Who is the Restrainer?
Paul wrote by The Holy Spirit in 2nd Thessalonians chapter 2:
1 Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you,
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.
In Thessalonica, some of the members had passed away and the remaining members thought they had been left behind. Paul had to correct their assumptions. It is clear by his writing in verse 2 that they had received communications to support their assumptions. He told them that they were being deceived and provides specific details:
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,
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.
5 Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things?
He had to reassure them of the Truth he shared by the revelation he was given by Jesus Christ and The Holy Spirit. Has the son of perdition been revealed as evidenced by the above? No! What will happen so that the son of perdition can come forth? The Restrainer had to be removed:
6 And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time.
In cryptic terms, Paul identifies the Restrainer Who have been preventing the great delusion from coming forth.
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.
Once The Restrainer is removed, Paul explains what will happen next:
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.
9 The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders,
10 and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the Love of the Truth, that they might be saved.
11 And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie,
12 that they all may be condemned who did not believe the Truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
The only entity who has ever restrained sin is God through the Holy Spirit, sent by Jesus. When the Restrainer is removed, then and only then will the Man of Sin be revealed, because he is no longer held back in his lies and lawlessness.
The Holy Spirit is removed with the Church at the Rapture, leaving no one standing in the way of the man of sin.
This is not a new view of Scripture. Thomas Ice researched and wrote the following:
Ephraem the Syrian of Nisibis (c. 374-627) was a major writer for the Eastern Church. Many of his hymns and sermons were never translated until recently. One of his sermons was on the end times, and he wrote about the antichrist, saying, “All the saints and elect of God are gathered together before the tribulation, which is to come, and are taken to the Lord, in order that they may not see at any time the confusion which overwhelms the world because of our sins.”
How was Jesus able to restrain the devil during His earthly ministry?
Luke recorded by The Holy Spirit in Luke chapter 4:
1 Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness,
When you and I are led by The Holy Spirit, we cannot be deceived for the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth.
Jesus spoke in John chapter 15:
26 “But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of Truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me.
27 And you also will bear witness, because you have been with Me from the beginning.
And in John chapter 16:
13 However, when He, the Spirit of Truth, has come, He will guide you into all Truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.
14 He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you.
The son of perdition will glorify himself as the counterfeit and people will believe him. How? The Spirit of Truth has been removed!