Tag: restrainer

Lawlessness at the Gate

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barbarians at the gate

“For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way.”  2 Thessalonians 2:7

Like a horde of barabarians, lawlessness is pressing against the gate and the gate is looking like it’s beginning to buckle.

Barbarians were on parade during the Democrat Presidential debates this week.  These people are demonstrably insane as they promote their national suicide agenda which includes a wide open sovereign border to allow anyone who wishes to come into the USA.  Since the beginning of the year, approximately 100,000 people per month have illegally streamed across the southern border.

That’s bad enough, but they also want to give all of these illegals free healthcare and other American citizen-funded benefits.  One candidate said there should be a pathway to citizenship for ALL illegals and no one on the debate stage objected. 

The Democrat ‘Resistance’ is opposed to any enforcement of immigration laws as seen in so called ‘sanctuary cities’ that harbor criminal illegal aliens.

But it’s not just immigration where lawlessness is exploding.

We see it on the streets of Democrat run LA and San Fransisco where people are allowed to camp, shoot heroin and defecate on city sidewalks.

A Democrat D.A. in Dallas will no longer prosecute anyone who has been arrested for thefts of items valued at $750 or less.  Ostensibly, these items must be for ‘necessities’.  But who will sit as judge for what is necessary?

How about felons voting?   Democrats are advocating now for felons to be able to vote…WHILE THEY ARE IN PRISON!

The Democrat Portland Mayor stands by and holds back the police while Antifa thugs assault innocent people that their ‘No Fear – No Hate’ tolerance can’t tolerate, including a journalist who suffer a brain hemorrhage.

The Democrat Chicago D.A. refused to prosecute Jussie Smollet even though there was overwhelming evidence to show he committed numerous crimes in perpetrating a hate-crime hoax.

It’s clear why Democrats fully support all of these policies.  They want more votes.  They want the votes of all of the illegals and all of the felons.

But the point is this:  It’s not that the Democrats support all of these things, it’s that the Democrats are the law unto themselves.  They hate the Constitution, and they hate God’s law.  (Psst…they hate God)  Yes, if you hate God’s law, you hate God.

The Democrats want to lock up Donald Trump, despite the fact he has not committed any crime.  Yet they turn a blind eye to the crimes committed by Hillary Clinton with her illegal server and her destruction of over 30,000 government emails. 

They fight tooth and nail against any investigation into the Russian hoax ‘Steele dossier’ that was funded by Hillary Clinton and used to instigate the ‘witch hunt’ against President Trump.  They wail about a non-existent collusion with the Russians by Trump yet it was the Democrats who colluded with Russians to produce the Steele dossier.  I could spend hours going through other examples of this kind of hypocrisy.

Democrats only care about the law so long as it accomplishes their agenda.  Otherwise, the law is what THEY say it is.  This is the epitome of hating God.  They reject God and worship themselves.  And I would hate to see the millstone that will grace the necks of those who bastardize and twist the Word of God to support their godless agenda.

Full tilt, frothing-at-the-mouth radical socialists are at the gate and they are no longer disguising their intent.  They want control and they will be the law.  They want all the guns.  They want everyone on government healthcare so they can control our health.  They want control of all of our money.  They want full term babies to be aborted and allowed to die.  The law will not apply to them.  It will only apply to the government slaves.  (‘All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.” ‘Animal Farm’ _Orwell )

I think we may be getting a glimpse of the Holy Spirit – the Restrainer – beginning to pull away.  Perhaps it is a warning that He will soon be taken away completely.  When the Body of Christ is removed, so is the Holy Spirit.  (See my posts “Who or What is the Restrainer”, and “Michael the Restrainer?”) What will fill the vacuum will be a world-wide tyrannical government that can scarcely be conceived.  The ruler will be the ultimate ‘man of lawlessness’.  He’ll make Hitler and Stalin look like 4th grade bullies.

Lawlessness will be the stage from which antichrist will gain world wide power.  After the departure of the Church, chaos and lawlessness will be rampant.  His signs and wonders (2 Thess 2:9) will mesmerize a gullible, godless world and he will calm the economic and social pandemonium.  He will usher in a new golden age that will last until the beginning of the tribulation.  He will be the sole arbiter of the law and he will exalt himself above everything, making himself out to be the Most High God (2 Thess 2:4).  

If the departure of the Church does not come soon, I pray that these people will not just be thwarted, but they will be rejected so strongly in the next election that the radicals are tossed out of prominence for decades.  But don’t count on it.  Satan knows the Day of the Lord is near.

Maranatha

Three Bankable Scriptural Truths that Guarantee the Church Will Be Raptured Before the Tribulation

You-Can-Take-It-to-the-Bank

1. 1 Thessalonians 1:10 – “…and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, that is Jesus, who delivers us from the wrath to come.”

Really, this verse is all I need to be confident that the Church will be raptured prior to the tribulation.  The word ‘delivers’ in this verse is ‘ruomai’ in Greek which means “to draw to oneself as if dragging or pulling to rescue from danger”.  The word ‘from’ in the Greek is ‘ek’ which means ‘out of’.  A better translation of this passage would then actually be “…Jesus, who will pull us to himself to rescue us out the way of the wrath that is coming”.

This passage gives a much different picture than the picture put forth by those who advocate for a mid or post-tribulation rapture.  Their belief is that God will give the grace necessary to face all of the horror and suffering that will take place during the 70th week of Daniel. 

I don’t know about you but that doesn’t sound like being dragged out of the way of the wrath.  And it certainly doesn’t give me much comfort or peace of mind.  It’s no wonder why there is such a profitable business out there keeping the fear going by many preachers in the various media.   Apocalypse survival books make money!

This verse indicates a much more drastic action than just giving grace or strength.  It is saying that Jesus is going to pull us up to Himself and out of the world before the wrath of God is poured out on creation during the tribulation. 

2. Paul said that the rapture will precede the ‘Day of the Lord’ and the revealing of the antichrist.

“Now we request you, brethren, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and our gathering together to Him, that you may not be quickly shaken from your composure or be disturbed either by a spirit or a message or a  letter as if from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come.  Let no one in any way deceive you, for IT WILL NOT COME UNLESS THE DEPARTURE COMES FIRST, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction”.  2Thessalonians 2:1-3

I go into greater detail in my post “The Great Falling Away of the Church”, but this verse is not saying the ‘Day of the Lord’ will come after the ‘falling away from the faith’, which is how most interpret it.  Most translations say “apostasy’ where I have ‘departure’. 

The Greek word ‘apostasia’ means departure or leaving.  There is no quantifying noun.  That is to say the word faith or truth is not there.  By itself, ‘apostasia’ simply means departure, leaving, or moving away from. 

In this context Paul is saying that the rapture or departure will come before the ‘Day of the Lord’.  ‘Day of the Lord’ is a Hebrew idiom for the 7 year period of judgment or tribulation before the return of the King of Kings. 

The Thessalonians thought they had been left behind and the day of the Lord had come.  Paul is clearly talking about the rapture when he says “with regard to the coming of our Lord…and our gathering together to Him”, and he uses the word ‘apostasia’ as another way of describing it. 

Paul says the order of events is 1) the departure will happen and then 2) the man of lawlessness will be revealed before the ‘Day of the Lord’.  The antichrist will not be revealed until the Church departs.  Which brings us to the the 3rd truth that guarantees the Church will be raptured before the tribulation begins…

3.  The ‘Restrainer’ is the Holy Spirit, and when He is removed the antichrist will be revealed.

“For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only he who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way”.  2 Thessalonians 2:7

I won’t go into all of the detail here about why the Restrainer is the Holy Spirit.  You can read all about it in my posts “Michael the Restrainer?” and “Who or What is the Restrainer?”.

The Holy Spirit clearly is the Restrainer.  Paul is reiterating something he has undoubtedly gone over with them thoroughly in the past; namely, that the antichrist will not be revealed until the Holy Spirit removes Himself from the world.  Ergo, when the Holy Spirit is removed, the Church is removed because the Holy Spirit resides in the Body of Christ!  This is exactly what Paul said in 2Thess 2:3 – the departure comes first (Holy Spirit is removed) and then antichrist is revealed. 

Paul’s comforting message is NOT that the Church will be given grace to endure the tribulation, it is that the Church will not go through the tribulation!

The Thessalonians were obviously disturbed and shaken by the thought that the ‘Day of the Lord’ had come and that they were going to go through the tribulation.  If Paul had taught the Church would go through the tribulation, then why wasn’t Paul reminding them that God would give them strength and grace to endure the unprecedented sufferings, horrors, and tortures that will come during that time?  Instead, he reminds them of the sequence of events leading up to the tribulation. 

Think about that for a minute!

Christians are not supposed to prepare for the tribulation.

The bottom line is that we, the Body of Christ, should not be worried about the tribulation.  Not because somehow we will be able to endure it by faith, but because we’re not going to be here when the antichrist is revealed and the tribulation begins!

That really is the message in 1st and 2nd Thessalonians.  Paul was trying to get them to quit worrying about it and focus on the real mission.  Our mission is NOT to get ready to go through the tribulation.

One last thought.  Peter said that judgment begins now with the household of God (1Peter 4:17).  As Christians, if we are trying to live by faith in the flesh in this corrupt world, then we all will suffer in varying degrees, but suffer nonetheless. 

This life is OUR tribulation and judgment, our trial and testing – we will not be here for the world’s. 

Now that is real comfort! 

Dan Baker

 

Who are the Elect?

Jewish elect

“And unless those days had been cut short, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect those days shall be cut short.”  Matthew 24:22

“For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect.”  Matthew 24:24

“And He will send forth His angels with a great trumpet and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.”  Matthew 24:31

The answer is – it depends on the context. 

A client and friend of mine asked me to listen to a preacher by the name of Irvin Baxter.  She listens to him regularly and asked me to give her my thoughts about his doctrinal positions.  The video I watched told me everything I needed to know about how he interprets Scripture with regard to the Church and the departure (or rapture). 

Baxter said that the Church will go through the 70th week of Daniel, aka the tribulation.  He argues that the Church is raptured at the end of the tribulation (post-trib).  He says the basis for this belief is the 3 verses mentioned above and the elect in these passages is the Church.  Therefore, according to Baxter, the gathering of the elect in verse 31 is the rapture of the Church.

Baxter says Matthew 24:24 is a warning to the Church not to be deceived by false rumors of Christ’s return.  They would know He was returning because they, the Church, would see him coming in the sky.   Baxter said that ‘elect’ in Matthew and the other Gospels was the same ‘elect’ as Romans 8:33.  He said Paul was using the word with reference to members of the body of Christ – the Church, therefore Matthew was referring was also referring to the Church. 

Baxter’s explanation is another example of inserting the Church into passages where it doesn’t belong.  The context dictates who the ‘elect’ is.  In Matthew, the elect are the believing Jews in Jerusalem during the tribulation.  In Romans, the elect are believers who are the Body of Christ – the Church.  It’s that simple. 

The word ‘elect’ simply means ‘chosen ones’.  There is no basis to conclude that the ‘chosen ones’ referred to by Paul are the same ‘chosen ones’ in Matthew, Mark and Luke.  The context in Matthew, Mark and Luke are the same.  It is about the Jews who have fled Jerusalem into the wilderness after the antichrist defiles the Holy of Holies in the coming 3rd temple. 

It is Jews who are told not to come out of hiding in the wilderness when they hear the rumors that Messiah is around, not the Church.  That is the ‘elect’ in the context whom Jesus will save in vs. 22.  They – believing Jews – are the ones whom Satan will be trying to destroy by a flood in Rev. 12.  The context in Rev. 12 is the same as Mt. 24:15 – 31. 

Isaiah 11:11-12 says the Jews will be regathered a 2nd time. This passage in Isaiah prophesies that it is the DISPERSED OF JUDAH who will be regathered from the 4 corners of the earth. Isaiah and Matthew are talking about the children of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob who will be gathered, NOT THE CHURCH! The first regathering of the Jews has happened. The 2nd regathering is what is prophesied in Matthew 24 and Isaiah 11. These passages are not talking about the rapture. They are describing a gathering of all of the Jews into the promised land for the Millennial Kingdom.

The ‘elect’ in the Gospels are not the Church; they are Jews who have believed in Christ the Messiah during the tribulation.  The gathering in Matthew is the gathering of all the believing Jews to the promised land when Christ returns to earth.  The rapture or departure of the Church takes place prior to the tribulation. 

For supplemental support for this post see my posts “The Great Falling Away of the Church”,  “Revelation 12 Sign”,  “The Greatest Sign”, “Who or What is the Restrainer”, and “Michael the Restrainer?”.

Dan Baker

Who or What is the Restrainer?

Holding back

In my previous post I dispensed of the notion that the restrainer (2 Thess. 2:6-7) is the archangel Michael, as many incorrectly believe.  Daniel 12:1 is the only Scripture reference that I know of that is used to support that contention. 

So, who or what is it?  

Of all the other possibilities the only one that makes sense, considering all the requirements of restraining the evil one, is the Holy Spirit.  Here are the ways the Holy Spirit fulfills the role:

  • The Holy Spirit is God, and is therefore stronger than Satan
  • The Holy Spirit operates in the spiritual realm as does Satan.
  • The Holy Spirit dwells in His Church, which is His body. The Church is the salt of the earth, or preservative.
  • The whole world lies under the power of the evil one (1 John 5:19), yet the gates of Hades will not prevail against the Church (Matt. 16:18).
  • 2 Thess 2:6-7 Paul uses the word what and he to describe the Restrainer, which rules out Rome or government. The what is the power of the Holy Spirit and the He is the person of the Holy Spirit. 

Again, Michael has been ruled out – it is not that person.  Nor is it Caesar, or any other political figure or earthly government, because they can not transcend the centuries nor do they have worldwide power.

No other possibility makes as much sense.  That being the case, the only way the Restrainer can be removed is if the Church is removed.  This supports a pre-tribulation rapture.  Why?

The tribulation, otherwise known as the 70th week of Daniel, begins when a covenant or treaty is forged with Israel facilitated by the antichrist (Daniel 9:27).  Therefore, the antichrist is revealed at minimum at the time of the treaty/covenant.  Which means he is revealed at the beginning of the tribulation, not in the middle. 

Since the antichrist is revealed at that time, that means the Church has been evacuated prior to the 7-year tribulation.  The antichrist is not revealed until the Restrainer is taken out of the way.

When the Church is removed the Holy Spirit is taken out of the way and the antichrist will be revealed.  The Church will thus be raptured prior to the 7-year tribulation.

 

Michael the Restrainer?

Michael archangel

Recently I watched a video by a pastor by the name of Dean Odle.  He was teaching on a subject I was interested in hearing about.  At the outset of his teaching he laid out 4 principles of proper Bible interpretation. 

In a nutshell, those principles are reading the Bible literally unless it’s clear that a passage is metaphorical or allegorical; context; grammar and historicity.  I was encouraged to hear this from the pulpit because my experience tells me that this is a glaring weakness in the Church, at least in the U.S.. Most Christians simply do not know how to study the Bible.

Anyway, I continued to listen.  At one point in his teaching he said that he believed that the archangel Michael was the restrainer in 2 Thess. 2.  His basis for this position was Daniel 12:1. 

“Now at that time, Michael, the great prince who stands guard over the sons of your people, will arise.  And there will be a time of distress such as never occurred since there was a nation until that time; and at that time your people, everyone who is found written in the book, will be rescued.”

Mr. Odle said that Michael is going to arise and get out of the way and by doing so will allow God’s wrath to pour out on the earth.  According to him, as I understood it, this will happen after the 6th trumpet and this is when the antichrist is revealed.

Not withstanding the fact that the antichrist is revealed long before the 6th trumpet (he is revealed at least at the beginning of the 70th week of Daniel when he spearheads a treaty or covenant with Israel; Dan. 9:27), Mr. Odle violated all of the principles of interpretation that he said he believed were essential to understanding Scripture.  I wrote him the following email:

“Hello Dean,

I watched the video of your message on the coming great deception.   Prior to watching that I watched the video of your message on the firmament and the ‘skyfall’, which I enjoyed immensely. 

One of the things I appreciated was your walk-thru of how to study the scriptures accurately.  Most churches do not teach their members how to ‘rightly divide’ the word, which is a genuine shame. 

Along those lines of good hermeneutics that you spoke of, I wanted to challenge you on something you said, namely that the restrainer is Michael the archangel.  You cited Daniel 12 and I believe you are in error in your interpretation of that passage.  The context is key.  What you did is what many Christians do which is put the Church (and in the case of your teaching, the Church and the rest of the world) into passages where it doesn’t belong.  

The context is referring to Daniel’s people.  Michael is standing guard over them as it says in vs. 1.  Michael is not standing guard over the whole world.  What Michael is there to do is protect the righteous Jews – whose names are written in the book.  The verse says they will be rescued.  This verse is referring to Jacob’s Trouble, the Great Tribulation, which is the 2nd half of the tribulation (little t) or 70th week of Daniel (Chap. 9).  The passage says it will last a time, times and a half of time, which we know is 3 ½ years (Dan. 12:7). 

Notice it says it will be a time such as never occurred for a nation.  We know that a remnant will be rescued.  Jews will flee into the Judean hills east of Jerusalem the moment the antichrist takes his seat in the Holy of Holies, and be protected there for the 3 ½ years. (cf. Matthew 24:15-22 and Rev. 12:6)  Jesus speaks of the same thing regarding the last 3 ½ years in Matthew 24 with respect to Jacobs Trouble/Distress.   

Michael is charged with protecting Daniels people whose names are written in the book – they will be rescued.  The people in this passage are Daniel’s people – the Jews.  Rev. 12 says that during the last 3 ½ years Satan is going to try to wipe out Israel and the Jews, but he will fail.  Michael is not the restrainer in 2nd Thess – the context in Daniel 12 denies that.  That is NOT Michaels job. 

Thanks and blessings to you,”

Dan Baker

I haven’t heard back from him as yet.