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
We all know that this world will sink into terrible sinfulness before and during the coming great tribulation. We often wonder how much worse the world can get at that time, but we know it will be far worse than anything we have seen, as the antichrist and his henchmen spread their control and corruption throughout humanity. Our text tells us that this evil is already working in the world, but the impact of this evil is being restrained by ‘He who now letteth’. That is a reference to the Holy Spirit. He has his agents working today to help restrain the evil and its impact. To see one of those agents, just look in your mirror.
Yes, the Holy Spirit works through Christians today as He counteracts the satanic forces and their destruction. Remember how the Lord Jesus told His disciples that they are the salt of the earth (Matthew 5:13). Just as salt is a preservative that helps to keep food from going bad, so the Christians, empowered by the Holy Spirit, have a preserving effect on those who we live among. If Christians are living and working and interacting with others as they should, their godly influence will make a difference that will counteract the sinful and destructive behaviour of the sinners around us.
Our text speaks of evil being restrained until the Holy Spirit is taken out of the way. His departure enables the rampant spread and explosion of evil marking the tribulation period. But what triggers His departure? The Rapture. When the Christians are taken out of the world, their godly influence will be gone. The Holy Spirit’s restraining agents – you and me, dear brothers and sisters – will have completed our mission.
Here is the link to the video of this message: https://youtu.be/lcXpfouhAVs