2 Thessalonians 2:7

[Ezra]

7 For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. in your opinion who is he who letteth

 

[Stumpmaster]

7 For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. in your opinion who is he who letteth

Well, Ezra, as you may know, there are numerous comments, theories and opinions about the so-called Restrainer.

When we read these two verses in the Greek we find the same word katechō translated as both withholds and lets in the KJV while in the Berean Study Bible both words are translated restrain.
2Th 2:6-7
(6) And now ye know what withholds that he might be revealed in his time.
(7) For the mystery of iniquity does already work: only he who now lets will let, until he be taken out of the way.

Berean Study Bible: 2 Th 2:6-7
5 Do you not remember that I told you these things while I was still with you? 6 And you know what is now restraining him, so that he may be revealed at the proper time. 7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work, but the one who now restrains it will continue until he is taken out of the way. 8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will slay with the breath of His mouth and annihilate by the majesty of His arrival.

Firstly What Restrains = God's Plan - The man of sin is not going to be revealed until the proper time.
Secondly Who Restrains = God's Man or Woman - In positions of leadership, authority, responsibility, throughout history.
Thirdly How Do They Restrain = In the way - Activism against godless bewilderments and devilish dictators.
Fourthly When Do They Restrain = Until taken away - Until the harpatzo, when the Lord returns and catches away His saints.

1Th 4:16-17
(16) For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
(17) Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up *(G726) together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

* G726
ἁρπάζω
harpazō
har-pad'-zo
From a derivative of G138; to seize (in various applications): - catch (away, up), pluck, pull, take (by force).
Total KJV occurrences: 13

 

[Paul Christensen]

Well, Ezra, as you may know, there are numerous comments, theories and opinions about the so-called Restrainer.

When we read these two verses in the Greek we find the same word katechō translated as both withholds and lets in the KJV while in the Berean Study Bible both words are translated restrain.
2Th 2:6-7
(6) And now ye know what withholds that he might be revealed in his time.
(7) For the mystery of iniquity does already work: only he who now lets will let, until he be taken out of the way.

Berean Study Bible: 2 Th 2:6-7
5 Do you not remember that I told you these things while I was still with you? 6 And you know what is now restraining him, so that he may be revealed at the proper time. 7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work, but the one who now restrains it will continue until he is taken out of the way. 8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will slay with the breath of His mouth and annihilate by the majesty of His arrival.

Firstly What Restrains = God's Plan - The man of sin is not going to be revealed until the proper time.
Secondly Who Restrains = God's Man or Woman - In positions of leadership, authority, responsibility, throughout history.
Thirdly How Do They Restrain = In the way - Activism against godless bewilderments and devilish dictators.
Fourthly When Do They Restrain = Until taken away - Until the harpatzo, when the Lord returns and catches away His saints.

1Th 4:16-17
(16) For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
(17) Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up *(G726) together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

* G726
ἁρπάζω
harpazō
har-pad'-zo
From a derivative of G138; to seize (in various applications): - catch (away, up), pluck, pull, take (by force).
Total KJV occurrences: 13

The early 17th Century meaning of the word "let" is "to hinder". It did not mean "to allow" as it is rendered today.

So, the sense of the verse is that there is a hindrance to the outbreak of evil until something happens to take that hindrance out of the way.

The "he" in the verse is the Holy Spirit, therefore it is the Holy Spirit who indwells converted believers who is hindering iniquity from having full expression in the world. But when all the believers are caught up to be with the Lord in the air (the Rapture), the Holy Spirit will go with them, because the Holy Spirit is not some entity that resides outside of believers like an indeterminate mist. Therefore when all the believers leave the world in the Rapture, the Holy Spirit will no longer be in the world to hinder the full force of iniquiity to run rampant around the world. When that happens, the Antichrist will be revealed, the judgments on the world will take place as described in Revelation, and Armageddon will take place, interrupted by the return of Christ with all His saints. The Antichrist will be defeated along with all the armies of the world, and Christ will set up His millennial kingdom on the throne of David in Israel, the remnant of the Jews will turn to Christ, and Christ will rule over the nations of the world for 1000 years. with the assistance of His saints. After that, the unconverted dead will be raised to the Great White Throne judgment, culminating in the Devil and his angels, along with all the unconverted souls who sided with him against Christ, will be cast into the lake of fire. The present world and universe will be destroyed, and a new earth and universe will be created where believers will live forever with Christ.

 

[Base12]

The "he" in the verse is the Holy Spirit, therefore it is the Holy Spirit who indwells converted believers who is hindering iniquity from having full expression in the world.

I disagree.

In the Last Days, God will be pouring out the Holy Spirit, not taking it away...

Acts 2:17
"And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams"

 

[Paul Christensen]

I disagree.

In the Last Days, God will be pouring out the Holy Spirit, not taking it away...

Acts 2:17
"And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams"

You are ignoring the Scriptures that clearly state that there will be a general falling away before the second coming of the Lord, and that false prophets will arise performing signs and wonders to lead even the very elect away from Christ if that is possible.

 

[Base12]

in your opinion who is he who letteth

Abaddon/Apollyon...

Revelation 9:11
"And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon"

Abaddon is the one who prevents unauthorized escape from the Pit.

Once Abaddon is taken out of the way, the Beast will be free to escape...

Revelation 17:8
"The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is"

Note that Abaddon actually does the bidding of God by acting as the 'Destroyer' of those thrown into the Lake of Fire.

In this next verse, we see Abaddon's Army attacking the Unsaved...

Revelation 9:4
"And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads"

Again, with Abaddon out of the way, Evil can escape.

 

[Paul Christensen]

Abaddon/Apollyon...

Revelation 9:11
"And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon"

Abaddon is the one who prevents unauthorized escape from the Pit.

Once Abaddon is taken out of the way, the Beast will be free to escape...

Revelation 17:8
"The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is"

Note that Abaddon actually does the bidding of God by acting as the 'Destroyer' of those thrown into the Lake of Fire.

In this next verse, we see Abaddon's Army attacking the Unsaved...

Revelation 9:4
"And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads"

Again, with Abaddon out of the way, Evil can escape.

This is just an opinion not clearly supported by the verse. It is an established fact that Christian believers indwelt by the Spirit are the ones who are hindering the full expression of evil in the world. Once there are no Christian believers in the world, there will be nothing to stop evil from having its full expression. One must view the verse in its full context instead of taking it out and cobbling other random verses with it to prove a personal opinion.

 

[Ezra]

Abaddon/Apollyon...

Revelation 9:11
"And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon"

Abaddon is the one who prevents unauthorized escape from the Pit.

Once

The "he" in the verse is the Holy Spirit

is taken out of the way, the Beast will be free to escape...

Revelation 17:8
"The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is"

Note that Abaddon actually does the bidding of God by acting as the 'Destroyer' of those thrown into the Lake of Fire.

In this next verse, we see Abaddon's Army attacking the Unsaved...

Revelation 9:4
"And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads"

Again, with Abaddon out of the way, Evil can escape.

this makes no sense

 

[Ezra]

The "he" in the verse is the Holy Spirit,

this is how i see it

 

[Ezra]

I disagree.

In the Last Days, God will be pouring out the Holy Spirit, not taking it away...

Acts 2:17
"And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams"

in Gen he said And the Lord said, “My Spirit will not remain with mankind forever, because they are corrupt. Their days will be 120 years. if he promised it once he will do it again.. yes there is a outpouring going on but there will be time he withdraws

 

[stunnedbygrace]

this makes no sense

It doesn't make sense to me either...he is said to be the king of the abyss and his name translates as destroying Angel. So once the destroying Angel is taken out of the way, then wickedness can escape...? Doesn't make sense to me either.

 

[Elihoenai]

7 For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. in your opinion who is he who letteth

2 Thessalonians 2:8 King James Version (KJV)

8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:


This being a Mystery means that it is Secret/Hidden. Can the Who be seen in verse 8?

 

[Stumpmaster]

2 Thessalonians 2:8 King James Version (KJV)

8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:


This being a Mystery means that it is Secret/Hidden. Can the Who be seen in verse 8?

Hi Elihoenai. Satan likes his camouflage as much as his espionage, sabotage, and bondage. In fact he does rage for an age before he meets his fate in the Lake of Fire.

One of the many nicknames of Antiochus Epiphanes (215 - 164BC) was "that Wicked". Also his name and title translates as "God Manifest", prefiguring the events prophecied in 2 Thess 2.

I believe that when Paul writes that the Mystery of Iniquity is already at work he is indeed speaking of the invisible principalities and powers of darkness that are behind the efforts of unregenerate humanity to disregard the Will and Word of God in order to glorify itself and rule supreme, and that the ultimate and final false prophet or man of sin who is "that Wicked" referred to in 2 Thess 2 will at first seem to be just another figurehead in a long line of them who rise to world acclaim before the apostasy he encourages reaches termination level, when Jesus will return after it becomes known who "that Wicked" is this time around.

Strangely there have been long discussions on some forums about the apostasia or "falling away" actually being the so-called rapture, rapture being a word spuriously inserted into the Latin Vulgate Bible by Jerome in place of the Greek harpazo and transliterated into English, being from the same Latin root word for rape. Quite muddled exegesis by all accounts...Wikipedia quotes the usage that has come about from the original Latin rapere to seize;

The Latin Vulgate translates the Greek ἁρπαγησόμεθα as rapiemur[17] meaning "we are caught up" or "we are taken away" from the Latin verb rapio meaning "to catch up" or "take away".[18]

 

[Base12]

It doesn't make sense to me either...he is said to be the king of the abyss and his name translates as destroying Angel. So once the destroying Angel is taken out of the way, then wickedness can escape...? Doesn't make sense to me either.

Abaddon is not Godzilla going around destroying buildings or something... lol.

These verses may help...

Proverbs 15:11 (English Standard Version)
"Sheol and Abaddon lie open before the LORD; how much more the hearts of the children of man!"

Job 28:22 (English Standard Version)
"Abaddon and Death say, ‘We have heard a rumor of it with our ears.’"

Job 26:6 (English Standard Version)
"Sheol is naked before God, and Abaddon has no covering"

The role of Abaddon is to destroy the Souls of those thrown into the Lake of Fire...

Matthew 10:28
"And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell"

Look up the word for Destroy in the above verse...

Strong's Greek: 622. ἀπόλλυμι (apollumi) -- to destroy, destroy utterly

apollumi: to destroy, destroy utterly

The above is where we get Apollyon from...

Strong's Greek: 623. Ἀπολλύων (Apolluón) -- "a destroyer," Apollyon, the angel of the abyss

Apolluón: "a destroyer," Apollyon, the angel of the abyss
Usage: Apollyon, The Destroying One, a Greek translation of the Hebrew: Abaddon.

Unfortunately, because Christians are taught that Reincarnation is not Biblical, they will never Truly understand what verses like this are teaching...

Revelation 17:8
"The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is"

Each head of the Beast is Satan *Reincarnating* into this world in Human Form!

He is... then he is not. He is... then he is not. Over and over.

Thus, the bottom line to all of this is that...

The phrase 'Mystery of Iniquity' is in fact the Biblical term for Reincarnation!

One day the Christian Community will wake up to this fact.

I'll go ahead wait for everyone to catch up...

Anyhow...

When Apollyon is taken out of the way, Satan is free to Reincarnate into Human Form once again for a 'short period'...

Revelation 17:10
"And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space"

He knows his time as a *MORTAL BEING* is short!

Revelation 12:12
"Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time"

 

[Ezra]

This being a Mystery means that it is Secret/Hidden. Can the Who be seen in verse 8?

did you not sethe read the he who lets ?

 

[Elihoenai]

Hi Elihoenai. Satan likes his camouflage as much as his espionage, sabotage, and bondage. In fact he does rage for an age before he meets his fate in the Lake of Fire.

One of the many nicknames of Antiochus Epiphanes (215 - 164BC) was "that Wicked". Also his name and title translates as "God Manifest", prefiguring the events prophecied in 2 Thess 2.

I believe that when Paul writes that the Mystery of Iniquity is already at work he is indeed speaking of the invisible principalities and powers of darkness that are behind the efforts of unregenerate humanity to disregard the Will and Word of God in order to glorify itself and rule supreme, and that the ultimate and final false prophet or man of sin who is "that Wicked" referred to in 2 Thess 2 will at first seem to be just another figurehead in a long line of them who rise to world acclaim before the apostasy he encourages reaches termination level, when Jesus will return after it becomes known who "that Wicked" is this time around.

Strangely there have been long discussions on some forums about the apostasia or "falling away" actually being the so-called rapture, rapture being a word spuriously inserted into the Latin Vulgate Bible by Jerome in place of the Greek harpazo and transliterated into English, being from the same Latin root word for rape. Quite muddled exegesis by all accounts...Wikipedia quotes the usage that has come about from the original Latin rapere to seize;

Hi Stumpmaster,

2 Corinthians 11:14 King James Version (KJV)

14 And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.

Indeed! The Devil's/Satan's most Powerful and Effective camouflage is Yeshua Messiah/Jesus Christ. The Satan/Devil is pretending to be Yeshua Messiah/Jesus Christ and has done so for over 2000 years.

Quote:
"...And Satan is worshipped by men under the name of Jesus; and Lucifer is worshipped by men under the name of Brahma; and Leviathan is worshipped by men under the name of Allah; and Belial is worshipped by men under the name of Buddha...."
Aleister Crowley

 

[Ezra]

some how things got off trck who is the he who lets /the restraining agent

 

[Ezra]

2 Thessalonians 2:8 King James Version (KJV)

8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:


This being a Mystery means that it is Secret/Hidden. Can the Who be seen in verse 8?

pssst verse 7 not 8 the he who letteth has to be the Holy spirit /the restrainer

 

[Ezra]

R.I.P it was good while it lasted lol

 

[Elihoenai]

pssst verse 7 not 8 the he who letteth has to be the Holy spirit /the restrainer

John 14:17 King James Version (KJV)

17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.


It is profitable to consider that the World cannot receive the Holy Spirit.