Once the Church is Gone...Look Out!!!

2 Thessalonians 2:4-8, "Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God. Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things? And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. 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:"

The verses above are making reference to the Antichrist or who the Apostle Paul earlier calls the "son of perdition." Yesterday, I looked at verses 1-3 which Paul wrote about a deception and a falling away that will come before the Antichrist makes his appearance. Undoubtedly, this is where we are at on God's prophetic calendar at the present...we stand on the brink of the appearance of the Antichrist. However, in v. 7, the Apostle speaks of something standing in the way from the Wicked (One) being revealed. What is that or He that is standing in the way?

It is my strong belief that it is the Holy Spirit working in today's church that is keeping the Antichrist at bay today. Once the church is taken out of the way as Paul puts it, the Antichrist will begin to exercise his authority and power on the earth.

How will the church be taken out of the way? The Apostle describes the "taking out of the way" which we call "the rapture" in I Thessalonians 4:15-17, "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, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then 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."

Once the church is out of the way, darkness in every sense will prevail on the earth. Once the meat looses its saltiness or savor, mankind will "stink it up" pretty quick led by the big Stinker himself - the Antichrist. Will the Holy Spirit be gone also? The answer is "no." He will continue to be present on the earth but the church, the body of Christ, will not be present for Him to work in and through. The church dispensation age ends at the rapture. The redemptive light of Christ then will begin to shine upon Israel and the Jews scattered throughout the earth. The book of Revelation teaches us that 144,000 Jewish preachers will go forth preaching that Jesus is the Messiah throughout the world. Millions of Jews will come to Christ before Christ returns to set up His kingdom on earth. Yes, the Antichrist will turn on the Jews, but God will rescue them.

All of this in the book of Revelation and other places throughout God's Word. I encourage you to study it so you can know what is and will be happening in the future. Jesus is coming! Are you ready?

-Pastor Randy