Part 17
The
Moderating Influence of the Holy Spirit
Here
below Paul tells us of another major event that will mark the time of the
Rapture. The loss of the moderating influence of the Holy Spirit on the
social order due to the out-taking of the members of “the
Body of Christ”
must come before the “WICKED
(the wicked one, the Antichrist) BE REVEALED,”
“6And
now you know What Is Restraining
(Gk., katecho, holds down) Him (Antichrist);
it is so that he
may be manifested (revealed) in his own [appointed] time. 7
For the mystery
of lawlessness (that hidden principle of rebellion against
constituted authority) is already
at work in the world, [but it is] RESTRAINED
only until he (the Holy
Spirit) who restrains is taken out of
the way. (2
Thess 2:6-7 (AMP)
“And
now ye know what (that
which) Withholdeth (Gk.,
katecho, Limits, Restrains)
that he
(Antichrist) might be revealed (only) in
his time. 7
For the mystery
(secret) of iniquity doth already
work: only HE
(the Spirit of Christ) Who Now
Letteth (Gk., katecho, limits
or restrains) WILL
LET (limit or
restrain), (only) UNTIL HE
(the Spirit) BE TAKEN OUT OF THE WAY (by the Rapture).
(2 Thess 2:6-7)
8
And THEN
SHALL that WICKED
(Wicked One, Antichrist) BE REVEALED, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of
his mouth, and shall destroy with the
brightness of his coming: 9
Even (that is,) him, whose coming is AFTER THE
WORKING OF SATAN WITH ALL POWER AND SIGNS AND LYING WONDERS,
10 And
with all deceivableness of unrighteousness IN THEM that perish; because
they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
11 And
for this cause God shall send them
strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:” (2
Thessalonians 2:9-11)
As
we see above, the unhindered release of evil in the Tribulation will come
by the loss of the moderating influence
of the presence of the Holy Spirit in the social order.
“BUT
UNDERSTAND this, that in the last
days will come (set in) perilous times of great stress and
trouble [hard to deal with and hard to bear].
2 For
people will be lovers of self
and [utterly] self-centered, lovers of money and aroused by an inordinate
[greedy] desire for wealth, proud and arrogant and contemptuous boasters.
They will be abusive (blasphemous, scoffing), disobedient to parents,
ungrateful, unholy and profane. 3
[They will be] without natural [human] affection
(callous and inhuman), relentless (admitting of no truce or appeasement);
[they will be] slanderers (false accusers, troublemakers), intemperate and
loose in morals and conduct, uncontrolled and fierce, haters of good. 4
[They will be] treacherous [betrayers], rash, [and]
inflated with self-conceit. [They will be] lovers of sensual pleasures and
vain amusements more than and rather than lovers of God. 5
For [although] they hold a form of piety (religion),
they deny and reject and are strangers to the power of it [their conduct
belies the genuineness of their profession]. Avoid
[all] such people [turn away from them].”
(2Tim
3:1-5 (AMP)
How
is “the
mystery of lawlessness
(that hidden principle of rebellion against constituted authority)”
that is “at
work in the world” restrained
even to the extent that it is today? Presently the Holy Spirit indwells
each member of “the
Church, which is His body,” serving
to foster restraint upon the destructive evils of society such as
homosexuality, abortion, and other degrading societal elements. Today we
see evil getting stronger as the influence of the apostate Christian
church-at-large wanes. After
the Church and its indwelling Holy Spirit of Christ is removed from the
earth, its moderating influence upon evil will be totally lost.
Evil, will no longer be tamped down, limited, or hindered by
the Holy Spirit working in and through believers on earth.
We’ve
already seen what the evil lies and deceit of sovereign governments can do
to weaken a nation and lead it to ultimate destruction. Antichrist’s
worldwide government will be powerfully multiply that evil in the
Tribulation period. That “Wicked
one”
will be absolutely free and uninhibited during the Tribulation.
God
has been audibly silent during this “dispensation
of the grace of God” in which we live today, since Jesus’
passion, but we are not without guidance. Our authority is the
written “Word of the Lord,” that is “rightly
divided” concerning the pre-tribulation Rapture as revealed
by “Paul, the Apostle to the
Gentiles (Rom 11:13). “For
this we (Paul and his
co-workers) say unto you by THE WORD OF THE LORD, that we which are alive and
remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep
(have died).” (1
Thes. 4:15)
The
apostasy of the church-at-large is a “falling
away” (2Thes 2:3) from
“the faith.” It is due
to the church’s marginalization of Pauline Biblical truth for us
in this age. Paul wrote Holy Spirit inspired words in his thirteen
epistles to “the body of Christ”
as “the
Apostle to the Gentiles” and as “the
commandments of the Lord”
“For
I (Paul) Speak To You
Gentiles, Inasmuch As I Am The Apostle Of The Gentiles…”
(Romans 11:13)
“If
any man think himself to be a prophet, or spiritual,
let him acknowledge
that the things that I
(PAUL)
write unto you
are the commandments of the Lord.”
(1 Cor. 14:37)
“…
I PAUL, the prisoner
of Jesus Christ FOR YOU GENTILES,
If ye have heard of the dispensation
of the grace of God which is given me to youward: How that BY
REVELATION HE
(CHRIST)
MADE
KNOWN UNTO
ME
(PAUL)
THE MYSTERY; (as I wrote afore in few words, 4
Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my
knowledge in THE MYSTERY OF CHRIST) 5Which IN
OTHER AGES WAS NOT MADE KNOWN unto the sons of men”
(Ephes. 3:1-5a)
“Even
THE MYSTERY which hath
been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his
saints (believers): To whom God would make known what is the riches of the
glory of THIS MYSTERY
AMONG THE GENTILES; which
is CHRIST IN YOU,
the hope of glory” (Col. 1:26-27)
“Behold,
I shew you a mystery (secret);
We shall not all sleep, but WE SHALL
ALL BE CHANGED, IN A MOMENT, IN THE TWINKLING OF AN EYE,
AT THE LAST TRUMP: FOR THE TRUMPET SHALL SOUND, and THE
DEAD SHALL BE RAISED INCORRUPTIBLE, AND WE SHALL BE
CHANGED. FOR THIS CORRUPTIBLE MUST
PUT ON INCORRUPTION, AND THIS MORTAL MUST
PUT ON IMMORTALITY
(ETERNAL LIFE).” (1 Cor.
15:51-53)
Paul
wrote concerning the Rapture “by
the Word of the Lord” (v15,
below) to “the Church,
which is His body” and our “blessed
hope”
(confident expectation)
concerning
our being taken to heaven to ever be
“with
Him.”
At
the Rapture there are to be two categories of peoples to consider; 1)
those “caught up” (taken
up to heaven) and, 2) those
that remain on earth
to go into the
Tribulation and suffer God’s judgment and wrath.
“For
this we say unto you by the word of
the Lord, that we which are alive and
remain unto the coming of the Lord
shall not prevent them which are asleep. For THE
LORD HIMSELF SHALL DESCEND FROM HEAVEN With A Shout, With The Voice
Of The Archangel (Not Angels), And With The
Trump (Not Trumpets) Of
God: And The Dead In
Christ Shall Rise First: Then We
Which Are Alive And
Remain Shall Be
Caught Up (Raptured) Together With Them In The Clouds,
To Meet The Lord In The Air: AND So
Shall We Ever Be With The Lord. WHEREFORE
COMFORT ONE ANOTHER WITH THESE WORDS. (1
Thes. 4:15-18)
In
1Thessalonians 5 (below) Paul contrasts two different destinies one for
“them” versus one for “ye.”
- One
group will endure “The day of the
Lord” whose coming is wrath upon
“THEM.”
“1…
For yourselves know
perfectly that the DAY OF THE LORD
SO COMETH (suddenly) AS A THIEF IN THE NIGHT. For when THEY
(the unbelieving lost) shall say, Peace and safety; then SUDDEN
DESTRUCTION cometh upon THEM,
as travail upon a woman with child; and THEY SHALL NOT ESCAPE…”
(1 Thes. 5:1-3)
- The other
group is “the body of
Christ,” referring to us as “Ye”
of the “children
of the light.” “4BUT
YE (the
members of His body), brethren, are NOT
in darkness, that that
day (of the Lord’s vengeance) should overtake you as a
thief. 5YE
are all the children of light,
and the children of the day…”
(1Thes. 5:4-5)
His children will “be
caught up together … in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air”
(1Thes 4:13-18).
Thus
Paul writes of the lost as “they”
and “them”
in “the day of
the Lord,” which
is the subject of prophecy’s judgments to
“cometh upon them” on earth during the Tribulation. Paul
continues in verse 4 by using the important word “But” to note the contrast
between the awful
destiny for “them”
in verses 1-3 and that of the secure
destiny of believers who are “all
the children of light” and “NOT
in darkness.”
True,
the believers of this age of grace will likely see a time of great
trouble, as many already have, with the decline and degradation of the
apostate church, society and fallen mankind (2
Timothy 3:1). But we should be those who know
the truth of Paul’s doctrines of
“the faith” (2Tim 3:10) and are secure in that knowledge.
Today we see the Lord is setting the stage for “the
last days” of this age, But we are secure, having “the
blessed hope” of the Rapture whether we are dead or alive
at His appearing, some time before
“sudden
destruction cometh upon them” (v3, above).
Paul
then writes of the
“Helmet, (of)
The HOPE (= confident expectation) of
Salvation (by Rapture) (v8 below) for
“body
of Christ.” Continuing,
Paul writes, “God
Hath NOT Appointed Us
to WRATH but
to obtain salvation (v9)”
“But
let us, who are of the day,
be sober, PUTTING ON THE Breastplate Of Faith
and Love; and for an HELMET,
THE HOPE (confident expectation) OF SALVATION. 9
For GOD HATH NOT
APPOINTED US (the grace Believers) TO WRATH, But
To Obtain SALVATION By Our Lord Jesus Christ, 10
Who Died For Us, (So) That,
Whether We Wake Or Sleep
(Have Died), WE SHOULD LIVE
(Grk, zao, Have Eternal Life) TOGETHER WITH HIM. (1 Thes 5:8-10)
“…WE
say unto you by the word of the Lord,
WE which are alive
and
remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent (precede) them
which are asleep. 16the Lord
himself shall descend
from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the
trump of God: and the dead in
Christ shall rise first: 17Then WE
which are alive and remain shall be
Caught Up Together With Them In The Clouds, To Meet The Lord In
The Air: and so shall WE
ever be with the Lord.
18Wherefore comfort one
another with these words.” (1
Thes. 4:15-18)
“In a moment, in the twinkling
of an eye, at the last trump (of God): for the trumpet shall sound, and
the DEAD SHALL BE RAISED INCORRUPTIBLE, and WE SHALL BE CHANGED (allasso,
made different). 53 For
this corruptible must put on
incorruption, and this mortal must
put on immortality. 54
So when this corruptible shall have put on
incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be
brought to pass the saying that is written, Death
is swallowed up in victory. 55
O death, where is
thy sting?
O grave, where is thy victory? (1
Cor 15:52-55)
The
Rapture will come at all those of the “body
of Christ,”
those who “love
His appearing,”
still believing that we should be “looking
for that blessed hope”
(2 Tim. 4:8; Titus 2:13).
In
contrast to the church Raptured to eternal life in heaven (2Cor 5:1b), the
fate of a very large number of those who are on earth after the Rapture in
the time of the Tribulation period will be death.
Some ask, “How many of the earths population will die during the
Tribulation?”
Most
Bible teachers believe two-thirds of earth’s population will die during
the Tribulation, but I cannot exactly find it in the Bible. Estimates of
end times deaths are based on the assumption that 1/4 of the world’s
population will die during the “seven seal” judgments. This comes
from an interpretation of Rev
6:8
where Death and Hades are given power over 1/4th
of the earth to kill by the sword, famine, plague, and wild beasts.
If 1/4th of “the
earth”
refers to the population, which leaves 3/4ths of the population still
alive at the end of the Seal Judgments.
Then,
by the “Trumpet” judgments of Rev.
9:15,
four angels are released to
“a slay 1/3rd part of men” (1/3
of 3/4ths = 1/4th). So, 1/4th will die in
the Seal Judgments, plus another 1/4th in the Trumpet Judgments, equaling ½
of the earth’s population.
Therefore, between the Seal and Trumpet judgments 1/2 of the world’s
population that was alive at the beginning of Daniel’s 70th Week will
have died before the 2nd half of the 7-year Tribulation called
the “Great
Tribulation.”
We’re not told how many die during the Bowl Judgments, but certainly
there will be many more.
Zech
13:8-9
concerns the Lord’s “sheep,”
which is
Israel
. It says “8it
shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith the LORD, Two
Parts Therein Shall Be Cut Off And
Die;
but The Third (part) Shall
Be Left. 9I
will bring the
Third Part through the fire,
and will refine them as silver is refined,”
The
refiner’s “fire”
is thought to refer to the Great Tribulation. This means 2/3rds
of the people of
Israel
will die sometime before the
Great Tribulation begins; then 1/3 of
Israel
alive at the time of the Great Tribulation will pass through and
survive, being purified in the Great Tribulation trials.
A
more careful reading of Zechariah
13:8-9 shows that 2/3rds of
Israel
will perish sometime between the scattering that took place after the
crucifixion, in 70AD and the beginning of the Great Tribulation. One interpretation of this has the
6 million Jews killed in the Holocaust representing the 2/3rds, but it’s
also possible that this many Jews could be added to the dying during
the Seal and Trumpet judgments of Daniel’s 70th Week.
No
matter how we calculate it, the fact remains that Daniel’s 70th Week
will be the deadliest time the people of Earth have ever experienced.