Who is Paul discussing in 2 Thessalonians 2?

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covenantee

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The restrainer is the Spirit of God.

Why didn't Paul say so?

The reason is evident.
Paul was not referring to the Spirit of God, about Whom he would have had no reason to be secretive.
He was referring to the Roman government, about whom he had every reason to be secretive.
The early Church understood this.
The Reformation Church understood this.
Why doesn't the contemporary Church understand it?
 
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ewq1938

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Don't mix up the judgments...
Believers do not come under judgment, they are not subject to the second death. Yes all believers are judged, bit their is not judgment of life or death for them as they all have passed from death into life....
All unbelievers abide in death


Believers are judged, and they are judged to life. You said believers escape judgment but that is incorrect. All humans are judged, some to reward and some to punishment.
 
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CrowCross

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The Jews and the church. Jews saved by law and grace, the church saved by grace, and then in the “great tribulation” Jews again just because they’re Jews.
So, you're saying the jews are going to flop back into their old dispensation during the tribulation?
 

PeterAndroz

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There’s only one gospel Peter believe God and it’s counted as righteousness. This existed before David with Abraham, through the entire Old Testament and exists today.
"""There’s only one gospel Peter believe God and it’s counted as righteousness""

Was King David eternally saved & HS sealed by ONLY trusting in the death, burial & resurrection of Christ for the forgiveness of his sins ?
If YES , list the OT verses
 

IndianaRob

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"""There’s only one gospel Peter believe God and it’s counted as righteousness""

Was King David eternally saved & HS sealed by ONLY trusting in the death, burial & resurrection of Christ for the forgiveness of his sins ?
If YES , list the OT verses
Read the Psalms, it’s full of David writing about Christ.
 

IndianaRob

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Let me get this straight....there are none, zero dispensations in the bible?
There's only one and it's called salvation by grace through faith. That covers from Adam to present time and will be true in the future. There are two religions in the whole world - "do" and "done". The law is "do" and grace is "done".

The only true religion in the world is biblical Christianity, and as far as I know, all other religions are on par with the law, meaning all other religions are based on something you have to do to reach God, or enlightenment or heaven or whatever the other religion might consider "the ultimate goal".
 

CrowCross

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There's only one and it's called salvation by grace through faith. That covers from Adam to present time and will be true in the future. There are two religions in the whole world - "do" and "done". The law is "do" and grace is "done".

The only true religion in the world is biblical Christianity, and as far as I know, all other religions are on par with the law, meaning all other religions are based on something you have to do to reach God, or enlightenment or heaven or whatever the other religion might consider "the ultimate goal".
Hey, if you say there were no dispensations...then I guess there were no dispensations.
These are all made up
Innocence, Conscience, Human Government, Promise, Law, Grace, and Kingdom.
 

IndianaRob

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I'll have to look for a more detailed answer...but it's from creation to the fall. You can verify that if you would like to do the research.
That would be these verses?

1 Peter 3:19-20
19 By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison;
20 Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.
 

William Barton

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I think the restrainer could be Archangel Michael, whose job from God in scripture is to contend with Satan.

Jude 9
Yet Michael the archangel, in contending with the devil, when he disputed about the body of Moses, dared not bring against him a reviling accusation, but said, “The Lord rebuke you!”

  1. Daniel 10:13
    But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days; and behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left alone there with the kings of Persia.
    In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations
  2. Daniel 10:21
    But I will tell you what is noted in the Scripture of Truth. (No one upholds me against these, except Michael your prince.
    In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations
  3. Daniel 12:1

    Prophecy of the End Time​

    “At that time Michael shall stand up, The great prince who stands watch over the sons of your people; And there shall be a time of trouble, Such as never was since there was a nation, Even to that time. And at that time your people shall be delivered, Every one who is found written in the book.
IMO:
Satan is a cherub, Michael would not be capable of restraining him. That would be like me against Hercules.
 

CrowCross

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That would be these verses?

1 Peter 3:19-20
19 By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison;
20 Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.
Gen 6 angels....sons of God.
 

IndianaRob

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I'm asking a simple YES or NO question
Was King David saved, sealed & justified by the 1 Cor 15:1-4 Gospel taught to Paul Gal 1:11-12 by Christ ?
Yes. And I'll let Paul give the details.

Romans 4:6-8
6 Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works,
7 Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered.
8 Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.


Paul picks Abraham and David as his two examples of justification by faith apart from works. He isn't saying David had a different arrangement. He's using David to prove that righteousness has always been imputed the same way — on the basis of faith, not works.