2 Thessalonians 2:6-8  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:

The restraining power of the Holy Spirit is alive. We don’t hear a thing when we see the fluff from a dandelion flowing through the air whilst the wind carries it. We don’t even hear it dropping to the ground. You don’t hear it but you see the evidence of it. It is no different than the topic we are discussing today. We don’t see the Holy Spirit but we see the results of His work. He works through born again believers in the Church, and He is responsible for stirring the hearts of the unsaved. His holy presence is what is standing between the Rapture and the start of the seven-year Tribulation.

There is no timeline for the pre-Tribulation Rapture event – it is imminent. In the verses above, we see that “he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.” The Holy Spirit resides within every born again believer. Without Him, evil will dominate the world just as in Noah’s days. All the people at the time were evil and God destroyed them all, except for Noah, his wife, three sons and their wives. Only eight people! Incredible! 

The Holy Spirit, is restraining the Antichrist from “coming out” and made known to the world at this time. When the Rapture occurs, the Holy Spirit’s “job” will return to the same way He worked in the Old Testament. He empowered certain individuals for a task that was needed. The Tribulation time is called “the time of Jacob’s Trouble” – what began in the Old Testament with God’s chosen people, the Jews, will end in the Book of Revelation dealing with the Jews. The church age will be finished once the Rapture occurs, and God’s work with the Nation of Israel, as well as the Jewish people, will once again be the top headline. We are already seeing the persecution of the Jews across the globe. This has resulted in many seeking citizenship in Israel, which is the safest place for Jews. Of course, Gentiles (anyone not Jewish) will still have opportunities to be saved, but the main push will be to the Nation of Israel. Therefore, keep your focus on Israel as we see the end times unfold before our very eyes.

Jeremiah 30:7  Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob’s trouble; but he shall be saved out of it.

This time period revolving around Israel and the Jews will be like no other time. The Church will be removed in the Rapture, along with the restraining force of the Holy Spirit. For a short period of time, there will not be a living soul who believes in Jesus Christ as the Saviour. As people realize their raptured loved ones are gone, they might come to believe. But once the Two Witnesses and the 144,000 come into the picture, then people will hear the gospel and believe. Unfortunately, most will die a martyr’s death. Deceiving spirits working through men will draw the world to believe a lie. Even the Tribulation saints will struggle as we see in:

Mar 13:22  For false Christs and false prophets shall rise, and shall shew signs and wonders, to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect.

The revelation of the Antichrist can only come after the Rapture. We see in today’s verses that the “mystery of inquiry doth already work.” War and destruction just don’t happen overnight. It is something that builds over time. The Antichrist’s “evilness and spirit” is already at work in this world and we are seeing the results of it daily on the news. The only reason he is not revealed is because the Holy Spirit is holding him back. Once the Holy Spirit’s restraint is removed via the Rapture, the man of lawlessness will be revealed and he will have free rein. 

Friend, born again Christians will not see the Antichrist in his role as Revelation describes. The epitome of the evil of this world is hindered right now thanks to the Holy Spirit. But once His power of restraint is removed with the Rapture of the church, the church age will end and the Time of Jacob’s Trouble will begin, also known as Daniel’s 70th week. The Antichrist will cut loose his evil influence and one will be hard pressed to find anything good.

I am trying to describe these events as simply as I can so that it is easily understood by those who are not born again. It may sound strange to you but with even just a little faith, you can be saved. This event is not something believers have to worry about because we will be in Heaven with Christ! But to the one who is not saved, it is a different story. Friend, it is no coincidence that God has placed you here for such a time as this so that you may be saved. Please click here and the link will open up in a separate tab to You Can Be Born Again and Know It!