The Restrainer

(Written by Daymond Duck, from Rapture Ready.com)
“And you know what is holding him back, for he can be revealed only when his time comes. For this lawlessness is already at work secretly, and it will remain secret until the one who is holding back steps out of the way.”
(2 Thessalonians 2:6-7, New Living Translation)

The identity of the Restrainer is the subject of much debate. Some say it is the Holy Spirit. Some say it is the Church. Some say it is both the Holy Spirit and the Church. And there are a few less widely held interpretations.

His identity is important because He is holding back the man of sin, also called the son of perdition (the Antichrist) in verse 3. And if the Restrainer is the Church, this means the Church must be removed from the earth before the Antichrist can appear. And that is a compelling reason to believe in the Pre-Tribulation Rapture.

Christians in Marriage - Unequally Yoked

"Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people." (2 Corinthians 6:14-16, King James Version)

What does it mean "Unequally Yoked"?
"Thou shalt not plow with an ox and an ass together." (Deut. 22:10 KJV)
This passage from the Old Testament reads in the NIV: "Do not plow with an ox and a donkey yoked together."
They would not be of equal strength, disposition and ability, thus the plowing of the field would be made far more difficult than was necessary. It's possible one would fall under the unequal burden. To offer an even more dramatic illustration, if a large horse and a small goat are yoked together, it is highly unlikely that the farmer will be able to plow a straight furrow in his field. His team is clearly "unequally yoked," thus one member will easily and inevitably overpower the other, with negative results!

Mormonism in a Nutshell

(Written by Matt Slick)
Mormonism in a Nutshell
(Church of Christ Latter-day Saints)

Mormonism teaches that God used to be a man on another world and that he became a god by following the laws and ordinances of his god on his home world. He brought his wife to this world, a woman he had married on the other world. She is, essentially a goddess.

In his present god-state, he rules our world. He has a body of flesh and bones. Since god and his wife are both exalted persons, they each possess physical bodies. In their exalted states as deities, they produce spirit children that grow and mature in the spiritual realm. The first spirit born was Jesus. Afterwards Lucifer was born along with the rest of us. So, Mormonism teaches that we all pre-existed in the spirit realm having been produced from the union of god and his goddess wife. Therefore, we all existed in spirit form before coming down and entering the bodies of human babies that are being born on earth. During this ‘compression' into the infant state, the memories of their pre-existence is 'veiled.'

Can Christians worship on a Sunday?

In the Old Testament, God stated, "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of the Lord your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you," (Exodus 20:8-10, NASB). It was the custom of the Jews to come together on the Sabbath, which is Saturday, cease work, and worship God. Jesus went to the synagogue on Saturday to teach (Matt. 12:9; John 18:20) as did the apostle Paul (Acts 17:2; 18:4). So, if in the Old Testament we are commanded to keep the Sabbath and in the New Testament we see Jews, Jesus, and the apostles doing the same thing, then why do we worship on Sunday?

First of all, of the 10 commandments listed in Exodus 20:1-17, only 9 of them were restated in the New Testament. (Six in Matt. 19:18, murder, adultery, stealing, false witness, honor parents, and worshiping God; Rom. 13:9, coveting. Worshiping God properly covers the first three commandments) The one that was not reaffirmed was the one about the Sabbath. Instead, Jesus said that He is the Lord of the Sabbath (Matt. 12:8).

What is the Pre-Tribulation Rapture?

from Rapture Ready.com
The Rapture is an event that will take place sometime in the near future. Jesus will come in the air, catch up the Church from the earth, and then return to heaven with the Church. The Apostle Paul gave a clear description of the rapture event in his letters to the Thessalonians and Corinthians.
"For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words." (1 Thess, 4:16-18).

"Behold, I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on in-corruption, and this mortal [must] put on immortality" (1 Cor. 15:51-53).

Bible versus Koran (Part Three)

Part One and Two showed the differences for the following eight topics:
Was Jesus Christ crucified?
Divorce
Born of a Virgin
Only Begotten Son
Same Honour
No Distinction
Intercessor
All have sinned

 9. The Other Cheek
The Koran
 "The sacred month and the sacred precincts are under the safeguard of reprisals: whoever offereth violence to you, offer ye the like violence to him, and fear God, and know that God is with those who fear Him." (Sura 2:190).

The Bible

"But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also." (Matthew 5:39).

Bible versus Koran (Part Two)

Part One showed the differences for the following four topics:
Was Jesus Christ crucified?
Divorce
Born of a Virgin
Only Begotten Son

 5. Same Honour
The Koran
"It beseemeth not a man, that God should give him the Scriptures and the Wisdom, and the gift of prophecy, and that then he should say to his followers, 'Be ye worshippers of me, as well as of God;' but rather, 'Be ye perfect in things pertaining to God, since ye know the Scriptures, and have studied deep.' God doth not command you to take the angels or the prophets as lords. What! would he command you to become infidels after ye have been Muslims?" (Sura 3:73-74).

The Bible
"...that all should honour the Son just as they honour the Father. He who does not honour the Son does not honour the Father who sent Him." (John 5:23).

Bible versus Koran (Part One)

There are many contradictions between the Bible and the Koran. For this purpose I would like to name only the twelve most important ones, which will show that the God of the Christians is not the God of Islam.

Bible versus Koran will have three parts.

1. Was Jesus Crucified?
The Koran
Was Jesus crucified in fact or in semblance? The Koran says, semblance: "And for their saying, 'Verily we have slain the Messiah, Jesus the son of Mary, an Apostle of God.' Yet they slew him not, and they crucified him not, but they had only his likeness. And they who differed about him were in doubt concerning him: No sure knowledge had they about him, but followed only an opinion, and they did not really slay him, but God took him up to Himself. And God is Mighty, Wise!" (Sura 4:156).