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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:
Who does the Lockman Foundation feel is the "restrainer" of 2 Thess. 2; and why? The orginal Greek hsa "restrainer" as both nuter and masculine gender. Is it a person, entitity, or concept. Then follows the obvious question: How will it be taken out of the way? jw Bremerton WA |
Bible Answer: Greetings again, Enoch! I have found some very interesting information on the identity of the "restrainer"... "Who, then, is the restrainer to whom Paul refers? Is it the true church? The Holy Spirit? Human government? Who? The Thessalonian text does not say. But the Greek noun ekklesia ("church") is feminine, and "restrainer" in verse 7 is masculine, which rules out the church. More important, however, the context of Paul's second letter to the Thessalonians is his instruction about what must happen before Christ comes to rapture His saints at the Day of the Lord (2 Thess. 2:1-2), making the true church of Christ an impossible candidate for the restrainer. You can't make the removal of the saints a condition that must be met before the saints are removed and the Day of the Lord begins, can you? Somehow the logic of that circular reasoning escapes me. Other pretribulationists will assert that the restrainer is the Holy Spirit, reasoning that because the Holy Spirit indwells the true believer, the removal of the restrainer is an indirect reference to the rapture of the saints. But again, the circular reasoning that makes the true church an impossible candidate for the restrainer also makes the Holy Spirit an impossible candidate. Furthermore, like the elect of God, the Holy Spirit will still be on earth after Antichrist begins his persecution of the elect (Mark 13:11; cf. Matt. 24:21-22,31). Finally, some interpreters believe the restrainer is human government. But human government clearly continues under the rule of Antichrist after his true identity is revealed (Rev. 17:12), making that option also unacceptable. If Paul had been referring to the church, the Holy Spirit, or human government, why wouldn't he have said precisely that? Perhaps the reason is that the restrainer is indeed the restrainer referred to in the Old Testament. Which leads me to the candidate I believe is a real possibility. I think a strong case can be made for the restrainer being the archangel Michael. We learn from the prophet Daniel that Michael's work is to "stand firmly against" or "restrain" the forces of evil (Dan. 10:21), and we are later told that Michael will "arise" or "stand still" (Dan. 12:1; the Hebrew verb amad can mean either) just prior to the great persecution of Antichrist. The idea in the Hebrew text is that Michael, "who stands guard over the sons of your people," must remove his protection- arise, stand still- before "there will be a time of distress such as never occurred since there was a nation until that time" (Dan. 12:1). The passage parallels the present 2 Thessalonians passage, where we are told that the restrainer "is taken out of the way" before "the lawless one" is revealed (2:7-8). Thus, Satan is not able to afflict Israel or the elect of God to the degree he desires until God removes the angelic protection of Michael. Only then can Antichrist have access to those who claim the name of Christ, to test the genuineness of their faith. (More will be said about this in the next two chapters.) However, as already noted, the identity of the restrainer does not affect the sequence of events that must occur before Christ comes. We only know that he must be removed before Antichrist can be revealed, and that Antichrist must be revealed before the events described in verse 8 can occur." (1) "In a parallel passage, addressing the same, precise time period, Daniel prophecies that "at that time [the midpoint of the seventieth week], Michael, the great prince who stands guard over the sons of your people, will arise. And there will be a time of distress such as never occurred since there was a nation until that time..." (Dan. 12:1). The New Testament reference to the restrainer being "taken away," and to the Old Testament reference where Michael "arise[s]" coalesce when the Greek and Hebrew words are studied closely." (2) This was interesting material from Robert Van Kampen! Blessings to you, Makarios Sources: (1) "The Rapture Question Answered, Plain and Simple", 1997, Robert Van Kampen, Published by Fleming H. Revell, pgs. 124-125 (2) "The Sign", 1992, Robert Van Kampen, [Third Revised Edition, 2000], Published by Crossway Books, pg. 212 (http://www.signministries.org) |