April 23, 2022 – End Times Prophecy Report

The Phenomenon That is Christianity

CHRISTIANITY

Has the reader EVER stopped to consider the phenomenon that is CHRISTIANITY?

* Of all the belief systems which have arisen over the centuries, CHRISTIANITY is STILL around.

* Of all the belief systems which have arisen over the centuries, CHRISTIANITY is not only ‘still around,’ it is the DOMINANT professed belief in the world.

* Unlike other belief systems which proclaim that man can be a better human IF ONLY he would follow THAT PARTICULAR belief, CHRISTIANITY proclaims that man is NOT good and NO man can be better–outside of the mercy bestowed by man’s creator AND that man’s belief in JESUS CHRIST as that man’s eternal savior.

“As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.”
–Romans 3:10-12

* CHRISTIANITY does not look to COMPROMISE as a solution. CHRISTIANITY views COMPROMISE as a challenge to its Godly authority.

“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”
–John 14:6

One cannot get much more authoritative than John 14:6.

* The main challenges to CHRISTIANITY over the centuries have been syncretic in nature, rather than direct challenges.

* CHRISTIANITY has steadily grown from its humble beginnings in Israel to the Number One belief system in the world, with about 70 percent of the world claiming to be Christian.

HAS the reader EVER stopped to consider how unlikely that all is?

HAS the reader EVER stopped to consider WHY THAT MIGHT BE?

HAS the reader EVER stopped to consider why CHRISTIANITY has persevered to the present day?

It is not YET too late: there is still a LITTLE time to change direction (repent), place your faith (hope) for the future entirely on Jesus Christ and enter the kingdom of heaven.

DOES the reader believe he is saved?

Make Your Calling and Election Sure: End Times Survival

DOES the reader believe he is NOT saved?

Time is Running Out: Today is the Day of Salvation

THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST

“Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:

And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles. And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time. ”
–1 Corinthians 15:1-8

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.”
-–Romans 1:16

A Reminder: The Gospel is Simple

MORE: Eternal Salvation Through Jesus Christ: Salvation Messages from End Times Prophecy Report

[Portions of this piece appeared originally in End Times Prophecy Headlines: April 18, 2022.]

Eternal Salvation Through Jesus Christ: Salvation Messages from End Times Prophecy Report

RELATED ARTICLES

by Jeremiah Jameson
–with Mondo Frazier

image: Photo by Emre Can Acer from Pexels.com

© Jeremiah J. Jameson and End Times Prophecy Report, 2012-19. © Mondo Frazier and End Times Prophecy Report, DBKP 2007-2019. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Jeremiah J. Jameson and End Times Prophecy Report with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

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The Bottomless Pit

ABYSS

A recent piece (The Plague of Demons in Joel and Revelation)–as well as a newer one (MORE On the Demons in Joel and Revelation) which more closely examines those beings–features mentions of the bottomless pit (sometimes referred to as “the abyss“).

Since so few seemed aware of the bottomless pit, it was decided to provide some basic info on that place of containment.

1- Bottomless Pit (or The abyss)

In the Bible, the abyss is an unfathomably deep or boundless place. The term comes from the Greek ἄβυσσος, meaning bottomless, unfathomable, boundless. It is used as both an adjective and a noun. It appears in the Septuagint, the earliest Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, and in the New Testament. It translates the Hebrew words tehom, תהום‎, deep), tsulah צולה, sea-deep, deep flood) and rachabh רחב‎, spacious place). In the original sense of the Hebrew tehom, the abyss was the primordial waters or chaos out of which the ordered world was created (Genesis 1:2) . The term could also refer literally to the depths of the sea, the deep source of a spring or the interior of the earth.

In a later extended sense in intertestamental Jewish literature, the abyss was the underworld, either the abode of the dead (sheol) or eventually the realm of the rebellious spirits (Hell). In the latter sense, specifically, the abyss was often seen as a prison for demons. This usage was picked up in the New Testament.

2- There are several references to the bottomless pit (abyss) in God’s Word.

In Jude 1:6 and 2PETER, the bottomless pit is mentioned as the place where rebellious angels are locked away until the last days.

“And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.”
–Jude 1:6

“For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment”
–2PETER 2:4

[The greek word <a href=”https://biblehub.com/text/luke/8-31.htm”>ἄβυσσον</a> (abyss) is used for both of these references.]

3- In Luke 8:31, Jesus is begged by the entities in the Gadarene demoniac to NOT send them to the abyss.

“And they besought him that he would not command them to go out into the deep.”

So, it appears that both fallen angels AND demons may be locked away in the bottomless pit.

4- Revelation 20:1-3 informs the reader that, after Jesus returns to earth, the bottomless pit will serve as a containment area for the dragon (Satan): Satan will be chained and locked away in the bottomless pit for one thousand years.

“And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.”

5- The (fallen) angel in charge of those locked in the bottomless pit is named Abaddon.

“And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon.”
–Revelation 9:11

Apollyon = “a destroyer.”

6- The end times beast of the dragon–who will be worshiped by ALL of mankind–comes from the bottomless pit.

“The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.”
–Revelation 17:8

7- This beast is responsible for the killing of the two witnesses of God.

“And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them.”
–Revelation 11:7

And THAT is about ALL that God’s Word has to say about the bottomless pit.

Everything else that is claimed seems to be speculation on the part of the claimant.

DID the reader previously think much about the bottomless pit (abyss)?

It is not YET too late: there is still a LITTLE time to change direction (repent), place your faith (hope) for the future entirely on Jesus Christ and enter the kingdom of heaven.

DOES the reader believe he is saved?

Make Your Calling and Election Sure: End Times Survival

DOES the reader believe he is NOT saved?

Time is Running Out: Today is the Day of Salvation

THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.”
-–Romans 1:16

A Reminder: The Gospel is Simple

MORE: Eternal Salvation Through Jesus Christ: Salvation Messages from End Times Prophecy Report

[Portions of this piece appeared originally in End Times Prophecy Headlines: April 20, 2022.]

RELATED ARTICLES

by Jeremiah Jameson
–with Mondo Frazier

image: Image by Bilderandi from Pixabay.com

Link Disclaimer: inclusion of links to other blogs/websites is not necessarily an endorsement of all content posted in those blogs/websites.

ALL such links appearing in End Times Prophecy Headlines, such as those below, should originate at ETPR.

MORE On the Demons of Joel and Revelation

A reader who had a GREAT disagreement with what was written in a recent ETPR article (The Plague of Demons in Joel and Revelation) not only made us stop and think, but ALSO led to some additional research on our part.

The reader’s MAIN disagreement with the article was that ‘demons are not in the bottomless pit. Fallen angels are in the bottomless pit and fallen angels are NOT demons.’

Upon receiving this plaint, our IMMEDIATE thought was, “Oh no! We messed up!”

Our SECOND thought was “We had better make SURE we messed up.”

Which is the MAIN reason behind this clarification (post).

The reader seems to have gotten ALMOST ALL of what he wrote right.

1- Fallen angels are NOT demons.

Regardless of how many ‘Bible teachers’ and ‘scholars’ and professional preachers in the pulpits might say otherwise.

God’s Word is clear: fallen angels are confined (since their rebellion against God) IN CHAINS: fallen angels are NOT running around causing troubles, afflictions and torment to man.

2- Fallen angels are CONFINED; demons (evil spirits) are NOT.

“… God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment”
2PETER 2:4

“And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.”
–Jude 1:6

These two preceding verses appear to be the basis of a belief that the bottomless pit is the abode of fallen angels.

And that belief would NOT be mistaken, as God’s Word is the ONLY truth in the world today.

[In a very SPECIFIC instance, several fallen angels are released a little early from their captivity by God for a SPECIFIC end times task.

“And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God, Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates. And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men.”
–Revelation 9:13-15]

The ONE point of disagreement seems to be whether demons (evil spirits) are ALSO housed in the bottomless pit.

Apparently demons may also be sent to the bottomless pit for ‘safekeeping.’

This is from Luke 8:31, where the devils (demons) “in the country of the Gadarenes” urgently petitioned Jesus NOT to send them to the bottomless pit.

“And they besought him that he would not command them to go out into the deep.”

The word translated as “the deep” is the SAME Greek word used for “abyss” and/or “bottomless pit.”

ἄβυσσον

Apparently, at least Jesus could command demons to the bottomless pit.

So, apparently the bottomless pit holds more than fallen angels.

Though fallen angels ARE the bottomless pit’s most well-known residents.

DID the reader ever wonder where fallen angels are kept until the day they receive their final judgment?

It is not YET too late: there is still a LITTLE time to change direction (repent), place your faith (hope) for the future entirely on Jesus Christ and enter the kingdom of heaven.

DOES the reader believe he is saved?

Make Your Calling and Election Sure: End Times Survival

DOES the reader believe he is NOT saved?

Time is Running Out: Today is the Day of Salvation

THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.”
-–Romans 1:16

A Reminder: The Gospel is Simple

MORE: Eternal Salvation Through Jesus Christ: Salvation Messages from End Times Prophecy Report

[Portions of this piece appeared originally in End Times Prophecy Headlines: April 19, 2022.]