WHO IS THE RESTRAINER?
IS IT HUMAN GOVERNMENT?

One of the most active subjects of discussion in the realm of Bible prophecy has been the question of 'the restrainer' of 2Thessalonians 2 spoken of by our apostle Paul. Just who is he? And yes, the scriptures refer to him as a 'he'. This is our first clue. The restrainer is a person.

Throughout the centuries Christian believers have pointed out that God ordained government restrains evil and this is certainly true. Bible students over time have variously identified the restrainer as being such non-personal entities as human government, the Roman Empire, European Christendom, and even the Christian Church. Let us take a look at these possibilities.

So what about human government being the restrainer of 2Thessalonians 2? Does human government restrain the coming of the Antichrist? Nations have often been inclined to regard the leader of a much feared enemy as being an antichrist of sorts. They would view themselves, (the good guys in their view), as being the restrainer of this personification of ultimate evil. The inquisitors of the Many Christians in the British Isles viewed the French Emperor Napoleon as an antichrist. Later they would demonise the German Kaiser Wilhelm and dictator Adolph Hitler as antichrists of their day. Some German Christians early on in the 1930's may have considered the Third Reich in the 1930's as a restrainer of cabaret and communist evils. Adolph Hitler certainly did present himself initially as a champion of "Christian values" in Europe. This is a little known fact in the Anglo-American world. Now we hear some American Christians asking themselves if the USA might be the restrainer of the antichrist. And so the pattern continues. Looking out on the world scene they quite rightly conclude that the US is beginning to look like being the last of the great national superpowers left to champion Christianity. Even the stirring Battle Hymn of the Republic draws the listener into the awe and the glory of the apocalypse. These thoughts by self-respecting virtuous human governments that they themselves are champions and restrainers against the rise of antichristian foes are quite understandable in their national and historical context.

This is all well and good. Human governmental agencies such as our police and law enforcement agencies are ordained by God to restrain evildoers here below. -Heb.13:17, Rom. 13:1-7 And the raising of armies by nations to wage war against despotic regimes have indeed managed to put some restraint on the manifestation of evil in history, at least down at the earthly or human level. (That is, of course, when those nations were not operating in evil themselves!)

THE RESTRAINER IS HOLDING BACK A BEASTLY DEMONIC EVIL, AN ABOMINABLY MALEVOLENT BLASPHEMER AGAINST GOD OPERATING TO A DEGREE NOT USUALLY SEEN ON EARTH AND AMONG MEN

But all these discussions are missing the point. Here in 2Thes.2 we are seeing a restrainer of a horrendous entity of evil. We are looking here at a blasphemer against the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The hideous thing is a destroyer of all that is sacred. He has set himself against God's holy city Jerusalem. We have not seen such evil in a ruler since the days of Antiochus in 168 B.C. This is that beast demon spirit that will transform the peacemaking Antichrist into the abominably evil 666 Beast of the Apocalypse. an antichristian force of the ultimate climactic abominable evil. We have not seen such unrestrained evil before. This person the prophet Daniel and the apostle John describe is a malevolent and godless personage speaking abominable and unheard of things. We are looking here at a person of ultimate evil. He will evidence a level of wickedness far beyond anything we have seen since the days of the Greek Syrian ruler Antiochus Epiphanes. This was the Seleucid general who came to Jerusalem in the second century B.C. This monster desecrated the Jewish Temple by slaughtering a pig on the altar and committing bloody mayhem against the city and its citizens.

Here is something we need to keep in mind. The war against evil and the restraining of antichrist has been going on for a long time. If the restrainer is a "he" as we have been told then no human champion could live long enough to cover a time period which now stretches out over two thousand years. Clearly this restraining work is going on beyond the scope of a human lifespan. The restarainer must operate beyond the realm of earthly politics. If the conflict between good and evil is being waged up in the angelic spirit realm as well as down here in the realm of human affairs then shouldn't we also take a look up there in the angelic realm as we carry out our search for the restrainer?

Just what is spiritual warfare? Here is how it happens. As saints intercede and men make covenants and compromises here on earth the spirit realm sees the angels responding. These angels are both holy and unholy. The holy angels are summoned and sent into the action by God's sovereign Word. God's angelic messengers are seen either holding back or warring against the unholy angelic principalities, powers and rulers of darkness. The Bible describes the restrainer of the antichrist as a 'he' or a person. And this "mystery of iniquity/lawlessness" he is restraining is is apparently the ultimate spirit of evil. This abominable ruler of darkness is presently being held back or restrained from taking over earthly history. And as an "alien/foreign god" (-Dan.11:39) he may not even be human.
Here is our scripture.

2 Thessalonians 2:1-9 NASB
2:1 Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you,

2:2 not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come.

2:3 Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition,

2:4 who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.

2:5 Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things?

2:6 And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time.

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.

2:8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming.

2:9 The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders,

So the "mystery of lawlessness/iniquity" (vs. 2 above), is an evil spirit.
And the "lawless one" or "man of sin" is the human being in whom that awful evil spirit is destined to be "revealed" in future history.

So who is the restrainer of this alien demon? Who is this person who is preventing the abominable thing from coming out onto the earth? Leaving the earthly and fleshly realm of human government we take our search for the restrainer of the antichrist into the world of religion. Is the church the restrainer of the antichrist? The popular opinion among evangelicals is that the restrainer is either the church or the Holy Spirit or both. First of all let us ask ourselves if the church might be that 'he'? It doesn't fit very well, does it. The church is not a 'he'. Nevertheless the identification of the church as the restrainer is a favorite since it can be made to fit the pre-trib rapture scenario.

The reasoning goes something like this. "When the church is raptured, (they say before the tribulation), and the restrainer, (which they say is the church), is 'taken out of the way' then "all hell breaks loose" and world events will spin out of control. The world will scream for "somebody to do something". This departure of the church through rapture, (they reason), will leave the world in chaos. This, (so they believe), sets the scene for the peacemaker antichrist to make his entrance into open political history thus initiating the last 7 years of this age. So ecclesiastical as well as governmental bodies have been looked at as possible candidates for the restrainer of 2 Thes. 2. But there is a problem. As with human government, the church is not a 'he'. And so the restrainer of this "mystery of iniquity" spirit according to 2Thes. 2:6-7 must be a person.

Let us turn our attention now to spirit beings. What are we to say about the Holy Spirit being a possible contender for the role of the restrainer of the antichrist? He is certainly a person. The New King James Bible has curiously 'helped' to promote this interpretation of the Holy Spirit as the restrainer of the antichrist. The NKJV translation committee has presumed to interpret the 'he who restrains' as a 'He', that is, Deity. The original Greek manuscripts provide no basis whatsoever for doing this. There is no upper or lower case lettering in the Greek manuscripts themselves. The New King James is a very good version generally and more readable for us today than the KJV. But here we see another of many occasions in which the 1611 King James version brings us the more reliable and truthful translation. The passage above is from the New American Standard Bible which (along with the KJV) would in this instance appear to render a more trustworthy translation of this critical portion of scripture in 2Thes. 2.

The identification of the restrainer as the Holy Spirit is a reckoning of last resort. Or as we say in medicine, it is a "dustbin diagnosis". Classically pre-trib teachers have begged the question and asked rhetorically, "Who else but the Holy Spirit can restrain the Antichrist from being revealed?" They then proceed to construct a scenario in which the omnipotent, omnipresent Holy Spirit is the restrainer of the Antichrist. He, (as they see it), is 'taken out of the way' after a pre-trib rapture. Apparently the Holy Spirit, (according to this line of reasoning), is somehow unable or incompetent to operate without the present church presiding over the planet. This may fit their early rapture scenario. But the proposal of a Holy Spirit vacuum on earth at the end of this age is a very very unfortunate mistake of interpretation. The doctrine stating that the Holy Spirit will depart from the planet during the last 7 years of this age is grievous dissinformation. It will bring dark and dire consequences to the church. Of all times that the faithful church needs to be briefed with the correct information it is surely now. The epic drama of the last days may well be approaching. At some point in the future the endtime church will indeed take the stage. God's people are destined to bring the "final witness" of history. The bride of Christ also needs encouragement and cheer as she prepares herself for this. False and depressing information of a departing Holy Spirit in the endtime can and does quite effectively demoralise the church. This is a very bad rap for pre-trib rapturism. This eschatology is truly abandonment theology. And it is a denial of blood covenant Christianity. Furthermore, the pre-trib doctrine is not providing the necessary guidance and encouragement for the faithful preparation of the saints in the endtime. This is a matter of serious concern.

Pause for a moment and picture, if you can, the Holy Spirit deserting the church/eklesia/congregation/elect of God in their hour of need. Is that like our God to do such a thing? I will submit to you that the very notion of such an abandonment by our God is unthinkable. Furthermore, it is an insult to God Almighty and to the blood covenant He has cut with us. To even suggest that God would pull the Comforter from His people just when they will be in such desperate need of His covering is truly outrageous.
Jesus Himself said,

"I will never leave you or forsake you." -Heb.13:5

Furthermore, He has given us the Great Commission wherein He gave each and every one of his saints this promise,

"Lo, I am with you always,
even until the end of the age." -Mat.28:19-20

Pre-trib rapturism would have God the Holy Spirit abandoning His people, even His tribulation saints, (-Rev. 7:9-16) and absenting Himself from the earth during the final climactic years of this age. But is a 7 year Holy Spirit vacuum on earth possible? Is it in keeping with the 'whole counsel of God' as revealed to us elsewhere in the holy scriptures?
Let us take a look.

Through the following poetry the Bible tells us categorically that we can never be in a place or time where God's Spirit is unable to find us. Let us pause for a moment and reflect on the wonderful message of assurance God is giving us in this inspired poetry below.

Psalm 139:1-12
1. .... O Lord, You have searched me and known me.

2 You know my sitting down and my rising up;
You understand my thought afar off.

3 You comprehend my path and my lying down,
And are acquainted with all my ways.

4 For there is not a word on my tongue, But behold, O Lord, You know it altogether.

5 You have hedged me behind and before,
And laid Your hand upon me.

6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
It is high, I cannot attain it.

7 Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Or where can I flee from Your presence?

8 If I ascend into heaven, You are there;
If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there.

9 If I take the wings of the morning,
And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,

10 Even there Your hand shall lead me,
And Your right hand shall hold me.

11 If I say, "Surely the darkness shall fall on me,"
Even the night shall be light about me;

12 Indeed, the darkness shall not hide from You,
But the night shines as the day;
The darkness and the light are both alike to You.

As we see from the scripture above the Holy Spirit simply cannot take leave of His omnipresence. The proposition of a Holy Spirit "dead zone" anywhere in the cosmos in light of what we have been told about the omnipresence of the Holy Spirit is simply impossible. It is flawed theology. And even if The Holy Spirit was "taken out of the way" abandoning the planet and His people for the last 7 years of this age then how will that huge multinational multitude of tribulation saints be brought to salvation? - Rev.7:9-17. Let us take a close look at these dear saints as they come into glory.

Revelation 7
7:9 After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands,

7:10 and crying out with a loud voice, saying, "Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!"

7:11 All the angels stood around the throne and the elders and the four living creatures, and fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God,

7:12 saying: "Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom, Thanksgiving and honor and power and might, Be to our God forever and ever. Amen."

7:13 Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, "Who are these arrayed in white robes, and where did they come from?"

7:14 And I said to him, "Sir, you know." So he said to me, "These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

7:15 Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple. And He who sits on the throne will dwell among them.

7:16 They shall neither hunger anymore nor thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any heat;

7:17 for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to living fountains of waters. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes."

This is a magnificent and victorious company. Was the Holy Spirit involved in the salvation of these hundreds of millions of tribulation saints? What saith the scripture?

".....no man can say that Jesus is the Lord but by the Holy Spirit". -1Cor.12:3

As we see here, salvation without the Holy Spirit is absolutely impossible. If a multitude is to be saved during the tribulation then there is no question about it.
The Holy Spirit will be there!

Let us take a look at another epic endtime event. As we have seen the armies of the nations will muster at Armageddon in the final crisis of the age. God says that in the 6th seal days of the sun turning to darkness and the moon to blood that His Holy Spirit will descend in climactic saving power upon "all flesh". And "whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved". -Joel 2:28-32. But that is not all. A wonder of wonders is yet to be seen. The Holy Spirit will also be poured out upon our brothers and sisters in the Jewish nation, bringing them salvation and deliverance at long last! Glory be to God!
Here is our scripture.

"I will pour upon the house of David and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and of supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn." - Zechariah 12:10 NKJV

The Jewish house of Judah will come to salvation at long last. They will cry out to God even as Jerusalem lies surrounded by armies at the end of the age.

"And whosoever shall call upon the Name of the Lord shall be saved/delivered.
-Joel 2:32

No one comes to the Father unless the Spirit draws Him. Oh yes. Even as the final 7 years are wrapped up under a darkened sun and a bloody moon, yes even in the midst of the falling of the angelic stars the Holy Spirit will not be absent. He will be there!

If the restrainer is a "he" then is this person a human being or an angelic being? What if this restraining action of 2Thes. 2 is being done against the antichrist demon spirit and not against human beings at all? If such is the case then we must assume that whoever is restraining this demon spirit has been keeping him locked up for a very long time. If the restrainer has prevented the beast demon from emerging into history since Roman times then he, the restrainer, cannot be a human being. Human beings do not live for two thousand years. Nor do they restrain or incarcerate demons. At least not directly. The abominable thing has been held/restrained in the bottomless pit/abyss by a certain "he" since the days before John wrote the book of Revelation. John had reported back in his day, late in the 1st century, that the beast "was". -Rev.17:8 So it seems that this beast demon had emerged into history on a previous occasion, this being before Roman times. Then John went on in the same verse to say that the beast "is not". (-Rev.17:8) So in John's day the demon was not on the earth. Therefore we may surmise that the demon was locked up in the bottomless pit. John goes on to say that the beast demon "will ascend out of the bottomless pit"/abyss in the future. Then he will "go to perdition". Here is our scripture. The NRSV provides the most faithful rendering on this occasion since it does not mince words and spells out clearly in the future tense the essential truth that the beast "is to come".

"The beast that you saw was, and is not, and is about to ascend from the bottomless pit and go to destruction. And the inhabitants of the earth, whose names have not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, will be amazed when they see the beast, because it was and is not and is to come." - Rev. 17:8 NRSV

This abominable antichrist spirit apparently possessed a man before John's time over two millennia ago. And he will yet again be released to possess a man in the endtime. This demon is apparently released from the abyss to be manifest in human history only when human moral decline has come to the bottom of a long skid. God sovereignly allows this antichrist spirit to come out onto the earth at those times.

The apostle John, writing late in the first century, said that the beast "was" and "is not". So if it "was" then it must have come out and possessed someone before John's time. But at the time of John's writing he "was not". If the beast demon did emerge into history before John's time then at what point in past history would that have been? And just who did the alien antichrist spirit possess back then? Well if we look through the last two chapters of Daniel's prophecy we can see the story laid out for us quite clearly. The angel Gabriel begins in chapter 11 speaking about an abominable ruler who arose in pre-Roman times. This was the Seleucid general Antiochus who took over the northern (Syrian) kingdom of the Greeks after the death of Alexander the Great. Then Gabriel slides into prophecy relating to the endtime antichrist finishing up in chapter 12. This would seem to indicate that it was Antiochus Epiphanes, who was the man possessed by this hideous demon in former times. In the winter of 167 B.C. Jerusalem did see this abominable ruler arrive on the scene. He came out waging war on God's people and blaspheming God Almighty. Antiochus was the most monstrous ruler history has ever witnessed thusfar. He was the only ruler ever to profane the Hebrew temple. Most rulers had given it respect and honor. Even the Roman general Titus during the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. had wanted to save the temple. He actually fought against his own men who were trying to set the temple on fire. Antiochus, on the other hand, was abominably evil. He slaughtered a pig on the temple altar. This would certainly fit the bill for the beast that "was".-Rev.17:12

Of course by the time that John wrote the book of Revelation Antiochus was dead and the demon that possessed him "was not". The 'restrainer' had him locked up in the bottomless pit again. And there he stays. But John said that at a future time this same abominable demon would be released into endtime history and possess a man yet again. This would be the endtime antichrist at midweek. Then the beast would go on to perdition, or the lake of fire. - Rev.17:11 At the second coming of Christ and as the 70th week ends the antichrist and all those who have taken his 666 mark will be hurled alive into the Lake of Fire. - Rev.19:20

So what is this drama at the midpoint of the final 7 years all about? The global peacemaker leaves his roundtables, boardrooms, and treaty accords and comes out to commit the "abomination that makes desolate". In Jerusalem on the temple mount he blasphemes God Almighty, sets up an image and demands that worship be directed towards himself. He institutes his 666 system. The Antichrist, who had previously been the peacemaking antichrist and consort to the harlot is possessed by this awful demon of the bottomless pit. He is thereby "revealed" for the beast that he really is. The harlot church system who has been 'sleeping with the enemy' is in for a rude shock at midweek. It is at this time that the 'Beauty and the Beast' story leaves the Disney studios. The story will be played out into history before men and angels. When the stardust is blown away the true story will be told. The destiny of compromising christianity will then be fully revealed. No longer a melodrama it will suddenly emerge as raw uncut video. For many christians who have compromised the faith it will become a real life drama too awful for words to describe.

And so the antichrist, or beast, is not unveiled or "revealed" until the moment this demon takes possession of him. As the peacemaker, power broker, the Mr. Niceguy phase 1 antichrist will artfully clinch the epic global deal of Dan.9:27. This will involve a surrender of the sovereignty of Israel and the nations to him for safekeeping. He will promise peace and security for 7 years. He will then work closely with the harlot system during the first three and a half years of those final 7 years of this age. Then, at the midpoint crisis, the peacemaker will be possessed by this abominable a demon spirit of the abyss. That will cause him to change character and become the 666 beast of scripture and legend. This demon spirit, is right now being held in chains of darkness (See Jude 6) awaiting his moment to emerge into history and possess the man of sin.

Who then is the restrainer, the jailer, of this despicable demon? Whoever he is he has been doing this for over two millennia. He cannot be human. And as we have seen he cannot be the Holy Spirit since deity is omnipresent and never "taken out of the way" as the restrainer will be. -2Thes.2:7. And for those who would insist that the restrainer is the Holy Spirit here is another issue which must be addressed. Is there any scripture at all showing the Holy Spirit operating as a warrior angel against dark spirits in the second heaven? And do we see anywhere in the Bible any inkling at all that the Holy Spirit might do guard duty in the nether realms? Do we ever see in scripture the Holy Spirit holding down demons at the gates of the abyss? Or might this sort of spiritual police work be delegated to God's holy angels? Just who is it that chains demons at the bottomless pit anyway? Is it the Holy Spirit? If not, then just who is it that does this guard duty? To find our answer let us let the Bible speak.
And may God help us to listen and to hear.

Revelation 20
20:1 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.
20:2 He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years;
20:3 and he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished. But after these things he must be released for a little while.

So if God's holy angels restrain evil spirits could the 'restrainer' of the antichrist/beast spirit be such an angel? Might he even be a key angel seen throughout scripture as working on behalf of God's people? Who is this captain of the angelic host? Who is the angelic guardian of God's people? Well let us take a walk back in time over 2500 years and visit with Daniel. At that time he was a captive in Babylon interceding on behalf of God's people. Let us see if we can see some restraining work being done by certain angels of God. And let us see if we can discover just who this restraining angel might be.

Daniel 10
10:12 Then he said to me, "Do not fear, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand, and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard; and I have come because of your words.

10:13 But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days; and behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left alone there with the kings of Persia.
....................................

10:20 Then he said, "Do you know why I have come to you? And now I must return to fight with the prince of Persia; and when I have gone forth, indeed the prince of Greece will come.

In Daniel 10:12,13& 20 who was it that was restraining the angelic powers of Medo-Persia and allowing Gabriel, the angelic messenger from God's throne to get through to Daniel with the endtime information? Just who executes God's will concerning spirits of darkness, principalities and powers and the ruling angelic princes? Well fortunately we do not need to guess. The Bible tells us quite clearly who it is that holds back or restrains hostile spirit forces on behalf of God's covenant people. Gabriel is speaking here and he says,

10:21 "But I will tell you what is inscribed in the.....Book of Truth. There is no one who holds with me or strengthens himself against these hostile spirit forces except Michael your prince, (national guardian angel). -Dan.10:21 AMPLV

So here we have some good evidence from scripture that the abominable antichrist demon of the abyss is right now held in the abyss/bottomless pit. This demon is destined to emerge at midweek to possess the future antichrist and turn him into the "beast". The one restraining him, the restrainer of 2Thes.2, is none other than the guardian angel of God's elect, the archangel Michael.