Message #54440

[Christian40]

This is from a friend of mine after reading it  it to me is rather logical

i believe the restrainer of II Thessalonians 2 is Michael the Archangel. It aligns perfectly with prophetic Scripture in Old and New Testament. It used to be the accepted view by many Bible believers. Michael wars with Satan and his angels and restrains those who would begin the one world religion of antichrist and one world government. All of this was told to Daniel the prophet. Michael withholds against Satan until the time he has been given is upon the earth. Then He shall step aside and allow Satan to have his way.
 
And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. (Rev. 12:7-9)
 
When we compare Matthew 24:15-22 and cross reference it with the context of Daniel 12:1 we find the following:
 
And at that time shall MICHAEL stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.
 
I am sure we could do a more in depth Scriptural study, but saying the KJB shows Satan, the church or the Holy Spirit is the restrainer does not seem to hold water when Scripture is compared. But you know why the problem occurs? Everyone keeps wanting to make the Tribulation about THE CHURCH!
 
This is what happens when men follow men's synthesized systems rather than the Scriptures. It is why I am neither a covenant theologian nor a dispensationalist. It is why I believe there is a difference in the church and the nation of Israel, but only on a minute scale. Israel MUST go through the tribulation because God is going to deliver her over to the ultimate form of idolatry. Search out the Old Testament. All through the Old Testament the Nation of Israel went whoring after false gods. So, the Lord shall deliver them over to the ultimate false god and false idol where they must choose to serve him and worship the idol by taking the mark of the beast, or die.
 
I am not sure where I stand on the issue of the church going through the tribulation yet. I can admit that much. But all of the passages seem to point to Michael as the restrainer. I am trying to see if I was taught pretribulationism and it is something I was conned into just because it was popular. I mean, I was raised Pentecostal, so it is nothing new to me to question the doctrines I am taught. I do it all the time. I never even knew there was a difference until I met others who disagreed.
 
But, on the issue of Michael being the restrainer, no one has shown me the restrainer being any of the other three with any definitive Scriptural backing. I am open to it if you can show me from the Scriptures.In the context of the other prophetic verses which line up with what unfolds at the same time. All Scripture must be compared and does not stand alone.
 
Paul told the church at Thessalonica about the prophecies of Daniel and the day of of the Lord. As I said, when Scripture is compared with Scripture we find Paul here points us back to Christ's message in Matthew who points back to Daniel's message of the man of sin. That is where I find Michael in 2 Thess. 2.
 
Someone Restrains the Antichrist:
 
2 Thessalonians 2:3-7 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; 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.
 
The Antichrist is Spoken of by Daniel
 
Matthew 24:15-22 When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains: Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house: Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes. And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day: For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.
 
Daniel says When Michael Takes a stand it causes the trouble to begin!
 
Daniel 12:1 And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.
 
Michael wars against Satan, Casts Him out of Heaven. Michael is removed as the Prince Protector of Israel by God and the Time of Jacob's Trouble now begins.
 
Daniel 10:13 But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia.
 
Daniel 10:21 But I will shew thee that which is noted in the scripture of truth: and there is none that holdeth with me in these things, but Michael your prince.
 
Revelation 12:7-13 And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death. Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time. And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child.
 
Of course, you are free to disagree, but the Scriptures back it up when compared with one another and kept in clear context. As I said, I have yet to see the church, Holy Spirit or Satan fit in the position of the one who withholds antichrist. Satan surely doesn't as it would be insanity for the strongman of the house to be divided against his house. And, well, no Scripture backs up that the devil is the restrainer. The Holy Spirit does not fit the context, though this was what I have known most of my life, because the Spirit will be functioning in the Tribulation Period. The church could make sense, but the church is always a she in the Scriptures, never a he. She is the bride of Christ, His beloved. How then can she be a he?
 
None of the other positions will hold up as strong when compared with Scripture or when studied out in more depth. There are far more verses which bear out this truth, I believe; but, these are the bare essentials which show the KEY truths to keeping the context of the day of the Lord and the period of the great tribulation in proper order.
 
The restraining has to do with the revelation of the antichrist, correct? When is this revelation made? When "he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God." Paul told the Thessolonicans of this. Jesus spoke to the apostles of this same period when he said, "When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place,...For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be."
 
So, We have Paul telling the Thessalonicans that the restrainer is keeping the man of sin back so he is unable to stand in the temple, and proclaim himself god, and we have Jesus corroborating the fact that at the same time the abomination of desolation shall stand in the temple and then great tribulation shall come. That, again points us back to Daniel, all according to Scriptural context. Daniel 12:1 then says, "AND AT THAT TIME SHALL MICHAEL STAND UP, THE GREAT PRINCE OF THY PEOPLE:" From what little the Scriptures reveal about Michael we can tell that he is under authority of the Lord, leads the Lord's armed forces, and is the great protector of Israel.
 
Jeremiah 30 prophesies of the time of Jacob's trouble. In verse 7 the Lord says that there is none like. That means it is the same DAY all the other days are the Bible keeps speaking of where we are told there are none like it. But the Lord says He shall save Jacob out of it. In verses 8 and 9 the Lord says He shall break the yoke off their neck and they will serve no one else any longer but that they shall serve their Lord their God, and David their King, whom He shall raise up unto them. The Lord even says the purpose of this is to correct them in verse 11: "I will correct thee in measure, and will not leave thee altogether unpunished." The prophecy continues on, but I must return to the issue of Michael. Israel is being punished for her idolatry. The antichrist is in Israel, in the temple, erecting the abomination of desolation and we now come right back to the words of Paul, Jesus and Daniel, and Michael MUST stand up because the Lord has prophesied it.
 
We know what it means when we say stand up, we have a few songs with the term. Stand up, stand up for Jesus ye soldiers of the cross. It does not mean a literal stand. It means to prepare for battle. Michael prepares for battle against the man of sin and the devil. This is all still mid-way through the tribulation. As Michael prepares for battle we see this written by John and Daniel in their respective works of Revelation and Daniel. In Daniel 10:20-21 the word "CHAZAQ"  that is translated holdeth means the same thing as restrain or bind as it is found in II Thessalonians 2:6-7.
 
Daniel 12:1 and Revelation 12:11 parallel each other. This shows that Israel must be written in the book of life by the blood of the lamb. So, they are redeemed Jews. The church is a partaker and of the covenants and blessings of Israel, not the usurper. Jesus Christ is our protector, not Michael. The restrainer who holds back the wicked is obviously Michael. I have posted plenty of Scripture to prove Michael is the restrainer if you understand the OT and NT prophetic books. Seeing that the Time of Jacob's Trouble and the Great Tribulation are one in the same that means that Satan must make a move against the Lord's people, Israel. We know that all of Israel shall be saved.
 
There are many, many more passages of Scripture which all dovetail with this ONE. We must compare Scripture with Scripture. That does not mean from verse 16 to verse 20. We compare Moses to John, Amos to Zechariah, Joel to Matthew, Christ, to Obadiah. In the fullness of the Scriptures we find the Word of truth rightly divided for the Word is of no private interpretation.
 
I have only touched on a few of the verses and prophetic Scriptures I believe show Michael is indeed the restrainer as Paul would have understood and which Christ alluded to through the prophetic utterances of Daniel and others in the Old Testament. But, if you choose to have Satan, the Holy Spirit or the church as the restrainer, so be it. I stand firm by what I believe the Scriptures reveal as they seem the most logical both Spiritually and historically. It is something I will study out more in depth and develop a further teaching or writing on. God bless.