Throughout the Bible, this man of sin is depicted as the very seed of Perdition. Satan will someday incorporate upon this monster the fullest authority of governance over the worlds kingdoms. This is of course an offer that Satan made as a gesture of compromise to Jesus.

      Currently however there is a witholding power operating within our world to obstruct this Evil One from acheiving a position of sufficient power to extricate the conspiratorial ascendancy to world conquest by Lucifer. While Satan often promotes a prototypical Antichrist into position for kingship, implied by his enticing temptation with Jesus; he has never been able to fully orchestrate his conspiracy to openly exalt himself as almighty God!

      This act, which is called the "Abomination of Desolation"; whereby the world enthrones and literally accepts a minion of Satan as world saviour cannot ever occur until the "Great Restrainer" is taken out of his way.

      After God has proclaimed that there shall be no more delay in the completion of the ages old conflict with the mystery of iniquity and evil, he will permit mankind the opportunity to express his individuality of Godlessness! This is known as the time of great Tribulation.

      Meanwhile, the church of Christ, his faithful Bride will be wisked away from the imminent battle site. After the Marriage Supper of the Lamb, she will return to witness the defeat of all unrighteousness and evil!

      The Holy Spirit does not leave the earth, since it is omnipresent. It will operate as the great overseer as it did in the days before the Pentecost. Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to indwell the body of believers. The Holy Spirit has many fuctionalities, but the function of great restrainer will expire, except for its new role involving the nation of Israel!

      We know that the "HE" which now letteth must be the personage of the Holy Spirit for these reasons:

      1. The restrainer has to be stronger than the Evil One that is being restrained!

      The Church is not actually stronger than the Evil One, although it does act as a restrainer of evil, but only because the Holy Spirit indwells the body of the church. I John 4:4 says "greater is HE that is in you, than HE that is in the world."

      The Church has a lot of powers availed to it, but we need the armaments of the Holy Spirit to be able to combat against the powers of evil.

      That brings to my mind a picture of the absolute vainful situation that the Church would be in during the Great Tribulation with the great Restrainer being absent from the church body. The Church would be in peril, and Jesus' promise to never leave us, never to forsake his church would be a falsehood if it were left on the earth during the Great Tribulation.

      Therefore the Great Restrainer will remove his functional body (the church) before letting the Evil One emerge during this time fully and completely unrestrained.

      2. The masculine gender usage of the word, "HE"; utilized in verse seven indicates that the one restraining evil is an actual being opposing the Evil One which wishes to expose himself upon the world. Verse four describes the future Antichrist in the same gender usage as is utilized in verse 7 for the Restrainer. ( HE )

      3. The great Restrainer must be an omnipotent, and eternal being since evil has been universally restrained since the Edenic expulsion, even throughout all earth's ages prior to the existent Church age.

      4. The present Church Age is also known as the Age of the Dispensation of the Spirit. The church body is indwelt by the spirit that Jesus sent to minister to it. In like manner as the Spirit also existed in the world in the days before there was a body called the Church; so in like manner it will exist after that body departs, but then God will direct his Restrainer to cease from withholding the conspiratorial designs of Satan.

      The Holy Spirit will not cease his function as the great Restrainer until the functional body that He is residing in has been spirited away. He who now lets will let until HIS body be taken out of the way!

      II Thessalonians chapter two depicts accurately the Pretribulational Rapturing of the body of Christ for the express purpose of LETTING the Evil One have an opportunity to show himself, and unleash a strong delusion upon a world that knows no Restraints!

      The time of the Great Tribulation is a time that no person need to have endure. A way of escape through salvation is presently accorded to all that will simply accept it. My advice to you is to not be left behind.