IS"

~ ,1\0 .~, j.").J '6/ rt ,iVt!It W; 1lI1jV'~,L.//r:~ /

- .,,,,. \ .:•..

, \,' t

I I l It-

/(h~~ ~~n~'JI_~~ t,,7:!ll-~-~~ VnA:- ~ •..•..•.~ ~l

1~~~.....,~)O "WHERESATAN'SSEAT",,".~l-v.~-:'1#~ ~unv.....,..,....~.. ~.~-t.n-. Rev. 2:12-17

H ~ - tf.. ~~.I' 7f1:':-C~ ~ ~ ~ /INTRODUCTION: . C-..-.N.Q-QA-" {.,.. 'l.fl'>...£ :;1~ f'vtArJ '".;,~ W~ ~ ..••...~" ~ e..--- <J.-L.. e..l\.<S ~ "f.- ~ -' ~-11..-e~,' 1.J-ll..

Wehave the reco d of his voice speaking to the individual church. The chief- > N~ zY,:J ',;f 7h:t' JJ ZJ:::>"_@....Q.f emperor worship. It wascitu~ for these Christians to receive ~ •

It was destinguished for~thingS - ido;;try, lea~ing, m~cal science, and at

the same time - Christian power.

~er5aIDfi?jS on the

co~n of the word.

ancient sirfr'~ today ca!Jed&erfama~

~that far away ~, it was a most

\-/hicll is a ~rkish

beautiful and illustriousV 7'"

ci ty. It I<as @bY a son of lIerc~es on a lofty hi 11 in the broad fertile plains

fifteen miles inland from the Aegean Sea. On the top there was a fort,!-fied Acropolis.

The mighty General, ~exander-The-Greatj established this as a EaPjt.Ql city. TIle

Romanstook the area and JohnJirote this letter to the church at Pergamos - which had

been the capitol for more than 300 years.

\/hen I<esay it was an iE!Il9sjul>0Y or example, one of the most famous(libraries)

had on its shelves more than ~ volumes. Whichwas immensein that ancient day.e-, _

Every volume had to be copied by hand. CeDVct:1Yl., ~AA"" 'tiU ki'" * /30010,/ .-/ --- •.•/' I • {>";::;:- ,"' /t' 'l. rV1izJ"""-' ~ '<L..~' "V-~ ,

11::: ~ LJ..... -f.l.n.> '!'~.:r Cun-<.. 'f:" ~~ •.'-'l;~7' "~/~ ~/IjVQ... .,;r~-;UJ.:r~~. . _4J-..-.O-:r-~ ~ ~ tY.FL'r;~ -' ~\ ~~ - ~7¥~ i-ran<1GDr d.JmerrT..

The use of pa~ent, of sk~ of animals, as l<rit~ng }naterial was invented in ~-I/

Pergamos. The wor~ment" comes from the town of )J(rgamos.

TIley~V This was an an~rial used in making~s. Our

word paper comes from the @)word pa~ It is ~';!Jr~that grows along~ =----- -

-2-

the banks of the N_ile. Ther-:P of I<hich can be pounded dOl<n,woven, and sustains a~ 7 -

I<rit~g p~. 8 for instance, when some of YOl6'!~d>rom cOlJege, you got

a dipl,s'ma. You cal~ed ~eps~ That refers to the mateoal on which your/

diploma is I<ritten. The use of skin called parchment or vellum was invented by the- ~~b!arianS in pergamosll

r-

And

situation. The letter of our Lord begins with these

and where thou dwellest even where Satan's seat is.~----- ~--------~and hast not denied my faith, even in those days wherein

Antipas_was a faithful martyr, whowas slain amongyou where Satan dwellest'( That

I'words - I knol<thy I<ork~

7thou holdest fast myname

.;;}~\~~ <zd. 11,1L-

v. @ - TheJ8rdhdentifies)himself as one whohas a sharp two-edg,l sword.II! 5 ~

lIere is a picture of one I<hohas the abi li ty to~, and at the same time - it

has a symbol of power andGdgemeng lie comes with the s,.ord in his mouth. Andhe

is going to make accurate judgement upon this city, and this town.V1:"';~ vfi>Yd\~ \J __d ;,l ~~Q.. "'t ~ ..,6 Q h u...... /f-<.~ ~ ~ ,-- .-

~.be-r~~~ ,,~I~11,

word translated ~ where Satgn's seat is.~ T

chapter of Matthewwhich refers to t'!e (JUdiie)It is a Greek word-kn w wher

used

/in the 19th

\'ihere Satan's

~ is. He is referring not only to the

Satan exists but they are~ dwelling- 7

fact that these Christians live where

where Satan has great power. And great--- ..~~--~authority.

llhat was Satan's throne or Satan's seat in th~e!!fj)!p City\. Hell, it was

found in the impressive temples that the G~ built everywhere. 111ere'{ere four

G&ek GodS). Zeus, Ano~her, Di(,~ysius. Att!en~linerya. Andhere

we have the Gods of ~e, d~, of 7om, of ~, of~r. And then there was the

God, Aesculapius of he}Jing•

One of the most famous medical schools in the world was here. Andhis ~ was

-3-

we today would

= harmless iiiKs slithe;ed on the gEound.

of the earth to ~_I_e_e~p__i_n__t_I_11_'s__s__an--c~ary -- if a

these snakes in the night - he was touched~

In the courts of the

And s~ came from the ends

as~.

sufferer happened to be touclled by one of.... P-by the healing presence of the )od. Much of ~ they call medi~ne,

cal~u~~>n) But this was a famous shrine of p':.ll~hip.

hat we focus attention in this ancient wonder of the world

magnificently built. The l~rgest and the most famous

40 Feet high. And a f,rieze at the base of it was very

impressive its ancient art.

Th of the last century exycavated .here in Pcrga7s and

they f?und a large part of this altar and it was in ~useuID)n B.g1j.JJ tpday. The

great altar of sa~rifice to Ze~s. And it loo;~ s_omewhatlike a throne. And maybe

that is the reference that our Lord has when he says, you dwell where Satan I s seat

is.

Another thing that we might say is that Satan I s seat represented or referred

to ~eror worship} I touched on. this in my last sermon. That in these different

te~ples in the city, there was the dedication that enforced Caesar worship.r

You will also notice in this verse that there was a

That ~:s faithful unto death. The g is that some Ch:Q.stians who had refused

to worship at Satan I s throne, had been faithful and had met death. The Christians7' ,

that held fast to the name of Christ, and the big test as I pointed out - is Caesar""---J

~ord, ~ is our~rd! the ~t.) If you acknowledge Caesar as Lord, you escape

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persecution. But if you hE;ld fast for the Lord, the Christ, then you were persecuted.

Christ commendsthe church for fidelity. Under this type of rule.

TIds man, had layed downhis life.

Jesus said I knowby works) WhereSlttan's seat i~. There are two or three

different~dwellJ That means to dwell ~r or a strang;r. That

is, we are dwelling here in the earth as a pilgrim. Our other word is used for

I know \'/here thOlJ dwe-ll~t.dwell for

is. Whena permantpt residence., Vyou think about that just a moment, you

\'Iher@.Satan's seat-

will understand why the Lord usedI>

this \~ord. I knowwhere you are

your house is. I knO\~where you

stayinR - IV

dwell. And

knowwhere your home is.. Vyou have to stay there -

I knowwhere

you cannot

escape. Wannot run mWYi you cannot get mmy from this dangerous situation.5

Ilhat a ~ of your life todar.-- in this ~ You cannot

run away. There are many fine Christian men and a multitude of d~icated Christian

womenunder ~ituations) that are trying. But they <:gnnotrun away. They have to\: l? --

dNell there. And they are my faithful martyrs - Jesus says.:::=-

moabite----;:::-.

would

- he was

God

shrewd council;.7

curse Israel -could not----lIe introduced them to strange---- ..---- - ----

This is a

,-V. 111 - I k>'

I have a few thin

/'..-- The(fi;;> thing is the doc

h~red by lJa;ak, t~king, the1!FU:J V

not let him do it. But he did something worse.-~

"$ .ft 61, -("-€., vid

" ~- He says

-5-

women.~himself, could not do.

These womendid the work. They corrupted Israel. A thing that Billaam,. /~ 07

TIlat is the method of Ilalaam. So the Lord says to the7

dlristians in ~mos, I have something against you. There are those in your

~;hO hold the doctrine o~ TIley encourage you to eat things -- sacrifice

to idols, and to commit fornication.

the world at that time, was the philo~hy of

,~ce, and l~)jfa~e, but they looked upon

of life.

For example,'I

nosthenes said - we have prostitutes for the sake of ple~re.

sake of daily cohabitation.rWehave wives for the purpose-

of having children. Andof having fai,thful guardians over our h<2useholdaffairs.~ ~ 7

That was the accepte ccording to that ancient Greek~

Fromthe wri tin lere is a de~ription that this was the accepted

~Of lire. That young menwere e~couraged not to be forbidden to~ a

prostitute.

Nay of life. Now

find fault with it. @was echoing the accepted

--~the Nay to live. As anyone ,else, lives around you. (I1iia9do you waI!t to do. Be cut

off from socyty. AI2:,enateyou}self and your friends, or stick out like ~ sore ty,J!>.

Or to be a wall f.r. Doyou Nant to be something ~r. GO)they say" - that

is the ~ePted standar& ~f the worl~ That Ni11 be the accepted pattern of life

for Christians. He Nas to have his pros.ti tutes, his concubines, and that practice

was taught and believed in by some in the church.

It would surprise you to knowthe WOf rein] f) tgrlSVds in our church, in wery

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church, whohave the pe!suasion that \~eought toj?along with the crowdl_ lihy

certainly, d() you think we would \;ant to <;],Itourse,lves off from the social intercoursev

of people. The pattern of life calls for cert,ain things - therefore, if we conform,

we do not look p~ar. The same doctrine of Balaam is that of manypeople today.

problems with the matter of

_ the ~ie~ would cut off a little bit and bUlj]}it. The

and offered on the altar. But it was alWayS~

Somegiven to the ~t, but most of it returned to the=---always when the worshipper madehis sacrifice, a part of theAnd

And they were having

up into small portions.

wor~ to eat.

animal was burnt, a part given to th~ priest, and he called his f~ily and friends

The animals was not burnt• [7

animal however was sacrificed

in and they @the sacrifice to the Gqds. Now\~hat was the matter with that. \IllY,v

would anybody be so narrow-minded or straight-Iac~d as to refuse an invitation toI?" V ~

cometo such a meal.

I t was carnal. ......,.V ~r-J~~b

, g he says, I have against thee, is the ~ri?f the

thingr hat he says. Nowthese were identified along with

I have ,a few hings against thee. aU~lt them to commit

Andnowwe find that this doctrine was(iinsualit})<

in

ays that the doctrine here is the type of doctrine

they believe. lie said this, this thing~Lhate.

word of God, The Nicolaitans had

arried to the world. The church and the world were married

-7-

together. And it became w and it became ~opular and the church enters the

or toto damnthem to I

or a companyof believers. It was now--The church was

o

great field of power and poli_tics. Andmenwere seeking personal advancement

and preference in the Romangovernment. And the @~re is that great masses

were forgetting all about this. Thew.Ii5I•• ~ilIIlIlIlI!.tiI:~~~~!i:l.

of them in life. And spiritual life had a tendency to fgenera0 To los~ its .7h ~ < <-..)1 ~ \..)~ ....,;::r ~ ~"'f-

fresh thrust. ,Go ' e."",,$ '-'. ~h.u ~{r"'.9-~ ~~~/ ~~'Ik~~;;1->'i1-J' r~ ~<¥

fit- ~~. ~ ~ ~ /~~ ~ -or-~~-~~~.a channel through which sa.l.Y~ was offered. Andsometimes it was offered- for

g

in a certain battle that he would become a Christian.

to Christi ani ty, and made a@ayinghe introduced somewhatV

victorious, tomorrow -

D. And that ii.~t,

if he should be

when the ~became married to the

an unconYfU$-edand un!l.i!ptized Cln:j.s:t~ in the

The RomanCaesar died and le~q).lestion, who7'

med Const ntine in aboutAndso theywas successor.

The next day when the battle was over, by noon day, he saw------n

t~. In any event, the vision liaS supposed to have said unto him, in this

sj,w,--¥ou,scQnquor. Well, he won theJl!lr. Andhe became the soul Caew to the

Romanempire. Andhe lijibraCe&nomW'lY the Christian faith. And SO.~istia0____ 2 '~10n5eB liere persecuted at that time. Because they became~ Andhe

had people whowere Christians but some of them~heir ~ int

No longer the image Of~ but they put in these temples the images 0

This took place over night. As the pOlier of politics took over.

all of his J And second, he pl!nned to combine

-8-

the worsh' with the \~ For example, on his ~ns) he

had the Pic~lO. Then, he had the nam~t.

in )21 A•.-Il.e.--

This was so decreed

So ul timately the doctrin'L<kvel~ed. - ~

makeany difference whatata( You take part in the ~sts, in the ~rifice

to idols. Andall that is going on in this world in the power of politics. And

so against this background, this Spirit cameto call people back to a personal

religion. Because, you know, we are not saved this way.

llowa word about living where Satan I s seat is. Let it stand here - Satan

has a throne - it is in this earth) It is~in/this City) l'nlen Lucifer fe}l from\: v

Heaven, he dragged down1/3 of the an.~g,_e~lc=i,-,c,--,-,h",o~s~t~sand built his kingdom. There1:7

are evil spirits. Sometimesit is the spirit of rejection, of unbelief, of.Jllasphemy,-=- .,..-the evil spirit of covetousness, hatred, lust, murder, that destroys and wastes.

~.~~ ~ --

The op~ition in the church is tha and

the people of Godto share with him in the glamous and the glitter of things in the______ 2. - -=~. He says, if you will b~wdownand \~orship me, the riches of this world, I

will give them to you. If /-';;I"'.,.n, ~ ~."""-- ~ f~ 7J,.....~~.~ i)u...'i'~4- lN~ 9-tr>-r"'- ~~,

here Satan Is seat is. NowI know,

evil out in the Cital arwwhere(

evil like the ~ and the iniquity that I

hat we live in

the~ I knowthere is

knowthat there is no

there is ~ in

I grel~up. And I

have discovered in the .city. There are sins, gross' sins, that I never heard of

until I carneto live in the city. In the great city, you find vice, iniquity,

ft ~ -...-l<- I' t=>"">- V~ ~ ~ <><-ti--<'{ ~-.~+- .~"..

,f ~'},-r~~"'/;9 ~J f:qn~ "}'r ~ -t~~+- H~fn

ludeness, wickedness. And sin becomes a thousand times more destructive and wasteful

in the sacrifice on the altar No wonder the

c Satan offers empty pleasure. I know in the country, they havev

their b~. years ago. And everyone knew who the man was.

Were desirous of it, under darkness could do business with him.

And those who

But one has never

seen liquor at its h~t in the power except in the city. The money, and its_. ' - ~

revenue as it come~. Tt- Tk-.- ~ t::.4.! N-~ ~ ~...:.., a....v~7;JftJ#- ~ \N\J ""'-- ~, 'Tl...t.-......:t~ ~...:..:t- .-............. .~ ,

.., I read the account of •

•••••taken from Satan' 5 home.

ceding \qhich sounded like it was

is your name. my woman, and where were you born.

d'I --d" I know it is not quite fashionable [0 talk about the

eVI to ay,

Men don't believe in a devil nowAs their fatheo used to do' '

They reject one creed becau;e it's oldFor another because it's new.

There's not a print of his cloven foot,Nor a fiery dart from his bow ,

To be found in the earth or air today!At least-they declare it is so!

But who is it mixes the fatal dr2ughtThat palsies heart and brain

And loads the bier of each passing year\Vith its hUI'dred thousand slain?

But who blights the bloom of the land todayWith the fiery breath of hell?

If it isn't the devil that does the work,Who does? Won't somebody tell?

Who dogs the steps of the toiling saint?Who spreads the net for his feet?

\Vho sows the tares in the world's broad field\Vhere the Saviour sows His wheat?

If the devil is voted not to be,Is the verdict therefore true?

Someone is surely doing the workThe devil was thought to do,

They may say the devil has never lived,They may say the devil is gone;

But simple people would like to knowWho carries the business on.

I shall follow exactly the same method as I have~_lowed in the previous tWO lectures, speaking first of the 'as he is res'ealed to us in Scripture; second, of the devil asposed to religion; third, of the relation between the w'the Resh, and lhe devil; and, last, of the way of victory ,lhe devil.

The personality of Satan is revealed as distinctly in' 'New Testament as is the personality of Jesus Christ, To ,¥

the one is to deny the other. In casting our demonsperpetually addressed Himself to them as to definite peitics, possessing men, and all through that New Test

,ilt'l '

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"insome boy, and he grew to be a f.in~, tall~ntleman. And"as taken to a store to'-

lie minded and I hated to look upon

evil eye on this boy and I was forced to pass7

Dns morninGas I passed by e sai~, I i&ededrAlWJS sg Herd flbs"t myboy. lie "as

not above taking a driCk of liquor "ith the rest. I~ rna Rgv )or the love of

his Den on~

his place.

~ 111enthi..LID.aIl,

wishes. This man,Godto let the stuff alone. ~d to abide by my

watchei,Jor the 1Pj-ght "hen it was cold and storm and ga_v.e_t_heI_ada d~ to ~

him. lie would say, o the boy, mId plead "ith him to pass that place

no more. But to go homeby some other road.~

Then I "eot--=sel£. to the n~, and perhaps you can understand how a mother would~ 17

~,mld 2l1lY-- for the ~e and the fl~. But d

in my face. Et nigh~OUr 1I0nor, the ,0' at I)lY front door frig~tened me. \;i th

all mymight, to see \~hat "as the t.rouble.

Me, Robbio., s'Wyed into the room and fell at m~t. lie was-iC;-your

Honor.

When

Mrs. Burn.-at the door, mid said - "hat think you now,

<1f?I could have struck the b1iiiii Wit pt hj 5 body, ygg had better keep me7with

l~ck mid k~ until my gloom dies--do~. But oh Judge, Judge, I "ish my SOD and my

lad \,ere in the church yard beside the good father. Th.eytell m,. if I could prove

the man sold liquor to the boy under age - the law could stop him. I ~ you Judge,- -there is na~ but God's vengena1!c~can stop his ille. It "as enough to arrest the=-=

-11-

mother that strikes the man, who ruins her child. 1lJJt wait until the L0E-d, God

Almight>:. w~t.;for that!,

If the liquor interestscaId)not teacll our young peopl~o drink, they would

soon ~n out of business, So they use every way to t~~ So the young people

come and they pour into this city, where Satan presides.

A YOJlllgman one time said that he was ruined because some preacher told him

that it was no harm for a man to drink. Provided that he didn't drink too much.

So the boy took his advice. And he became the one out of every nine that drinks

that becomes an alcoholic. Eb9 that,cone)of of every~ cannot leave it

alone. 500,000 every year turn into destruction and on the downward rQad. l.~ereV ~

5a~'s se~is, Nowthat boy's blood will be on the hand of that man who told

him that.

I would say, young man. do not 'f)i-nk, As that dear Scotch motlr; fe 11 down

before !llu:- ~ and pl~d. You pass it by. Give it up. Jesus says you cannot" 7 7'serve God and mammonat the same time.

The strange thing that the Lord says here, to the 2"gel of the Pastor of, the

churcl" in Pergamos wrote -- I know where YO~lll Where Satan, has hi~ron~.'7

@ all places where is God's church but/

therE7' It is located where" Satan

has his throne. Wlere

- surely you would not

the heathen worship of Zeu;. and A{!o119'iwith sinful rights

find a church in a place like that.

-12-

But that is where it iswhere Satan's throEe is.v

/"" I-" I\ I What • • • trying to have a church located in that difficult place.

~ ?

/ \,s a place that it is most needed., \, \

\<G>"'''H'hOd "" om,oh

But there

needed to ~e - in the .!!!!-dskof the monumentof weaLth, indu~, of comrn\lrce- right

dOloffiin the district where there are movie houses. And where the ]Jassing thronlO-sof

humanity can see. Satan has a throne but there is the church of ,Jesus Christ. And he

says, I knowthy works where you live.

One [aSt :ory he said to them - andJlast not denied my faith. ~ lIowdo

the city where Satan's throne is. By re!Hsing to coufes£ it,V

I am a QlTistian of this precious church -... c;t'

w~deny the faith in7

hy being hush. hush.

South Norfolk Baptist.

I am a Christian.V

I wouldn't let anybody.knowthat. Christ said, I knowwhere

you dlVe11,lVhereSatan has his throne. But though hast not denied my faith.

The lVorld says, just deny that you are a Christian and we will receive you.y

You do violence to your great committment - you go out here and j~in every c~b,

in this town, and you put, your life in these hands. That is exactly what Satan

And, how dohave been bapti,zed, with obedience.==? --

But the Christian OU~lt to anSlVer- if I starve to d}3Sh,

That is Christ's faithful witness. That is the faithful

is telling you to do.

I lVi11 not compromise.~-------iV-I am a Christian, Imartyr.

we deny the faith by forsaking it. By quitting2!-' Wecan do it individually.y

Manya fine Christian family comes into the city and they are lost to God. Many

a manwho once served Jesus has forsaken the faith. ~lany a youth, who started

out as a teenager - but has now sold out to sin. And his heart is out in the

world somewhere.

-13-

cities of thjs world. Donot persuade yourself,

in. But the ~are increasing.

~over great

that this city here - even though it e~ties itself of population - and others come

Every day, that I drive up and downthe str~ets;<:> V

of tlli~ and to this church. There are dwellings and there are multiple apartl.lents,

wld they continue to increase.

But ~ the _f Jesus Christ,

\~o~an~ a1iaYhom the city.

aunt

a churches remain on the ground firststar once said, anI

tne Gospel in Boston. Andthat i~ in most cities. The church..occupied

comeson hard times, and it is diffictllt to labor in the church, it is easier to

moveout and leave the population and forsake them where Satan's seat is.

Th the church and the heart of the

Andhe looks and challenges

I think these fine y~g melLthat weI'

and beautiful gi\V in our city ought to be dedicated to Chri;;t andvnot to

{,~~ :£-1-Jr ~..,~ v: It- !:,J'rS~ ~~.:r~.'(3~ ~ ,~-J. ,'t -\:.; "t- I :;••'-P>,'vv-,.,""v~ "{

. 4J~- ;$~~~ ~V

have got

city. I knowher perils and I knowher difficulties.7"

every inch of ground that Satan battles for.

Satan.

a promise for you. I amgoing to give you17

to hear and will listen to me. I am going to give you

I have

an ear

,a has set his church, even us, where S.utan's sea%i-5' TItat we might build?

up the hous.ehold of faith in the nameof his spirit and conquor for Jesus Christ.<

-14-

the hidden manna. And he names it -

and he is the life that sustains us.- .

~

.,..)c>-' ~I}.,fj.,

•you remember the ~ld~ot of mannt, was

ecame that @ breai)from Heaven

All around them people were eating, drinking,

according to the customs around Satan Is throne. But he says now, I am going to

give you the hidden manna. I am going to give you s~~el fo~ Psalm 78

some corn from Heaven. Ex. 16: 4 ~ Andwhen it comes down

from Heaven and you gather it up, YOIl I.ill not share with the social life in your

city. God will do something for you that you will be willing to cut yourself off

the compromises

says, I am going to give yo And that refers t

better. He

FromGod concernin ~=~ They

hav~ the charges. You are no longer condemnedbut you are going to be

given a white stone. And that will have your new name upon it. And the most

magnificient thing about this is - he says no man knoweth saying he that recei veth.

Nowthat sounds complex and~ - @ knowswhe~e: or not you are a

Olristian:- is the man I.ho has received it J You know in your own heart that here