Pharaoh King of Egypt (Part 13)
This post continues from Pharaoh King of Egypt (Part 12), where I’ve shown from scripture, the resurrection of the dead, as a foundational doctrine in the gospel of Jesus Christ. The psalmist tells us in this verse:
Psalms 11:3 "If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?"
Likewise, if the foundations of a house be destroyed, the house cannot stand. Jesus tells us:
Mark 3:24-25 "And if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25 And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand."
The church is the house of the living God according to this verse:
1 Timothy 3:15 "But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth."
Therefore, if the church be divided against itself, the house of God cannot stand. The Devil knows that by attacking the foundational doctrines in the gospel of Jesus Christ, churches will be divided one against another, and eventually, the house of the living God will collapse.
Recall what I’ve shared in Part 7 how the kings of the earth and the rulers of this world are secretly in confederation one with another to systematically hijack Bible Christianity?
Psalms 2:2-3 "The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying, 3 Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us."
To engineer a collapse of Bible Christianity is to have the body of Christ divided over foundational doctrines. BTW, all forms of the word “bands” [band, bands, banded] are found exactly 66 times in the 1611 King James Bible, while “cords” is a reference to the “threefold cord” in Ecclesiastes 4:12 which is not quickly broken.
Today, we have the 66 books of the Holy Bible, originally inspired in three languages: Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek, and translated for us into one common language, just like a threefold cord which is not quickly broken. While the language may be different, the text have been translated accurately, and in perfect harmony with the Spirit of the words in the original languages. Therefore, Psalms 2:3 “Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us” signifies their plan to engineer a collapse of Bible Christianity by destroying the foundations of the house of God. Going back to:
2 Thessalonians 2:3-4 "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."
Paul tells us that there must come a “falling away” first and then that man of sin, the son of perdition would be revealed. Having already come this far into the study, we have established from scripture that the “falling away” (Greek: apostasia) is not just apostasy from the faith of Jesus Christ, but it is also the surrendering of the temple of God to the Devil via the mark of the beast, so that he as God shall sit in the temple of God shewing himself that he is God. Paul continues in:
2 Thessalonians 2:5-8 "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:"
Verse 6 tells us that something is holding back that man of sin, the son of perdition from revealing himself before his time. Previously I was asked for my opinion on this verse by a dear sister in Christ. The question was: "Who is he that will be taken out of the way? Does this verse necessarily imply a pre-tribulation rapture?" In fact, 2 Thessalonians 2:7-8 is one passage that dispensationalists like to use as their proof text in defence of the pre-tribulation rapture theory. According to them, it is the gentile church that is holding back the Antichrist from appearing, and so when it is eventually taken out of the way, the "Wicked" (Antichrist) will be revealed. The obvious problem with this view is that the church is not a male entity, therefore, it cannot be the "he" in verse 7. Then, I've also encountered some dispensationalists who went as far as to say that because the Holy Spirit indwells the church, therefore when the Holy Spirit is taken out of the way, that also means that the rapture has happened and the church is taken out of the way before the "Wicked" be revealed. Is this the correct view of 2 Thessalonians 2:7-8? Let us examine from scripture.
2 Thessalonians 2:5 "Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?"
What was Paul referring to when he said "I told you these things?" The "these things" Paul was referring to is given to us in 2 Thessalonians 2:1-2, that is, the day of the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ and the events surrounding it.
2 Thessalonians 2:1-2 "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."
This is the opening passage that will establish the rest of Paul's words in 2 Thessalonians 2:3-8 which would be to follow. That "man of sin, the son of perdition" would be the Antichrist or the "Wicked" which we read in verse 8. Note however, there are two persons or entities which Paul was describing in verse 6-7:
2 Thessalonians 2:6-7 "And now ye know what withholdeth that he [Antichrist] might be revealed in his time. 7 For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he [XXX] who now letteth will let, until he [XXX] be taken out of the way." Note: [insertion added]
What this passage is telling us is that entity “XXX” is the “he” that is witholding the Antichrist, so that he might not be revealed before his time. And then there is a term in verse 7 which Paul revealed as “mystery of iniquity.” Paul also tells us that the mystery of iniquity is already at work. He further elaborates: only “he” [XXX] who now letteth will let, until “he” [XXX] be taken out of the way. What is the “mystery of iniquity?” Consider this verse:
Romans 16:25 "Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began,"
Paul defines “mystery” as the things that have been kept secret since the world began. Connect this to:
Deuteronomy 29:29 "The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law."
Daniel 2:22 "He revealeth the deep and secret things: he knoweth what is in the darkness, and the light dwelleth with him."
Mystery are the “secret things” which belong unto the LORD, which he has progressively revealed to holy apostles and prophets by revelation. Paul further explains in this passage of scripture:
Ephesians 3:1-5 "For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles, 2 If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward: 3 How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words, 4 Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ) 5 Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit;"
In fact, Paul also tells us the true meaning of the word “dispensation” in this passage of scripture. The “dispensation of the grace of God” which was given to Paul for the sake of every born again believer is explained in verse 3: how that God by revelation has made known unto him the mystery, that he should write afore in few words, that when we read, we may understand his knowledge in the mystery of Christ which was not made known to the sons of men in time past, but is now made known unto the holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit of God.
Psalms 51:2 "Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin."
The psalmist equates “iniquity” to “sin” in this verse, and the word “sin” connects to “that man of sin, the son of perdition” in 2 Thessalonians 2:3. Paul used the term “mystery of Christ” in Ephesians 3:4. Well, if the mystery of Christ is the deep and secret things that God has made known unto the sons of men in the 66 books of the Holy Bible through his holy apostles and prophets, then the “mystery of iniquity” would be the deep and secret things of that man of sin, the son of perdition that Paul refers to in 2 Thessalonians 2:7.
2 Thessalonians 2:6-7 "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."
Therefore, this passage is Paul telling us that the deep and secret things of that man of sin, the son of perdition is already at work. If God is the one who revealeth "the deep and secret things" to Daniel (Daniel 2:22), by this reasoning, he should also be the one who must reveal the "mystery of iniquity," which is to say, he must be the one who will reveal the Antichrist, which is to say, he is also the one who withholds the Antichrist from appearing until the time appointed, until “he” [XXX] be taken out of the way. While God is the one who lets, "until he be TAKEN out of the way", who is the "he" in this verse?
1 Samuel 4:21-22 "And she named the child I–chabod, saying, The glory is departed from Israel: because the ark of God was taken, and because of her father in law and her husband. 22 And she said, The glory is departed from Israel: for the ark of God is taken."
Notice that 2 Thessalonians 2:7 and 1 Samuel 4:21-22 is bridged by the word "taken?" 1 Samuel 4:21 is a picture of that man of sin, the son of perdition being revealed even as the child “I-chabod” was born into this world when the glory of the LORD is departed from Israel, because the ark of God was taken. Israel is a picture of the church, and the ark of God is a picture of the word of God. In fact, the phrase “ark of God” is found exactly 33 times in the 1611 King James Bible, signifying its connection to the Lord Jesus Christ, the Word of God who died and rose at 33 years of age. What about the glory of the LORD?
Ezekiel 10:18 "Then the glory of the LORD departed from off the threshold of the house, and stood over the cherubims."
This is another verse which tells us that the glory of the LORD is “departed” as with 1 Samuel 4:21-22. The glory of the LORD is departed. Why? Because the “ark of God” wherein is the word of God is taken. This tells us that the glory of the LORD always accompanies the word of God. When the word of God is taken, the glory of the LORD is also departed. Paul tells us in this passage of scripture:
2 Corinthians 3:17-18 "Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. 18 But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord."
Where the Spirit of the Lord is, the glory of the Lord will be also. When the Spirit of the Lord is departed, the glory of the Lord will also be departed. The words of the Lord in the 66 books of the Holy Bible is the presence of the Spirit of the Lord. Where the words of the Lord are proclaimed, there is liberty. Where the words of the Lord are absent, tyranny prevails. Moreover, the words of the Lord and the Spirit of the Lord are one. The living God is the spiritual form of the written word, and the written word is the physical form of the living God. One cannot be decoupled from the other. Therefore:
2 Thessalonians 2:6-7 "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 [Spirit of the Lord] who now letteth will let, until he [Spirit of the Lord] be taken out of the way." NOTE: [insertions added]
It is the Spirit of the Lord who now letteth will let, until the same Spirit of the Lord be taken out of the way, and then that man of sin, the son of perdition would be revealed. Moreover, Paul also tells us in verse 7 that the “mystery of iniquity” is already at work through the “body of sin” (Romans 6:6), as opposed to the body of Christ, the church, which is the externalization of God’s kingdom on earth. It is the “body of sin” that is working by the spirit of antichrist to bring forth the mystery of iniquity, that the man of sin, the son of perdition so that he would be revealed in his time. So, if Israel is a picture of the church and the ark of God is a picture of the word of God, that would fully explain the meaning of the “falling away” in 2 Thessalonians 2:3. Well, if Israel is a picture of the church, the “falling away” would mean that the Spirit of the Lord has departed from what used to be temples of God, and if the ark of God is a picture of the word of God, that would mean that the word of God in those temples of God has been taken out of the way by the enemy through the mark of the beast (transhumanism), when it shall be implemented worldwide. In the absence of the Spirit of the Lord, that man of sin, the son of perdition shall be revealed according to 2 Thessalonians 2:6-7. However, that does not mean that a pre-tribulation rapture is going to happen when the Spirit of the Lord shall depart. It only means that the 46-chromosomes bodies of men and women that used to be temples of the living God are no longer the habitation of God, so that the Devil shall sit in those temples, what used to be temples of God, shewing himself that he is God. More to come in Part 14.