David W Palmer
(2 Thessalonians 2:7 TLB) As for the work this man of rebellion and hell will do when he comes, it is already going on, but he himself will not come until the one who is holding him back steps out of the way.
This has been an obscure passage at times, but the phrase, “Man of rebellion,” speaks of the work of the Antichrist—or the spirit of antichrist. John confirms that it is already hear and at work in the world around us:
(1 John 4:3 NLT) But if someone claims to be a prophet and does not acknowledge the truth about Jesus, that person is not from God. Such a person has the spirit of the Antichrist, which you heard is coming into the world and indeed is already here.
Once we acknowledge that there is a spirit of antichrist at work in the world right now—the spirit that works in the lives of men and women of the world, making them take their stand against the Lord Jesus Christ—then we look at who is “holding him back.” Certainly, someone needs to hold him back. For Father’s dream and Jesus’s mission is that the gospel reach every ethnic group; and this vision must be fulfilled before the full rule of antichrist on earth. So we need to see him held back for now and discover what, if any, is our responsibility in this.
According to our opening passage, the “man of rebellion” will not come until the one holding him back “steps out of the way.” Who is the “one” this refers to, and what does this last phrase mean? To understand, let’s look at this passage in a broader context:
(2 Thessalonians 2:1–7 NLT) Now, dear brothers and sisters, let us clarify some things about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and how we will be gathered to meet him. {2} Don’t be so easily shaken or alarmed by those who say that the day of the Lord has already begun. Don’t believe them, even if they claim to have had a spiritual vision, a revelation, or a letter supposedly from us. {3} Don’t be fooled by what they say. For that day will not come until there is a great rebellion against God and the man of lawlessness is revealed—the one who brings destruction. {4} He will exalt himself and defy everything that people call god and every object of worship. He will even sit in the temple of God, claiming that he himself is God. {5} Don’t you remember that I told you about all this when I was with you? {6} And you know what is holding him back, for he can be revealed only when his time comes. {7} For this lawlessness is already at work secretly, and it will remain secret until the one who is holding it back steps out of the way.
Let’s now join some dots; to do this, we look at the opening verse of this passage and the verse that mentions the “one who is holding back.” It says that antichrist cannot rise until this one is not in his way:
(2 Thessalonians 2:1, 7 NKJV) Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him ... {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.
In verse one, we see that Paul begins by talking about us— “We will be gathered to meet him.” This refers to Jesus’s born again, spirit filled church—who is gathered together to him [in the rapture]. So, in context, this is the “one” who is “taken out of the way.” In other words, the pure, spotless bride for whom Jesus is returning is the one exerting a force that is holding back the full manifestation of evil—the spirit of antichrist, personified in The Antichrist—in the lead up to Jesus’s glorious return. That’s you and me who love Jesus and who are led by his Spirit. Using his word in the authority of his name, by the anointing and leading of the Holy Spirit, we have the power to resist, hinder, and render inoperative the antichrist spirit and his evil.
Today, I encourage you to be active in this. You have Jesus’s righteousness, his authoritative word, his armor, his weapon, his mind, and his Spirit. You have what you need to do your part in this.
