Editors note: the guest article appearing here does not necessarily reflect the views of Bible Rebel editors or other guest authors and contributors. Bible Rebel seeks to present a wide range of ideas and viewpoints in order to fulfill our mission to provide resources for “Curious Fearless Faith”. This is Part 4, the final part, in a new series on prayer called ‘Why Must We Pray, Anyway’ by Steve Sann.
Why Must We Pray, Anyway: Part 1
Why Must We Pray, Anyway: Part 2
Why Must We Pray, Anyway: Part 3
Holding Back the Destruction
With this in mind, it is easy to understand the spiritual pressure mounting from this world to minimize the importance of prayer. All the while, however, it is only the “believing believers,” those who remain active in prayer, who continue to restrain the powers of darkness from raiding and destroying.
II Thessalonians2:6-8a:
And now you know what is restraining, that he [the “son of perdition”; i.e., the anti-Christ] may be revealed in his own time.
For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way.
And then the lawless one will be revealed…
We know Satan is the god, the authority, of this world. It is his to destroy. So, we must ask: Why hasn’t Satan completed his objective of annihilating the earth and all the people in it? After all, he’s “large and in charge!”
As long as the believers—those who actually call upon God in prayer—are intermixed within Satan’s kingdom, the grand finale of Satan’s power cannot be revealed. But the day will come at Christ’s return when the believers will be taken out of the way (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17), and the authorities of Satan will usurp preeminence. This event of our departure is detailed in I Thessalonians 4 and referred to in II Thessalonians 2:1 as the Gathering Together, in more recent times as the Rapture.
Until that day, however, it is the believers who restrain Satan’s rage. Yet, not just any believer; it is the “believing believer” that stands between the people of this world and Satan’s wholesale wrath.
Who are these “believing believers”? These are not just the people who have attended a few church fellowships, perhaps have read a lot of the bible, or even who are merely born-again. Satan has been haply running over these folks for centuries. No—rather, the believers spoken of here are those who have sharpened their skills at bringing the powers of heaven to bear on earth—by walking in their sonship rights, claiming their authority, walking in the spirit, and petitioning God. We are speaking here of the true intercessors, those who bring the fight into the streets.
These are they who cannot be destroyed because they reside within the cone of God’s presence. And until they are taken out of the way at Christ’s return, it is they who restrain Satan’s ultimate will upon this world and its inhabitants.
Since man’s expulsion from the garden, throughout history, there has always been at least one “believing believer” standing, interceding on behalf of protecting God’s people. In fact, in the Old Testament, this was taught: it was understood as a vital responsibility of every man and woman of God to readily intercede for God’s people.
Steve Sann
Steve Sann is a writer and researcher passionate about biblical studies, theology, and historical analysis. His work explores prophecy, spiritual manifestations, and other scriptural mysteries with clarity, logic, and an unwavering dedication to accuracy. His research challenges conventional perspectives while remaining grounded in the time-tested principle that Scripture interprets itself.
“Until that day, however, it is the believers who restrain Satan’s rage.”
A lot of your article talks about Satan and our war against him. Could it be that you are fighting a non-existent entity and wasting your time worrying about it?
Consider this video from a renowned Bible scholar named Dr. Dan McClellan called “Most of our ideas about Satan are non-biblical. Here is the link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMI9mzBsvEo
Steve, there was no biblical scholarship in The Way or The Way Corps we were in. Everyone knows it. Most of our beliefs aligned with mainstream protestant Christianity except for the doctrine of the Trinity. Our Way experience was largely before the Internet existed. Today true biblical scholarship is easily found online and contradicts most of our preconceived beliefs about the bible and Christianity itself.
For example, here is a video in a debate setting by Dr. Bart Ehrman, another renowned biblical scholar called “Is the New Testament Reliable?”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2LMBMsJeNY
It’s time Christians began to investigate the hard facts about Christianity and the bible rather than what their preconceived notions tell them based on what they have been taught. I’ll start with an easy one….Do you really believe Noah’s Ark happened? There is no scientific or historical evidence for such a major cataclysmic event not to mention the impossibility of the animals, etc. It’s a cool story but come on. Really? Just because “The Bible Tells Me So” is not evidence.
There is so much we were NOT taught in The Way about the bible because the teachers themselves were uninformed and uneducated in biblical studies. I am a NONE. I do not embrace any religion including the two largest ones, Christianity and Islam. Both claim their so-called holy books, the Bible and the Quaran, are God’s Word and inerrant. It’s clear to me (and a large consensus scholars) that neither are. They have good parts and fun stories, but they also have horrible parts, The problems begin when you take them as God’s holy inerrant Word.
I am not an atheist. My relationship with God is personal. I am glad to have deconstructed some of my false religious teachings along with their conspiratorial fears and concerns. The truth has set me free.