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NASB | 2 Thessalonians 2:7 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. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | 2 Thessalonians 2:7 For the mystery of lawlessness [rebellion against divine authority and the coming reign of lawlessness] is already at work; [but it is restrained] only until he who now restrains it is taken out of the way. |
Bible Question:
Greetings CDBJ! Here is my promised attempt to work through 2 Thess. 2:1-12. Context: The context of the passage is clear. Some had apparently heard from someone that the promised future events (the coming of Christ and our being gathered together with Him) had already occurred (2 Thess. 2:1-2). This church appears to have been undergoing intense persecution and the hope of the coming of the Lord was a precious and important promise to them (see 1 Thess. 4-5). However, Paul did not want them to be mentally or emotionally unstable because of a false prophecy, rumor, or even a false letter (2 Thess. 2:2). The fact was that these two events could not take place until two things had occurred: 1) The rebellion occurs, and 2) The man of lawlessness is revealed (2 Thess. 2:3). Unfortunately for us, Paul only alludes to some things which he had already shared with the Thessalonicans (2 Thess. 2:5). So, there will be questions about this text that we will never be able to answer. The Man of Lawlessness Much of this text describes this man of lawlessness who must be revealed before the coming of the Lord and the gathering of the Saints. It is said of him that: 1) He will be a man, but a man characterized as being lawless - v. 3. 2) He will be destined for destruction (cf. Rev. 17:8,11) - v. 3. 3) He will oppose God - v. 4. 4) He will exalt himself over God - v. 4. 5) He will even declare himself to be god in the temple - v. 4. 6) He will be revealed (passive, so someone else reveals or exposes him for who he is) - v. 8. 7) He will be overthrown and destroyed by Christ at His coming - v. 8. 8) His appearance will be with signs, wonders, and evil - vv. 9-10. 9) His appearance will be Satanic in nature - v. 9. The Restrainer All of this is pretty basic to the text. The real questions come when we turn our attention to the meaning of verses 6 and 7. It is clear that the Thessalonicans knew who or what was restraining the man of lawlessness (2 Thess. 2:6), but unfortunately for us, Paul never identifies the restrainer. What do we know for sure? 1) Paul and his audience both knew who or what the restrainer was - v. 6. 2) The purpose of the restraint was to prevent the man of lawlessness from being revealed at an improper time - v. 6. 3) The restraint is presently active - v. 7. 4) The restraint will be removed at some point in the future - v. 7. 5) At that point, the man of lawlessness will be revealed - v. 8. Conclusions The simple fact is that no one can state with any certainty the identity of the restrainer. Scripture is silent on this issue. Thus, any attempts on our part to name the restrainer can only be considered guesses. Here are several assumptions which I believe can be made about the restrainer. 1) The nature of the restraint must be supernatural. 2) The activity of the restrainer has last almost 2,000 years now. Both of these facts indicate that the restrainer could not be a human being. This leads us to the conclusions which some have advanced concerning the identity. a) The Roman Empire. b) Government in general. c) The Church. d) The Holy Spirit. e) And (new to me), Michael the Archangel. I think a) is an impossible position since the Roman empire no longer exists and therefore could not be currently restraining the man of lawlessness. I think b) is questionable. In what sense could a government restrain supernatural evil? I think c), d), and e) are all possible answers. The only problem I have with e) is that there is nothing else in Scripture that indicates this. Dan. 12:1 does not (in my opinion) support this view. Even if it did, Dan. 12:1 identifies Michael as the protector of Israel, not the world. In my view, either c) or d) would be the most likely answers. The Church could be seen as a restraining force until it’s removal from the scene. The Holy Spirit would definitely be able to restrain the man of lawlessness. Ultimately, the real importance of this passage is not in the identify of the restrainer, but in the fact that even the man of lawlessness is subject to God’s sovereign plan. Your Brother in Christ, Tim Moran |
Bible Answer: I agree on Tim Moran's analysis; albiet incomplete. The sailent point he makes is that we will never be sure what the restrainer is until, perhaps, it is taken out of the way. But we have been given some clues. Time narrows his options to two. But that list may not include another possibility, a possibility that is closely related to his two. I am not into Kabbalah teaching, but I do seek Hebraic thought when interpretating canonnal scriptures, scriptures [canon] that were written by Hebrews. I so seek the literal, but only in the Hebraic sense. Therefore let me share some insight. I did some reading on "tzaddik" [a.k.a. righteous-one or one's] from Avi Ben Mordechai's third volume of Messiah — the Kabbalhistic volume. I did not find any direct connection of a tzaddik or tzaddikim to a restrainer; but I did find something very interesting; as follows: (quote) Light for the Righteous, pg. 313a. To intensify our understanding of Y'shua's dialogue, let us now go to some Rabbinic drash on B'resheet 1:3-4 that tells us that when the Light was formed, it was then hidden away so that it could be revealed in the future: For whom did He store it (the Light) away? For the righteous in the time to come, as it says, And God saw the light, that it was good (Gen. 1,4). What is the meaning of 'That it was good' ? He saw that its light was very good for the world and never caused harm, as does the sun. Where did He store it away? In the garden of Eden [i.e. Paradise], for it says, Light is sown for the righteous (Ps. XCVII , 11) .3 Righteousness always begins with trusting faith in the Name [YHVH - God]. However, trusting faith is not the end of the story. Trusting faith produces actions of righteousness and therefore, the righteous are ultimately defined as those who walk in the Covenant of the Torah as it is written in D'varim 6:25: And it will be righteousness for us if we are careful to observe all this commandment before (HaShem) our Elohim [God], just as He commanded us. The desire of Elohim was for all Israel to walk in trusting faith while bearing a commitment to the Torah. On this basis, all Israel was to be regarded as tzaddim or the righteous of the world. This is how the Divine Word in Yeshayahu 60:21 put it (as compared to the corrupted English translations): And your people, all of them, are righteous forever. Each soul of Israel [Isreal here being all of the twelve tribe who have an abiding faith in the Messiah and those Gentiles whom have been grafted in] was supposed to be a tzaddik and therefore capable of shining the Light of the Torah…(end quote). What I see here is that the tzaddik or tzaddikim exercise TRUSTING FAITH. Trusting faith is the operative here, a restraining influence of evil—if you will. Avi further points out all Israel, and here we are speaking of spiritual Israel or "true believers," is commissioned to function with a trusting faith. Therefore, as I see it, all spiritual Israel (true believers) is the restraining influence. Other Kabbalahistic renderings on tzaddik are more complex as it relates to the Sefirotic Tree, but is not germane to the issue at hand, nor is the Kabbalahistic teachings... but the scriptures above is germane. Then I recalled that the Y'shua said that apostasy"—the greatest apostasy—"comes first." That sounds like the abandonment of a trusting faith on a massive scale. Well then it is obvious, when that happens, the restraint falters; ergo, the son of perdition will then be revealed as he steps into power. I wonder if it is that simple: THAT WHICH RESTRAINS EVIL IS A TRUSTING FAITH IN GOD. In reality, it always has been. All the way back to the garden of Eden. Take it out of the way, evil will have its way. The import of all of this is this: what condition will cause the perpondance of humankind to abandon a trusting faith in God? That is the real question. The real danger. The real warning. The warning notwithstanding, the fact that Jesus Christ wins in the end should give us comfort; and the prophecy should give those who will have to live through it -- something to hold on to. Blessed are those who keep a trusting faith. jw Bremerton WA |