Thru the Bible

Steve Schwetz: Did you know that Satan has a base of operations on earth? Well, in this study of *Thru the Bible*, we're going to discover in Revelation chapter 2 where Satan ruled during the early days of the church.

As we think about the global impact of spiritual warfare, remember that Jesus promised that He was greater than any spiritual enemy. To remind us of God's faithfulness to reach the world with His good news, Gregg is here, and we've got a great report for you from Uganda.

Gregg Harris: We do. Every month we try to tell you about our newsletter article because our newsletter is packed full of great stuff. Stuff from Dr. McGee, the "Why Study that Bible?" book, and almost always someone from our team has been traveling. We have so many different people traveling the world now, including you, and you've written some articles.

It's so great to see some pictures and to read the experiences. Today we want to talk about an article written by Nathan Bugbee, one of our global ministry team members, and he and I were together on this trip, so I can testify that everything in that article is true.

Steve Schwetz: Wonderful.

Gregg Harris: But we had such an amazing time. I want to bookend this conversation. It was really cool because you and I went to Uganda a few years ago.

Steve Schwetz: Yeah, and I'm a little jealous because you guys got to go celebrate the five-year completion of Runyakitara. We did that trip, and I still have a picture on my phone of that mother-daughter combination, Ruth and Naomi, out in the western part.

How their story so closely mimics the story of Ruth and their faithfulness to the Lord was just such an encouragement. To know that that five-year program is now out there and will live, Lord willing, in perpetuity as we continue to roll year after year.

Gregg Harris: Yes, and so we celebrated that, but the other bookend is we celebrated a brand new ministry called Luo, which is the northern part. So you and I, we drove around the country a lot, but this I think we set a new Guinness Book of World Records. We drove a lot that trip because we went north, then we went southwest to Mbarara, then we came all the way back to the east, and it was a lot of driving.

Steve Schwetz: Big commitment, but I'm sure you were blessed by the people that are there. The excitement that people have for hearing the teaching of God's Word and knowing that we're playing a part in it with *Thru the Bible* just makes those hours getting beat up on those roads worth it when you're face-to-face with other believers.

Gregg Harris: It does. We want you to know that when we're out there, we are representing you. We know that we have so many people that are passionately supporting what we're doing financially and, most importantly, in prayer, and you are with us on those trips. So we want to bring that back.

Let's start with the completion of the five years. What was so exciting was we had a gathering of about a hundred or so people, and a lot of them were pastors. You saw that most of the time wherever we go, there are so many pastors supporting the program in Uganda.

We had a kind of a cool moment because Nathan and I realized that they didn't know that we're committed to keep airing *Thru the Bible*. So they said, "Well, why don't you make an announcement?" or they're asking, "Would you please air this again?" So I stood up and said, "I've got great news. We are going to air this again and again until Jesus returns," and the place just erupted in praise.

Steve Schwetz: Yeah, what a blessing. Also, as difficult as it is for us to get there and to travel within that country, I'm always impressed when we have meetings like this. The commitment that those pastors make, the hours that they travel to get there, and the means that they use to get there is a huge commitment. So taking this kind of teaching digitally so that they can have it on a smartphone, so that they can have it on a media player, is huge for them.

We've talked about this before. Many of those pastors are not formally trained, and they say, "*Thru the Bible* is my seminary. I am one step ahead of what you guys are teaching, and that's what I'm delivering on Sunday." It's just such a blessing to know that we're coming alongside the local church, building up believers in that way.

If their doctrine is a little goofy and kind of synchronistic with some other stuff, the teaching of the Bible straightens out that teacher, but also the people that are listening are measuring what they're saying against what's being taught. That's a wonderful virtuous cycle that's happening there.

Gregg Harris: It truly is. I'm glad you pointed that out. Now, we don't have a lot of time, so let me shift up to the northern language of Luo. Steve, you know I've been doing this a long time, and I've seen the launch of a lot of different language ministries of *Thru the Bible* and other broadcasts.

We had only been on the air for one month, and we had a gathering with 75 mostly pastors in the city of Gulu up in the north, and they were unified, united, saying, "We need this for the church here in northern Uganda." I have never seen such community support in one month after a broadcast. It speaks very well of Pastor Mike and Pastor Wilborforce that lead; they do the advance work for us, and it was just so powerful.

Steve Schwetz: Yeah, it's wonderful. The thing that I love about the fact that now we've got so many different ministries and different languages that we've gone into in Africa. I had a stereotype in my mind that I have to confess was not accurate, that Africa is on African time, and it's not going to start on time, and it's certainly not going to finish on time.

These brothers have such difficulty just in the electricity coming on every day, and yet they still get through it, and they do it on a very consistent timeline. They are so faithful in doing the work of the Lord. It is just such an encouragement and a testimony to me of my lack of faith in their ability to get this stuff done.

Gregg Harris: Wow, I wish we had more time to talk about this, but we do want to encourage you, please get the newsletter. You can get it electronically. Just go to ttb.org. You can subscribe; it'll take 15 seconds, and you will get so much more information, pictures, and stories than Steve and I were even able to talk about. It's such a blessing. We hope that it will bless you.

Steve Schwetz: Yeah, Gregg, let me pray for us as we begin. Heavenly Father, we are so excited about the way Your Spirit is moving, particularly in Uganda, in all these different languages. I pray that You would call many people to Yourself, that You would be glorified in the work that's being done there, and that You would bless it, Lord. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.

Dr. J. Vernon McGee: Now here's *Thru the Bible* with Dr. J. Vernon McGee on Revelation chapter 2.

As we come back to the second chapter of the book of Revelation, we're picking it up at verse 12. Now it's the church in Pergamum or Pergamos, but it's called over there Pergamum, and I think that is probably the accurate pronunciation of it. But that, of course, in one sense is beside the point. Now I'm reading verse 12: "And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write; These things saith he which hath the sharp sword with two edges."

This is the letter of Christ to the church in Pergamum. Now, it fits into church history in a period that is approximately 314 AD to approximately the period of 590 AD. I call this paganism unlimited. Here is the time that the world entered into the church, and it began to move away from the person of Christ.

It had a message, of course, to the local church in Pergamum, and I'd like to say a word about this city. It was a city in Mysia. It was labeled by Pliny as by far the most illustrious of Asia. It was in, first of all, one of the most beautiful spots. Sir William Ramsay says that it is the one city that deserves to be called a royal city.

And it was in this city that there was first of all a temple built to Caesar Augustus, and that made it a royal city. He came to this area. It's a very beautiful area, and in wintertime it got cold in Rome, and he would come over here. There was a great healing spa there that we're going to talk about in just a few minutes.

And this was indeed a great city. In fact, the three great cities along the coast were Ephesus in the south, then Izmir or Smyrna, and then Pergamum in the north. So that this city, although not a seacoast town as the others were, it was a great city. But it was doomed, of course, because it was off these great trade routes that came out of the Orient and came to the seacoast. It just missed it.

But it was a great fortified stronghold city. It was built to withstand the enemy, and it was the capital of the kingdom of Pergamum. Its acropolis, for it was built first down below where there is today a little town—a miserable, poor Turkish town—but the acropolis still stands there, and the ruins of the great temples and the city are on top of it.

It's probably the most imposing ruins of any of them with the exception of Ephesus, and of course, Ephesus was not built upon a mountain as this one was. The acropolis dominated the whole region of the valley of the Caicus. The original city was built between the two rivers that flowed into the Caicus, the Bergama and the Kestel, and they entirely surrounded this tremendous mountain, this promontory that stood out there alone.

It's very impressive to visit it. First of all, you see that great mountain standing there, and you see the ruins on top. However, it was built by Lysimachus. Alexander the Great took it, but Lysimachus his general took over, and it became a great city under his direction and under his leadership.

Now, there was there, built on this promontory, great pagan temples. There was the temple of Athena, the temple of Demeter, the temple of Hera, the temple of Dionysus, and the temple of Asclepius. It can be pronounced several different ways. That was the god of healing, and the great altar of Zeus. It stands there today, very imposing, and they found the image that went on top. It's at a school in England taken there many years ago.

Now, this is the great city, and it was a city that was given over to paganism. Religion was the big thing that took place in Pergamum. There was on top also the greatest library that the pagan world ever had. It was a library of over 200,000 volumes that were the new type of writing material. They had used papyrus up to that time, but here they used parchment, and parchment gets its name from Pergamum.

And this great library was the library that Mark Antony gave to his girlfriend Cleopatra, and she lugged it off to Alexandria in Egypt, and that library is considered the greatest library the world has ever seen. Well, it actually came from Pergamum. And if you're ever in Istanbul and go into Hagia Sophia, you'll see there a great alabaster base—I guess you'd call it a vase because it's such a thing of beauty. It's taller than I am; I stood beside of it. And it came from Pergamum.

This city, of course, was certainly rifled and denuded by the enemy when they finally took the city and destroyed it. But it was Lysimachus that brought it to its heyday, and it was a city that equaled both Smyrna and Ephesus. We're told here that it's to the angel, the messenger of the church. "These things saith he which hath the sharp sword with two edges."

This sharp sword with two edges is the Word of God. Now, the Word of God is the answer to man's need and man's sin. And here it was false religion. In fact, this city emphasized religion, and it had some of the greatest temples that were there. The only way that this city could be reached would be with the Word of God.

Now he says in verse 13: "I know thy works and where thou dwellest, even where Satan's seat is: and thou holdest fast my name, and hast not denied my faith, even in those days wherein Antipas was my faithful martyr, who was slain among you, where Satan dwelleth." The Lord here, if you'll notice, commends this church, and there are several things that He commends it for. He takes note of their circumstances.

And He does that, I think, of many of us today. Sometimes you and I are inclined to condemn someone who happens to be in circumstances that if you and I were in the same circumstances, we might act even worse than they are acting. Our Lord takes note of that. Now it's "even where Satan's throne is." That reveals that religion was big business and that Satan had his headquarters there in Pergamum.

This ought to answer the question of those who think Satan is in hell. He never has been to begin with. Hell hasn't opened up to do business yet. We don't get to that until the end of the book of Revelation. And he's not there. He goes up and down this world seeking whom he may devour. But he does have headquarters, and at that time it was in Pergamum. And we'll see why his headquarters would normally be there.

Now, I think since then, he's moved headquarters around from different places. I used to get the impression he'd moved his headquarters to Los Angeles, and I'm not sure but what that could be true because here's another great religious center of every kind of cult and ism and schism that is possible. But here in this city, they had all of this, and let me mention what I believe he means by the fact that Satan's seat or Satan's throne was there in Pergamos.

The reason for that is because of these heathen temples there, and they're all quite interesting, by the way. The temple of Athena there was very imposing. As you enter the gate of the city, it is the first temple right to your left as you enter. And then right above it was this great library that was there. Then you will find that there was the great temple to Caesar Augustus and a great temple to Hadrian, and that temple of Hadrian covers quite a bit of territory up there.

Now, there are other things that are quite interesting. There is that great altar down there of Zeus, and there was an idol on it. Apparently, it was just outside the gates, by the way, and right near where the palace of the king was. It was a very imposing spot, and there are those that believe that was the throne of Satan. Well, I think it enters into it, but you have a combination here of all of these, and I think there are two others that are especially imposing.

There was the temple of Dionysus. Now I crawled down the side of that mountain to get pictures of the ruins of the temple of Dionysus, which is right by the ruins of the theater there. And some have asked me why I did that. Well, Dionysus was the same as Bacchus, the god of wine.

And you know that that was the goat god. You remember he had horns; he had the upper part of a man, but the lower part was a goat, and he had cloven feet and a tail. Now the modern idea of Satan is that. But you don't get that from the Bible. The idea of Satan today is that he has horns, he has cloven feet, and he has a forked tail. Where does that come from? It comes from the temple of Dionysus.

It comes from the god Bacchus, the god of wine, the god of alcohol. Today in this country, there are those that raise the question whether we should have a day of humiliation or not, and we ought to be proud we're Americans and all of that. My friend, it wouldn't hurt us to humble ourselves today. Do you know how we got this country that we live in? We got it from the Indians, and I guess they got it from somebody in the same method—only the way we got it was not by bullets, but by liquor, by alcohol.

That's the way Hawaii was taken away from the Hawaiians, was by giving them liquor. Alcohol has taken more territory than anything else. This is a picture of Satan, let me tell you, and there's no picture quite like him. Then the other was the god Asclepius. And down from this great promontory was the greatest hospital of the ancient world. It was the Mayo Brothers of that day.

It was, first of all, a temple to Asclepius. And if you're looking at the Greek Asclepius, it's a man. But when you bring in the Anatolian or the Oriental, it's a serpent. And there in Pergamum, it's a serpent. I have pictures I've taken of that great marble—well, it's just an obelisk there now, but it apparently was a pillar in a temple and the temple of Asclepius. It's an unusual temple; it's round.

They used every means that were imaginable there of healing. They used psychology. They used medicine. They used about everything you could think of. They had a big long tunnel when you went in, and up above it looks like air holes for ventilation, but they're not. As you went down the way, sexy voices would come down through those saying to you, "You're going to get well. You're going to feel better. You're going to be healed."

Does that sound like anything that's modern today? And you went on down; they gave you hot baths, there were massages that were used. They had a little theater there that they gave plays of healing. My, I tell you, they had it all. They had a library with books about healing. And then as a last resort, if they couldn't heal you, they put you down in that temple at night.

And then they turned loose during the night non-poisonous snakes, and they'd crawl over you. That's known as the shock treatment today, and my friend, if that didn't heal you, it'd drive you crazy, that's for sure. And they had a back door where they took the dead out. They didn't mention the ones they didn't heal; they'd mention the one they did.

Caesar Augustus loved to come there. You know why? He wasn't exactly sick; he was an alcoholic. They just dried him out there every year when he would come over. This was a great place, and for 700 years, it was a hospital that they came to from all over the world. And may I say to you, healing was satanic in those days.

Now there were good men that used medicine there; no question about that. But basically, it was satanic. Here was where Satan's throne was, and that's important to see. Now he says you have those that hold fast my name. Well, this is the period when many in the church defended the deity of Christ and the name of Christ.

It was during this period that great giants were produced. There was the Arian heresy that denied the deity of Christ, and Athanasius from North Africa—how he defended the deity of Christ. And then at the Council of Nicea, where Athanasius spoke, it condemned Arianism in about 325 AD.

And then there was Augustine. He answered the Pelagian heresy, which denied original sin and the total corruption of human nature, and also irresistible grace. So that great men stood for the great doctrines of the Christian faith. And then he says, "thou hast not denied my faith," and the church during this period did not deny him.

Now Antipas, an unknown martyr, is mentioned here. That he says, "I know thy works and where thou dwellest, even where Satan's throne is: and thou holdest fast my name, and hast not denied my faith, even in those days wherein Antipas was my faithful martyr." Now that doesn't mean that he was the only one. He apparently was the first one, and that led off with a great company of them.

Then he says, "But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumbling-block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication." He condemns two things here: the doctrine of Balaam and the doctrine of the Nicolaitans.

And it was a very dark time in the history of these people. The doctrine of Balaam is different than the error of Balaam, which we saw in Jude, which actually revealed that Balaam thought he could curse Israel because they were sinners. And then the way of Balaam in Second Peter, and that was covetousness.

But here what we have is that Balaam taught Balak to have the Moabite women go in among the children of Israel, and there was this period of intermarriage and the introduction of idolatry. You see, the world came into the church during this period. Now he says here, "So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate."

The church in Ephesus hated it, but here there was some holding that doctrine. And just what it was, apparently it was a return to religious rituals by a clergy instead of the fact that there is the priesthood of all believers. And Christ says He hates this. You see, Christ hates as well as loves, and we better be careful that we're not indulging in the thing that He hates. Get us in trouble. Now, I'll have to leave off there today, but we'll pick right up there next time. And so until then, may God richly bless you, my beloved.

Steve Schwetz: To partner with us in taking the whole word to the whole world, just call us at 1-800-65-BIBLE, or better yet, visit us at ttb.org. Well, we're back on the road through Revelation next time. I'm Steve Schwetz, and as always, I'm going to save a seat on the Bible Bus just for you.

Dr. J. Vernon McGee: *Thru the Bible* exists to take God's whole Word to the whole world, and we invite you to stand with us with your faithful prayer and financial support. Where will God's Word go today?