Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time. 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. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming. (2 Thess. 2:3-8)
The absolutely definitive signs of the (great) tribulation is the revealing of the Antichrist through the act of great apostasy, and the hard condition for that is the removal of the "restrainer", and that raises the question - who or what is the "restrainer"?
So far there're three most plausible answers - 1. the Holy Spirit, which has been suppressing the Antichrist's spirit, even though it's been at work since the days of apostle Paul. When the time comes, the Holy Spirit will be gone, Antichrist freed; 2. Civil power, specifically, national governments. Whne the Antichrist rises, national sovereignty will be surrendered to a global government, which will rule over the entire world; 3. the church and all church organizations, no good church left, all will be incorporated into the false religion of Mystery Babylon.
I think the answer is heavily affected by each one's eschatalogical view. If you're pre-trib, it'll likely to be 1 or 3; if you're post-trib like me, though, it'll likely to be 2. It all depends on how you identify of the "saints" in Revelation. If they're "new converts" - even though the whole world is deceived by the Antichrist, the original church is gone, then it might be 3, I personally side with 2, as I identify them as the remnant church, the great multitude specifically identified as the followers of Christ coming "out of the great tribulation" (Rev. 7:14). However, in most translations, the "he" and the "restrainer" are both capped, indicating the Holy Spirit, which doesn't really make sense, considering the prophecy, "it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, that I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh," (Acts 2:17).
So who
could that be? just a supposition here i am speculating.
Daniel gives us a clue that is easy to overlook. In Daniel 10, we are shown that there is a spiritual conflict taking place behind the kingdoms of this world. An angel tells Daniel:
But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days; and behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left there alone with the kings of Persia. (Daniel 10:13, NKJV)
The angel later says:
And now I must return to fight with the prince of Persia; and when I have gone forth, indeed the prince of Greece will come. (Daniel 10:20, NKJV) This gives us something very important. Daniel shows that earthly kingdoms are not the whole story. There is also a spiritual conflict taking place behind them, and Michael is directly involved in that conflict.
But the most important passage is found in Daniel 12:
At that time Michael shall stand up, The great prince who stands watch over the sons of your people; And there shall be a time of trouble, Such as never was since there was a nation, Even to that time. And at that time your people shall be delivered, Every one who is found written in the book. (Daniel 12:1, NKJV)
if we Look carefully at the timing. Michael is described as the great prince who stands watch over God's people. Then comes a time of trouble greater than anything that came before it. And after that, God's people are delivered. That is very close to the pattern we see in the New Testament. Paul tells us that something is restraining the lawless one until his appointed time. When that restraint is removed, the lawless one is revealed. Then, at the coming of Jesus, the Lord destroys him.
Daniel does not say, “Michael is the restrainer.” We have to be honest about that. But Daniel does show Michael exercising a protective and opposing role in the spiritual conflict surrounding the final events. Then Revelation gives us another remarkable connection. Michael appears again, this time fighting Satan himself:
And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought.(Revelation 12:7, NKJV)
Satan is then cast down:
So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world.(Revelation 12:9, NKJV)
So we have Michael involved in a direct conflict with Satan and his angels. Daniel shows Michael standing watch over God's people at the time of the great end-time trouble. Revelation shows Michael fighting Satan. And Paul speaks of a restraining power that holds back the final lawless one until the appointed time.
Are these all describing the same thing? We cannot say for certain. But the similarities are too important to simply ignore.
There is also something else worth remembering. Scripture consistently shows that Satan and the forces of evil do not have unlimited freedom. They can act only within the limits God permits. Their time is controlled by God.
That is why I think the identity of the restrainer should be approached carefully. It may be tempting to immediately say that the restrainer is the Holy Spirit, human government, Michael, or some other power. But the passage itself does not give us that answer.
What Scripture does give us is a pattern. There is a power that restrains. There is an appointed time. The restraint is removed. The lawless one is revealed. And finally, Jesus Himself destroys him.
Daniel adds another important piece to this picture. Michael is not an ordinary angel. He is called “the great prince” who stands watch over God's people, and he is involved in spiritual warfare at the very time when the final trouble comes.
So I would not conclude, “Michael is definitely the restrainer.” I would say something more careful and, I believe, more faithful to Scripture:
Michael is one of the strongest biblical figures we should examine when trying to understand the restraining power, because Daniel and Revelation place him directly in the spiritual conflict surrounding God's people, Satan, and the events of the end.
The answer may become clearer when we put Daniel, Revelation, and 2 Thessalonians side by side and follow the sequence of events rather than trying to identify the restrainer from one verse alone. That is where this becomes especially interesting, because the same final powers begin appearing in all three books.
Blessings
