The Lawless One Not Revealed until Hindering Force Removed

In 2 Thessalonians we are told that the “man of sin (or lawlessness)” will not be revealed
until “he who now restrains” is taken out of the way.
Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him, we ask you,
brothers, 2
not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by some prophecy, report or letter supposed
to have come from us, saying that the day of the Lord has already come. 3Don’t let anyone
deceive you in any way, for (that day will not come) until the rebellion occurs and the man of
lawlessnessis revealed, the man doomed to destruction. 4He will oppose and will exalt himself
over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple,
proclaiming himself to be God.
5Don’t you remember that when I was with you I used to tell you these things? 6And now you
know what is holding him back, so that he may be revealed at the proper time. 7
For the secret
power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so
till he is taken out of the way. 8And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus
will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming. – 2
Thessalonians 2:1-8
In John 16:7-8 we are told that it is The Holy Spirit who will “convict the world
concerning sin…” God the Holy Spirit can never be removed from the earth, but, in the sense that
he is effectively restraining sin through Christians in whom he dwells, the time will come, once
those Christians are gone, that wickedness will abound. Today Christians are everywhere: in
their occupations, in the market place, in the schools, even in government halls. But during the
Tribulation, true believers will be persecuted and either killed or driven underground, so that
their godly influence will not be felt in the world. When the Church is taken in the rapture, the
world will be ripe for the evil one to step forth with his ungodly plans. True, multitudes of people
will turn to Christ and will become true believers in the Tribulation Period. They will also be
indwelt by the Holy Spirit, but they will not be permitted to take the place of the missing
Christians in society. They will be outcasts, and therefore the Holy Spirit will not have the same
restraining influence on the world that he now has. Most, or even all of them, will be quickly put
to death by the man of sin.

The Death of the Believer: Time and Eternity

The Apostle Paul adds further to our understanding of what happens when an individual
Christian dies:
Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an
eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. 2Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed
with our heavenly dwelling, 3
because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked…
6Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are
away from the Lord. 7We live by faith, not by sight. 8We are confident, I say, and would prefer to
be away from the body and at home with the Lord. – 2 Corinthians 5:1-3, 6-8
There is no hint here of an intermediate state between dying and going into the presence
of the Lord. Indeed the Apostle tells us that our resurrection bodies are already prepared for us;
they are waiting for us to “put on” exactly as one would put on a new set of clothes over the old!

Events between the Rapture and Christ’s Return

There are certain future events that evidently will take place between the rapture and
Christ’s glorious return as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Two of them are The Bema Seat
Judgment, and The Marriage of the Lamb.

– The Bema Seat Judgment

According to 2 Corinthians 5:10, all believers of this age must appear before the
judgment seat of Christ. Information about this event is also found in Romans 14:10; in 1
Corinthians 3:10-15; and in 1 Corinthians 4:2-5. This evaluation of every believer is not for the
purpose of dealing with sin, which was fully dealt with on the cross by the Lord Jesus. Rather it
is a reviewing stand where the quality of our Christian performance can be evaluated and
rewarded. The motives of the heart will be made known, and most importantly, only the works
the believer has undertaken by faith “in the Spirit”–by faith in the indwelling presence of God,
will survive. The “works of the flesh” (our self-efforts to serve God) will be taken away and only
what God has built into our lives since we came to know him will go with us into the next life.
(See -N: The Judgment Seat of Christ, for further details.)

– The Marriage Supper of the Lamb – Revelation 19:7-9

During his lifetime on earth, Jesus did not marry. For a man not to marry was very rare in
Israel (then as now). Following the typology in the story of Abraham’s servant going to a far
country to select a bride (Rebekah) for the patriarchs beloved son Isaac (Genesis 24), we could
say that God the Father dispatched the Holy Spirit into the world to call out and prepare a people
who would be a suitable bride. The Spirit would also give the Church a suitable wedding dowry
that she might be a fitting love-gift from the Father to his beloved Son, Jesus. All sorts of people
are welcome to be part of Christ’s bride. The invitation is open to everyone (Luke 14:16-24).
The Church can be thought of as the “Second Eve.” But whereas the original Eve was one
woman, the Bride of Christ consists of millions of men, women, and children! When we are all
brought together as a family following the rapture we shall join with our Lord in a great marriage
feast.
Christ’s Bride is in Heaven before he returns in glory to the earth!
7Let us rejoice and be glad
and give him glory!
For the wedding of the Lamb has come,
and his bride has made herself ready.
8
Fine linen, bright and clean,
was given her to wear.” (Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of the saints.)
9Then the angel said to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of
the Lamb!’ And he added, “These are the true words of God.” – Revelation 19:7-9

Our Return with Christ

To understand the events that take place after the rapture, we need to bear in mind that
there is a sequence of events taking place that occurs “in heaven” and there is a parallel sequence
of events occurring “on earth.” In the book of Revelation note is made of those who “dwell in
heaven” and those who dwell on earth” during The Tribulation Period. The former group
“dwelling in heaven” is the Church. We who comprise the Church will have been given our
resurrection bodies and will walk in the company of the Lamb and his holy angels. Others who
will be living during this same time period will be:
● Non-believers,
● God’s 144,000 Jewish evangelists and,
● Their converts, who are the saints of the Tribulation period.
Many of these saints will become martyrs during the Tribulation period, but they will not
be given their resurrection bodies until the Tribulation ends (Revelation 20:4).
Appendix L: The Return of Jesus Christ in Power Glory and Splendor, helps to
understand that the return of Christ has two aspects.
His silent return for his Church at the rapture is described by the use of the Greek word
parousia, which means “coming alongside and remaining with” someone. We should think of the
rapture as the first phase of the second coming of Christ. He will come for his Church, and he
will remain with them forever after. But he will also come to be with the 144,000 and with the
Tribulation Saints as well during the final seven years of world evangelism, judgment and
restoration.
After the seven years of the Tribulation has run its course Jesus will step out of hiding,
and appears in the sky, bringing us with him. This event, described by the Greek word
epiphaneia, which means “shining forth,” is the open public unveiling of Jesus–the second
coming in power and glory.
All this careful reading of scripture tells us that heaven is not far away. It is in fact merely
another dimension of reality. Earthly, material realities occupy only a small localized region of
the realm the Bible calls the heavenly places. The material world is embedded in the spiritual.
Therefore Jesus is never far away from any of us. The old notion that when Jesus takes us to
heaven we are somehow far removed to a golden land beyond the farthest star is not a biblical
view of heaven at all! We need to adjust our thinking to the likelihood that Jesus will be on the
earth during the entire Tribulation Period, invisible, but probably appearing and disappearing in
the same mysterious manner he did during the 40 days following his resurrection and his
ascension. On earth, but unseen by unbelievers, Jesus will be the Commander and Chief of the
armies of the Lord. He will also direct the 144,000 and their strategic work. Jesus will apparently
involve himself personally in the shepherding of his faithful remnant hidden at Petra during the
last half of the Tribulation period. When Jesus returns, he will come not from “outer space,” but
simply step back into our space-time frame once again, bringing his Church with him.
The Bible assures us that authority has been given to Jesus (Matthew 28:18). However,
he does not yet reign on the earth. For two thousand years the saints of God have prayed that he
might soon come and reign on earth as he already does reign in heaven. In Revelation Chapter 4,
a great scroll, which we may think of as the title deed to the earth, is handed to Jesus by his
Father. Jesus is called to begin his long awaited reign on earth.
He will accomplish this in stages, by first coming for his Church, and then by
strategically directing and orchestrating all of the events of the end time. Evidently he will
establish a beachhead on the planet, a command center for those military operations that will
culminate in his final appearance in public as earth’s legal King of Kings and Lord of Lords. His
activities during the Tribulation will not be detected by unbelievers, though there will be rumors
he has returned. Many events occurring on earth, due to the clandestine operations of the
144,000, will cause earth’s inhabitants to be nervous (Matthew 24:21-30).
If we consider all the parallel events the book of Revelation describes, including the
throwing-down of Satan and his hosts to earth during this last three and a half years, then it
makes sense that our Commander-and-Chief should establish his battle headquarters for the end
time right here on earth. This is where the final conflict will be fought, including the Seed of the
Woman winning a final victory over the Seed of the Serpent.
But the Church is the Body of Christ and the Head can not be separated from the Body!
So we might begin to think of ourselves as present on earth with Jesus during the Tribulation
period. Our resurrection bodies would make us invulnerable to sin and death. Furthermore, like
our Lord, we would be invisible to the inhabitants of the earth.
When Christ returns, it is with “armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.”
11I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called
Faithful and True. With justice he judges and makes war. 12His eyes are like blazing fire, and on
his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. 13He
is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. 14The armies of heaven
were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. –
Revelation 19:11-14
This is undoubtedly a picture of his redeemed (Revelation 3:18), with glorified, immortal
bodies (1 Corinthians 15:35-50), able to descend from the heavens without the aid of a
spacecraft! We are told in Colossians 3:4, ―When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also
will appear with him in glory. ―
The book of Revelation tells what we will do, once we have returned with Christ:
Blessed and holy are those who have part in the first resurrection. The second death has no power
over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand
years. -Revelation 20:6