What is the restrainer in 2 Thessalonians 2?
Question 10083
Second Thessalonians 2:6-7 introduces one of the most debated figures in prophetic Scripture: “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.” The identity of this restrainer has been the subject of considerable discussion across the history of the Church, and getting the answer right has significant implications for how we understand the Rapture, the Tribulation, and the relationship between the Church and the end-times programme.
The Context: What Is Being Restrained?
Paul writes to the Thessalonians to correct a misunderstanding. Someone had apparently told them that “the day of the Lord” had already come (2 Thessalonians 2:2), and the congregation was troubled. Paul reassures them that the day of the Lord cannot come until the man of lawlessness is revealed, and the man of lawlessness cannot be revealed until the restrainer is removed. The logic is sequential: the restrainer holds back the full manifestation of lawlessness; once the restrainer is taken out of the way, the man of lawlessness is revealed; and then the day of the Lord unfolds. Understanding who or what the restrainer is, then, determines the trigger for the Tribulation and the appearance of the Antichrist.
Proposed Identifications
The main proposals that have been offered across church history deserve fair consideration. Some have identified the restrainer with the Roman Empire or with human government in general, the idea being that lawful political order restrains the full expression of evil. This view was common among the early church fathers, including Tertullian and Chrysostom. It has the advantage of explaining the impersonal “what is restraining” (neuter, verse 6) alongside the personal “he who now restrains” (masculine, verse 7), since the Roman state and its emperor could be spoken of in both ways. The difficulty is that the Roman Empire fell centuries ago, and the Antichrist has not yet appeared. If the restrainer is human government in principle, it becomes unclear how “he” is “taken out of the way,” since government continues to exist.
Others have proposed Michael the archangel, God’s providential decree, or even Satan himself (on the theory that Satan restrains chaos until the opportune moment for his own programme). These proposals have not gained wide support because they do not adequately account for the sustained, personal, powerful restraining activity the passage describes.
The Holy Spirit Through the Church
The identification that best accounts for the full scope of the passage is the Holy Spirit working through the Church. This view recognises that the restrainer must be someone of sufficient power to hold back the full manifestation of satanic lawlessness on a global scale, someone whose departure can be meaningfully described as being “taken out of the way,” and someone whose removal explains why lawlessness is suddenly unrestrained. The Holy Spirit, indwelling the Church and working through the Church’s presence in the world, meets all three criteria.
The grammar supports this reading. The neuter “what is restraining” in verse 6 fits the Spirit’s impersonal operation through an institution (the Church), while the masculine “he who now restrains” in verse 7 fits the Spirit as a divine Person. The shift from neuter to masculine is striking and finds a parallel in John 14:26 and 16:13-14, where the neuter noun pneuma is paired with masculine pronouns when the Spirit is spoken of personally.
On this reading, the removal of the restrainer corresponds to the Rapture. When the Church is caught up to meet the Lord (1 Thessalonians 4:17), the Holy Spirit’s unique ministry of indwelling and restraining through the corporate body of believers is withdrawn from the world. This does not mean the Holy Spirit ceases all activity on earth. People are still saved during the Tribulation (Revelation 7:9-14), which requires the Spirit’s convicting and regenerating work. But the corporate restraining presence of the Spirit-indwelt Church is removed, and with it the dam that held back the full force of lawlessness breaks. The man of lawlessness is then free to be revealed.
So, now what?
This passage is not an academic curiosity. It tells us something practical and urgent about the role of the Church in the present age. Through the indwelling Spirit, believers are a restraining force against evil in the world right now. The salt and light that Jesus described in Matthew 5:13-16 is not a metaphor for moral aspiration. It is a description of what the Spirit-filled Church actually does by its very presence. When we pray, when we proclaim the gospel, when we live in holiness and hold to the truth, we participate in the Spirit’s restraining work against the lawlessness that would otherwise overwhelm human society. One day, that restraint will be removed. Until then, we are here for a reason.
“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.” 2 Thessalonians 2:7 (ESV)