It can only get better from here!

It can only get better from here, because it can't get any worse for sinners in Revelation than when they are finally judged mercilessly in Revelation 20:11-15. This weekend in Revelation 20, we're asking the question, "Who's The Boss Now?!" as we look at Satan and his people who mistakenly thought they were in control. We'll see the reality of who is in control and what He'll do to those who reject Him. Get ready for a heavy message - one of excitement for those of us who follow Christ, but one of fear for those who don't!

Are you being fooled?

Wednesday was April Fool's Day, as you probably know. It's the day that you can lie, make someone feel stupid, and they think it's funny. Everybody has their gimics - one company advertised a 5-star hotel inside a helicopter called a "hotelicopter". Their YouTube video (below) caused hundreds of people from around the world to call, wondering how to reserve a room! X-Box also released an advertisement for a new version of Guitar Hero called "Alpine Legend". Only this time, there's no guitars - only yodeling (video below)! YouTube even flipped their videos upside-down (which you can still do by adding "&flip=1" to the end of the URL). Expedia even offered $99 flights to Mars, advertising that "now you can save over $3 trillion on a Mars vacation"!

Satan is the king of fooling people. Revelation 19 reveals an event known as The Second Coming of Christ. He comes as a Judge to judge the sinful world. It's a highly significant event that the Bible talks a lot about:

- There are more prophecies about Jesus' Second Coming than His First Coming.
- The Second Coming is dealt with 1,845X in the Bible
- Jesus Himself mentioned it 21 times
- 1 out of every 30 verses deals with the subject & 7 out of every 10 New Testament chapters
- Second Coming is mentioned 8 times to every 1 time the First Coming was mentioned

Jesus coming as Judge is obviously a VERY significant event. In that case, why don’t we pay a little more attention? Are you being fooled into thinking that something else is more important? What has Satan used to pull your attention away to the warnings of God's Word? It's time to do as Hebrews 12:1 says and strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.

What is fooling you or tripping you up? Throw it down and keep your eyes focused on Jesus!


The "Hotelicopter"


X-BOX's "Alpine Legend"

A few things Satan would've left out...

This weekend, we're going to blow through 42 verses in Revelation 17-18! Wow! It's going to be pretty heavy as we take a step back in our Revelation time line, do a little review and get a bird's eye view of the Antichrist and his reign. Here's the problem, though, when Satan takes over the earth during the Tribulation, he'll use more deceitful tactics than he ever has. The whole world will be united behind him and everyone who's not worshiping Christ (there will be very few of those people, by the way) will be worshiping the Antichrist and Satan. However, like normal, Satan will leave some parts out. In fact, if he were writing the Bible (which would be kind of weird), I'm pretty sure he'd leave this weekend's text, Revelation 17-18, out. It talks about the final fall of his empire on earth and gives us a preview of his eternity. The Antichrist's world system is directly attacked and suddenly destroyed by God and the whole world is shocked out how quickly it happened. I'm pretty sure he doesn't want us reading Revelation 17-18...so we're going to do it anyway.

Come this weekend as we take a look at the consequences of seeking pleasure in the world and what the end of Satan and his followers will be.

Oh, and Satan, if you're reading this, I HOPE YOU HAVE A TERRIBLE WEEKEND!

Does Satan Exist? The Nightline Face-Off

If you're interested in watching the face-off debating on whether or not Satan exists, go to Nightline's website.

Does Satan Exist?

This was the question that was asked to a panel of 4 people last Friday in front of a live audience. Debating the topic was a doctor, a pastor, an ex-prostitute, and a bishop - 2 believe in Satan and 2 don't.

Why is this so important?

We've talked a lot about Satan in our study through Revelation and we've certainly discussed that the normal red, horned, hoofed, pitchfork-toting devil isn't what he's actually like. However, the Bible makes it very clear that he's real and at work to attack God's people and thwart God's plan. Satan would love if the world thought he was fake. If Satan can persuade people that he's not real, no one will think he's a threat - he'll be more of a fairy tale to them.

Make sure to watch this debate TOMORROW (Thursday, March 26) to get a good perspective on Satan's reality, but also how the world views him!

Click HERE for a 2-minute preview of who will be debating and what their opinions of the devil are!

A Satanic Puppet Show

In Revelation 12, we learned who Satan really is - a lying, deceiving, hateful, vicious dragon out to thwart God's plan and kill God's people. We looked ahead to the future when Satan will be kicked out of heaven for good - putting him one step closer to finally being dumped into hell for eternity. This weekend in Revelation 13, we get a look at what he'll do when he gets to earth. He'll be so mad that he'll do some things he's never done. Through his human "puppets" he'll actually successfully unite the whole world against God and annihilate almost every Christian left living. These men that we know now as the antichrist and the false prophet, will be used by Satan to seal many people's eternal destination in hell. Although Revelation 13 only talks about God when it speaks of Him being blasphemed and His people killed, you have to remember that He's STILL in control. In fact, He limits Satan's destruction on the earth to the 2nd half of the Tribulation period - 3 1/2 years! God is ALWAYS in control...even when things seem really bad!

The Devil's REAL identity...

Humans have such a skewed view of who the devil is. We get this picture of some guy with horns, a pitchfork, and a tail. He often has piercings, and sometimes even seems like he'd be pretty fun to hang out with. Well, this weekend, I hope to blow away all of those thoughts about him as Revelation 12 exposes who he REALLY is. Just check out how it refers to him...

vs. 3 - a fiery red dragon
vs. 9 - a serpent
vs. 9 - "the Devil" = "slanderer"
vs. 9 - "Satan" = "enemy"
vs. 10 - the accuser of our brethren

Pretty fierce! It paints him as a powerful, vicious dragon out to kill and devour as many of God's people as he can. He cares about no one besides himself and wants to take as many people to hell with him as possible.

The title of the message this weekend is "Learning Lessons the Hard Way." We'll look at how Satan has been learning lessons the hard way for thousands of years and will for the rest of eternity. The most important part, though, is the great promise that we don't have to join Satan in that punishment - Jesus' death paid the price for our eternity in heaven!

Satan is real.

We talked about the reality of Satan and demons tonight. No need to be worried though. We are more than conquerors! Check the blog below or our youtube channel to see the Letter From Hell video that we played. The video podcast will be up in a few days as well!