Tag: John 14:16

Any Day Now – Day 19

On April 12, 2024

(2 Th 2:7) For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.

Today’s Bible verse is a good example of how the Holy Spirit will work during the Tribulation. He will not only restrain, but He will do so much more. Because of all that His role entails, it helps us to understand the significance of His role during the Tribulation.

I once did a study on the Holy Spirit’s role in our lives and it was such a blessing to me. I’ve listed them below because I believe that it opens our eyes at how significant His role is. For you to interpret 2 Thessalonians 2:7 properly, you need to know what the Holy Spirit does for the Church. Please take a moment to read the bullets and please look up each Bible verse reference:

He is a Helper who teaches (John 14:26)
He convicts us of sin (John 16:7-8)
He dwells within believers (1 Cor. 3:16)
He is the source of wisdom, revelation and power (1 Cor. 2:10-11, Acts 1:8, Eph 1:17-18)
He guides us into all truth and knowledge of what’s to come (John 16:13-15)
He gives spiritual gifts to believers (1 Cor. 12:7-11)
He seals believers unto the day of redemption (Eph. 1:13 and 4:30)
He helps us in weakness and intercedes for us (Rom. 8:26-27)
He makes believers new and gives us eternal life (Rom. 8:10-11)
He sanctifies believers and enables them to bear good fruit (Gal. 5:16-25)

We can easily see the Holy Spirit at work today in the Church, both in history and currently. He restrains (he who now letteth) the devil from totally taking over the world with his evil influence. But once He is taken out of the way, the devil is no longer held back. During the Tribulation, the devil will have free reign and his evil deeds will be everywhere. Do you understand this? The Tribulation cannot begin until the Holy Spirit who restrains the power of the evil one “be taken out of the way.” This happens at the Rapture. This doesn’t mean that the Holy Spirit not be present at all. After all, He is God and is omnipresent. The Holy Spirit has taken residence in each born-again believer and once His restraining power (through every believer) is taken out of the way, those born again believers will be taken out of the way as well. Why do I know this? I know this because Jesus said that the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, will abide with us FOR EVER.

(Joh 14:16) And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;

That is why we don’t see the Holy Spirit working in the same manner in the New Testament as we do in the Book of Revelation. His role will be just as it was in the Old Testament. During that time, He anointed prophets and worked through them, along with priests, judges and kings. He will do the same with the two witnesses (who will perform great miracles), the 144,000 men from the twelve tribes of Israel (Revelation 14:4), who will spread the news of salvation to a wicked world.

Does this excite you, reader? It surely does me! But to the one who is not saved, it is a different story. Friend, it is no coincidence that God has placed you here for such a time as this so that you may be saved. Please click here and the link will open up in a separate tab to You Can Be Born Again and Know It!

The Rapture – Day 11

By Kate Plourde

On February 2, 2022

In Devotionals, End Times, Rapture

Good morning! A beautiful blanket of freshly fallen snow was left overnight and we behold a beautiful scenery. The scenery is quietly left behind. This is exactly how I view the Holy Spirit. He doesn’t speak to my heart with fanfare – He quietly deposits God’s will for me through the His word. Praise the Lord for the work of the Holy Spirit in our hearts and through the church! I remember when I first was saved and attended my first church service. I’d never been in a church service where people actually enjoyed and loved being there! They had a common goal and that was to love, sing and worship the Lord together! I couldn’t get over the joy in my heart! I’d always attended catholic church and there was never any joy.

So back on point, if you recall, the Old Testament revealed the work of the Holy Spirit at various times when He was needed. He did not reside within those who loved God. He came at a time when God needed to accomplish something. There are many events of His presence but here’s one:

Isa 61:1 The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;

However, in the New Testament, Jesus promised to leave His Spirit with the believers. Notice the verse says that the Holy Spirit would abide with us for ever! If we are to go through the Tribulation, and the Holy Spirit goes back to His Old Testament presence, then this verse is not true!

Joh 14:16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;

Come one people! The Scriptures do not contradict each other (John 10:35b): “the scripture cannot be broken”!

I firmly believe that the Spirit’s presence was not only needed to comfort and teach, but was also needed so that the Scriptures could be documented. In Acts chapter 2, the Holy Spirit was revealed and He has been with the church ever since. It is He who organized the church (Acts 1:8) and endowed them with gifts. It is He who gave us the Scriptures. It is He who restrains sin until it is time to release God’s judgment upon the entire earth.

2Th 2:1-8 Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, (2) That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. (3) Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; (4) 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. (5) Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things? (6) And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. (7) For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be 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:

Dear reader, all out sin and evil influences are being restrained right now by the Holy Spirit. If He were not within the church, things around us would be far worse. We see the “mystery of iniquity” already at work. Our world appears to have gone crazy. The devil has managed to infiltrate the world with critical race theory, the belief that there are over 100 different genders, and the taking of innocent lives through abortion. This is just to name a few but you can see my point. This sinful influence was not a part of us in the early 1900’s. But the “mystery of iniquity” has crept in and left its influence in the wicked hearts of man.

“Only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way“! From the year 30 AD (when Acts 2 occurred) to today, the Holy Spirit has played an active role in spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ throughout the world. The Bible has been translated in 704 languages as of 2020. But not everyone has access as we see below:

According to Ethnologue, there are currently 7,106 living languages in the world. As of 2020 the full Bible has been translated into 704 languages. The New Testament has been translated into 1,551 languages and parts of the Bible have been translated into 1,160 additional languages.
https://www.biblica.com/resources/bible-faqs/how-many-different-languages-has-the-bible-been-translated-into/

The internet has helped greatly in spreading the Gospel across the globe but still lacks in many under privileged countries. The map below gives us a good idea of how much is still needed.

Internet density map — **World connection density map (Source:** Chris Harrison)

Friend, once the Holy Spirit is removed at the Rapture, His influence will go back to the Old Testament way for His work. He will work through the 144,000 men of Israel who are sealed (Rev. 7:4) and the two witnesses (Rev 11:3). Their ministry will save many but more will die. Zechariah 13:8 tells us that two thirds of the population will die during the Tribulation. Praise the Lord that the church will be removed prior to this! Be encouraged my friend! Don’t be dismayed. A true shepherd would not lead his sheep to the slaughter but he would take care of them and remove them from harm’s way. So is our Shepherd going to remove His sheep, the church, before the hour of testing to come upon the entire earth.