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.