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Glory To The Most High
Glory To The Most High
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In Revelation 2:9 and 3:9, John refers to the “synagogue of Satan” — people who claim to be Jews but are not.

Some interpreters read this literally (as false converts or hostile groups), while others see it symbolically. My question is:

  • At the time John wrote Revelation (late 1st century), were there any secret societies, cults, or hidden religious groups in the Greco-Roman world that might have influenced this imagery?
  • Could John’s phrase “synagogue of Satan” be understood as an allusion to such hidden societies, rather than just literal Jewish opponents?

In Revelation 2:9 and 3:9, John refers to the “synagogue of Satan” — people who claim to be Jews but are not.

Some interpreters read this literally (as false converts or hostile groups), while others see it symbolically. My question is:

  • At the time John wrote Revelation (late 1st century), were there any secret societies, cults, or hidden religious groups in the Greco-Roman world that might have influenced this imagery?
  • Could John’s phrase “synagogue of Satan” be understood as an allusion to such hidden societies, rather than just literal Jewish opponents?

In Revelation 2:9 and 3:9, John refers to the “synagogue of Satan” — people who claim to be Jews but are not.

Some interpreters read this literally (as false converts or hostile groups), while others see it symbolically. My question is:

  • At the time John wrote Revelation (late 1st century), were there any secret societies, cults, or hidden religious groups in the Greco-Roman world that might have influenced this imagery?
Source Link
Glory To The Most High
Glory To The Most High
  • 5.3k
  • 20
  • 57

Did secret societies exist when John wrote Revelation, and could they relate to the "synagogue of Satan"?

In Revelation 2:9 and 3:9, John refers to the “synagogue of Satan” — people who claim to be Jews but are not.

Some interpreters read this literally (as false converts or hostile groups), while others see it symbolically. My question is:

  • At the time John wrote Revelation (late 1st century), were there any secret societies, cults, or hidden religious groups in the Greco-Roman world that might have influenced this imagery?
  • Could John’s phrase “synagogue of Satan” be understood as an allusion to such hidden societies, rather than just literal Jewish opponents?