The Gates of Hell
Dancing with Goats at the Temple of Pan
Introduction
A Note About Historical Content
The Bible is not only full of history but it is a part of history. It informs us what was going on historically and culturally at the time the stories were recorded. God’s people were affected by history, and history was affected by God’s people. As we read God’s Word, we see that the development of mankind, civilization, and kingdoms through the centuries bleed onto the pages of Scripture. This weaving of history with the events of the Bible is known as historical context.
The historical context of any verse, book, or passage you read needs to be a factor in how you interpret what you are reading. Every word of the Bible was written at a certain point in history, in the midst of a certain set of circumstances. Often, this outside information will give insight as to the purpose of what has been written. The why, when, and where details of the passage will be connected to the historical context.
If you allow the historical context to set the scene for you, the words on the page will become much more real and meaningful to you because you will know why it was significant to its original audience. Understanding the historical context will allow you to garner new insights and therefore a deeper understanding.
Jesus Chooses a Unique Place
“And Jesus went out, and his disciples, into the towns of Caesarea Philippi: and by the way he asked his disciples, saying unto them, Whom do men say that I am? And they answered, John the Baptist: but some say, Elias [Elijah]; and others, One of the prophets. And he saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Peter answereth and saith unto him, Thou art the Christ. And he charged them that they should tell no man of him.”
Mark 8:27-30 (KJV)
Few other places in Scripture will provide so much meaning by understanding the location of an event than does Caesarea Philippi. Jesus deliberately chose Caesarea Philippi to pose two questions to His disciples (Matthew 16:13-20; Mark 8:27-30):
Who do men say that I am?
Who do you say that I am?
It was here that Peter made the divinely inspired declaration that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the Living God. It was also location where Jesus announced He would establish a church that the gates of Hell would not prevail against.
Caesarea Philippi
Caesarea Philippi is a city in the lush region near the foot of Mount Hermon, located about 25 miles northeast of the Sea of Galilee. This region is referred to in the Old Testament by the name Baal Gad and Baal Hermon[1] and is described in the northernmost conquest of Joshua as being “in the Valley of Lebanon below Mount Hermon” (Joshua 11:17; 12:7; 13:5; also see: Judges 3:3; 1 Chronicles 5:23). In this area, three streams come together to create the Jordan River in its upper basin.
In Old Testament times, the northeastern area of Israel became a center for Baal worship. This area was filled with the temples of ancient Syrian Baal worship and archaeologists and historians have identified at least 14 such temples. Eventually, worship of the various Baals was replaced with the worship of Greek gods. By 200 B.C., the area of Caesarea Philippi was known as Panion, meaning “sanctuary of Pan.” During the Hellenistic period (323 to 31 B.C.), this city was known as Panias (also spelled Paneas). The modern name Banias is an Arabic corruption of Panias.
In 23 B.C., Caesar Augustus assigned the area to Herod the Great (Herod I) to rule for the Romans. Herod the Great built a magnificent temple of white marble dedicated to the worship of Caesar. (This remarkable temple was destroyed by an earthquake in 363 A.D.) Philip the Tetrarch, son of Herod the Great, took control of the region after his father’s death. In 2 B.C., Philip, constructed an administrative capitol building there and renamed it Caesarea Philippi - Caesarea in honor of Emperor Augustus and Philippi in honor of himself. The name “Caesarea Philippi” distinguishes it from the harbor city of “Caesarea Maritima” located on the Mediterranean Coast.
Here is where the story becomes very interesting …
The Cave of Pan and the Gates of the Underworld
There is a cave in Caesarea Philippi which was purported to be the birthplace of the Greek god Pan. (Pan is equated with the Roman god Faunus.) Pan has a distinct appearance of being half goat and half man with his hindquarters, legs, and horns like that of a goat and his upper body like a man. Pan is often associated with music and fertility and is considered to be the god of nature, fields, forests, mountains, herds and flocks, and shepherds.
The Cave of Pan, the Spring of Banias, Banias Falls, and the Temple(s) of Pan are still popular tourist attractions. Visitors can see the remnants of the Temple of Pan with Pan’s grotto. Niches in the limestone where Greek statues were placed can still be seen today. Three of the niches bear inscriptions in Greek mentioning Pan, Echo and Galerius (one of Pan’s priests). One inscription reads, “to Pan and the Nymphs,” and is still discernible beneath the niche closest to the cave entrance.
At the mouth of the cave, shrines and temples were built where pagan worshipers would gather. During the time of Christ, there were 6 main areas of worship to false gods that took place here.
Herod the Great built a temple right at the mouth of this huge spring to honor Augustus Caesar.
A courtyard area to the worship of Pan.
A temple dedicated to the false god Zeus.
Court of Nemesis: Female goddess of vengeance.
An upper Tomb Temple of the Dancing Goats.
A lower Tomb Temple of the Dancing Goats.
Each spring, people would gather at Caesarea Philippi to engage in vile pagan worship to entice the return of Pan. Children would be thrown alive into the entrance to the cave as a sacrifice to the god of Pan, believing this would appease the gods and bring fertility to their crops.
Other vile acts included sacrificing goats to Pan, prostitution, and bestiality (sexual interaction between humans and goats). One of the temples at the mouth of the cave was known as the Temple of the Dancing Goats. A large market was a short distance from the temple area where goats were sold for sacrifice to Pan. An orchestra near the temple provided music, and worshipers would “dance” with the goats before leading them for sacrifice.
At the rear of a temple area was the Cave of Pan. It was at the foot of a cliff where spring water flowed directly from the cave’s mouth. This fast-moving stream was the eastern-most source of the Jordan River. This particular stream is created by 72 springs originating within Mount Hermon. The waters were so deep and swift within the cave that ancients were unable to plumb the depths with a plumb line and therefore considered the cave bottomless. Over the centuries, earthquakes have vastly changed the cave, and modern engineering has diverted the waters. (The water now emerges at the foot of the cave rather than from within it.) This is why we no longer see the furious torrents of water coming out of the mouth of the cave.
It was in this cave the worshipers threw their slaughtered goats into the powerful waters. If the goat sank, they assumed the sacrifice was accepted by Pan, but if it floated, it meant Pan had rejected their offering, and the worshipers were required to purchase another goat and try again. The goats’ bodies were retrieved and buried in the Sacred Temple of the Goats. During the times of sacrifices, the waters of the Cave of Pan were often colored red from the blood of goats.
The pagans of Jesus’ day commonly believed that their fertility gods lived in the underworld during the winter and returned to earth each spring. This is why they would have these big festivals to entice Pan and these other fertility gods to come back to earth. They saw water as a symbol of the underworld and thought that their gods traveled to and from that world through this cave. So, in their mind, the cave and spring water at Caesarea Philippi created a gate to the underworld. THEY BELIEVED THAT THE CAVE OF PAN WAS LITERALLY THE GATES OF HADES (the underworld) – OR AS THE KJV PUTS IT, THE GATES OF HELL!
Jesus Is the Christ, the Son of the Living God
Now with that background information, take another look at this passage from Matthew:
When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?” So they said, “Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”
Matthew 16:13-19 (NKJV)
Caesarea Philippi was a sick cesspool of evil and represented the worst Satan and sinful humanity could offer. The disciples would have been very uncomfortable coming to this eerie, demonic place, and no good Jew would have normally considered coming here. However, Jesus purposefully brought His disciples here to embed within their hearts the imperative truth of who He was, what the mission of His church would be, and the astounding power His church would have over evil through Him.
Jesus takes the disciples to Caesarea Philippi:
An area littered with the temples of the Syrian gods;
A place where the Greek gods were worshiped;
An area where despicable acts of worship took place;
A place where the most important river in Judaism sprang to life;
A place where the white marble splendor of the home of Caesar worship dominated the landscape.
And here, of all places, Jesus stands and asks His disciples, “Who do you say that I am?” It’s like Jesus deliberately set Himself against the background of the world’s religions and asked to be compared with them. And Peter responded: “You are the Christ, the Anointed One of God, the Son of the LIVING God. YOU ARE FAR SUPERIOR TO ALL THESE DEAD PAGAN GODS!” It was an acknowledgment that Jesus was the long-awaited Messiah, the fulfillment of hundreds of Old Testament prophecies, and the realization of Israel’s hopes.
Conclusion
Caesarea Philippi was home to numerous shrines and temples dedicated to various pagan deities and the Roman emperor. By contrasting Himself with these false idols, Jesus taught the disciples to distinguish authentic divine truth from man-made spirituality.
So much more can be gleaned from the passages in Matthew and Mark concerning Peter’s watershed confession that will be expounded upon in future website resources.
Endnotes
[1] Baal‑gad is literally “Master Luck,” the name of a god of fortune who may later have been identified with Pan.