2\nThessalonians 2:7: For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who\nnow letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They set their eyes on world domination.\u00a0They committed themselves to using their own religion to expand their kingdom through violence, to recruit through propaganda, and to intimidate through gruesome public executions \u2013 primarily beheadings but also public crucifixions.\u00a0They are synonymous with viciousness \u2013 massacres, rapes, and torture.They are brutally ruthless.\u00a0 They specifically target Christians when they are in their area.\u00a0It sounds like ISIS but it was actually \u2026 the Roman Empire. It is within that context that Jesus of Nazareth came and the New Testament was written.\u00a0Jesus and the disciples modeled what it was to serve God in an oppressive and violent state.\u00a0So, what is that model?\u00a0 We turn to the Bible for answers by examining:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When the Holy Spirit\u2019s restraint is no longer applied, time and again through history (fall of the Roman Empire, Nazi Germany, killing fields of Cambodia, ISIS in Iraq and Syria) we witness evil unrestrained against the common good and specifically against the Christian faithful. Paul\u2019s instruction is to not stop working for the Kingdom \u2013 holding up in cloisters under some misimpression, but continue the work of the Kingdom \u2013 advancing Christ\u2019s church knowing the gates of Hell cannot prevail against us (Matthew 16:18).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, Satan works his mystery according to Eph. 2:2 & Rom. 7:5 in his slaves, just as God works His will in the saints.\u00a0Thus we have two programs, running parallel in time, which reveal the following features:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
1. God\u2019s\nprogram is eternal hence it antedates Satan;<\/p>\n\n\n\n
2. Being\neternal, God\u2019s program also survives that of Satan;<\/p>\n\n\n\n
3. Both\nprograms are in a mystery (as defined in our verse);<\/p>\n\n\n\n
4. Each\nenergizes within its own subjects;<\/p>\n\n\n\n
5. God\u2019s\nis more powerful, and thus:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
a. He is\nable to restrain the operation of Satan\u2019s program<\/p>\n\n\n\n
b.\nRescue His elect from the grip of the devil<\/p>\n\n\n\n
6. God\u2019s\nprogram is one of godliness while Satan\u2019s program is lawlessness (rebellion);<\/p>\n\n\n\n
7. At the close of the\ncurrent age, our Lord will totally withdraw the restraint of His Spirt to allow\nlawlessness to have its fullest expression.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Holy Spirit is seen here holding the forces of lawlessness in restraint, thus to secure the full fruition of God\u2019s program.\u00a0 The text does NOT say the Holy Spirit is taken from the earth.\u00a0 THAT is not possible given the Holy Spirit is God and God is omnipresent.\u00a0 The text does say the work of the Spirit is taken from the midst of the situation only in terms of His restraining influence \u2013 an example we have in present-day Iraq and Syria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What we\nlearn from such passages is that war is necessary at times. When the\nPhilistines took up arms against Israel in 1 Samuel 17:1, Israel had to either\nfight a necessary war or capitulate to the enemy. The same was true in 1938\nwhen the Germans marched into Austria. In\na fallen world, war is inevitable (Luke 21:9-10).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However,\nthe Bible does not condone war indiscriminately. Most of the scriptures cited\nso far have dealt with Israel in the Old Testament. To establish Israel in the\nPromised Land, war was necessary. At the same time, God used Israel militarily\nto judge the idolatrous nations of Canaan (Deuteronomy 18:12). These are two significant distinctions in\nthat we need to make a clear difference between a holy<\/em> war and a just<\/em> war.\nA true holy war is one specifically commanded by God to Old Testament Israel.\nThe commands to do battle in the Old Testament were for a particular group of\npeople for a particular time, for a particular purpose. That purpose has been\naccomplished, therefore<\/em> no one can\nclaim a \u201choly war\u201d today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The\nChristian\u2019s battle is spiritual (Ephesians 6:12; 2 Corinthians 10:4). This\nmeans, among other things, that God\u2019s people do not use physical means to coerce<\/em> people into God\u2019s Kingdom\n(whether at the point of a gun or a law). However, does the Christian emphasis\non a spiritual war mean that physical warfare between nations is always\navoidable? Do we allow aggression to go unchecked? Should we ignore hostility\nand injustice? No, there is a place\ntoday for a just war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A justified\nwar is one that is waged on behalf of justice. The goal of a just war is peace.\nRomans 13:1-5 gives us the God-ordained\nrole of government<\/em> in society:<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1) to\ngovern with authority from God (v1-2)<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2) to\npraise the good in society (v4)<\/p>\n\n\n\n 3) to\npunish the evildoer in society (v4)<\/p>\n\n\n\n 4) to bear the sword and execute wrath against wrongdoers (v4)<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u00a0Christian responses to ISIS:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n 1. Responding with force: the just cause.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jesus is\nthe Prince of Peace but He was not a pacifist. \nOn the night Jesus was betrayed, He asked His followers to bring swords.\nThey had two, which Jesus claimed was enough (Luke 22:37-39). As Jesus was\nbeing arrested, Peter sliced off the ear of one of the servants of the high\npriest (John 18:10). Jesus healed the man instantly (Luke 22:51) and commanded\nPeter to put away his weapon (John 18:11). Peter\u2019s ownership of a sword was not\ncondemned, only his wrongful use.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Of Jesus\nHimself we read, \u201cOut of His mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike\ndown the nations. He will rule them with an iron scepter. He treads the\nwinepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty.\u201d (Revelation 19:15).<\/p>\n\n\n\n To let\nsomeone murder when it is in your power to stop them is completely contrary to\nChristian conviction. With ISIS on the move and seeking to destroy entire\nethnic groups, it is clearly wrong not to oppose ISIS with force, hence we\nsupport the application of Romans 13:4.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2. Responding with perseverance: fear of God over man<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u275dProverbs 29:25 \u201cThe fear of man lays a snare, but\nwhoever trusts in the LORD is safe.\u201d King Saul once disobeyed God and told\nSamuel the prophet that \u201cI was afraid of the men and so I gave in to them\u201d (1\nSam 15:24). Sadly, the fear of man over\nthe fear of God causes many to needlessly be afraid and often causes us to\ndisobey. When we fear what man can do,\nwe are showing God that we do not trust Him. \nI love what Christian missionary Jim Elliot once said that \u201cHe is no\nfool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n There\nhave been Christians in Iraq since the 1st century when two disciples of Jesus\nbrought the gospel there. As recently as 2003 Iraq had 1.5 million Christians.\nThere are now less than 100,000 Christians in Iraq. Father Rian, Chaldean Catholic priest in\nTurkey said, \u201cWhat we are living is the last chapter of an ancient story,\u201d\nprompting Christianity Today to soberly ask, \u201cIs this the end of Christianity\nin the Middle East?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Christians\nhave endured persecution century through century. They maintained their\nfaithful witness while recognizing their severe limits. And they have rightly\nrelied upon brothers and sisters to support prayerfully and tangibly in the\nperseverance of the Gospel, hence… <\/p>\n\n\n\n 3. Responding with compassion and hope: tangible help<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Ministry”\nis from the Greek word diakoneo, meaning “to serve” or douleuo,\nmeaning “to serve as a slave.” In the New Testament, ministry is seen\nas service to God and to other people in His name. Jesus provided the pattern\nfor Christian ministry\u2014He came, not to receive service, but to give it (see\nMatthew 20:28; Mark 10:45; John 13:1-17). \nMinistry should certainly place emphasis on sharing the Gospel of Jesus\nChrist with others so they can come to know Him and receive Him as personal\nSavior, go on to experience Him as Lord of their life, and go even further to\nknow Christ as the essence of their Life (see John 1:12; Colossians 2:6-7;\nGalatians 2:20; Philippians 3:8-10). Ministry can, and should, include\nministering to the physical, emotional, mental, vocational, and financial needs\nof others. Jesus did, and so should we!<\/p>\n\n\n\n 4. Responding prayerfully: voice and support against\npersecution<\/p>\n\n\n\n Persecution\nis nothing new to the Church of Jesus Christ. She has endured persecution\nthrough the centuries and ironically, the Church actually thrived under\npersecution. However, the intensity and\nwidespread recent persecutions signal a possible new era in the life of the\nChurch. The international Catholic charity, \u201cAid to the Church in Need,\u201d termed\nthe rising tide of anti-Christian persecution in several parts of the world\n\u201ccatastrophic\u201d, pointing out that Christians remain the most persecuted\nreligious minority. <\/p>\n\n\n\n We are\nnot powerless in the face of evil: we pray for our enemies. Matthew 5:44-45 \u201cBut I say to you, love your\nenemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for\nthose who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your\nFather in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and\nsends rain on the just and on the unjust.\u201d \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n The\ndifference between Christianity and other false religions and beliefs, like\nISIS, is that instead of hating and killing our enemies, we pray for our\nenemies. When we do this we show that we\nare the sons and daughters of God. \nRemember, Jesus died for us while we were still His enemies and wicked\nsinners (Rom 5:8, 10). There is nothing\nin all the world like Christianity. As hard as it is, we should be praying that\nthese terrorists repent and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ because we know\nit\u2019s not God\u2019s will that anyone, even terrorists, die in their sins (2 Pet\n3:9).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jesus\nsaid, \u201c\u2026but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who\nis in heaven.\u201d (Matthew 10:33). How can\nwe not speak up in the face of evil? How\ncan we not support our brethren caught in this horrific evil? How can we not support with tangible\nChrist-like relief for the purpose of spreading the Gospel?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Paul\noften thanked the churches who tangibly supported his ministry (Philippians\n4:13-20) and, given opportunity, we too should be counted among those who lend\ntangible support to our brothers and sisters in need.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Conclusion:\u00a0 Here at Grace EV Free Church, one of our five core values is that every believer needs to be rightly related to the World. This involves a \u2018beyond\u2019 focus through a life of penetrating witness, characterized by an ever-increasing movement from being impacted by the world to impacting the world for Christ.\u00a0As churches supported Paul, so we need to support those who are ministering Christ even in the most troubled parts of the world.\u00a0 It is to this end we should commit support of just action, perseverance, compassion and prayer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 2 Thessalonians 2:7: For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. They set their eyes on world domination.\u00a0They committed themselves to using their own religion to expand their kingdom through violence, to recruit through propaganda, and to intimidate through gruesome […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[526,534],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n