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Results from: Answers On or After: Thu 12/31/70 Author: enoch Ordered by Date |
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Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | The Restrainer - Revisited! | 2 Thess 2:7 | enoch | 31825 | ||
I agree on Tim Moran's analysis; albiet incomplete. The sailent point he makes is that we will never be sure what the restrainer is until, perhaps, it is taken out of the way. But we have been given some clues. Time narrows his options to two. But that list may not include another possibility, a possibility that is closely related to his two. I am not into Kabbalah teaching, but I do seek Hebraic thought when interpretating canonnal scriptures, scriptures [canon] that were written by Hebrews. I so seek the literal, but only in the Hebraic sense. Therefore let me share some insight. I did some reading on "tzaddik" [a.k.a. righteous-one or one's] from Avi Ben Mordechai's third volume of Messiah — the Kabbalhistic volume. I did not find any direct connection of a tzaddik or tzaddikim to a restrainer; but I did find something very interesting; as follows: (quote) Light for the Righteous, pg. 313a. To intensify our understanding of Y'shua's dialogue, let us now go to some Rabbinic drash on B'resheet 1:3-4 that tells us that when the Light was formed, it was then hidden away so that it could be revealed in the future: For whom did He store it (the Light) away? For the righteous in the time to come, as it says, And God saw the light, that it was good (Gen. 1,4). What is the meaning of 'That it was good' ? He saw that its light was very good for the world and never caused harm, as does the sun. Where did He store it away? In the garden of Eden [i.e. Paradise], for it says, Light is sown for the righteous (Ps. XCVII , 11) .3 Righteousness always begins with trusting faith in the Name [YHVH - God]. However, trusting faith is not the end of the story. Trusting faith produces actions of righteousness and therefore, the righteous are ultimately defined as those who walk in the Covenant of the Torah as it is written in D'varim 6:25: And it will be righteousness for us if we are careful to observe all this commandment before (HaShem) our Elohim [God], just as He commanded us. The desire of Elohim was for all Israel to walk in trusting faith while bearing a commitment to the Torah. On this basis, all Israel was to be regarded as tzaddim or the righteous of the world. This is how the Divine Word in Yeshayahu 60:21 put it (as compared to the corrupted English translations): And your people, all of them, are righteous forever. Each soul of Israel [Isreal here being all of the twelve tribe who have an abiding faith in the Messiah and those Gentiles whom have been grafted in] was supposed to be a tzaddik and therefore capable of shining the Light of the Torah…(end quote). What I see here is that the tzaddik or tzaddikim exercise TRUSTING FAITH. Trusting faith is the operative here, a restraining influence of evil—if you will. Avi further points out all Israel, and here we are speaking of spiritual Israel or "true believers," is commissioned to function with a trusting faith. Therefore, as I see it, all spiritual Israel (true believers) is the restraining influence. Other Kabbalahistic renderings on tzaddik are more complex as it relates to the Sefirotic Tree, but is not germane to the issue at hand, nor is the Kabbalahistic teachings... but the scriptures above is germane. Then I recalled that the Y'shua said that apostasy"—the greatest apostasy—"comes first." That sounds like the abandonment of a trusting faith on a massive scale. Well then it is obvious, when that happens, the restraint falters; ergo, the son of perdition will then be revealed as he steps into power. I wonder if it is that simple: THAT WHICH RESTRAINS EVIL IS A TRUSTING FAITH IN GOD. In reality, it always has been. All the way back to the garden of Eden. Take it out of the way, evil will have its way. The import of all of this is this: what condition will cause the perpondance of humankind to abandon a trusting faith in God? That is the real question. The real danger. The real warning. The warning notwithstanding, the fact that Jesus Christ wins in the end should give us comfort; and the prophecy should give those who will have to live through it -- something to hold on to. Blessed are those who keep a trusting faith. jw Bremerton WA |
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