Title Revelation 02:12-13 Church of Pergamum
Content Revelation 2:12-13)
Jesus' third letter was sent to the church in Pergamum. Although not as commercially prosperous as Ephesus or Smyrna, Pergamum was a historically and politically important administrative capital. But Pergamum was the center of idolatry at that time. There was the Temple of Zeus and the Temple of Athens. Pergamum was also home to Babylonian religion. According to the Bible, there is King Nimrod, who founded the old Babylon. His wife is Semiramis. At that time, Nimrod arose and reigned over the people, and people thought he was the Messiah. But when Nimrod tragically died, his wife Semiramis used Nimrod to create religion.
Semiramis painted a picture of her husband Nimrod holding her in her arms like her son. Thus, by making Nimrod the savior and the Virgin Mary who gave birth to the savior, he created and institutionalized the Babylonian religion. But instead of building the Tower of Babel because of God's wrath, when all the people were scattered all over the earth, they all took the Babylonian religion with them. This Tower of Babel was called a ziggurat, and was a tower for Babylonian religion.
After that, the Babylonian religion was based in Babylon and was driven out by King Persa. And Adolsus III, who reigned from the origin of Babylonian religion, fled and settled in Pergamum. He died in 133 B.C., after which the religion was moved to Rome. From 63 B.C. to 400 B.C., the religion was worshiped and used politically by Roman emperors.
Then, in 376 AD, after Emperor Gracian believed in Jesus, he refused because he was a Christian and could not hold the priesthood of Babylon. But two years later, the then Christian Bishop of Damascus volunteered to take over this priesthood. And they mixed Christian rites with Babylonian rites. If you go to a Catholic church, you can see a painting or statue of the Virgin Mary holding the baby Jesus. This figure resembles that of Semiramis, the founder of Babylonian religion. It is a mix of religions.
Everyone, I pray that you will become believers who believe that only Jesus is the Savior who saved all mankind.