For the mystery of iniquity doth already work, only He Who now letteth will let, until He be taken out of the way. 2 Thessalonians 2:7
How much worse can things get? Admit it, you have heard somebody ask that question, and you have likely asked it yourself. The question gets asked when children are abused and killed by evil people. It is also asked when somebody tallies up all of the deaths that result from the slaughter of unborn children to accommodate the unbridled sexual gratification of the immoral. It is also asked when growing numbers of criminals use telephone and internet scams to swindle innocent people. It is also asked when the homosexuality movement forces everyone around them to endorse and even praise their abominable lifestyle as normal and appropriate. It is also asked when compulsory sex education in schools provides grade two children with instructions on masturbation. (Yes, this actually happens.) It is also asked as morality and decency are cast aside by a growing percentage of the population. It is also asked when our governments pour ever increasing millions into the rathole that is the global warming hoax. How much worse can things get? As the old saying goes, you aint seen nothin’ yet! It’s going to be many times worse when the antichrist has his way with running this world. The good thing about it is you and I won’t be around to see it.
The mystery of iniquity is the power of Satan that will enable the antichrist to rise to his great heights during and leading up to the time of the great tribulation. For all the destruction that the devil is causing in our world, he is actually being held partially in check by the power of the Holy Spirit. Yes, if the Holy Spirit’s restraining power was not in effect, our world would be far worse than it is. But He is working, and He is restraining. We should appreciate that, because it makes life tolerable – at least in our corner of the world – for Christians to live and to serve our Lord. But there is an end coming, as our text indicates when it says He will be taken out of the way. And that is an important event for us.
When will the Spirit’s restraining of the evil in the world be removed? And how will it happen? This great event will be the Rapture of the Saints. When the Lord Jesus comes to take His people out of this world, this world will change for the worse. How is the Holy Spirit manifest in the world now? It is through the lives and the testimonies of the Christians. As we allow the indwelling Holy Spirit to motivate and guide us, we provide this world with that which restrains the evil. Already we see organizations in the world that have few or no Christians sinking into corruption and evil. But when there are no Christians here, everything will begin to fall apart. There will be nobody with a conscience before God to stand up for decency and morality, for honesty and fairness, for truth and justice. The world does not realize how much it owes to the Christians in its midst for the preservation of good. And it also does not realize how bad things will be when there are no Christians to allow the Holy Spirit to exercise His restraining hand upon evil. Without the Christians, the antichrist will be able to reveal Himself and to work his evil.
There is little doubt that this world is rapidly ripening for the judgment of God. The Spirit in us is all that is preventing that judgment from arriving now. – Jim MacIntosh