"The Lenses of Reformation Concerning Thrones of Iniquity"
by Dr. Patti Amsden
Every culture moves in the direction that is established and maintained by the people who live within that culture. Moses instructed the people of Israel to live within the covenant that God had established with them, and he warned the Israelites against learning and applying pagan patterns. The culture of Israel expressed times of holiness and times of apostasy as it reflected the lifestyles of the inhabitants.
Reformation lens #1 – Culture reflects the collective paradigms and choices of its citizenry.
The beliefs held by the Israelites were not self-generated. The beliefs were imparted by a divine being. Israel’s God was Jehovah, who was revealed to them as the supreme deity, God of all gods. The beliefs held by the pagan nations that bordered Israel were imparted to them by lesser divine beings. Scripture records the names of some of the gods worshipped by other nations: Ashtoreth – the god of the Zidonians; Chemosh – the god of the Moabites; Milchon – the god of the Ammonites (I Kings 11:33). Pagan cultures reflected the beliefs of fallen, sinful, rebellious divine beings because the people established and practiced those beliefs.
Reformation lens #2 – Sinful practices imparted to the citizenry from fallen gods and practiced by the people produce a culture contrary to Jehovah’s will for people and for culture.
The more that ungodly beliefs are practiced within a culture, the more the culture becomes entrenched in sin and iniquity. Sins describe acts that are unlawful or unjust. Iniquity defines the systems that gives rise to and sustains the sins. Where pagan worship and pagan practices become the foundation and fountainhead of a culture, iniquity is sustained from generation to generations. Such was the condition of the nations that surrounded Israel.
Reformation lens #3 – Thrones of iniquity are seats of authority within culture that are occupied by evil people ruled by evil deities.
As reformers, we must remember that Jesus came to defeat the work of the evil one (1Jn. 3:8), release those enslaved by sinful practices (Eph. 2:1-5), and establish His ever-increasing Kingdom in the earth (Is. 9:7). His victory had in view the cultures of all peoples and all nations, which was God’s promise to Abraham (Gen. 12:3). Furthermore, Jesus is seated at the right hand of God and working through His church until every enemy is made his footstool (Ps. 110:1-2; Rev. 2:26-27). Where thrones of iniquity prevail within a city or territory, Jesus has granted power to His church invade the darkness (Acts 26:18; Is. 60:1), war in the spirit against the evil forces (Eph. 6:12-17), and tear down every high thought that exalts itself again the knowledge of Christ (2 Cor. 10:3-6).
Reformation lens #1 – Culture reflects the collective paradigms and choices of its citizenry.
The beliefs held by the Israelites were not self-generated. The beliefs were imparted by a divine being. Israel’s God was Jehovah, who was revealed to them as the supreme deity, God of all gods. The beliefs held by the pagan nations that bordered Israel were imparted to them by lesser divine beings. Scripture records the names of some of the gods worshipped by other nations: Ashtoreth – the god of the Zidonians; Chemosh – the god of the Moabites; Milchon – the god of the Ammonites (I Kings 11:33). Pagan cultures reflected the beliefs of fallen, sinful, rebellious divine beings because the people established and practiced those beliefs.
Reformation lens #2 – Sinful practices imparted to the citizenry from fallen gods and practiced by the people produce a culture contrary to Jehovah’s will for people and for culture.
The more that ungodly beliefs are practiced within a culture, the more the culture becomes entrenched in sin and iniquity. Sins describe acts that are unlawful or unjust. Iniquity defines the systems that gives rise to and sustains the sins. Where pagan worship and pagan practices become the foundation and fountainhead of a culture, iniquity is sustained from generation to generations. Such was the condition of the nations that surrounded Israel.
Reformation lens #3 – Thrones of iniquity are seats of authority within culture that are occupied by evil people ruled by evil deities.
As reformers, we must remember that Jesus came to defeat the work of the evil one (1Jn. 3:8), release those enslaved by sinful practices (Eph. 2:1-5), and establish His ever-increasing Kingdom in the earth (Is. 9:7). His victory had in view the cultures of all peoples and all nations, which was God’s promise to Abraham (Gen. 12:3). Furthermore, Jesus is seated at the right hand of God and working through His church until every enemy is made his footstool (Ps. 110:1-2; Rev. 2:26-27). Where thrones of iniquity prevail within a city or territory, Jesus has granted power to His church invade the darkness (Acts 26:18; Is. 60:1), war in the spirit against the evil forces (Eph. 6:12-17), and tear down every high thought that exalts itself again the knowledge of Christ (2 Cor. 10:3-6).
