3 Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, 4 who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God. 2 Thessalonians 2:3–4
6 And you know what restrains him now, so that in his time he will be revealed. 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. 8 Then that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming; 9 that is, the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders, 10 and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved. 2 Thessalonians 2:6–10
The “man of lawlessness,” will be a man alive at the time the “mystery of lawlessness” is no longer restrained. This “mystery of lawlessness” is already here and active, but held back. This begs the question what or who is restraining (katechon in the Greek) this pervasive evil which we know for a fact exists in our world. The clues appear in the “gender” implied by the words “what” and “he.” One is neuter and the other is masculine. The restraining force is both a “what” in verse 6 and a “he” in verses 6 and 7 and the verses that follow. The something or someone capable of restraining evil has got to be God, and it does not take long to come to the logical conclusion that the Holy Spirit, who is described as a what and a he in scripture, is the restrainer. It follows then if all the Christians are removed, in whom the Spirit resides, at that moment, the earth will no longer be influenced by His power on two feet.
The “rapture” of spirit-filled Christians (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17) at the beginning of an unrestrained and unmitigated period of evil and tribulation, predicted in the Bible to last seven years, perhaps solves this mystery. If you imagine the dramatic and catastrophic impact of the sudden absence of all true Christians, you can only conclude that chaos would ensue the likes of which no one has ever experienced. In other words, all hell would break loose, and the “son of destruction,” whoever has been groomed by Satan in that particular generation, “the lawless one,” will quickly fill the void, and the “mystery of lawlessness” will no longer be a mystery.
Many so called “pre-tribs” hold to this view. Others who do not, still point to the deliberate intervention by God to start the tribulation period and the reign of terror of the “man of lawlessness.” In my view, the former squares a bit better with Paul’s letters to the Thessalonians, which were motivated by that church’s direct questions on the subject of “end times.”
Most of us like things that make logical sense, and you’ll not be in left field if you believe this way. This also creates in us believers the motivation to share “the love of the truth” to those who stand to be “left behind” to experience firsthand the unrestrained “activity of Satan.”
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