The Restrainer of The Antichrist
Pastor Leslie Chua
“And you know what is now restraining him, so that he may be revealed when his time comes. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work, but only until the one who now restrains it is removed. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will destroy with the breath of his mouth, annihilating him by the manifestation of his coming.”
In the first segment of 2 Thessalonians chapter 2, the apostle Paul explains that the day of the Lord ‘will not come unless the rebellion (apostasy) comes first and the lawless one is revealed.’ After that, he talks about the Antichrist, who is referred to here as the ‘lawless one.’
So, the immediate context of verses 6 to 8 is about the Antichrist. The discussion concerns the revelation of the Antichrist.
While Satan is always at work to perpetrate evil in the world, there is a limit to what he can do. God has put a restraining force to curb the activities of Satan, which is described here as ‘the mystery of lawlessness.’
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The ultimate manifestation of lawlessness through the person of the Antichrist and his wicked deeds will not occur until God removes the restraining force at His appointed time.
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If you are perturbed by the manifestation of evil at the present time, you have not seen anything yet. The worst is yet to come. A day will come in the future when God will withdraw His restraint on Satan. The devil will be permitted the freedom to wreak unprecedented havoc in the whole world.
At that time, Satan will raise a man who will be completely under his influence and control. Through this lawless one, Satan will wage war against Christ and humanity. That is why he is known as the Antichrist.
The ultimate manifestation of lawlessness through the person of the Antichrist and his wicked deeds will not occur until God removes the restraining force at His appointed time.
All this is not new information to the Thessalonian believers. Paul reminded them that he had told them about this matter when he was with them previously – “Do you not remember that I told you these things when I was still with you?” (2 Thessalonians 2:5).
The Identity of the Restrainer
Here is the question on the minds of people who try to identify this restraining force. What is this restraining force, or who is this restrainer?
It seems somewhat odd that I phrase the question in such a manner. That is because of the way Paul describes this restraining force.
In verse 6, Paul uses the term ‘what’ when referring to this restraining force – “And you know what is now restraining him.” ‘What’ is neuter gender. It suggests that the apostle is not referring to a person. He is referring to a thing or a force.
However, in verse 7, which follows immediately, Paul identifies the restraining force as ‘the one’ – “but only until the one who now restrains it is removed.” ‘The one’ in the original Greek text is in masculine form. This restraining force is now personalised. In other words, the restraining force is a person.
So, what is the identity of this restrainer? Who is this restrainer of the Antichrist?
This is one of the most debated topics in biblical eschatology. There are many interpretations. I shall highlight the commonest views.
The Human Government
Many early church fathers held the view that the Roman Empire was the restraining force.
Despite being capable of heavy-handed oppression, the Roman Empire, through its implementation of law and order, brought about Pax Romana. It brought about a considerable period of relative peace and stability throughout the Roman Empire. As a result, the people enjoyed economic prosperity and cultural flourishing.
As the argument goes, all this serves to hold back anarchy and prevent chaos. Lawlessness was kept in check.
Later, when the Roman Empire fell, this view was modified to include any God-ordained government. In other words, the restraining force is the government.
The Preaching of the Gospel
Another view is that the preaching of the gospel acts as a restraining force.
The contention is that the gospel has restraining power. The presence of the gospel and its transformative power in human hearts has the effect of holding back lawlessness in societies.
It follows that once the proclamation of the gospel stops, and therefore its restraining effect is removed, the Antichrist will have full reign to do his lawless works.
The Church
Another view is that the church is the restraining force. This is a widely held interpretation.
The believers are the salt of the earth and the light of the world. The influence of Christians, through their prayers, proclamation of the gospel, and good works, serves to impede evil and slow down moral decay in the world. In other words, the presence of the church pushes back on the corrupting influence of Satan and the mystery of lawlessness.
The Holy Spirit
In my opinion, none of these views provides a satisfactory answer. Notice that human government, the preaching of the gospel, and the church are all human forces. The truth of the matter is, human forces by themselves, no matter how strong they are, have no power to contend with Satan.
Not even the archangel Michael has the power to restrain Satan, if I understand Jude 9 properly – ‘But when the archangel Michael contended with the devil and disputed about the body of Moses, he did not dare to bring a condemnation of slander against him, but said, “The Lord rebuke you.’
As for the church, it does not even have the power to restrain human evil and wickedness. Much less the devil and the mystery of lawlessness.
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Only the Holy Spirit, the third Person of the Trinity, has the power to restrain Satan and the Antichrist from emerging. No one else and nothing else has the capability to do so. Without the restraining force of the Holy Spirit, Satan would have unveiled the Antichrist long ago.
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Only God has to power to restrain Satan and the spirit of lawlessness. So, I believe that the Holy Spirit is the restrainer. The Holy Spirit is the restraining force. The Holy Spirit is ‘the one’ who is presently restraining the Antichrist from emerging in the world.
Only the Holy Spirit, the third Person of the Trinity, has the power to restrain Satan and the Antichrist from emerging. No one else and nothing else has the capability to do so. Without the restraining force of the Holy Spirit, Satan would have unveiled the Antichrist long ago.
The Holy Spirit has been restraining evil since the time when Adam and Eve rebelled against God.
Speaking to the wicked people in the pre-flood generation, God said, “My Spirit shall not strive with man forever “(Genesis 6:3 – NKJV/NASB). It indicates that the Holy Spirit contended and restrained mankind from evil, but God warned that a time would come when he would lift the restraint. God did, and the outcome was horrendous. Sin reached a tipping point, and He destroyed mankind with a catastrophic flood.
The Holy Spirit also restrains evil and lawlessness by convicting the world regarding sin, righteousness, and judgement – ‘And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment…’ (John 16:8 - ESV).
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The two seemingly contradictory descriptions of the restraining force in verses 6 and 7 fit the profile and the Person of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is obviously the restrainer of the Antichrist.
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Here is another evidence proving the Holy Spirit is the restrainer.
As pointed out earlier, verse 6 describes the restraining force using a neuter tense. It makes sense because “Spirit” in Greek is pneuma, which means “breath,” “wind,” or “air.” Whereas in verse 7, the restraining force is described as a person.
The two seemingly contradictory descriptions of the restraining force in verses 6 and 7 fit the profile and the Person of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is obviously the restrainer of the Antichrist.
The Removal of the Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit has been restraining the manifestation of the Antichrist, and He will continue to do so until the appointed time ordained by God. There is a timing to God’s redemptive plan. Everything works out according to His sovereign will.
According to Paul, this event will take place sometime before the day of the Lord, which is the 7-year Tribulation period (2 Thessalonians 2:3).
What is meant by the removal of the Holy Spirit - ‘but only until the one who now restrains it is removed’?
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The removal of the Holy Spirit does not mean that He is taken out of the world. Rather, it means the cessation of His restraining work.
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We cannot interpret ‘removal’ here to mean that the Holy Spirit is taken out of the world. Some people believe that will happen when Christians are raptured. When that happens, the Holy Spirit dwelling in God’s people will also be taken out of the earth.
No, that cannot be the case for 2 reasons. First, the Holy Spirit is omnipresent. He is present everywhere in all existence. Second, even after the rapture of the church, people will continue to be saved during the Tribulation. The 144,000 Jewish evangelists will be hard at work preaching the gospel. No one can be saved without the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit.
Given that, the removal of the Holy Spirit does not mean that He is taken out of the world. Rather, it means the cessation of His restraining work.
At the appropriate time, the Holy Spirit will cease to hold back Satan’s plan to raise the man whom he will have complete control of and who will carry out his diabolical plan.
Until then, the Holy Spirit will continue to frustrate Satan’s attempt to unveil the Antichrist. For the time being, the best Satan could do is to work through the mystery of lawlessness. But this does not satisfy him. He is biding his time and waiting for that moment when God will ‘remove’ the restrainer.