I too have asked the same question at the beginning of this endtime revival. It is easy for humans to formulate their own opinion and state their personal ‘revealed reasons’ but it is indisputable when it is revealed in the Word of God, the Holy Scriptures. Without sharing the various visions and downloads from the Holy Spirit (the rhema received), we first approach this from the academic and biblical point of view. The following are Scriptural reasonings (like the way the apostle Paul reasoned in the synagogues during his missionary journeys) that everyone who loves the Bible needs to contend with:
Why was Pergamos referred to as ‘where Satan’s throne is’ and ‘where Satan dwells’?
This could easily have been Rome, where the centre of all Roman Empire power dwells, or one of the other corrupt churches in Revelation or even somewhere remote on planet earth like the Bermuda Triangle or the Devil’s Sea. There is no other such place referred to in the whole Bible. Moreover, isn’t the devil a fallen angel, a spirit being, who dwells only in the spiritual dimension as the god of this world or the prince of the power of the air (Ephesians 2:2). Isn’t the domain of fallen angels at the plane of spiritual wickedness in heavenly places? (Ephesians 6:12). Why does the devil need a physical domain to express as ‘his throne’?. The same question can be asked as to why God needs the Tabernacle of Moses or the Temple of Solomon? Obviously, the answer in the Bible on God’s side is for the closer and more integrated link between what God wants to do on earth and His people. The same reverse reasoning can be said of the devil as he also requires humans to surrender their free will to him in obeisance, in order to fulfil his evil agenda on the planet earth.
David’s kingdom and Solomon’s Temple came about around the 10th Century BC. The physical manifestation of the temple brought Israel to its zenith and after Solomon, every king was measured based on David and on what they did in the worship of God in the temple. Meanwhile in the north, the Neo-Assyrian Empire was rising and began to affect the Northern Kingdom of Israel and the also the Southern kingdom under David’s descendants.
Secular history (Wikipaedia) records the rise of Tiglath-Peleser III as below:
“Assyrian power in the Near East greatly increased as the result of Tiglath-Pileser’s military reforms (see “Reforms” below) and of his campaigns of conquest. Upon ascending the throne, he claimed (in Annal 9, which dates to 745 BCE, his first regnal year) to have annexed Babylonia, from “Dur-(Kuri)galzu, Sippar of Shamash, … the cities [of Ba]bylonia up to the Uqnu river [by the shore of the Lo]wer [Sea]”[11] (which referred to the Persian Gulf), and subsequently placed his eunuch over them as governor. Also in his first year of reign he defeated the powerful kingdom of Urartu (Armenia), whose hegemony under the rulership of Sarduri II had extended to Asia Minor, northern Mesopotamia, western Iran and Syria; there he found unrivalled horses for his war-chariots.[12] He also defeated the Medes before making war on and conquering the Neo-Hittites, Syria and Phoenicia. He took Arpad in 740 BCE after three years of siege, annexed it as a province (over which he placed one of his eunuchs as governors), and subjected Hamath to tribute. Assyrian inscriptions record in 740 BCE, the fifth year of his reign, a victory over Azariah (Uzziah), king of Judah, whose achievements appear in 2 Chronicles 26. He also subjugated Damascus, the Arabs under Queen Zabibe, Menahem of Israel and Sam’al’s king Azriyau, who all paid him tribute.[13] In 737 and 736 BCE he turned his attention again to Iran, conquering the Medes and Persians and occupying a large part of Iran.[13] According to the royal inscriptions of Tiglath-Pileser many of the inhabitants were enslaved and deported to other parts of the Assyrian empire, as commonly done by his predecessors. At sieges, captives were slaughtered, and their bodies raised on stakes and displayed before the city (illustration, right).
In October 729 BCE, Tiglath-Pileser assumed total control of Babylon, capturing the Babylonian king Nabu-mukin-zeri (ABC 1 Col.1:21) and having himself crowned as “King Pulu of Babylon.”
Biblical records describe how Tiglath-Pileser III exacted 1,000 talents of silver as tribute from King Menahem of the Kingdom of Israel (2 Kings 15:19) and later defeated his successor Pekah (2 Kings 15:29).
Pekah had allied with Rezin, king of the Arameans against Ahaz (known to the Assyrians as Yahu-khazi), of the Kingdom of Judah, who responded by appealing for the Assyrian monarch’s help with the Temple gold and silver. Tiglath-Pileser answered swiftly. He first marched his army down the eastern Mediterranean coast, taking coastal cities all the way to Egypt. This cut off his enemies’ access to the sea. Once this was achieved, he returned to the Northern Kingdom of Israel, destroyed their army, and deported the Reubenites, Gadites, and the people of Manasseh to Halah, Habor, Hara, and the Gozan river (1 Chron 5:26). He then installed an Israelite puppet king, Hoshea, (732–723 BCE) in the place of Pekah. He concluded this extensive campaign by marching north and west, ravaging Aramaea, seizing Damascus, executing Rezin, and deporting the survivors to Kir (2 Kings 16:9).”
The Neo-Assyrian Empire was responsible for the complete removal of Northern Israel and is a type of Anti-Christ capturing the apostate church. The Neo-Assyrian Empire covered the area of Pergamos under the sphere of its influence:
The extend of Neo-Assyrian Empire before the rise of Babylonian Empire
Dispersion of the Northern Israelites by the Assyrian Empire
The control of Pergamos was under the Neo-Assyrian Empire which dominated the regions of Phrygia and Lydia, before the Medo-Persian Empire took it. During the Greek Empire period, Pergamon became a major cultural centre of the Greek world and the Acropolis was constructed. With it the Great altar at Pergamos was built. Why does the Bible refer to this place as the seat of Satan and Satan’s throne when there were other temples to Zeus constructed in Athens and Cyrene? It is not just the physical altar but the spiritual forces that had been working in these areas. Primarily its impact on Israel and on the early church. The powers that existed then were responsible for the ten lost tribes of Israel when they were removed and much persecution against Christianity such that the book of Revelation records the death of Antipas the martyr (Revelation2:11). Pergamos church was not the most persecuted church (that title goes to the church of Smyrna) but it is known as the compromising church. For nearly three thousand years since the scattering of the Northern Tribes of Israel, the enemy has symbolically ruled here.
Could the reference of Pergamos being the throne of Satan or where Satan dwells, be merely a spiritual symbolism and not actual fact?
Of course, anyone can just interpret the Bible spiritually as an allegory and not interpret it literally. Many scholars have tried that with stories of Adam and Eve, Noah’s Ark, Moses miracles, etc. The problem with interpreting something as mere allegory and not true is that very soon, the entire bible becomes no more factual as story after story is taken to be mere stories and not historical fact. The general principle is to always interpret things as actual facts. The seven churches of Revelation were true actual historical churches. There are no grounds for viewing them as pure allegory. Yet the mention of them as being representative of ALL churches is astounding as none of them, except Ephesus, was well known in the New Testament. But what we know of the New Testament churches could be due to the emphasis on Pauline revelation and the missionary journeys of Paul. John the Apostle was prominent in the church of Smyrna and there are interesting accounts of the stories of John being the trainer of Bishop Antipas at Pergamos and Bishop Polycarp in Smyrna. A literal interpretation of the Bible and the Seven churches of Revelation, would imply that Pergamos is indeed the manifest ruling place of Satan, though we do not have much understanding of this until this end time revival. All Seven churches were planted by Paul from Ephesus and they were chosen by Jesus to represent the whole church in its character and eschatological reference. The conclusion to this question is that, it is more Scriptural and proper to interpret the Bible literally even if we do not understand all of it. This applies to many puzzling Scriptures like the Genesis account of angels cohabiting with humans producing giants, which if we believe it, explains a lot of the source of human mythologies of giants and humans. On this wise, we have chosen to interpret the words of Jesus to the Seven churches of Revelation literally. If our Lord Jesus said that Pergamos was the throne of Satan and where Satan dwells, who are we to contradict our Lord Jesus (Revelation 2:13)?
From spiritual visions, it seems that the location of the Seven Churches dates back to that geographical space when Pangea existed and it was an important location of dimensions of access to heaven, even dating back to pre-Adamic earth. We know that there are also locations of fallen angels trap at the Euphrates that so happen to be located where it is today at Euphrates in modern maps (Revelation 9:14). Additionally, from God’s point of view where the future to Him has already occurred and is past tense, God knew that He would release His glory upon the earth via Pergamos (9 Feb 2012) and the devil sensing some things had sought to prevent that but to no avail. Just like Mount Moriah was an important place in Abraham’s time because of its future location of the temple of Solomon (Genesis 22:2; 2 Chronicles 3:1), Pergamos has always been predestined as the place where the kingdom of God, the Stone which came and struck the feet of the statute of Nebuchadnezzar, touched the earth (Daniel 2:34, 44). It is located geographically at an important place where all the world empires had tread through to conquer the world. Only God knows all the reasons why such a small insignificant place in the eyes of man, would be chosen as the place where the glory of God comes down. We can only accept the bible as fact and flow forth with God’s commandments.
Just as God planned for the manifestation of His glory to always come upon a pre-designated place by predestination, He has planned that Pergamos, where the Spirit of Glory is represented, be the place for the end time move. Jerusalem was a special place that came into prominence during David’s reign. Jesus commanded to wait in Jerusalem until the Spirit of God has empowered God’s people (Acts 1:8). Similarly, Pergamos is a special place in these end times and it is God who ordained that the kingdom of God’s glory should shine forth from here.
Visions were received on the Seven churches and we include them here. To all those who believe, it will bring blessing:
The Seven Churches trip in 2012 was done to release the beginning of this end time move. The archangel Uriel took charge of the whole itinerary when we were there and there was a vision of the angel of Ephesus battling spiritual forces. The angels in Ephesus were dressed in battle armour and a dream was given – the angel of Ephesus coming in with an olive branch and saying, “I am the angel of Ephesus and we have been expecting you. Sanctify yourself; you are doing the work of the Lord of Hosts. You will proclaim Jehovah Shalom to this town. The peace of God will triumph over this place. The Lord will bring life back to the desolate places. Come, let us go!” Prayers and proclamation was made on 31st January 2012. In Smyrna (Izmir), the archangel Uriel met with the angel of Smyrna and they seem to be acquainted with each other as they have worked together in the angelic realm. The angel of Smyrna said that they have been waiting for centuries for God to raise a prophetic ministry to work with angels in order to fulfil God’s end time prophecies. The angel of Smyrna also had warlike features and aura like archangel Uriel and was also dressed in battle gear. The angel of Smyrna radiates the love of Christ and had a sense of compassion and gentleness that makes one filled with God’s tender love. A group of angels was there with the angel of Smyrna at the place of prayer and proclamation on 2nd February 2012 with the following words proclaimed:
Thus says the Lord God. Jesus Christ is the way, the truth and the life; no one goes to the Father except through Him. But he who believes Jesus Christ is the only way to God the Father, he will live because Christ died and rose up again by the power of God the Father. He who believes in Jesus Christ shall know the truth, and the truth will give him liberty from all fears.
Thus says the Lord. Blessed are you when men cast insults at you and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely, on account of Me. (Matthew 5:11)
Thus says the Lord. Blessed are you when men hate you and ostracize you, and casts insults at you, and spurn your name as evil, for the sake of the Son of Man. (Luke 6:22)
Each time David raised His arms to pray, the angels would all cry out together, “Blessed be the name of the Son of God, Jesus Christ; He is the first and the last; who was dead, and has come to life!” (Rev 2:8).
In Pergamos (Bergama), a three day fast was required (6th-8th Feb). For most of us, we were already on the last few days of 40 day fast. The angels in Pergamos were seeking a breakthrough over the spirits and principalities of the air for nearly 3000 years!! The victory will be for the whole body of Christ. The angel of Pergamos showed groups of angels at the base and at the mid-point of the mountain, groups surrounding the whole mountain. We only saw one side from where we stood but was told it is all around the mountain. Each of the fast days was spent in spiritual warfare and fasting. The angels did their spiritual warfare through worship and with swords drawn. There were groups of angels blowing trumpets, groups who wave flags and banners, groups with hands raised and worshipping and also groups with sword pointing up at the top of the mountain. And they were all proclaiming, “The Lord reigns! Blessed be the name of the Lord! Alleluia! The Lord reigns, let all the earth rejoice!” All the angels including the ones accompanying us also had drawn swords and proclaimed together. The following Scriptures were also proclaimed, Ps 47:8, “God reigns over the nations; God sits on His holy throne!” Ps 11:4, “The Lord is in His holy temple; the Lord’s throne is in heaven. The angel of Pergamos was just stationed above the mountain in the air with his sword drawn. And his sword was a flaming sword with a fire!
There were huge dark clouds over the mountain during the fast but on Feb 9th, the day of proclamation, the sky was clear for miles as far as the eye can see, with a bright light that shone over the mountain like a star. Countless angels and the main archangels, no longer attired in battle gear but in shining garments, were there. There was a great joy and radiance amongst all the angels and it was a victory walk. Groups of angels were playing all sorts of musical instruments all over the mountain; there was a heavenly music all around the mountain in the midst of the sound of strong wind. And there were sentinels all spaced out round the mountain and standing with torches. In the distant hills groups of angels standing with torches! Then something like a small army formed up, there was like 3 regiments of troops formed up, each with a commander and in front of these 3 regiments stood their captain, all in battle array and full armour. The captain came and introduced himself, “Greetings, I am the angel of Thyatira. We are here to celebrate the victory of the Lord God Almighty! We are all expecting you to come and prophesy and proclaim. Rest well and we will see you soon.” And then the angel of Thyatira went back to his angels and they all flew away. They flew back to Thyatira (Akhisar). What a sight! All the angels flying together! What a sight! Then the angel of Pergamos brought us to different places in the site to proclaim and prophesy and to anoint. The following Scriptures and proclamation were done:
There was an olive tree in the open space. Genesis 8:11-17, about the dove that Noah sent out and it return with a fresh olive leaf in its beak—“and Noah knew that the waters had receded from the earth.” Thus says the Lord, this olive tree shall be a sign that the Church of God will abound on the earth in the knowledge of God, and be fruitful and multiply on the earth. Genesis 8:17.
Isaiah chapters 12, 13 and 25 were read and prophesied. Isaiah 13 (read on the 3rd day of prayer and fasting). Thus says the Lord, “Lift up a banner on the high mountain, raise your voice to them…The noise of a multitude in the mountains, like that of many people! A tumultuous noise of the kingdoms of nations gathered together! The Lord musters the army for battle….The Lord and His weapons of indignation, to destroy the whole land…Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth will move out of her place, in the wrath of the Lord of hosts and in the day of His anger…And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldeans’ pride, will be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah…Her time is near to come, and her days will not be prolonged.”
Isaiah 25. Thus says the Lord God, “O Lord, You are God. I will exalt You, I will praise Your name, for You have done wonderful things…For You have made a city a ruin, a fortified city a ruin, a palace of foreigners to be a city no more; it will never be rebuilt…And in this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all people a feast of choice pieces…And He will destroy on this mountain the surface of the covering cast over all people…And the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces, the rebuke of His people He will take away from the earth; for the Lord has spoken. And it will be said in that day: Behold, this is our God; we have waited for Him, and He will save us. This is the Lord; we have waited for Him; we will be glad and rejoice in His salvation. For on this mountain the hand of the Lord will rest and Moab shall be trampled down under Him…
A Vision of the lake of fire was given. The lake of fire and fallen angels being thrown into this the lake of fire and they were crying out for mercy from the Lord; and the beast bound up and thrown into the lake of fire and he was shouting with defiance as he was thrown into the fire. At this place the wind was howling and it sounded like voices crying out for mercy.
Thus says the Lord God. (Micah 4:6-7) In that day, says the Lord, I will assemble the lame, I will gather the outcast and those whom I have afflicted; I will make the lame a remnant, and the outcast a strong nation; so the Lord will reign over them in Mount Zion from now on, even forever.
The victory of Pergamos was great and all coordinated by the Holy Spirit with all angels and men involved yielding to the Holy Spirit and receiving instructions from God our Father, Almighty God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
It is under the Archangel Uriel’s instructions that we will be going to the Seven Churches again in February 2020. We will have an all night prayer on February 9th (Melchizedek Day) which is the fortieth day of our fast. God is doing extraordinary things in these end times. There are those who believe and those who don’t. There are those who are filled with thankfulness and worship while others mocked. In every generation, God has always raised a voice that speaks the Will of God. Let those who have ears hear, what the Spirit of God is saying in these last hour. From 9th February 2012, Satan has been dethroned at Pergamos and God’s glory and Victory has been proclaimed. The kingdom of God has struck the earth and now is growing into a mountain of glory.