In chapter 9, the sermon title today is Abyss. Abyss. And the text that we're going to look at is Revelation 9, 1-6. Revelation 9, 1-6. We find in Revelation 9, 1-6 that the bottomless pit is opened and out of the pit of hell pour forth hordes upon hordes of demons. Having said that, there are important theological truths that are denied in our world today. Study after study, survey after survey shows that clergymen, men who are supposed to be pastoring churches, men who are supposed to be heads of denominations and heads of mission boards and missionaries and evangelists, no longer believe in a literal burning hell. On top of that, they no longer believe in a personal devil, on real demons. I can remember a Southern Baptist college that I attended for a short period of time. They told us in pastoral ministries that there's really no such thing as demons. Demons just was another way of talking about, in that day, of psychological problems. So, if you're anxious, you've got a demon of anxiety. If you're, you know, a kleptomaniac, you've got a demon of stealing or something. So, they just denied the reality of the demonic by turning the demonic into nothing more than psychological problems. We know that the world denies, generally speaking, the reality of a literal burning hell because when you speak with people, So if you were to die right now, where do you think you'd spend eternity? Oh, I would go to heaven. And then as you talk with them, well, what about hell? Oh, I don't think God I don't think there would be a place like that. Or if they even admit there may be some sort of a place like a hell, it is not as bad as we think. And it is only for like the really incorrigible, horrible Hitler types. It certainly wouldn't be for grandma. It wouldn't be for for Junior, you know just just because he's a rebellious 15 year old and and all he doesn't mean he's going to go to a literal hell So we see that hell and devils are denied by the world with their cartoons They they don't present demons as as real they'll present them as cartoonish at the most they will say oh that demons are a mythological personification. They're just a a figure of speech to speak of the evils of our day that, you know, if there's war, then we can demonize war and turn war into into a mythical demon. But we know there's not really a demon that is war. This is the way they will word it. As I mentioned, liberalism denies openly The mainline denominations, when you go to the PCUSA or the United Methodist Church or the United Christian Church or on and on and on, just ask them. I'm not like bashing anybody. I'm just telling you what they believe. If they believe it, they shouldn't be ashamed that I'm telling you what they believe. You can call some of them on the phone. I've done this. Pastor Jones of such and such a mainline denominational church, could you tell me, do you believe there is a literal place burning with fire and brimstone called hell? Boy, talk about dancing around the issues. I've had them say, you know, I'm a pastor asking a theological question. They think I'm someone looking for a church. And they'll say things like, well, if you believe that, you'll fit in here. See, they don't believe it, but they don't want you to know they don't believe it. They just figure, oh, you know, we just don't make a big deal out of that. That's fine if you believe it. Sort of like, you know, let's dumb everything down, lowest common denominator. And if you come, you'll be accepted if you believe that. They don't believe it at all. On top of that, evangelical churches, churches that are supposed to believe the evangel, that are supposed to be saying they believe the gospel and that they believe the Bible is the inspired word of God. They deny a literal burning hell and a literal personal devil with real demons. How do they deny it? If you ask them, they'll hem and haw and backpedal and backpedal. And then finally, well, you know, the Bible does teach that. So how are they denying it? They're denying it by not preaching it. If you don't warn people that there is a real, literal, burning hell, a place of fire and brimstone, and if you don't do that on a weekly, regular basis in your sermons, you're a false teacher. You're lulling your people into a false sense of security. The emergent church, or the emergent movement, or the emergent whatever they like to be called at the current hour of the day, They will deny a literal burning hell, but they'll do it this way. Oh, that's what you believe and that might be true for you. We just can't tell. Well, it looks like maybe the Bible is saying that there is, but also it could be taken metaphorically. And, you know, if you take this verse and twist it around this way and connect it with that other verse, you can probably get it to say that. And so, what Christianity has become is, come to our building, we'll entertain you with a rockin' band, and I'll give you a few helpful hints to make it through Monday. Amen? It's certainly no longer biblical preaching instilling in men and women the fear of God. And the fear of God is the beginning of knowledge. And so we find as we look at Revelation 9, God gives us an understanding of hell and demons. God gives us an understanding of what hell is like and what demons are like. Demons are not little dancing imps. They're not just little... Remember, I don't know, the old cartoons. They used to have a little angel guy and a little demon guy on the shoulder. And, you know, he'd poke him. Go ahead and steal the cookie. You know how Satan would be? Go ahead, kill the owner of the cookies. You see? We've got this very cleaned up view of a little mischievous imp that sort of prods us to do naughty things now and then. What we're going to see is the real nature of your future eternal roommates. If you are not born again, if you are not saved, if you are not a genuine follower of Christ, we're going to introduce you to your eternal roommates. And you'll be able to get a real glimpse of what they're like. First, we find in verses 1 and 2 on your notes, hell is real. Hell is very, very real. Nowhere in the Word of God is hell presented as a metaphor, as a figure of speech. And you find these well-known, so-called conservative theologians saying, well, you know, the Bible talks about hell as a place of fire. But it also talks about hell as a place of outer darkness. And we know that if you have fire, you have light. So, obviously, you can't have hell and darkness, fire and darkness, So those must be metaphorical for some kind of burning, unsatisfied passions and the darkness of not having the gospel. Well, I mean, I could, I asked little kids to solve that problem. How can you have outer darkness and fire? One little kid said, haven't you ever been camping? I mean, just put a ski mask over your eyes and you'll have darkness and you can have a fire. In other words, this is no problem for God. Hell is very real and it is very disconcerting. And yet this is not something new. This is what has happened throughout the years, throughout the centuries, where those who deny the Word of God, they want God to be more tame. They don't like the idea of a holy God who would take an individual and hurl him into a lake burning with fire and brimstone. That just is unacceptable in our modern age. Well, my God would never do that, people have told me. Well, that's because your God is not the God of the Bible. And if it's not the God of the Bible, your God doesn't exist. So we're going to look at the Word of God when it talks about the abyss, about the pit, about the bottomless pit, about hell, about the lake of fire. We're going to see what God has to say on these things. Verse one says, then the angel, the fifth angel sounded. You'll remember we are now in the seven trumpet judgments. Interestingly, the first four trumpets judgments, look back in chapter eight. The first four trumpets, the first trumpet is 8-7. That trumpet took one verse. The second trumpet took verses 8 and 9. That took two verses. The third trumpet took verses 10 and 11. This is in chapter 8. Verse 10 and 11. The third trumpet. The fourth trumpet took verse 12. Those trumpets are shocking and horrifying, and yet God only ascribes a verse or two to each of those four trumpets. But notice what the angel says in chapter 8, verse 13. I looked and I heard an angel or eagle flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, woe, woe, woe to the inhabitants of the earth. That phrase, inhabitants of the earth, technical term, referring to people whose life is wrapped up in this world. They're earth dwellers. They're just earth dwellers. Their citizenship is not in heaven. Their citizenship is on earth. And the thing that you do when your life is invested in this world is you go along to get along. You've got to do what you've got to do. That's the world's mindset. Well, don't bring God up to that guy. Don't talk about Jesus. Don't be seen with a Bible. Don't let people... Now, it's okay in the business world if you say, oh yes, I go to church. But that's about it. In fact, you'll be more popular if you say, I go to a mosque. In our wicked world, that's the way it is. But, you know, and they'll tolerate that. But they won't tolerate you standing for a testimony of the Lord Jesus Christ. In fact, let me show you where that phrase, the inhabitants of the earth. Just so that you'll understand, these are woes. These are three woes. The three woes of 813 are the last three trumpets. And those trumpets take whole chapters. For example, chapter 9, verse 1-12 is the fifth trumpet. Chapter 9, verse 13 and following is the sixth trumpet. trumpet. And then there is another interlude. And then you have in chapter 11, verse 14, the second woe is past. The second woe is the sixth trumpet. And that took from 913, all the rest of chapter nine, all of chapter 10, most of chapter 11, all the way up to verse 14. Then it says the second woe is past. Do you see that? in 11-14. The second woe was passed. And behold, the third woe is coming quickly. The seventh trumpet is then blasted in verse 15. And that goes all the way through until we then get into the bowl judgments. But the inhabitants of the earth. We saw that in 8-13. Woe, woe, woe to the inhabitants of the earth. These woes, W-O-E, the wrath of God on the earth. The wrath of God poured out on the earth. W-O-E, the wrath of God on the earth. God's wrath on the earth. God's wrath is being expressed through these final three trumpets. And they are so horrifying. They are so shocking. They are so debilitating. They are so devastating. They are so crushing. They are so irresistible. They are so inescapable. that God says and identifies these trumpet blasts as woes to those who dwell upon the earth. Those who dwell upon the earth, it says in verse 8-13. Look over in chapter 11. And look at verse 10. And those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them and make merry. and send gifts to one another. Because of these two prophets who tormented those who dwell on the earth. Do you see that? Over and over. Those who dwell on the earth. Those who dwell on the earth. Look at chapter 14. And look at verse 10, he speaks of, he himself will drink of the wine of the wrath of God which is poured out full strength into the cup of his indignation. And he will be tormented with fire and brimstone. Look at chapter 13. And look at verse 8. All who dwell on the earth, those who dwell on the earth, all who dwell on the earth will worship the beast. whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb. I'm trying to connect in your mind so that you can see from Scripture that these woes are going to be poured out, blasted out, proclaimed against those who dwell on the earth. And those who dwell on the earth are a distinct category of humanity from those who bear the seal of God on their forehead. Those who are saved, who are redeemed, who are washed in the blood, escape the wrath of God. Those who are here on this earth during the tribulation period are the ones who then will undergo the wrath of God. Verse 8 again in chapter 13. Revelation 13. 8. All who dwell on the earth. And look at verse 12 of chapter 13. 13. 12. And He exercises all the authority of the first beast in His presence and causes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the beast. Drop down to verse 14. And He deceives those who dwell on the earth by those signs. You see, the believers will not be deceived. Those with the seal of God will not be deceived. But those who dwell on the earth, those who invest their life, thou fool! You build bigger barns to accumulate and store up your stuff on this earth. Do you see how important this is? If you are investing your life in this earth, and this is what is the sine qua non of your existence. Everything about you is the things of this earth. Everything about you is what dwells on this earth. Then you are exactly who this is speaking to. Verse 14, he deceives those who dwell on the earth by those signs which he was granted, given, granted. See, God grants him the ability to perform these signs, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast. Look over at chapter 17 and look at verse 2. Well, go to verse 1, 17-1, because that brings in the context. Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came. These are the bowl judgments that we will get to eventually. And he talked with me, saying to me, come, I will show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters. That great harlot, the world religious system embodied in the Roman Catholic Church, embodied in the World Council of Churches, embodied in the cults of this day, all churches All religions that do not believe the Word of God and live according to the Word of God and serve Almighty God are a part of this harlot religion. It says in verse 2, with whom the kings of the earth committed fornication. In other words, the kings of the earth got in on this religious system. The politics and religion mixed. The king and the pope became in-bed buddies. They joined hands and we said, how can we oppress the people and milk them for more money and control them? The wicked kings of the earth used this harlot religion and they committed fornication. And watch what it says at the end of verse two. And the inhabitants of the earth, those who dwell on the earth, right, were made drunk with the wine of her fornication. When you get into a world religious system, into the Roman Catholic Church, into the easy-believism churches, into the emergent church, into the mainline denominations that deny the Word of God, your mind will begin to swim in drunkenness. You won't be able to tell the difference between truth and error. And when your denomination is voting on whether we can have a lesbian bishop or not, You'll sit there and think, well, that was a good argument, and that was a good argument, and that makes sense, and that makes sense. You are drunk with the wine of her fornication. You can't even see straight, talk straight, or walk straight. Look at chapter 17, verse 8. The beast that you saw was and is and is not, and will ascend out of the bottomless pit and go to damnation And watch this, "...and those who dwell on the earth will marvel, whose names are not written in the book of life." You see, those who dwell on the earth are those whose names are not written in the book of life. Those who dwell on the earth are people whose life consists in the abundance of the things that they possess. When you talk to them, they will begin to talk to you about how wealthy they are. how smart they are, how influential they are, how big their car is, how fancy this is, and all of their trophy junk. They are those who dwell on the earth. Let's go back to chapter 9. The fifth angel sounded. Verse 1. So, this fifth angel is God's trumpet angel. And the trumpet angel, seven trumpet angels, we're on the fifth trumpet angel. This trumpet angel blasts his trumpet and the judgment of God comes. The judgment of God comes with a star that descends from heaven to the earth. This is now a different star than we saw in chapter eight. Go back to chapter eight and look at verse eight. The second angel sounded and something like a great mountain burning with fire was thrown into the sea. That is literally what it's talking about. A massive mountain-sized meteor is hurling through space and hits this world in the oceans. Verse 10, then the third angel, the third trumpet angel sounded and a great star fell from heaven. Now, this is a star that, remember, in the Greek language, any body in space was considered a star. It didn't have to be like a sun. So, we call them even today shooting stars. And so, that was the same way it was then. So, some sort of a shooting star comes flying through the atmosphere. This is a literal chunk of space stuff that's flying through the air and hits then the fresh water. When we get to chapter 9 and verse 1, the fifth angel sounds, and I saw a star fall from heaven to the earth. This is not a piece of an asteroid or a meteor. The reason is because this star is given a key. This star speaks and is given responsibilities. This is another way that we use the word star even today. They're a movie star. They're an athletic star, right? We just talk about some great personality or well-known or brilliant personality. We speak of them as a star. This star happens to be an angelic personality. Now, there's two basic ways to take this. One, does this mean a fallen star such as a demon or does it mean a descending star as one of God's elect and holy angels? And how would you make a decision like that? Well, those who say that it is a demon will use the word fallen because it says, I saw a star fallen from heaven to the earth. And so they put all of the weight of their arguments on the word fallen. The problem is that's too much theological baggage to put on a word that is not emphasized in the context. This is actually clarified for us later in Revelation. Look over in chapter 20. And look at verse 1. Then, I saw an angel coming down from heaven. Alright, so you have an angel in 20 verse 1 and you have an angel in chapter 9 verse 1. You have an angel falling or descending from heaven in chapter 9 verse 1. And you have an angel coming down from heaven in chapter 20 and verse 1. having the key to the bottomless pit. Well, how does that help us in identifying the angel in 9-1? Go back to 9-1. Then the fifth angel sounded and I saw an angel, a star angel, descending from heaven to the earth and to him was given the key to the bottomless pit. So in chapter nine, he is given the key to the bottomless pit. In chapter 20, he has the key that was given to him to the bottomless pit. So in my thinking, it's safer to understand this as being interpreted by a later verse in Revelation instead of putting all of the weight on one word in verse one. Another concern that I have is who is going to entrust the devil with the key to his own jail? That didn't seem to make a whole lot of sense to me. So I'm going to take this and you can take it the other way. That's fine. But I'm going to take it as a as God's angel. And a third point that I want to make as I go through this is that all of the judgments in revelation that come from God come from holy angels. This would be the only time that a demonic angel is dispensing God's judgment on the people. So I would prefer to go with what is the norm in the book instead of going against the norm in the book. Not a major point, but it is helpful to understand. I want to go through this with you so you understand how I work through these problems. Why am I preaching that this is an elect angel instead of a demon? All right, so this this elect angel, the star angel that descends from heaven, who is given the key to the bottomless pit. Now, are angels real? If you believe the Bible, then you would say yes. Is he given a real key? Now, some would say, oh no, you can't have a key to hell. Well, that's because you don't believe in hell. I remember I was talking with one Episcopalian pastor one time. He's like, oh, you've got to be kidding me. You think there's actually a place called hell and a bottomless pit? I said, well, wait and you'll find out. So, this angel is given the key to the bottomless pit. Well, what is the bottomless pit? The bottomless pit is another name for hell. Doesn't the Bible say, go back to chapter 1, look at chapter 1, and I think it's around verse 18. Yes, verse 18, 118. The Lord Jesus says, I am he who lives and was dead and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. I have the keys of hell and death. The key to hell is the same key as the key to the bottomless pit. I'm going to emphasize and prove, I think, this morning that the bottomless pit is the same place as hell. We don't have a map of the geography of hell. But we take pieces of what Scripture says and, you know, you can't look it up on MapQuest. You can't do a Google map and show me hell, you know, and we'll take a right, you know. For some of you, it's your house. For some of you, the shaft of the abyss, the entrance to hell, is the churches that you've been going to. But those would be metaphorical. What I'm talking about is the real, literal shaft of the abyss, and that it was given to this elect angel the key, because Christ has the key, and He opens and no man shuts, and He shuts and no man opens. He determines who dies and who lives. He determines who goes to hell and who goes to heaven. Is that what we saw earlier? And so, this shaft of the abyss, this bottomless pit, The word abyss comes from two Greek words. You've heard in English of a bath of sphere, a sphere that goes down into the deep. That's what bath of sphere means, a sphere that goes down into the deep. The letter A in Greek is an alpha privative, which negates the next word. It says it's like no, like a millennial is no millennium. So a bath is a bath. Abath is no deep, no deep. And that came to be abyss, which came to mean something that you couldn't plumb the depths of. It was used of sailors as they were out to sea and they would sound, right? They would lower the sound and they would find how deep they were. You know, so many fathoms, so many fathoms, bing, bing, you know. Finally, they would find where they couldn't find the bottom. They ran out of rope. That would be the abyss. It doesn't literally mean there is no bottom. It just means that as far as they can find, there's no bottom to it. Doesn't the Bible say that hell has its mouth wide open and it is never satisfied? You dig a hole in the ground and you can throw in one body, a million bodies, 50 million bodies and it's never satisfied. You can always throw people into the abyss, into the bottomless pit of hell. This is a place... Let me show you something. Go back to Luke with me. Luke chapter 8. Matthew, Mark, Luke chapter 8. And Jesus, as He is out evangelizing and making disciples, comes across one man that needed a psychiatrist, according to our world system, but not according to Jesus. He didn't need some psychotropic drugs. He needed the gospel. Luke chapter eight. In verse 26, when they sailed to the country of the Gadarenes, which is opposite Galilee, and when he stepped out on the land, there met him a certain man from the city who had demons for a long time. And what is the mark of a demon-possessed man? Well, one mark of certain demons and certain demon-possessed men is nakedness. Sounds like a lot of America. And he didn't live in a house. Sounds like a lot of Americans, but in the tombs. These guys who want to walk around the graveyards and be connected with death and connected with, you know, have you ever wondered, you're driving down the road and you see a car and the license plate is a bunch of skulls. around the license plate. What's the point of that? The guy wears a skull and crossbones. He's got a skull scarf on his head. Skulls, death, skull. I'm thinking, what is that trying to imitate? I mean, a skull can do nothing. Why are you idolizing this dead bone? It's demonism. They're just associating and aligning themselves. I don't want black fingernail polish and black lipstick and black, black, black hair. I don't want to look like I'm dead. I know people I've heard about that sleep in coffins. That's demonism. That's the same thing that's going on here. God says this man who had demons for a long time, walked around with no clothes on, associated himself with death, Always wanted to be rubbing bones on Him. Wearing bones and sleeping among the bones. And it says in verse 28, when he saw Jesus, he cried out and he fell down before Him. And with a loud voice said, what have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg You! Now watch this. I beg You. This is the demon speaking out of the man. The demon understands something that most Christians don't understand, and that is that he is under the authority of Jesus Christ. We have a concept, thanks to the charismatic movement, that somehow Satan is this independent, autonomous entity who, according to all the TV phony preachers, owns the world. They will tell you on this TBN junk TV programs that Adam, when he sinned, forfeited the planet and gave it to Satan. You can't do that. Adam was not the owner. Adam was the manager. The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof. God owns the world. He always owned the world. And He always will own this world. Adam can't give it away to anybody who wants to. Satan does not own this world. Satan is called the God of this world because people refuse to worship the true God and come under His rule. That's an illegitimate rule. And so, these demons, they cry out to Jesus. And they say, do not torment me. Because He had commanded, commanded, do you see that? The unclean spirit. Demons are dirty. When you find people that have dirty thoughts, dirty minds, dirty lives, sin is connected with and metaphorically illustrated by filth. Sodomy is filthy. All of this sleeping around stuff is filthy. That's why they like to do things in the dark. Lest their deeds be exposed. Sin is filthy. And demon spirits are unclean spirits. And Christ commanded the unclean spirits to come out of the man because it had often seized him. And he was kept under guard, bound with chains and shackles. And we find in one of the other Gospels that he would break, well it goes on to say here, and he broke the bonds and was driven by the demons into the wilderness. Now, here you've got a demon acknowledging the superior strength and authority of our Lord Jesus Christ. Why? You know, I've often said this, I've come across, when you're witnessing, you come across all kinds of things. I'm a Satanist. And I always say with a nice smile, why would you worship a loser like that? I mean, he's a powerless loser. I've read the end of the book. We win, you don't. Don't have any fear of these godless people that don't know their elbow from a hole in the ground. They don't know anything about theology. They don't know anything about the true and living God. They don't know anything about salvation. They think it's cool to say, oh, I worship Satan. That's the height of stupidity. Let me show you what your demons are like. Your demons are groveling at the feet of my Lord Jesus. Your demons are begging my Lord Jesus Christ not to torment them. I don't have to worry about some demonized person putting a hex on me. Put 50 hexes on me. The Bible says, the curse causeless shall not land. And it goes on to say, Jesus answered and said this, what is your name? And he said, Legion. Because many demons, thousands upon thousands of demons had entered this man. And I'm telling you, you had better watch what you do with your life. You had better watch where you go. If you are unregenerate, you are an open vessel. You're like a vacant house. And if you are not filling that house with the Lord Jesus Christ and the things of God, you are putting a sign in the front yard saying, for rent, demons cheap. And you're just waiting for demons to come and inhabit you. You go to these nightclubs and you are hanging around these demonized people and you are listening to the Marilyn Manson types. I don't even know if he or she is cool anymore. But whoever the next clown that follows that clown. You follow those types and you think, oh, that's so cool. And then you go to those false teaching churches where the Bible says that demons masquerade as ministers of righteousness. And you put yourself in the midst of a church where they're cackling like demons, claiming that it's the gift of holy laughter. They are acting insane and all they are is demonized, wicked people under the domination of Satan. You better watch what you're doing with your house and how you have your sign in your front yard. You better fill that with Christ. Well, but I don't know. I mean, I've been in the church and I've been around Christianity and I just need to get out and experience things. I need to go out and experience life. You know, I've been sheltered in the church. I mean, you know, I often tell people, all my kids have a drug problem. And they look at me funny. I say, yeah, I drug them to church. I drug them to Sunday school. I drug them on Sunday night. Drug them out to evangelism. They're going to have a drug problem at my house. So you may have been in a Christian home. Maybe you've been in a godly, real, genuine Christian home, and you think, because you've listened to your stupid friends, who don't know Christ, who don't care about your future, they don't care about your soul or where you're going to spend eternity, and they're like, oh, you're not allowed to do that, and you're not allowed to do that, and you're not allowed to do that. See, the that, that, and that are sin. Just lump it all together. No, yes, you're right. We're not allowed to sin. And that is joy to a believer. But you take someone and, oh, I need to be free. I need to stretch my wings and go out there and experiment. I plead with you, talk to some of the converts here at the church. Some who have gone that stupid route and gone out there and experimented. And they've got babies with no fathers. They've got venereal diseases that they are on medication for the rest of their life. They have got all kinds of mental hang-ups because they can't get that filth out of their mind because they experimented. They wanted to go out and try things and get out from under the oppression of their dad and mom who took them to church. This is what you're headed for. And it goes on in v. 30, what's your name? Legion, because the demons had entered him. And they begged him. Do you see that again? The demons are begging Jesus that He would not command them to go into where? The abyss. The abyss is a place that is so horrifying that even horrifying things like demons don't want to be there. I mean, if this abyss is a place where demons don't even want to be, do you want to be there? You understand this is where you're headed if you are not converted. You are headed to an eternity with your demonic roommates in the pits of hell. in the bottomless pits of hell, roasting in the lake, burning with fire and brimstone, separated from the love of God, separated from the mercy of God, separated from any joyful friendships and singing and hope and reason to live. I want you to see that Jesus seems to have been in the habit of commanding demons to go into the abyss. Why would they beg Him, do not send us into the abyss, if they did not have some history of Him doing this? Some people say, well, it all happened only once, when a third of the angels fell, and they went to the abyss. Certainly, when a third of the angels fell, and they did go to the abyss. The Bible tells us that. But it seems that there is an ongoing sending of certain demons into the abyss. Because when a third of the angels fell, not all of them were sent to the abyss. That's why we have some demons that are possessing this man. There are demons in the abyss, and there are demons that are not in the abyss. They are waiting to be sent there, and they absolutely are scared to death of going there. You start getting harassed by a demon, say, I'm going to ask Christ to send you to the abyss. that thing's knobby knees will start smoting one against the others. In other words, you have the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord. If you are born again, you are a child of God. Genuine believers never have any worry about being demon-possessed. The Bible says that God seals us, and we'll look at that in a moment. So this star angel, He's given the key to the abyss. Now, go back over to Revelation 9 with me. Verse 1, the star angel is given the key to the bottomless pit, and this bottomless pit, in verse 2, he opens the bottomless pit. Now, let me ask you something. If you were a demon in the bottomless pit, and you had been suffering there for thousands of years, and now God's star angel comes and unlocks that, you would vomit out of that place like an atomic bomb. You would fly out of that place like a volcano blasting open, wouldn't you? And it says, He opened the bottomless pit, and smoke arose out of the pit like the smoke of a great furnace. And so that tells us that the bottomless pit is a place that is like a great furnace. It is a raging fire, and that matches all else that we hear in the Word of God about hell. Hell being a place burning with fire and brimstone, where there is wailing and gnashing of teeth, and there's no end to the horror. Look a little bit further in chapter 11 so that you can see this, this pit, this pit, this shaft of the abyss, bottomless and pit are actually two Greek words. And the the put them together and you have a bottomless pit, a never full pit. Hell is never full. Do you see? Look over at chapter 11 and look with me at verse seven. When they finish their testimony, the beast that ascends out of the bottomless pit. So now when we get into chapter 11, we're going to find out who the beast is and the location and origin of the beast is he also is from the bottomless pit. That makes sense. So you have in chapter 11, verse 7, the beast coming out of the bottomless pit. Go over to chapter 17. and look at verse 7. But the angel said to me, 17-7, why did you marvel? I will tell you the mystery of the woman and of the beast that carries her, which has seven heads and the ten horns. The beast that you saw was and is not and will ascend out of the bottomless pit And then we'll go to damnation. So he comes out of the bottomless pit for a while and then later we'll be sent back to damnation, to perdition. Look in your Bible at chapter 20. We'll see a little bit more about this bottomless pit. Verse one, then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. Now, this time he is not opening the pit. He's going to throw something into the pit and lock it back up. But what it says, He has a great chain in His hand. And verse 2, He lays hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and He binds him with this great chain and throws him into the bottomless pit for how long? For a thousand years. And verse 3, And He cast him into the bottomless pit and shut him up and set a seal on him so that he should deceive the nations no more until the thousand years were finished. But after these things, he will be released for a little while. So, the bottomless pit exists. God sent a certain number of angels there at a certain point in history. It seems that Christ had the practice of sending other demons to that bottomless pit. We find later that the bottomless pit is opened in chapter 9 and later it will be closed back up when Satan is thrown back in for a thousand years and then he'll be let back out and we'll find out more about that later. Let's go back to chapter 9. I want you to understand what Scripture says about this pit. This pit is not is not fictional. This pit is not metaphorical. This pit is a reality that looms under every wicked man into which he can fall at any moment. Jonathan Edwards said that you walk over the pit of hell on a rotten covering. And there are innumerable places in that covering that will not bear your weight. You don't know whether the next step you take is going to break through and you will then fall into that eternal abyss to have none but the company of demons for all eternity. And he says in verse 2, he opens the bottomless pit. This pit is spoken of throughout Scripture And I want to show you again that the pit is another word for hell. Go back to Ezekiel with me. Well, go back to Luke 16 first. Luke 16. And you find a man. Who is cast into hell, you see the scripture is not limited to one word. For example, the Bible doesn't speak of heaven simply as heaven. The Bible speaks of heaven as paradise today. You'll be with me in paradise. Right. So we got more than one word for heaven here. There is a Greek word for hell. And understand when when Jesus was preaching, he was preaching to the Jews. Primarily, and outside of Jerusalem, there was the valley of Hinnom, Gehinnom, Gehenna. And that outside was where they dumped and burned all of their garbage and carcasses and the bodies of criminals. So, it became a perfect way of talking about or symbolizing the eternal garbage dump upon which you will be cast when you have wasted your life. And you've got nothing to show for it except a handful of trinkets that all burn up on judgment day. Oh, I was the head CEO of such and such corporation. Smoke. But I had a hummer. Smoke. Oh, I was the leader of some beauty pageant or whatever. It's just all smoke. It's just going to burn up. And the reason that you are not radically committed to Christ right now is because you don't believe that. You think I can play both sides of the fence. I can have one foot in the world and one foot in with Christ and get the best of this world. And then when I die, I'll get the best of eternity. And notice what it says in Luke chapter 16, verse 19. There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and ate like a hog every day. But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus. You notice the rich man is not named, but Lazarus is. God knows your name, brother. God knows your name, sister. If you are a follower of His, it doesn't matter how oppressed you are. It doesn't matter how overlooked you are. It doesn't matter if everyone ignores you. You're not the most popular guy on campus or the most popular guy in the workplace because you don't know all the filthy jokes to tell and you don't go to the happy hour afterwards with everybody. But God knows your name! God knows exactly who you are. He knows your needs. He knows what you're going through. He knows your trials. He knows your fears. And He loves you. He is the One who knows your name. And it goes on to say that He was, well, let me read how it's worded. There was a certain bag, verse 20, named Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid at the rich man's gate. Just desiring to be fed with the garbage. Just when you eat and you shove that piece of bread on the ground, and the dogs don't eat it, and your maid comes over and sweeps it up in a dustpan, would you just drop it over in front of me? Just let me have that." Notice it says he wasn't fed with the man's crumbs. He just desired to be fed. This rich man was so selfish, he wouldn't even feed the man. And it says in the end of verse 21, Moreover, the only comfort he had was the warm tongue of a dog. Not the warm embrace of a brother. Not the warm handshake or kiss of a friend. Not the warm hug of someone who loves him. But just one of the roaming scavenger dogs. I understand dogs in that day were not pets. They were scavengers. They roamed around eating garbage. And that's the only warmth that he had. Verse 22, so it was that the beggar died and was carried by the angels. The beggar died and was embraced by the angels. And they gently picked him up. And they carried him gently. And where did they put him? In Abram's bosom. Now he's healed. Now he's got no more sorrow. No more woe. No more disease. No more heartache. No more cold nights and blistering hot days. He's laid into the arms of Father Abraham. And it says in verse 22, the beggar died and was carried by the angels into Abram's bosom. The rich man also died and he just was buried. No fanfare. Oh, he might have had a 700 Cadillac parade to bury him. But in God's estimation, He died and was buried. That's what He is. And it says in verse 23, the next phrase, and being in torment. That's the same word that you will find. Keep your finger in Luke 16. Go back to Revelation 9. Revelation 9 and look at verse 5. And they were, this is 9-5. And these demons were not given authority to kill them, but to bazanidzo. Bazanidzo is a Greek word meaning to torment with the most severe pain. To be afflicted with the most severe pain. Well, look what it says again in Revelation 9. They were not given authority to kill them, but to torment them for five months, their torment, second time the word is used, was like the torment, third time the word is used, of a scorpion when it strikes a man. Go back over to Luke chapter 16. Notice what the rich man said. The rich man who ate like a hog every day, had nice fine silk and linen and the fanciest clothes and a big fluffy feather bed to sleep in. Now he's in torment. This is Luke 16, 23. And being in torment in Hades. When Jesus was preaching, his normal word for hell was Gehenna, because it represented the Jewish burning garbage dump. Hades was the Greek understanding of hell. And so what Jesus was trying to do, the Greeks had the underworld, but they had another part of the underworld. The underworld was Hades and the other part of the underworld was Tartarus. And that is where the most vile, useless, wicked Greek person would be cast in their understanding. So Jesus He takes all of those terms. He calls hell Hades, he calls hell Gehenna, and he calls hell Tartarus. He's just trying to drill it into the mind of whoever he's preaching at. What's your understanding of hell? The Bible hell is a hundred times worse than that. And so it says in verse 24, the end of verse 24, well, verse 24, he cried and he said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me. Well, that's an interesting plea from hell. Have mercy on me? You were not merciful. Lazarus was laid at your gate just desiring to be fed with the crumbs. And you wouldn't even give him crumbs. You didn't bring him into your home. You ate like a hog every day. You had one guy laid at your gate. You could have made his remaining years endurable. And you showed no mercy to him. No, there's no more mercy in hell. And he cries, send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am bazanidzo. You see that? I am tormented. I am undergoing, excruciating suffering and pain from torture. Suffering and pain as a result of torture. That's what the word, bazenitza, meant. I am being tormented, tortured in this flame. And Abraham said, son, remember, in your lifetime you received good things and likewise Lazarus evil things. But now, but now, underline that and circle that. Brother, but now, you might listen to all of the junk they tell you in the public schools. You'll never amount to anything. You're never going to get anywhere following this Jesus. They're going to tell you on the job, man, you're going to sabotage your chance of any kind of promotion if you follow Jesus. And your wife will tell you, listen, I'm leaving you if you follow Jesus, but now. You see, it's not enduring. It's not forever. All the harassment and persecution that we can face in this world, there's a but now one day. But now, he says, at the end of verse 25, but now he is comforted and you are, there it is again, tormented. And besides all this, between us and you, there is a great chasm, a great separation, a great grand canyon, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot. Nor can those from there pass to us. So you are eternally separated. Let me ask you a question. Do you love your wife? Is she a genuine follower of Christ? If she is and you're not, the moment you die, you are eternally separated. Ladies, do you love your husband? Oh yeah, he's a wonderful Christian man. I just can't get into this Jesus thing. And He's a great example. You know, He's not perfect, but He's a good man. He loves me. And He loves the family. I just can't get into this Jesus thing with Him. The second you die, you are now separated by a great chasm. And those who may want to come over can't, and those who want to come over this way can't. It's fixed. And it says then, in verse 27, then He said, I beg you therefore, Father, that you would send Him to My Father's house. Send somebody to my father's house. Send Lazarus to my father's house. Why is it that the wicked all of a sudden become soul winners? Send him to my house to knock on my door. Hi, I'm from Cornerstone. Have you been saved? Are you sure that you're going to heaven when you die? All of a sudden, when they're in hell, they become very concerned about other people getting saved. Send him to my house, my father's house, because I have five brothers that he might witness to them. Why? Lest they also come to this place of what? Torment. Do you see the point? Hell is a place of torment. Hell is a place of unending torment. Hell is a place of unendurable torment. Hell is a place of unbearable torment. Hell is a real place of real torment for real people who have rejected Christ. The Word of God tells us more about this place. Go back to Ezekiel with me. Ezekiel in chapter 31. Ezekiel chapter 31. And God is warning through the prophet Ezekiel of the coming damnation of Egypt because Egypt had persecuted God's people. And he says in Ezekiel chapter 31, look at verse 14. so that no trees by the waters may ever again exalt themselves for their height, nor set their tops among the thick boughs, that no tree which drinks water may ever be high enough to reach up to them." This is Ezekiel 31, 14. Then he says, for they have all been delivered to death. Underline this, to the depths, see the word depths, deeps, to the depths of the earth, among the children of men who go down to the pit." The pit is not just for a certain number of fallen angels. The pit is not just for those fallen angels and then wicked men spend some time in some other compartment. It says here, among the children of men in the depths of the earth who go down to the pit. Look at verse 16. I made the nation shake at the sound of its fall, when I cast it down to hell together with those who descend into the pit." You see how hell and the pit are used as synonyms. And all the trees of Eden, the choice and the best of Lebanon, all the drink water were comforted in the depths of the earth. They also went down to hell with it. Look at verse 18. To which of the trees of Eden will you then be likened in glory and greatness? He's comparing these great leaders with trees here. Yet you shall be brought down with the trees of Eden to the depths of the earth. Look at chapter 32. It continues warning Egypt and Pharaoh of this place called hell, the depths of the earth and the pit. Look at chapter 32, verse 17. It came to pass also in the 12th year, on the 15th day of the month, that the word of the Lord came to me saying, Son of man, wail over the multitude of Egypt and cast them down to the depths of the earth. Where does this sound like this hell, this pit is? It sounds like it's in the depths of the earth. her and the daughters of the famous nations with, along with those who go down to the pit. Drop down to verse 21. The strong among the mighty shall speak to him out of the midst of hell with those who help him. They have gone down. They lie with uncircumcised, slain by the sword. Assyria is there. Where? In hell, in the pit, in the depths of the earth. and all her company with their graves all around her. All of them are slain, fallen by the sword. Her graves are set in the recesses of the pit." And her company is all around her grave. Drop down to verse 24. There is Elam and all her multitude all around her grave. All of them slain, fallen by the sword. who have gone down uncircumcised to the lower parts of the earth, who caused their terror in the land of the living. Now they bear their shame with those who go down to the pit." Verse 25, "...they have set her bed in the midst of the slain, with all her multitude, with her graves all around it, all of them uncircumcised." You see, they're unconverted. This is the location and the destiny of all of those who are uncircumcised of heart and ears. They have not had the saving work of the Spirit of God radically transform them and circumcise their heart. And so it says down in verse 27, they do not lie with the mighty who are fallen of the uncircumcised, who have gone down to hell. with their weapons of war. They have laid their swords under their heads, but their iniquities will be on their bones, because of the terror of the mighty and the land of the living." Drop down to 29. There is Edom. You see, what God is doing is He's saying, all right, Egypt, you want to be like all of these other nations. Pharaoh, you want to be a tall tree, a skyscraping tree, like all of the others who are out there, exalting their vows. Let me tell you where they are. Assyria, it is in the pit of hell. Eat them. It is in the pit of hell. All of these other ones are in the pit of hell and you will follow them like all the rest. You might say to yourself as you sit here and think, well, that's just scare tactics. That doesn't apply to me. Well, number one, yes, it's scare tactics. I'm trying to scare hell out of you. I'm trying to scare you out of hell. I'm trying to put the fear of the Lord into you. What does it mean the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom? What does that mean if it does not mean the fear of the Lord? You don't fear God. That's why you haven't repented yet. You don't see the pit looming underneath you. Because you think, no, the ground feels pretty solid to me. Because you're not seeing it through God's eyes. And as a result, you puff your chest up. You strut around, you think, no, that doesn't apply to me. I'll get to that. One of these days, some more convenient day, almost persuaded. Pastor Dave, you know what? You almost got me on that sermon. One day in the future, I'll do something. But right now, I'm young. I've got to sow my wild oats. And then, you're going to be praying for crop failure. You go out and sow your wild oats, you are one day going to be praying for crop failure. You're going to be praying that your wild oats don't bear the wicked fruit that it will and has inevitably borne in everybody else who goes with the same blind eyes, the same stiff neck, the same hard heart that says, no, it'll be different for me. I'll come around just in the nick of time. Maybe on my deathbed or after I've lived it up for a while. God warns you, look over in Isaiah with me. Isaiah, just before Ezekiel, before Jeremiah. Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations and Ezekiel. Ezekiel chapter 33. Sorry, Isaiah 33. Too many prophets in my mind going around here. Isaiah 33. Isaiah chapter 33. Isaiah, God is preaching through His prophets. You understand that's what He's doing this morning? God is preaching His Word through my mouth to you. You need to see what it says in your Bible. And I'm trying to warn you that you do not go to a literal burning hell, to the depths of the earth, to the recesses of the pit, to the bottomless pit, to the lake burning with fire and brimstone, to the place of your eternal perdition and damnation. Look at chapter 33, verse 10. Now I will arise, says the Lord, Don't we wonder, God, when are you going to stand up and do something about what's going on? And God says, alright, now I will arise. You've all puffed your chests out. You've stood up. You've argued against the truth of the Bible. You've slandered God by accusing Him of all kinds of things. You've been apathy in your life. Alright, now you just sit there and I'm going to stand up, God says. Now I will be exalted, verse 10. Now I will lift myself up. You shall conceive chaff. You will bring forth stubble. Your breath, like fire, will devour you. And the people shall be like the burnings of lime. Like thorns cut up, they shall be burned in the fire. Thorns are useless. They are harmful. Your life without Christ is a thorn life. Do you see that? Your life outside of Christ, without the work of the Spirit of God producing the fruit of the Spirit of God in your life, your life is but a thorn. What happens when you scrape up against the thorn? It cuts you. It can leave poison in you. It causes upset in others. It causes turmoil. It doesn't heal anybody. It doesn't bring reconciliation. You've had a thorn life. He says, all right, you will be like thorns cut up. and burned in the fire. Verse 13, hear, you who are afar off, what I have done. And you who are near, acknowledge My might! There will come a time when you will acknowledge God's might. There will come a time where it doesn't matter if you're far away or near. If you're near where the Bible is preached or you're not near where the Bible is preached, He says, come and acknowledge My might. Why not do it now? Why wait until you die? God has no pleasure in the death of the wicked. Turn to him now. It says in verse 14, the sinners in Zion are afraid. Fearfulness has seized the hypocrites. I want to ask the same question that Isaiah asks, who among us will dwell with devouring fire? Who among us will dwell with devouring fire? Who among us will dwell with devouring fire? I don't know each of you personally in depth. I don't know everything about you. I don't know where you're at. I don't know your commitment to Christ. Some of you I think I do. Who among us will dwell with devouring fire? Who among us will dwell with everlasting burnings? Why is this in here? Is this in here for some interest? Is this not in here so that we can see, in the Word of God, where we are headed? Is this not the grace of God to you? Are warning signs not God's grace to you? Is God not saying, don't go that direction? Please don't go in that direction. Stop. Don't go in that direction. Please stop. Don't go in that direction. I plead with you, don't go in that direction. Don't turn from Christ. Don't pursue your sin. Don't turn away from God. Turn now. Turn at My reproof. Why will you die? Why will you die? Who among us will dwell with everlasting burnings? Look over in chapter 66 of Isaiah. Chapter 66 and verse 14. When you see this, your heart shall rejoice. Your bones shall flourish like the grass He's speaking to His people. The hand of the Lord shall be known among His servants. That's one alternative. That is the alternative I'm pleading with you to take. I'm pleading with you to turn to Christ and His indignation to His enemies. Underline that phrase, His enemies. There's His servants and His enemies. You might say, well, I'm not His enemy. You are an enemy of God by your wicked works. Your life has been in rebellion against God. You haven't stood up for Christ. You've been harboring secret sin. You've been harboring bitterness in your mind. You've been harboring all kinds of wickedness and thoughts and anger and rage and pride. and slander and all of that. And he says in verse 15, For behold, the Lord will come with fire and with His chariots like a whirlwind to render His anger with fury and His rebuke with flames of fire. For by fire and by sword, the Lord will judge all flesh and the slain of the Lord shall be many. You think only a few people like the really, really bad death row inmates who are unrepentant and serial killing dictators of countries. That's the tiny few that are going there. The slain of the Lord shall be many. Look over at verse 24. And they shall go forth and look upon the corpses of the men who have transgressed against Me. Do you realize in the millennium and probably into the new heavens and new earth, there is going to be a place where we as the followers of the true God will be able to go look over the cliff, if you will, and see a vast valley, a pit of bodies of wicked men screaming in their sin, weeping and wailing, gnashing their teeth, The Bible says in verse 24, "...and they shall go forth and look upon the corpses of the men who have transgressed against Me. For their worm does not die, and their fire is not quenched. And they shall be an abhorrence to all flesh." Go back to Revelation 9 with me. Revelation 9. God warns us, and it is a loving, holy preacher of the Word of God who warns you as well. It is a wicked, cold-hearted devil of a pastor who would withhold this warning of the terrors of hell, who would not preach it as clearly as the Bible preaches it, as fervently as the Bible preaches it, as passionately as the Word of God presents it. That is a savage murderer of your soul. If you go to a church where the guy artfully dodges the whole issue of eternal damnation, and he'll do everything he can to bring fire extinguishers to put out hell, so you don't have to worry about that, that man is worse than a devil. And the Word of God says then in Revelation 9, to him was given... end of verse 1, the key to the bottomless pit. And He opened the bottomless pit. He opened the shaft of the abyss. And smoke billowed out of that pit like the smoke of not a little campfire, not a little house, a little tiny oven. This is a billowing, raging, atomic bomb of an explosion out of this pit. Do you realize how many people have been cast into this pit? When you die without Christ, as Luke 16 says, you are buried and in torment, you will lift up your eyes. You will have eyes to lift up. You will have a body designed to suffer consciously forever. And the Word of God goes on to say, and the sun and the air were darkened. Now, this in chapter 9 verse 2, the sun is already darkened for a third of the day. How long is a day? Sun up to sunrise, maybe 12-14 hours the sun is up. That's already chopped a third of that off. And now once the bottomless pit is opened, this black, billowing, sulfurous stench of smoke comes billowing like a vomiting volcano all over the world. And it goes on to say that out of that smoke, in verse 3, locusts came upon the earth. This reminds us of the eighth plague of the Egyptian plagues. And again, emphasizing that the Antichrist is a Pharaoh-type figure. The Pharaoh of the Old Testament was a foreshadowing of the greater figure of the Antichrist. God came with localized judgments upon Egypt, and He turned their water into blood, and He gave them scorching heat, and here He gives them locusts, during the tribulation period, God is going to heighten and emphasize and magnify all of those Egyptian plagues and tenfold upon this hostile world. And it says, out of the smoke, locusts came out of the world. I want you to see the Word of God teaches that the coming of locusts as a plague was a judgment of God that was a harbinger and a portent of worse things to come. Look at the book of Joel with me. A couple of books after Daniel. Hosea, Joel. Joel in chapter 1. God warns them that He is going to judge them. Just as in Deuteronomy 28, God set up the blessings And the cursings. If you obey me, you will be blessed. If you disobey me, you will be cursed. Didn't we see that in Deuteronomy 28? The cursings involved, I'll curse your kneading bowl and I'll curse your basket. I'll curse your crops. But in Deuteronomy 28, it also says, I will send locusts to eat all of your produce. Those locusts that came as a judgment of God in the Old Testament are simply harbingers. There are foreshadows of what is going to come, not just in a localized way, but in a far greater way. In Joel 1. Verse 2, hear this, you elders. The book of Joel 1.