2Thessalonians 2:7 For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.
‘Only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.’ The hinderer of lawlessness: It is something already known (2:6). It now hinders lawlessness (2:6-7). It is strong enough to prevent the revelation of the Antichrist (2:6-8). It will hinder lawlessness until it is removed from the earth (2:7-8). It is called “he” (2:7). It will be removed from the earth before the second coming (2:7-8). It will not be here when Christ comes to destroy the Antichrist (2:7-8).
The hinderer is one of three things: Governments (Rom. 13:1-7; 1Pet. 2:13). The Holy Spirit (John 16:7-15). The body of Christ (Matt. 5:13; 1Cor. 2:15-16; Eph. 6:12-18; 2Cor. 10:4-7). The hinderer of lawlessness must be the one that will be taken out of the world before the Antichrist can be revealed (2:6-8). Will governments be taken out of the world? No, because the Antichrist reigns over many kingdoms (Dan. 7:24; 11:40-45), and other kings reign over the rest of the earth all during the time the hinderer of lawlessness is removed (Rev. 11:15; 16:13-16). Will it be the Holy Spirit? No, for He will be here all through the tribulation and forever (John 14:16; Acts 2:16-21; Rev. 12:17 with 19:10; Zech. 12:10-13:1). Multitudes will be saved by the Holy Spirit during the tribulation, as now (Acts 2:16-21; 12:5, 17; 15:2-4; 20:4-6). So, it must be the body of Christ. Christians will be raptured before the Antichrist comes and this is the only one of the hinderers of lawlessness that will be removed from the earth (1Thess. 4:16).
To be continued…
Living the Word 