2 Thessalonians Chapter 2

A word of Warning, continued

VERSE 5 “Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things?

Paul was saying, “I told you about these things in the past.” When he was with the Thessalonians, he had discussed end-of-the-age events with them at some length. He did not shun to declare the whole counsel of God (Acts 20:27). But in their overreaching, in their zealous desire for the day of Christ to come quickly, they misunderstood some of his teachings and needed to be refreshed. Therefore, Paul was saying,

“What I tell you now, I said before, but you have evidently forgotten. Something will withhold or prevent the day of Christ’s presence from coming right away, but in due time that day will be revealed. Think about what I previously said. I am reminding you of those things.”

VERSE 6 “And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time.”

Pagan or Imperial Rome “withheld [restrained]” Papacy from developing for a time. (In the early Church the apostles themselves were a deterrent, for they could read the hearts of professed Christians.) Pagan Rome ruled with both civil and ecclesiastical power over its subjects, the latter through its pagan priesthood. Therefore, Papacy did not prosper or grow in an ostensible (apparent or conspicuous) fashion until the day of Constantine (the early 300s).

When he became emperor, his adoption of Christianity was a big step for the development of the man of sin. Then in 539 A.D. the Roman emperor Justinian acknowledged the right of the Church of Rome to be the head in all ecclesiastical matters, while he was head in all civil matters. At the time Justinian gave this decree, he was in Constantinople, for the civil government had been moved from Rome. As a result, those in Rome began to look to the church there for leadership, whereas previously they had looked to the emperor for advice.

Thus the important developments conducive to Papacy’s growth were:

 1) The capital of the Roman Empire was moved to Constantinople,

 2) The Emperor Constantine accepted Christianity, and

 3) Justinian decreed that the bishop of Rome was the head of the church.

Prior to Constantine’s day, the man of sin was just a seed, a “mystery of iniquity” not revealed or seen openly. After its disclosure, various Reformers called attention to the bad practices of the Church of Rome. Those who early saw the danger inherent in Papacy and spoke out are called “Antipas” (meaning “against the fathers,” that is, against Papacy) in Rev 2:13. They, the Lord’s faithful martyrs, opposed the idea that the bishop of Rome was superior to other bishops and was in Christ’s stead (his vicegerent).

The man of sin was thus revealed as early as the third stage or period of the Church’s history, during the Pergamos period, but up until the present Harvest period, those who saw the evil were still trying to reform the nominal system. Now it is apparent that the system is beyond reformation, and the message to the Christian is to “Come out of her, my people” (Rev. 18:4). To show the futility of reformation, Brother Russell used the parable about the new piece of cloth being unsuccessfully put on an old garment (Matt. 9:16).

VERSE 7 “For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way.”

It was the Apostle Paul, the angel (messenger) to Ephesus, the first stage of the Church, who made this statement.

The Apostle John, who was the messenger to Smyrna, the second stage of the Church, said,

“Every spirit that confesses not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world” (1 John 4:3). The “it,” the Antichrist system, was an outgrowth of false doctrine, which our Lord spoke of in Matthew 13:25,

“But while men [the apostles] slept, his [Jesus’] enemy [Satan] came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way.” Satan’s attempts did not prosper until after the apostles had died; that is, in the third or Pergamos period, Antichrist rose to power and then reigned in Thyatira, the fourth stage of the Church.

Comment: In the King James Version, Verse 7 reads, “For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he [it] who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.”

“Letteth” means “hindereth” in the Old English.

The thought is that, “that which now hinders will be taken out of the way.”

(Verse 6) “And now ye know what withholdeth (what restrains or interposes) that he (our Lord) might be revealed in his time

That which “withholdeth” (in Verse 6) and “he [it] who now letteth (or hinders) in Verse 7, both refer to Imperial (or Pagan) Rome.

“He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way.” Pagan Rome became divided when the emperor moved the capital from Rome to Constantinople. He thought the new site, the midpoint between the East and West of that day, was a better location. However, there was such an attachment to Rome that when the emperor and his authority moved, the door was open for Antichrist to prosper in Rome in the emperor’s stead.

Rev 13:2 describes, in symbol, Imperial Rome’s being “taken out of the way” when the capital was moved to Constantinople: “The dragon gave him [the papal beast] his power, and his seat, and great authority.” Ultimately, instead of Pagan Rome’s keeping the Roman papal power in a bottle like a genie, Pagan Rome became the servant of the Roman Catholic Church. In other words, the dragon felt a responsibility to uphold the Papacy. Stated another way, when the Roman Empire became the Holy Roman Empire, civil power became subservient to the Papacy itself.

The emperor of Imperial Rome was called Pontifex Maximus (Chief Religious Ruler), and in that capacity he wore the red cardinal flamens (priest’) hat and even had his own priesthood. The emperor, therefore, was both the civil and the religious head of the empire. We can see the similarity to Papacy, which, as a religious system, has its own government, the Vatican.

We will continue with Verse 8 in our next post.