The Restrainer - Part II - The Coming Deception

"Let no one in any way deceive you, for it (the Day of the Lord) will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness (the Antichrist) is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God". (2 Thes. 2: 3-4)

The Day of the Lord is a time, I believe coming soon, when God will remove the spiritual blindness from the eyes of the Jewish nation, and they will call upon the name of the Lord. This Jesus, who lived on earth at an actual time in world history, who 40 days after He rose from the dead ascended into the clouds, will descend from the clouds at an actual time, returning to Jerusalem and defeating the armies of the world gathered against Him. At this time the unholy trinity; the evil one, the Antichrist and the False Prophet, will be bound and Jesus will rule on the earth, which will then be unaffected by the rebellious leadership of the evil one, for about a thousand years. At the end of the thousand years the evil one will be released, he will deceive once again the nations and gather them together to wage war against Jesus, the saints and the holy city of Jerusalem. This time God will bind and seal away the evil one for good, there will be a resurrection and a judgment of all mankind who did not have a reborn spirit, and then God will end the world as we know it, creating a new heavens and a new earth. Those whose names were written in the book of life will go into eternity with the Lord Jesus, and those whose names were not will suffer eternal separation from God and His people.

The Day of the Lord will be a time of great trouble in the entire earth, but expecially in Israel. There will be wars and earthquakes, giant hailstones and meteor impacts, demon armies and famine, and depending on how one calculates scripture, one quarter to three quarters of the world population will die within a seven year period. Death by martyrdom will be common for all who confess Jesus as Lord and Savior, and lawlessness will be everywhere.

The Thessalonians were going through a great period of persecution and hard economic times. They had been taught by Paul on one of his previous visits about the Day of the Lord, and evidently after Paul was gone they came under the impression from other sources that they were now in The Day of the Lord. Paul wrote to reassure them that The Day had not yet begun, and also that those in their community who had recently died had not missed out on being gathered to meet the Lord. "Now we request you brethern, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and our gathering together to Him, that you not be so 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 begun". (2 Thes. 2: 1-2)

Paul goes on to say that the Day of the Lord will not come until "the apostasy" comes first, and the man of lawlessness, who is called elsewhere in scripture, "The Antichrist", is revealed. The word "apostasia" has been translated into English in our current bibles as "apostasy". The word has the sense of "falling away from" or "being removed from", and so the understanding we get from the word apostasy is that of a falling away from the faith. But English translations before the King James version rendered the translation as "the removal". This is interesting, because if that is the proper rendering of "apostasia" Paul is telling the Thessolianians that the Day of the Lord cannot begin until something is removed that is restraining the coming of the Antichrist, an idea consistant with verse 6; "And you know what restrains him now, so that in his time he may be revealed".

There are different opinions as to who or what that restrainer is. Some early church fathers believed it was human government, as represented by Rome. Roman law prevailed throughout the world known to those early theologians, and the might of Rome kept lawlessness in check. Others believve that it is the archangel Michael, who is holding back the spirit of the Antichrist until the proper time. And a third opinion is that presence of the Church, or the Body of Christ, being indwelt with the power of the Holy Spirit, is now restraining the worldwide lawlessness that will accompany the arrival of the Antichrist, a condition that must precede the return of the Lord. "And you know what restrains him now, so that in his time he may be revealed. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work . . . that is, the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders, and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish". (2 Thes. 2: 6-9)

I believe the third one was what Paul was telling the Thessalonians. The Church (which includes them) must be removed before the revealing of the Antichrist and with it the worldwide rebellion against God that he would help bring. God had been patient with rebellion and lawlessness, but He would not let it go on forever. Just as the evil one was allowed to deceive one third of the angels to follow after him, so would the evil one, with the help of the Antichrist and the False Prophet, be allowed to deceive the nations so that truth could finally conquer falsehood, and light could finally roll back the darkness. The Holy Spirit will be present in the hearts of those who become reborn after the removal, but the intercesion of believers will not hold back the culmination of rebellion that God will now allow. Because of rebellion the world and all who lived in it had been subject to fear, corruption, pain and death. But Jesus was going to return as Redeemer King, and all rebellion would be dealt with. Although the condition of the Thessalonians was harsh, the world wide condition of lawlessness, as led by the Antichrist, could not begin until they are removed. And they can know that God's promise for their removal, as well as for the resurrection of their loved ones, was still valid because the Antichrist would exalt himself above every so-called god, and place himself in the Jewish temple to be worshipped, and that obviously had not yet happened.

All the English translations prior to the King James rendered the word apostasia as "the removal". This was not done by the translators to further a "rapture" theology, since at that time the early reformers still favored Roman Catholic doctrine on the interpretation of what would happen in the last days and what was the timing of the return of Jesus. Fourth century Catholic theologians had a world view that did not include the rebirth of Israel or the regathering of the Jewish people into that land, or a physical return of Jesus as the longed after Jewish Messiah, finally accepted by them, who would rule the Gentile nations from Jerusalem for 1000 years. The book of Revelation was spiritulized, as were prophecies in Daniel, Ezekiel and elsewhere to reflect that theology. Catholics do teach that in the last days there will be an apostasy, or falling away from the Roman Catholic faith, with a coming of an Antichrist, who may even be a false pope. But God will protect the true "institutional" Church during that time, until the Antichrist is once more bound by Michael.

Caholic theology views it's institutional Church as replacing Judaism. Theirs is the new priesthood, and Jesus is already present on the earth through His presence in the sacraments, especially communion and the display of the host. Through His establishment during His time on earth of the sacraments and the apostolic based priesthood, He will not need to return until the final judgment, just prior to the new heavens and the new earth. Although most Protestants have a historical rejection of the pope, the priesthood, and the sacramental system, they have still retained a theology that transfers God's unrevokable promises for the Jewish people and nation upon the Church, although they define Church differently. The majority of Protestant denominations still spiritualize many parts of scripture, including most or all of the prophetic passages.

The Catholic Church explicitly rejects the idea that Jesus will return to earth to rule for 1000 years. Point 676 in the Catechism Of The Catholic Church states; "The Church has rejected even modified forms of this falsification of the kingdom to come under the name of millenarianism, especially the intrinsically perverse political form of secular messianism". (It is "intrinsically perverse" because the return of Jesus to rule on the earth would upset the need for apolstolic succession, sacraments, etc.) Catholic theology accepts a tribulation period, which is defined as a period of apostasy from Catholicism, perhaps accompanied by other worldwide diaster, and led by an Antichrist. That period will end when the Antichrist is bound by the archangel Michael. This will usher in a universal Time of Peace, when the nations will flock to the presence of Christ as found in the sacraments and the priesthood of the Catholic Church. At the end of that undetermined time Michael will release the Antichrist, who will gather the nations against the Chruch, which is ruling from Jerusalem at this time, for the final war of Gog and Magog. It is at this time that the Church will be caught up to meet Jesus in the air. The Bride will then immediately return with Jesus to do away with all rebellion. There will be a final judgment, and finally "a cosmic upheaval of the passing world".

I believe that there is coming a specific point in time when everyone who has a reborn spirit will be physically removed from the earth to meet the Lord in the clouds, and thus to reside with Him in His Kingdom forever. This will be proceeded by a resurrection of the physical bodies of all those from the time of Jesus until now who had a reborn spirit at the time of their death. There will be left many people in the Protestant, Catholic and Orthodox Churchs, as well as many Jews, alive at that point in time who did not have a reborn spirit, which comes about through faith and not through baptism, or obedience to the tenants of any particular faith tradition. The day after the removal all of these chruches will be filled, and there will quickly arise false teachers and prophets, some even accompanied by false signs and wonders, who will deny the truth and confuse those who honestly desire to turn to God. There will be signs in the heavens to deceive the world. I believe one will be the appearance of the Virgin Mary, appearing clothed with the sun, standing on the moon, with twelve stars around her head as a crown. This description comes from Revelation 12, a woman Joseph saw in a dream which scripture interprets as the Jewish nation, but which has been intrepretated by the Catholic Church as Mary. This apparation will say that her womb which bore Jesus is the new ark of the covenant, and that during these times they should find their safety in her. There will be many other signs as well, leading away from surrender to Jesus, and ultimately toward the worship of the evil one, who will sit in the rebuilt temple in Jerusalem, proclaiming himself to be god.

But scripture also shows that God will have many ways during this awful time to proclaim the eternal gospel throughout the whole world. Many who receive that good news will be killed, choosing light and truth over darkness and lies. Paul told the Thessalonians that, although they too might have to die for their faith, they could not now be in that time of lawlessness and judgment.

"But we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through santification, by the Spirit and faith in the truth". (2 Thes. 2: 13)

"Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who has loved us and given us eternal comfort and good hope by grace, comfort and strengthen your hearts in every good work and word". (2 Thes. 2: 16-17)

The Restrainer Part I

"And you know what restrains him now, so that in his time he may 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. And then the lawless one will be revealed . . . " (2 Thessalonians 2: 6-7)

Helen, my 88 year old mother-in-law, has been a member of St. Joe's parish her entire life. Although she still drives a car and can pretty much take care of herself in the same house she moved into when she first married, Harry has been gone for 10 years and health issues the last 2 years have made it difficult for her to drive herself to mass very often. None of her 10 children and spouses or her 95 grandkids and great grandkids attend church at St. Joe's. Jackie and I were the first to leave the Catholic faith, and most of the rest of the family followed later when the time was right for them. The family of Helen's oldest son still attend mass regularly, but they live several states away. Although that son goes to mass and receives the sacraments, he does not believe that Jesus is God.

My wife will take the hour and a half trip to Kalamazoo once a week to spend a Monday or Tuesday night, and half of the next day with Helen. They talk, play rummycube, watch TV and sit by the fire. Every third week Jackie will color Helen's hair, and each week Helen will have waiting for Jackie a list of things for her to do or fix around the house, "cause Jackie can do anything!" A couple of other daughters will also spend a night with their mom, and I'm sure they and some of the other kids each have special projects or things to go out and get for their mother.

Recently Jackie and I were at church and our pastor mentioned that Mother's Day was in a couple of weeks and that everyone should make an effort to bring their mother to that service. This planted a desire in Jackie's heart to take Helen to mass at St. Joe's on Mother's Day, accompanied by as many of Jackie's sisters and brothers that could make it, followed by a traditional pork roast dinner at the house. So this last Mother's Day Jackie and I picked up Helen and then Angie, an 89 year old friend of hers who also would normally not be able to get to mass, and met 5 of Jackie's sisters just inside the door of St. Joe's. Helen was thrilled to show off her kids to a couple of people she knew when we were coming in, and the whole day was delightful.

Mother's Day coincided with the Feast of Pentecost, which remembers the day that the Holy Spirit was poured out upon the first followers of Jesus, who were waiting as the Lord had instructed at a room in Jerusalem, partially fulfilling the prophecy in Joel that was quoted by Peter in his sermon to the large crowd that had gathered outside; "And it shall be in the last days, 'God says, that I will pour forth of My Spirit upon all mankind . . ." Father Mike, who had come to St. Joe's as an assistant priest in 1972, the year Jackie and I were married there, centered his homily on the idea that Jesus had breathed on his disciples, telling them to "Receive the Holy Spirit". This was a good point in that the congregation could better understand that the gift of the Holy Spirit comes from Jesus, who imparts it upon the church. But it was a little misleading in that Jesus did that, not at Pentecost, but when He appeared to the disciples after the resurrection, but before His ascension. The next verse of scripture goes on the say; "If you forgive the sins of any, their sins have been forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they have been retained". (John 20:22)

Let's understand what was happening here. Jesus had died and had risen from the dead, and salvation was now available to all who would call upon the name of the Lord. The disciples, by faith, believed that Jesus had died for their sins, understanding that through the Holy Spirit. That same Holy Spirit united the spirit of Christ with their spirit so that they now were reborn in Christ. Because they had a reborn spirit they were also now a temple of the Holy Spirit, who was present in their lives even before Jesus breathed on them. Jesus was now imparting a particular gift of the Holy Spirt to the first believers. He was not establishing an institutional structure, where priests would have a chrism to forgive sins, but a universal church, where all believers are impowered by the Spirit to proclaim forgiveness. We see this a little better at the end of Luke, where the resurrected Jesus insturcts the disciples; "Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and rise again from the dead the third day, and that repentance for forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem". Jesus then goes on to say; "And behold, I am sending forth the promise of My Father upon you, but you are to stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high". The clothing with power from on high was to come at Pentecost.

I think Fr. Mike's point was intended to support the Catholic practice of receiving the Holy Spirit through the impartation of the Bishop, the thought being that Pentecost began an institution called The Church, with the bishops and priests and the sacraments they administer being the visible presence of Christ on the earth. This theology affects how the Catholic Church views scriptures that concern the last days, including who or what The Restrainer is and what The Apostasy is. I will talk more about those in my next post.

The Feast of Pentecost as celebrated by the Western Church always comes 50 days after Easter, the timing having little to do with the actual anniversary of Christ's resurrection, which I believe to be accurate should be celebrated on a Sunday nearest to the Jewish feast of First Fruits. Jesus last supper and death came during the Jewish Feast of Passover. He was in the grave during the Jewish feast of Unleavened Bread, and He rose from the dead on the Feast of First Fruits, thus fulfilling the prophetic purposes of the first 3 of the 7 major Jewish feasts.

The pouring out of the Holy Spirit came on the 4th of 7 major Jewish feasts, coming 50 days after the Feast of First Fruits, and is called Pentecost after a Greek word that means 50 days later. Scripture has instructions for determining the timing of the Jewish feasts, and real Pentecost occurs this year beginning Sunday evening on June 8. This date interestingly enough also coincides with the 41st anniversary of the Six Day War of 1967, where the Jewish nation, after thousands of years, regained complete control of Jerusalem, including the temple area, as well as the Gaza, West Bank and Golan Heights areas. Jewish soldiers had placed a Israeli flag on top of the Dome of the Rock Mosque and had army personal stationed on the Temple Mount area, but the Israeli general Moshe Dyan, rejecting the gift of God, ordered them removed. I believe this began a 40 year period of testing for the Jewish nation, which will end on the 8th or 9th of June.

The first 3 Jewish feasts come in the early Spring, with Pentecost 50 days later, and the last 3 Jewish feasts occur in the fall. Some have suggested ways in which Jesus has already fulfilled the last 3 feasts, but I believe that there are still prophetic events ahead for them, on the actual feast days. Pentecost is an interesting feast in that as the 4th feast, coming between the 1st three and the last three. it follows the 1 - 4 -7 pattern of the lampstand in the tabernacle, a pattern found throughout scripture. The design of the lampstand was given to Moses by God on MT Sinai, and the main lamp in the center, or the 4th stand, holds the oil (a symbol of the Holy Spirit) which feeds the other 6 lamps.

Students of prophecy for years have been saying that they believed that the Rapture of the Church would occur on the 5th feast, which is the Feast of Trumphets. This was because there had already been a prophetic fulfillment of Pentecost, and that scripture equates a trumpet sound with the Rapture, and the next feast in line is called Trumpets. I have always had a feeling that the types found in Pentecost, and certain things that happened in the Old Testament on the Feast of Pentecost, would indicate to me that there might be a dual prophetic purpose for that 4th, and central feast. And there are trumpet blasts connected with the other feasts. Now it seems that a lot of prophecy students are coming to the same conclusion. This doesn't make it right, but there seem to be new insights concerning prophetic patterns coming out every day. Perhaps this will finally be the year, or maybe something else major will happen soon, but the world is changing fast.

One thing that has been suggested, and which I find very interesting, is that there may be a gap of some days between "and the dead in Christ shall rise first", and "Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and thus we shall always be with the Lord". (1 Thess. 4: 16-17) The thought is that just as some graves of the Old Testament saints opened up in Jerusalem after Jesus died on the cross, which was accompanied by an earthquake, with some Old Testament saints seen walking around, so will there be worldwide earthquakes, with graves opened and a resurrection of the dead in Christ, with some seen walking around. It has been suggested that this could happen 10 days before Pentecost, on the anniversary of the Ascension of Christ, or even prior to that, with the Rapture on the anniversary of the Ascension and Pentecost being the complection of the last days outpouring of the Holy Spirit as spoken of by the prophet Joel.

The coming of Jesus as a thief in the night refers to His second coming and not to the Rapture, so I have always thought that it would make sense to have some obvious sign for the Church just before the Rapture, and perphaps earthquakes with graves being opened might happen. There might also be worldwide earthquakes at the time of the Rapture, adding to the confusion and anxiety of the left behind world. The time could be soon. Pray for your family and friends that they may know The One who died for them so they can become part of His eternal family.