 Welcome back to Prophecy Files. I hope that you will avail yourself to the resources at paceassembly.org. There's more material and help there, ministry, that you can be able to receive, that will be an encouragement to you, and many messages that are available for you concerning Bible prophecy and what's taking place in our world right now. It's important that we stay prayed up and seeking the face of God, that we affiliate ourselves with a local church and not be afraid to be able to enter into that sanctuary of worship. All Satan wants to do is intimidate the believer in the time we're in, but God has not given us the spirit of fear, but a power, love, and a sound mind. And it's important when you understand the scripture, that can bring peace to your heart concerning what's taking place and how that you can be able to be ready for anything and everything because God has given an answer to everything that we're facing right now in our world. How important that it is that we gain the knowledge of God, and when we have that, and the relationship with God, then there is peace that passes all of our own human understanding. I want to talk to you tonight about these three things, in fact, six things entirely in 2 Thessalonians chapter 2. We're gonna take three of them tonight on this segment of the program, and next week we're gonna deal with the last three of these significant passages of scripture that tell us about the times we're living in right now and the lawlessness that is happening in our world. Now, many Christians, as I've said, certainly have been lulled to sleep by the spirit of this age. There is no doubt, and God's Word needs to be like a sunrise and the light of day to people, opening our eyes to see what's taking place. The apostle Paul gives us some very insightful passages as he's describing the lead-up to the man of sin or the antichrist person coming on the scene. Prior to the antichrist arriving as a personality, a person on the scene, the spirit of antichrist will precede him. Now, one of the things that Paul talks about is found in verse number three, and it is identified as the mystery of iniquity. The mystery of iniquity is being restrained right now, or the power, the secret power of lawlessness that is working right now is literally being restrained. Look at verse two or verse three. Paul says, 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, that is the antichrist, be revealed. He calls him the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God, or that is worship, so that he, as God, that's the antichrist, is sitting in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. Remember, you're not, that when I was yet with you, I told you these things. Now watch especially verse six and seven. And now you know what withholdeth that he, that is the man of sin, the antichrist, might be revealed in his time. For the mystery of iniquity doth already work, only he who now restrains, or though scripture says, Letteth will be restrained until he be taken out of the way. That's 2 Thessalonians 2 verses three through seven. Now the mystery of iniquity, or the secret power of lawlessness that we're witnessing right now, is nothing more than the demonic spirits of hell being released and unleashed in our world right now. The conspiracy of lawlessness has been hatched from hell with Satan at the center, and has been launched upon this world by demonic forces that are certainly taking their liberty. It's a mystery as it's called. It's hidden from the eyes of most of the world. That's the reason why it's important for believers to understand as Paul gives us this admonition from Ephesians six and 12 that we're wrestling not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers and against spiritual wickedness in high places. There are these spirit beings, demon spirits, that are organized, they're brilliant in their understanding, they are invisible, they need a body to work through, and they are powerful, and they are relentless as they're working in the world right now. The Bible says there in 2 Thessalonians 2 and 7, the spirit of iniquity, that's demon spirits, the spirit of iniquity or lawlessness is already at work. Now that work, the word work there means actually to work with force or power or be very effective. The mystery of iniquity then is being very effective at the working that's taking place right now. There is however a hindrance to the mystery of iniquity or the mystery of lawlessness that's in the world. It is being restrained. God has sent a notification to the devil as it's written by the apostle Paul that you can only go so far. You need to know that God is still in control of this world and that no matter what the devil does, you should never forget this, no matter what the devil does, there is no panic in heaven, only plans. God knows exactly what is going to happen, what he is going to do, and his word will not return void, Isaiah 55 and 11 says. Now the devil is trying to attack and has been attacking and I believe that even since the ruling of the same-sex marriage by the Supreme Court that it has opened up a plethora of demonic forces upon this world and specifically in the United States. Satan will not stop trying to attack just like he did Job. Do you remember Job in the Bible? Job was attacked and tried to be attacked by Satan without God's permission. And as a result of that, Satan came before God and told him, you've got a hedge. There is this invisible guard and hedge and armor around Job and I can't get to him. You've got an anointing around his life, the protection of the Holy Spirit. God said, I'm going to give you permission, devil, to cause Job's sickness and suffering and sorrow. But I can tell you God gave a testimony in a triumph, a trophy in Job's life and said, devil, you can do what you can, but he will not deny me. That's how much confidence God had in Job. God said, devil, you can only go this far. You cannot take his life, Job 1 and 12. So God allowed the devil to have tremendous power and influence, but God limited the power of the devil. That's important for us to understand. According to the scripture, the mystery of iniquity or the mystery of lawlessness is literally restrained right now. And the Bible says until he who restrains will restrain, he will do that until he is taken out of the way. Second Thessalonians 2.7. Now, the second thing I want to bring to your attention is not only that the mystery of iniquity is being restrained, but there is the mystery of the spirit that will soon be removed. It's important for you to get this understanding. Second Thessalonians 2.6.7 says, now we know that is withholding that he, the man of sin, he will be restrained until the spirit of God is removed and that is restraining or holding back will be moved out of the way. Second Thessalonians 2.6.7. Now watch this, when he is restrained or taken out of the way, that restraining force will be moved, set aside, and then what the question is, is what is that power, that restraining force that's holding back the mystery of lawlessness? Well, it's actually the cooperation of two parts. Number one, the church. I'm not talking about the church building. I'm talking about the church, the body of Christ, the individuals who make up the church. The Bible says there that we know that he withholds. That's describing the church. The church is in this world as a fortress against evil, against Satan. And one reason that Satan cannot have his way in your city, in your life, in your church is because of the local church, the spirit anointed church that is present even in this world right now. The churches that are preaching the gospel, believers that are believing in Jesus, that are filled with the spirit of God. That church is the church that Jesus said he's building and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Now, the reason the devil is not already taking this world down to hell is because of people just like you and me, believers that make up the body of Christ called the church. The church then is the salt of the earth according to Matthew 5 and 13. Salt purifies, salt cleanses, salt is a flavoring, salt penetrates, salt even agitates and irritates. But one of the ingredients of salt is that it preserves. And when the salt of the earth, the church, is taken out of the way by the event called the rapture. When the church is raptured off of this earth, suddenly snatched away, the restraining power of the church upon evil will be gone. Can you imagine a day when the body of Christ, the church will be removed, the salt will be removed from this world? I want you to know it's the Holy Ghost Anointed Church that is a restraining power against the forces of evil right now. That's when, when the church is gone, that's when this world is gonna see real corruption, real lawlessness, unrestrained evil will be released in this world. And Paul talks about the church being taken out of the way in 2 Thessalonians 2 and 1. He says, now we beseech your brethren by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and by our gathering together. That term gathering together literally describes the rapture of the church. So any moment now, Jesus is going to come and we're gonna be caught up, the Bible says, to meet the Lord in the air. And what a day that's going to be, maybe today, the church will be removed from the earth and the one that God designed to be His hands and feet to preach repentance for the kingdom of heaven is at hand, that evangelistic voice, the organism of God that He filled with His Spirit and said, go and preach this gospel. That church will be gone. The restrainer will be gone, the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now there's a second part to it. The second part of cooperation of the restraining power is the power of the Holy Spirit. He that is restrained will be set aside. That's what that means until He is taken out of the way. I want you to get this. This two-fold restraining power is the church and the Holy Spirit. Now while the Holy Spirit will still operate in this world, He will operate in a different fashion than He did during the time of the Dense Pensation of Grace. It's very important for you to understand. Do you see the Holy Spirit here as the two-fold restraining power that is keeping evil from being totally unleashed? It's important for you to understand that. It's important for you to get the comprehension of the power that is working inside of us in the Holy Spirit. He is holding back lawlessness from having its absolute way, hindering Satan from being able to accomplish what Satan would want to do. You need to know greater is He, the Holy Spirit, that is in you than He that is in the world. Certainly the man of sin, the Spirit, rather the Antichrist, will come, but the Spirit of the lawless one is already at work in the world. He, the Holy Spirit, is living on the inside of every believer right now. If you're a Christian, if you're a believer, the Holy Spirit lives there. That's what the enemy is trying to do. Satan is trying to do everything he can to snuff that out. I want you to know Satan is limited in his capacity. And when the Holy Spirit and the church is taken out of the way, then lawlessness will have its way. I want to say to you, my friends, in light of this tragic shooting that has happened in Texas, it is important for us, and all of us here at Prophecy Files are holding up the pastor and that congregation and that town in our prayers and in our support. I want you to understand that it is a critical time we're living in. And while lawlessness is taking place, there is a move of the Holy Spirit that we need to be sensitive to in the hour that we're in. I want to encourage you, whatever you do, stay close to God, stay in the Word of God. And when I come back next week, I want to share with you the last three of these ingredients that will help us to have a clear understanding of the times we're living in and how we need to live for Jesus Christ. Until next week, remember Jesus Christ is coming soon.