The Departure of God’s Spirit for the Ushering in of the Antichrist is Coming
While the great falling away is bad enough in itself, we see from 2 Thessalonians that it is a precursor to something even worse: the rise of the “man of sin”—the Antichrist.
Still, wouldn’t the church be enough of an influence to combat such an event? This is explained a little further down in 2 Thessalonians 2:
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. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming. The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness. —2 THESSALONIANS 2:7–12
Paul tells us in this passage that the Holy Spirit is “He who now restrains” the power of evil in the world. But when the time is right, the Holy Spirit will withdraw to allow people to run their lives the way they want to.
Do you realize that the only hope on planet Earth right now is the church of the living God empowered by the Spirit of God? But imagine if the Spirit were no longer here to restrain the rampant wickedness. Envision schools with no Christian students and teachers trying to make a positive difference. No Christian legislators trying to enact and enforce good and moral laws. No more power in the churches to oppose the increasing number of evildoers.
This was essentially what happened just prior to the great flood. “The Lord said, ‘My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, for he is indeed flesh’” (Gen. 6:3). If we continually resist the leading of the Spirit of God, He will step back and let us run life our way. And isn’t it interesting that Jesus said if we want to know about His return, study the days of Noah and the days of Lot (Luke 17:26–30)?
When God’s Spirit withdraws, this falling away will intensify and affect great numbers of people, allowing the emergence of a malevolent world leader. What does this leader want? Above all, he wants control. How does someone gain control over large numbers of people? It starts with knowing who his subjects are and what they are doing.
A one-world government would require a standard economic model. Already a movement is underway to replace capitalism. Every ideology has its problems and critics, of course, and capitalism is no exception. Yet capitalism is the reason our nation has prospered. The belief that “If I work hard, I might just get ahead” has inspired people to do just that, resulting in freedom and prosperity—not just for the large corporations, but for the thousands of mom-and-pop businesses across the country.
What’s the problem with cash? When I go to pay for something, the first thing they ask is, “Would you like to give me your phone number?” I say, “No, I’d like to give you cash,” but it’s getting to the point where they don’t know what to do with cash anymore. It’s disturbing enough that fewer clerks seem capable of counting out change without the help of the cash register, but a much bigger concern is that cryptocurrency tracks and controls every dollar. That means it’s possible for the government to determine where you’ve been, what you’ve done, and what you spent your money on. Why does that matter? Well, it might be very appealing to the IRS, for example, because you can’t hide any money. Grandma can’t roll up a couple of hundreds and put them in a sock drawer or hide them in her closet. If I pay cash for something, that transaction is my business alone. But if cash is eliminated, so is much personal privacy and/or freedom.
The way the present day is shaping up can look rather grim. And when we see the biblical forecast of things yet to come—which appear to be rapidly approaching—it looks even worse. But let me assure you, knowledge of what the Word of God says and awareness of what’s happening in your world is never a bad thing. We do ourselves an immense disservice if we focus solely on the gloom and doom of a fearful future without balancing that scenario with an even greater reality: the presence and power of God.
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