Who’s Holding Back The Lawless?

And now you know what is holding him back, so that he may be revealed at the proper time. For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming.

2 Thessalonians 2:6-8

Paul tells his audience that there is a spirit of lawlessness plaguing the land and although it is a destructive force, it is weakened by a restraint of something stronger that holds it back from completely destroying all life. This restrainer is said to be the Holy Spirit of Yahweh. During the days of the Old Testament formation, God’s Spirit was a temporary gift to specific individuals. His Spirit was given to those whom He chose to complete certain tasks for the nation of Israel (Judges 14:1; 1Sam 16:13). In New Testament times, however, Jesus promised to all who came to him that they would be filled with God’s Spirit forever (Jn.14:16-26, 16:13; Acts 9:17). Christians should not be afraid to stand for Truth because we have the power of the Spirit of God living in us. The weapons waged against humanity all stem from satan and his dominion and we have something greater inside of us.

Jesus told his disciples that even though they would have trouble in this world, that they should not feel defeated or overwhelmed with fear because he had overcome the world (Jn. 16:33). We need to take Jesus at his word and stand for truth no matter the cost. There are lives at stake. We live in a time when the truth about anything that will save lives is discouraged and maligned as something bad. God expects us to use discernment in this world because the enemy is deceitful and ruthless in his tactics.

We cannot say that we believe in Jesus, the Savior, yet continue to live in blindness to the things happening all around us in this world. I know many Christians that want God to miraculously change situations without their intervention outside of prayer. Yes, prayer is our first line of defense as well as our last, but we also must stand as watchmen to warn all people of impending danger. God’s prophets did not simply hide inside of their homes and pray while hoping that God would make everything better. No, they had to participate with their hands, feet, and mouths to warn the people of impending doom, if they did not stop certain behaviors.

Likewise, Jesus’s disciples did not sit inside of their homes in fear and quietly pray for God to miraculously spread the Gospel. No, they had to go out and spread the word at great cost. Part of their message included making people aware of the dichotomy between the secular realm and the ways of God. Especially in Paul’s ministry to the pagan populations. The first century Christian faced many obstacles, such as, political persecution, ostracization, and other dilemmas associated with life in the first century. Satan and his army were relentlessly creating stumbling blocks for God’s people and anyone even remotely considering following Jesus.

It is very important to recognize that satan works within the constructs that humanity has available at any given time in history. The tools available to satan today are based on similar elements, such as, greed, pride, and lust that have been prevalent as far back as humanity was created, only his tactics are far more deceptive. The advances that humanity has made in the sciences, such as, understanding the functions of the human genome, genetic engineering, how the brain works, human psychology, and so much more have undoubtedly been helpful to human healing. Unfortunately, anytime humanity reaches a new level of technological understanding, there will be those who will use this knowledge to harm others. That is what is happening today.

There will always be those who give themselves over to the enemy and in our current day God has ripped open the underworld to expose the lies and plans of the enemy, the likes of which we have never experienced before in human history. If anyone is still of the mindset that the battle that is presented to the public is about the right versus the left, it is time to wake up and see what God is showing us. This is a major battle of dark versus light and good versus evil. Seek discernment with all of your heart. It is imperative that we remember that we have the power of the living God living inside of us as true Christians. We are tasked with holding back the lawless by speaking out about the lies that are causing death all around us.

Chose to be discerning and ready for action. Put on the full armor of God and be a warrior of Truth.