Episode 429 – St. Michael the Restrainer

In today’s episode, Steve talks about the destruction of Jerusalem, the times of the gentiles and the end times. Referenced in today’s episode: Luke 21:5-23 Luke 21:24 Luke 21:25-33 Matthew 24 Mark 13 Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) 675 For exclusive content and additional resources on biblical prophecy, visit https://luke21.com/  Bible translations Steve recommends: RSV-CE – Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition ESV – English Standard Version, if you don’t want to use a Catholic bible We appreciate your interest in learning about biblical prophecy! If you are enjoying what you’re listening to, please share with your friends & family. This podcast remains possible due to the support of our listeners.

Steve Wood has been studying Pope Benedict XVI’s teaching on biblical prophecy over the last several years. Surprising to some, there are prophetic hints in the Gospel of Luke. Referenced in today’s episode: Luke21:24 Jesus of Nazareth, Pope Benedict XVI, pgs. 41-52 Mark 13 Matthew 24 John 3:16 Romans 11 For exclusive content and additional resources on biblical prophecy, visit https://luke21.com/  Bible translations Steve recommends: RSV-CE – Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition ESV – English Standard Version, if you don’t want to use a Catholic bible We appreciate your interest in learning about biblical prophecy! If you are enjoying what you’re listening to, please share with your friends & family. This podcast remains possible due to the support of our listeners.

Certain scriptures can bring a lot of light to understanding biblical prophecy. Steve shares more from Luke21, other scripture and St. Augustine. Referenced in today’s episode: Luke21:24 Romans 11 City of God (book 20), St. Augustine CCC 674 Salvation is from the Jews, Roy Schoeman Isaiah 45 For exclusive content and additional resources on biblical prophecy, visit https://luke21.com/  Bible translations Steve recommends: RSV-CE – Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition ESV – English Standard Version, if you don’t want to use a Catholic bible We appreciate your interest in learning about biblical prophecy! If you are enjoying what you’re listening to, please share with your friends & family. This podcast remains possible due to the support of our listeners.

Steve shares three key passages in the Gospels that prophesize the destruction of Jerusalem as well as wisdom from Pope Benedict XVI. If you’d like a copy of the resource Steve mentions, please email us at askthehost @ gmail.com. Referenced in today’s episode: Matthew 24 Mark 13 Luke21 Jesus of Nazareth - Holy Week: From the Entrance Into Jerusalem To The Resurrection, Pope Benedict XVI Deuteronomy 28 For exclusive content and additional resources on biblical prophecy, visit https://luke21.com/  Bible translations Steve recommends: RSV-CE – Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition ESV – English Standard Version, if you don’t want to use a Catholic bible We appreciate your interest in learning about biblical prophecy! If you are enjoying what you’re listening to, please share with your friends & family. This podcast remains possible due to the support of our listeners.

All of Romans is about Jews and Gentiles. Steve continues our study in Romans. Dispensationalism is a school of theology that supports the rapture theory. Steve shares wisdom from Pope Benedict XVI as he walks through scripture to disprove that line of thinking. Referenced in today’s episode: Romans 11:25-26 Galatians 3:26 Galatians 6:15 1 Peter 2:9 Grace & Vocation without Remorse paper by Pope Benedict XVI, 2018 For exclusive content and additional resources on biblical prophecy, visit https://luke21.com/  Bible translations Steve recommends: RSV-CE – Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition ESV – English Standard Version, if you don’t want to use a Catholic bible We appreciate your interest in learning about biblical prophecy! If you are enjoying what you’re listening to, please share with your friends & family. This podcast remains possible due to the support of our listeners.

ROMANS Steve takes us on a historical journey through Romans. Has God rejected the Jews? Plus, Paul’s warning to the Gentiles. Referenced in today’s episode: Romans 11 Romans 8:29 CCC 674 For exclusive content and additional resources on biblical prophecy, visit https://luke21.com/  Bible translations Steve recommends: RSV-CE – Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition ESV – English Standard Version, if you don’t want to use a Catholic bible We appreciate your interest in learning about biblical prophecy! If you are enjoying what you’re listening to, please share with your friends & family. This podcast remains possible due to the support of our listeners.

ROMANS You may not think about Romans as being an important book when studying biblical prophecy. Steve takes us into the book of Romans to outline some context in scripture that might help us understand what’s to come. Referenced in today’s episode: Romans 3:15-16 Grace & Justification by Stephen Wood, page 108 Acts 18 Romans 16 Romans 15:5 Romans 14:13-15 For exclusive content and additional resources on biblical prophecy, visit https://luke21.com/  Bible translations Steve recommends: RSV-CE – Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition ESV – English Standard Version, if you don’t want to use a Catholic bible We appreciate your interest in learning about biblical prophecy! If you are enjoying what you’re listening to, please share with your friends & family. This podcast remains possible due to the support of our listeners.

2 THESSALONIANS The last seven years of human history that will be marked by intense persecution, afflictions, and martyrdom of Christians. Although many Christians believe they will escape the Tribulation, the biblical evidence, particularly from the epistles to the Thessalonians, indicates that believers will be kept in the Tribulation rather than taken out of it. Steve also shares his personal motivations for focusing on biblical prophecy, concerned that many may not make it through the difficult times to come. He references historical and theological perspectives on the severity of the Tribulation period. Referenced in today’s episode: 2 Thessalonians 1:4, and 3:1-3 1 Thessalonians 1:6-7, and 3:-3-4 Matthew 24:9-13 John 17:15 Augustine, Sermon 94 2 Timothy 3:12 Hippolytus, On Christ and Antichrist   CCC 675 We appreciate your interest in learning about biblical prophecy! Video format of the Luke21 podcast is available on YouTube @luke21prophecy. If you’re a YouTube user, we invite you to subscribe to our channel @luke21prophecy and share with your friends & family. This podcast remains possible due to the support of our listeners and their word of mouth. Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/luke21prophecy/ Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Luke21Radio/ For exclusive content and additional resources on biblical prophecy, visit https://luke21.com/  Bible translations Steve recommends: RSV-CE – Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition ESV – English Standard Version, if you don’t want to use a Catholic bible

2 THESSALONIANS Steve Wood discusses the claim that Pope Benedict XVI was the "restrainer" mentioned in 2 Thessalonians 2. While he disagrees with this view, Steve believes the New Oxford Review article which this view came from, contains valuable insights, namely that Benedict's warnings about the growing power of the Antichrist and the great separation within the Church are worth heeding. Steve notes that Benedict, as a student of St. Augustine and the influential writer, Tyconius, believed the Church contains both the true followers of Christ as well as those aligned with the Antichrist. This great separation was a concept Benedict had warned about as early as the 1950s. Steve encourages listeners to carefully read the New Oxford Review article and consider Benedict's apocalyptic warnings about the Antichrist's growing influence, even within the Church itself. These insights from Benedict are highly relevant and valuable for understanding the spiritual battles of our time. Referenced in today’s episode: 2 Thessalonians 2:6-8 New Oxford Review Article: Was Pope Benedict XVI Holding Back the Destroying Flood. We appreciate your interest in learning about biblical prophecy! Video format of the Luke21 podcast is available on YouTube @luke21prophecy. If you’re a YouTube user, we invite you to subscribe to our channel @luke21prophecy and share with your friends & family. This podcast remains possible due to the support of our listeners and their word of mouth. Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/luke21prophecy/ Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Luke21Radio/ For exclusive content and additional resources on biblical prophecy, visit https://luke21.com/  Bible translations Steve recommends: RSV-CE – Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition ESV – English Standard Version, if you don’t want to use a Catholic bible

2 THESSALONIANS Who is the "restrainer" mentioned in 2 Thessalonians 2? Although a respected conservative Catholic leader argued in 2020 that Donald J. Trump is the restrainer, Steve Wood argues that it is actually St. Michael the Archangel according to Revelation 20. The restrainer must have been present during the time when St. Paul was writing 2 Thessalonians, around A.D. 50. This makes it impossible for Trump to be the restrainer. Steve emphasizes the importance of using reliable resources, like the Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, when researching biblical prophecy and quoting Greek words. Referenced in today’s episode: 2 Thessalonians 2:6-8 Revelation 20:1-3 Theological Dictionary of the New Testament We appreciate your interest in learning about biblical prophecy! Video format of the Luke21 podcast is available on YouTube @luke21prophecy. If you’re a YouTube user, we invite you to subscribe to our channel @luke21prophecy and share with your friends & family. This podcast remains possible due to the support of our listeners and their word of mouth. Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/luke21prophecy/ Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Luke21Radio/ For exclusive content and additional resources on biblical prophecy, visit https://luke21.com/  Bible translations Steve recommends: RSV-CE – Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition ESV – English Standard Version, if you don’t want to use a Catholic bible