“And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way” (II Thess. 2:6-7).

The identity of the Restrainer is the subject of much debate. Some say it is the Holy Spirit. Some say it is the Church. Some say it is both the Holy Spirit and the Church. And there are a few less widely held interpretations.

His identity is important because He is holding back the man of sin, also called the son of perdition (the Antichrist) in verse 3. And if the Restrainer is the Church, this means the Church must be removed from the earth before the Antichrist can appear. And that is a compelling reason to believe in the Pre-Tribulation Rapture.

We believe the Restrainer is BOTH the Holy Spirit and the Church for several reasons:

1) If the Restrainer is the Holy Spirit ONLY, removing the Holy Spirit would leave behind a Church that is not indwelt by the Holy Spirit. There is no such thing as a Church that is not indwelt by the Holy Spirit.

2) If the Restrainer is the Holy Spirit ONLY, removing the Holy Spirit would leave the Church behind to go through the worst and most dangerous time the world has ever faced (the Tribulation Period) without the help of the Holy Spirit. This is not like Jesus who said, “I will not leave you comfortless” a reference to the fact that the Holy Spirit will always be with the Church (Jn. 14:18) and “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee” (Hebrews 13:5). This is always true, but it is most especially true at times of great danger.

3) If the Restrainer is the Church ONLY, the removal of the Restrainer would have the Church going to heaven without the Holy Spirit. Again, there is no such thing as a Church that is not indwelt by the Holy Spirit.

4) If the Restrainer is the Church ONLY, it could not hold back the Antichrist who will receive his power from Satan (Revelation 13:4). The Church could not restrain the Antichrist (and Satan) without the help of the Holy Spirit. The power to restrain evil comes from the Holy Spirit.

AFTER THE RAPTURE

The Holy Spirit works in many ways. He was present at the Creation, but the Church didn’t exist (Genesis 1:2). He came upon Othniel, Gideon and others during Old Testament times, but the Church didn’t exist (Judges 3:9-10; 6:34). He caused holy men of God to write Scripture in Old Testament times, but the Church didn’t exist ((II Peter 1:21). Those who limit the work of the Holy Spirit to the Church don’t understand the Holy Spirit or the many ways He works.

Today, the Holy Spirit baptizes people into the body of Christ, the Church (I Corinthians 12:13). He will continue to save people after the Rapture, but He will turn back to Israel and work like He did in Old Testament times. He will seal the 144,000 Jewish evangelists (Revelation 7:3). He will save multitudes of Gentiles and Jews (Revelation 7:9). He will protect the Two Witnesses for 1260 days (Revelation 11:3). He will be poured out upon the Jews at the Second Coming (Zechariah 12:10). But He won’t baptize people into the Body of Christ.

CONCLUSION

We can conclude at least five things:

1) The Restrainer is both the Holy Spirit and the Church.

2) The Holy Spirit is empowering the Church to restrain evil.

3) The Holy Spirit and the Church will be removed together before the Antichrist can appear.

4) The Pre-Tribulation Rapture is valid because the Church won’t be here when the Antichrist comes on the scene.

5) God saves people without adding them to the Church which is what will happen when He works through the 144,000, the Two Witnesses after the Rapture.

 

Prophecy Plus Ministries
Daymond & Rachel Duck

Why Replacement Theology Is A False Doctrine

1) God’s covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (Israel) is an everlasting covenant that will never be cancelled.

“And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee. And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God” (Gen. 17:7-8).

2) God delivered the Jews from Egypt because He loves them and He will keep the covenant He made with their ancestors.

“The LORD did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people: But because the LORD loved you, and because he would keep the oath which he had sworn unto your fathers, hath the LORD brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondmen, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt” (Deut. 7:7-8).

3) God said Israel would disobey Him, but He said He will stillremember the covenant for the sake of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

“And yet for all that [Israel’s disobedience], when they be in the land of their enemies, I will not cast them away, neither will I abhor them, to destroy them utterly, and to break my covenant with them: for I am the LORD their God. But I will for their sakes remember the covenant of their ancestors, whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the heathen, that I might be their God: I am the LORD” (Lev. 26:44-45).

4) God’s covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob extends to all the earth and He is a faithful God who will never forget that the Land of Canaan is Israel’s inheritance forever.

“He is the LORD our God: his judgments are in all the earth. He hath remembered his covenant for ever, the word which he commanded to a thousand generations. Which covenant he made with Abraham, and his oath unto Isaac; And confirmed the same unto Jacob for a law, and to Israel for an everlasting covenant:Saying, Unto thee will I give the land of Canaan, the lot of your inheritance” (Psalm 105:7-11).

5) God has not cast away Israel, her blindness is temporary, and God will never change His mind about Israel’s gifts and calling.

“I say then, Hath God cast away his people? God forbid. For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew” (Rom. 11:1-2b).

“For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, UNTIL the fulness of the Gentiles be come in” (Rom. 11:25).

“For the gifts (land, etc.) and calling of God are without repentance [they cannot be changed, taken back or revoked]” (Rom. 11:29).

6) God clearly says the Jews will be my people after the nation is re-established.

In the Vision of the Valley of Dry Bones which is widely recognized as a prophecy about the restoration of Israel at the end-of-the-age, God said, “Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel: behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts. Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land ofIsrael. And ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your graves, And shall put my spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I shall place you in your own land: then shall ye know that I the LORD have spoken it, and performed it, saith the LORD” (Ezek. 37:11-14).

7) God clearly says the Jews will be my people in the latter days and latter years.

“After many days thou shalt be visited: in the latter years thou shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword, and isgathered out of many people, against the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste: but it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of them” (Ezek. 38:8).

“And thou shalt come up against my people of Israel, as a cloud to cover the land; it shall be in the latter days, and I will bring thee against my land, that the heathen may know me, when I shall be sanctified in thee, O Gog, before their eyes” (Ezek. 38:16).

8) God clearly says some of the Jews will be servants of our Godduring the Tribulation Period.

“Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads. And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel. Of the tribe of Judah were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Reuben were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Gad were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Aser were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Nepthalim weresealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Manasses were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Simeon were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Levi were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Issachar were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Zabulon were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Joseph weresealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Benjamin were sealed twelve thousand” (Rev. 7:3-8).

9) God clearly said the Jews are enemies of the Gospel for the sake of the Church, but He also clearly said all Israel will be savedbecause He will remove their ungodliness and remove their sins in response to the covenant with the Jews and His love for them as descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. This will happen at the Second Coming of Jesus (Zech. 11, 12, 13).

“And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins. As concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sakes: but as touching the election, they are beloved for the fathers’ sakes” (Rom. 11:26-28).

10) God clearly said the Jews will be my people when the Battle of Armageddon takes place at the Second Coming at the end of the Tribulation Period.

“I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land” (Joel 3:2).

In conclusion, from the above Scriptures and many more like them, we therefore understand that God is not through with Israel, and the teaching that the Church has permanently replaced Israel as God’s people is a false doctrine. The New Covenant has as much to do with Israel (Jer. 31:31-37; Heb. 8:8) as it does the Church (Matt. 26:28).

Prophecy Plus Ministries
Daymond & Rachel Duck