Revelation 2:12 and to the angel of the church in Pergamum write: These things saith he that hath the sharp two-edged sword: 13 I know where thou dwellest, [even] where Satan's throne is; and thou holdest fast my name, and didst not deny my faith, even in the days of Antipas my witness, my faithful one, who was killed among you, where Satan dwelleth.
Revelation 13:1 And the dragon stood on the sand of the seashore. Then I saw a beast coming up out of the sea, ... 2 And the dragon gave him his power and his throne and great authority. 3 I saw one of his heads as if it had been slain, and his fatal wound was healed. And the whole earth was amazed and followed after the beast ;
Why did Christ refer to Pergamum, or modern day Bergama, Turkey as the place where Satan's throne is to be found, and where the Antichrist will be resurrected, and where the Antichrist will establish his capital after receiving it from Satan?
I believe Pergamum was the land of Shinar where King Nimrod constructed the tower of Babel. Now Nimrod has been linked to Turkey through the following archaeological and historical reasons:
- The city of Pergamum belonged to a region called Mysia. The Mysians, according to the Paschal Chronicle, are said to be descended from Nimrod. The words are, "Nebrod (the Greek form of Nimrod), the huntsman and giant--from whence came the Mysians."
- There is a mountain in Southeastern Turkey named 'Nemrut Dağı' (or mountain of Nimrod).
- There is a dormant volcano in Eastern Turkey, close to Lake Van also named 'Nemrut Dağı' .
The Bible tells us that a temple for "Wickedness", similar to the tower of Babel, will be built in the land of Shinar in the last days:
Zechariah 5:5 Then the angel who was speaking with me went out and said to me, "Lift up now your eyes and see what this is going forth." 6 I said, "What is it?" And he said, "This is the ephah going forth." Again he said, "This is their appearance in all the land 7 (and behold, a lead cover was lifted up); and this is a woman sitting inside the ephah." 8 Then he said, "This is Wickedness!" And he threw her down into the middle of the ephah and cast the lead weight on its opening. 9 Then I lifted up my eyes and looked, and there two women were coming out with the wind in their wings ; and they had wings like the wings of a stork, and they lifted up the ephah between the earth and the heavens. 10 I said to the angel who was speaking with me, "Where are they taking the ephah ?" 11 Then he said to me, "To build a temple for her in the land of Shinar ; and when it is prepared, she will be set there on her own pedestal." (NAS)
Nostradamus predicted the return (or resurrection) of Nimrod, the terror of mankind, in Babel, his capital:
Century II Q30
Un qui les dieux d'Annibal infernaulx,
Fera renaitre effrayeur des humains:
Onc plus d'horreur, ne plus pire journaux
Qu'avint viendra par Babel aux Romains.
One who the infernal gods of Hannibal
Will cause to resurrect, terror of mankind
Never more horror nor worse of days
In the past than will come to the Romans through Babel.
If my belief is correct that Pergamum was really the ancient land of Shinar, then this implies that Nimrod and Constantine XI, the Antichrist, must be one and the same; i.e., Nimrod was a former incarnation of the Antichrist! (Please read my previous blog titled "The Great Catholic Monarch, the Antichrist, and the Baphomet" to know why I believe Constantine XI is the Antichrist). The name Nimrod, literally means "rebellion" or "lawlessness", and this connects him to the "man of lawlessness" described by Apostle Paul:
2 Thessalonians 2:1 Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him, we ask you, brothers, 2 not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by some prophecy, report or letter supposed to have come from us, saying that the day of the Lord has already come. 3 Don't let anyone deceive you in any way, for [that day will not come] until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. 4 He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God's temple, proclaiming himself to be God. (NIV)
Most Bible scholars associate the land of Shinar to Mesopotamia, however, based on the Bible's description of where the land of Shinar ought to be, this simply couldn't be the case.
According to the Bible, Shinar is located due West from the "mountains of Ararat" where Noah's Ark landed, and where Noah and his family settled down:
Genesis 8:4 And the ark rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, upon the mountains of Ararat.
Genesis 11:1 And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech. 2 And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there.
Journeying from the East is the same as journeying to the West. As the population after the Great Flood grew bigger and bigger, there was a need for some people to separate and settle in a place of their own. Unaware of Earth's topography at that time, Nimrod and his company only had the Sun's Westward motion as their guide in finding new territories to settle. (Perhaps Nimrod and his company were determined to settle in the land where the Sun sets? Or was Satan leading the people to the land of Shinar, where his throne is located?)
Now where exactly did Noah's Ark land? According to Josephus, the Armenians in the 1st century showed the remains of Noah's Ark at Mount Judi, in a place called αποβατηριον (or "Place of Descent") about 60 miles southeast of the summit of Mount Ararat (39.07°N 45.08°E ). Josephus also stated that Themanin, the first city to be built after the Great Flood, was built at the base of Mount Judi. Now compare the coordinates of the "Place of Descent" with the coordinates of Bergama, or Pergamum (39.116667°N 27.183333°E ). Since their latitude is almost the same (39.07°N versus 39.116667°N), and since Bergama's longitude is less than the longitude of the Ark's place of descent, we can say that Bergama is due West of the Ark's resting place. The same cannot be said of Mesopotamia which is located Southwest if not due South of Noah's Ark.
What stopped the travellers from journeying further to the West was obviously the Aegean Sea. The people at that time might have thought that Shinar, or Pergamum, was the end of the "world", and that beyond it there was no more land to be populated.
The Bible tells us that the travellers found a plain in Shinar where they decided to dwell permanently:
Genesis 11:1 Now the whole earth had one language and few words. 2 And as men migrated from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. " (RSV)
Now Pergamum (which literally means "height" or "elevation") is so mountainous, that one cannot find a sufficiently large plain (or land with relatively low elevation which is flat or gently rolling) that is ideal to build a capital city. However, if one is to plot the sea bed covered by the Aegean sea that is barely below sea level, and located just in front of the sandy beaches of Bergama, one immediately sees the plain of Shinar which inspired Nimrod and his companions to build Babel, their kingdom.
Of course, if it was a catastrophic earthquake due to a violent volcanic eruption that caused this land mass to sink below the Aegean sea, then it is quite possible that the ancient plain of Shinar may have been considerably larger than the one shown above, and may have even completely surrounded the island of Lesvos.
Lesvos contains one of the few known petrified forests in the world. Fossilized plants have been found in many localities on the western part of the island. The fossilised forest formed during the Late Oligocene to Lower–Middle Miocene, by the intense volcanic activity in the area. The island’s volcanic origin is manifested in several hot springs and two principal volcanic harbors.
The Bible tells us that Nimrod and his companions found large quantity of bitumen in the plain of Shinar which they used to build their city and a large tower with its top "in the heavens".
Genesis 11:1 Now the whole earth had one language and few words. 2 And as men migrated from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. 3 And they said to one another, "Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly." And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar. 4 Then they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth." (RSV)
Bitumen is a black, oily, viscous material that is a naturally-occurring organic byproduct of decomposed organic materials. Also known as asphalt or tar, bitumen was mixed with other materials throughout prehistory and throughout the world for use as a sealant, adhesive, and mortar. Some geologists theorize that the decomposition of organic materials to produce bitumen and other petroleum products can be hastened by volcanic activity. They came into this conclusion after observing radial pattern of bitumen dykes around volcanoes. These bitumen dykes were also found to be thicker as they come closer to the volcanoes, thus further strengthening their theory:
http://www.cprm.gov.br/33IGC/1342187.html
The presence of a volcanic crater inside the island of Lesvos makes the availability of bitumen in this area quite possible. The two harbors may have even served as pits that collected all the bitumen during a time when the elevation of Lesvos was much higher. Could the crater of this dormant volcano be the Throne of Satan? Could this be the spot where they erected the tower of Babel whose top is in the heavens? The Ypsilou monastery, was built in 1101, on top of this huge crater.
I believe that Constantine XI's tomb lies submerged in the Aegean sea in one of the two volcanic harbors of Lesvos. Just before Constantine XI is resurrected, Satan will cause a great earthquake that will make the island of Lesvos, together with the submerged plain of Shinar, to rise once again, thus exposing the tomb:
Revelation 13:1 And the dragon stood on the sand of the seashore. Then I saw a beast coming up out of the sea ...
Century VI Q66
At the foundation of the new sect,
The bones of the great Roman will be found,
a sepulchre covered by marble will appear,
Earth to quake in April poorly buried.
The rising of the island of Lesvos will create a torrent that will open the tomb of the Antichrist:
Century IX Q84
The King exposed will complete the slaughter,
After having discovered his origin:
Torrent to open the tomb of marble and lead,
Of a great Roman with 'Medusine' device.
Only after the tomb has been exposed and opened, will the Antichrist be resurrected:
Revelation 13:1 And the dragon stood on the sand of the seashore. Then I saw a beast coming up out of the sea, ... 3 I saw one of his heads as if it had been slain, and his fatal wound was healed. And the whole earth was amazed and followed after the beast ;
The miraculous resurrection of the Antichrist will be witnessed by the whole world and many will worship him:
Revelation 13:4 Men worshiped the dragon, for he had given his authority to the beast, and they worshiped the beast, saying, "Who is like the beast, and who can fight against it?" 8 and all who dwell on earth will worship it, every one whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb that was slain.
The Antichrist will claim to be the Holy Spirit, or the other Paraclete that comes after Christ:
John 14:16 And I will ask the Father: and he shall give you another Paraclete, that he may abide with you for ever: 17 The spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, nor knoweth him. But you shall know him; because he shall abide with you and shall be in you. 26 But the Paraclete, the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring all things to your mind, whatsoever I shall have said to you. (RHE)
To convince people that the resurrected Antichrist is really the incarnation of the Holy Spirit, Satan will send a demon in the form of a white dove (a symbol of the Holy Spirit) that will be seen entering the corpse of Constantine XI before he resurrects. Futhermore, Satan will be performing many more miracles and wondrous signs in behalf of the Antichrist after he resurrects in order to deceive many:
2 Thessalonians 2:3 Don't let anyone deceive you in any way, for [that day will not come] until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. 4 He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God's temple, proclaiming himself to be God. 9 The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders, 10 and in every sort of evil that deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. 11 For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie 12 and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness.
Some Eastern Orthodox and Greek-Catholics consider Constantine XI a saint (or a national martyr or ethnomartyr) although the Greek Orthodox Church has never canonized him. Thus, it will not be difficult for him to convince many to receive a "seal" from him on their foreheads, which he will then call the seal of the living God:
Ephesians 1:13 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit,
Revelation 7:2 Then I saw another angel coming up from the east, having the seal of the living God. He called out in a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm the land and the sea: 3 "Do not harm the land or the sea or the trees until we put a seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God."
Unknown to those who eagerly receive this "seal" on their foreheads, they are actually receiving the mark of the beast instead:
Revelation 14:9 A third angel followed them and said in a loud voice: "If anyone worships the beast and his image and receives his mark on the forehead or on the hand, 10 he, too, will drink of the wine of God's fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath. He will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb. 11 And the smoke of their torment rises for ever and ever. There is no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and his image, or for anyone who receives the mark of his name."