"bottomless pit" Tagged Sermons

Times of Refreshing

Imagine a world were there is complete, total, enforced, and permanent peace, where joy abounds and good health prevails, so much so that people live for hundreds of years. A world where the curse is removed, where the environment is restored to the pristine purity of the Garden of Eden, where peace reigns even in the animal kingdom, so that “the wolf will dwell with the lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together, and a little boy will lead them.” (Isaiah 11:6)Our human mind can hardly comprehend such a world. Yet the Bible clearly states that when the King returns, such conditions will be the norm, because this world will be ruled by a perfect, glorious ruler, who instantly and firmly will deal with sin.
When Jesus Christ returns to this earth, He will rule for 1000 years from Jerusalem, on this earth, sitting on the throne of David as promised through God’s Word, the Bible throughout the Old and New Testament.
Today, there are 3 major views of eschatology regarding this 1000 years literal kingdom on earth.
It is imperative to understand all 3 of them clearly and biblically.
• Premillennialism
• Postmillennialism
• Amillennialism
The ammillenialists do reject the concept of an earthly millennium, and especially one that is actually 1000 years in duration. They believe that the Old Testament prophecies regarding the Messiah’s kingdom are being fulfilled right now. They say that this kingdom is now, because the saints reigning now with Christ in the heavenly realm and by the church on earth in the earthly realm. In other words, the church is ruling now in the spiritual realm as well as in the physical realm (meaning political).
What is Postmillennialist?
Postmillennialists believe that the current era is the millennium, though it is not necessarily to be regarded as a literal 1000 year period. After this period, Jesus Christ will return to accept the kingdom then already established by the church. Out of this believe system came the idea that producing a formal powerful church that would be the ultimate determining factor in spiritual and political matters would produce the final kingdom on earth.
This is the belief that the institutional church would bring the world into a kind of new golden age, through the teaching of Christ.
What is a Premmillennialist? A premillennialist is a person who believes:
• That Jesus Christ will return before the Millennium
• That the period immediately before Christ’s return will be the worst in human history
• That Jesus Christ will physically return to this earth, sit on the throne of David and rule from Jerusalem for 1000 years.
Before chapter 20 of Revelation, the Lord already has destroyed all human rebels. The ringleader of that rebellion (the Antichrist) and the False Prophet will have been thrown into the lake of fire (19:20)
And now the final step before the kingdom will be inaugurated will be the removal of Satan and his demons, Jesus Christ will reign without the spiritual opposition.
THE WORD TRANSLATED BOTTOMLESS PIT IS ABUSSOS, which always refers to a temporary place of incarceration for certain demons. This word is found 7 times in the book of Revelation.
The second death is defined in verse 14. It is hell, the lake of fire.
Those who have put their trust in Jesus Christ, those who believe what God has revealed to mankind, will never have to experience the second death. They will participate in the first resurrection and rule and reign with Him.

Who Is MYSTERY BABYLON?

So, let’s make sure we have the proper spiritual foundation regarding this text.
Where is John the Apostle when God reveals those things to him?
REVELATION 4:1-2 After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open IN HEAVEN. And the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying: “COME UP HERE, AND I WILL SHOW YOU THINGS WHICH MUST TAKE PLACE AFTER THIS.” Immediately I WAS IN THE SPIRIT; and behold, a throne SET IN HEAVEN, and One sat on the throne.
What John is describing from here on is all done IN THE SPIRIT, HIS WHEREABOUT WAS IN HEAVEN. He describes spiritual things.
Let’s go down the list of the characters we find in the 17th chapter and interpret them according to this truth.
1. Who is THE BEAST? Again, many commentators believe that this is the old Roman Empire and that the revived Roman Empire is the European Union. But the Bible says that the WHOLE WORLD IS FOLLOWING THE BEAST. Today, the European Union has about 700 million people. The world has about 7.5 billion people. What John describes impacts all the inhabitants of the earth.
2. Who are THE MOUNTAINS? Mountain symbolizes POWER. The seven heads, which represent seven mountains, or seven power structures. The work of God will be completed with the last bowl judgment. The Beast eventually will complete the evil power structure, because God has ordained it that way. Remember, it was on a hill, a mountain called Golgotha, where Jesus cried on from the cross: IT IS FINISHED. Sin has been dealt with once and for all. Satan has been judged. However, God allows him to build his final power structure, because the people want it that way.
3. Who are THESE KINGS? There are seven kings. Are they political, are they countries that rule in the end times? Are they political power structures like the UN? Or are they secret societies that worship Lucifer? Who are they? Before I explain the details about these 7 kings, let’s connect the dots. Inserted between verse 10 and 12 is found this statement: And the beast that was, and is not, is himself also the eighth, and is of the seven, and is going to perdition.
This beast is empowered by the beast of verse 8, which is Satan himself.
But on this earth, Satan, the spiritual beast, will enter a human being, which is described in verse 11 as the physically manifested beast, which the Bible declares to be the Antichrist. This human being has a short lived appearance on the world stage: 7 years to be exact.
4. Who are the TEN HORNS? These 10 horns represent 10 kings. Daniel 7:24
The 10 horns are 10 kings who shall arise from this kingdom, and another shall rise after them; he shall be different from the first ones, and shall subdue three kings. Again it begs the question: Are these kings of flesh and blood on earth;
very unlikely!! when we interpret them within its biblical context. Making war against the Lamb speaks of a spiritual battle, a battle that is fought in the invisible world. There are no geographical boundaries here.
5. What does THE WATER REPRESENT? Revelation 17:15 And he said to me: “The waters which you saw, where the harlot sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations and tongues.” It matters not what religion your follow, what philosophy you have adapted to, and how much you have studied the religions of the world; all have one goal, and that is self-redemption. Salvation without Jesus Christ. Just as during Nimrods time, man still wants to reach heaven on their own terms, even if they have to crawl themselves up one day at a time.
6. Who is ‘MYSTERY BABYLON’? Listen, there is no other city on planet Earth more important, more significant, and more decisive than Jerusalem, where the “Mystery Babylon” the religious and political power structure condemned Jesus to be crucified. The powers of darkness were right there shouting for joy.
And it is exactly in this city of Jerusalem where Satan and his cohorts made their fatal mistake; for the first time in all of human history, Satan caused the death of an innocent man, a man of flesh and blood – Jesus, the Son of God and the Son of man. With this sacrifice, the gates of faith were opened to follow the example of faith, Abraham. The power structures of Satan, the god of this world, the one who rules the world right now under God’s permission, has only a short time to go. One day in the not too distant future, he will meet the truth, the real truth.

He Will Reign Forever

It is important that we understand the spiritual battle in the heavenly places that is going on here and how Satan will fight to the bitter end. Yet, as foretold by the prophets of old, God the Father will give everything to His Son Jesus Christ, and He will reign forever and ever. There is no alternative. The great day is at hand.
In other words, signs and wonders do not make the gospel believable. When Jesus walked on this earth, He performed many incredible miracles and gave them many signs, yet these same people who saw those miracles and heard him preach God’s wisdom rejected Him and killed Him.
When these two witnesses preach and perform signs and wonders, the people will listen but also reject their message. Instead of embracing the truth, they will kill those two witnesses and rejoice over their death.

Demons On The Loose

The first 4 trumpets set the stage for a demonic invasion upon this earth. When the 5th trumpet blows, the effects are being announced by the angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice: Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabitants of the earth, because of the remaining blasts of the trumpet of the three angels who are about to sound!
In the English translations of the Bible, we normally find the word Hell as the place of eternal torment. However, in the Hebrew text, which is the Old Testament and the Greek text, which is the New Testament, there are different words used.
While the locusts (demons) were literal, the pit is literal, the fire is literal and the torture is literal. How these demons do their work, we don’t know, but we do know that John observed a war-like, attacking creature. These creatures will bring a fear much greater then the sting of death, for men will desire to die but cannot.