One of the topics that sparks firm debates is found in the letters of Paul to the church is Thessalonica. Will there be a secret rapture of the church happening right before the Great Tribulation that will come on the earth in the final days before Jesus’ return? Will we, as faithful believers, be taken to heaven while hell breaks out on the earth on those who are left behind, because they didn’t believe?
I Left Behind My “Left Behind” Eschatology
In the past, I used to believe this “Left Behind” eschatology. But after studying it more and more with our friends from Tikkun Global in Israel and with Joel Richardson, I “left behind” my Left Behind eschatology. I don’t see any foundation in scripture anymore to believe this, if you are willing to let go of your dispensationalist 19th century filters. As believers in Jesus, we will stick around through the Great Tribulation, yet we will be safe / saved from God’s wrath.
Is the “Restrainer” the Church or the Holy Spirit?
But isn’t the church, or the Holy Spirit working through the church, the restrainer that Paul speaks about in 2 Thessalonians 2:6-7? Aren’t we the ones who, through our prayers and good works, hold back the evil that the antichrist will unleash on the earth until we are raptured?
Paul warns the Thessalonian believers:
“not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by a spirit or a spoken word, or a letter seeming to be from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. 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, who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God. … 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, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming.”
(2 Thessalonians 2:2-4, 6-8 ESV)
So who is this restrainer who restrains the revealing of the man of lawlessness (the anti-Torah man = the antichrist)? There have been various theories, which would normally say that the restrainer is a force of good that restrains evil. As I already mentioned, the pre-tribulation camp would say that it is the Church that is taken away, or the Holy Spirit working through the Church, that would have restrained the antichrist up to that point.
Could the Restrainer be an Evil Force?
Let me present an alternative theory to you, which is fairly common in the “restorationist” theological circles I consider myself to be a part of:
The “restrainer” is an evil force strategically restraining evil, so that it can do even more damage.
In my understanding, the restrainer is Satan or one of his allies who is deliberately holding back the revelation of the antichrist until the right moment in his own strategy.
Even Satan has a prophetic role, unknowingly or knowingly constrained by divine timing (cf. Revelation 12:12: “he knows his time is short”). Don’t forget that history is a clash between two kingdoms: the Kingdom of God and the domain of darkness. So there is a spiritual war going on. And when you’re in a war you need to be very strategic!
Much is at stake. So Satan is working to delay or manipulate end-time events to prevent the restoration of Israel, the return of Jesus, and the unity of Jew and Gentile in the “one new man”.
So, who is this restrainer if it or he is a force for evil? Here are three possibilities:
- a demonic prince (like in Daniel 10);
- Satan himself, holding back the antichrist until a more strategic time;
- a geopolitical or religious system controlled by supernatural evil forces that must fall away before the antichrist is revealed.
So, in my understanding, instead of the restrainer being God or a godly force restraining evil, it is evil restraining evil, with God ultimately overriding that restraint to fulfill His purposes in the world.
I am curious to hear your thoughts!
For an in-depth explanation of how Satan could be the restrainer in 2 Thessalonians 2:6-7, be sure to read this post on Reggie Kelly’s website, Mystery of Israel.
Did you know that during the KNGDM Conference we will discuss topics like this? Make sure you sign up via www.kngdmconference.org.
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