Like you, I agree the Holy Spirit is the Restrainer mentioned in 2 Thessalonians 2. It fits the data, that at the rapture, the Holy Spirit will no longer restrain Satan, and all hell will break loose, literally. But your article got me thinking, and in particular about the book of Job. In the first chapter we see that Satan presents himself before the Lord, and as you know, the Lord asks him to consider Job, His servant. Satan is “allowed” to do a lot of things to influence Job’s relationship with God. Satan could have done much more, but God restrained him from doing all that he might do. Applying this to the Restrainer, I wonder if an argument could be made that God Himself is the Restrainer. He certainly was able to directly control what Satan was allowed to do, and that could still be true today. It even fits with your Genesis reference where “there would come a time when His Spirit would step aside and allow a time of judgment to proceed.” Couldn’t we see that also being fulfilled after the church is removed? Yes, He could still be doing the actual restraining through His Holy Spirit, both then and now, but it puts the control in God’s hands.

John 6:44 says, “No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.” Are there people who are eternally lost because the Father has not drawn them to himself?

Of all the gospel accounts, Luke goes into the most detail about the life of Jesus’ earthly dad, Joseph. In Luke, it talks about how he and Mary had to go back to Jerusalem to find the 12 year old Jesus who ended up being left behind. Of course, we know they found him in the temple; talking to the teachers. After that, nothing is said. What do the Bible scholars say happened to Joseph?

I have believed on Jesus the Christ for many, many years. Through out my years of faith, I’ve sat under teaching of our position in Christ and the favor of the Father as He delights in those who believe, and I’ve sat under teaching that the Father does not look favorably upon our personal sins (not Sin) – like spiritual pride, fear of man, independence, etc. That the Father does not wink at my sins. I’ve also read that the closer a Believer draws to the Father, the clearer that Believer sees the sins in their life.

I lean toward living under repentance of sins (probably from all the hell-fire-and-brimstone preaching from my youth), but I also am pulled towards realizing just how much the Father loves and adores me as His child. How should a Believer hold these two practices (living within our victorious position in Christ vs. living in repentance of sins) in tension?

I have worked this around in my head for 4 years since his death. It is driving me slowly mad.

My father told me once 30 years ago that he could accept Jesus as God, but not the virgin birth and Jesus’ bodily resurrection. My dad attended a liberal Presbyterian church when he went at all which was not very much.

I went over the gospel with him. He told me that no one had ever sat him down and explained these things to him. A little later he fell on the garage steps and looked up at me and said “I am going to have to put off this Christianity stuff until later.” Later never came, to my knowledge.

Did he die saved? Can he deny the virgin birth and bodily resurrection and be considered saved?

By denying the virgin birth isn’t he saying that Jesus was not the Son of God, and was born with the same sin nature as the rest of us us. That would make him unfit as a sacrifice for sin. Right? And I am not sure about the bodily resurrection denial. What does that mean?

I really need help on this one, it has bothered me for years. Until I get an answer it will not be laid to rest in my mind.

If Jesus is God, who was He praying to in the Garden? And if He’s God, how can He be seated at the right hand of the Father?

I wanted to know what the bible says about parents leaving an inheritance for their children. Are we to leave what we have to our children? We give to many Christian organizations and our church. We want our children to be able to give where God directs them as well.

Please explain Revelation 12, verse 6. Is this the church during the tribulation period?

In Matt. 6:31-33 Jesus said we are to seek the Kingdom first, then all these things will be added to us. But isn’t there a little more to it than just being hopeful for the things of the Kingdom? Shouldn’t we be concerned about our Spiritual growth too? It is almost like some people are so excited for Christ’s return they don’t see the need to address Spirituality in this life, or does that just take care of itself as we focus on Jesus’ return? Jesus told us to “Occupy till I come.” Doesn’t that also mean we are to live life, plan, enjoy His blessings, while we build a strong relationship with Him, still putting Him first?

I am of the understanding that when we become a Christian we are baptized into Jesus Christ, yet there is a ‘Messianic’ Jewish teacher on television who teaches that when we accept Jesus Christ we are grafted in and become that “one new man”as a Jew. I think he says ‘a spiritual Jew’. While reading Romans 2:29 it says “He is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.” I understand the circumcision of the heart part, but I am not understanding the connection between the Jew inwardly. As Christians we don’t keep the law, so I don’t understand how this applies.