The Bride of Christ is holding back the Anti-Christ – 1st & 2nd Thessalonians

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Thessalonians Paul’s first recorded writing

After being on a refreshing one-year sabbatical with our Lord Jesus and His Word, starting the process of sharing what I have learned is a little harder than I expected. It started with questions: Lord why are we on the earth, and what is your purpose for our lives today in 2025?

Even though the information I have is MASSIVE, I have simply started with 1st Thessalonians highlighting Chapter 4 verse 11 & 12. In time, if you stay with me, we will master 1&2 Thessalonians together.

First foundational truth – the quiet life.

¹¹ that you also aspire to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you, ¹² that you may walk properly toward those who are outside, and that you may lack nothing.

Second foundational truth The Rapture

Paul’s first written work recorded in the Holy Scriptures gives us the foundation truth of being “RAPTURE READY” at all times.

ALIVE AND REMAIN

…by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. 1 Thessalonians 4:15

Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together. 1 Thessalonians 4:17

Alive – Those that are spiritually alive, spiritually active and vibrant, meaning there are some who are not vibrant.

Remain – those who complete the course, pass through the hard circumstances, those who are destitute yet survive. Like a remnant of a garment, a little tiny piece, a remnant at the end of the age.

Let us briefly look at Four Mysteries that Paul reveals:

Today let’s look at the power of the Future Bride of Christ on Earth.

I have done a lot of teaching on the Bride and have included a link to the Bride chapter of the 1919 book by Ira Surface First and Last. If you want to take a deeper dive into the rapture, Click for the teaching.

Chapter 9 – THE BRIDE OF CHRIST

Today I would like to introduce the bullseye of the first Rapture. Those that are Alive and Remain. What does that even look like?

The Bride identified by 5 crowns or rewards for her earthly service:

In the chart above find the first bubble at the top which says Bride of Christ, this is the first Rapture Paul addressed in Thessalonians that happens before the 7-year tribulation; this is the one we are to be prepared for.

Alive and Remain

…by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. 1 Thessalonians 4:15

Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together. 1 Thessalonians 4:17

Alive – Those that are spiritually alive, spiritually active and vibrant, meaning there are some who are not vibrant.

Remain – those who complete the course, pass through the hard circumstances, those who are destitute yet survive. Like a remnant of a garment, a little tiny piece, a remnant at the end of the age.

Mystery of The Bride of Christ – the bullseye of the first Rapture.

Bible Guy Breakdown of 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12

I will take this first part very slow because it takes wisdom to rightfully divide the Word in this chapter. First, we must understand Paul has already taught this subject in depth and in verses 1 & 2 he is only giving the bullets.

Key A – the term: the day of Christ, the day of our Lord or that day). As we read this, remember Paul is overcoming a problem that some deceiving Jews slipped into Thessalonica and spread lies that the rapture had already happened and they missed it. So it seems as if Paul is starting at the end and working his way backwards. Perhaps following the End-Time Time-Line above will help clarify.

Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, ² not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come. ³ Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless…

Key B – Order of events from the Second Coming working backwards.

6. The day of Christ, the day of our Lord or that day, will always refer to the SECOND COMING of Jesus after the rapture and after the seven-year tribulation, when He sets up His 1000-year Kingdom on earth. This verse does not describe the rapture. This is the gathering of all who will be coming back with Jesus (gathering from Heaven to Earth) to rule and reign with Him on Earth.

³ Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless…

5. The falling away will come first (this is the great apostasy).

Apostasy – a deliberate turning away, falling away, or rebellion from God and the true faith after once knowing it, forsaking His teachings, depicted through images of spiritual adultery & rebellion.

4.  And the man of sin (or lawlessness) is revealed, the son of perdition,

Perdition – final, eternal destruction, ruin, or damnation, the opposite of salvation, a state of complete separation from God’s favor, includes Judas Iscariot and the end-times Antichrist/Man of Lawlessness, signifying total allegiance to Satan and ultimate doom.

 ⁴ who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. ⁵ Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things?  (again Paul is referring to what he has already taught them when he was with them).

3. Working our way backwards ⁶ And now you know what is restraining, that he (the lawless one) may be revealed in his own time. ⁷ For the mystery (hidden truth) of lawlessness is already at work;

2. The Restrainer, who is he?  …only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way.

This is us! The restrainer is the soon to be Bride of Christ filled with the Holy Spirit of God. The remnant; looking for, waiting for, listening for Father God to say to His Son Jesus: “Go and get your Bride” and to hear the Words of Jesus: “Come up here!”

This is amazing to me. We see the pattern throughout scripture that God ALWAYS has a witness on the earth no matter how small. Today those of us ready for the rapture ARE THAT WITNESS. What an honor to be considered worthy to represent Jesus in this hour.

As many saints of God are being taken home even in these last few years, the number of us holding back lawlessness is getting smaller. This is not scary this is God’s last military unit on earth that still knows how to pray in the authority of Jesus Name and the power of The Holy Spirit.

In this hour we still share the gospel (1 Corinthians 15), we pray for the sick, feed the hungry, cast out demons, and help all in Christ to mature from Children to Young Men to Fathers in the Faith.

Question: What will happen when we are taken out of the way?

…only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way.

When the rapture happens the small size of the remnant may not be noticed by the world that we are gone, if they do the “spin” will most likely be explained as an alien abduction.  But this will be the result: when ALL of those who intimately and powerfully follow Jesus are removed from the planet at the same time, it will create a vacuum of power. It will be as if everyone in the White House left through the East door; empty offices, conferences rooms, security office, hallways, the oval office, bathrooms, even the situation room and at the same time another group enters the West door. The new group doesn’t just walk in; they are pulled in rapidly. The pressure of the vacuum sucks in very fast because there is NO MORE RESISTANCE. The Anti-Christ will seamlessly take over.

It is almost impossible to understand the true power of The Bride of Christ on Earth until she is taken out of the way.

Lord willing next Tuesday I would like to finish up with comparing The Bride of Christ that is alive and remains on the Earth today with God’s servant Gideon

¹¹ Now the Angel of the Lord… appeared to him (Gideon), and said to him, “The Lord is with you, you mighty man of valor!” Judges 6

We can be those who are ALIVE AND REMAIN when Jesus comes for us!

Therefore comfort one another with these words. 1Thessaloians 4:18

Please read 1 & 2 Thessalonians for next week as Lord willing, we will go line upon line to finish these two short letters to end this year of 2025.

Father God we are asking for discernment as we war against deception. Amen.