October 1
Isaiah 58-59
Psalm 107:33-43
Proverbs 24:5-6
2 Thessalonians 2
The Man of Lawlessness
“And now you know what is holding him back, so that he may be revealed at the proper time. For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the One who now holds it back will continue to do so till He is taken out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of His mouth and destroy by the splendor of His coming.” 2 Thessalonians 2:6-8 NIV
Satan is clearly at work in our world today. We see evil and darkness everywhere we look. We only have to turn on the news to see the horrors that Satan and his demons have unleashed on our world. There are times when it appears that evil is winning. Persecution, oppression, and injustice seem to be unchecked. Bad people go unpunished and good people suffer. But then we hear about people helping their neighbors during a hurricane, putting their own lives at risk to rescue people stranded on a roof, and providing food, water and supplies to those whose houses have been flooded. We see pictures of soldiers comforting scared children and risking their lives to get as many people out of Afghanistan as possible. We hear about healthcare workers who tirelessly care for the sick and dying day in and day out with no end in sight. Right now, there is a restrainer who is preventing Satan from doing all that he wants to do. That restrainer is the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is living in the hearts of millions of Christians all over the world. Evil is present, but good and light are also present. Light overcomes darkness. As long as there are Christians in the world, the Holy Spirit is present because He is alive and active in each of us. Goodness, love, peace, and joy are all very evident. Darkness cannot defeat the light. Light shines the brightest in the darkness.
One day, every Christian on Earth will be removed in the rapture. At that point, the Holy Spirit will be gone, and the goodness we see now, will not be found. Evil will prevail. This passage supports the pretribulation rapture of the church. It explains that the Restrainer, the One now holding back the power of lawlessness, will be taken away and then the Man of Lawlessness, the Antichrist, will be revealed. For seven years, he will rule and reign on Earth and God’s wrath will be poured out on the Earth and those who are left behind. At the end of that time, Jesus will return and overthrow Satan with the breath of His mouth. He will throw him into the Lake of Fire and Jesus will establish the millennial kingdom. We do not know when these events will take place, but we can be certain that when God decides it is time, the trumpet will sound and everyone on Earth who has accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior will be taken to Heaven. The evil we see now is nothing compared to the evil that will dominate the world after the Holy Spirit is taken out. Let us be bold in sharing Jesus with everyone who will listen so that no one is left behind when the Restrainer is removed. We do not want anyone to experience the evil Satan and the Antichrist have planned for the world when we are gone.
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