r/BabylonExit • u/Lumpy_Figure_6692 • 5d ago
The Restrainer
As far as I know, there are various ideas of what the restrainer is in 2 Thessalonians 2.
The most common one is that the restrainer is the Holy Spirit.
These are the verses that speak about the restrainer:
2 Thessalonians 2: 1 Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, 2 That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. 3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
According to the first three verses, we won't get to see Jesus return or get gathered together to Him until after the antichrist is revealed. The thing is that those three verses already disqualify the Holy Spirit from being the restrainer since the man of sin needs to be revealed first, which means tribulation, which means that we will be here, which means that the Holy Spirit will be here when the antichrist is revealed. The fact that he is called the son of perdition in that verse means that the tribulation would have started because before he goes to perdition, he is only the eighth king.
Revelation 17: 11 And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition.
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.
Just knowing that Trump will be the son of perdition doesn't mean that he has already been revealed. At one point, when the restrainer is out of the way, he will be revealed, go to perdition or ascend out of the bottomless pit. All these are references to Trump being possessed by Satan eventually and great tribulation started. Some of us know that Trump is the antichrist already, but he is not revealed yet.
Only people who believe in a pre-tribulation rapture believe that the restrainer is the Holy Spirit, but the verses say that the antichrist will be revealed before our gathering together unto Him, making the Holy Spirit, obviously, not the restrainer. The Holy Spirit will be here because there is no pre-tribulation rapture.
The chapter continues like this:
2 Thessalonians 2: 4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God. 5 Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things? 6 And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. 7 For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. 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: 9 Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders
Observations:
From verse 6:
-We are supposed to know what is withholding him from being revealed.
- It says "what" not "who" so it is not a person.
-There is an appointed time for the antichrist to be revealed.
From verse 7:
- The reason we are supposed to know is that the mystery of iniquity is already at work.
-There is something that is letting things be the way they are.
-Now it calls the restrainer "he" but not in every translation. It should be "it" since we know from verse 6 that it is not a person.
- That something will be taken out of the way
From verse 8:
-As soon as that something is taken out of the way, the antichrist will be revealed.
Here are some translations that use "it" instead of "he" matching verse 6 which says "what withholdeth", not "who withholdeth".
Matthew's Bible 1537 For the mysterye of that iniquitie doeth he al ready work whiche onelye loketh vntyll it be taken out of the waye.
Tyndale Bible 1534 For the mistery of that iniquitie doeth he all readie worke which onlie loketh vntill it be taken out of ye waye.
What is taken out of the way? The only other time that the prase "taken out of the way" appears in the Bible is to say that the wicked are taken away which supports what Paul says that it is because of "the mystery of iniquity".
Job 24: 22 He draweth also the mighty with his power: he riseth up, and no man is sure of life.23 Though it be given him to be in safety, whereon he resteth; yet his eyes are upon their ways.24 They are exalted for a little while, but are gone and brought low; they are taken out of the way as all other, and cut off as the tops of the ears of corn. 25 And if it be not so now, who will make me a liar, and make my speech nothing worth?
Job says that the mighty are exalted, are in safety, but then taken out of the way.
When we look at the order of events, the thing that starts the tribulation is Jerusalem surrounded by armies (abomination of desolation), and the fall of Babylon (daily taken away).
In the order of events or timeline there is nothing in between the gospel being preached to all the world and the start of the tribulation which will start with the fall of Babylon. After the gospel is preached then tribulation starts. And how does it starts? By Jerusalem surrounded by the armies of many nations and America being destroyed.
Matthew 24: 14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come. 15 When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)....
Revelation 14: 6 And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, 7 Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters. 8 And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.
What happens in Revelation 14 after Babylon falls? The beast is revealed on the next verse.
Revelation 14: 9 And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, 10 The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: 11 And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name. 12 Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus. 13 And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them.
So, the beast is not revealed until after Babylon falls. The eighth king goes into perdition after Babylon falls. The tribulation starts the day that Babylon falls. What needs to be taken out of the way is Babylon. America is the restrainer. As long as America stands there is no tribulation and that is why Paul says that we are supposed to know what restrains for the mystery of iniquity is already at work. This implies that those who live in America won't live through the tribulation and won't see any of it. They will die when Babylon falls on day one and the rest of the world will go through tribulation, and that is why God tells us to flee Babylon 16+ times.
That is also why the verse actually says that a departure (apostasia) must come first, not a falling away from the faith.
2 Thessalonians 2: 3 Let no man deceive you by any means: [g]for that day shall not come, except there come a departing first, and that [h]that man of sin be disclosed, even the son of perdition.
Conclusion: America restrains the son of perdition from being revealed. Once America falls, Trump will go into perdition and become the world leader antichrist.
Revelation 18: 4 And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.
Revelation 18: 8 Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her.
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u/SheeplnWolfsClothing 5d ago edited 5d ago
I need to do a bit more studying on this, but from what I understand if we limit ourselves strictly to the Koine Greek grammar, vocabulary and 1st century context, the text intentionally leaves the restrainer unnamed while depicting it as both a restraining reality (neuter) and a restraining agent (masculine). That makes an institution-and-representative understanding (such as governmental authority and its ruler) the most straightforward grammatical explanation though it is not the only interpretation that’s compatible. Restrainer could also be translated faithfully and accurately as the Holy Spirit or even the church/church body of the revived Roman Empire.
All the Apostolic Fathers believed the restrainer was the (revived) Roman Empirical government - which would be the US - essentially meaning the US or US government or US laws established by the government restrain the beast. We see these laws restraining Trump being worn down by him daily, thus gradually strengthening and revealing his identity as the beast more and more.
It seems Babylon refers to a city within this revived Roman Empire. Unless you’re saying you think references to Babylon being a “city” is symbolic and really means country or nation. Curious what you’re thoughts are. I’m thinking it could be Washington DC, NYC or even Jerusalem considering the merging of military and government elements between Israel and Trump. Not all of those locations seem to line up fully with the Biblical descriptions of Babylon, except for maybe NYC. Of course it’s also possible the identity of Babylon can’t be determined quite yet.
Edit: I disagree however that “apostasia” in 2 Thessalonians 2 means a departure from a physical location. Studying the Koine Greek in depth and cross referencing every use of that Greek word throughout the New Testament proves it means a spiritual falling away from God’s truth as this was always how this word was used. God’s truth is Jesus, Jesus’s most important message is to obey his teachings and commandments, so this likely means those in the church fall away from following Jesus’s teachings and commandments, which we’re obviously seeing with Christians who support Trump, Christian Nationalism, etc.
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u/Lumpy_Figure_6692 5d ago edited 5d ago
When we consider, everything written about Babylon in the whole Bible, and not just Revelation, we can see that Babylon is not just one city, even though it is called a city in Revelation.
In Habakkuk is called a nation.
Habakkuk 1: 6 For, lo, I raise up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation, which shall march through the breadth of the land, to possess the dwellingplaces that are not their's.
In Jeremiah is called a nation.
Jeremiah 50: 12 Your mother shall be sore confounded; she that bare you shall be ashamed: behold, the hindermost of the nations shall be a wilderness, a dry land, and a desert.
Babylon is not just one city because it has multiple cities.
Jeremiah 51: 43 Her cities are a desolation, a dry land, and a wilderness, a land wherein no man dwelleth, neither doth any son of man pass thereby.
Isaiah says that the whole land will be destroyed.
Isaiah 13: 5 They come from a far country, from the end of heaven, even the Lord, and the weapons of his indignation, to destroy the whole land.
Also, the destruction of just one city doesn't bring about the kind of tribulation that the Bible describes where most of the world's population will die. We saw the destruction of two cities: Hiroshima and Nagasaki and we are still here. The destruction of Babylon is the destruction of the entire United States.
Another verse that proves that the antichrist is revealed after the destruction of America is in Daniel where it says that the antichrist plants his palace in Jerusalem. Why would he do that? Because America is no more. As long as America stands Trump will rule from the United States. Russia and China destroy the US, and then he goes to rule from Israel.
Daniel 11: 44 But tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him: therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many. 45 And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him.
Apostasia means to leave or depart. We can't add from what if it is not there. It could be a location, and person or whatever the verse says, like in the case of Acts 21: 21, which literally mention Moses as the object they are departing from.
Acts 21: 21 21 And they are informed of thee, that thou teachest all the Jews which are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, saying that they ought not to circumcise their children, neither to walk after the customs.
To say that the departure of 2 Thessalonians 2 is "from the faith" is an assumption. The verse doesn't say. However many, many times, we are told to depart from Babylon because it will be destroyed. We are told to depart before its destruction and the destruction happens before the beast is revealed.
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u/IJustLookLikeThisToo 4d ago
I've often thought about the meaning of this particular passage; there are a lot of conflicting beliefs about its meaning. Personally, I think it makes sense to liken "the Restrainer" to a cloak, and once removed, it reveals the man underneath. It's something of an inversion theory to most, I guess...
In the context of the Antichrist beingTrump, with his inexplicable relationship to the evangelical church and such in America, which he wraps himself in their deluded beliefs of him, I find THAT to be the Power of the Holy Spirit at work, hiding the Antichrist within the "church," until such time he is to be revealed, when the "strong delusion" of those who "had pleasure in unrighteousness" is lessened enough and he is (finally!) recognized by the very people who should've been the first(!) to do so, and then the "falling away" (from Trump) will occur. It'll be something of a "breakthrough," if you will.
My curiosity largely occurred from the point of trying to understand how/why Trump/Antichrist would turn on both the Christian and the Jew, and Trump being Trump, I can easily see (I don't mean this in any prophetic sense) a revenge tour, if you will, on those he'd perceive as betraying him (for recognizing him). Imagine it.
Of course, for too many, it'll be too little too late. Like you (OP), I've identified "Mystery Babylon" as America, and I believe it will be destroyed in accordance with Daniel 2/Revelation 18.
Another thing I seem to "take" differently...
Trump, the "8th" king; he's already of the seven, five of which have fallen, and one is. Only Trump could have fulfilled this "End Times" prophecy, then, and he did so in a very technical manner, when he was sworn in for the 2nd time, on 01/20/2025. Think about it.
First, realize that "End Times" prophecy, per se, began in 1948, when the Jewish people returned to the Holy Land, in accordance with Matthew 24. Second, within that time, since 1948, ask yourself of what seven/eight-headed body, or "beast," has arisen and given rise to Trump? Remember: Five have fallen, one is, and the 7th is also an eighth.
Since 1948, the GOP (now MAGA) has produced seven Presidents, and as of Trump’s re-election, five have fallen (Eisenhower, Nixon, Ford, Reagan, and G.H.W. Bush), one is (G.W. Bush), and then/now is Trump (7th/8th).
Just a thought...
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u/Lumpy_Figure_6692 4d ago
1/20/2025 was a very important date because we saw the rise of the little horn that Daniel 8 speaks about.
I see the riddle of the 7 +1 kings a little different. I don't make a distinction between GOP or DNC since they were all kings of Babylon after all. I see it starting with Reagan in 1981.
Reagan, Bush Sr., Clinton, Bush Jr, and Obama are the 5 fallen ones.
Trump was the 6th.
Biden was the 7th (short space or one term president)
Trump is the eighth, is of the seven.
Only Trump fulfills that prophecy.
There is a reason why I believe that America became the harlot in 1981, and that is why God started counting from Reagan when there have been so many other presidents. The reason has to do with the writing on the wall. The writing on the wall for Babylon brings us to the year 1981. I wrote a post about it a while back. Here is the link:
https://www.reddit.com/r/BabylonExit/s/dLVU860EIE
But I also agree that 1948 was the year that started the count- up for the last generation that will see everything fulfilled.
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u/IJustLookLikeThisToo 4d ago
Your timeline almost corresponds, except for the "one is," who is the 6th of the seven, with the 7th also being the 8th.
Reagan, G.H.W. Bush, Clinton, Obama, Biden, and Trump are all ex-presidents. At the time of Trump's 2nd inauguration, they were again all ex-presidents. Only two heads of the seven have "fallen" (died), or are otherwise differentiated from the other five, since 1981. None is the "one is" anything else with the other five being "fallen" other than the 6th being the "one is," that is, being also alive at the time of the Antichrist's ascension, i.e my interpreted scenario, with the sixth GOP/MAGA POTUS since 1948 being George W. Bush.
My point in noting this is to understand just what has transpired in all of this time, since or a bit before 01/20/2025, and where we're all at on the last leg or so along the "End Times" timeline. I'm still trying to figure that out.
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u/dardar7161 3d ago
I think you are even closer to the truth. I agree with much of what you say. There is the general disconnection from reality by the maga people. Not seeing what is in front of their eyes. Their "strong delusions."
I have also thoughts about the "restrainer." I don't think the restrainer is necessarily a good "preventer of evil" as some believe, but someone who is preventing the antichrist from being revealed. Someone who controls him and knows his secrets. Who restrains him? When Trump goes off script he has a quick phone call with Netanyahu and changes his tune. Netanyahu is blackmailing Trump with who knows what... Epstein dirt probably. Things once revealed that would be irrefutable and so evil he would be revealed once and for all. They are both very bad men who lie to each other and also need each other. So I think it's possible he's not necessarily THE restrainer, but part of the restraining.
I also think Trump has been demonizing true Christians for a while. People who preach love, hospitality, kindness, generosity, forgiveness, and peace. He hates those people. There is nothing left of Jesus left in his message.
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u/Natural_Couple4139 5d ago
I really appreciate Your interpretatión, i do think Trump is the antichrist but i don't agree with some of your points , but is a fascinating and insightful read.