7 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)
I am often asked who I believe is, or could be, the Antichrist. In over fifty years as a believer in Christ, I have heard many theories regarding the identity of this individual. Will he be a politician, a religious leader, or both. The Scriptures, as in today’s text, reveals this individual is a man. Beyond that, this identity of this individual is a mystery.
A mystery (μυστήριον; mysterion) refers to a secret. Unlike the English meaning wherein a mystery may or may not be revealed or understood, the Greek word mysterion refers to what was not known before but what God will reveal in the future.
Whoever the Antichrist is, or may be, he is associated with lawlessness (ἀνομίας; anomias). Lawlessness is behaving with a complete disregard for the laws or regulations of a society (Matt. 1 3:41; I John 3:4). “In some languages one may translate ἀνομία in Mt 13:41 as ‘to live as though there were no laws,’ ‘to refuse completely to obey the laws,’ or ‘to live as one who despises all laws.”[1]
The Antichrist is an individual possessed by lawlessness. Lawlessness originates deep within his soul. He loves it. He expresses it with a corresponding hatred for God and His holy law.
“Though the man of lawlessness has not yet appeared, Paul will not allow his readers to let down their guard. The same satanic power that will ultimately spawn this unholy deceiver was already at work in Paul’s day (I John 2:18) and is at work in ours,” explains Dr. R. C. Sproul.
Although the mystery of lawlessness is working, there is a ministry of restraint also occurring. As noted in our previous blog, to restrain (κατέχων; katechon) means to presently and actively hinder and hold back. What Paul referred to as an impersonal restrainer in vs.6, he now refers to as a person. Who is this individual?
“Whoever the man of lawlessness is, Paul tells us in 2 Thessalonians 2:5–7 that he will not be revealed until “he who now restrains” the mystery of lawlessness is out of the way. Here again we run into the difficulty of identifying this restrainer. Some commentators have suggested that the restrainer is some powerful military or political force who will decline and fall just before the man of lawlessness rises to his position. Others believe Paul means that the restrainer is the Holy Spirit, who will at some point stop holding back the fullness of wickedness and allow a specific archenemy of Christ to come to power. Either way, the existence of a restrainer confirms God’s sovereignty over the events of the end. He will not allow the man of lawlessness to rise until the time He has decreed from all eternity (see also Matt. 24:36–51),” states Dr. Sproul.
Dr. William Hendriksen explains, “Accordingly, the sense of the entire passage (verses 6 and 7) seems to be this: Satan, while perfectly aware of the fact that he cannot himself become incarnate, nevertheless would like to imitate the second person of the Trinity also in this respect as far as possible. He yearns for a man over whom he will have complete control, and who will perform his will as thoroughly as Jesus performed the will of the Father. It will have to be a man of outstanding talents. But as yet the devil is being frustrated in his attempt to put this plan into operation. Someone and something is always “holding back” the deceiver’s man of lawlessness. This, of course, happens under God’s direction. Hence, for the time being, the worst Satan can do is to promote the spirit of lawlessness. But this does not satisfy him. It is as if he and his man of sin bide their time. At the divinely decreed moment (“the appropriate season”) when, as a punishment for man’s willingness to cooperate with this spirit, the “someone” and “something” that now holds back is removed, Satan will begin to carry out his plans:[2]
Throughout church history, individuals have sought to identify the Antichrist and have developed theories as to who he is and when he will come. It is valuable to examine who Paul was thinking of when he wrote of the “man of lawlessness. However, believers in Christ should not spend too much time and effort in this quest. We should be content God knows who this man is and that the Antichrist cannot operate outside the Lord’s sovereignty and providence.
May the Lord’s truth and grace be found here. Have a blessed day in the Lord.
Soli deo Gloria!
[1] Johannes P. Louw and Eugene Albert Nida, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Semantic Domains (New York: United Bible Societies, 1996), 757.
[2] William Hendriksen and Simon J. Kistemaker, Exposition of I-II Thessalonians, vol. 3, New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1953–2001), 182–183.
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