good morning church family and ministry
friends this is pastor stephen brooks
traveling on the road today as we are
once again
in southern california doing some
ministry
sharing jesus christ lifting up the name
of jesus
and teaching god's people the good word
of god
but i'm here today to greet you on the
internet and to bring god's word to you
right where you're at praise god so i
welcome you today
to this online church service and it is
a wonder of joy
that we can gather together and hear the
word of god ministered
and the holy spirit will speak to you
the word that will be the spiritual food
and nourishment
that will sustain you and empower you
for this coming day and this coming week
praise god so i'm so happy that you're
here today
now we're going to honor the lord and
we're going to receive the holy tides
and
offerings we're going to bring them into
the storehouse of god
and i want to build your faith for god's
best for your finances
and you have to understand that so much
of the christian
faith is built upon what we would call
judeo-judaic principles now
the old testament is the foundation
and in the old testament we have types
shadows we have many things that we can
look back to and in the day in which
they were living
those symbols were veiled but now we
have the substance we have the reality
in the new covenant through the messiah
the lord jesus christ
but my friends when we become born again
let's say that you're not jewish and you
become born again you
you receive christ as your lord and
savior well
so often because we did not have that
jewish
judaic foundation of knowing the old
testament scriptures
then we walked into this covenant
in many ways not knowing what rightfully
belonged to
us and how god also has worked with his
people in the past of his people israel
and any jewish person would know
and understand that prosperity is a good
thing
and that poverty is a curse
but you know from a gentile perspective
when i got saved and when i was raised
in the church that i was raised in
we didn't know anything about our
jewish roots we didn't really even
grasp the idea that the bible
all 66 books were written by all
jewish men we really didn't understand
the truth that
god worked with a man named abraham and
established covenant with him and then
through his grandson
whose name which changed from jacob to
israel
then god had covenant with the nation
and then
that goes on and that goes on until the
messiah comes and when the messiah does
uh when he did come he was jewish of
course he still is jesus christ
of nazareth he is a jew
and we didn't really recognize that in
the church
denomination that i was growing up in we
never really stopped to
get the import that all 12 apostles
were jewish and so you know that paul
was jewish and they they have a jewish
mentality
even in a world uh in paul's day that
had become very secular
and even in a day when rome ruled over
much
of what was the former kingdom of israel
but my friends as a new testament
believer
you have to understand that in god's
eyes
when he blesses there is provision
there is increase there is abundance so
that you can do what you're called to do
and that you can have overflow so that
you can be a blessing that you can be a
giver
and that when the curse is engaged
through disobedience then one of the key
attributes of the curse
working in the in the life of a nation
in the life of an individual is lack
of resources always struggling
financially
trying to figure out what to do going
from one financial dilemma to another
that is a product of the curse
and the curse is all an offshoot of sin
and we see that in deuteronomy chapter
28
and this is something as a new testament
believer
washed with the blood of jesus redeemed
through his precious blood
with your tickets stamped to heaven and
on your way to glory
my friends you have to understand your
roots in god
hallelujah and god said very clearly
in his word deuteronomy chapter 28 verse
1
and if you may want to highlight and
underword that word if
that denotes certain terms and
conditions
that must be met in order for the
covenant to be enacted in the life
of a child of god and if you faithfully
obey the voice of the lord your god so
that if denotes obedience
if you faithfully obey so there's
conditions
obey what the voice of the lord your god
being careful
to do all his commandments that i
command you today
the lord your god will set you high
above all the nations of the earth
and all these blessings please say that
right where you're at today
or as you're it could be anywhere in the
world maybe you're in
georgia maybe you're in germany maybe
you're in australia
praise god maybe you're in uh russia
praise the lord
but just say that today praise god shout
it out
and say that the lord is good to you and
that he has
blessings say it say blessings
not curses blessings for you praise god
now and all these blessings
shall come upon you and overtake you
if you if you if now we have the word if
again
please underline it again highlight it
again if you
obey the voice of the lord your god and
then it goes into all of the blessings
uh verses 3 all the way through verse
14.
talks about the blessings and god wants
to set you up
god wants you blessed and that includes
ample provision
that includes overflow so that you can
be a blessing to others praise god so
you have the empowerment to complete
your assignment
and that you also have a heart to see
what god is doing in the lives of others
and you can be a blessing in these uh
extra areas that you have a heart
connecting connecting by the holy spirit
to get involved with also praise god
amen and you cross the finish line of
your destiny
and you hear one day one day you'll hear
well done
good and faithful servant come on in to
the
home the heavenly mansion i've prepared
for you praise the lord but my friends
if
if we don't follow those conditions
if again the word if if we do not obey
the voice of god his commandments his
his instructions
somebody said this is not a book of do's
and don'ts this is a love letter
yes this is a love letter from god
revealing how much he loves you
telling you what to do to please him and
also revealing what
is displeasing to him and what will
allow the enemy to come into your life
and cause
havoc and if if you walk in the
commandments of the lord
then all of the blessings they just
start chasing after you
running you down overtaking your life
but my friends you don't want to be
involved in sin
because sin opens the door to the devil
and then the devil will come in
and he will inflict one of his aged
long time traditions of just one of the
many aspects of garbage that he brings
into a person's life which is what
not enough money insufficiency and also
when you see nations turn away from god
there is a curse that can come up on
nations where nations begin to go into
debt
we see our nation of the united states
of america
with unprecedented levels of debt
running into the trillions and trillions
of dollars
and of course with plans to you know
print more money
like another six or seven trillion
dollars and all of that
will eventually lead to hyper inflation
uh and
the way to cure that is through
repentance
but that's also one of the signs of
judgment upon a nation
is when they're just going further and
further in the debt and further and
further away from god
but my friends you can't always control
what others do
but you can certainly govern your life
and you can walk in the light of god's
word
and obey his commandments and walk in
all
of these spectacular blessings
blessed shall you be in the city and
blessed
shall you be in the field blessed shall
be the fruit of your womb and the fruit
of your ground than the fruit of your
cattle
the increase of your herds and the young
of your flock blessed shall be your
basket and your kneading bowl blessed
shall you be when you come in and
blessed shall you be when you go out i
mean you're blessed all the time
glory to god the lord will cause your
enemies who rise against you to be
defeated before you
they shall come out against you one way
and flee before you seven ways the lord
will command the blessing on you and
your barns and on all you
and all that you undertake and he will
bless you in the land that the lord your
god
is giving you so the lord is very
interested in blessing you the lord has
a plan for you to get to the top
hallelujah what does it require pastor
stephen
obedience to all of his commandments to
all of his principles to all of his ways
praise god so get into the word
dig into the word find out what pleases
the lord
and do it find out what is displeasing
to the lord and
stay away from it praise god because the
conditions the blessings
are uh they are conditional
they are terms and conditions that we
must meet in order for the blessing to
flow
praise god now we're going to
meet those conditions and we're going to
do it out of a heart of love
we're going to show honor to god not
just with lip service
but by literal obedience by
getting involved in what he said to do
and the lord said that the tithe belongs
to him
so 10 of all of our increase of all of
our income
10 we're going to give to the lord and
then we also have the opportunity to sow
seed or to give an offering something
above the tithe
and my friends god wants to keep that
reign of heaven
that reign of ideas and illumination
coming down upon your mind and
that's the blessing of the tither and
thank god for tithers
where where would the world be
without tithers where would the church
be
without tithers and i want to say thank
you for all of you that tithe and honor
the lord
with the 10 because if it were not for
tithers
you wouldn't see one church building
anywhere
because it's the tithers who built the
church buildings through their
tides they're see if there's no tithing
there's no consistent income and the
pastor
and the the board of directors or the
eldership they can't
have any uh clear direction or vision
because the money could be up and down
like a roller coaster but when there's
tithing members
now they can plan financially and then
they can implement those plans and the
next thing you know
there's another beautiful facility
honoring god
uh making available a house of worship
where the word can be preached around
the world so thank god for tithers my
friends
god is blessing you to be a blessing
now let's bring the tides and offerings
into the storehouse of the lord if you
prefer to mail them in
please send your tithe and offerings to
stephen brooks international
p.o box 717 moravian falls
north carolina 28654
if you would like to bring your tithing
tides and offerings in online
you can do so from anywhere in the world
day or night please go to our ministry
website stevenbrooks.org and you can
click
on the link on the home page it has a
red heart on it it says
give you can click that you'll see the
box
that you can click to bring your tithe
in and then you'll see a couple of other
projects that we're focused on right now
and if you would like to sew a special
seed and offering into one of those
projects
it would be greatly appreciated praise
the lord
oh by the way on the parking lot project
we are
uh scheduled in with the paver to come
out and put down
the uh beautiful new uh uh
top uh asphalt or whatever you call it
tar and gravel all of that good stuff
it's gonna look absolutely beautiful
and uh they're working uh to get towards
uh towards us very very soon as they're
very very busy
doing a lot of work for the state and
county but this beautiful paving company
is gonna come in
and we're gonna have a fantastic looking
parking lot when they're done and i'm
excited about them coming very very soon
as i just spoke to the paver just a few
days ago
so thank you for sowing into that
project and any giving
that's given into that project will go
towards that need
praise god father bless your people
father anybody with the right mind
knows that the blessing is a good thing
anybody
unless they're living in an insane
asylum would have to know that the curse
and the awful products of the curse is
something that's bad
so father we just thank you for your
blessing we receive it
we walk in the light of your word that
every blessing father god that you have
outlined in your scripture
plus all of the good stuff in the new
covenant let it touch
the lives of your people and may it
distinguish them
with a mark of honor a mark of beauty
and grace
and a mark of excellence in their life
thank you father for no lack
in jesus name we pray shout amen
praise the lord hallelujah now today
i'd like for you to take your bibles and
go with me to isaiah chapter
60 and this is a
prophetic year this is an isaiah
chapter 60 type year this is not of
course
only for this year but i want you to
understand that we are now
uh moving in an accelerated manner
into the last days of the end times
and we need to know some basic
understandings of the sequence
of god's unfolding of these end time
events
and i don't want you to be in the dark i
want you to have prophetic
understanding biblical insight so that
you could have the hope
and the faith to move forward in a time
where there's going to be a lot of gross
darkness within the earth
so let's pray heavenly father as we jump
into today's message
let your word be quickened by the holy
spirit to jump
into our hearts not just into our heads
but into our hearts
and father help us to do all that we can
while we still have time and help us to
always carry that hope
of expectancy of your return
and of our ultimate homegoing we thank
you father
in jesus name we pray amen
now i would like to start in isaiah
chapter 60. we're going to look at this
just for a moment almost like a
refresher
and then we're going to move on into
some of the other subjects i would like
to talk about today including
the antichrist and a few other things
along that line
praise the lord now
isaiah chapter 60 verse 1 arise
shine for your light
has come it's your time you may feel
like you've been passed by you may feel
like
uh you're the book that's not pulled off
the shelf
but i want you to say that the spite
light the spotlight of heaven
is moving over into your direction and
it's now time for you to shine
arise shine for your light has come and
the glory
of the lord has risen upon you for
behold
darkness shall now shall be in future
tense
well we're there we have arrived the
future's here
for behold darkness shall cover the
earth
and thick darkness the peoples
my friends that's not an over
exaggeration
there is gross darkness thick darkness
upon the people unlike anything i've
ever seen before
if you look at pictures of world history
over the last
100 years and you look at the
degradation
of morals within society it's shocking
because while we've made many
advancements in technology
many advancements in medicine whereas
over the last 6 000 years things were
pretty steady
up until about 200 years ago then
illumination began to come and
uh you know then we got into the
industrial revolution and things like
that and things picked up pace where we
could
uh advance uh our lifestyle better and
move forward
but today although we have had
advancements
in areas that bring uh some relief to
humanity
there has now been a place where we are
in an area where
much of the people of the earth don't
want
anything to do with god they want to
govern their own lives
nations want to remove the laws of god
completely away we've seen the taking
down
of the ten commandments is that now
being considered something old-fashioned
and uh in other words man says we can
get it all worked out we don't really
need god
but my friends this is all to be
expected because we are in a time
where there's gross darkness upon the
people and you can go to any city
in america and just walk around the
cities and you just see
that people really need the lord you see
it's not uncommon now to see
uh men and women walking around in
public society
with hardly any clothes on i mean even
on
on airplanes on trains it's just i see
people
sometimes now with hardly any clothes on
and it's now become normal
now if you went back 100 years ago
that would have been something so
outlandish that society
never ever would have accepted anything
like that you would have been an outcast
you would you would be ashamed and
you would be embarrassed but today today
that has become normal
that has become acceptable and this is
gross darkness
and the early church was a very powerful
force
in the earth of course we are familiar
with the book of acts
but as the church moved into the first
second
and third century there was a lot of
persecution
but the church held strong but once
constantine came to power
and christianity became an official
state religion that fiery uh
faith and that great anointing that was
upon the early church
began to lift because it went from a
persecuted state
to now a pampered state and the church
and really europe and much of the world
slipped into what historians call the
dark ages
the dark ages basically be in a time
from 476
a.d to about 1000 a.d but even though
there was a lot of darkness on the earth
at that time and what i mean about
darkness i'm not talking about nighttime
i'm talking
about really nations and cities
going back into paganism
uh the worship of different gods the
worship of
rocks and sticks and trees and and just
uh really paganism
paganism even even drifting into really
what's truly behind it which is satanism
but
there were still fires of illumination
that were burning throughout uh certain
parts of europe and a lot of that had to
do with
monasticism monasticism basically being
christians who wanted separation from
the filth of the world
who sought some remoteness from all of
the areas where sin was really practiced
and they wanted hubs of revival hubs of
spirituality
and so often those monastic centers
turned into
monasteries the monasteries were centers
of spiritual enlightenment
and also public education because
anytime
monasteries were established in early
europe particularly in the celtic areas
of ireland and scotland
those monks would always establish not
only a monastery but a school
right next to it so there was teaching
of the gospel
as well as teaching people how to read
and write and if it were not
for the celtic saints
the irish saints and the scottish
saints all of europe would have slipped
in basically into
uh paganism going back into old forms of
just
worshiping rocks and worshiping gods of
weather
and crazy stupid stuff like that so uh
that held strong for about about a
thousand years before that began to cool
and of course if you go to europe today
go to ireland or some of those places
you could tell well
they had a great move of the spirit of
back yonder but it's not really
happening today
today it's just remains of old uh
monasteries and
beautiful old buildings that once were
but
that old spirit of drudism which is in
many forms
satanism is now creeping back old forms
of paganism
of wanting to get around a tree and
chant and hug a tree and stuff like that
those things are trying to come back so
there
there is an age in which we're at now
where a lot of society just wants to
move away from god and go
into uh gross darkness and that
some of that we're not going to be able
to stop why it is a prophetic
pre-planned event that has to unfold
that has to take place but here's the
good news
while that is going on god's glory
is going to be rising up on you in
very very supernatural ways
woo praise the lord and my friends this
is going to be the church's finest hour
for behold darkness shall cover the
earth and thick darkness to peoples but
the lord will arise upon you and his
glory will be seen
upon you
praise the lord yes yes uh
the american culture in many ways
has is just like rolling in the mud
everything that is ungodly and unholy is
now celebrated
in magazines new newspapers and
television and stuff like that
most of the stuff that is perverted is
celebrated now
and that which is actually true in just
and right
and the eyes of god is mocked and
spurned but my friends
while there is gross darkness spiritual
darkness and massive spiritual blinders
upon people
the church is going to be illuminated
like a
light like a city on a hill at night
time and people are going to see the
glory of the lord
and they're going to see the mighty
miracles and there's going to be another
great shaking another move of god
before things are wrapped up and before
the restraining force
is removed out of the earth and then the
antichrist will come
on the scene speaking of that let us
take our bibles
and go over to that fascinating subject
found in 2 thessalonians chapter 2.
2 thessalonians chapter 2. now every
believer
needs to have some understanding of the
end times that
doesn't necessarily mean you're one of
the people that loves to go to
you know eschatology conferences and
things like that although i have always
found
end time events to be very fascinating
and if you're a christian and you're not
really interested in that
it's probably because you don't know how
really juicy and good it actually
is but i want you to have at least my
friends a
good grasp of this sequence
of how things must go step by step in
the last days
and it when you understand the sequence
you will realize
time is short and so i've got to get as
much done while i still
have time available praise the lord and
we're going to take advantage of that so
let's look at this just for a moment
we're now in second thessalonians
chapter 2
verse let's go to verse 3 let no one
deceive you in any way for that day
will not come unless the rebellion comes
first
now don't let anyone deceive you there
were
people that at that time false teachers
false prophets that had told many in the
church hey
the rapture or the catching up of the
saints has already taken place
we've missed it and so that upset a lot
of young christians
and so paul had to teach them
and ground them in the understanding of
end time events and basically say no no
no that that has not yet happened
and so he's now bringing back their
attention
some things that he has previously
taught them
let no one deceive you in any way for
that day will not come
unless the rebellion comes first or
the falling away the rebellion and there
are two falling aways there's the
falling away of society
from a respect and reverence for god
and his laws and we see that happening
very much where there's now gross
darkness coming upon people and it's uh
it's almost like normal now for people
to walk around with hardly any clothes
on
in public places i'm not just talking
about at the beach i'm talking about in
the library
on a plane in a restaurant and
nothing's said it's now become
acceptable and other forms of perversion
that are not only
tolerated they're actually encouraged
and so
we see that but there's also the falling
away in the sense of many in the church
who the whole time while they were in
the church
had a lot of shakiness the whole time
they were there
and so it's not surprising that we're
actually seeing those type of people
fall away by the droves right now
and i uh read an article
uh just the other day written by a
homosexual man
who interviewed a very very well-known
christian pop singer and this was a
christian pop singer that back in the
80s was probably the most famous
christian musician in the world uh
and you know never spirit field never
pentecostal or anything like that
just what we would call contemporary
christian musician
well i read the article and at the
conclusion
or at the end of the article that at the
end of the interview where this
homosexual man is interviewing this
this lady former uh christian uh famous
christian musician he
wraps up his he wraps up his talk by
saying
i am so relieved and so happy to know
after having interviewed this woman and
what she told him
he said i'm so happy to know that god
accepts me as a homosexual
and that everything is right between me
and god and i just thought wow
she has completely misled him she has
not told him the truth why
a lot of these celebrities within the
church they
want to be accepted they want the world
to recognize them and honor them
but in order to do that they have to
compromise they have to bow they're
going to have to
do certain things that go against god's
standard so there's a falling away
there is a falling away and we're seeing
it left and right we're seeing it with
uh worship leaders that uh
but but you know when you look you see
these people were never solid in the
first place let me say this about music
if the doctrine of the person writing
the songs
if their doctrine is messed up the
lyrics
in their songs are going to be messed up
if their doctrine is all mushy
and it's not solid and it doesn't even
have
um a bite to it
where the gospel is actually shared in a
way where people
where people know that yes god loves
them but hey there's going to be a
judgment day
one day and we're going to all stand
before the lord and be judged
according to his word and that word will
be the standard by which we're judged
and how we lived our lives well if you
have bad doctrine
you're going to have bad lyrics and
eventually if you do that for you know 5
years 10 years 20 years
that is going to produce a generation of
people
that really don't know the bible and we
are living
in and we're living in a time
where very very few christians actually
read their bibles i mean if you were to
tell somebody
hey you know this is what god said in
genesis well they think you're talking
about a car
that they know more about a automobile
company named genesis
than they do about the book of genesis
and the bible they didn't know where
it's at
and i have met people in the church
before that have been in the church for
years
that if i mention a certain book in the
bible they've never even heard of the
book before
they've heard of the bible but if you
mention like a major book they're like
what's that
[Laughter]
well it's one of the most famous books
in the bible well i've never heard of it
what does that tell you it just tells
you that people are not reading the
bible
and they're going to these types of
churches that are not equipping them to
stand
and so as the falling away takes place
as this rebellion takes place
it's not shocking to see these type of
people you know fall away because they
were never grounded
in the first place now let no one
deceive you in any way for that day will
not come unless the rebellion comes
first
and and the man of lawlessness is
revealed
the son of destruction who opposes
and exalts himself against every
so-called god or
object of worship so that he takes his
seat in the temple of god
proclaiming himself to be god do you not
remember
that when i was still with you i told
you these
things now listen that again what paul
said do you not remember that when i was
still
with you paul was with the church in
thessalonica for only a few months
probably about four months
but while he was there he told them
he explained to them the unfolding of
these end time events
that deal with the mystery of
lawlessness that deal with the man of
sin
that deal with the antichrist and he
pointed all of these things out to them
when i told you these things and you
know
you know now in the greek that phrase
you know could also be translated as
i've already told you this
you know i've already told you this
so think about that if paul was with the
church
in thessalonica for only a few months
maybe maybe
four months max and he's only there for
a few months to get
these young christians grounded isn't it
fascinating
that he taught them eschatology isn't it
fascinating that he revealed to them
end time events and that they needed to
have an understanding of that
and he got them so grounded in the word
that they even knew
what the restraining force was that was
holding back the man of sin
wow now how much more should we even if
this is like like for myself as a
minister even if this is not my hot
subject even if this is not my primary
teaching assignment
should should we not still all have at
least a basic understanding
of what's going to happen in the end
times i believe we should
and the apostle paul certainly thought
it was important because
he refers back that he is he's already
taught them all of this
and he was only there a short time so we
need to understand these things as well
and you know what is restraining him
there is something or someone
that is restraining the antichrist
and you know what is restraining him now
so that he may be revealed in his time
so that he may be revealed in his kairos
kairos is the greek word for time used
here not kronos kairos
denoting he's got a special moment when
he's going to come out
that's his moment that's his special
time to go out and deceive the world
and you know what is restraining him now
so that he may be revealed in his time
for the mystery of lawlessness is
already
at work there's a mystery of lawlessness
now sometimes you see
certain politicians with no knowledge of
the bible
no knowledge of god even though they act
religious after all they all do
most of them do but that doesn't mean
they they're even born again
and so you'll you'll see them say things
like oh that's just a conspiracy theory
they'll hear some kind of a statement
and even if the statement is true
they'll say that's just a conspiracy
theory well actually it's the mystery of
lawlessness
and many of these things that are said
are true
of these underworkings of evil men that
want a one world government
that want a one world controlled system
that where one person is governing the
whole thing under that person's
leadership
one they want a one world economic
system they want to
they want to do uh basically rule the
world and somebody will say oh that's
just a
conspiracy theory well that is part of
the mystery of lawlessness
it's happening right beneath their nose
but there's a mystery element to it
where it's not
out in the public because if the public
heard about it the public would say this
is crazy we don't all want to die we
don't all want to be
slaves to a totalitarian system or crazy
ruler
we want freedom we want independence so
it goes beneath the radar
and it's the mystery of lawlessness and
while it's not something that i i look
into because we're actually told by paul
do not look into the mystery of
lawlessness we aren't now we all
we all we are instructed to look into
the mystery of righteousness
but not the mystery of lawlessness why
uh
you'll notice very quickly it's just
it's like going down a rabbit hole
it's just a never-ending spiral a bad
weird perverted stuff
that the devil is trying to do through
wicked and corrupt people
so if if that's all you listen to or
look at
you're going to end up getting very
discouraged you're going to end up
thinking oh
oh there's evil everywhere so we're
actually told
do not look or meditate into the mystery
of lawlessness
because you don't you don't need to
you're instructed not to but you don't
need to because
these things cannot happen these things
cannot even really unfold the way
it's all wanting to until the
restraining force
is taken out of the earth praise god now
for the mystery of lawlessness is
already at work
only he who now restrains it will do so
until he is out of the way i want to
read it again
only he who now restrains it okay so
this is
referring to the restrainer will do so
will restrain until he is out of the way
well this is a very tricky verse in some
ways to interpret
because the restrainer in the greek
it's actually the word in the greek is
actually it's neuter
and it's also uh when it's used at other
times
it's masculine and so you know
translators are like well
who is be who or what is being referred
to here as the restrainer
and there have been different views
interpretations throughout church
history of
actually you know just who they thought
the restrainer was now of course it
would have been nice
to have been in paul's classes there in
thessalonica when he was teaching
and revealing who the restraining force
was because they all knew who it was
um it would have been nice if they could
have recorded that on dvd
and we could watch the class so as it is
we have the scripture so we have to
study that to get the right
interpretation now
throughout church history particularly
in the early church
they thought the early christians
thought that the restrainer
not those who were in paul's classes i'm
talking about those who were not
privileged
for that but other christians thought
that the restraining force could be
the roman senate particularly with nero
when nero was ruling from rome because
nero
well he was a real nut job and if you
read anything about him
you realize this man was he was severely
demon-possessed
but he was possessed but he was still
able to carry out his administrative
functions
but he was a very diabolical evil person
especially against
christians and many of the early
christians thought
that the roman senate was the
restraining force restraining
nero to a certain degree where he
couldn't do everything he wanted to do
although he was doing some bad things he
couldn't go like total hog wild
so eventually uh you know nero dies and
you had other emperors many of them were
perverted too but the whole thing goes
away though
there's no more romance in it and so
forth so that that was
their idea but obviously that wasn't a
correct interpretation
and this may seem a little strange but
some uh some christians
have actually thought that this
restrainer this restraining force could
even be michael the archangel
because we know in according to the book
of daniel
that he is able to restrain and hold
back certain things and that michael
is very very powerful as an archangel as
as the warrior angel the head of the
warring angels
but i don't think that fits him from the
perspective of a global
restrainer now let's go further
many view the restraining force as being
the church and i think there is some
truth to that
but i would say we would have to define
that some because you have many in the
church
that are full of compromise you have
many in the church that
um are very very worldly and it's not
like they're going to hold the ground
if it really matters they're not trying
to restrain evil they're trying to
pacify evil and get along with it so
that's
not what we're talking about but i think
we could make a good case that this is
referring to the overcoming church
now others think this is a reference to
the holy spirit
but it's difficult to say that this is
the holy spirit and that
when he who is restraining is taken out
of the way
then the antichrist is going to come
because that kind of refers
that the holy spirit's going to leave
the planet
and if he leaves the planet well how
would anybody be able to get saved
or you know repent and say oh i blew it
i bought the lie and
you know god i repent save me you can't
be saved without the holy spirit
so if he's no longer in the earth
working in the lives of people
even convicting of sin then that
couldn't happen so
i think this is primarily referring to
the overcoming church of the last days
the great
end time army that joel mentions that he
prophesies about in joel chapter 2
and i believe this is referring here to
the conquering church
of the end times praise the lord only he
who now restrains it
will do so until he is out of the way
now the moment the res the restrainer
the restraining force is taken out of
the way verse 8
now can happen and then what does it
then mean
once that restraining force is removed
or gone
now there are many theologians that say
this is a reference that
this is the overcoming church caught up
in the catching up of the air
first one's out so to speak and could
very well be
and then the lawless one will be
revealed so the moment the restraining
force
is pulled back the antichrist can
finally come forth
and all of this mystery of lawlessness
with this underground
agenda of a one world system one world
government one world religion
one world economic system where you
can't buy or sell without
the mark a totalitarian delight
it's finally gonna roll full speed once
the restraining force is
out of the way well pastor stephen what
would happen if this
is true with in the sense that this is
the victorious church
removed removed and and then
here comes the antichrist and we start
rolling into the end times and what
happens if you're not on the bus
going out well you have a couple of
options one would probably be
the find a cave out in the middle of
nowhere and get ready for some uh you
know better what start watching some
survival shows on tv
or number two just stay where you are
hold your faith and get grounded and
most likely get ready to get martyred
because that's probably what's going to
happen
because with that coming system with
that coming system there will be
complete control
over people and if you take that mark if
you take that mark which
will be either in the forehead or in the
hand probably
right here in this little area of your
skin in your hand if you take that mark
you're done for it's not like you can
take it and say well god understands
i'll just repent and
god you'll understand no when you take
that mark you link up with that beast
system and that not only marks you as
being able to buy and sell
but your your mind is hijacked they've
got you and you're you're linked with a
system where
you're done you're going to be uh like
it's like you got a lobotomy you're
still alive and living
but you're going to lose a lot of uh i
would say you've surrendered your will
and that that's a that's a done for
thing so it's going to be a wild wild
time
praise god an awful time but before
the man of sin can even be revealed
much less get out and do his thing
before he can
even be revealed the restrainer
the restraining force has to be taken
out of the way
what does that mean it means he hasn't
been taken out of the way whether you
believe it's the church or the holy
spirit
it doesn't matter all that we can know
for sure is that this force has not yet
been taken out of the way
until it's taken out of the way he can't
come forth what does that mean
it means we have a little more time
[Laughter]
we have some more time do you have
friends
that don't know jesus you need to be you
need to be praying for them
do you have loved ones that maybe once
walked with god who
who are not not serving god who've
gotten away you need to pray for them
you need to warn them you need to keep
trying to drop those little
tidbits of truth into their heart and
praying that they will turn from their
sin
and come back to the lord
praise god and i i believe that jesus of
course
is not willing that any should perish
but that all should come to the
knowledge of the truth and he is the
truth
and so there's a little more time
available and during this time
we need to do all that we can and i
believe that even though there's gross
darkness in the earth
yes this is the church's final hour and
this is the coming forth of the mighty
joel
army joel chapter 2. this is the army of
the lord
and this army is going to begin to rise
and
even as we see foreshadowing of things
the antichrist would like to do with
control and
uh crazy rules that strip your freedom
my friends the church will move forward
in a
supernatural protection and
we are going to see some pressure but if
you will not compromise to the pressure
you will be qualified to be in that
that army of the lord that phenomenal
army that
joel saw in the future a day in which we
are now moving into
stop and think about this just for a
moment let me give you a great example
this would be from the book of exodus
chapter 1
verse 22 and it says then pharaoh
commanded all his people
every son that is born to the hebrews
you shall cast
into the nile but you shall let every
daughter
live can you imagine the the sick
the sick mentality of a ruler
the tell people take your son
and throw him into the nile river and
watch while the crocodiles eat him up
can you imagine the perversion the level
of twistedness in a person
to do to tell those that are beneath his
authority
to do something like that and you know
what
many of the jewish people did but not
moses's parents they did not bow to that
and i love how this is recorded in
hebrews 11 verse 23
by faith moses when he was born was
hidden for three months by his parents
because they saw that the child was
beautiful and
they were not afraid of the king's edict
they were not
afraid of the king or the president's
edict or the governor's edict
that says you know you have to take the
shot or you have to do this
or you have to do that look i'm very
serious what i'm about to say
there are christians today in the church
that are so compromised that if
it that it wouldn't even take the
pharaoh it wouldn't even take the
president to do it
that even if the mayor or the governor
of their state or the mayor of their
town
stood up and said take your child and
throw him in the river and feed him to
the crocodiles that's just what we need
to do we need conformity now everybody
can form this is what we need to do
you would have christian parents stupid
enough
and unspiritual enough and they would
actually go out and do something like
that
well that's what the mayor said pastor
stephen we have to do what the mayor
said
and it says that moses's parents were
not
afraid of the big bad pharaoh and what
the pharaoh said to do they're like
we're not throwing our baby
into the river and watching him drown
and have his arms and legs ripped off by
a crocodile and
spun around and uh tuck in on the water
and
devoured we're not we're not gonna do
something sick and perverted like that
and so this totalitarian rule
is a little that we're seeing trying to
be pressured on people particularly in
america
and in europe and it is it's global now
it's global
you have to realize that they want to
take that
and run full force with it into complete
totalitarian control
why it's that mystery of lawlessness
they just can't help it there's
something
driving them to want to sync up with the
one world government and control
everything control all your spending
track every move that you make
but you know what they just can't pull
it off yet why pastor stephen
there is a restraining force and as bad
as they want it to happen
there is a restraining force holding it
back
holding it back because the lord wants a
few more saved and he's going to get the
harvest in
that he wants and we're about to see
some great signs and wonders and
miracles take place
and those that do not compromise that do
not bow
that say look i look i don't want to
lose my job but i'm not taking
some kind of experimental vaccine that
shouldn't even be labeled a vaccine this
is like a designer drug that we're just
trying to
you know i'm not putting something in my
body just so i can get your approval
and if if you're gonna if i have to get
another job i will but i'm not
i'm not taking my baby and throwing my
baby in the in the
nile river for you neither am i
surrendering my body to you just because
you think i should do this for some
sake of general conformity i'm not going
to do it it's not science
this is not science at all everything
that everything now is politicized
with an agenda to rule and control and
govern over
people where only a few rule at the top
and everybody else
is made a slave praise the lord but my
friends
for those in the overcoming triumphant
church the joel's army of the end times
let me just read a little bit
of this to you there is going to be such
an anointing
praise god that we're going to walk in
the miraculous
the miraculous will become normal and
even though the enemy would like to do
certain things it's going to be
impervious
to those that are in this army because
throughout church history and i've
studied hours and hours
countless hours in church history there
have been
times when wicked rulers have tried to
kill
christians and they tried to boil them
in oil and it wouldn't kill them
they have they have tried to expose them
to uh you know being eaten by a wild
beast and the beast wouldn't eat them
they have cut their heads off let me put
a
a an image up on the screen right now
you're looking in the image and you
might
say pastor stephen this looks really
spooky no it's not spooky
it's holy uh if you've ever been to the
beautiful city of paris
which by the way has lost quite a bit of
its beauty
over the last five years trust me i know
i've been there
um uh you're you're looking at the
founder
of the city of paris france that my
friends is saint dennis
and he was persecuted because he was a
bishop he was a christian
and they cut his head off his
persecutors cut his head off
and he didn't die he kept on going
picked his head up
and kept on going until god was finished
with the work he had for him
and that is not a rarity in church
history there have been numerous cases
and i have
notes and records and books on it of the
countless
people that have had their heads cut off
and didn't die
even with their head cut off and saint
dennis picked his head up just kept on
going
doing what god had called him to do you
say pastor steven i've never even heard
of stuff like this before
it has happened every time there's come
persecution
against the people of god but there's
always a group that says we will not
surrender
we will not compromise biblical
principles praise god
and for that group god does mighty
things now
we have prophetic foreshadowing of the
day that we're now moving into
remember the glory is coming upon you
the
the glory is coming upon you and you're
going to see people
out in the world struggling with all of
these disease and these
variants of these viruses and so forth
but you're going to walk into
immunity and you're going to walk in
hell praise god
it says concerning this great end time
army joel chapter 2 verse 3
fire devours before them and behind them
a flame
burns the land is like the garden of
eden before them
trust me that's the group you want to be
in and behind them a desolate wilderness
and nothing
escapes them verse 10 the earthquakes
before them
the heavens tremble the sun and the moon
are darkened and the stars withdraw
their shining the lord utters his voice
before his army
for his camp is excuse me his camp is
exceedingly great
he who executes his word is powerful so
this is the end time army
executing the word of the lord and it's
a powerful army
for the day of the lord is great and
very awesome who
can endure it and when we have completed
our assignment when the gospel is
preached to the ends of the earth
and when that last available soul that
can be saved and wants to be saved is
pulled in
through the harvest net then the
restraining force is taken out of the
way
hallelujah praise god it's a wrap and
then things will shift
very very quickly the antichrist world
system will then
come on the scene but my friends ain't
nothing coming on the scene
until the restraining force is gone and
we still have
work to do we've got to get the job done
there are some tremendous things
unfolding and some tremendous blessings
that god is going to release upon the
end time army
so get ready get ready by the way this
is so good i want to jump back just for
a moment
and read from 2nd thessalonians chapter
2 verse
6 verses 6 6 through 8 with
rick renners interpretive translation
rick renner is a great bible teacher and
one of the foremost greek scholars in
the earth today
and i absolutely love how he translates
2 thessalonians chapter 2 verses 6
through 8.
it's a little bit like an amplified
translation because
you can't just in english get it out so
simply you if you want to really
understand what's being said by the
apostle paul
you have to unwrap each greek word and
this is it in the expanded
interpretive version 2nd thessalonians
chapter 2
verses 6 through 8 now in light
of everything i've told you before you
ought to be well aware by now that there
is a supernatural
force at work preventing the
materialization
of this person and the disclosure of his
identity
this restraining force i'm referring to
is so strong that it is currently
putting on the breaks
and holding back the unveiling of this
wicked person
stalling and postponing his
manifestation
but when the right moment comes this
evil one will no longer be withheld
and he will emerge on the world scene
the screen that has been hiding his true
identity and guarding him from world
view
will suddenly be pulled back and
evaporate and he will step out
on center stage to let everyone know who
he is these events have been covertly
in the making for a long time but the
world doesn't realize that a secret plan
is being
executed right under their own noses
the only thing that has kept this plan
from already being consummated
is the supernatural force that has been
holding it
all back until now but one day
this force will be removed from the
picture
and when that happens these events will
quickly
transpire the removal of this
restraining force
will signal the moment when the lawless
one will finally make his grand
appearance
to the world my friends
until the restraining force is taken out
the antichrist cannot come on the scene
we need to get all assignments
accomplished and do all that we can
while we still have time so let's do
some big things
let's do some out of the box things
let's think
globally not just locally about
extending the gospel now i understand in
an army
not everybody in this sense can be on
the front line fighting
you need people back at the base cooking
you need a hospital ward back at the
base you need somebody to
repair equipment back at the base but my
friends
there are those that are called to
create provision and raise up provision
so that those that are on the very front
lines pushing it
and taking the gospel into the remote
most remote areas as well as to the
known areas
can can do it in the creative ways that
god has called them to do it
and i believe we're going to see some
amazing things take place
the lord has really been stirring me
about the potential
of satellite and i believe we're going
to one day do some things with satellite
that perhaps um will be very very
unique glory to god glory to god
by satellite has some great benefits
uh for for example your your cell phone
that you use is limited to cell phone
towers
and if you get away from a cell phone
tower you
your or if the cell if the electrical
grid goes down and all the cell phone
towers
go down nothing works your cell phone
will not work
but satellite is different it doesn't
matter if all of the power goes down
that satellite is up in space and it's
beaming
down and you can catch that beam now of
course if you're uh you know
underneath a bunch of trees that can
block the satellite
reception sometime but if you're out in
the open you're going to get a clear
signal
clearer than any cell phone tower could
ever give you
so satellite is still
a remarkable technology and it's
advancing and increasing
all the time and i believe that we're
going to do some things really
to reach around the world even if some
formats are blocked
or even cut off can't cut off satellite
because that thing's up in space
sending down all the time praise the
lord
whoa glory to god yes pastor stephen we
need to get on satellite well
our tv programs are already on networks
that are on satellites
but but we could even have our own
satellite
remember this is not like technology
from 30 years ago
where you have to have a satellite the
size of a truck taken up
and it cost millions and millions you
know like you know 400 million dollars
to do it it's not like that anymore
you can have satellites that that are
the size of um
a bible in space you can have a
satellite the site this size
circling the earth a couple hundred
miles up and uh
doing doing what it's programmed to do
praise the lord so we're in the age of
some new technologies that the lord is
unveiling
because we're gonna get the gospel to
the whole world and we're going to use
every
platform to do it hallelujah let's pray
father we thank you for your word
we have some time we see the glimpses of
where
this mystery of lawlessness would like
to take america
into a place of control where we can't
even we can't even get out of our houses
unless we meet all kinds of uh
mandates that we are uh unrighteously
subjected to
but father we're going to stay the
course and even if that means
perhaps this the disruption of some
things
you're going to make up for it in much
greater ways so we thank you father god
that this is your church's finest
hour those that are watching that belong
to you this is their hour to shine
and nothing is going to block that
radiance from illuminating
we give you praise nothing nothing we
thank you for the end time anointing
that that joel's army that army of the
lord anointing begin to touch your
people with the way they think
and the way they they move in the way
that they
strategize and structure their lives we
give you praise
i see the fire going before them father
we give you praise in jesus name
amen and amen praise the lord
now if you're watching today's program
and you've heard all of this stuff about
the antichrist which we christians are
very familiar with but you're thinking
pastor stephen this sounds this sounds
like
crazy yep that's where the world is
going
and the only remedy for the craziness
and the only solution for the sin
problem of humanity
is not it's not a a wicked global leader
it's christ and his blood that he shed
for you
so if you would like to receive eternal
life and salvation
through the only source of
eternal life then call upon the lord
right now he'll save you just pray this
prayer after me say jesus
i'm a sinner come into my heart
and wash all of my sins away i
turn from my sins and i give my life to
you
jesus save me now wash me with your
blood
write my name in your book of life i
give my whole heart to you jesus thank
you for saving me
i take you as my lord and savior thank
you
in your name i pray amen
and amen oh he's coming again whoa he's
coming again
get ready get ready if you know loved
ones that are not right with god
don't give up on them keep dropping
those little evangelistic statements
every now and then
and also also as paul said we warn
people
we warn people that there's a coming
judgment don't be
don't be afraid to put a little bit of
that warning in there sometimes or
a big warning in there at times if need
be
praise god hallelujah all right let's
take holy communion together
grab some unleavened bread
and some grape juice and let's pray over
it
father we thank you for the juice and
the bread we
bless it we set it apart as holy through
this prayer
we thank you father this is now the body
and the blood of christ our savior we
thank you father that these are very
perilous dangerous times in which we
live
but yet upon your people there is a
canopy of protection
from disease from sickness
from intimidation from harassment
we thank you father god we thank you
father god
hallelujah hallelujah
my friend i feel led of the lord to tell
you this that should you ever be in a
place this is not for everybody but for
some should you ever be in a place where
even the bullets start flying
the lord says the bullets will not touch
you or anybody with you
anybody under your umbrella
of protection will not be touched your
lie
you and your life will be be spared
those of your loved ones be spared
because of your walk with the lord
praise god hallelujah father we thank
you
we give you praise for supernatural
protection and blessing
a shield of protection that the enemy
cannot penetrate or get through
we thank you father god stabilize your
people
let them have understanding of the end
times father god so that nothing shakes
them
and so that we remain firm until the end
thank you father god we receive the body
the flesh of christ
and we celebrate his soon coming return
in jesus name amen
let's partake of the flesh of christ
praise the lord the glory
of the lord shall be seen
upon you unbelievers those that don't
know god
will see his glory on your life
praise god praise god
amen father thank you for the blood of
jesus
that cleanses us from all of our sin
thank you father there is no other
remedy
for the guilt of sin except
faith in christ and his atoning work of
the shedding of his blood
father we receive the blood of jesus we
receive forgiveness of sins
we ask you wash all of our sins away and
that you would cleanse
us from all unrighteousness
and father we forgive anybody anyone who
has sinned against us
thank you father we ask you to put
people in our lives whose hearts
are ready to hear the good news thank
you father whose hearts
are ready for the change father we thank
you
thank you that we are your ambassadors
in the earth thank you for your
protection
and your angels going with us
father we give you praise in jesus name
amen let's receive the blood of the lord
jesus
praise god the
provision of the lord will also come to
the
endtime army of the lord
it would be the most well-supplied army
that the earth has ever
seen praise god
praise god praise god let's lift our
hands and thank the lord
lord we give you praise we give you
praise that the antichrist can't not
come on the scene yet because the
restraining force is still here
we give you praise we give you praise
and glory
hallelujah thank you father help us to
make good use of the remaining time that
we have
help us to be mindful of
eternity and that we will spend heaven
eternity with you in heaven but that
others must know also
so that they will not go to hell so they
will not be turned into the lake of fire
father we give you praise we give you
praise thank you father
in jesus name amen
and amen praise god my friends thanks
for watching today
as i'm still out in this
southern california praise god having a
nice time in the lord with my wife and i
doing some ministry and i appreciate you
watching me as i'm on the road traveling
literally in a hotel right now i praise
god but it is the blessing that i can
still come
and minister to you and i thank you for
your prayers your partnership
your love and your support of this
ministry and next time i'll see you back
i'll be back home in carolina
till then stay blessed and stay busy
for the lord bye-bye