2 Thessalonians 2:5-8, The Restrainer Removed

The “restrainer” is described with the neuter term “what” and with the masculine term “he.” Who or what is the restrainer that is holding back the mystery of lawlessness and the revealing of the lawless one, the antichrist?

^2:5 Don’t you remember that when I was still with you, I told you these things? ⁶ And now you know what is restraining him so that he will be revealed in his own time. ⁷ For the mystery of lawlessness is already working, but will not be revealed until the One who now restrains is moved out of the way. ⁸ And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and destroy him by the appearance of his coming.

Oh, to have been at Thessalonica when Paul explained all of God’s eschatological (last days) timetable. Paul might have been as frustrated with us as he was with the Thessalonians for not grasping and holding on to these truths. But at least we would have known what Paul meant by the restrainer.

Paul tells his readers that the restrainer was restraining or preventing the revealing of the lawless one, the antichrist. The restrainer was also restraining the “mystery” of lawlessness, an apparent reference to the hidden promoter of lawlessness, Satan, at work invisibly campaigning for rebellion against God. There would come a time when the restrainer would be moved out of the way, and then Satan would be free to bring about his instrument, the lawless one, who would appear, only to be destroyed by Jesus at his return to earth (Revelation 19). So, what or who could the restrainer be? Several suggestions have been made:

The Gospel – Certainly, the preaching of the gospel has been a restraining force against evil. As people believe and are set free from captivity to Satan (2 Timothy 2:26; 1 John 5:19), Satan’s program of evil is hindered. But the gospel is not a person. Paul says, “the One who now restrains.”

The Church – This fits with the masculine pronoun, “the one who now restrains.” And given that the church will be removed from the earth at Jesus’ return to the air (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18), this would indeed be a restraint that is taken out of the way allowing Satan great freedom to bring in his antichrist and for a great apostasy to occur.

The Jewish State – The Jewish state could be viewed as a “he” but unless the Jewish state is a believing body, submissive to Messiah, it does not seem that the Jewish state would in any way be restraining the evil one and his evil empire. And the Jewish state was dissolved from A.D. 70 until 1948. How was it restraining evil during that time?

The Binding of Satan – This pits Satan against Satan. Satan is restraining evil until he is bound? A kingdom divided against itself cannot stand.

Gentile World Dominion – If the whole world is under the sway of the evil one (1 John 5:19), Gentile world rulers would not be a restraining force against evil, nor would government in general, though that is its purpose (Romans 13:1-4). Yes, government is a restraining force against evil, but it has too often fallen into evil itself. And there is no indication that government will be taken out of the way during the reign of the antichrist. Rather, he will have his own government fighting other governments (Revelation 17,18).

The Holy Spirit – The Greek word “spirit” is neuter, but Jesus clearly identifies the Holy Spirit as a person with the masculine pronoun “he” in his upper room discourse (John 13-17). The Holy Spirit seems to be the supernatural source of restraint against Satan and his program and the progress of evil. His presence in the Church also can explain how with the church removed by rapture from the world, He is, in that sense, moved out of the way. This seems to be the best explanation for Paul’s comments. The Holy Spirit is the “He” who is removed with the Church (the “what”) that allows Satan the chance to promote his servant, the antichrist, in a bid for world domination.