03/30/2026

 

Samuel Clifford

 

"And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way." 2 Thessalonians 2:6-7 KJV

 

This passage of scripture reveals five key details about the characteristic of the Restrainer:

 

1. The Restrainer is referred to as "what" which is a neuter pronoun.

 

2. The Restrainer is restraining the Man of sin from being revealed.

 

3. The Restrainer is currently restraining.

 

4. The Restrainer is referred to as a "he" which is a Masculine pronoun, thus showing the Restrainer is a person.

 

5. The Restrainer will cease to restrain and will be taken out of the way i.e. removed.

 

Reasons the Holy Spirit is the Restrainer:

 

 1. The Holy Spirit is referred to in the Neuter as the Restrainer is (John 14:26, 15:26, 16:13-14)

 

"But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you." John 14:26 KJV

 

"But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me." John 15:26 KJV

 

“Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you. John 16:13-14 KJV

 

2. The Restrainer is restraining the Man of sin i.e. Antichrist from being revealed. Only am Omnipotent God can do this, and the Holy Ghost fits this since He is God. (Acts 28:25-27, Isaiah 6:10-11, Acts 5:3-4)

 

“And when they agreed not among themselves, they departed, after that Paul had spoken one word, Well spake the Holy Ghost by Esaias the prophet unto our fathers, Saying, Go unto this people, and say, Hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and not perceive: For the heart of this people is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes have they closed; lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them." Acts 28:25-27 KJV

 

“Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed. Then said I, Lord, how long? And he answered, Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land be utterly desolate," Isaiah 6:10-11 KJV

 

“But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land? Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God." Acts 5:3-4 KJV

 

3. The Restrainer is currently restraining Lawlessness, which fits since the Holy Spirit convicts (Genesis 6:3, Isaiah 59:19, John 16:8-11)

 

"And the Lord said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years." Genesis 6:3 KJV

 

"So shall they fear the name of the Lord from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him." Isaiah 59:19 KJV

 

"And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: Of sin, because they believe not on me; Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged." John 16:8-11 KJV

 

4. The Restrainer is referred to as "he", and the Holy Spirit is called a "he" (John 16.0, 16:13, 2 Thessalonians 2:7)

 

“And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment." John 16:8 KJV

 

“Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come." John 16:13 KJV

 

"For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way." 2 Thessalonians 2:7 KJV

 

Restrainer will cease to restrain and be taken out of the way. How does the Restrainer restrain? This is the big detail, the Holy Spirit is indwelt in the Body of Christ, which is the Church (Romans 8:9, 1 Corinthians 12:13, Acts 10:47), and He is in the Church forever (John 14:16) which is His restraining ministry that He is indwelt in, and the Church will one day be removed from this verse at the Rapture (1 Corinthians 15:51-58, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, John 14:1-3). Thus, for the Holy Spirit to be "taken out of the way", He would have to be removed from the Earth via. Rapture. Now the Holy Spirit is still here on earth since He is God, but He is removed in the sense that God will remove those whom He is indwelt in, that is the Church.

 

“But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his." Romans 8:9 KJV

 

“For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit." 1 Corinthians 12:13 KJV

 

“Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we?" Acts 10:47 KJV

 

"And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;" John 14:16 KJV

 

"Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord." 1 Corinthians 15:51-58 KJV

 

But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. 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: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words." 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 KJV

 

"Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also." John 14:1-3 KJV

 

6. The Restrainer must be stronger than Satan, which God is.

 

Satan empowers the Man of Sin, and only the LORD rebukes Satan, not angels or governments (Zechariah 3:2, Jude 9, 2 Thessalonians 2:9).

 

7. The Restrainer must be active throughout the entire Church Age, which matches the Spirit’s ministry.

 

The mystery of lawlessness was already working in Paul’s day and continues until the Restrainer is removed, matching the Spirit’s continuous work (2 Thessalonians 2:7, Acts 2:1–4).

 

“For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.”

2 Thessalonians 2:7 KJV

 

“And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.”

Acts 2:1-4 KJV