Enamored with Satan’s Throne

It’s easy to become enamored with Satan’s throne.

Satan’s throne looks nothing like we might imagine. The promises that come from Satan’s throne sound so good that it’s hard not to believe them. And there’s the deception that Satan’s throne is so good at producing that we get caught up in it and actually believe the lies that spew from Satan’s throne, or, if we don’t believe them, we want to believe them.

From Satan’s throne come cult-like figures who appeal to our anger, our hate, our anxiety, our fears. And before we even realize what has happened, we are caught up in the clique that we come to believe will save us. Lest we forget… “Our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 6:12) But we must not forget that those “cosmic powers of this present darkness,” and “the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places,” use “blood and flesh” to bring us down. Every day we are confronted with movement from Satan’s throne: “Like a roaring lion your adversary the devil prowls around, looking for someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8)

We err when we think of our adversary as some weird creature in a red suit carrying a pitch fork and prodding us to commit sin.

We err when we think of Satan’s throne as easily recognizable because it will display its evil for us to clearly see as evil.

The work of evil in the world is not done in the light; it is done in the darkness. Evil is often hidden until it has trapped us, ensnared us in what we thought was beautiful, but turns ugly in the end. Many a person has been caught up in what they thought was a good thing, or following someone they thought was the answer to the problems we face, only to discover they were deceived by the father of lies.

Jesus addressed a group of people who refused to listen to the truth. They were so caught up in their assumptions that they refused to listen to what Jesus was trying to say to them. To them he said, “You are from your father the devil, and you choose to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks according to his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” (John 8:44) The father of lies uses others to deceive us, but Jesus has told us where their lies originate—“the father of lies.” And make no mistake; the father of lies knows how to make those lies sound good to our ears, appealing to our thinking, and appealing as a way of life.

If we took an accurate survey of everyone who reads this “rambling,” we’d find many different ideas about Satan, the devil, evil, cosmic powers, and spiritual forces of evil. Some would argue we should take it literally while others might argue we should understand it metaphorically, but however we understand “evil,” it is a present reality; on that we can all agree.

Many a good and well-meaning person has found themselves bowing before Satan’s throne before they even realized how deceptive Satan was/is.

The Christians in the church at Pergamum—a large city in Asia Minor—were living in a city where the cult of the Caesar had a temple, and where there was a large altar to the god Zeus. For many people, holding the authoritarian leader, the Caesar, as someone special who would save them was common. Many in the Roman Empire saw their emperor as a god. On some of their coinage was the motto: “Caesar is Lord.” For those who believed in Jesus as the Christ, as the Lord of their lives, this was a great conflict. We can have only one Lord. If Jesus is Lord there can be no other.

The risen Christ has a message for the Christians in Pergamum, and he gave this message to John to pass on to them when he gave John the Revelation. “I know where you are living, where Satan’s throne is.” (Revelation 2:13) Oddly enough the vast majority of the people in Pergamum would never have suspected they were living in the midst of Satan’s throne—Satan’s throne is always well-disguised. One of the greatest tricks of Satan, the devil, the roaring lion, the cosmic powers of this present darkness, is to get us to look in one direction while working out evil in another.

The Christians in Pergamum had caught on. They had seen through the deception; well at least part of it. “You are holding fast to my name, and you did not deny your faith in me even in the days of Antipas my witness, my faithful one, who was killed among you, where Satan lives.” (Revelation 2:13b)

These people were faithful to their beliefs in Christ Jesus and his word, even when one of their own, Antipas, was killed by those who were enamored with Satan’s throne. Human life loses its sanctity at Satan’s throne, and people of all ages get used, abused, and die in the violence created by the hate, bitterness, and animosity that comes directly from Satan’s throne. Instead of getting caught up in that which originates from Satan’s throne, Christians should, like those in Pergamum, stand firmly in the faith, and always be aware of the deceptions that are laid before us. We should pray for the gift of discernment.

However, there was a spiritual problem in the church at Pergamum. Unfortunately, it has followed Christians down through the centuries.

On some things, they were willing to compromise with the world. “But I have a few things against you: you have some there who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the people of Israel, so they would eat food sacrificed to idols and practice fornication. So you also have some who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans.” (Revelation 2:15) Sometimes we have to make a decision to do the right thing, to stand firm, to see through lies and deception. If, as Christians, we fail to do so, we are putting a stumbling block before others.

What do others see when they see Christians standing with those who epitomize the ways of the world?

What do others see when they see Christians compromising their beliefs and traditions for a chance at the status, wealth, and power of the world.

“Repent then,” John wrote to the Christians in Pergamum…and to us.

Let’s give the risen Christ the final word:

“If not, I will come to you soon and make war against them with the sword of my mouth.” (Revelation 2:16) [The sharp two-edged sword that is the word of God.]

“Let anyone who has an ear listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches.”