And now you know what is restraining,
that he 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...
2 Thessalonians 2:6-8, NKJV
Lawlessness will abound, Jesus said, and the love of many will grow cold. It's a sign of the times, just one of many crises that herald the nearness of his coming. Except that regarding those signs that Jesus listed, this seems to be the one that no one in the world is worried about. To the citizens of planet earth, casting off the restraints of morality and righteousness is not lawlessness, it's liberty. We have rights! We want the freedom in which to exercise them. Anyone who tries to uphold any kind of holy standard to govern behavior is called an outdated, intolerant, hateful, ignorant bigot. And lawlessness abounds.
For the man of lawlessness, this is exactly the spiritual atmosphere he needs in which to emerge on the scene. The world's man of universal faith and freedom will come on the scene to break every fetter of the old religions, working signs and wonders and miracles that will make people marvel. His rise to power will be meteoric, likely surprising and yet making lots of sense. In the midst and aftermath of world war, global disaster, and worldwide chaos, this man will emerge from obscurity to unite humanity with his plan of salvation. And the citizens of earth will fall prey to his plan and follow him to their deaths.
Already this lawlessness is at work, and (as John says) many antichrists have come. They rise out of and distance themselves from true Christian religion, denying that Jesus is really the only anointed one and the only begotten true son of God. They say that we are all Christs, that we are all sons of God, that we can all be little gods here with all of God's power and dominion and authority, and that we will become bigger gods later. They dismiss the Bible as myths and fables created by men, and proclaim new and progressively revealed truths that they have discovered in the deceitful depths of their own hearts. They deny the virgin birth and divinity of Jesus Christ, making him either a mere mortal or an otherworldly immortal--but not both. These will be the marks of the Antichrist when he finally arrives on the scene, totally transgressing the doctrine of Christ.
During his brief ministry in Thessalonica, Paul informed the fledgling believers of these very things, and he continues to relate to them key facts regarding the Rapture and the rise of Antichrist, and now introduces us to the concept of the restrainer, that which is holding back lawlessness and the Antichrist.
54. The man of sin is presently being restrained.
55. The man of sin will be revealed in his own time.
56. The believers know what is restraining the man of sin.
57. The mystery of lawlessness is already at work, but is still being restrained.
58. The restrainer will continue to do so until He is removed.
59. When the restrainer is removed, the antichrist will be revealed.
And Paul tells the Thessalonian believers that they know what restrains. Unfortunately, he does not also tell us. This is one of those details that makes 2 Thessalonians 2 such a challenge. Some suggestions regarding the identity of the restrainer include God Himself, Michael the Archangel, human government, the Holy Spirit, and the Church, and there may be even more ideas out there than these. But looking at the context and the things Paul has already written in 1 Thessalonians, I believe we can reach the informed conclusion that the restrainer is the Holy Spirit living in and working through the faithful church, those believers doing in the world what we were commissioned to do.
Jesus told his disciples, "I will build my church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it."
Jesus gave his disciples power and authority over all demons, sending them out to preach the kingdom of God and heal the sick. When they returned with reports of demons being subject to their power, Jesus said, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven (literally, again and again as the disciples exercised their authority). Behold, I give you authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you."
1 John 4:4 says that we who are of God have overcome the spirit of antichrist, because He who is in us is greater than he who is in the world.
James 4:7 tells us to submit to God and resist the devil, and the devil will flee from us.
2 Corinthians 10:4-5 declares that we have spiritual weapons that are mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and making every thought a captive of our obedience to Christ.
How can lawlessness prevail as long as the church of Jesus Christ is standing in the way? How can lawlessness overcome those that have power to overcome it? How can lawlessness arise as long as we are still standing strong and warring in the power of the Holy Ghost, resisting the devil and restraining evil in the world through our obedience to the law of Christ?
And how do we restrain the devil, the antichrist, and the mystery of lawlessness? I believe Paul gives us the prescription in 1 Thessalonians 5:12-22.
Honor those in spiritual leadership and listen to what they say.
Be peacemakers and peacekeepers in the church.
Warn the unruly with truth.
Comfort the fainthearted and feebleminded with truth.
Encourage the weak with truth.
Don't give up on anyone.
Don't repay evil with evil.
Always pursue what is good for yourself and everybody else.
Rejoice always.
Pray always.
Praise and worship God always.
Do not resist the Holy Spirit.
Do not despise the proclamation of truth.
Put every word and deed to the test, holding onto only what is good.
Abstain from every form of evil.
--CLS paraphrase
We, the believers in and followers of Jesus Christ, are the dwelling place of God's Holy Spirit. Though the Holy Spirit has always moved upon the face of the earth, He has always worked through people. We are the agents and instruments of the Holy Spirit, put here to fulfill the will, plan and purposes of God. As long as the faithful church of Jesus Christ is praying, praising, preaching truth, and operating in the power of the Holy Ghost, the spirit of lawlessness and antichrist is opposed, resisted, pushed back and restrained. But Paul has already informed the Thessalonian believers and us that there is an appointed time in which all Christians will be removed from this planet in the Rapture. Judgment cannot come until we are gone. Judgment cannot come until the antichrist is revealed. The antichrist cannot be revealed as long as lawlessness is restrained. As long as the church is doing what Christ commanded and empowered us to do, lawlessness is restrained. But when we and the Holy Spirit living in us are taken out of the way, there will be nothing to restrain the world, its tendency and desire toward lawlessness, and the man who embodies every form of sin, evil and rebellion against God. With nothing standing between him and world domination, the antichrist will rise, empowered by the devil, and lawlessness will prevail.
But not for long.
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