Your Questions Answered

Question 1 Who is the 'he' in 2 Thess. 2:7? Who is holding back the power of lawlessness? Answer "For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way" (quoted from the NIV, emphasis mine). The two references that are in bold refer to the same person who must first be taken out of the way before the Antichrist, the man of lawlessness, is revealed. Quite a number of people believe that the 'he' as mentioned in this verse is the Holy Spirit but the Bible clearly makes us to understand that the Holy Spirit has responsibilities that directly involve and affect men on earth. Others say what will be removed is government but an in-depth study of the Scriptures will quickly reveal that even in the time of the Antichrist there will still be human governments in existence (Rev. 19:19, Daniel 7:15-25). The Holy Spirit's work is to convict men of guilt and help them to acknowledge Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour (John 16:7-11). He is also responsible for teaching us all things and reminding us of all the things we need to know to live victoriously here on earth according to God's will (John 14:26). Even after the Antichrist is revealed, men will still give their lives to Christ and the Holy Spirit is the one who will convict them so He cannot possibly be the one who will leave the earth for the Antichrist to be revealed (Rev. 7:9-14). It is important to note that men will still be reading the Scriptures in those days too so how will that work if there is no Holy Spirit to teach and explain matters to them? What then will be removed from the earth before the Antichrist is revealed? The answer is the church (1 Thess. 4:13-17). You are probably asking how the church can be called a 'he' but the church is actually a 'he' (Eph. 2:14-16, Eph. 4:13). If Jesus is a man and the church is His body then it would be inappropriate to refer to His body as a woman (Eph. 1:22-23). In Eph. 5:25-27, the church is referred to as 'her' but only in modern translations as the reference is 'it' in the King James Version (KJV). Without any doubt, a 'he' in that portion would make Christianity look like a pro-homosexuality faith and the underlying theme is to draw a parallel between Christ and the church on one hand and husband and wife on the other. Question 2 God confused the language of the world in Genesis 11, that is the reason for the tribalism-induced crises in Nigeria and the world at large. Why did God do that if He knew men would do all sorts to one another in the name of tribal differences? Answer

The simple answer here is that God is not directly responsible for the actions of men as they have a choice in what path they choose to tread. Everyone on the earth whether believer or unbeliever has one thing in common, which is the gift of life. We will all give an account of how we use that gift of life to the One who gave us the gift initially. The difference between men and robots is freewill, robots are programmed to do what the designer wants but men on the other hand have a right to either accept or refuse (John 3:16-20). In simple terms, that is the power to make a choice. The same Bible enjoins us to love one another just as Christ loves us (John 15:12, Gal. 5:14). The Scriptures preach peace, love and harmonious living among men but that does not mean that even 'Christians' do not sometimes resort to violent acts against their fellow men. If we would, all embrace the person next to us, as a neighbour then there would be peace in this world as we never knew existed. Question 3 My parents have Muslims in their family line. As Christians, is it right for them to throw away the meat during Sallah celebrations when it is offered to them? Answer The first statement that we must make on this matter is that we believers have freedom in Christ, and are not bound by laws and human regulations that seek to mortify the flesh and do nothing to elevate the spirit (Col. 2:16-17, 20-23). Our freedom in Christ however is not a license to satisfy our fleshly desires as the Bible clearly instructs us to live by the Spirit (Galatians 5:13-16).

"The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it, the world and all who who live in it" (Psalm 24:1
NIV). Relevant portions of the Scriptures that directly address this matter are 1 Cor. 8: 413, Romans 14:1-23, 1 Cor. 10:23-33. The central theme in all of these is the effect of your actions on your fellow believer's faith. " Be careful, however, that the exercise of your freedom does not become a stumbling block to the weak" (1 Cor. 8:9 NIV), "Do not allow what you consider good to be spoken of as evil " (Romans 14:16 NIV) etc. You are neither right nor wrong if you choose to eat Sallah meat, your faith may allow you to eat anything while someone else's faith will only permit him or her to eat some things. "So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God" (1 Cor. 10:31 NIV). This is not to say that the Holy Spirit cannot expressly instruct you not to do certain things as occasion demands. It is His business to give us believers, instruction always and to teach us ALL things not just the Scriptures (John 14:26, Romans 8:14). Authors note: The above is a transcript of a discussion forum at the Parish Youth Chapel, Church of the Pentecost (Anglican Communion), 21 Road, Festac Town, Lagos on Sunday, 6th November 2011, over which I presided in my capacity as Coordinator.