[CynicalBear]

>>The Abomination is to rise as the governments of Earth are collapsing in economic turmoil (kind of like right now).<<

He who restrains must be take out of the way then the antichrist is revealed.

2 Thessalonians 2:7 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. 8 Then that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming; 9 that is, the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders,…

>>Current governments are total evil now, especially the U.S. government, that has just cancelled the pensions of many war vets, and forbids all Christian references in the public places.<<

Well, there you have it!! Just like you say. Governments are restraining evil! Wow! You got it all figured out.

[editor-surveyor]

He who “lets,” not he who restrains.

[editor-surveyor]

>> “Well, there you have it!! Just like you say. Governments are restraining evil!” <<

.
For the record, that is the exact opposite of what I stated. I said the governments are the evil, and they are collapsing under the weight of their evil economic policies, which is what allows the Abomination to rise in their vacuum.

He will perform his abomination at Purim, just as Haman did.

[jimmyray]

Suffice it to say that I interpret the NT scriptures at face value, and you interpret them from a dispensational pre-trib context. We will not convince each other, for I reject dispensationalism completely, and hold that salvation has always been through faith.

Last example. In post 301 you wrote

QUOTE: "He who restrains must be take out of the way then the antichrist is revealed.", which is a paraphrase of 2 Thess 2:7-8. We completely agree on the plain meaning of this passage. (celebrate the little things, eh?)

However, at this point, we diverge. The scripture say, in 1 Thess 2:1-3:

1 Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him, we ask you, brothers and sisters,
2 not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by the teaching allegedly from us—whether by a prophecy or by word of mouth or by letter—asserting that the day of the Lord has already come.
3 Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction.

The simple reading of this passage causes the reader to conclude the following:
1. These 3 verses concern the coming of the Lord, and our gathering to him
2. It is written to the Brothers and Sisters
3. 1 Thess 1.1 confirms it is written to "To the church of the Thessalonians"
4. Thus, the brothers and sisters are the Church at Thessalonica
5. Most christians believe any NT passage written to a single church is applicable to all churches, for we are the universal body of Christ
6. Verse 2 equate Jesus' coming with the "Day of the Lord"
7. Verse 3 plainly states "...that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed"

I conclude this is referring to the rapture of the saints based on the plain reading of the passage. Thus, a precondition of the rapture is the revelation of the main of lawlessness. Therefors, the rapture is not imminent.

You conclude that is CANNOT be the church, because dispensational pre-trib theory asserts that the church in long gone before the antichrist is revealed.

This is the simplest statement of our differences. I choose the plain reading of scripture, you choose a clarification based on other premises.

We both must deal with Pauls admonition in verse 3 Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way....