Who is Keeping the Antichrist from Being Revealed?
II Thessalonians 2:6-8 – “And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. And then shall that Wicked be revealed…”
We have before us a most debated passage of scripture. Paul writes to the Thessalonian church regarding this man of sin. Paul teaches plainly two truths regarding the “restrainer”: first, that there is a restrainer, defined as someone who is withholding the Antichrist’s power, keeping him from being revealed; and second, that the Thessalonians, at the time of Paul’s writing, already knew the identity of this restrainer. “Ye know what withholdeth that he [the man of sin] might be revealed in his time,” Paul said. Since the Thessalonians already knew the personage of whom Paul was speaking, Paul did not take the time to state it in this passage. I have often wished that Paul would have just written a few more words to clearly identify this restrainer again for the Thessalonians, and thereby end the debate once for all. The Holy Ghost, however, with divine wisdom and purpose, withheld this information from us. The fact of the matter is this: the Bible does not state expressly who the restrainer is. I am very dogmatic when the Bible states something explicitly. But when the Bible does not clearly identify the restrainer, it would not be wise for Christians to break fellowship because of differences on the subject. I will therefore give briefly some theories I have heard, then I will give my own opinion.
Some Say the Restrainer is Human Government and Law*
Perhaps among the oldest of opinions regarding the restrainer is that it is identified by human government and law. Some state that the human government that hindered the Antichrist from being revealed was the Roman Empire. Paul stated in II Thessalonians 2 that the restrainer would be taken out of the way, and then the man of sin would be revealed. The Roman Empire WAS taken out of the way, but the Antichrist still has not been revealed.
As for the restrainer being human government in general, a simple study in Revelation will show that even after the Antichrist is revealed, there will still be human government. In Nebuchadnezzar’s vision of the world empires, human government DOES come crashing down, but not until after the reign of the Antichrist. So it cannot be human government that is taken away so that the Antichrist can be revealed.
Some Say the Restrainer is Satan
I have heard this by some, especially by some who promote a post-tribulation rapture of the church. Revelation 13:4 states that it is the dragon (the devil) that gives power to the beast. Since Satan has refrained from giving the Antichrist this power as of yet, he cannot come on the scene. This sounds feasible until we hear Paul’s words stating that the restrainer “will let, until he be taken out of the way. And then shall that Wicked be revealed…” The Antichrist will not be revealed until whoever is restraining him is removed. If Satan is keeping the Antichrist from being revealed, then Satan must be removed prior to the Antichrist’s arrival. However, Revelation 20 shows us the removal of Satan into the lake of fire, but not until AFTER the reign of the Antichrist, and after the Millennium.
Some Say the Restrainer is the Church
While this opinion is, I believe, closer to the truth, I cannot embrace the idea that the church of Jesus Christ is the restrainer. There are two verses that are commonly used to prove this, being Matthew 5:13, in which Jesus tells his disciples “ye are the salt of the earth”; and Matthew 5:14, in which Jesus tells his disciples “ye are the light of the world.” Salt preserves against corruption, and light repels darkness. In the same way, the church keeps the man of sin from being revealed, they say.
Suppose I spoke to one who believes the church is the restrainer. I would ask him one question. When did the church begin? Did the church of Jesus Christ begin at the cross? At Pentecost? Or perhaps some time before either of these events?
Suppose he answers my question regarding the church’s beginning, stating that the church began either at the cross or at Pentecost. If that be the case, then the church was not yet on the earth when Jesus told his disciples “ye are the salt of the earth” and “ye are the light of the world.” If the church began either at the cross or on the day of Pentecost, then Christ was not speaking to the church when He made the above statements. In this case, any believers in Christ, whether before the church was founded or after the church is gone, would be the salt of the earth and the light of the world. Even tribulation saints would be the salt of the earth and the light of the world, and we know that tribulation saints will not keep the Antichrist from being revealed.
Now, back to my question to the one who believes the church is the restrainer. Suppose that, when I ask him regarding the church’s beginning, he says that the church began BEFORE the cross, and BEFORE Pentecost. Suppose he makes it clear that there WAS a church upon the earth at the time of the Sermon on the Mount, when Jesus identified His disciples as the salt of the earth and the light of the world. In that case, I would point out that the Antichrist was present on the earth at that time. Judas Iscariot was the devil incarnated (John 13:27). Jesus identified Judas as being a devil (John 6:70). Judas, like the Antichrist of the end time, was called the son of perdition (John 17:12). I elaborated on this in detail in part 3 of this series, so I will not elaborate here. But these considerations keep me from believing that the restrainer is the church.
*Pentecost, J. Dwight. Things to Come. Dunham Publishing Company. Findlay, OH. ©1953. pp. 259-260.
