Who / What is the restrainer in 2 Thessalonians 2:6?

Answer

Students of biblical prophecy hold different views on the identity of the restrainer in 2 Thessalonians 2:6–7. Referred to as “the one who restrains” in some translations (ESV, NASB), other versions describe Him as “the one who holds back” (NIV), “he who letteth” (KJV), or “he who is keeping down” (YLT). Regardless of the restrainer’s identity, He possesses great power, hindering the Antichrist’s advancement and preventing the satanic kingdom from dominating the world.

In his second letter to the Thessalonians, Paul reassured the church that they were not yet in the Day of the Lord, meaning the final judgment had not commenced. In 2 Thessalonians 2:3, he warns, “Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction.” According to God’s plan, the Day of the Lord and its judgment will only begin after a global rebellion and the revelation of the Antichrist. Paul then discusses the current restraining force: “And you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed” (verses 6–8).

Paul does not explicitly reveal the identity of the restraining force, assuming the Thessalonians were already aware. Various scholars have speculated on the restrainer’s identity, suggesting it could be 1) the Roman government; 2) the preaching of the gospel; 3) the binding of Satan; 4) God’s providence; 5) the Jewish state; 6) the church; 7) the Holy Spirit; or 8) Michael the archangel. We believe the restrainer is indeed the Holy Spirit, or more precisely, the Holy Spirit working through the New Testament church.

Supporting the notion that the Holy Spirit within the church serves as the restrainer is the fact that the restrainer is described both as an object (neuter gender, verse 6) and as a person (masculine gender, verse 7). Additionally, the power delaying Satan’s grand scheme to unveil his false messiah must be from God. It is more logical to assert that the Holy Spirit is restraining the devil rather than a political entity or even an angel. The Holy Spirit of God is the sole Being with adequate (supernatural) power to carry out this restraining.

Naturally, the Spirit operates through believers to achieve this. The church, inhabited by the Spirit of God, has always been a factor in holding society back from the rising tide of lawlessness. At a certain point, Paul indicates, the Spirit will “step aside” from His restraining role, permitting sin to reign over humanity. Second Thessalonians 2:7 can be interpreted as, “The mystery of lawlessness is already at work, but it will not be revealed until the one who now holds it back is taken out of the way.” We believe this removal will occur when the church is taken from the earth during the rapture. The Holy Spirit will still be present on earth, but He will be removed in the sense that His distinct sin-restraining ministry—through God’s people—will cease to exist, as seen in Genesis 6:3.

Second Thessalonians 2 clearly states that the removal of the restrainer’s influence comes before the unveiling of the Antichrist. Given full freedom during the tribulation, the lawless one will “display all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs, and wonders” to deceive the inhabitants of the earth (verses 9–10). Once the Antichrist’s time is up, the Lord Jesus will return and defeat the man of sin by “the breath of his mouth and destroy [him] by the splendor of his coming” (verse 8). Evil is currently being restrained; once the Church Age concludes, the obstacle to evil will be eliminated, and the rebellion may appear to be prevailing; nevertheless, the ultimate defeat of evil is certain.