The Timing of Christ's Return

2 Thessalonians 2:1-8 outlines the primary debate within eschatology regarding the timing of Christ’s return.

Now, dear brothers and sisters, let us clarify some things about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and how we will be gathered to meet him. 2 Don’t be so easily shaken or alarmed by those who say that the day of the Lord has already begun. Don’t believe them, even if they claim to have had a spiritual vision, a revelation, or a letter supposedly from us. 3 Don’t be fooled by what they say. For that day will not come until there is a great rebellion against God and the man of lawlessness (the antichrist) is revealed—the one who brings destruction. 4 He will exalt himself and defy everything that people call god and every object of worship. He will even sit in the temple of God, claiming that he himself is God.

5 Don’t you remember that I told you about all this when I was with you? 6 And you know what is holding him back (other versions say "restraining him"), for he can be revealed only when his time comes. 7 For this lawlessness is already at work secretly, and it will remain secret until the one who is holding it back (restraining it) steps out of the way. 8 Then the man of lawlessness will be revealed, but the Lord Jesus will slay him with the breath of his mouth and destroy him by the splendor of his coming.

The Core Prerequisites (verses 1-4)

Paul clarifies that the "Day of the Lord" has not yet begun. He states that two specific events must occur before Christ returns to gather His people:

1) The Great Rebellion (Apostasy): A massive falling away from the faith.

2) The Revelation of the Antichrist: The "man of lawlessness" must appear and commit the Abomination of Desolation by sitting in the Temple and claiming to be God.

The timing of the Rapture hinges on who or what is currently "restraining" the Antichrist:

So what is the Identity of the Restrainer? (verses 6-7)

Pre-Tribulation View: The Restrainer is the Holy Spirit/Church. For the Antichrist to be revealed, the Spirit-indwelt Church must first be "taken out of the way" (the Rapture). This places the gathering before the Tribulation.

Post-Tribulation View: The Restrainer is Civil Law/Government. The Antichrist rises when societal order collapses. In this view, the Church remains on Earth to witness the Antichrist’s revelation, placing the gathering after the Tribulation.

Summary of Positions:

Post-Trib (Shamoun): Logic dictates that if the Antichrist must be revealed before the gathering, the Church must be present to see him. *But the gathering could possibly be the gathered believers that are in heaven after the rapture.

Pre-Trib: Argues that the "gathering" is a separate event that triggers the removal of the Restrainer, thereby allowing the "Day of the Lord" (judgment) to begin.

Conclusion:

The debate over the Restrainer's identity is truly the crux of the matter:

• If the Restrainer is the Holy Spirit (via the Church): The Church leaves before the Antichrist is revealed →Pre-Tribulation Rapture.

• If the Restrainer is Civil Law/Order: The Church stays to face the Antichrist's rule →Post-Tribulation Rapture.

The fact that Paul said, "you know what is restraining him," suggests it was something well-known to the Thessalonians, which supports both possibilities (the Holy Spirit working in their midst, or the dominant Roman law and order of their time).

Sam Shamoun and other Post-Tribulation Rapture advocates are convinced that 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4 proves that the Church must see the Antichrist's revelation, and they identify the Restrainer as an entity whose removal simply allows the Antichrist to emerge during the Church Age, not necessarily after the Church has left.

See the next section on Who/what is the Restrainer?