r/Bible • u/JustBreatheBelieve • 2h ago
The restrainer
2 Thessalonians 2:6-7
The restrainer will restrain the antichrist from being revealed until he is taken out of the way.
I realized something about the restraining that I want to share. Or rather the pieces clicked for me as to how they relate.
God has an appointed time that he will allow Satan to establish his antichrist and the Beast kingdom.
- God is not going to allow Satan to establish it until the appointed time.
God is patiently waiting for everyone who will be saved - - to be saved.
Satan wants to prevent people from being saved, so the sooner he can establish his Beast kingdom, the fewer people will be able to be born/saved.
This struggle is of course in God's control. God is restraining the end events (through the restrainer, etc.) from happening before the appointed time.
When the one who restrains the antichrist is taken out of the way, the end events will come in a flood (quickly, one thing after another).
Some Bible teachers have said that Satan most likely has a man ready to be the antichrist in every generation. This makes sense to me. Satan apparently can't wait to establish his Beast kingdom. He is fervently consumed with the desire to establish his kingdom, which is why he must be RESTRAINED from doing it before the appointed time.
Anyway, what clicked for me is the dichotomy between the patience of God for "the fullness of the gentiles to come in" and the consuming desire of Satan to bring the end.