The Work of the Holy Spirit in the Last Days

I. THE HINDERING FORCE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

A. The Bible says that in the last days there will be "distress of nations, with perplexity"

(Luke 21:25). The word translated "perplexity" also means "no way out." The nations will have problems that they cannot solve.

B. 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12 reveals the work of the Holy Spirit in the last days. 1. In verse 3 the "falling away" refers to the departure of the Church.

a. This will be the time when Jesus Christ will come for His Church. He will not return to earth at this time, but we will be caught up ("snatched up" in Greek) to meet Him in the air.

b. His second coming will occur seven years later when He returns to earth with His Church to establish His kingdom (Colossians 3:4, Jude 14, Revelation 19:14).

2. The "son of perdition" is the Antichrist, who will cause his image to be set up in the temple in Jerusalem (v. 4). This is the "abomination of desolation" prophesied in Daniel 9:27, 11:31, 12:11, and in Matthew 24:15.

3. Verse 6 refers to the power of the Holy Spirit in withholding or hindering Satan from presenting the Antichrist to a world that has been conditioned to accept him.

a. The economy will stabilize when the Antichrist introduces his identification number system to use in buying and selling (Revelation 13:14-17). People are using credit cards for more and more purchases, so they are used to using a number in business transactions.

b. There is no charismatic, strong political leader on the scene right now. People have lost confidence in their political systems and are looking for a man with the answers (Daniel 9:26-27- "Week" refers to 7 years here).

c. People are tired of the troubled Mideast situation and of the continual wars around the world. They will hail the Antichrist as a man of peace because his peace plan will work for 3 1/2 years.

4. The spirit of Antichrist is already at work in the world (v. 7 and 1 John 4:3). Satan would like to put this master deceiver in power now (v. 8-12) but the Holy Spirit is holding him back until He takes the Church to heaven (v. 6).

a. In Revelation 4:1 the rapture of the Church occurs and the next big event on earth is the appearance of the Antichrist riding a white horse (symbolizing his false righteousness) and leading the people to believe that he has brought a lasting peace (Revelation 6:2).

5. As Christians we should not be concerned with looking for the Antichrist, but we should be looking for the glorious appearance of Jesus Christ (Luke 21:28, Matthew 25:1-13, Romans 13:11).