J-13. 2 Thessalonians WHO is the HINDERER? The primary purpose of this study is to use the BIBLE, the WHOLE word of God, rather than MAN'S speculations or opinions to clearly and plainly show who is the HINDERER, which will HINDER until he is taken out of the way. Let's begin this study in God's word by reading the verse in 2 Thessalonians 2:7b that tells us about the HINDERER, or as the King James Version of the Bible puts it. The letter “b” means that I am quoting only the last half of the verse of Scripture. 2 Thessalonians 2:7b. “...only he that letteth (Or lets which means he that HINDERS) will let (Or will HINDER) until he is taken out of the way.” Here is what the whole verse or rather verses found in their context read. 2 Thessalonians 2:6-8. “And now you know what WITHHOLDS that he might be revealed in his time. 7. For the mystery of iniquity does already work: only he who now LETTETH (Or HINDERS) will let (Or he will HINDER) UNTIL he is taken out of the WAY. 8. And THEN shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming.” Now, the word that is translated as letteth or let in the (KJV) is the Greek word “katecho” the Strong's number (2722), which means to hold back, to suppress, to restrain, to withhold, to hinder, and letteth or let. So this is the reason why some versions or translation say the HINDERER, RESTRAINER or the one that WITHHOLDS. Let me ask this question again by using these definitions. Who is the RESTRAINER? Or Who is the one that WITHHOLDS and will WITHHOLD, until he is taken out of the way? Well, that is the purpose of this study to find out WHO or WHAT is the HINDERER, the RESTRAINER, or the one who is WITHHOLDING or holding back. Now some have SPECULATED that the hinderer or restrainer is the Holy Spirit. And others have SPECULATED or have given their OPINION that the hinderer or restrainer is the CHURCH, and then conclude by DEMANDING that the CHURCH MUST, WITHOUT FAIL, be taken out of the WAY by a PRE-tribulation rapture so that the Antichrist may be REVEALED. So let's take a CLOSER look at these POSSIBILITIES in the light of the WHOLE word of God to see if they are, in fact, SOUND BIBLICAL answers as to WHO is the HINDERER or RESTRAINER, which will hinder or restrain UNTIL he is TAKEN out of the way. Remember we are seeking to know what the BIBLE has to say and NOT just the OPINIONS or SPECULATIONS of MAN. So what do these verses tell us? Well, for one thing, we know that the HINDERER is of the MASCULINE gender, because these verses refer to him as a HE, and NOT a SHE. So right off we can eliminate the CHURCH as being the HINDERER or as some translations say the RESTRAINER because the church is always referred to in the word of God in the FEMININE gender. Therefore, it should be obvious that in order for the CHURCH to be the HINDERER, then the word of God would have plainly stated that only SHE who lets or hinders will let or hinder until SHE is taken out of the way. So again, the hinderer or the one who restrains is NOT the CHURCH. Therefore, these verses CANNOT be used to try and prove a PRE-tribulation rapture of the church. So what about the Holy Spirit as being the HINDERER or the one who RESTRAINS? Well, the WHOLE word of God lets us know that WITHOUT the Holy Spirit, being PRESENT that NO one could be saved during this time of GREAT TRIBULATION. Therefore, if the Holy Spirit is the one who is taken out of the way, which is kind of the whole purpose of the great tribulation, then NO one could be saved during this period of the great tribulation. The whole word of God makes it clear that God wants to turn the hearts of his people, ISRAEL, from their sins to follow him with all their heart, and is not willing that any should perish. No, the Bible clearly shows that people will be saved during the great tribulation. So, therefore, the HINDERER CANNOT be the Holy Spirit, because the Holy Spirit MUST, WITHOUT FAIL, be present in order to DRAW mankind until God. Well then, since the HINDERER is NEITHER the CHURCH or the HOLY SPIRIT, who then IS the HINDERER? Before I tell you the answer that the Holy Spirit gave to me when I asked God this same question. “Well then, since the HINDERER is NEITHER the CHURCH or the HOLY SPIRIT, then Lord, WHO IS the HINDERER?” I want to tell you that you will most likely say the very same thing I said back to the Lord when he answered my question with ONE WORD. At first, I could hardly believe what I was hearing and answered back to the Lord, WHAT! How do you mean that SATAN IS THE HINDERER? That is correct, this is what the Holy Spirit revealed to me when I asked the Lord WHO is the one who will HINDER until he is taken out of the WAY? Just like that, the Lord answered me with ONE WORD, SATAN. I began to think HOW could this be? This makes NO SENSE at all. Why would SATAN withhold, restrain or hinder the Antichrist from being revealed? Surely I must have heard wrong I thought. Then the Holy Spirit spoke to my heart again and said, Read the CONTEXT. You know I have to be honest and tell you that I was a little bit insulted by this at first because I always teach others to READ THE CONTEXT! I thought to my self I have already read the CONTEXT a hundred times or more trying to figure this out, but kept hearing, READ IT AGAIN. So I began reading the CONTEXT again starting with verse 1 of 2 Thessalonians chapter 2. I barely began to read and the Holy Spirit spoke again and said, Read the WHOLE CONTEXT. So I backed up to the very beginning of 2 Thessalonians chapter 1 and verse 1 and began to read. Then, when I got to 2 Thessalonians 1:7, the Holy Spirit spoke to my heart and said, THERE, this is the SUBJECT that is under discussion of this whole context. Here is what this verse says. 2 Thessalonians 1:7. “And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels.” Alright, I thought, so what does that mean, Lord? Then certain words in this verse were brought to my attention along with the QUESTION: WHY were these brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ TROUBLED? Then I began to think to myself, what were they TROUBLED or worried or concerned about? Now depending on HOW you answer or reason in your mind WHY they were TROUBLED, your REASONING will either lead you to the TRUTH, or your REASONING will lead you AWAY from the TRUTH. Now some Christians have REASONED that these brothers and sisters in the Lord were TROUBLED or worried that they MISSED the RAPTURE of the church. Some go on to REASON, WHY ELSE would they be TROUBLED or worried? I mean think about it; they were being PERSECUTED very heavily, so OBVIOUSLY they were taught that they would be RAPTURED out of the earth BEFORE these times of great TROUBLE that was coming upon them. What else could it possibly be? Really, what else could this possibly mean other than they were worried BECAUSE they missed the RAPTURE in order to ESCAPE this time of great trouble or time of GREAT TRIBULATION? HOWEVER, is this line of REASONING BIBLICALLY SOUND? Well, let's take a CLOSER look to see what the WHOLE CONTEXT has to say before we jump to any CONCLUSIONS. And also keep in mind that the CHURCH cannot be the one who hinders until HE is taken out of the way. So this verse cannot be used to try and proved a PRE-tribulation rapture. First of all, the word that is translated as TROUBLED here in 2 Thessalonians 1:7 is the Greek word “thlibo” (2346), which means to press upon, crowd up to, to cause trouble, to persecute and afflict. Nowhere in the meaning of this word does it even suggest to be WORRIED or CONCERNED, which is exactly that same line of thought that I began to take when the Holy Spirit stopped me at this verse and said, There, this is the SUBJECT that is under discussion in this WHOLE passage of scripture. Immediately I began to think WHY were they TROUBLED and just automatically assumed that the word TROUBLED means WORRIED because this is how we use this word in today's society. However, if Paul wanted us to know that they were TROUBLED, as in WORRIED, he would have used the same word that he used in 2 Thessalonians 2:2, which is the Greek word “throeo”(2260) that means to be alarmed, disturbed, or troubled. Now by these other definitions, this particular word that is translated as TROUBLED can and does, in fact, mean to be troubled in the sense of being WORRIED. So YES, these brothers and sisters in the Lord were, in fact, WORRIED or troubled, but NOT because they were being persecuted. This they knew full well would happen to them from the very beginning. Jesus taught his disciples that if they persecuted me they WILL persecute YOU. Well, if they were not worried because they were being persecuted, then what caused them to be worried? What were they WORRIED, troubled, CONFOUNDED or CONFUSED about? Keep in mind the SUBJECT of this entire passage of scripture. They were being CONFUSED about WHEN Jesus would be REVEALED from heaven. Remember, if you want to know the TRUTH you must KEEP in your mind that the SUBJECT of this WHOLE passage of scripture is about or focused upon the REVEALING or more precisely the APPEARING or SECOND COMING of Jesus, and our being GATHERED TOGETHER unto him. Stay with me, and it will all fall right in place with ABSOLUTELY NO CONTRADICTIONS to either the context of this passage of Scripture or any other portion of the WHOLE word of God. Let's read 2 Thessalonians 2:1-6 to learn the TRUTH of who or what is being REVEALED. 2 Thessalonians 2:1-6. “Now we beseech (Or we BEG, strongly urge, and entreat, or earnestly plead with) you, brethren, BY (Or CONCERNING) the COMING of our Lord Jesus Christ, and our GATHERING TOGETHER unto him, 2. That you are NOT SOON shaken in MIND or be TROUBLED, (Confused or confounded) neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as THAT DAY of CHRIST is at hand. 3. Let NO MAN DECEIVE you by ANY MEANS: for THAT DAY, (Speaking of the DAY OF CHRIST, and our being GATHERED TOGETHER unto him. There is only ONE gathering together to meet the Lord in the air. It is the REVEALING or APPEARING of our Lord Jesus Christ from heaven in a flaming fire taking vengeance upon the ungodly and those who are disobedient to the gospel. There is only ONE DAY that is the SUBJECT that is being discussed in this ENTIRE CONTEXT. You see, the FALSE idea that another day is somehow HIDDEN in this text, or any other text in the WHOLE word of God is a deceitful lie and doctrine of the devil. The SECOND COMING, THAT DAY shall NOT COME) EXCEPT there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, (Disclosed or made known, but NEVER means to appear or to come) the son of perdition; 4. Who OPPOSES and exalts himself above all that is called God, or that is worshiped; so that he as God sits in the temple of God showing himself that he is God. 5. REMEMBER you NOT, (Remember WHAT not? In other words, DO YOU not REMEMBER), that, WHEN I was yet WITH you, I TOLD you THESE THINGS? 6. And NOW you KNOW (Know WHAT? In other words, in case you have FORGOTTEN and REMEMBER NOT, I just TOLD you all AGAIN the very same thing that I TOLD you before when I was WITH you, so NOW you KNOW without a DOUBT what is WITHHOLDING Jesus from COMING AGAIN or being REVEALED from heaven in his TIME because you NOW KNOW PERFECTLY that THAT DAY of our being GATHERED TOGETHER unto him to meet him in the air to go with him to Armageddon to execute vengeance in flaming fire with him will NOT COME until TWO things happen FIRST; and these TWO things are that MUST, without fail, take place BEFORE our GATHERING TOGETHER unto him there will be a FALLING AWAY and the revealing of the Antichrist, the son of perdition. We will clearly be shown the WICKED that shall work in the Antichrist shall be Satan himself who is the one working even now in this present time. This MYSTERY will no longer be hidden to mankind. So now you KNOW) WHAT WITHHOLDS that HE (Referring to Jesus and HIS REVEALING or appearing) might be REVEALED in HIS TIME.”
BE NOT DECEIVED BY ANY MEANS! You see, just like Jesus could NOT be revealed BEFORE his TIME when he came the first time riding on that donkey with a colt as King of his people, so shall Jesus ALSO NOT be REVEALED before HIS TIME at his SECOND COMING. So NOW we KNOW PERFECTLY what WITHHOLDS Jesus from being REVEALED. Clearly the Antichrist and falling away must take place FIRST BEFORE we shall be GATHERED TOGETHER unto him at His SECOND COMING. Also, there are CLEARLY TWO things that are going to be REVEALED or plainly shown to us or made known to us. And the first thing that Paul is revealing or clearly making KNOWN to us as I just said is the TIME of the SECOND COMING of Jesus. And in order to be absolutely sure of WHEN Jesus will COME AGAIN this second time Paul also needed to ASSURE us that Jesus would NOT GATHER us TOGETHER unto him UNTIL there comes a FALLING AWAY and the ANTICHRIST be made known to us, and not just who is the Antichrist, that is to say, how to identify him, but also to be assured that the POWER behind this man is the son of perdition, that WICKED one, SATAN himself, in the FLESH inhabiting the BODY or TEMPLE of a MAN. Remember the words of Jesus, that if it were possible he should DECEIVE the very elect. Matthew 24:23,24 WARNS US. “Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here in Christ, or there, BELIEVE it NOT. 24. For there shall be many false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that; if it were possible, they shall DECEIVE the very elect.” Let's continue with verses 7-12 of 2 Thessalonians chapter 2 which reads. 2 Thessalonians 2:7-12. “For the MYSTERY of iniquity (Or the mystery of the unseen working behind sin) does ALREADY work: only he who NOW lets will let (Or he will HINDER) until he is taken out of the way. 8. And THEN that WICKED (The MYSTERY or unseen power that is working or causing SIN will give power to a man that will) be REVEALED, (That is to say shall be clearly shown or made known) WHOM the Lord shall CONSUME with the brightness of his coming: 9. EVEN 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. 12. That they all might be damned that believe not the TRUTH, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” So HOW is SATAN the one who hinders and will hinder unto he is taken out of the way. That is the same question I asked the Lord, and then the Holy Spirit brought to my remembrance the account of Daniel praying for 21 days and receiving the answer to his prayer on the 21st day, even though God SENT the answer to his prayer the very FIRST day. So WHAT HINDERED Daniel's prayer? That's right, SATAN and the principalities and powers of the air HINDERED the answer to Daniel's prayer back then, and SATAN along with these same principalities and powers in the air or heavens will CONTINUE to HINDER until SATAN is taken out of the WAY or CAST out of HEAVEN, the heavens where he now rules and reigns. The word WAY here,...until he is taken out of the WAY... means in the MIDDLE or between. In all practical purposes SATAN in the one who HINDERS and stands BETWEEN mankind and Almighty God the Father. SATAN is called the god of this world who BLINDS the spiritual eyes of those that believe not. Satan is called the ACCUSER of the brethren. SATAN HINDERS or weighs us down with SIN. Hebrews tells us to lay aside every WEIGHT that so easily besets us or HINDERS us. SATAN, as I have already said, HINDERS the answers of our prayers from getting through to us even though God sends them speedily. SATAN also hinders our prayers by ACCUSING us before God. And it should be clear that SATAN IS this MYSTERY of the unseen WICKED that is behind iniquity or SIN that is ALREADY at work back then and is still working secretly to most in these days. When people are offended by others most are unaware that the ENEMY is working SECRETLY behind the scene to cause strife and division. People just think that it is another person that is offending them on purpose. But when SATAN is CAST down out of heaven, or the heavens unto the earth, he will know his TIME is SHORT and he will not care about working MYSTERIOUSLY or in secret from this point on. Take a look at Revelation chapter 12. I will just quote a few verses. Revelation 12:7-13,17. “And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon fought and his angels, 8. And prevailed not, neither was their place found any more in HEAVEN. 9. And the great dragon was CAST OUT, that old serpent, called the DEVIL, and SATAN, which deceives the whole world: he was cast into the EARTH, and his angels were cast out with him. 10. And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, NOW IS COME salvation and STRENGTH and the kingdom of our God, and the POWER of his CHRIST : (WHY or HOW is strength and power come to his anointed ones?) for (Or because) the ACCUSER of the brethren is CAST DOWN, which accused them before God day and night. 11. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony, and they loved not their lives unto the death. 12. Therefore rejoice you heavens, and you that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and of the sea! For the DEVIL is come DOWN unto you, having GREAT WRATH, because he KNOWS his TIME is SHORT. 13. And when the devil SAW that he was cast unto the earth (And realized that he could not rule in the heavens any MORE), he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child... ...17. And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keeps the commandments of God, AND has the testimony of JESUS CHRIST.” Other verses in the Bible tell us that it is given to the Antichrist to make war with the two witnesses, who are the CHURCH, and God's people ISRAEL, for forty-two months or 1260 days. This same 3 ½ year period parallels the time of the two witnesses who are given to prophesy before the world. Revelation 11:3 says. “And I will GIVE POWER unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days (1260 days), clothed in sackcloth.” Just before Jesus ascended into heaven he told his disciples to tarry in Jerusalem, UNTIL they are endued or GIVEN POWER from on high, which we know was the baptism of the Holy Spirit, by which we are SEALED with unto the day of redemption. Revelation chapter 7 tells us that God will SEAL 144,000 of the twelve tribes of ISRAEL. And in Acts chapter 2 we are told that God will pour out his SPIRIT upon ALL flesh and upon his servants and handmaids. There are many verses in the Old Testament that clearly show that God will pour out his SPIRIT upon ISRAEL in the last days. I believe that the CHURCH and the 144,000 of ISRAEL will be GIVEN POWER of the Holy Spirit to prophesy DURING the time of GREAT TRIBULATION for 1260 days. And after the days of their testimony is finished the Antichrist will make war with them and overcome them and kill them, but the Bible also tells us that there shall be some faithful believers that shall REMAIN ALIVE unto the coming of the Lord. And when Jesus comes every eye shall see him including JACOB or the remnant of ISRAEL who will recognize him as their Messiah and shall call upon the name of the Lord. However, the FIRST resurrection and RAPTURE will already just have taken place. And only the CHURCH, which I believe will also include the 144,000 SEALED of the twelve tribes of Israel will be RAPTURED. Those who will not be gathered together in the rapture will be the remnant of ISRAEL or JACOB and those of the nations that CALL upon the Lord. They shall be saved or delivered from death and will go into the millennium in their mortal bodies. If you would like to know more about the two witnesses, please read my study called “THE TWO WITNESSES: WHO ARE THEY?” It is a two-part study and part two is called “WHO ARE THE TWO WITNESSES: PART 2?” Thanks for reading and may God bless you richly as you continue to seek the truth of the whole word of Almighty God. Your brother in our Lord Jesus Christ, Brother Mark. RETURN TO HOMEPAGE AT |
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