If one were to cite the myriad of ways in which the Holy Spirit restrains the power and influence of the spirit of antichrist three coherencies would be decisive: the presence and power of the Holy Spirit, the kerygmatic gospel, and the church/body of Christ (greek> Ekklesia> or the “called out ones”). Also decisive is the revelation that these three coherencies will change guard in the epoch known as the “tribulation” concerning the prophetic timeline. Two translated witnesses, one hundred and forty four thousand sealed servants, and the angelic hosts will juxtapose with the three previously cited coherencies to propagate the gospel as the restraining power of the Holy Spirit is removed from the global setting through the marvelous seizing of the “body of Christ” via the “rapture”. Interesting to consider is the revelation that prior to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit as recorded in Acts the second chapter, the restraining power of the Old Testament reality was demonstrated by the “Sovereign Rule” of the “Lord of Heaven’s Armies” (Lord of Hosts/Father in the “Eternal Counsel”/The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel/Yaweh). Through a dynamic cornucopia of events the restraining power of the “Lord God” appears as: the prophetic expulsion of Adam and Eve in the Genesis account, the mighty deluge of the Noahic revelation and witness, the confusion of tongues at the “tower of Babel” incident, the drowning of Pharaoh and his army at the Red Sea deliverance, the giving of the oracles of the Lord God/Yaweh by the ministry of the Prophet Moses (“law giver”) to the Israelite nation, the calling and commissioning of the delivering judges, the national revivals of the reforming kings, the prophetic utterances of the major and minor prophets, and finally the baptism message of repentance through John the Baptist as he prepares the way of the Lord of Glory. The critical revelation to be obtained here is the plumb line that runs center through all of these restraining measures that the Holy Spirit employs to thwart ultimate evil: “the word of God”. The word of God is the “word of offense” that delivers the “convicting power” of the Holy Spirit to the hearts of men thus restraining the tempting influence of ultimate evil including the spirit of antichrist; which appears as both satanic influence manifesting as light (e.g. the antichrist of the revelation account) and the form of godliness that the denies the Spirit of Christ (e.g. the false prophet of the revelation account). The Prophet Isaiah attest to the restraining power of the Holy Spirit when he concludes: “When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him” and King David reveals: “Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger”. Having laid this thoughtful premise two imperatives must be received with all gravity of spirit: One, prior to divine judgment being executed against a nation, the restraining power of the Eternal Godhead will be removed commensurate with the divine decree (either of chastisement or utter destruction); the biblical symbol for this imperative is the “outstretched hand of the Lord”. Two, prior to the deathly amalgamation of satanism and humanism unleashing great and abominable evil among the nations, the restraining power of the Eternal Godhead will be removed in a measured fashion to ensure the survival of an elected remnant. If one were to discover one of the chief ways in which the restraining power of the Holy Spirit is removed according to the two previously stated imperatives, the examination would lead one to what I have termed as a “Criminalization of the Word”. A “Criminalization of the Word” is an unjust characterization of the word of the Lord not because it causes harm to the human spirit, but it is a perceived threat to the deathly amalgamation of humanism/satanism and in the final analysis ultimate evil. Criminalizing the word of the Lord or the “word of offence” that brings “Holy conviction” is Satan’s blueprint for removing the restraining power of the Holy Spirit in the hearts of men in order to induce them to commit great abominations to the sealing of their own destruction. Scripturally and historically, the public facade of Satan’s blueprint for “Criminalizing the Word” has always been the “political/dictatorial” powers in coherency with the “apostate prophetic powers” which has produced horrific evil among the nations (e.g. “the holocaust”). “Believer’s” in the United States of America, “BE AWARE” a “Criminalization of the Word” has begun in the current administration and its apostate religious affiliate. (Another Oil Point from Theology Nation)
– Bishop Dr. G.A. Cox