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TOPIC: Gordon, Samuel Dickey - Quiet Talks About Our Lord's Return (Other Topics in this Collection)
SUBJECT: 19. The Restraining One
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The Restraining One
The second letter to these Thessalonians seems to have been drawn out by the need there of more instruction on this subject of the Lord's return, because of misunderstanding, or inaccurate teaching, regarding it. At the time of Paul's visit to Thessalonica, there had been intense opposition to the Gospel preaching, and the little church formed at the time had experienced much persecution and suffering. Paul's first word here is one of comfort to these suffering Christians. [Note: 2Th_1:7-10.] When the Lord Jesus came these sufferings would be at an end. He would deal out a just judgment upon the wicked, and be glorified in these who are now suffering. The Coming is to be a time of judgment for the wicked, and of reward for those trusting Him. We may be patient in the midst of opposition. All will be made right that is most wrong, when He comes. When suffering because of wrong, keep your heart steadily looking to His return.
Then Paul comes to the special matter in hand in writing this second letter. [Note: 2Th_2:1-12.] Word had reached him that some were teaching that the day of the Lord is just at hand; [Note: King James version, "at hand"; English Revision, "now present"; American Revision, "just at hand." The force of the word underneath our English is, usually, something "threatening" or "impending," something "near at hand." The meaning "now present" could hardly seem right because they knew that neither the time of judgment called "the day of the Lord," nor the actual return of the Lord, had taken place.] that is, that His coming might be expected at any moment. They seem to have been quoting Paul as authority for this. Some were taking up this new phase of teaching; others were troubled because it did not agree with what they had been taught by Paul himself. It is to correct such teaching that he now writes to give specific instruction on this point. And he feels so much concerned that they shall not be misled by inaccurate teaching that he beseeches them not to be misled, nor beguiled by such teaching.
Then he gives specific teaching on this point. A rather careful reading of the paragraph brings out six things. (1) There is to be a falling away, that is, a falling away in the Church. This will come first of all, before the Lord's coming. (2) Then there will come to the front a leader of evil called "the man of sin," or "of lawlessness," "the son of perdition," the "lawless one." Then follows a description of this person. He sets himself up in opposition to God, sits in the temple of God, and claims to be God. [Note: This at once brings to mind our Lord's quotation from Daniel about the "abomination of desolation" standing in the holy place.] This leader of evil will have supernatural Satanic power in working all sorts of miracles and wonders to deceive the multitudes. (3) He will be slain, utterly destroyed, by the mere appearance of the Lord Jesus when He comes.
But the fourth point is of immense interest, there is now a restraint upon the power of evil. The spirit of lawlessness of which this leader will be the embodiment, that spirit was even then already at work, but it could not do as it would because of a restraint holding its desires and powers in check. And Paul reminds them that he had taught them regarding all this. This evil leader is to be revealed "in his own season." There is a purpose of God sleeplessly at work. (5) Then there will come a time when this restraint shall be withdrawn. Then when restraint is withdrawn all the power of evil will head up in this one. (6) Then at some time after he has been at work, deceiving the multitudes with his miracles of lies, the Lord Jesus will suddenly appear in the heavens, and his appearance will destroy this terrible leader.
Put into fewer words, there would be a falling away in the Church, then there would come a terrible blasphemous leader of evil in the world; this evil one would be slain by the Lord's appearance; but at the present time there is a restraint upon this power of evil; there will come a time when this restraint shall end, then will come the awful crisis of evil under this terrible leader, and then he would be destroyed by the coming of the Lord. Such seems to be the substance in brief of this surprising addition to this subject given here.
There comes up at once an intensely interesting and practical question,—what is this power that has been and is holding evil in restraint? Paul reminds them that they know, for he had taught them. May we know with certainty? One might at once think that it refers to the body of believers, the Church, whose presence in the world is undoubtedly a restraint upon evil. Our Lord called the true believers, the "salt of the earth" and the "light of the world." Salt preserves from decay and corruption. Light scatters darkness.
But the restraint is by a person; there is "One that restraineth now, until He be taken out of the way." The restraint spoken of here is not by a body of people, but by one person. It is a restraint of evil by good. It is a restraint that has been exercised by this person then, and ever since, and at the present time, and until the time when He is withdrawn. There can be but one such person. It is the Holy Spirit who is restraining. This is part of His mission in the world. And the withdrawing of the restraint could mean only this, that there will come a time when He will withdraw from the earth,—an awful time!
Now this withdrawal of the Holy Spirit would seem to mean the withdrawal of the Church, or the company of believers. That would seem a very natural conclusion to draw. And it would be a delightful conclusion, for it would mean their escaping all the awful time that follows that withdrawal. Yet a little thinking into the matter brings up difficulties at once. There will be believers on the earth during the time of the tribulation, which clearly corresponds with the sway of this lawless one. Our Lord's teaching in the Olivet Talk would seem to make that clear. He tells His disciples how they will be persecuted, and some killed, and how He will give them special wisdom for every emergency; they are told about the false Christs so as not to be deceived by them; and He earnestly pleads with them to be true and watchful during the awful apostasy of those days. Paul's own teaching is made clear by the opening sentence of this chapter—the Lord's coming, with which the whole chapter is concerned, is the time of "our gathering together unto Him." And His coming is after the restraint is withdrawn and the lawless one has come and run his course.
Now, of course, wherever a believer is, the Holy Spirit is in him. The Spirit is our life, even where He is not fully obeyed, or is ignored, yet He remains as our life, and as the seal of our ownership by the Lord Jesus. Therefore the withdrawal is not from individual believers. There remains only one thing, and that is that the withdrawal is from the Church as such. It will be a withdrawal from the corporate body called the Church. And such withdrawal would be for a reason. It at once lets in a flood of light as to the conditions prevailing in a corporate body which came into being by the coming of Himself. He is its life. Now for some reason He withdraws. This is a very solemn thing to recognize, and to repeat. The very suggestion brings great sorrow to one who loves the Church. There will be much more to say about this in the talk to follow on the Church.
Here it should be noted, that one of the few distinctive things about the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, was not simply that He came into or upon individual men. That was equally true of men in Old Testament times. The distinctive thing, touching this, was that He came upon a body of men, incorporating them by His presence into a new unit called a Church. There will be more to say about this in the talk on the Holy Spirit. Here we simply note the awing, solemn fact that at some time before our Lord Jesus comes the Church will have come into that condition that the Holy Spirit will have withdrawn from it.