Revealing “The Restrainer” in 2 Thessalonians 2: Introduction

The identity of “the restrainer” in 2Thess 2:6 and 2:7 has eluded interpreters. Myriad opinions have been proffered down the centuries, but none have gained widespread acceptance. We might just as well throw up our hands and join Augustine in a chorus of “I confess that I do not know exactly what he [Paul] means” (ego prorsus quid dixerit me fateor ignorare).¹

Augustine, like some others, assumes the Thessalonians were privy to insider information that outsiders like us lack (2:5: Do you not remember that when I was still with you, I was telling you these things?).² Without this essential identifying information, we grasp at straws. But perhaps this premise is misguided?

The Grammatical Puzzle

Though there are several syntactical and grammatical difficulties in this chapter, the primary puzzle appears in the difference between the neuter grammatical gender for “the restrainer” in 2:6 and the masculine in 2:7. Below we will use the NASB to illustrate this grammatical gender difference by adding a subscripted _[nt] for neuter and _[ms] for masculine. The italicized portions in the translation indicate words the NASB add to the underlying Greek text. The italics in brackets show alternative translations from the footnotes of the NASB. We start at the beginning of the chapter for larger context:

2:₁ Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, regarding the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, ₂ that you not be quickly shaken from your composure [Lit mind] or be disturbed either by a spirit, or a message, or a letter as if from us, to the effect that the Day of the Lord has come. ₃ No one is to deceive you in any way! For it will not come unless the apostasy [Or falling away from the faith (ED: or rebellion)] comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, ₄ who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God. ₅ Do you not remember that while I was still with you, I was telling you these things? ₆ And you know what restrains_[nt] him now, so that he will be revealed in his time. ₇ For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He [or he] who now restrains_[ms] will do so until He [or he] is removed [or out of the way]. ₈ Then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will eliminate with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming . . .

“The restrainer” is understood to be holding back “the man of lawlessness”. With the neuter to masculine sequence, many have assumed an impersonal principle of some sort must apply to v. 6, while a personal actor related to this principle must be the subject of v. 7. Early interpreters (Tertullian, Chrysostom, e.g.) thought the slots should be filled by the Roman Empire and the Roman emperor, respectively. For those who interpret that Paul left out important identifying information, this would explain why he was seemingly evasive: Paul didn’t want Rome itself to target Thessalonian believers.

Other contenders include Paul’s missionary work, the preaching of the Gospel, Elijah, Michael the archangel, and God the Father or the Holy Spirit. The latter appears to be what the NASB translation committee/interpreters have in view with the capitalized “He” in 2:7. On this interpretation, echoing Chrysostom,³ Green wonders “why the author would make such an opaque reference to God”.⁴ Adding to this insight, one might wonder why Paul didn’t just spell out the references forthrightly, for, besides a Roman interpretation, there would seem to be no reason to be so indirect.

We might even question the methodology here. A neuter referent must not necessarily indicate an impersonal principle. And a masculine referent does not necessarily mean “the restrainer” is personal. For example, note that the three synonyms for the sea below differ from each other in grammatical gender. We surely would not construe a body of water as personal (except perhaps in figurative usage).

the open/deep sea = to pelagos (neuter)
the deep sea = ho bythos (masculine)
the sea/lake = hē limnē (feminine)

At root, grammatical gender is usually conditioned by the spelling of the particular word. However, as languages evolve, sometimes words can change meaning and/or spelling, which distorts the picture somewhat.⁵ Typically, words specifically referring to a male are grammatically masculine, while words referring to a female are grammatically feminine, but this is not always the case.⁶

Consider Jairus’ daughter in Mark 5. Jairus introduces her in 5:23 as his thygatrion (“little daughter”), which is grammatically neuter. Of course, the neuter hardly makes Jairus’ daughter impersonal, a non-person! Yet thygatrion (“little daughter”) is the diminutive form of thygatēr (“daughter”), which is grammatically feminine. In fact, later (5:35), men from Jairus’ house refer to the girl by that very term, thygatēr.

However, when Jesus comes to Jairus’ house to bring her back to life (5:39), He refers to her as the grammatically neuter paidion (“child”). Then, as He is about to restore her (5:41), Mark the narrator prefaces Jesus’ words with: And grasping the hand of the child [paidion (neuter)], He says to her [autē̦ (feminine)].

The account of Jairus’ daughter and the example of synonyms for the sea illustrate that we must not automatically correlate grammatical gender to personhood or non-personhood and/or biological sex. Though this methodology remains a possibility for this context, the exegete should not be constrained by such.

Contextual Considerations

We might also question the validity of the opinions proffered above on the basis that they are all absent from the context. None are found anywhere in 2 Thessalonians 2. If we were to use this as a means by which to tentatively reject such interpretations, the only possible remaining candidate from those listed above would be Rome for the reasons specified earlier.

Zooming out a bit, let us see if we can better understand the issue at hand. Paul begins this chapter with “regarding the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him”. Related to this, we see that the Thessalonians were under the impression that the Day of the Lord had already begun. Inferring from these two concerns, it appears ‘Christ’s coming and our gathering’ falls within the Day of the Lord. Yet that Day cannot begin until the apostasy and the revealing of the lawless one.

Extracting a chronological sketch from the text, we seem to find:

-The Thessalonians were then experiencing “the mystery of lawlessness”
-This “mystery of lawlessness” will continue on, via “the restrainer”
-Once “the restrainer” is no longer ‘restraining’, the lawless one will be revealed
-After this, the Day of the Lord will begin and Jesus will come to gather His saints
-Following this, Jesus destroys the “lawless one”

This provides needed perspective.

In considering alternate exegetical methods, we might think of each occurrence of “the restrainer” as a pronoun, substituting for the thing or person it refers to. The referent could either (anaphorically) precede the pronoun, or it could (cataphorically) follow it. Examples in English should clarify:

Though Carlos scored no goals, he had two assists. (“Carlos” {anaphorically} precedes “he”)
Though he scored no goals, Carlos had two assists. (“Carlos” {cataphorically} follows “he”)

Thus, we might be able to find a reference to “the restrainer” either (anaphorically) before its occurrence or (cataphorically) after its occurrence in the text.

As we continue in this series, we will explore alternatives until we arrive at our tentative conclusion. In the next installment, we will gather a bit more background information and address one tangential aspect.

[See part II: Revealing “The Restrainer” in 2 Thessalonians 2: Grammatical Parameters.]

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¹ The City of God against the Pagans, XX.19.

² Ibid.

³ Homilies on 2 Thessalonians.

⁴ Gene L. Green, The Letters to the Thessalonians, Pillar New Testament Commentary (PNTC); Accordance electronic ed., OakTree Software, Inc. Version 2.5 (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2002), p 315. Relatedly, see my post Rapture Ready?, in which I challenge the typical pretribulation rapture doctrine of the Spirit as “the restrainer” who is removed so “the lawless one” is revealed.

⁵ See this article by Cindy Blanco at the Duolingo blog: Dear Duolingo: What’s up with all these gendered nouns?, as accessed 07/01/2023.

⁶ Relatedly, as we can see, grammatical gender does not necessarily indicate biological sex—see Misgendering the Spirit. That is, it appears that some may understand the masculine grammatical gender for “the restrainer” in 2:7 to indicate not just personhood but maleness. Cf. The Holy Spirit as “Restrainer” in 2 Thessalonians 2? and the Contextual Considerations section just below.