PS: You skip over the verse just before when it states that “He who restrains is taken out.” That IS the Holy Spirit. That means when He is gone, the Age of Grace, which is what we live in, IS OVER!!!! OVER!!!! That means we are gone. Try reading 1 Corth 15 and read it without your bias opinion that WE are somehow going to have to be purified. CHRIST DID THAT ON THE CROSS WHEN HE SAID IT IS FINISHED!!!! Nothing else done. He purified us with His blood on the Cross. Goodbye and end of conversation. Joel Osteen comes on at 6. Enjoy.
I learned 40 years ago how to read the Bible without my interpretation and to use scripture to define scripture. That is the only way I study scripture. Not by using other’s books or theology. I also use the New American Standard Version which is as close to the original Greek and Hebrew along with the concordance to compare original words.
Have you done your own study or do you just listen to others? Have you gotten on your knees and prayed for God to tell you the truth no matter what you were taught by others? The Word of God speaks to those who will listen. Do not cherry pick verses or parts of the Bible. Take ALL the references and view them together.
I do not listen to Joel Osteen.
“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.”
In context, “he who now restrains” but “is taken out of the way” does not mean taken off earth. It means he will no longer be restraining. The Bible does not ever say the Holy Spirit leaves earth. NEVER. EVER. He will never leave us or forsake us.
Do you feel nervous about the drawdown? Are you upset at the budget cuts, our guys not getting the training they need or the supplies like gasoline and parts to repair their equipment? Our military was a restraint. That restraint is being lifted. Doesn’t mean the guys won’t defend when they can and who calls for them, but the enemy sure knows whose side this executive branch is on.
I have read all of 1 Corinthians and it does not say that Jesus comes twice. It simply says that there are 3 resurrections. Jesus alone is one. Then there are 2 other resurrections of those in the kingdom. The first resurrection at His return and then the second when death (His last enemy) is defeated and He is totally victorious bringing His kingdom to the Father.
The first and second resurrection of those in the kingdom is also defined in Revelation 20. The first resurrection specifically defined as those who are martyred during the tribulation and who reign with Him during His reign on earth. And the “rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were completed. THIS IS THE FIRST RESURRECTION.” [all caps mine]
If Revelation says the first resurrection is those who died during the tribulation, who am I to argue? The rest of the dead are resurrected at the LAST trumpet before God destroys the world, when the whole kingdom is given to God to be with Him for eternity in the new heaven and new earth.
That is the unadulterated Word of God. Nothing spliced, nothing ignored, nothing added. Simple.