When Did You Get So Religious

Revelation 20:1-3


Jan and I had the privilege last weekend of spending time with a great group of people whom I went to school with, and one of the guys who reads my “From the Back Porch” letters asked; when did you get so religious? I gave Ronnie the short version; I told him I was 27 years old when I came to have a personal relationship with the Lord. I was in a hotel room in Victoria, Texas, it was about 10:30 PM and I was tired of being a poser. I wanted everyone to believe I was Ok with God, that I even loved Him, but I had no desire for the things of God at the age of 27, or for anything, nor anyone, unless it got me what I wanted, and folks I was not alone, churches are full of posers.

The night I had an encounter with Jesus Christ, I had been at the bar looking for I’m not sure what and when I came back to my room, I could not sleep and fear came over me. I was tired of my life and I was sure that God was also fed up with my empty life. I got out the hotel Bible and began to read, “That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.” (Romans 10:9-10) That very night I was forgiven, that very night I was in right standing with God, and it had not one thing to do with religion, in fact that night I overcame religion (being a Baptist) and entered into a relationship, that night I came to know the Jesus I had only been informed about. That very night I entered into Christ, and He entered into me, an act of faith on my part, changed my identity, it also made me an enemy of Satan.

I had no knowledge that night in the hotel room that my actions would change my life, that I would have a desire to love what God loves, and would begin to understand that the devil was the source of evil and believed that he came only to kill, steal, and destroy everyone of us. That night I had no understanding of the devil’s schemes, but much later someone told me that I needed to put on the armor of God, and that seemed very strange to me. I was shown in Ephesians 6:11-12, “Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the authorities, against powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” Over many years I have come to understand that the battle is never with my wife, or brother, or neighbor, but it is a spiritual battle, and the armor is not seen, and often I hear a voice in my head that sounds like me, and it tells me how foolish I am, to put on armor that I cannot see. But it is a spiritual battle, and God reminds me that the angels and demons can see His armor, and that only His armor, will make me ready for this cosmic battle.

How does this tie into Revelation 20:1-3, “Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain. And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, and threw him into the pit, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he might not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were ended. After that he must be released for a little while.” The Scripture states that before Satan is put into the pit, and a battle between Jesus and his army and the beast and the kings of this earth will take place and this is what John saw; “And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies gathered to make war against him who was sitting on the horse and against his army. And the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who in its presence had done the signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped its image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur.” It is at this time that Jesus will establish His kingdom on earth for a thousand years, and although Satan will not be in the picture to deceive mankind, but mankind will still have a desire to sin, that desire has been passed on from Adam. The Scripture tells us that Jesus will rule with a rod of iron and even though mankind knows He is God, they will still disobey. After the thousand years are over and Satan is released, and then comes the mother of all battles, we will talk about that in another letter.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice