Synagogue of Satan

Uncommon card · No. 135508

Synagogue of Satan (Greek: συναγωγή τοῦ Σατανᾶ, romanized: synagōgḗ toũ Satanã) is a phrase from Revelation 2:9 and 3:9 in which Jesus refers to a group persecuting the church, falsely claiming to be Jews. The exact meaning of who the text is referring to is unclear, but there are two prevailing views: either unbelieving Jews who did not recognize Jesus as a Messiah, or Christians who have integrated into practices of the surrounding culture. While it can be antisemitic if taken out of context, John of Patmos, the author of Revelation was likely Jewish and the use of the word "Jew" in Revelation is consistently positive. Later Church Fathers used the same phrase or similar in polemical writings warning against Jews infiltrating the church, or Christians attending synagogue. During the Reformation, the phrase was used in polemics against the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church instead used the phrase as a descriptor of both the enemies of the church and Freemasonry. In the modern era...

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