テサロニケの信徒への手紙二2:6-8 2 Thessalonians 2:6-8,
今、彼を抑えているものがあることは、あなたがたも知っているとおりです。それは、定められた時に彼が現れるためなのです。不法の秘密の力は既に働いています。ただそれは、今のところ抑えている者が、取り除かれるまでのことです。
（二テサロニケ2:6-7）
「不法の秘密の力」というのは悪魔の力のことです。そして、悪魔が終わりの日の直前に「不法の者」を出現させ、全世界を大きな苦難に直面させるということは、この前から学んでおりますので、ご理解いただけると思います。問題は6節の「今、彼を抑えているもの」や7節の「今のところ抑えている者」というのが何か？ということです。
文脈を素直に読めば「今、彼を抑えているもの」の「彼」とは「不法の者」です。ですから、「抑えているもの」というのは、「不法の者」を「抑えているもの」ということになります。（中略）この箇所の最も妥当な解釈は、「不法の者」の出現を抑えているのは神様であり、「不法の者」はキリストの福音がすべての民族に宣べ伝えられるまで抑えられているという解釈です。そして、終わりの日の直前にその力が取り除かれると、「不法の者」が出現して一時的に全世界を支配するが、すぐに終わりの日が来て最後の審判が行われるということです。
「不法の者」の力は、キリストの福音がすべての民族に宣べ伝えられるまで抑えられているという考え方は、福音書の中のキリストの終わりの日についての教えともよく一致します。 たとえば、マタイによる福音書24章の14節において、キリストは「御国のこの福音はあらゆる民への証しとして、全世界に宣べ伝えられる。それから、終わりが来る」と教えておられます。また、マルコによる福音書の13章10節でも、キリストは終わりの日が来る前に「まず、福音があらゆる民に宣べ伝えられねばならない」と教えておられます。すなわち、終わりの日が来るまでには三つの時があるということです。最初は、すべての民族にキリストの福音が宣べ伝えられる時です。今、私たちが生きているのはそのような福音宣教の時です。次に、自分こそが神であると宣言する「不法の者」が出現して一時的に支配する時です。そして最後に、「不法の者」の支配を打ち破るためにキリストが再び来られて最後の審判をなさる時が来ます。このような救いの歴史の見通しは、キリストの教えとパウロの教えの両方に共通して見られるものであります。 （12月17日の説教より）
It is said that Christians are to live a life of “waiting and hastening.” This phrase, “waiting and hastening,” was a favourite of the 19th century German pastor Johann Christoph Blumhardt. Blumhardt was very distinctive in the history of modern Christianity as a pastor with the gift of healing the sick. After about 14 years as pastor of the village church in Möttlingen, he bought a spa complex in Bad Boll, about 30 km south-east of Stuttgart, where he ministered to people who came from all over in search of healing. Blumhardt loved the words of 2 Peter 3:12, “waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God” and put them into practice in his own life. In a letter to a friend he wrote: “Five hours of sleep is my maximum sleep. During the other 19 hours there is not a minute’s rest,” so much so that he was a man who shared the burden of those seeking help.
How do Pastor Blumhardt’s mottoes of “waiting and hastening,” fit together in the life of a Christian? This is a difficult question, but in a nutshell, it can be said that those who can “wait” can also “hasten” in the true sense of the word. In other words, those who wait firmly for the Last Day when God will complete salvation are the ones who can seriously tackle the challenges of the present without procrastination. In other words, they know what to do today because they have a firm outlook on world history. The biblical passage we read today is one of the passages that shows us such a solid outlook on world history.
The Apostle Paul pointed out the error of those who, based on subjective assumptions, claim that the Last Day has already come, and in 2:2 of this letter warned “not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by a spirit or a spoken word, or a letter seeming to be from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come.” He then reminds the reader that before the coming of the Last Day, “the man of lawlessness” will emerge and, as verse 4 says, this man “opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God.” The emergence of “the man of lawlessness” was also taught beforehand by the Old Testament prophecy of Daniel chapter 11 and Christ’s teaching in Matthew chapter 24. And Paul teaches, on the basis of the prophecy of Daniel and the teaching of Christ, that there will be an emergence of “the man of lawlessness” as a sign of the Last Day. Paul has spoken about it before, and so in verse 5 he again reminds them saying, “Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things?” In other words, the emergence of “the man of lawlessness” prior to the Second Coming of Christ and the Last Judgement, presents the prospect that lawlessness will rule the whole world, albeit temporarily, and that there will be a great tribulation in history such as mankind has never experienced before.
Why, then, will not “the man of lawlessness” emerge and rule the world right now, followed by the Last Day? Paul explains the answer to that question in today’s verses. In verses 6 and 7 we read as follows.
And you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way.
These verses are very difficult to interpret. “The mystery of lawlessness” refers to the power of the devil. And you will understand, as we have learned before, that the devil will cause “the man of lawlessness” to emerge just before the Last Day and bring the whole world to face the great tribulation. Then, What is “what is restraining him now” in verse 6? And who is “he who now restrains it” in verse 7? This is the question.
If you read the context honestly, the “him” in “what is restraining him now” refers to “the man of lawlessness.” Therefore, “what is restraining him” means “what is restraining” “the man of lawlessness.” In verse 6, “what is restraining” means a thing, while “he who now restrains” in verse 7, means a person. These are properly based on the Greek original. Namely, verse 6 has the Greek to katechon (τὸ κατέχον), which is the neuter present participle of the Greek verb katechō, which grammatically speaking means “to restrain.” The neuter present participle denotes the abstract thing. Verse 7, on the other hand, is ho katechon (ὁ κατέχων), which is the masculine present participle of the same Greek verb. The masculine present participle expresses a concrete personality. Because of these details, the discussion of “what is restraining” in verses 6 and “he who restrains” in verse 7 is very complex. In order to give you an idea of how carefully the Bible is interpreted word by word, I would like to summarise and explain the discussion on what is meant by “what is restraining” and “he who restrains,” even though it is complex.
Firstly, there is a theory that “what is restraining” or “he who restrains,” is the Roman Empire or Roman Emperor. This is because the Roman Empire or Roman Emperor shaped the order of society at that time, and Paul respected the order of the Roman Empire, and Paul’s mission was carried out within the order of the Roman Empire. However, if “he who restrains,” is the Roman emperor, then “until he is out of the way” in verse 7 means that until the order of the Roman Empire is removed. It is questionable whether Paul really thought in this way.
Secondly, there is a theory that the “what is restraining” or “he who restrains,” is not so much the Roman emperor or the Roman Empire, but the order of law itself. The idea is that the legal order exists in some form in any country, but that it will be “out of the way” at the end of the world and lawlessness will rule. However, as we discussed last week, “lawlessness” in “the man of lawlessness” does not simply mean going against the laws of the world, but against God’s law to love God and one’s neighbour. Therefore, if we assume that “what is restraining” is the world’s law and order, there is a difference in that it is the world’s law and order that is removed but it is the one who transgresses God’s law that comes to rule.
Thirdly, some see the power of the Jewish organisation as “what is restraining.” In other words, the power of the Jewish organisation is seen as holding back “the man of lawlessness” who persecute Christians. This is based on the fact that Judaism was protected as the recognised religion in the Roman Empire, and that Christianity was also protected because up to a certain period it was considered a branch of Judaism. However, this theory cannot be supported, given that Jewish organisations themselves persecuted Christians in various parts of the Roman Empire.
Fourthly, there is a theory that “he who restrains” is Satan, i.e., the devil. In other words, Satan’s power over “the man of lawlessness” will be removed and the “the man of lawlessness” will emerge at God’s appointed time. However, according to this view, when Satan’s power is removed, another evil force, “the man of lawlessness” will emerge. This is a strange idea of the forces of evil being divided into two factions, which still cannot be supported.
Fifth, there is a theory that “he who restrains” is God. That is, the idea that God restrains the emergence of “the man of lawlessness” until a certain time. A careful supplementary explanation of this idea shows that it is basically correct.
Sixth, the theory that “what is restraining” is the work of the gospel proclamation by Christians, especially Paul himself. In other words, the idea is that until the gospel is preached by Paul to all nations, the emergence of “the man of lawlessness” is restrained and the Last Day will not come. This is an interesting view. However, it is impossible to limit the “what is restraining” to Paul’s work of preaching the gospel. Paul himself did not think that the end of his gospel ministry would result in the emergence of “the man of lawlessness” and the Last Day.
Seventh, some believe that “he who restrains” is a false prophet who is misleading the congregation of the Thessalonian church by saying that the Last Day has already come. However, it would be unreasonable to think that if the troublemaker in one church, the Thessalonian church, is removed, the end of the world will then come with the emergence of “the man of lawlessness” in the world.
What is “what is restraining”? Who is “he who restrains”? In conclusion, the most plausible interpretation is basically the fifth one, i.e., that God is restraining the emergence of the “the man of lawlessness,” while also modifying and adopting the sixth one, i.e., that the gospel proclamation is restraining the emergence of “the man of lawlessness.” That is, the interpretation is that it is God who is restraining the emergence of “the man of lawlessness” and that “the man of lawlessness” is restrained until the gospel of Christ is preached to all nations. Then, when his power is removed just before the Last Day, “the man of lawlessness” will emerge and temporarily rule the whole world, but the Last Day will soon come and the Last Judgment will take place.
The idea that the power of “the man of lawlessness” is kept in check until the gospel of Christ is proclaimed to all nations fits well with Christ’s teaching about the Last Day in the Gospels. For example, Matthew 24:14, to which we referred last week, Christ said, “And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” Also, in Mark 13:10, Christ said, “And the gospel must first be proclaimed to all nations” before the Last Day comes. This means that there are three times before the Last Day comes. The first time is when the gospel of Christ is proclaimed to all nations. It is at such a time of gospel proclamation that we are now living. Secondly, it is a time when “the man of lawlessness” who proclaims himself to be God will emerge and temporarily rule. And finally, the time will come when Christ will come again to break the rule of “the man of lawlessness” and make the Last Judgment. This outlook on salvation history is common to both Christ’s and Paul’s teaching.
In verse 8, Paul writes of Christ’s Last Judgement: “And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming.” “The breath of his mouth” is probably a figurative expression of Christ’s authority rather than a literal meaning. At this Christmas season, the Messianic prophecy of Isaiah 11:1 in the Old Testament is often read: “There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.” This prophecy means that a Saviour will be born from the descendants of David, the son of Jesse. Then, Isaiah 11:4, a continuation of this Messianic prophecy, states that “with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked.” This is another figurative expression for the Saviour to judge and destroy those who defy him. Paul may have had this prophecy of Isaiah in mind when he wrote verse 8.
The Bible is the book that gives us comfort and encouragement. And it is not just empty comfort and encouragement. The comfort and encouragement it gives us is based on a solid outlook and hope for the history of the world. The forces of lawlessness are kept in check until “the man of lawlessness” emerges and is defeated by the Christ who is coming again. In the meantime, we are commissioned by Christ to proclaim his Gospel to all nations. Quietly awaiting the Last Day, when Christ’s authority will be demonstrated by the Last Judgement, and powerfully acting as his witnesses in the place where we are now placed, are in harmony in the Christian life. The secret of the Christian life, which is at the same time quiet and active, is illustrated here. In other words, the Christian life is a harmony of stillness and movement, a hasty walk in the present moment while waiting for the Last Day.