He is coming! The return of our Lord is drawing near! What a wonderful and indescribable promise! As we consider the evil in this world, our anticipation and excitement for His glorious return overcomes us. Although the day and the hour is a mystery, we can be eagerly watching for that magnificent day when the saints are caught up to be with the Lord forevermore (1 Thessalonians 4:17). This is our excellent comfort. This is our glorious delight.
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You would know if he has been because the ONLY thing holding back pure evil on earth atm is - the Holy Spirit - And He will leave when the Church leaves. Church meaning born again believers. If you think it’s bad now, when satan has free rein, Sodom and Gomorrah will look like a picnic. So what is the solution? Humbly seek out God while there is still time. John 3:16.
Where does it say that he will leave? Satan will never have free reign.
When the Holy Spirit is removed.
2 Thessalonians 2:7 (ESV)
7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way.
Right now, prior to the tribulation, one of the ministries of the Holy Spirit is the restraint of evil. In verses 8 and 9, we learn that the restraining power of the Holy Spirit holds back the “lawless one” (Antichrist) so he is not revealed before God wills it. The passage says the Holy Spirit will no longer restrain the growth of evil.
Currently, the restrainer holds back lawlessness, but he will be removed someday. When he is out of the way, lawless activities will culminate through the man of lawlessness. But who is the restrainer? Only the Holy Spirit has the power to hold back sin from becoming full blown. He does this through His convicting ministry. Jesus taught that the Holy Spirit would convict the world of sin and righteousness and judgment (John 16:8). He will do so through Jesus' followers, but at the rapture Jesus' followers will be removed from the earth, and the earthly influence of Holy Spirit, who dwells in us, will be greatly diminished. His unique sin-restraining ministry through saved believers will be gone: He will no longer convict the world of sin through believers. Therefore, lawlessness will reach an unprecedented manifestation.
The Bible frequently uses “the world” or “this world” to refer to the present evil system of opposition to God. So, the Bible never teaches that Satan actually rules over the entire world, but that he is ruler over the current system of sinful opposition to God. In other words, he’s leading the rebellion against God.
Thanks for explaining your thoughts so clearly and taking the time to do so. I hope you are right. This particular verse has been in my sight for several weeks now. I have listened to others, reviewed the Greek, and my conclusion is that it's not necessarily a future event as we thunk of it. It is in going and had already started as paul wrote it. I'm not fully convinced that it is an end time prophecy. I hope you are right, I'm ready to go but I am prepared to stay. In every parable regarding the wheat and tares, the tares are gathered first. Plus rev:18 the people of God are called to come out of Babylon. The church by this time (today)has joined itself to Babylon so God has to call his people out. He wouldn't have to do this if the church would have stayed separate.