Who is he that will be taken out of the way?

2 Thessalonians 2:7 "For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way."

Previously I was asked for my opinion on this verse by a dear sister in Christ. The question was: "Who is he that will be taken out of the way? Does this verse necessarily imply a pre-tribulation rapture?" The context surrounding this verse is given in:

2 Thessalonians 2:6-8 "And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. 7 For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. 8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:"

According to verse 6 "now ye know" means that it has been revealed in Scripture. Most people I've come across hold the opinion that the "he" in verse 7 holding back the "mystery of iniquity" is the Holy Spirit. Some said that it is the church. Some teach that the "he" refers to Michael the Archangel who is the Prince of Israel (r. Dan 10:21). Some even said that the "he" is the Antichrist.

In fact, 2 Thessalonians 2:7-8 is one passage that dispensationalists like to use as their proof text in defence of the pre-tribulation rapture theory. According to these pre-tribbers, it is the gentile church that is holding back the Antichrist from appearing, and until the gentile church is taken out of the way, then shall the "Wicked" (Antichrist) be revealed. The obvious problem with this view is that the church is not a male entity, therefore, it cannot be the "he" in verse 7.

Then, I've also encountered some dispensationalists who went as far as to say that because the Holy Spirit indwells the church, therefore when the Holy Spirit is taken out of the way, that also means that the rapture has happened and the church is taken out of the way before the "Wicked" be revealed. Is this the correct view of 2 Thessalonians 2:7-8? Let's examine from Scripture.

2 Thessalonians 2:5 "Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?"

What was Paul referring to when he said "I told you these things?" The "these things" Paul was referring to is given to us in 2 Thessalonians 2:1-4, that is, the day of the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ and the events surrounding it.

2 Thessalonians 2:1-4 "Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, 2 That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. 3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; 4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God."

Notice there is an order to these events:

1. "there shall come a falling away first";

2. "that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition";

3. "the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him".

This is the opening passage that will establish the rest of Paul's words in 2 Thessalonians 2:6-8 which would be to follow. The "man of sin" is the Antichrist or the "Wicked" which we read in verse 8.

2 Thessalonians 2:6 "And now ye know what withholdeth that he [Antichrist] might be revealed in his time." NOTE: [insertion]

The "he" in verse 6 is the "man of sin" (Antichrist) in verse 3. But there is another "he" that is currently witholding the Antichrist that he might not be revealed until the time appointed, and it is given to us in the next verse:

2 Thessalonians 2:7 "For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he [God] who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way." NOTE: [insertion]

There are two mysteries in the Bible:

1. the virtuous woman, the body of Christ;

2. the strange woman, the body of sin.

The "strange woman" is already at work, which is to say, only "he" [God] who now letteth will let, until "he" (unknown) be taken out of the way. The (":") in this verse is important. It is used to denote the explanation on why the "mystery of iniquity" is already at work. The reason that "he" [God] allows it is because it is the will of God concerning both the body of Christ and the body of sin.

Daniel 2:22 "He [God] revealeth the deep and secret things: he knoweth what is in the darkness, and the light dwelleth with him." NOTE: [insertion]

God is the one who revealeth "the deep and secret things". He is the one who revealeth the "mystery". Therefore, he must be the one who will reveal the Antichrist, which is to say, he is also the one who withholds the Antichrist from appearing until the time appointed.

The will of God is prophecy, and the word of God is the spirit of prophecy:

Revelation 19:10 "... for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy."

The will of God is revealed in the unfolding of the mystery concerning both the body of Christ and the body of sin. That is, God must fulfill his every word through the things and events that MUST take place according to the words of God in the 66 books of the Holy Bible.

2 Thessalonians 2:7 "For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he [God] who now letteth will let, until he [unknown] be TAKEN out of the way." NOTE: [insertion]

While God is the one who lets "until he be TAKEN out of the way", who is the "he" in this verse?

1 Samuel 4:21 "And she named the child I–chabod, saying, The glory is departed from Israel: because the ark of God was TAKEN, and because of her father in law and her husband." NOTE: EMPHASIS added

Notice the connection between 2 Thessalonians 2:7 and 1 Samuel 4:21 bridged by the word "taken". In 1 Samuel 4:21, the "ark of God" was taken, and then the child I-chabod was revealed i.e. I-chabod is a picture of the Antichrist.

BTW, this phrase "ark of God" is found in exactly 33 verses in the King James Bible, the number 33 is a reference to Jesus Christ (the Word of God) who was crucified at 33 years of age. This ain't an accident!

Exodus 25:16 "And thou shalt put into the ark the testimony which I shall give thee."

Inside the ark of God was the word of God. So, when the ark of God was taken in 1 Samuel 4:21, that is a prophecy that the word of God shall be taken out of the way in 2 Thessalonians 2:7.

The word of God in the 66 books of the Holy Bible is the spirit of Jesus Christ. The living God is the spiritual form of the written Word, and the written Word is the physical form of the living God. One cannot be decoupled from the other.

If the written Word would be taken out of the way, that is the same as the living God be taken out of churches all over the world. This goes along with:

2 Thessalonians 2:3 "Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a FALLING AWAY first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;" NOTE: EMPHASIS added

There shall come a "falling away" (apostasy) first, and then the "man of sin" (Antichrist) shall be revealed.

2 Thessalonians 2:7-8 "For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he [God] who now letteth will let, until he [Word] be taken out of the way. And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:" NOTE: [insertion]

The word of God must be taken out of the way before the "Wicked" can be revealed. In fact, we also have a reference in:

Genesis 6:3 "And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years."

The words "my spirit" is a reference to the word of God (Proverbs 1:23). Isn't it true that man is still striving with the LORD today? But what exactly is man striving against? Yes, not against a tangible body, but against the words of the LORD - the living God in the form of the written Word.

2 Peter 2:5 "And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly;"

During Noah's time, it was Noah the preacher of righteousness who was preaching the word of God to the whole world. Right now, it is the 66 books of the Holy Bible that is speaking through the local church (Hebrews 1:1-2).

1 Timothy 3:15 "But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth."

The church is the pillar and ground of "the truth" (Holy Bible). Throughout the history of Christianity there has always been a subtle and consistent effort working to uproot the real Jesus Christ and replace him with the Antichrist.

Isn't it true that right now we are already seeing the Ecumenical Movement trying to uproot the pure word of God and replace them with fake bibles?

Isn't it also true that now we are already witnessing all that happening, that the pure word of God is gradually being removed from the nations, the homes, the schools, the societies, and even the local church?

The days will come when the real Holy Bible, the physical form of the living God, will no longer be found in the local churches. The days will come when the preaching of the Word will become so watered down that the Spirit of the LORD will no longer strive with sinful men.

Today we have hundreds of millions in Charismatic mega-churches all over the world that are being deceived by their "health and wealth" gospel and their "name it claim it" witchcraft. Then we also have dispensationalism being taught as the dominant theology in both Charismatic churches and IFB churches. Where the word of God is absent, witchcraft will automatically take over. Real Bible-believing churches are far and few these days. The end is near.