The Man Of Sin Series

A six year old boy and his father once traveled down the Danube

River, and at the close of one day they stopped at a cloister. The

father took the boy into the chapel to see the organ. It was the first

large organ he had ever seen. His face lit up with delight. He asked

his father if he could play it. The father complied and went to fill

the great bellows. The boy was too small to use the stool, and so he

pushed it back and stood on the pedals. Suddenly the silent chapel

was filled with deep tones, and the monks who were just then eating

their supper dropped their knives and forks in astonishment. Their

organist was right there with them, and so they ran to the chapel,

but when they looked up into the organ loft they saw no one at the

organ, and yet its harmonious tones continued to flow forth in

thrilling power.

“It is the evil one!” cried one monk. “No, it is a miracle,” said

another. A third monk boldly climbed the stairs and found the small

boy treading from pedal to pedal while playing on the keys above

with his little hands. The boy was John Wolfgang Mozart, one of

the greatest musicians that would ever live. This story is of interest

because it illustrates the difficulty that men have in interpreting the

unusual and mysterious. Seeing no evidence of a person at the

organ, the monks came to the conclusion it was either the devil or

God. Only the man who could see the situation up close could come

to a conclusion that was certain and not just a matter of conjecture.

So it is with the passage we are studying in II Thessalonias.

Only those who were addressed by Paul could see the situation from

the vantage point that would give them perfect understanding, for,

after all, it was written to clarify their minds. They were like the

monk who climbed the stairs. They had heard Paul explain these

matters in detail in person. We are like the two monks below trying

to guess which is the most likely explanation for what we hear and

see. The result is, just as the monks came to opposite conclusions, so

men have come to opposite conclusions in interpreting what Paul

has written here. This means humility must characterize any

interpretation of this passage. We must be ever open to new light,

but meanwhile, with what we have, we must seek to understand

Paul’s message.

In verse 5 Paul reminds them that he told them these things

when he was with them. They were Gentiles with no knowledge

about God’s plan for the world. Paul had apparently gone over

these matters of the end times in detail with them. They had the key

to what he writes here in their memories, and so in verse 6 he simply

says, “And now you know what restrains.” Unfortunately, Paul’s

confidence was only in them, and not the rest of the Christians in

history. For we were not there to hear him, and so we are not

certain at all. What we do know for sure is that they knew what it

was that was restraining the lawless one in their day. This tells us a

great deal. It tells us that the man of sin is no mere historical person

or power, but is definitely supernatural, for he existed in the first

century. He is Satan incarnate in man like Jesus was God incarnate

in man. Satan’s last attempt to conquer will be by counterfeiting

God’s method.

He is under God’s control all along. He cannot even come unto

the stage of history until God says the time is ready. God has a

power in the world that is restraining Him from coming. The big

question is, what is that restrainer? There are those who say it is the

church and the Holy Spirit. Both are needed to account for the

restrainer being called by a neuter in verse 6, and a masculine in

verse 7. The church is the instrument, and the Holy Spirit is the

person in control holding back the man of sin. It makes sense, for

Paul says that we wrestle not against flesh and blood but against

principalities and powers. The church is restraining the power of

Satan by the power of the Holy Spirit. This is why the church is the

light and salt of the world. As long as the church does its task, the

man of sin cannot take over. This is the battle of the ages, and Jesus

said that the gates of hell would not prevail against His church. The

Gospel would be preached to every nation, and then would come the