Revelation Chapter 20:1-3

Do you love The Book of Revelations? I do. I spent quite a while researching it and learning it. However it has been a while since I have talked about it. So to keep from getting rusty I am going to give a little breakdown of one of my favorite chapters. I am only going to do verses one through three right now. The reason for that is simply that it would take a short book to do one chapter in Revelation. Lets take it slow and K.I.S.S.(keep it simple stupid-geared toward me not you)!

"Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven with the key to the bottomless pit[a] and a heavy chain in his hand." Revelation 20:1

First thing I want to point out is the words "bottomless pit". What is that? Is it the same has hell? Have you ever thought about that? Here are some common names for hell that you will find in the Bible and where you can find them at....

Luke 16:24 this flame
Matthew 13:42 furnace of fire
Matthew 18:8 everlasting fire.
Matthew 3:12 unquenchable fire.
Jude 1:7 eternal fire
Matthew 25:46 everlasting punishment
Jude 1:6 lake of fire
Mark 9:47 Hell Fire
Luke 16:28 Place of Torment
Matthew 22:13 Outer Darkness
Matthew 25:46 Everlasting Punishment

So we see that their is not just one name for hell. It has been called many descriptive things that help to define it. Now in order to find the answer to question like what exactly is the pit you do a cross reference. This is the logical why to understand the Bible. Compare the scriptures and find out what else is said about it.

" Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit." Isa 14:15

So the pit is in hell! Some believe that it is in a separate region of hell. They believe that the bottomless is a separate part of hell that is reserved only for satan and his demons. My theology tells me that hell is hell. Be in a different region or not it is still hell. If the people are separated from satan and his demons , then so be it. I am looking forward to not finding out first hand. Hell is hell.

There is mention of a key here. What is the key and who holds it?

"I am the living one. I died, but look I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and the grave. " Revelation 1:18


Christ is defined has holding the keys to death and the grave. So He is the one who gives the key to the angel. He give the angel the key of death! Now with this key comes another object. A chain! A burden! We see that has symbolized with the heavy chain.Where? Lets compare other passages that deal with chains...


"The orchards and fields of my people will yield bumper crops, and everyone will live in safety. When I have broken their chains of slavery and rescued them from those who enslaved them, then they will know that I am the Lord."
Ezekiel 34:26-28


"The night before Peter was to be placed on trial, he was asleep, fastened with two chains between two soldiers. Others stood guard at the prison gate."
Acts 12:5-7

So chains represent slavery and bondage. They are restricting and they are punishment. So this chain is severely bad news for someone. It means that some one is about to get into bondage. However there is more two it. Lets check it out.

"He seized the dragon—that old serpent, who is the devil, Satan—and bound him in chains for a thousand years." Revelation 20:2

We see they chains used here on the dragon-that old serpent, the devil! He puts the devil into slavery! The devil is in punishment! Yes,yes the old defeated one is bound up for a thousand years. Whats going on for these thousand years? Lets cheat and look ahead a few passages...

" Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. For them the second death holds no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him a thousand years.
The angel threw him into the bottomless pit, which he then shut and locked so Satan could not deceive the nations anymore until the thousand years were finished. Afterward he must be released for a little while." Revelation 20:2-3

Oh my! Imagen this...

One Thousand years on this earth with no satan! No tempter! Just peace! Life with Jesus! Ever have one of those days where the bird singing doesn't constitute you slinging your bowl of oatmeal out of the window at the harmless singing bird perched on the branch?! You know that day. When you are just happy! Everything is great. People seem so nice and fragile that you may let some one pull out in front of you! Maybe two! One of those days! Picture that everyday. Picture Jesus being right there. For one thousand years. All of God's children will stand beside him and sing...."Holy is the Lord God Almighty!" WOW! If that doesn't excite you, you need to go check your pulse. That is exciting stuff! We are talking about Jesus and us worshiping Him, beside Him!

One Thousand Years without any sin! Just love! He is gone for now. In that pit that we discussed earlier. Now picture this culture shock. Here you are! Enjoying peace on for the first time since sin took place in Adam and Eve. Then after 999 years, 364 days,23 hours, and 59 seconds of peace and love, in the next second it will all change. If I have learned anything about the Lord it is that He that keeps His word! When He says something will happen it will. When He says when it will happen it happens then! Sure He leaves some mystery to be discovered but He has always been true to His Word. When He says one thousand years, He means a thousand years!

So here we are in this peace and love and then Boom! Here is satan again! Unleashed after one thousand years of bondage. He will no doubt be mad and certain to re-establish the chaos that He created for the last 6000 plus years. He is back! Why must he be unleashed? Why doesn't God leave Him there? That my friend is another post. Coming soon however!

Human Tetris

Maybe the most fun 6 minutes and 19 seconds I have spent on You Tube to date!

Why I Love Esther.

Tonight I have a term paper due in my critical thinking class. We have an open forum. Anything goes. My first thought was should I do it? Just jump out there with a former Sunday School lesson? I ponder for about a week and then another classmate of mine informed me that she wanted to Job. I was blown away! Wow here is my sign! Do it.

How ever instead of a former lesson I made the choice to go ahead and tell why I loved the book that the lesson was on. Not the Bible in general but one specific book out of it. Hence you guessed from the title.

I may have stated before in another post, I love, love , love the book of Esther. Did you know that it is still debated by some that it should even be in the Bible. The reason is understandable to an extent. Not one time are the following mentioned......

God, Jesus, Lord, Prayer, Salvation, or any other religious ritual!

Never in Esther is it mentioned. You hear of fast but it is never said to be a fast of religious beliefs. I better watch out how use that word religion. I was informed that I should never use it when describing my beliefs. Maybe a post for another day! Any way, Esther never directly points to God. That is the main reason I love Esther also! What?! What did that Blog Guy say?!?!?!

I love that because although He is not mentioned in the book it is evident that He is there. The way He set Esther to become queen. How God's chosen people (the Jews) were saved from certain death. God delivered them in a way that is not obvious unless you are looking for Him. It is then that you find Him (Are you starting to follow?) How much does that relate to salvation and how we have to get it? We don't find God until we look. God does not force Himself on us! Atheist see no God in life and the things that happen it because they are not looking for God. If some one was to stop and reflect on all the things that God had to have done for them to happen, the evidence would rock them! God is evident but invisible to those who don't open their eyes.

Ever thought or been asked why God doesn't work today like He did back in those good ol' O.T. days?! Look no closer than Esther. You will quickly see that God does. He doesn't work in any bight shining miracles. No water to wine, no walking on the water, no giant earthquakes, no floods, nothing that will make you say how did that happen? It is all personal! Everything God did in Esther was mold the characters you read about into what He needed them to be at the exact time that they needed to be that person. Is working through people. I love that. It shows that God is the same today has He was then!

For the most part I love it because of how well it relates to my relationship to God is. I don't always see God in my life. Sometime I have to look really hard to see how He is working and what He wants me to do. I don't always see the works of God. None the less He is working. Just like in Esther.

Is God a Liar?!

"Thou Shalt Not Kill" Deuteronomy 5:17, KJV


So the LORD said, "I will wipe mankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth—men and animals, and creatures that move along the ground, and birds of the air—for I am grieved that I have made them." Genesis 6:7

Now God said not to kill. Yet He sent a flood to wipe out the earth. There are numerous times that God commanded His people to destroy entire cities. This is the same God right? I mean God would not break His own commandment would He? Of course not! Don't be silly.

What is the difference between a man who goes out and shoots a person in the street for money. Then another man who is a judge and declares the shooter to die?

Motive! Do not kill is saying don't go out and kill someone just because you can or for personal gain. When God destroyed the world with the flood he did it because the world was wicked and evil. God declared that some one had done wrong. In the case of the flood all were guilty of turning from God for their own wicked ways. Everyone except for one family. God delivered what is know has justice.

If a criminal pulls a gun on a cop and the officer shoots Him ,then is the cop a killer? No He was in the right. Now in the same situation. Say that the criminal shoots and kills the cop. Is that murder? Yes it is. He killed and innocent man.
We have people who are appointed to call for justice. Judges, officers, our armed forces,etc.

God is THE JUDGE! The creator of the world says what is right and what is wrong and when someone sins there has to be consequences. There is a penalty. In some events God has declared death to many, some, or none. He judges, He does not murder. He does this because He is a just God. Not a murderer and not a liar.

Examine thyself !

Are you baptist? I am and I can tell it most of the time on Sunday mornings. Lets face it guys and gals. The baptist church gets an "A+" for all of our gossip. We love to talk about the people we worship with. Everyone is guilty of gossip. I think that the biggest problem is that we fail to really look at ourselves or even better we don't want to see our faults.
How much easier is it for us to load up our guns with words to fire at other people instead of at ourselves. Facing our faults and short coming is not easy. It is so much less complicated to look at the person you saw yelling at the K-mart cashier over bad service then it is to realize that you shouted out "Learn to drive" at the car that cut you off by about three car lengths and then didn't pull out going 45 mph making you have to slow down. How dare them! You get my drift.
This weekend we had a visitor at church. Ken Freeman was in town and he was bringing the word. He used the following scripture....

" Examine yourselves, whether
you are in the faith; prove
yourselves (emphasis added)."
2 Corinthians 13:5

When is the last time that you used that scripture? Not read it, not spoke it, or not even taught on it but actually lived it out like the word of God. EXAMINE YOURSELF!

The Baptist guidelines seems to read like this....

"Examine your neighbor. Make
fun of them. Laugh at their
flaws. You know you want to!"
Baptist 1:01
I am also guilty of this. I love to laugh and sometimes it is at the expense of the none knowing fellow Christian and a few others who are not Christian. It is wrong. No matter who it is. We laugh at jokes that seem harmless but I thought about it. Would I tell these guys about the jokes I am telling? What would they say? How would I feel about it. Would the apostles have followed Jesus had He made fun of them for being some stinky fishermen? No! I needed to examine myself and get right with those who don't even know that I have sinned against them.
If a tree falls in the woods and no one is around does it make a sound. Yes it does. If you joke about someone and it doesn't make it bad to them is it wrong even though you know you were joking? You bet it is. Trying to deliberately tarnish the image of another is cruel, rude, and a sin. Jokes are more capable of the same thing.Gossip is gossip. Examine yourself when you feel the urge to gossip and if you still feel good enough about yourself to laugh at them then you can go ahead. I doubt you will though.

Are you banned?

For awhile now my friend has been baned from China's world of blogging. I have recently been inducted into this list. To find out of you are banned in China go to...
Great Firewall of China

Need vs Want (link to a another blog)

My good buddy over at Swap Blog posted a beauty of a post. It is called Need vs Want. I strongly encourage you to go over and take a look at it and his other post.
I cannot currently link to a page with just the post so you will have to scroll down four or five post.