Who is THE RESTRAINER

Hi Tra, welcome to the forum.

The title of your thread asks who is the restrainer?

The restrainer is the body of Christ, the church, in which the Holy Spirit works. In verse 6, it is actually "what" with-holdeth, not who. But let us not argue over that point. The what is that as long as the rapture has not happened, 2Thessalonians2:4 will not happen.

Tra Phull said:

In 2 Thessalonians, and what is the nature of the son of perdition who is being withheld? Is it a flesh and blood man - this Man of Sin?

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The son of perdition will be a man, who's action in 2Thessalonians2:4 triggers the beginning of the Day of the Lord, during which time the wrath of God will be poured out on the earth.

In 1Thessalonians5, concerning the beginning of the Day of the Lord as like a thief coming in the night, in verses 9-11, which are rapture verses, indicates that the church will be taken out of the way before the Antichrist commits his act.

9 For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,

10 Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him.

11 Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do.

What is not known is how far before the 2Thessalonians2:4 act that the rapture will take place. Therefore we should take the position of watching and expecting in Luke 21:34-36, to avoid being caught unawares like them in darkness.

Archangel Michael is the restrainer.
At the end times, the devil (Antichrist little horn) makes war with the saints and overcomes them for a time. So the church is not restraining the devil then is it?
Besides that it is a 'he' that is restraining, a singular being.
AND if the saints are given into devils hands for a time, then they have not left the earth have they.

Daniel 7
20 and the ten horns that were on its head, and the other horn which came up, before which three fell, namely, that horn which had eyes and a mouth which spoke pompous words, whose appearance was greater than his fellows.

21 “I was watching; and the same horn was making war against the saints, and prevailing against them, 22 until the Ancient of Days came, and a judgment was made in favor of the saints of the Most High, and the time came for the saints to possess the kingdom.

23 “Thus he said:

‘The fourth beast shall be
A fourth kingdom on earth,
Which shall be different from all other kingdoms,
And shall devour the whole earth,
Trample it and break it in pieces.
24 The ten horns are ten kings
Who shall arise from this kingdom.
And another shall rise after them;
He shall be different from the first ones,
And shall subdue three kings.
25 He shall speak pompous words against the Most High,
Shall persecute[j] the saints of the Most High,
And shall intend to change times and law.
Then the saints shall be given into his hand
For a time and times and half a time.

26 ‘But the court shall be seated,
And they shall take away his dominion,
To consume and destroy it forever.
27 Then the kingdom and dominion,
And the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven,
Shall be given to the people, the saints of the Most High.
His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
And all dominions shall serve and obey Him.’

Tra Phull said:

In 2 Thessalonians, and what is the nature of the son of perdition who is being withheld? Is it a flesh and blood man - this Man of Sin?

Click to expand...

The Church restrains the Beast. Jesus stated the gates of hell could not prevail over his Church. The Mortal Wound of the Beast System exists for 2000 some odd years until the Rapture/Church Departs.

Tra Phull said:

In 2 Thessalonians, and what is the nature of the son of perdition who is being withheld? Is it a flesh and blood man - this Man of Sin?

Click to expand...

The first thing to note is the fact that the Thessalonians were explicitly told everything about the man of sin when Paul was with them previously. Why did the Holy Spirit deem it necessary for the Thessalonians to know without telling us?
The restrainer is both a who and what.
2Thess2: 5Do you not remember that while I was still with you, I was telling you these things? 6And you know what restrains him now, so that in his time he will be revealed. 7For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only he who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way.

This from Thayer's Lexicon.: b. to restrain, hinder (the course or progress of): τήν ἀλήθειαν ἐν ἀδικία, Romans 1:18; absolutely, τό κατέχον, that which hinders, namely, Antichrist from making his appearance (see ἀντίχριστος); the power of the Roman empire is meant; ὁ κατέχων, he that hinders, checks, namely, the advent of Antichrist, denotes the one in whom that power is lodged, the Roman emperor: 2 Thessalonians 2:6f (cf., besides DeWette and Lünemann at the passage (Lightfoot in B. D. under Thessalonians, Second Epistle to the), especially Schneckenburger in the Jahrbücher f. deutsche Theol. for 1859, p.

Tra Phull said:

In 2 Thessalonians, and what is the nature of the son of perdition who is being withheld? Is it a flesh and blood man - this Man of Sin?

Click to expand...

Just this last week I ran into a whole new angle on this that I had never
heard about before. Some leaders get to the place where they have great
authority over the areas where they go and it was said of Evangelist Lester Summerall that when he went to San Francisco many of the demons devils left the city........

... due to not wanting to be kicked out by him in which case it would have been harder for them to come back.

So the idea of the Rapture preceding the unloosing of the anti-Christ does make a lot of sense.....
once the Priestly Bride is taken up then things would tend to get worse rapidly.

I think that this is the sermon where I heard this idea:

The church is never referred to as a 'he'.
The church is the 'bride' of Christ, Christ does not get joined to a 'he'.
So the restrainer is not the church of believers. And it is not God. Michael in scripture has always been the restrainer and warrior, the leader of the angels warring against the devil and his angels. And Michael is a 'he'

Maybe someday I will be banned on this forum. So be it.

sdowney717 said:

The church is never referred to as a 'he'.
The church is the 'bride' of Christ, Christ does not get joined to a 'he'.

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Ephesians 1:2 And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church,

23 Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.

Do you envision Christ as having the body of a woman? I am guessing you are going to say - no.

Since the church is the body of Christ, and He the head of the church, and the body does what the head commands, the church is the he taken out of the way - which Christ as the head of the church, the Restrainer in whole, when Jesus says "come up hither", to his body.

Matthew 28:18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.

Douggg said:

Ephesians 1:2 And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church,

23 Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.

Do you envision Christ as having the body of a woman? I am guessing you are going to say - no.

Since the church is the body of Christ, and He the head of the church, and the body does what the head commands, the church is the he taken out of the way - which Christ as the head of the church, the Restrainer in whole, when Jesus says "come up hither", to his body.

Matthew 28:18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.

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Nope, the HE does not take Himself out of the way. Of course to admit to the error you have, you would have to change your entire view, which you cant do.

he restrains the devil until he is taken out of the way. No where is the church referred to as a he or as a masculine identity. But it is referred to as female.

Ephesians 5:25-27 New King James Version (NKJV)
25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, 26 that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, 27 that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.

If these people continue to rewrite scripture, then you can know they are in error, they want to substitute the he for the her. So do not twist the scripture. Deaf ears I suppose for some.

Tra Phull said:

In 2 Thessalonians, and what is the nature of the son of perdition who is being withheld? Is it a flesh and blood man - this Man of Sin?

Click to expand...

The wisdom and insight of the Church Fathers:

Tertullian (2nd-3rd Century)
ON THE RESURRECTION, CHAP. XXIV
For the mystery of iniquity doth already work; only he who now hinders must hinder, until he be taken out of the way." What obstacle is there but the Roman state, the falling away of which, by being scattered into ten kingdoms, shall introduce Antichrist upon (its own ruins)?
APOLOGY, CHAP. XXXII.
There is also another and a greater necessity for our offering prayer in behalf of the emperors, nay, for the complete stability of the empire, and for Roman interests in general. For we know that a mighty shock im (43) pending over the whole earth--in fact, the very end of all things threatening dreadful woes---is only retarded by the continued existence of the Roman empire.

St. John Chrysostom (c. 347-407) Doctor of the Church
Homilies on Second Thessalonians
HOMILY IV. 2 THESSALONIANS ii. 6--9.
"Only there is one that restraineth now, until he be taken out of the way," that is, when the Roman empire is taken out of the way...

St. Augustine of Hippo (345 - 430) Doctor of the Church
City of God, Book XX, Chapter 19
For what does he [Paul] mean by "For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now holdeth, let him hold until he be taken out of the way: and then shall the wicked be revealed?" [2 Thess 2] I frankly confess I do not know what he means. ... However, it is not absurd to believe that these words of the apostle, "Only he who now holdeth, let him hold until he be taken out of the way," refer to the Roman empire, as if it were said, "Only he who now reigneth, let him reign until he be taken out of the way." "And then shall the wicked be revealed:" no one doubts that this means Antichrist.

While not commenting directly upon the 2 Thessalonians 2 passage, Cyril of Jerusalem affirmed the historical consensus that antichrist would not appear until the Roman empire had disappeared:

St. Cyril of Jerusalem (c. 315-386) Doctor of the Church
Catechetical Lectures
LECTURE XV.
ON THE CLAUSE, AND SHALL COME IN GLORY TO JUDGE THE QUICK AND THE DEAD; OF WHOSE KINGDOM THERE SHALL BE NO END, DANIEL vii. 9--14.
12. But this aforesaid Antichrist is to come when the times of the Roman empire shall have been fulfilled...

Tra Phull said:

good stuff, bro

Tertullian went Montanist on us before the end.

Augustine pretty much replaced premillennialism/Chiliasm with Amillennialism

At least he said he didn't really know

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Their contributions far outweigh their failures.

In my case, the restrainer is the person who is holding my lead!

Douggg said:

Matthew 28:18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.

Click to expand...

sdowney717 said:

Nope, the HE does not take Himself out of the way. Of course to admit to the error you have, you would have to change your entire view, which you cant do.

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Jesus Himself is in heaven - but the church, called his body, is still here on the earth.

Jesus will take the church out of the way. The church is the body of Christ. All power in heaven and in earth has been given to Jesus, to restrain the man of sin from committing the act and to take the church out of the world before then.

Douggg said:

Hi Tra, welcome to the forum.

The title of your thread asks who is the restrainer?

The restrainer is the body of Christ, the church, in which the Holy Spirit works. In verse 6, it is actually "what" with-holdeth, not who. But let us not argue over that point. The what is that as long as the rapture has not happened, 2Thessalonians2:4 will not happen.


The son of perdition will be a man, who's action in 2Thessalonians2:4 triggers the beginning of the Day of the Lord, during which time the wrath of God will be poured out on the earth.

In 1Thessalonians5, concerning the beginning of the Day of the Lord as like a thief coming in the night, in verses 9-11, which are rapture verses, indicates that the church will be taken out of the way before the Antichrist commits his act.

9 For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,

10 Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him.

11 Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do.

What is not known is how far before the 2Thessalonians2:4 act that the rapture will take place. Therefore we should take the position of watching and expecting in Luke 21:34-36, to avoid being caught unawares like them in darkness.

Click to expand...

While I agree with your initial views on a seemingly Pre-Wrath Rapture, and that the "man of sin" is a man yet to be revealed, I can't say I agree with your views on who or what The Restrainer is.

The Holy Spirit and the church are probably the majority opinion out there, especially among Christians that believe in a Pre-Tribulation Rapture. The view that the Holy Spirit inhabiting the church is what is holding back Satan and his Antichrist; and whenever the church is raptured away, the Holy Spirit goes with them, and this removal of the church allows Satan to set up his dominion on this world.

Problem #1 / Contradictions
One problem with this view that has the Holy Spirit-filled church as the Restrainer is that it seems to have the order of events reversed. According to 2 Thess 2:1, we are gathered to Christ after the Antichrist is revealed. So how can the Holy Spirit within the church hold back the "man of sin" entering the world if the "man of sin" is already in the world? It seems there is a scriptural problem for Christians that hold this view.

Problem #2 / Can people be saved without the Holy Spirit?
"Therefore I want you to know that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus be cursed,” and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit." (1 Corinthians 12:3)
Implying that people can be saved without the Holy Spirit seems to be a significant problem, biblically, as the core to salvation in Christ is only through the Holy Spirit. Daniel 7:25, Revelation 14:12 and Revelation 20:14 indicate that the saints are indeed upon the earth after the "man of lawlessness" is revealed. It is also an argument from silence to suggest the Holy Spirit is the Restrainer in the Bible.