The Holy Spirit Restrains Evil Kathryn Kuhlman Holy Spirit Series #2 Part 7

Well, we continue again with our series of messages on the Holy Spirit. And I hope that by this time, many who have been following me in this series of messages will recognize the person of the Holy Spirit every time they sing the doxology. on the Lord's Day in their place of worship. I pray that the Holy Spirit is just as real to you today as is Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son, and God the Father. One wonderful thing that this series of messages has done, and that is to make the persons of the Trinity very real. It has been very hard for folk to understand the three persons of the Trinity. Three persons, and yet they are spoken of in the Word of God as one. Remember, God the Father is separate and apart from Jesus Christ the Son, but He does not work separate and apart from Jesus. The Holy Spirit is a definite person, a definite personality. He is separate and apart from the only begotten Son, but He does not work apart from Jesus. Three distinct personalities, three distinct persons, but at no... time do they work separate and apart from one or the other. Therefore, they are spoken of as three in one. I hope that I have made that very clear to you. We have learned from this series of messages that the Holy Spirit is a definite personality. Just as as Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living God, when He walked this earth. Jesus now is at the right hand of God the Father in position of Great High Priest. He has not only been resurrected, the Holy Spirit did come and bear witness to the fact that Jesus has already been exalted to the right hand of God the Father and ever liveth to make intercession for you and for me in position of great high priest. The Holy Spirit came back as a witness to that fact. Just as Jesus one day walked this earth, so today we have the person of the Holy Spirit. who has taken up residence here on earth. And in previous messages, I have given you the Word of God, which tells us very distinctly the work of the Holy Spirit. It's found in the 16th chapter of John. I shall not read the portion of the Word of God. It is very familiar to those who've been following my series of messages. We see the first, his work is to convict the world of sin. Second, to convict the world of righteousness. And that was my last message to you as I left you in my last message on the Holy Spirit. I shall continue now to give you the interpretation of the work of the Holy Spirit. In convicting the world of judgment. Because the scripture says, of righteousness, because I go to my father and he see me no more. Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged. Now many in quoting this passage say, of a judgment to come. How often I have heard even ministers in quoting the Scripture, misquote it. How often we have been guilty of misquoting the Scripture. The words to come are not there. They're just not there. It reads like this. of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged. Now, it was Paul before Felix who reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come. And the result was that Felix trembled. But it was only conviction of conscience, not the Holy Spirit conviction. For though Felix trembled, he did not change his course of life. But he dismissed Paul with the words, Go thy way for this time. When I have a convenient season, I will call for thee. That which Felix experienced, was only a conviction of conscience. It was not Holy Ghost conviction. Go thy way. Just leave me alone for this time. When I have a convenient season, I will call for thee. The judgment that the Holy Spirit is to convict the world of in this dispensation, is not a future judgment. Get that. The Bible does not teach it. That is not what this portion of the Word of God means. A judgment, it says, because the prince of this world is judged. The judgment that is spoken of here is a judgment that is past. Neither is it a judgment of the righteous or the wicked. This refers to a judgment of Satan, who is the prince of this world. The Bible always refers to Satan as the prince of this world. Read it. It can be verified in the 11th verse here. It's there. It does not refer to a future judgment of him, but declares is judged. Don't try to juggle scripture. Don't try to make something there that is not there. Take the word just as it is. Of judgment, because the prince of this world is. In other words, has already been judged. The judgment of Satan is past. Immediately someone comes with the question, when in the world was Satan judged? When did Satan have a judgment? In the first place, he was judged in the garden. passed a sentence on him and said, I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed, which is Christ. It, he, shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. That's the 15th verse of the third chapter of Genesis. That is the first time that Satan was judged. In the second place, Satan was judged on the cross. And these judgments are past. They're in the past. Satan is the author of death. There was no death until sin came into the world. There was no sin until Lucifer fell, until there was a Satan. Sin came with Satan. Death came with sin. Know that. Satan is the author of death. To overcome the work of Satan, It was necessary for Jesus to die on the cross and by rising from the dead to abolish death. Now the purpose of Christ's death then was that through death he might destroy him that hath the power of death. What does it mean? Watch something very carefully. While the prince of this world, Satan, has been judged and condemned to the bottomless pit for a thousand years and is finally to be cast forever into the lake of fire, his sentence has not yet gone into effect. But remember something. He does not want the world to know. that he's already been judged. He doesn't want the world to know that he has already been condemned. He doesn't want the world to know that he has already been defeated by Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living God, at the time of his death. No, you wouldn't know why. He's afraid he'd lose his influence. And it's the work of the Holy Spirit in this dispensation to convince the world that Satan has been judged and that his power is on the wane and that death will soon be swallowed up in the victory that the resurrection shall have over the grave. The enemy, Satan, the devil, call him whatever you will, has already been defeated. by the Lord Jesus Christ. His judgment is a past judgment. Know that. For if the tomb could not hold Jesus, neither shall the grave hold us. Oh, to me that's marvelous. That's wonderful. When Jesus died on the cross, and cried, it is finished. In that moment, he defeated the work of Satan in bringing death to the body forever and forever. And because he lives this very hour, we... two shall live. Therefore, we know that death is a defeated foe. Death has been defeated by Jesus Christ himself. But let's go a little deeper. There is one more work that the Holy Spirit is engaged in in this dispensation, and that is to hinder Satan in his effort to produce his masterpiece, the man of sin, that one who shall rule the world as a great world ruler, that one who the Bible speaks of as the Antichrist. Let me read you a scripture. as found in the second chapter of 2 Thessalonians. Let no man deceive you by any means, for that day shall not come except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed the son of perdition. Of whom? is the scripture speaking, the Antichrist, the man who in the future will come forth to be the great world dictator. He shall have a cleverness of mind, a keenness of mind, a craftiness. that is not a craftiness, a keenness, a mentality that is his own. For in that body, the disembodied spirit of Lucifer shall control. In other words, that man of sin will be Satan incarnate. Satan has always desired to be like unto the Most High God. He has always desired to rule man even as God has ruled. The day is coming when God is going to let Satan have his last fling. One of these days, beloved, When the Holy Spirit leaves this world and takes the living church along with him when he goes, he's going to permit Satan to rule in disguise and through a man who will be the great world dictator, Antichrist, the son of perdition. But watch it. There's only one restraining force in the world today. And that restraining force is the power of the Holy Spirit. For here's the scripture. Who opposeth and exalted himself above all that is called God, all that is worshipped, so that he... As God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God, of whom is he speaking? Of the Antichrist. For the mystery of iniquity doth already work. He's in the world today. The mystery of iniquity is already at work. Only he... who now letteth, will let, until he be taken out of the way, the restraining force of the Holy Spirit. After the Holy Spirit is gone, the scripture says, then shall that wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth. and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming. Even him whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders. Oh, read it. It's there. It's God's word. And God will keep his word to the crossing of every T, the dotting of every I. Do you want to know what the future holds for mankind? Read it. It's right there. The second chapter of 2 Thessalonians. And that's exactly what Jesus said would be the work of the Holy Spirit. Jesus gave the threefold work of the Holy Spirit toward the world before he went away. And this is the final work of the Holy Spirit. To convict the world of judgment. and to be the restraining force against sin and of unrighteousness before he goes back again to the Father. Hereby know ye the Spirit of God. Know ye the Spirit of God. that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God. And this is that spirit of Antichrist whereby ye have heard that it should come, even now already is in the world. Here we see that we have two opposing spirits. And these two opposing spirits are in the world today. One, the Spirit of God. The other, the Spirit of Antichrist. And the Spirit of God, or the Holy Spirit that I have been teaching you regarding, must therefore be the restrainer. who keeps Satan from producing his man of sin, the Antichrist. I wouldn't want to be in this world five minutes. I wouldn't want to remain in this world 160 seconds after that the Holy Spirit has gone, has been taken out of the world. Believe me. As sinful, as bad as the world is today, think how much worse it will be after this restraining force has left, after the Holy Spirit has gone and there is no longer restraint. Therefore, a part of the Holy Spirit's work in this dispensation in this day in which you and I live, is to hold in check the full development of evil until the church is complete. Then he will be taken away and there'll be nothing to prevent the manifestation of the mystery of evil. Iniquity. I do not want to be here when that takes place.