The "Real Truth" of 2 Thessalonians 2:1-9
Today, there are many conflicting theories being taught in the Church, concerning the interpretation of these most important "prophetic" Scriptures. The correct identity of what "withholdeth" (2:6), he who "letteth" (2:7), and the proper understanding of the "falling away" (2:3) before the beast (man of sin) comes, is absolutely essential for the child of God who has been "strategically placed" in this last generation. In Matthew 24:4, when his disciples asked Jesus about the time of His Second Coming, his FIRST REPLY was ...Take heed that no MAN deceive you (even me). He knew in our day, deception would be rampant. Please study this page carefully, before forming an opinion.
He Who "Letteth"
I'm going to start with the
identity of "he who letteth" (2:7), which is the same as the "what that
witholdeth" (2:6). Most Christian's today say he is the Holy Spirit, or the
Church that is removed by rapture before the man of sin appears, or even
the USA. The question is could there be ANOTHER entity mentioned in the Bible,
that would "withhold" the man of sin, as Paul clearly explains? The answer is
absolutely YES, and if I believe the Scripture does not portray the Holy Spirit,
or the Church, or even the U.S.A. as that person, then surely there must be a
clear reference to another, right?
By comparing "spiritual things
with spiritual" (Scripture with Scripture), we can nail this thing down for
sure, once and for all. I think I will give you the answer FIRST, and then
proceed to prove it. The 4th possibility and THE WINNER IS none other than
Michael the Archangel.
Michael, whose name means "who as
God" or "who is like God" is a special warrior class of angel who has
strength and power LIKE God (totally under the Lord's authority), who is
from a different angelic substance than Satan (or Lucifer meaning lightbearer).
Michael's job is a special guardian of the Jews. He is the great prince which
standeth for the children of thy people (Dan 12:1).
To prove that Michael is the one
who LETTETH, until "he" (not church -"she", or USA-many he's & she's) be
taken out of the way (2 Thess. 2:7), we must start by studying the key word "letteth".
It is the Greek word "katecho" (Strong's # 2722), which means "TO HOLD DOWN" or
"WITHOLD". It is the same Greek word used to mean WITHOLDETH in 2Thess 2:6
And now ye know what WITHOLDETH... meaning to HOLD DOWN or RESTRAIN.
The Greek is important, but to me what's even more important is what the ENGLISH
says about it, because I can't read Greek and must let someone else interpret it
for me. That's, after all, the reason the Lord preserved his Word in THE KING
JAMES ENGLISH BIBLE, so I wouldn't have to rely on some one else's
interpretation.
There is a method of Bible study
called "THE LAW OF FIRST MENTION". I have checked this out over many years, and
come to the conclusion it's a very good method to see what the Bible has to say
about a subject. Basically, if you want to know the definition of a word in the
King James Bible, you can look that word up in a Strong's concordance and find
THE FIRST VERSE THAT CONTAINS THAT WORD IN THE BIBLE. Go to that
verse, and you will most of the time be able to discern the Scriptural meaning
of the word, which is better than the Greek! (I also read the Strong's
definitions and compare the two).
The word LETTETH is first
mentioned in 2 Kings 10:24 And when they went in to offer and burnt
offerings, Jehu appointed fourscore men without, and said, If any of the men
whom I have brought into YOUR HANDS ESCAPE, he that LETTETH him
go, his life shall be for the life of him. In this verse Jehu appointed 80
trusted strong men to HOLD or WITHOLD the bad guys, and NOT let them go. Their
job was as a guard or RESTRAINER or one who would do the opposite of ESCAPE,
which would be to HOLD or WITHOLD them.
Now lets read Daniel 12:1 And
at that time (of Jacobs trouble=1260 days in Dan 12:7) shall
MICHAEL STAND UP (opposite of holding down), the GREAT PRINCE which
standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of
trouble (because Michael the RESTRAINER briefly stops restraining or
"holding down" the beast and stands up), such as never was since there
was a NATION (affecting the nation of Israel predominately) even to that
same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, everyone that shall
be found written in the book. The mental picture in my mind is that Michael,
who is more powerful than the beast and the dragon (Rev. 12:7, Jude 9) is like a
"wrestler" pinning (holding down) the beast (man of sin), until that round is
over. Then he must for a short time (6-months - 1 1/2 years for great
tribulation-wrath of Satan) stand up, and let the beast and Satan pay back
Israel (wrath of Satan-Rev.12:12) for what they had done to the prophets
and Jesus (Matt 23:43-39). This terrible time of "great tribulation" will be cut
short (Matt 24:22) by the beginning of the Day of the Lord (wrath of God
commencing at Rev. 6:17-between 6th and 7th seals).
In the 10th. chapter of Daniel, we
have further evidence that Michael's job is the restrainer of evil for the
nation of Israel. Dan.10: 21 But I will show thee that which is noted in the
Scripture of truth: and there is NONE that HOLDETH with me in
these things, BUT MICHAEL YOUR PRINCE. The Hebrew word HOLDETH is
khawzak (Strong's # 2388) meaning "to fasten upon", "to seize", or "to
RESTRAIN". Again I can't read Hebrew, so I want to see what the "law of first
mention" has to say about it. The word HOLDETH is FIRST mentioned in the Bible
in Job 2:3 And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job,
that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and upright man, one that
feareth God, and escheweth evil? and still HOLDETH FAST his
integrity, although thou movest me against him, to destroy him without cause.
The word HOLDETH is the same Hebrew word (Strong's # 2388), and It means
literally "to fasten upon", "to seize, to RESTRAIN". Job "fastened on", "held
on", and didn't "LET go" his integrity, by avoiding evil with his lifestyle. In
the same manner, Michael RESTRAINS (holds back) the beast like we would restrain
a horse by a bridle.
The "Falling Away"
Now concerning the interpretation
of the "falling away" in 2 Thess 2:3, some have the opinion this is referring to
the rapture of the church, which they say occurs BEFORE the man of sin (the
beast) is revealed. However a close reading of 2 Thess 2: 1-3 CLEARLY STATES
OTHER WISE!
2 Thess. 2:1-3 states: Now we
beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by OUR
GATHERING TOGETHER (rapture) UNTO HIM, 2) That ye be not soon
shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as
from us, as that THE DAY OF CHRIST is at hand. 3) LET NO MAN DECEIVE YOU
BY ANY MEANS: FOR THAT DAY (our gathering- the rapture- at the day
of Christ) SHALL NOT COME, EXCEPT THERE COME A FALLING AWAY
(departure from truth) FIRST, and THAT MAN OF SIN
(the beast) BE REVEALED, THE SON OF PERDITION;
The word "falling" comes from the
Greek word apostasia (Strong's # 646), and literally means DEFECTION FROM
TRUTH, apostasy, and is the feminine rending for the Greek word apostasion
(Strong's # 647) meaning DIVORCE. This "falling away" is literally A
DEFECTION AND DIVORCE FROM THE TRUTH! What is TRUTH? John 17:17
THY WORD IS TRUTH. Therefore, the "falling away" is a defection
from the Word of God (Jesus)! The first mention of the word "falling" in the
King James Bible is in Num. 24:4. Please read it yourself, and you will see an
association of the word "falling" with being in a TRANCE (altered state of
consciousness). That to me suggests DANGER. Any altered state of consciousness
(other than by the Holy Ghost), opens the door to Satanic influence and
DECEPTION!
Now you might say, today in the
21st. Century, we have over 450 translations of the English Bible alone, and you
may even be reading some of those translations hours and hours each day. But
could you still be defecting from the truth? The answer is YES, but
with one exception, and that exception is the reading and believing of The
Authorized King James Bible, that has NO copyright and is offered free to all.
Please let me explain.
Without getting into a long
explanation about the origin of Bible translations, simply stated Psalm
12:6-7 puts it in a nutshell: The words of the Lord are pure words:
as silver tried in a furnace of earth, PURIFIED SEVEN TIMES. 7)
Thou shalt keep them, O Lord, THOU SHALT PRESERVE THEM
(the words) FROM THIS GENERATION FOREVER.
Now I ask you, are "all" of those
450 different English Bibles THE PURE PRESERVED WORD OF GOD? Absolutely not!
They don't say the same things do they? Only one fits the acid test: The
Authorized King James Bible! IT ALONE IS OUR FINAL AUTHORITY ON THIS EARTH! Just
try this simple test and compare Mat.18: 11, and 1John 4:3 in the King James
Bible with some of the other bibles. I believe you will see the problem. And the
problem is, there is enough words left out in the New Testament alone in
these Revised bibles, TO FILL the books of 1st. and 2nd Peter! Ask
yourself, which one did God speak?
Around 2000 years ago, after Jesus
(the Word of God which became the Son of God) came, the PURE WORD OF GOD WAS
PRESERVED IN ANTIOCH SYRIA (Acts 11:26). Soon after that, Satan's counterfeit
(spirit of antichrist-1John 2:18) was manifested in perverted Hebrew and Greek
manuscripts, and was preserved in Alexandria Egypt (Acts 28:11). Two lines of
Bibles began racing toward the end times. God is preserving one, and Satan is
preserving the other.
The Word of God was first made
available in Hebrew and Greek. As time went on, the trade languages of the world
merged into one: English (remember the saying: the sun never sets on the
British Empire)! God had a problem. English speaking folks COULDN'T READ Hebrew
and Greek (like me), so in 1611AD, Almighty God AUTHORIZED KING "JAMES" of
England (The first English speaking king whose name means "JACOB" in Hebrew-see
Strong's # 3290) to Authorize the best translators in the land to PRESERVE THE
WORD OF GOD IN ENGLISH!
This process went along from
1611AD to 1852 AD. "Seven times" these Godly translators met and PURIFIED THE
AUTHORIZED KING JAMES BIBLE, according to Psalm 12: 6-7. The English language
also changed during that 241-year period and needed to be updated as well. In
1852 the "purification" process (Ps.12: 6-7) was completed which produced the
"purified" (7-times) King James Bible we use today. Well guess what happened
"33" years after God's "purified Word" had been completed? That's right; Satan's
COUNTERFIET (antichrist) word appeared on the scene. The un-authorized 8th
revision committee met in England with the express purpose of REVISING the King
James Bible. The 8th translation committee was headed up by two "spiritualists":
Westcott and Hort, WHO DIDN'T EVEN BELIEVE IN THE BODILY RESURRECTION OF JESUS!
They "substituted" the PURE received text (Greek and Hebrew manuscripts from
Antioch), with the "PERVERTED" Greek and Hebrew texts that came out of
Alexandria Egypt. The "key" of knowledge (Luke 11:52) had secretly been replaced
by a false antichrist "key", that had been substituted in it's place! The
Revised Version (RV), SATAN'S ANTICHRIST was born and brought forth into the
English language.
Today, (2003 AD) the PURE Word of
God (KJV) as well as SATAN'S PERVERTED "ANTICHRIST" WORD (RV = all English
bibles except the King James) have "both" been preserved for this modern day
Laodician Church (Rev. 3:14-22) to chose from. Most Christians today
unfortunately HAVE DEPARTED FROM THE TRUTH (KJV), and turned aside to follow
after "antichrist" (= All Revised versions) INSTEAD! Chose you this day whom ye
will serve: Christ (AV), or antichrist (RV)!
Amos 8:11-14 speaks of OUR
DAY. Behold. the days come, saith the Lord God. That I will send a famine
in the land, NOT A FAMINE OF BREAD, NOR A THIRST FOR WATER, BUT OF HEARING
THE WORD'S OF THE LORD: The trap is set, and the snare is laid (Luke
21:35). And modern day Christians have bought it hook line and sinker. Psalm
11:3 declares: IF THE FOUNDATIONS BE DESTROYED, WHAT CAN THE RIGHTOUS
DO? Repent before it's too late, and READ AND BELIEVE ONLY THE
AUTHORIZED KING JAMES BIBLE.
The "falling away"
therefore began in 1885 AD, and has progressed overwhelmingly to the present.
This "falling away" in 2 Thess 2:3 IS NOT THE DEPARTING OF THE SAINTS IN THE
RAPTURE BEFORE THE MAN OF SIN IS REVEALED, BUT IS THE SAINTS DEPARTURE
FROM THE FAITH (faith cometh by hearing the "pure" Words of
God-Rom.10:17).
Today, 99% of all modern day
"prophecy teachings" we hear, have the "antichrist" Revised Version bible as
their foundation. "Many" in this generation follow these false teachings,
and through covetousness they shall with feigned (counterfeit) words MAKE
MERCHANDISE OF US (read 2 Peter 2:1-3). Even the ones that use the KJV Bible
still unknowingly teach these "traditions of men" to their flocks. Mark 7:13
states: Making the Word of God OF NONE EFFECT through your traditions,
which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye. God help this
"last" generation.
I want to be found faithful, when
the Lord returns, to what the Lord has showed me and given me to do. I will
receive rewards based on the work, rather than the results. Most
Christians will not receive these truths on this page or web site. Luke 21:36
Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to ESCAPE
("FLEE" see Gen. 19:17 ) all these things that shall come to PASS, and to stand
before the Son of man.
What Is The "The Falling Away"?
Now concerning the interpretation
of the "falling away" in 2 Thess 2:3, some have the opinion this is referring to
the rapture of the church, which they say occurs BEFORE the man of sin (the
beast) is revealed. However a close reading of 2 Thess 2: 1-3 CLEARLY STATES
OTHER WISE!
2 Thess. 2:1-3 states: Now we
beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by OUR
GATHERING TOGETHER (rapture) UNTO HIM, 2) That ye be not soon
shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as
from us, as that THE DAY OF CHRIST is at hand. 3) LET NO MAN DECEIVE YOU
BY ANY MEANS: FOR THAT DAY (our gathering- the rapture- at the day
of Christ) SHALL NOT COME, EXCEPT THERE COME A FALLING AWAY
(departure from truth) FIRST, and THAT MAN OF SIN
(the beast) BE REVEALED, THE SON OF PERDITION;
The word "falling" comes from the
Greek word apostasia (Strong's # 646), and literally means DEFECTION FROM
TRUTH, apostasy, and is the feminine rending for the Greek word apostasion
(Strong's # 647) meaning DIVORCE. This "falling away" is literally A
DEFECTION AND DIVORCE FROM THE TRUTH! What is TRUTH? John 17:17
THY WORD IS TRUTH. Therefore, the "falling away" is a defection
from the Word of God (Jesus)! The first mention of the word "falling" in the
King James Bible is in Num. 24:4. Please read it yourself, and you will see an
association of the word "falling" with being in a TRANCE (altered state of
consciousness). That to me suggests DANGER. Any altered state of consciousness
(other than by the Holy Ghost), opens the door to Satanic influence and
DECEPTION!
Now you might say, today in the
21st. Century, we have over 450 translations of the English Bible alone, and you
may even be reading some of those translations hours and hours each day. But
could you still be defecting from the truth? The answer is YES, but
with one exception, and that exception is the reading and believing of The
Authorized King James Bible, that has NO copyright and is offered free to all.
Please let me explain.
Without getting into a long
explanation about the origin of Bible translations, simply stated Psalm
12:6-7 puts it in a nutshell: The words of the Lord are pure words:
as silver tried in a furnace of earth, PURIFIED SEVEN TIMES. 7)
Thou shalt keep them, O Lord, THOU SHALT PRESERVE THEM
(the words) FROM THIS GENERATION FOREVER.
Now I ask you, are "all" of those
450 different English Bibles THE PURE PRESERVED WORD OF GOD? Absolutely not!
They don't say the same things do they? Only one fits the acid test: The
Authorized King James Bible! IT ALONE IS OUR FINAL AUTHORITY ON THIS EARTH! Just
try this simple test and compare Mat.18: 11, and 1John 4:3 in the King James
Bible with some of the other bibles. I believe you will see the problem. And the
problem is, there is enough words left out in the New Testament alone in
these Revised bibles, TO FILL the books of 1st. and 2nd Peter! Ask
yourself, which one did God speak?
Around 2000 years ago, after Jesus
(the Word of God which became the Son of God) came, the PURE WORD OF GOD WAS
PRESERVED IN ANTIOCH SYRIA (Acts 11:26). Soon after that, Satan's counterfeit
(spirit of antichrist-1John 2:18) was manifested in perverted Hebrew and Greek
manuscripts, and was preserved in Alexandria Egypt (Acts 28:11). Two lines of
Bibles began racing toward the end times. God is preserving one, and Satan is
preserving the other.
The Word of God was first made
available in Hebrew and Greek. As time went on, the trade languages of the world
merged into one: English (remember the saying: the sun never sets on the
British Empire)! God had a problem. English speaking folks COULDN'T READ Hebrew
and Greek (like me), so in 1611AD, Almighty God AUTHORIZED KING "JAMES" of
England (The first English speaking king whose name means "JACOB" in Hebrew-see
Strong's # 3290) to Authorize the best translators in the land to PRESERVE THE
WORD OF GOD IN ENGLISH!
This process went along from
1611AD to 1852 AD. "Seven times" these Godly translators met and PURIFIED THE
AUTHORIZED KING JAMES BIBLE, according to Psalm 12: 6-7. The English language
also changed during that 241-year period and needed to be updated as well. In
1852 the "purification" process (Ps.12: 6-7) was completed which produced the
"purified" (7-times) King James Bible we use today. Well guess what happened
"33" years after God's "purified Word" had been completed? That's right; Satan's
COUNTERFIET (antichrist) word appeared on the scene. The un-authorized 8th
revision committee met in England with the express purpose of REVISING the King
James Bible. The 8th translation committee was headed up by two "spiritualists":
Westcott and Hort, WHO DIDN'T EVEN BELIEVE IN THE BODILY RESURRECTION OF JESUS!
They "substituted" the PURE received text (Greek and Hebrew manuscripts from
Antioch), with the "PERVERTED" Greek and Hebrew texts that came out of
Alexandria Egypt. The "key" of knowledge (Luke 11:52) had secretly been replaced
by a false antichrist "key", that had been substituted in it's place! The
Revised Version (RV), SATAN'S ANTICHRIST was born and brought forth into the
English language.
Today, (2003 AD) the PURE Word of
God (KJV) as well as SATAN'S PERVERTED "ANTICHRIST" WORD (RV = all English
bibles except the King James) have "both" been preserved for this modern day
Laodician Church (Rev. 3:14-22) to chose from. Most Christians today
unfortunately HAVE DEPARTED FROM THE TRUTH (KJV), and turned aside to follow
after "antichrist" (= All Revised versions) INSTEAD! Chose you this day whom ye
will serve: Christ (AV), or antichrist (RV)!
Amos 8:11-14 speaks of OUR DAY.
Behold. the days come, saith the Lord God. That I will send a famine in the
land, NOT A FAMINE OF BREAD, NOR A THIRST FOR WATER, BUT OF HEARING THE
WORD'S OF THE LORD: The trap is set, and the snare is laid
(Luke 21:35). And modern day Christians have bought it hook line and sinker.
Psalm 11:3 declares: IF THE FOUNDATIONS BE DESTROYED, WHAT CAN THE
RIGHTOUS DO? Repent before it's too late, and READ AND BELIEVE ONLY THE
AUTHORIZED KING JAMES BIBLE.
The "falling away"
therefore began in 1885 AD, and has progressed overwhelmingly to the present.
This "falling away" in 2 Thess 2:3 IS NOT THE DEPARTING OF THE SAINTS IN THE
RAPTURE BEFORE THE MAN OF SIN IS REVEALED, BUT IS THE SAINTS DEPARTURE
FROM THE FAITH (faith cometh by hearing the "pure" Words of
God-Rom.10:17).
Did Paul Really
Say The Rapture
Would Happen "Before" The Beast Is Revealed?
Most Christian's flock to the
TRADITIONAL interpretation of these Scriptures, instead of the TRUTH! They
blindly believe verse-3 is saying the gathering (rapture) will take place "before"
the man of sin is revealed. Friend, this is not what the text says at all. As a
matter of fact, it is saying just the opposite. Read it carefully for YOURSELF!
2 Th.2:3 Let no man deceive you
by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling
away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of
perdition; "What day" is Paul referring to?
2Th.1:10 When he shall come
to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them
that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that
day. "That day" is the day of the rapture, when we will be glorified
together with him.
Mt.17:1-2 And after six days
Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them
up into an high mountain apart, 2) And was
transfigured before them: and his face did SHINE as the sun, and his raiment was
white as the light. This is a prophecy of "That day": the rapture, which
will take place after 6000 years (2 Peter 3:8) since the "six days" of
creation in Genesis. In "that day", Jesus will take the Church "up" high, and
transfigure his and our bodies together, so he will shine in us and we in him.
Philippians 3:20-21 For our
conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for
the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: 21) Who shall change our vial
body, that it may be fashioned like unto his GLORIOUS body, according to the
working wherby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.
Colossians 3:4 When Christ,
who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with
him IN GLORY. On "THAT DAY" at the rapture, Jesus will be GLORIFIED in
his saints, as it said in 2 Th 1:10!
"Now", please re-read 2 Th. 2:3,
and you should clearly see that Paul does not want you to be deceived by
those who say the rapture comes BEFORE the man of sin is revealed at the
beginning of the great tribulation. Again, please don't forget the warning Jesus
gave his disciples as he answered their questions about the timing of the end of
the world: …TAKE HEED THAT NO MAN DECEIVE YOU (Matthew 24:5).
Prove all things, hold fast that which is good (1 Th. 5:21). Be a
Berean (Acts 17:10-11), and search the Scriptures to see if these things be so!
If not, please let me know the truth, and I will change it.
Conclusion
Today, 99% of all modern day
"prophecy teachings" we hear, have the "antichrist" Revised Version bible as
their foundation. "Many" in this generation follow these false teachings,
and through covetousness they shall with feigned (counterfeit) words MAKE
MERCHANDISE OF US (read 2 Peter 2:1-3). Even the ones that use the KJV Bible
still unknowingly teach these "traditions of men" to their flocks. Mark 7:13
states: Making the Word of God OF NONE EFFECT through your traditions,
which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye. God help this
"last" generation.
I want to be found faithful, when
the Lord returns, to what the Lord has showed me and given me to do. I will
receive rewards based on the work, rather than the results. Most
Christians will not receive these truths on this page or web site. Luke 21:36
Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to ESCAPE
("FLEE" see Gen. 19:17 ) all these things that shall come to PASS, and to stand
before the Son of man.
In His Service,
The Watchman
For a full explanation of the above and other controversial topics, please go on-line and read The Watchman Times