THE ARCHANGEL MICHAEL: PROTECTOR OF ISRAEL, RESTRAINER OF THE ANTICHRIST by Marvin J. Rosenthal Part III THE RESTRAINER The apostle Paul wrote to the church of Thessalonica, For the mystery of iniquity doth already work {that is, the spirit of Antichrist was manifest in the apostles own day}; only he who now hindereth will continue to hinder until he be taken out of the way (2 Th. 2:7). The expression in old English, only he who now letteth will let, has been appropriately translated only he who now hindereth will continue to hinder. That which is presently being hindered is the mystery of iniquity {the spirit of antichrist, 1 Jn. 4:3}. If it were not so, things would be far worse in the world. When the Antichrist sets up an image of himself at the Temple on Mount Moriah at the mid-point of the seventieth week and demands first that Israel, and then the world give him allegiance (Rev. 13), that which is presently hindering will be taken out of the way. The hinderer will cease or desist from hindering, and the Antichrist will arise to power for three and one-half years (Rev. 13:5). The identification of that which is doing the hindering has been a subject of considerable debate. The historical position of the Church for almost two thousand years has been that divinely sanctioned human government or law is that which has been doing the hindering. With the emergence of the Antichrist, human government and law, according to this view, breaks down and consequently ceases to hinder. As a result, the Antichrist is then unhindered in his advance toward world dominion. Within the last one hundred and fifty years, pretribulation rapturists have identified the restrainer as the Holy Spirit. Such a view serves to complement their position. A number of major problems, however, exist for that view. First, the restrainer (hinderer) is not identified as the Holy Spirit nor does the Holy Spirit have a direct, restraining-of-sin ministry either in the Thessalonian context or anywhere in the Bible. The Holy Spirit indwells believers whose presence has a restraining influence in the world. That, however, is an indirect influence and its effectiveness is dependent upon the spirituality of the Church. However, the language of First Thessalonians gives no hint whatever of restraint through indirect agency, such as identifying the Holy Spirit as the restrainer requires. Second, the expression until he be taken out of the way (2 Th. 2:7) can literally be translated become out of the midst. Midst more literally means middle. The restrainer stands between or in the middle. However, the restrainer will, at the appointed time, in the words of the great scholar, Lenski, get out of the way. In no sense does 2 Thessalonians 2:7 say that He leaves the environment of earth and goes to Heaven, as normally taught by those who identify the Holy Spirit as the restrainer. He simply ceases in his restraining work. He gets out of the way. Third, the usual pretribulational view is that when the Church is raptured, the Holy Spirit is also taken since the Holy Spirit is indwelling the Church. However, as has already been noted, the text does not say the restrainer goes to Heaven. It simply states that he will get out of the way. The idea is that he will cease or desist from restraining. The contention that the restrainer hitchhikes on the removal of the Church -- that when the Church is raptured, the restrainer is removed -- is superimposed on the text. It places the restrainers withdrawal into the category of being a by-product of the Churchs removal. Fourth, if the Holy Spirit is the restrainer and He is removed pretribulationally from the earths scene to Heaven, how does one account for His active and dynamic ministry during the seventieth week of Daniel? We are told that the gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world (Mt. 24:14). The Church hasnt been able to accomplish that feat in two thousand years. Is a remnant of newly saved believers (as required if the Church has been raptured pretribulationally) going to be able to do in seven years what the Church could not achieve in two thousand years -- and do it while the Antichrist is physically present and without the Holy Spirits fulness of ministry? Further, the Lord speaking within the context of the seventieth week said, But when they shall lead you, and deliver you up, take no thought beforehand what ye shall speak, neither do ye premeditate; but whatever shall be given you in that hour, that speak ye; for it is not ye that speak, but the Holy Spirit (Mk. 13:11). And again, within a seventieth week context the Lord taught, But when they deliver you up, be not anxious how or what ye shall speak; for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak. For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaketh in you (Mt. 10:19-20). This conspicuous ministry of the Holy Spirit cannot be diminished to the limitations of His work in the Old Testament as is sometimes claimed. There is not a verse of Scripture anywhere that so much as hints of a diminishing of the Spirits ministry during the seventieth week. Such arguments are made from silence. According to Acts 2:32-33, the present fulness of the Spirits ministry rests on the resurrection, ascension, and exaltation of Christ. Since they are historical facts not subject to negation, they assure eternal abundance of the gift of the Spirit. His partial withdrawal in a retrogression to the beggarly elements and immature status of the old covenant would amount to an annulment of Christs exaltation. The restrainer is neither the Holy Spirit nor human government. Evidence is strained to support either of those contentions. There is, however, substantial evidence to identify the restrainer. He who restrains until he be taken out of the way is the archangel Michael. The following evidence will substantiate that fact. 1. The archangel Michael has long been recognized by both Jewish and Christian scholars as having a special guardian relationship to Israel (Dan. 10:12-13). In relation to Israel, he is called Michael, your prince (Dan. 10:21) {of whom it is said, he holdeth (Hebrew, Chazaq), which according to Strongs Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible can mean to bind or restrain} so that Michael has a restraining (or hindering) ministry on behalf of Israel. 2. Revelation 12 describes a war that occurs in heaven. The time for that conflict can be pinpointed at precisely the middle of the seventieth week of Daniel (Rev. 12:6, 13-14). It is described this way: And there was war in heaven; Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon fought and his angels, and {the dragon} prevailed not, neither was their place found any more in heaven . . . And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman who brought forth the male child (Rev. 12:7-8, 13). The woman represents a believing remnant within Israel, who gave Christ (the male child) to the world (Rev. 12:5) and who will be severely persecuted during the Great Tribulation (Rev. 12:13-17). Speaking of this one who will hinder the Antichrist, Paul said, only he who now hindereth will continue to hinder until he be taken out of the way (2 Th. 2:7). The word hindereth means to hold down, and the phrase taken out of the way means to step aside {get out of the way}. Therefore, the one who has the job of hindering the Antichrist will step aside; that is, he will no longer be a restraint between the Antichrist and those the Antichrist is persecuting. 4. The Bible is explicit that the archangel Michael is the personage who will step aside. Daniel records that event this way: And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince who standeth for the children of thy people, and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time (Dan. 12:1). It is important to note when this event occurs. The preceding verse says, And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain (Dan. 11:45). This can only refer to the Antichrist, who will establish his headquarters between the Dead Sea and the Mediterranean Sea on the glorious mountain -- Jerusalem. This occurs in the middle of the seventieth week in connection with his desecration of the Temple and erection of a statue (image) of himself. Further, Daniel has already said that Michael will stand up during a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time. The unprecedented time of trouble can only refer to the Great Tribulation. Since Daniel is told that this great trouble relates to his people -- and his people are the Jews -- this can only be the time of Jacobs trouble (Jer. 30:7), which is a synonym for the Great Tribulation. It is at that time that the archangel Michael will stand up. But what does the expression, And at that time shall Michael stand up, mean? Rashi, one of Israels greatest teachers, whose Hebrew scholarship is unexcelled, and one who had no concern regarding the issue of the timing of the Rapture understood stand up (Hebrew, amad) to literally mean stand still in Daniel 12:1. Michael, the guardian of Israel, had earlier fought for her (Dan. 10:13, 21), but now he would stand still or stand aside. He would not help; he would not restrain; he would not hold down. Youngs Analytical Concordance to the Bible says that amad means To stand, stand still or fast. And Strongs concordance cites one of the root meanings of amad as cease and one of its definitions as stand still. If a man is reclining or seated and is said to amad, he will stand up. If a man is standing and active and said to amad, he will stand still. The archangel Michael, in context, was already said to be actively defending Israel. To amad meant he would stand still, desist, or cease his defense on their behalf. Some clear biblical instances of amad meaning to be still or desist are: they . . . stood still {desisted}, and answered no more (Job 32:16); and again, And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people {for he was above all the people}; and when he opened it, all the people stood up (Neh. 8:5). Commenting on this verse, Rashi indicates that the people kept quiet (stood still) while Ezra read the Torah. Rashi wrote, concerning Daniel 12:1, The Holy One, Blessed be He, said to Michael, You are silent? You do not defend my children. The archangel Michael who had specifically been involved with standing for Israel will, in the middle of the seventieth week, stand still, desist, stand aside, cease to stand for her. The Word of God gives specific reason for the cessation of the restrainers work at precisely that point in time. Since Israel rejected her true Christ and refused Gods truth, God will send on them strong delusion so that they will believe the lie (that man is God -- humanism) and accept the Antichrist. Paul put it this way: They received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie {that man is God and that the Antichrist can bring in the kingdom}, that they all might be judged who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness (2 Th. 2:10-12). The strong delusion comes from God. It is His purifying judgment on Israel. That is why Michael will no longer hinder or hold down the wicked one. Leon Wood in his A Commentary on Daniel commenting on the expression, the breaking up of the power of the holy people (Dan. 12:7) wrote: The angel thus revealed the reason for Gods permitting the Antichrist to bring his persecution, namely, to break the power of the Jews. As parallel passages indicate, this power and resulting self-sufficiency {of the Jews} will need to be broken so that the Jews will be willing to accept Christ as their own rightful king. This observation provides perfect logic for the view that on this occasion and for this purpose, Michael will stand still -- he will abstain, he will not fight for Israel. When Michael ceases to defend Israel, the time of Jacobs troubles will commence. The clear and compelling parallel between the action of Michael in the Old Testament, And at that time shall Michael stand up {literally, stand still or desist from helping Israel}, the great prince which standeth {whose normal and continual ministry had been to help Israel} (Dan. 12:1); with the Pauline statement concerning the restrainer in the New Testament, He who now hindereth {restrains} will continue to hinder {restrain} until he be taken out of the way {ceases his normal and continual ministry of restraining} (2 Th. 2:7), is unmistakable. The apostle Paul unquestionably had Daniel 12:1 in mind when he wrote 2 Thessalonians 2:7 and, therefore, had no need to specifically name the restrainer. The clear and compelling allusion to Daniel 12 would indicate that the restrainer is the archangel Michael. Given the present, feverish activity on the part of many within Israel to enter into some kind of covenantal relationship with a power base of foreign nations for protection, rather than to trust in her own God, it is reasonable to assume that her great apostasy and the consequent manifestation of the man of sin cannot be far off. These events will dramatically impact the entire world. They will clearly signal the soon coming of the King of kings. At His coming, He will resurrect the dead in Christ and rapture the living. Only then will He commence the judgment of the wicked during the Day of the Lord.
Posted on: Fri, 03 Oct 2014 23:20:42 +0000