WHO IS THE "ONE THAT RESTRAINETH"?
"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;
"4. Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshiped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing 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." From the above we note briefly the more prominent points, and pass on to notice the subject indicated at the head of this article. 1. The apostle shows that he did not believe that the coming of Christ was, as has been stated by so many, then impending, or to occur in his day. He also shows indirectly, in connection with the preceding epistle, and other teachings, that he wrote, not alone for the people in his day, but for all time,—for the last generation as well as the generation in which he lived. 2. He declares that before the coming of Christ takes place there must come a "falling away first," among those who were once God's people. It could not be said that the world had fallen away, or could fall away, because it was never united with Christ. 3. Because of this "falling away" is revealed "the man of sin," "the son of perdition," called in the seventh verse "the mystery of iniquity." 4. This "man of sin," or "mystery of iniquity," was to be manifest in the church of God; for "he opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshiped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God." The temple of God is first of all the individual who yields all to God (1 Cor. 6:19, 20), and then the aggregate of such individuals (1 Cor. 3:16). God designed that his life should dwell in his body, the church, by dwelling in each individual member by faith (Eph. 3:17; Gal. 2:20), and this is the mystery of God, "Christ in you, the hope of glory" (Col. 1:27). This union of the individual with Christ rests wholly with the choice of the individual. "Whosoever will may come." God pleads, but he will not compel. Those only who "receive him" (Christ) become sons of God (John 1:13); and the authority to choose him who was to be the all in all of the church, is also the power to reject him, or turn from him, if they so elect. But just as long as Christ is held in the heart by faith (Eph. 3:17), by the free choice of the individual, there is no power in the universe which can overthrow that soul; and just as long as those who compose the church in the aggregate hold Christ by faith, hold his word as their guide, their light, their daily food, there is no power on earth that can turn that church away. If built upon the rock Christ Jesus, the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. 5. But the Spirit of God declares that the mystery of iniquity, the man of sin, shall enthrone himself in the church of God, claiming himself to be God. This worked in Paul's day even, but not as a controlling power. In Acts 20:29, 30 the apostle warns of the rise of this very power:— "For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them." This is the "falling away" referred to. But this power could not exalt itself in Paul's day. Why?—Because, as the apostle declares: "He who now letteth [hindereth] will let [hinder] until he be taken out of the way." The Revised Version reads, "And now ye know that which restraineth." Who only19hinders, who alone can hinder, the work of iniquity in the church? There is only One, and that One is Christ, in the heart, in the church, by faith. But when the church made friends with the world, she became the enemy of God (James 4:4); and when she became united with the world, she committed spiritual fornication, and the fruit of that fornication was the mystery of iniquity. The church of God first cast Christ off before she allied herself to the world. Just as long as she held to Christ, just so long the mystery of iniquity was impossible; but as soon as she turned from the one to whom she was married (Rom. 7:4; Gal. 3:27; 2 Cor. 11:2), and turned to the enemy of God, she became an adulteress and a harlot (James 4:4; Rev. 14:8), and the mystery of iniquity, that Wicked, stood revealed before the world. The fruit of that accursed union marked twelve hundred years of this world's history by a trail of blood. The whole history of that bloody period should forever stand as a beacon warning to the church. But the sad fact is that the church of to-day is traveling again in the same evil path, flower bordered at first, but leading down to hell. The last manifestation of the evil mystery will be the worst, for it will be against the light of eighteen hundred years that the step is taken. Its culmination will not be the deadly wound of the Papacy, it will be the destruction of that Wicked by the shining forth of God's presence. Just now God wants his presence to come into the heart of everyone by faith, the mystery of God within, that sin and iniquity may be forever banished, and everyone be saved; but those who will not invite his presence for that purpose, those who choose to identify themselves with sin, will perish with the sin when Christ comes. Reader, will you not let Christ hinder, yea, forever prevent, the exaltation of the mystery of iniquity in your heart? If so, deny self, choose Christ, lift him up.