What Is Restraining?

“Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come. Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God." Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things?And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming. The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders,”                           2 Thessalonians 2:1-9.  NKJV

If you have ever wondered, there is, in fact, no rhyme or reason behind the topics I choose to write about each week other than what the Holy Spirit chooses to lay on my heart through the various ways He chooses to do that.  This week I got together with an old friend and one of the subjects which presented itself during our conversation was the restrainer that Paul talks about in this passage written to the church at Thessalonica.  Of course, this was also a result of talking, as many are at this point in time, about the evil in this world and the fact that it is obviously increasing.

Although as you might expect, not everyone agrees on who or what the restrainer is, but the majority of scholars agree that the restrainer that Paul mentions is the Holy Spirit, sent to indwell believers on the first Pentecost after Jesus’ ascension.  I personally believe that if a poll were taken of believers concerning how hard the Spirit is having to work in these present times in order to restrain the plans of Satan, most would probably say the Holy Spirit is working overtime. 

While we might agree that it is the Spirit who restrains, many also fail to realize that it is the Church, those of us who have chosen to believe, that the Spirit uses to restrain evil in this world. That said, it falls upon us as believers to not only recognize what is occurring in these times we are living in, but understand our responsibilities in allowing the Holy Spirit to work through us.

So the question I asked my friend during our conversation was something like, “do you believe the Church is working as hard as it can to assist the Holy Spirit in restraining evil?”  The unfortunate and uncomfortable answer was no.  I also believe that anyone who has been a believer for any length of time would have to agree that the Church is well down the path towards what the book of Revelation describes as the Church of Laodicea, or a church with Jesus on the outside knocking to come in.

So while the power of the Holy Spirit is as great as ever, because He chooses to use the Church as His tool we are faced with the fact that evil is increasing because the Church is not fulfilling its responsibility to allow the Spirit to work through it in order to accomplish His mission.  While this seems to be an uncomfortable conclusion to come to, I would suggest it is not the first time in history this has occurred.   One only needs to look back as far as the book of Genesis to see not only what is happening, but the inevitable end as well.

“And the LORD said, “My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, for he is indeed flesh; yet his days shall be one hundred and twenty years.”There were giants on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men and they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown.Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart.So the LORD said, “I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them.”  Genesis 6:3-7. NKJV

The picture we see in the days before the flood is one of mankind choosing to embrace evil and wickedness rather than the God who created them.  The word translated “strive” means “to act as a judge”.   By this we are told that the role of the Holy Spirit in Noah’s time was to convict mankind of sin just as it is today. Yet as we know, the gradual demise of true believers uncorrupted by the sinful lifestyle being practiced diminished in number until it was only Noah and his immediate family that was left.  I believe it is certainly no coincidence that Jesus uses the time of Noah to describe the conditions we will see just before He comes again.  

“But as the days of Noah [were], so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.”     Matthew 24:37-39 NKJV

The responsibility of the Church today is to be used by the Holy Spirit to convict the world of sin and reveal God’s standards for morality and acceptable behavior.  It has become apparent to many in the body of Christ that in the past decade or so there has been a tragic decline in churches which hold to the inerrant truth of the gospel and preach the responsibility of true believers to share their faith to an unbelieving world.  This weakening of the Church has led not only to fulfilling the description given of the Laodicean church as lukewarm, it has also severely affected the effectiveness of the mission of the Holy Spirit to restrain the evil we see.

“For this they willfully forget: that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of water and in the water, by which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water.But the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.”  2 Peter 3:5-7  NKJV

The result, I believe, will be a repeat of the judgment of Noah called the tribulation which will occur after the restrainer, the Holy Spirit and the Church, are “taken out of the way” by way of the rapture.  I personally am grieved to come to the conclusion that a large part of the reason for what is prophesied to occur in the last days is in no small part a result of the Church failing to do the work Jesus intended for it to do.  The question I believe we all, as true believers in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, need to ask ourselves is am I doing enough to spread the gospel in however means the Lord has asked me to do.

There is an angelic battle taking place all around us and we are feeling the effects of it to a greater degree every day.  These battles stretch from the lowest of us, to those who reside in the pinnacles of government power and the closer we get to the end the more severe the attacks against believers will get.  To borrow a line from a popular movie series, “our mission, if we choose to accept it”, is to make ourselves available to serve God in whatever way the Holy Spirit desires to use us.

Make no mistake, while it is the Holy Spirit who restrains evil in this world, He does so using the Church which is made up of true believers in Christ to do the work.  If the Church becomes weak and ineffective, the work of the Holy Spirit suffers.  Now more than ever, as we approach the end of our time on this earth, the Church needs to work as hard as it can to help convict an unbelieving world.

If you have never made the decision to accept the salvation offered by the death and resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, I suggest you do that today so you too can experience the comfort that comes from knowing you will spend eternity with our Father in Heaven.  All you need to do is simply pray a prayer like this and ask God the Father to make you one of His own.

 

Jesus I know I am a sinner. I have sinned against you, but I know you loved me enough to send your Son, Jesus Christ to die for my sins and then rise from the grave so that I may live forever with You. Lord forgive me of my sins and come into my life and help me to begin to live for You. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Keep watching.

https://harbingersdaily.com/bending-the-bible-to-the-culture-how-compromise-strips-the-gospel-of-its-power-and-effectiveness/

Between a Rock and a Hard Place

“And the Angel of God, who went before the camp of Israel, moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud went from before them and stood behind them. So it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel. Thus it was a cloud and darkness to the one, and it gave light by night to the other, so that the one did not come near the other all that night.”    Exodus 14:19-20  NKJV

Most of us are familiar with the expression, “caught between a rock and a hard place”.  I think that expression could accurately describe what the children of Israel were feeling when they looked at the Red Sea before them, and the Egyptian army behind them.  I believe that one way or another, and at one time or another, everyone has encountered a situation much like this in their own lives.  Coming to the realization that you can’t go back, but certainly troubled and uncertain about what the future holds going forward can be more than a little unsettling.  At this point in time, it would seem that many in the body of Christ are coming to the conclusion that we as a Church are finding ourselves in just that position.

The truth is, I can completely understand that because much of what I am hearing and reading from other believers revolves around the increasing persecution we are facing and a very uncertain future before us.  As I thought about where we are this past week, it seemed the comparison of where the Church finds itself and where the Israelites found themselves at the Red Sea was not only applicable but an inevitable comparison. I thought today I would share just a few of my thoughts with you with the hope that you might feel encouraged about our future.

“Now it happened in the process of time that the king of Egypt died. Then the children of Israel groaned because of the bondage, and they cried out; and their cry came up to God because of the bondage. So God heard their groaning, and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. And God looked upon the children of Israel, and God acknowledged them.”  Exodus 2:23-25  NKJV

If anything, the current situation we have found ourselves in has produced what many consider to be an unprecedented increase in prayer and supplication to our Father in heaven.  Many of the events in the past year have served to remind the body of Christ of the importance of prayer and going before God with our concerns while relying on Him to provide that which we need.  I am especially encouraged to hear that many are not only expecting the rapture of the Church, but actively watching and praying for our deliverance.  Fortunately we as believers know that not only did God hear the groaning of the Israelites, He also chose to answer their prayers.

“And Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever. “The LORD will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace.”  Exodus 14:13-14  NKJV

Right now under the present circumstances, just like the children of Israel in Egypt, the Church finds itself caught between a rock and a hard place.  The world is becoming increasing hostile towards us and unfortunately our country appears to be following suit.  Regardless of the support believers might enjoy from the current administration, society is definitely turning against conservative Christian beliefs. The Word of God tells us, however, that this world is going to be judged for her sins, and this is where we find ourselves today; persecuted from behind with the coming judgment before us.  Fortunately for the Church, Jesus Christ, God’s only begotten Son, will deliver us from the coming wrath by way of the rapture of the Church.

“Then the LORD said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea, that the waters may come back upon the Egyptians, on their chariots, and on their horsemen.” And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and when the morning appeared, the sea returned to its full depth, while the Egyptians were fleeing into it. So the LORD overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea. Then the waters returned and covered the chariots, the horsemen, and all the army of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them. Not so much as one of them remained.”   Exodus 14:26-28  NKJV

I have often been asked if I believe we as believers will be able to watch what happens on earth during the tribulation from our home in Heaven with our Lord.  I really have no idea but I suspect that we will.  I believe God allowed the children of Israel to watch the sea return to destroy their enemies to show them He keeps His promises not only to deliver, but to righteously judge.  The cry of God’s people throughout history has always been; “why do the evil prosper?”, so to actually witness His divine judgment seems appropriate.  Again, I don’t know that we will watch Him judge but I do know we have His promise that He will do it.

One of the signs we are told to watch for which heralds the return of Jesus for His Church is the increase in persecution that the Church will suffer.  While most of us would tend to focus on governmental persecution of the organized church, we should all be aware that individual persecution by those who disagree with our beliefs will be even more prevalent as we approach the end of our time on this earth.  Every week I read stories of persecution and suffering being visited upon true believers, not only from strangers, but from friends and family as well.  As painful as it is to contemplate, Satan will use anyone and anything, even those closest to us, to attack the faithful as we approach the end of the age.

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.”   2 Corinthians 1:3-4 NKJV

Obviously what Paul makes clear here is that the source of our comfort comes from God the Father, and we are responsible to pass that comfort along to others around us who are also in need.  Yet now that we know the source of our comfort, and the responsibility which comes with it, what do we know about the nature of that comfort?  As believers, is there a certain type of reassurance which we can use which we find is more effective than the sort of comfort the world might have to offer?  Again Paul comes to our rescue by telling the Thessalonians, and us as well, exactly what we need to hear to find comfort in the difficult times we find ourselves living in today.

“For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.”    1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 NKJV

I believe that the Israelites were encouraged by looking ahead at the other side of the Red Sea and knowing their deliverance was there.  So too, we as the Church should continue to look ahead and focus on the other side when we will meet Jesus in the clouds.  Our current persecution is simply one more sign that we are swiftly approaching the time of our deliverance.

So while we feel caught in the middle, the truth is that we are close to hearing the call to come home and spend eternity with our Lord. As we eagerly wait for that moment, may we all remember to give thanks to God for His gift of salvation to us through the blood of His Son, Jesus Christ.  If you have never made the decision to accept that free gift I encourage you to do so today.  Simply ask God to forgive you of your sin based on your belief that Jesus died to pay the price for your sin, and turn over control of your life to Him.  You can do that right now by praying a prayer just like this one;

 

"Dear Lord Jesus, I know I am a sinner. I believe You died for my sins. Right now, I turn from my sins and open the door of my heart and life. I confess You as my personal Lord and Savior. Thank You for saving me. Amen."

 

Keep watching.

https://www.raptureready.com/2026/04/15/the-jesus-haters-2026-by-terry-james/

God's Hooks

I am away this week but choose to share the following article with you as I feel it is not only very good, but timely as well. Enjoy.

God’s Hooks in Gog May Be Coming into Focus :: By Mark A. Becker

Published on: April 7, 2026 by RR10 Category:General Articles

“And say, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal: And I will turn thee back [from Ukraine?], and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords…

“Thus saith the Lord God; It shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought: And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates, To take a spoil, and to take a prey; to turn thine hand upon the desolate places that are now inhabited, and upon the people that are gathered out of the nations, which have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the midst of the land.” – Ezekiel 38:3-4, 10-12

Recent developments and a proposal from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Arab Gulf countries regarding the difficulties with the Strait of Hormuz due to the US/Israeli war against Iran have given way to the title of our article, God’s Hooks in Gog May Be Coming into Focus.

Here are two recent articles on this subject:

From Only long-term solution for Hormuz crisis is a pipeline through Israel, says PM Netanyahu – but Turkey and Syria compete for strategic route | All Israel News:

The only long-term solution to the danger of the Iranian regime blocking access to the strategic Strait of Hormuz runs through Israel, asserted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a Monday interview with Newsmax.

“Long-term solutions include rerouting energy pipelines westward, across Saudi Arabia to the Red Sea and Mediterranean, bypassing Iran’s geographic choke point,” Netanyahu said, adding that the pipelines should reach Israeli ports to ensure “free flow of oil and gas” in the future…

While he didn’t specifically mention it in the interview, Netanyahu’s statements referred to the existing “India–Middle East–Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC),” also known as the “Peace Railway,” which was announced at the G20 Summit 2023 in India.

It envisions creating a route for the transport of goods from India to the United Arab Emirates via ship, and from there, via a 2,000-kilometer (1,240 miles) land route through Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Israel to the port of Haifa and then onwards toward Europe, shortening shipping distances via the Suez Canal.

However, Syria and Turkey are reportedly working on an alternative plan to “cut out” Israel from the corridor, Kan News reported this week, and are lobbying Saudi Arabia for it.

And from Gulf countries consider potential Haifa pipeline route as alternative to Strait of Hormuz | All Israel News:

Gulf countries are considering the construction of new oil pipelines that could transport crude via Haifa on the Israeli Mediterranean coast as an alternative route to the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz, according to the Financial Times (FT). The deliberations come amid concerns about Iranian disruption of the Strait, a key artery for global energy exports…

Israel’s Haifa port is seen as a stable outlet for exporting Middle Eastern oil to global markets. The FT noted that proposed Gulf pipelines to Haifa would also advance the U.S.-backed IMEC initiative, which envisions connecting the Indian Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea through the Middle East and Israel.

NewMed Energy CEO Yossi Abu says the potential pipelines to the Mediterranean would allow people in the region “to control their own destinies, with their friends.”

“You need oil pipelines, railway connectivity throughout the region, onshore, without giving others bottlenecks to choke us,” he said.

Gog and Islam: Spoil, Prey, and Genocide

Here is what we suggested regarding God’s hooks in Gog in Gog and Islam: Spoil, Prey, and Genocide:

The Absolute Necessity of Energy in an End-Times World

One commodity that is of immense value in today’s world, and will be until Jesus comes back, is energy of all types. Energy is a universal standard commodity that every nation on Earth needs to survive and thrive.

Vladimir Putin and other national leaders have rightly claimed that whoever breaks out first and successfully with AI will rule the world, and energy is of the utmost necessity in this endeavor. In fact, AI utilizes vast amounts of energy!

Antichrist will also need vast amounts of energy to operate his worldwide Mark of The Beast economic and worship system; therefore, energy will be of vital importance to this system’s success. Energy may also be another hidden motive when Antichrist – in attempting to annihilate the Israeli people after the Abomination of Desolation, purging the nation of Israel of every Israeli in the Promised Land in the Great Tribulation – prepares to install his Mark of The Beast economic and worship system.

So, how can we come to a logical conclusion of energy being potentially the main objective of Gog’s invasion of Israel, as recorded for us in Ezekiel 38, since these modern-day energy sources were not in existence and/or unknown in Biblical times? Can we make sense of energy commodities, using the same ancient spoils and prey that God uses in Ezekiel?

Silver and Gold

“Silver and gold” are derived from earth and rock.

In just the same way, so is one of the world’s greatest energy sources and multifaceted elements in innumerable products for modern-day humanity, oil! We drill in the earth and frack in rocks to obtain this precious commodity, very similar to how the world has procured silver and gold since creation.

Though Israel is currently ranked 67 in the world in crude oil production, and does import additional oil, this could always change as more deposits could be found. However, for such an incredibly small country to be 67th in the world is pretty darn impressive, and even with their current production of 15,000 barrels a day and what they will have in import reserves would seem to be an easy spoil for Gog in his evil plan.

Personally, I would not be surprised in the least to hear of Israel finding more oil reserves – potentially vast amounts of reserves – in the not-so-distant future.

During the time immediately following the rapture, going forward, I expect that “climate change” will not be the fantastical, farcical issue that it is today, and even if it was, Gog would certainly care less.

Oil, when refined into petrochemicals, often has a silver and/or gold tint or hue.

Oil and/or petroleum is also known as “black gold”!

Cattle

The Hebrew word for “cattle” in both references of Ezekiel 38:12-13 is 4735 מִקְנֶה “miqnê” and means cattle, livestock, cows, sheep, goats.

When this interpretation came into my mind, I was blown away. This can only be understood in today’s generation.

Today, there is a war on cattle in this crazy world we live in, something never seen or even thought about in past generations. Climate fanatics are obsessed with the flatulence of cattle, especially cows, known as methane gas. Methane gas from living creatures is obviously a natural gas. Natural gas?!?!

God, in his omniscient foreknowledge, knew that this environmental idiocy would occur in the end-times. He also knew that natural gas would be a valuable energy source in the future. Therefore, it is no stretch to suggest that cattle are representative of natural gas as an energy source. There would seem to be no better way for God to use this Hebrew word for cattle, knowing what would transpire in the last days, and linking cattle to the energy source of natural gas.

Natural gas is Israel’s primary energy source for electricity production!

The Leviathan gas field recently discovered off Israel’s Mediterranean coast boasts 22 trillion cubic feet in recoverable natural gas!

Gog will certainly covet this immense energy source!

Now, with the proposed pipeline, if built, Israel will have even more energy resources for Gog to covet!

If this pipeline gets assembled from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States going through Israel to Haifa, then the protest from “Sheba and Dedan” (Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States) and “the merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions thereof” (United Kingdom/United States) against Gog’s invasion of Israel begins to take on a greater meaning:

“Sheba, and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions thereof, shall say unto thee [Gog], Art thou come to take a spoil? hast thou gathered thy company to take a prey? to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take a great spoil?” – Ezekiel 38:13

If this scenario comes to fruition, then our title may very well change to God’s Hooks in Gog is Coming into Greater Focus. The prophetic community should be keeping their collective eyes open to this potentially prophetic turn of events.

https://www.raptureready.com/2026/04/07/gods-hooks-in-gog-may-be-coming-into-focus-by-mark-a-becker/

Keep watching.