His Perfect Love

Guest (Male): You know, we may wonder at times, what is it going to surrender for our friends and loved ones to surrender to God and believe? Pastor Matt says, for some, the coming tribulation.

Matt VanderVen: What is it going to take, right? That's the ultimate question, isn't it? What is it going to take to get human beings to recognize that Jesus is the Lord and that he is the King of Kings and that he desires, not only desires, he requires obedience. You know what it's going to take? A great tribulation. For some people, that is a Unfortunately, it takes it takes them to get to a very, very, very low place before finally they'll cry out. Well, if you want to know what it's going to take the human population, friends, quite accurately, it's the great tribulation.

Guest (Male): You've no doubt heard the expression, if you want to stop digging the hole that you're in, put down the shovel. It sounds so simple, and yet when it comes to life, why is it so hard for so many? Pastor Matt Bendorvin continues today in the book of Revelation here on His Perfect Love. In chapter 9, we hear of the future judgments coming to this earth, and despite all the torment the people experience, they still won't change. They won't put the shovel down. There's a lesson there for us. Let's go now to Pastor Matt and see what it is.

Matt VanderVen: Look at verse 3. And another sign appeared in heaven. Behold, a great fiery red dragon. Now, I'm I'm going to interpret this for you. I know we'll get there and we'll do that. Who do you think the red dragon is? Satan. I think everybody understands who Satan is, right? A red dragon. Having seven heads and ten horns and seven diadems on his heads. His tail drew a third of the stars of heaven, and he what? Threw them to earth. Underline that. So, have we seen God in his language use the word stars? Has he said he's throwing them, beings beings, to the earth?

Did we just read that? So, we know God in his language, interpretively, has used that same terminology before to say, I am taking beings from heaven, stars, and I am throwing a third of them. Have you ever heard of a third of the angels fell and came to earth in Genesis? Do you remember the intermingling of what happened? The Nephilim. That came to some of you know Genesis 6. You remember that? This is describing exactly the events that already occurred back in Genesis 6. And then what happened to those angels at that time? God brought judgment.

Remember, what was that judgment called? The flood. It was a worldwide flood. And when that flood happened, what happened to those angels? They were then taken and put into a bottomless pit. What are we reading about here this morning? A bottomless pit. We're going to look at the Greek Is it any coincidence that the very people that the very beings that are going to be released from this bottomless pit happened to be the same beings that were cast to the bottomless pit, happened to be the same beings that a third of them were thrown out of heaven and resulted to the earth and then eventually committed that sin by leaving their abode.

How do I know that? Because you and I both have the book of Jude. And Jude verse 6 tells us that, doesn't it? That they left their heavenly abode. So, we know this is what it's communicating to us when we take a harmony of the scripture. This is very clearly communicating that the demon, a demon's plural, but a demon here, this star fallen from heaven to the earth, okay? That's what he wants us to see. And he goes on and says that Satan himself took a third of all the angels. I believe that's who he's seeking of, who fell and you know, they fell and obviously became demons.

They came forth to the earth to create a rebellion against God. Then we have this bottomless pit. In one Greek word in the Greek New Testament, it literally means abyss or a buso. It's the bottomless unbounded. You want a literal translation of it. It's the pit or immeasurable depth. That's the exact translation for what this word means. It is also the home of the beast who makes war against the two witnesses. How do I know that? Cuz if I turn in my Bible to Revelation chapter 11, let's look at verse 7 and 8. When they finished their testimony, who is they?

The two witnesses. They're going to learn about two faithful witnesses, okay? The beast ascends out of the what? Read it there. The bottomless pit. So, for him to be in the pit to ascend out of it, he has to be where? In the pit. And he will make war against them and overcome them and kill them and their dead bodies will lie in the street in the great city spiritually that is called Sodom and Egypt where our Lord was crucified. So, it tells us this is going to be on, you know, your your news networks.

Everybody's going to be able to see this at the time that's alive in those days, right? The satellites will be able to catch this. They're going to watch these two dead bodies. I'll cover more about that when we get into that passage. But I wanted you to see that this is the same place that once again says that this being comes out of this bottomless pit and is actually given the ability to kill those two witnesses, which nobody else at that point was able to touch except for Satan. At the beginning of the millennial kingdom, the bottomless pit is again where Satan is bound.

How do we know that? Turn in your Bible to Revelation chapter 20. When Jesus Christ will come for the millennial reign, the thousand years, right? Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven having the key. Look at the language. Even I saw an angel. Like look look coming down or fallen. Same idea, except fallen being in a negative connotation. Having the key to the what? Bottomless pit and a great chain in his hands. So, this bottomless pit is serving a it's serving a use for a period of time. They will not stay there forever, okay?

Cuz there's another angel that actually is going to come with the key to it. The key that's being already given first was to Satan, that angel that or the star that has fallen to loose these demons. But then there's going to be coming another angel. I'm I'm sorry, I'm fast forwarding a little bit in Revelation, but there's going to be another angel that's going to come that's going to have ability to do what again? Now that it's been opened, he's going to put a key in and he 's going to do what? He 's going to change the key and he 's going to lock it.

He's going to change the lock on it and lock it, okay? So that who can stay in there? Well, look at it. He says a bottomless and a great chain in his hand and he laid hold of the dragon. Okay, so remember I was just talking in chapter 12, the red dragon. Same language here. We know who he's talking about. Satan, the old. It even describes exactly who it is. The that is who is the devil and Satan. And bound him a thousand years and cast him where? Into the bottomless pit and shut him up and seal on him so that they should not deceive the nations no more till a thousand years were finished, but after these things will be released for a little while.

So, we reading our scripture, I think everyone of us this morning can feel very very confident that we're talking about the same being, that the same place, this bottomless pit is a place that's used and has been used for fallen angels, that this being that is fallen, that is already fallen, it's described as a single him is Lucifer or Satan and he's going to end up back in that bottomless pit, right? He's he he's going to end up there, but he is going to become the king of all the demons in hell or in this bottomless pit, the abuso, maybe better put than than than hell that way.

But nonetheless, I just want us to see this. Now, he's going to be loosed one more time to lead the last and final revolt against God. Now, this bottomless pit can it be associated with a place also called tar tareo. It just took me a second. Pardon me. Some of you guys know what is Tarsus. It is fine. Tar tareo in the Greek, that is the Greek word. It literally translated hell and it's used only once in scripture. And the only place that it's used is 2 Peter chapter 2 verse 4, okay? And it refers to these places where angels who sinned are reserved and changed in darkness and judgment.

It sounds like it's the same place, right? The abuso, the bottomless pit, right? If tar tareo is the same as the abyss, then the inhabitants of the bottomless pit are the same angels who sinned and left their first habitation. You can look at that in Jude verse 6 where it specifically says that. And that's a reference to what? Back to Genesis 6:12. When they originally sinned and they left their natural habitation, they came to earth and then they did what? They went in and tried to overthrow the human race by intermingling immortal beings with mortal beings at that time to create a superhuman race.

Some of you are looking at me going, what are you talking about? That's what we know as the Nephilim. It happened. It's not an imagination. It's just not somebody out there making things up. Go read Genesis chapter 6. It talks about this crazy Why why would God have to do a worldwide flood? I mean, it's as evil as it is now, right? It says like the days of Noah would be. Why a worldwide flood? Because he was trying to destroy a being that was going to permanently change the DNA and fiber of the human race going forward.

Had everybody except for Noah, his sons and their wives had gotten onto the ark, preserved, a flood came, wiped out the population that was not immortal at that time. The mortals were sent to the what? Bottomless pit. And then what happened to the mortals? All the other mortals died, that's human beings as you and I know it. The immortals, which would be the fallen angels, were cast down into this bottomless pit. And then Noah, his sons And then remind me what he said when they God to Noah. He was to do what? He was to repopulate the whole earth.

And did he not do that? You and I all got off that same ark, okay? We can be traced to that same boat. That is why I get so frustrated, honestly, with this whole diversity nonsense because we all got off the same boat, all right? We we all got off the same ark, right? The Italian in me comes out. I'm sorry, I get emotional. Because I sit there I Why are we fighting about what we look like, how we sound, what we talk like, and all these other things that make us different when we got off the same boat, huh?

So, why are we spending the Because it's a distraction from Satan himself to turn around and find out all the things that make us different instead of the commonality. And I love that our scientific community, I don't know, I think it was like 10 years ago, after a Forgive me if my number's wrong, a $5 million project, they came back and said, oh, we have determined that the DNA in human beings links to a single human being. It looks like it comes from a single source, not multiple regions and all this other stuff. And I all I kept thinking I could have sent you a Bible and you could have sent me the $5 million.

Paid off the church, everything we we gospel would be going forward. What are we doing? But praise the Lord. Somebody out there had a doubt. They ran the scientific analysis and they came to the same conclusion with the Bible has already said and always said. The word of God is true, friends. The word of God is true. Well, God uses this bottomless pit as a holding place for the most evil of angels including Satan himself and those who who tried before the flood to thwart God's plan to bring the seed of the woman into the world.

That goes back to Genesis 3:15. Again, this this could be the very same place. The inhabitants of the abyss, they're released for a short time during the the last three and a half years of the tribulation to fill God's purpose, namely to do what? What are we reading about here? In verse 5 of chapter 9, it says very clearly torment the wicked. These prisoners of the bottomless pit hate humanity and they seek to destroy them. Makes sense why it's the fallen angels now, right? And but God controls their terror and limits their power. It can't These these little these demons can't kill people.

I believe this is describing again the demons and Satan. He was given the key to the bottomless pit and will be the king of this demonic army of fallen angels. But the fact is he's given the key to the pit makes us want to some of us not associate him with Satan. Maybe somebody here going, why would God give him a key to a pit to unleash all of these demons? Somebody might be sitting here this morning going, that doesn't make sense. Why would God do that? You know, I think we forget that the idea that Satan is the master of hell.

We we have this idea. But let me ask you a question. Is that anywhere found in scripture? It's actually not. It's one of those things I just want to share with you this morning. I think a lot of times we think of Satan as sort of the master of hell. But nowhere in scripture will you find anything like that written. He's actually going to become hell's victim. All right, he's going to be tormented himself. All right, people he's he's not like a hireling of God in hell. Do you understand that? He's not You know, he's not on staff in hell, all right?

You with me? He know he's not a ruler down there, okay? He's a victim himself of that. And at the same time, we notice that the key is given to this being and that it's given to a him for a specific time and a specific purpose to further God's plan. God is going to use this to bring torment and judgment to do what? What is the ultimate goal of that? That people will cry out and say enough. And they will call unto God into repent for their sin and then become saved. Again, God will use that kind of extreme because it is going to take that to get people's attention.

You're not crazy here. If you're standing here or sitting here this morning and you're thinking, what does it take to get people to wake up and realize that there's a lot of madness going on. There's there's two genders. There's male and female. No matter how we try to extrapolate that and and try to create all these other amalgamations, there are two genders biologically and scientifically. We understand that. And somebody said, well, you know, what about somebody born with multiple body part Okay, look, we also understand that we're living in a world with thorns and that this world because of sin and sin entering in the world means that there are things that are happening in this world that do go awry and this was not part of God's original plan.

We also understand that like sickness, disease, cancers, all those things were you didn't read about that in the garden. None of that was in the garden. In the garden was very very good. But because of original sin and then the things that have come because even creation is doing what right now? Groaning. We forget sometimes I I believe that we're living in a fallen and a dying world. I mean, even the laws, Newton's laws, even laws of motion, even entropy, and you start looking at the earth's rotation is slowing. It's slowing down. There are things all around us scientifically that are happening.

We're watching human beings, right? We are watching the things we've talked about a few weeks back, just how our food supply has been tainted and how it's causing uh the body because of ATP needing to obviously the cells because what is ultimately that food going to be used for? ATP because ultimately it uses for cells to create energy. It's the number one energy source. And then what does that energy source do, friends? You and I use it for movement. Well, when we start to run out of nutrient rich food, it has to go to its last reserves which is protein.

And then when it goes and pulls out the protein stores and we run low on the protein and we don't have those stores to rebuild, which is the prominent prominent thing that the amino acids are supposed to do, right? The amino chain. When we run out of those nine essential amino acids and those things happen, which is what's required for the human being to survive, you have the breakdown of the human frame. It's already happening. This isn't our imagination. You can take and grow some broccoli, send it off. The earth itself doesn't produce the same nutrients that it did 30 and 40 and 50 years ago.

This is not our imagination. It's happening. And so I just think it's on it it we need to understand this is what's coming. This is So, he has been communicating, but the point I asked is what is it going to take, right? That's the ultimate question, isn't it? What is it going to take to get human beings to recognize that Jesus is the Lord and that he is the king of Kings and that he desires, not only desires, he requires obedience. You know what it's going to take? A great tribulation. It's going to take a great tribulation for Israel to come to the place as God's chosen people in which they are today.

It's going to take a great tribulation to humble the heart. And that he will then one day, as it says in Jeremiah 31:31, give them a new covenant and a new heart. All these things needs be to get us to the end of ourselves. How many times have we seen somebody struggle, whether it's an addiction or something else going on? And like it says in scripture, like a dog running to the vomit. How many times have we turned around and said very clearly in our own heart, maybe we never said it out loud to the person, but we thought it in our mind, what's it going to take?

What's it going to take for this person to be what? Maybe saved or I use a different word. Starts with a b. Broken. What's it take for this person to be broken to the point of where they're willing to call out and say, I need what? Help. We all understand this. This is like it's like innate. It's built into the human being in the frame in our DNA. The this idea that we get to this place of brokenness and then for survival and instinct, we reach out and cry out. For some people, that is a Unfortunately, it takes it takes them to get to a very, very, very low place before finally they'll cry out.

Well, if you want to know what it's going to take the human population, friends, quite accurately, it's the great tribulation. And that is what this whole purpose is serves is is bringing judgment. But Lord willing, his plan is to bring what? Reconciliation. So, this angel whether you know, he's going to serve God's purpose even if he doesn't intend to, right? This fallen angel. So, the bottomless pit Again, some people wonder where it is. I think the most straightforward answer is at the center of the earth, right? Because there one might say, if you're at the center of the earth that everything is on top and nothing is in the bottom.

It is the bottomless pit. There is nothing more bottom than the bottomless pit. So, if it's in the center of the earth, it is reached what? You know that the earth is round. You with me? I didn't lose you. Earth is round, right? So, if I'm in the middle and I'm at the center of the earth and I'm at the lowest point, if I'm bottom, no more bottom cuz then I go top. Give me a thumbs up. Let me know. Come on, give me a thumbs up. You're paying attention. All right, good. All right, the abuso is a prison for certain demons.

We know that also Luke chapter 8 verse 31, 2 Peter chapter 2 4 and Jude 6 as I mentioned. So, it's most likely the same place here. Uh more generally, this place is considered the realm of the dead. The term Hades also has been used for this same place and you can see that in Romans chapter 10 uh verse 7. Romans chapter 10 7. So, next let's go into verse 2 through 6 here. And he opened the bottomless pit and smoke arose out of the pit and like the smoke of the great furnace, so the sun and the air were darkened because of the smoke of the pit.

Then out of the smoke locusts came upon the earth and to them was given the power as the scorpions as the scorpions of the earth have power. They were commanded not to harm the grass of the earth or any green thing or any tree, but only those men who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads. And they were not given authority to kill them, but to Underline that. Torment them for 5 months. Their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it strikes a man. In those days, men will see death.

That's the idea of the torment. It'll be so bad. And they won't find it. They'll desire to die. And it says death is going to flee from them. So, once again, we read of smoke or something that's going to cause the sun and the air to appear darkened. We've already seen the cosmological problems that have happened. In verse 3, we read that the locusts are going to come out of the earth. Now, I've It says I have never seen locusts like this. I that's why I don't believe they're natural locusts as we would understand in the animal kingdom.

They're obviously not natural locusts, right? They avoid plants. They attack men like scorpions. They're a visual representation of the hordes of demons that are going to be loosed upon the earth. I think that's exactly what this is saying to us. Verse 4 tells us that those who have the seal of God on their forehead, the 144,000 possibly and more that get saved are protected, but not no one else is, right? This is an incredible judgment of God. Uh verse 5 says that they were not given authority to kill them, but to torment them for 5 months.

Again, their purpose and period is expressly governed by God. Please see God is in control. Jesus specifically And the purpose of all this is to bring repentance, right? And I truly believe that.

Guest (Male): Pastor Matt Bendorvin on His Perfect Love. Thanks for taking part in today's study of Revelation, a book that comes with a blessing attached to those that read and study it. If you were blessed and encouraged by the Lord, we'd like to know. Email us while it's fresh on your mind. They're at our website hisperfectlove.org. Be sure to include your prayer requests. Also, at our website, you'll find an archive of these studies in Revelation making it easy to replay a message you enjoy or catch what you miss on the radio. Again, we're at hisperfectlove.org and now at oneplace.com as well.

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