Hi Friend,

Steve Jobs, the founder and creative genius behind Apple Computers, accomplished some amazing feats during his life but there is one of the most significant is almost unknown.  One surprising narrative is that he was the force of restraint to keep pornography off the iPad.  In a 2010 news conference he stated, “You know, there’s a porn store for Android. You can download porn, your kids can download porn. That’s a place we don’t want to go—so we’re not going to go there.”

Whatever his moral lapses, it was Jobs who stood as a lone pillar to resist that encroachment.  Sadly, now that he is gone, the smut gate has been opened.

Mankind is indebted to many individuals who had the character to resist evil. Whatever their spiritual beliefs, they stood in the gap to prevent destruction of something vital to the rest of us.  Steve Jobs is but one example.

That thought came to mind when reading a scripture which, though familiar, is still a mystery.  In 2 Thessalonians 2:7 the Apostle Paul is inspired to write, “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.”  Paul is describing an end time scenario where someone holds the gate of protection shut for those of us who are privileged to live in a civilized world.  Whoever that person is I’m thankful for him.

Reading Paul’s words it’s natural to ask “who” is doing the restraining and “what” is it that is being restrained.  We’re given the clue that it has to do with law so we can surmise that someone is upholding a just system of laws that protects us from tyranny and anarchy.

A couple of reference works may hold part of the answer.

The first is a Concordance which says the word “he” in Paul’s statement quoted above could also be translated “what”.  In other words, Paul may be saying, “What now restrains will do so until it is taken out of the way.”

The second is a quote from Sen. Daniel Webster writing in 1851 when the world was threatened, once again, with a descent into chaos.  His admonition was to “Hold on to the Constitution, for if the American Constitution should fail, there will be anarchy throughout the world.”

One would think Webster would have said “there will be anarchy throughout the United States.”   But he didn’t!  He viewed the American Constitution as a pillar of justice holding back anarchy all over the globe.

Perhaps the greatest contribution America has made to the world is a system of justice based on a constitution written by gifted and wise men.  In the history of the world no other nation ever came into existence quite the same way as the United States.  We are the only nation that has a constitution at its genesis.

That may or may not be what God had in mind when He inspired Paul to write about who—or what—restrains the mystery of lawlessness.

It gives one pause to wonder if Daniel Webster’s words were prophetic.  The American Constitution is being attacked by politicians, judicial activists, Supreme Court justices and domestic terrorists.  If America fails to hold on to the Constitution will the world tumble into anarchy?

Thank God for the man who stands in the gap to hold back the tide of evil.  When he defends the constitution, he protects the interests of free people around the world from the tyranny of lawlessness.  He may be pilloried and hated but he is our friend.  It is inevitable that mortal man, no matter how wise, will turn to dust, but the Constitution can only be lost by politicians who fail to stand in the gap.

Until next time,

Jim O’Brien