I was listening to Tom Dooley the other morning on the way to work, and Tom said something so simple yet so so profound i thought it was worth sharing. " for those of us in Christ Jesus this earth is the closest we will ever be to hell, for those who are not in Christ Jesus this earth is the closest they will ever be to Heaven".
be blessed.
Study Scripture 11 Thessalonains 2:1-12
This subject is tough, but i will do my best to convey to you what i see from my perspective. First, when i was growing up i always heard that the he restraining was the Holy Spirit. Recently though I have heard some other interpretations to this, that maybe it is referring to the church as the restainer and that we are raptured and that is what allows the antichrist to be revealed. Finally I heard one more interpretation that the he is actually written in the greek gender neutral form here so the he here is really not a he at all, so this sent me on a journey of study to see what the LORD would allow me to see. I acquired a Hebrew, Greek to English interlinear bible with the original text and literal translations in it. The translation below is an Enlish standard version i am using it because in was the closest to the original online that i could find, but interestingly enough all translations except the one i purchased have left out a very important word, which we will get to later. I will highlight reference subjects in green (for go,or refer back to) and each time a questionable subject appears it will be in red (stop and go back to green before it ).
11 Thessalonians 2
1Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we ask you, brothers, 2not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by a spirit or a spoken word, or a letter seeming to be from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come.3Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, 4who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God.5Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things?6And you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time.7For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way.8And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming.9The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders,10and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.11Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false,12in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
1. In verse one it says concerning; this means anything following this statement is in reference to this statement.
2. The he can not be the Holy Spirit or the Church because if HE is removed we will be removed with HIM because HE dwells in us, and the reference verse clearly states that this day(event) will not happen until the day of rebellion and the antichrist is revealed first (the and and first are very important inclusive words). Do you see what HIS word is saying here, the rebellion and the antichrist must be revealed first.
3. The he who restrains also can not be the Holy Spirit or the Church because the Holy Spirit is a HE, the Church is a She and the he in the verse is written in neutral form in the greek that means it is neither a he nor a she but a what, which, etc... something not someone.
4. Now with all of this in mind we can go on down to the next green and red text, we should see a better interpretation developing even with the missing word i was talking about at the first. You can see that he will be revealed in his time.
6And you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time.7For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way.
5. the word missing in all translations is midst ( means division, in the middle of, in between). in fact let me type the literal translation down
11 thessalonians 2:7 For the mystery of lawlessness already is working, only he holding back now, until it comes out of the midst.
Now lets go to Daniel 9:27
And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make [it] desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.
Now I hope that you may see a better way to look at this scripture; is the thing (he, it, which, what) that is restraining is actually GOD's time clock, just as Jesus came in the fullness of time likewise these other events will not take place until GOD's rolex says it is time. If i have thouroughly confused you please call anytime and i will try to explain better by phone. Be blessed, and we will continue with (what does this mean then) in the next blog message.
Be Blessed
The first mention of the word trumpet in HIS word is in Exodus The last trumpet is in Revelation. I will highlight words of interest in red. I hope and pray that this comparative study enlightens you as it has me. In your translation trumpet in Exodus might be a rams horn, but in the time this was recorded a rams horn was a trumpet.
Exodus 19: 9 And the Lord said to Moses, "Behold, I come to you in the thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with you, and believe you forever."So Moses told the words of the people to the Lord.10 Then the Lord said to Moses, "Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their clothes. 11 And let them be ready for the third day. For on the third day the Lord will come down upon Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people. 12 You shall set bounds for the people all around, saying, 'Take heed to yourselves that you do not go up to the mountain or touch its base. Whoever touches the mountain shall surely be put to death. 13 Not a hand shall touch him, but he shall surely be stoned or shot with an arrow; whether man or beast, he shall not live.' When the trumpet sounds long, they shall come near the mountain."14 So Moses went down from the mountain to the people and sanctified the people, and they washed their clothes. 15 And he said to the people, "Be ready for the third day; do not come near your wives."16 Then it came to pass on the third day, in the morning, that there were thunderings and lightnings, and a thick cloud on the mountain; and the sound of the trumpet was very loud, so that all the people who were in the camp trembled. 17 And Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. 18 Now Mount Sinai was completely in smoke, because the Lord descended upon it in fire. Its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and [fn1] the whole mountain quaked greatly. 19 And when the blast of the trumpet sounded long and became louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him by voice. 20 Then the Lord came down upon Mount Sinai, on the top of the mountain. And the Lord called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up.
Now lets continue with Matthew 24,
Matthew 24: 29 "Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31 And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
and now to 1st Corinthians,
1 Corinthians 15: 50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption. 51 Behold, I tell you a [fn7] mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed-- 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
and now to 1st Thessalonians,
