The Throne and the Abyss
—Glory defeats corruption
The story of Satan’s opposition to Christ is portrayed in the visions of Revelation. Satan is cast out of Heaven to earth; thwarted in his battle plans; locked in the Abyss; thwarted in his battle plans again; cast into the lake of fire. What a demise for this evil fool Satan!
Is there really any point in your being on the side of this biggest loser in the universe? If you are wise, you will join those who worship at the throne of Jesus the Son of God.
1 Jesus On the Throne
We often think of Jesus as a man in the flesh, born a Jew descended from David —and indeed he was such (Matthew 1:1, John 1:14).
His life on earth was short —only about three decades. He died by crucifixion as though a criminal, yet his life had been perfectly sinless. God accepted his death as a sacrifice enabling the purification from sins once and for all.
That was not the end of Jesus however. He arose from the dead, rejoined his disciples, and they rejoiced that he was alive again. After some days he was seen to ascend into heaven to the glory from whence he had come.
Seated at the Throne of God
"[God appointed His Son] heir of all things, through whom He also made the world. And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high" (Hebrews 1:2-3 NASB).
"But to the Son he says, 'Your throne O God is forever and ever; A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your kingdom' " (Hebrews 1:8 NKJV).
"God had sworn with an oath to [David] that of the fruit of his body, according to the flesh, he would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne... exalted to the right hand of God" (Acts 2:29-33 NKJV).
A Glorious Throne. Before he died, arose, and ascended to the throne, Jesus prayed, "And now O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with you before the world was" (John 17:5 NKJV).
An Eternal Throne. That text (John 17:5). shows that Jesus’s place with God is eternal —before the world was, and forevermore. While Jesus was in the world for a short time, his entitlement to the eternal throne was reserved for him in heaven.
His Father's Throne. When his life on earth was finished, Jesus declared, "To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne." (Revelation 3:21)
A Throne of Ultimate Authority. Jesus also declared, "All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth" (Matthew 28:18-20). The giver of that authority was of course the heavenly Father. He did not give Jesus limited authority, but ALL authority, "the name which is above every name" (Philippians 2:9). That entitles him to be seated with his Father on his Father's throne.
The Throne of the Living God. The true account of the brief earthly life of Jesus is most holy and precious. So too is the story of his glorious heavenly life. That story is eternal, without beginning and without end. Jesus "ever lives" (Hebrews 7:25). As he himself said, "I died, and behold I am alive forevermore..." (Revelation 1:18).
The Throne of Everlasting Life. John writes, "And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb." In the vision John saw the servants of Jesus serving him and reigning with him forever and ever (Revelation 22:1-5).
The Throne of Grace. We can "come boldly to the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need" (Hebrews 4:16). We do this through Jesus who occupies the throne with his Father.
The Throne of Forgiveness. Jesus is "the radiance of [the Father’s] glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high" (Hebrews 1:2-3 NASB).
The Throne of Sacrifice. In visions he is represented on the throne as "a Lamb as though it had been slain" (Revelation 5:6-7). Jesus is both King and Priest, a Priest on his throne. He sacrificed himself so forgiveness and purification is possible for all who desire it.
2 Satan In the Abyss
In contrast to the glorious Jesus on God’s throne, we have Satan, the devil, pictured in the visions given to John as a dragon chained and cast into a bottomless abyss (Revelation 20:1-3). What a contrast it is: Jesus lifted up to the throne in heavenly light forever; Satan cast into an abyss that goes down forever into endless darkness.
An abyss of restraint. In this vision, Satan is bound and locked in the Abyss for 1000 years (Revelation 20:1-3). This represents the limitation and impotence of Satan compared to the mighty power of Christ. Christians are blessed with a ward against evil and, so long as they stay at the throne of Jesus Christ, Satan cannot have victory over them by his temptations (1Corinthians 10:12-13).
An abyss of failure. John sees the Beast and the kings of the earth assembled to make war against the King of kings and Lord of lords. But the war fails to happen because the Beast and the False Prophet are cast into the fiery lake whilst the Dragon (Satan) is thrown into the Abyss for 1000 years. The armies are slaughtered before they can attack.
An abyss of death. Satan makes another attempt at war against Christ, but Christ again destroys the devil’s armies before they can attack. They are punished with with eternal death (Revelation 19:19-21, 20:7-10).
An abyss of sacrifice. Satan surely knows that he is destined for doom. But he wants to sacrifice himself —not for the world's forgiveness but for its condemnation and destruction. For him there will be no resurrection, only endless punishment, but he will have taken many with him. That is his insane satisfaction.