Our next adventure is the Bottomless Pit - otherwise known as the Abyss. And mans great hysteria about this place where no one wants to end up, so much so that movies and much to do has made of it. All because of religions imagination of the unknown and mysterious. But we shall see what it is all about as we pull scriptures from everywhere to reveal what is true and what is not. In fact these notes are so long that I will break it up into two sessions.
The Bottomless Pit - The ABYSS:
Revelation 9:1-2, When the [1]fifth Shepherd-Messenger blew his trumpet, I saw a [2]star that had fallen to earth from the sky. The star was given the key to the shaft into the fathomless depths of the Abyss. (The [1]symbolic value of the number five is divine grace. Jesus is the bright [2]Morning Star of Rev. 2:28 and 22:16, I am Jesus. I sent My Shepherd-Messengers to be witness of these things to before the churches, confirming to them that I am the Root and offspring of David, the radiant Morning Star! Also in 2Peter 1:1-19 we fine, For us the appearing of the Messiah is no longer a future promise but a fulfilled reality! Now it is our turn to have more than a second-hand, hearsay witness and testimony. Take my word as one who would take a lamp at night; The day is about to dawn for you in your heart and in your understanding. When the Morning Star appears, within you making His presence there known, you no longer will need the lamp; This will happen shortly on the horizon of your own hearts. In His death (our co-being in Him as our own humanity), Jesus conquered the underworld and he has the keys; No-one else does! Rev. 1:18. Look at Philippians 2:6-10, and 2:6, His being GOD'S equal in form and likeness (which we all share) was official; His Sonship did not steal the limelight from Father! Neither did His shared humanity distract from the deity of GOD! His mission however, was not to prove His deity, but to embrace our humanity. Emptied of His reputation (as seen in the OT accounts of His earlier appearing and speakings) as God, He fully embraced our physical human form, born in our resemblance (thru the proper gate or door of a woman's womb) He identified Himself as a servant of the human race. His Agape enslaved Him to us! And so we have the drama of the Cross in context: the man Jesus Christ who is fully GOD, became fully man to the extent of willingly dying humanity's (judgment) death at the hands of His own creation. He embraced the (OT) curse (under the Mosaic Law of condemnation, Deu. 21:22) and shame of the lowest kind in dying a criminal's death. (Thus, through the doorway of humanity's death, He descended into our hellish (Abyss) of deep darkness. Rev 9:1 and Eph. 4:8-10) From this place of utter humiliation, GOD exalted Him to the highest rank. GOD graced Jesus with a Name that is far above all other names. (Eph. 1:20) Do you want to measure the mind and muscle of GOD? Consider the force which He unleashed in Jesus Christ when He raised Him (and our humanity, co-us all,) up from the dead and forever seated Him (and us) enthroned as His executive authority in the realm of the heavens. Jesus is GOD'S right hand of power! He was raised up from the deepest dungeons of human despair to the highest region of heavenly bliss! [see Eph. 2:5-6 and 4:8-9] Eph. 1:21, Infinitely above all the combined forces of rule, authority, dominion and governments; He is ranked superior to any name that could ever be given to anyone named of this age or any age still to come in the eternal future. The name of Jesus endorses His mission as fully accomplished! He is the Savior of the world! Titus 2:11, The grace of GOD shines as bright as day making the salvation of humanity undeniably visible. See also Eph. 3:15, Every family in heaven and on earth originates in Him; His is humanity's family name and He remains the authentic identity of every nation.) What His name unveils will persuade every creature of their redemption! Every knee in heaven and upon the earth and under the earth shall bow in spontaneous worship! (Look at Isaiah 45:23, "My own life is the guarantee of My conviction, says the LORD, every knee shall freely bow to Me in worship, and every tongue shall spontaneously speak from the same GOD-inspired source.") Also every tongue will vice and resonate the same devotion to His unquestionable Lordship as the Redeemer of life! Jesus Christ has glorified GOD as Father of creation! This is the ultimate conclusion of the Father's [1]intent!) He opened the shaft of the bottomless pit, and smoke came out of the shaft like the smoke from a large [1]furnace. The smoke darkened the sun and the atmosphere. (The smoke is evidenced by the fire from the altar of worship which is lit by the coals from the brazen altar - the Cross where the Lamb of GOD was slaughtered - Rev. 8:5. The word, [1, G2575 from G2545 kaiō, to consume] kaminos, is an old word for a smelting-furnace; Rev. 1:15, "His feet were like a brilliant bronze fashioned in a furnace!" In contrast to the feet of mingled iron and clay of the image Daniel saw in Dan. 2:38. The army of GOD is set to swaloow up the consciousness of good and evil in people's minds!
The natural light was veiled and even the atmosphere was filled with smoke for the moment while the effects of Jesus' presence in our hell was released.)
Revelation 11:7-11, (20:1-2, this I will carry over to our next visit) In the conclusion of their testimony the "Beast" shall ascend out of the Abyss and shall overcome the two witnesses and kill them in battle. (Jesus' death seemed an initial defeat to the prophetic purpose and significance sustained in the Mosaic Law and the Prophets.) And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city which spiritually represents Sodom and Egypt where our LORD was crucified. (Clearly the city of Jerusalem is implicated here! The future Bridge-city, the new Jerusalem [of Rev. 21:2] was just like Sodom and Egypt during the rule of the Prostitute/Bride of Babylon and in the genius of GOD'S wisdom, their murder of Jesus became the salvation of the entire human race!) And those [religious institutions] representing all the people in their various groupings, their tribes and cultures and languages of all the multitudes of the nations shall gaze upon the dead bodies of the two witnesses for three and a half days and they will not allow their bodies to be buried. And these earth dwellers [earth-rule mindsets] shall rejoice over them with great jubilation celebrating their deliverance from these two prophetic voices who challenged and frustrated their religious indulgences and beliefs. They will even send gifts to one another celebrating their apparent victory. With the eyes of all earth dwellers fixed upon them for three and a half days, suddenly, Spirit of Life issues out of GOD entered them and they stood upon their feet and great awe struck the earth dwellers as they beheld these things! (In the resurrection of Jesus the prophetic significance of Jewish Scripture, represented by Moses and Elijah, was revived!) (The Mirror, with editing)
In our next visit the LORD willing we shall pick this back up with Revelation 20:1-2 and carry this to its end. Then afterward we shall look at the third note. Now may the LORD assist in the removing of the Prostitute/Brides blindness from our hearts as promised.
No comments:
Post a Comment