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angel of the Lord surprised Joseph when he told him that
his future wife, Mary, would have a baby who would save His people
from their sins (Matt. 1:21). It was a stunning announcement. Jesus
would be a fulfillment of the prophecy in Isaiah 7:14. But He would
be more than just a Savior from our sins. He came into this world
to do more than forgive the sins of those who believed in Him. We
discover in the gospel of Luke that sometime earlier, the angel Gabriel
had also told Mary that the baby would be called Jesus (Luke 1:31).
This is amazing! Joseph and Mary knew the baby would be a boy before
it was born. It has not been possible until modern times for anyone
to know if their baby would be a girl or a boy until he/she was born.
What great news they had! But Mary heard something else even more
wonderful. Gabriel told her that Jesus would be a king some day,
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He
will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High;
and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David;
and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His
kingdom will have no end. (NASB) Luke 1:32-33 |
Jesus
would be the Savior of the world and a great King - the Eternal King
(Isa 9:6).
In
our last study in Revelation, that baby finally arrived as King of kings and
Lord of lords on a white horse. He arrived to defeat the realm of men and set
up His Kingdom. He came with an army of Christians, His holy ones, to defeat
the powers of the world. With just a spoken word, He removed the Antichrist and
the False Prophet, and then destroyed the armies of the world with the sword
of His mouth. But best of all, Jesus had an angel bind Satan and throw him into
the abyss along with his demonic forces. When it happens, it will be the end
of the rule of men and Satan for awhile.
In
The Abyss. The
old dragon, also known as the serpent of old, the devil or Satan will be humbled
by a holy angel (Rev. 20:1-2). Just imagine - God will not do it. He will have
a holy angel put Satan in the abyss, and he will be in the abyss for a very long
time - one thousand years. What a humiliation! Just an angel will do it.
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. . and he threw him into the abyss, and shut it and sealed
it over him, so that he would not deceive the nations any
longer, until the thousand years were completed; after these
things he must be released for a short time. (NASB) Rev.
20:3 |
Luke 8:30-31 tells us that the abyss is a place where demons do not
want to live. Jude 6 says that other extremely wicked demons, fallen
angels, are already there. 2 Peter 2:4 and Jude 6 suggest that the
abyss is a prison that was originally created for certain angels
who committed a terrible sin in Genesis 6:1-4. The abyss has existed
for a long time. Many demons are already there and it will become
home to Satan some day too! |
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