Editions

Edition 158 April 11^th 2013

The Restrainer:

News events and commentary:

 

My comment begins with ***

●The link at the top right of the home page takes you to growing group of Messianic fellowships in Israel, loosely called “The Living Stones.” In edition 154 I have shared some of these ministries. I mentioned that one of the leaders has a son Amiel Ortiz who was bombed by a right wing orthodox Jew. Well, he has now been sentenced to life in prison.(Amiel has fully recovered)

●The leader of the Catholic church: He was elected at 666! The actual vote was completed at 6.66 pm on 13^th of the 3^rd 2013. It was announced as the white smoke was released a little after that. He took the name Francis 1 in honour of Francis of Assisi, but if you look up “Francis 1” you will see that this was the title for a Holy Roman Emperor, King of the Romans in the 1700s. As I reported in the previous edition the full name of Francis of Assisi was Giovanni di Pietro (Peter) di Bernardone.

The prophecy of the final pope by St. Malachi maintains that he will have an association with the title “Peter the Roman” Here we have it! As I’ve said many times, be careful, this is extra Biblical, but it most certainly adds to an ominous picture!

More and more churches and secular organisations are accepting and welcoming the new pope, including new age groups. As we know, the Biblical false prophet will unite multi-faith religions  before they all accept the antichrist. We can’t be sure at this stage that this new appointee will be the false prophet. We can be sure that he will not be the antichrist, as some are claiming.

We are in times of fast moving prophetic fulfilments!

●The Middle East powder keg: Iran has now aligned itself with North Korea. Most are not aware that North Korea is viciously anti-Semitic! Two madmen putting their heads together! Iran has also unveiled new uranium enriching facilities, while N.Korea already has the bomb!

●Abbas demands Netanyahu present him with a map of the future Palestinian state, before peace talks can resume.

●Abbas has “scheduled” a new Palestinian intifada to begin on April 15^th!

●The recent big earthquake in Iran’s city of Bushehr caused no damage to their first nuclear power station. But the nuclear reactor sits on the convergence of three tectonic plates. I wonder which wise guy approved those plans.

●France leads the world with a sharp rise in global anti-Semitism.

●In the last edition I reported on a concerted cyber-hacking attack on Israel. It did no harm, but Israel launched a counter attack which did big damage including destroying hacker sites.

The Restrainer:

Introduction:

We are at the dawn of great darkness. The shadow of death on a massive scale is about to fall upon the world. With spiritual darkness will come depression, despair and torment. “God is not mocked” and “The Spirit of God will not strive with man forever”! You can’t kick the holiness of God in the face and get away with it forever. We are in times of growing intensifying evil, but it is still restrained to some degree compared to what is coming.

2 Thessalonians 2:6-10 “Now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time. 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...The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs and lying wonders, and with unrighteous deception among those who did not receive the love of the truth.”

2 Thessalonians 2:3 “Let no one deceive you; for that Day will not come unless there is a falling away (Lit =departure or rapture) first and the man of sin be revealed.”

In the verses above Paul is reassuring the believers that the Day of the Lord (tribulation period) has not yet come. They were undergoing intense persecution by successive Roman emperors and believed that this was it.

In an atomic moment the restraint of evil will be removed, revealing the antichrist empowered by Satan and the most severe nightmare the world has ever or ever will see.

Of course, like many, you can say that you don’t believe that, but it will change nothing.

The word itself:

The word “restrainer” has various translations, but the root word is ‘Katecho’, which literally means: To hold back, or to hinder the progress.

What is evil?

From a Biblical point of view evil takes many forms. It’s most dangerous form is the deception of good. Human good without the cross of Christ is as doomed as the worst evil. It’s just the same with peace. Human worldly peace without the cross of Christ is a deception of evil. In fact, Satan uses world peace, good and love to introduce his nightmare reign of world terror in the tribulation period.

Daniel 8:25 “Through his (antichrist or false Messiah) cunning he will cause deceit to prosper...he shall destroy many in their prosperity.”

1 Thessalonians 5:3 “For when they say peace and safety, then sudden destruction comes upon them as labour pains and they shall not escape.”

The heart of man is desperately wicked says the Bible. Man is born a rebel with the blood of Adam flowing in his veins. Law and legal systems are needed to restrain the unsaved. But new blood...the Blood of Messiah through the new birth gives believers the indwelling Holy Spirit as the restrainer.

The presence of believers as the light of the world, and salt of the earth is that which restrains evil to some degree in the world.

People are born with Adam’s blood of sin, or born of Messiah’s blood of sin-free righteousness. Outward legal systems restrain the children of Adam and the Holy Spirit restrains the children of faith.

 Our restrainer is in our hearts!

If you are a true believer, there will always be something deep in your heart that will not sit comfortably with sin or evil.

If you are not saved, you will be able to sit comfortably with sin and evil, but it will eat into your very soul over time, turning you into a disturbed person without hope.

A great deception:

The beauty of evil

Many are and will be deceived by the beauty and pleasure of sin and evil. Very few can see the big beautiful, evil, demon spirits in what has become acceptable today. This is especially true in religious evil, which is of course everything devoid of the cross of our Messiah.

Many today have re-interpreted the scriptures to suit themselves, making the beautiful side of evil acceptable. They are dancing to the tune of big beautiful hell-bound demons!

These deceptions are all going to intensify.

Many would think the Nazi Holocaust was a great evil and be right, but very few would regard themselves as being great evil people! The very crux of evil is to reject God and His word, simply because that is the essence of evil. When you do so, you are automatically elevating yourself above God, trusting in your own good and rejecting the cross of Christ...this is evil.

In this position you are one with Satan.

Humanism (not humanitarianism) is the great evil god of today. When it soon becomes satanically charged and empowered it will become a million times worse. It will manifest its god and as a result sweep untold millions, perhaps billions, to hell.

Cross-less Christianity is of “another Christ,” in fact the antichrist. Our Lord declares; “If you are not for Me you are against Me.”

Most people think that they and others will be saved because they are essentially good. The Bible identifies what “good” is.

“There is none good but One, this is God” (Luke 18:19)

Only the born again believer becomes one with this One and as a result, Godly good.

So you think you are good? Your good will lead you to hell if it is not the good of God in you by the Holy Spirit.

There is nothing wrong with normal ordinary good in this world, but it will save nobody.

Today’s great tragedy:

The true Holy Spirit- filled Church of the living God must be the custodian of truth. It has become watered down in this regard and has therefore become a friend of the world and its evils. The Church has in many ways streamlined the path ahead for evil rather than restrained and hindered it.

Many professing churches today have long lost the mantle and are no different from the world except for a few fancy words. They have no power although they say they do and they have no negative influence on evil.

Their ministers themselves are drowning in a flood of worldliness, and their flock are being pulled down into the morass of evil rather than lifted out of it. They have no Godly power to stand against the flood. God Himself will leave them to their own devices because they have not trusted the Holy One of eternity.

But there is a remnant Church mostly smaller than the big churches, but is greatly influential in the hindering of evil. This is evident in the lives of their people and ministries.

If you think today’s world is evil you are right, but it will become a million times worse as soon as the restrainer is removed.

Once the light goes out, the darkness will become intense and dense! Whose job is it to shine the light?

John 9:4-5 “I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it still day; the night is coming when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” We could quite legitimately extend this to say, “as long as true believers are in the world, they are the light of the world.”

It is the job of the true Church indwelt with the Spirit of the living God to shine the light and keep evil out.

Who is the restrainer?

As you may be aware this is one those controversial topics. It is not key to salvation. At the end of the day, it does not matter who you believe this restrainer is. Of course we should search and dig for truth, but do not use it as a baseball bat as many do!

The most common view is that the restrainer is the true Church indwelt by the Holy Spirit.

Today the Holy Spirit uses His agent the Church in which to operate.

The rapture will remove the “temples of the Holy Spirit”. The omni-present Holy Spirit will still be on earth, but in a limited form of operation. There will be a change in the way the Holy Spirit operates and deals with mankind in the final seven years. This does not mean God changes. It means He changes his method of operation with His prophecy in His word.

In identifying the restrainer we have to look beyond our noses. We must establish what happened at Pentecost (in spite of the fact that many of our Messianic friends reject this.)

At Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came to dwell in the hearts of true believers in a new way, which had never occurred in the Old Covenant. At Pentecost true believers became “the Temples of the Holy Spirit” through the new birth.

Now we have a new type of creature on earth; those who are born again. (2 Corinthians 5:17) It’s not surprising then that these new creations are distinctly different from any others. Pentecost marked the transfer of the “law written in stone” to the “law written in the hearts of believers.”

This new Church began suddenly at Pentecost and will also have a distinct sudden end.

Revelation 3:10 “Because you have kept My command (word) to persevere, I will also keep you from the hour of trial, which shall come upon the whole world to test them...”

The above verse is of great importance, so let’s break it down: These believers (the Church at Philadelphia) are promised to be “kept from the hour of trial” The original words mean – “to be kept clean out away from” and the “hour of trial” is an undisputed reference to the tribulation period.

This verse in the Revelation spells the sudden end of the era of Pentecost as does 2 Thessalonians 2:6-10.

At Pentecost believers are uniquely filled with and become one with the Holy Spirit. At Revelation 3:10, believers are removed in rapture and at Revelation 4 the tribulation period begins.

It’s very important to understand that there is unrestrained evil in the world much worse than now, in the tribulation period. We must also understand that this will be a time very similar to Old Testament times in terms of the massive supernatural upheavals and judgements on the world – except much worse.

The tribulation period is the 70^th week of Daniel’s 70 weeks of years (Daniel 9:24-27). The 69 weeks refer clearly to Old Testament times. There is an obvious unity between the 69 weeks and the 70^th. There is also an obvious gap between the 69 and 70^th week of years. The church was not in any part of the 69 weeks and will not be in the 70^th. In many ways the tribulation is the completion of the Old Covenant.

We see an amazing consistency in the Revelation of Yeshua, where the church is identified in the first three chapters and then when the tribulation begins in Revelation chapter 4, the church is not seen again on earth. This parallels Daniel 9 exactly.

Can you see how many things are linked together in all of this?

Mistakes

The restrainer is believed by some to be: The Holy Spirit, human government, Roman Catholic church, gospel preaching, Satan, Israel, the Church, Michael (archangel).

The Holy Spirit can’t be separated from the hearts of true believers. The Holy Spirit is omni-present and will always be here, but His manner of dealing with man will change in the tribulation.

Human government in recent times is a propagator of evil rather than a restrainer.

Throughout history the Catholic church has believed that they are the restrainer of evil in the world. This was the motivation behind the mass murder of untold millions of Jews and others in the inquisitions led by their popes. They actually believed and still do that all people outside of the Catholic church are not the church. (The Roman refers to non-Catholics as 'separated brethren' but technically according too their law, we are still classed as 'heretics.'

 No sir, they are the incarnation of evil on this earth in many ways.

Some believe that the restrainer is Satan restraining not sin, but the appearing of the Lord. This is exactly the wrong way around. The verses suggest that the restrainer is preventing the antichrist and evil from being fully released. At face value, this view could be true, but there are too many other related issues making it impossible.

Some believe that the Church alone is the restrainer. The Church can’t be separated from the Holy Spirit.

Some believe that the Church can’t be the restrainer because the Church is not a “he” but is referred to as “she”. There are some verses where the Church is referred to as “He.”

The New King James Version of the Bible uses “He” capitalised.

“He” can’t be the Holy Spirit, simply because if the Holy Spirit were removed, true born again believers would be left without the Holy Spirit in their hearts!

Some believe that the restrainer of evil is the Archangel Michael because he is mentioned as one who restrains in the power of the Lord.

The ministry of Michael is in association with Israel. The restrainer restrains evil worldwide. Michael does not fit.

The only identity of the restrainer that meets all the requirements of numerous portions of scripture is the True Church, indwelt by the Holy Spirit.

What is the job of the restrainer?

John 16:8 “When He (the Holy Spirit) has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness and of judgement.”

The restrainer in the form of Holy Spirit–led believers has a two-fold job. It is to approve what is right and come against what is wrong. Obviously identifying both is needed.  Just read through the following few verses and let them speak to you:

Jeremiah 1:10 “See I have set you this day over nations and kingdoms, to root out and pull down, to destroy and throw down and to build up and plant.”

Isaiah 5:20 “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil; who put light for darkness and darkness for light; who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter. Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes.”

2 Corinthians 10:4 “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for the pulling down of strongholds.”

Matthew 6:23 “If your eye is bad your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light in you is darkness, how great is that darkness.”

Proverbs 28:4 “Those who forsake the law (word) praise the wicked.”

John 7:24 “Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment.”

1 Corinthians 2:15 “He who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one.”

There is yet another side to this story. When the restrainer of evil is removed, Satan himself will be at work as never before to restrain Godly influences, truth and the work of the tribulation saints. Not a pretty picture!

When will the restrainer be removed?

The restrainer is associated with the rapture, the termination of the Church era, the start of the tribulation period, the revealing of the antichrist and God’s dealing with the Jews. All of these things occur either on the same day or very close to each other.

We don’t know the day, but we can and must know the season. This great event will occur on the next major Feast of the Lord to be fulfilled, which is the Feast of Trumpets, also called Rosh Hashanah.

It is very probable that it will be Trumpets of 2014 or 2015. I have shared on this in numerous editions and will again soon.

Israel is the time clock. Keep a beady eye on international developments which involve Israel.

An unrestrained world:

The verses below demonstrate the effects on a world where the restraining agents of the Holy Spirit are no longer at work.

Hosea 4:1-3 “There is no truth, mercy or knowledge of God in the land...they will break all restraint and the land will mourn.”

Matthew 24:12 “Because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.”

1 Timothy 4:1 “The Spirit expressly says that in the latter days, some will depart from the faith giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons.”

Most people don’t have the foggiest idea of just how severe the tribulation period will be. With no restrainer it will be hell on earth for seven years. An estimated four billion people will die as a result of those terrible times. The Bible calls it a time like has never been seen nor ever will again. Daniel 12:1-2

A tale of two temples:

From the day of Pentecost, true believers became “temples of the living God”. Through the new birth and the receiving of the Holy Spirit a new miraculous inner temple became the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit in the hearts of all true believers. This was not the case in Old Testament times. These living temples will soon disappear in rapture.

Shortly after the rapture, a new physical temple rebuilt on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem will become the dwelling place of Satan. The fateful person to become the antichrist will enter this temple and declare himself to be God.  (Daniel 9:27)                

It’s important to understand the huge difference between human inner temples and a physical outer temple. The latter will be central in the Tribulation, will be inhabited by the antichrist and will be destroyed by our Messiah to make way for the Millennial Temple.

There will not be a time when both the temple on the mount and the living temples dwell together on earth at the same time.

The coming of the lawless one:

Here is something very interesting for you to ponder.

2 Thessalonians 2:9-12 “The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs and lying wonders, and with unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved...God will send them strong delusion to believe the lie.”

Have you ever wondered what these “signs and lying wonders” are? Have you ever wondered what the “signs in the sun, moon and stars” will be?

A sudden mass appearance of UFO’s right at the time of the rapture could easily fit in here. That would be a great satanic explanation for the rapture!

If the rapture occurs at the same time as the revealing of the antichrist, this could be Satan’s first sign and great work of deception!

Sincerely examine yourselves:

The verses below are shocking indeed. They are for your heart. They indicate amongst other things that not all will go in the rapture. Not all will endure in salvation and many will lose their salvation. Not all who think they believers are so. These verses are a message of love to all believers. Love warns of going the wrong way!

Please let the Spirit of God speak to your hearts as you read these verses. Please understand the severity of this, which is in contrast to the complacency delivered by much of the watered down church of today.

Revelation 2:16 (Message to the compromising church) “Repent or else I will come to you quickly and fight against them (Nicolaitan believers) with the sword of My mouth.”

Revelation 3:16 “So then because you are lukewarm and neither hot nor cold, I will spew you out of My mouth.” (The original words imply a permanent vomiting)

Revelation 2:22-23 “Indeed I will cast her (the church at Thyatira) into a sickbed and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation (Original has the definite article in front = THE great tribulation) and I will kill her children with death and all the churches shall know that I am He who searches the minds...” (Most believe this applies to the orthodox churches like the Catholics).

Romans 11:22 “Consider the goodness and severity of God; on those who fell, severity; but towards you, goodness, otherwise you also will be cut off.” (This is a reference to Gentile believers who come against Jewish believers being restored to God.)

Hebrews 3:14 “For we have become partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfastly to the end.”

Hebrews 6:4-6 “For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and become partakers of the Holy Spirit, and tasted the good word of God and power of the age to come, if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance. They crucify again for themselves the Son of God.”

The final restrainer:

Our great Lord, Saviour, King, and God will Himself be the final restrainer of all evil. A pure, holy, undefiled universe is coming. As we enter eternity, Satan and his works will forever be gone.

The intense desire of many to be free from evil will become a great relief to those who are saved and a great tragedy for the unsaved when they suddenly find themselves residents of hell with the evil Satan as their eternal landlord.

The pure blood of Messiah, shed at the cross of Calvary, is the one and only one-way ticket to eternal glory...and it’s free!

Finally:

He the Spirit of God in us draws the line and puts the breaks on in terms of sin. The holiness of the Resurrected One in us filters through into our lives.

When all restraint is removed from the world there will be no absolutes - only variables.

Satan will be the great restrainer of Godly good the moment the great restrainer of evil is gone.

2 Samuel 22:27-29 “With the pure you shall show Yourself pure; and with the devious you shall show yourself shrewd. You will save the humble; but your eyes are on the haughty, that you may bring them down. For you are my lamp O Lord, You shall enlighten my darkness.”

 Here’s a picture I did recently of the Mooi River Falls in full flood. Like this waterfall in full flood, will be the force of evil in the world the moment the restrainer is removed!

Shalom and grow in grace!