Christians Are Resurrected (Glorified)
“The mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed” (2 Thessalonians 2:7-8). This verse indicates that the lawless one (the antichrist) cannot be revealed until the one who restrains is taken out of the way.
But who is this restrainer? And how does the restrainer relate to the mystery of lawlessness? What is the mystery of lawlessness? The Bible Knowledge Commentary offers this explanation:
A mystery in the New Testament is a new truth previously unknown before its revelation in the present dispensation. In this case the mystery is the revelation of a future climax of lawlessness in the world. Then and now a movement against divine law directed by Satan was and is operative. But it is being restrained somewhat, and this restraining will continue until the time appointed for revealing the man of sin and the climax of lawlessness.1
The “man of sin” (2 Thessalonians 2:3 NKJV) is the antichrist. He will embody sin and will promote sin as it has never been promoted before. Everything about him will be rooted in sin.
Of course, this aspect of biblical prophecy would be much easier if Scripture precisely identified who (or what) the restrainer is. But for reasons known only to God, this information is not provided to us in Scripture. However, as will become clear below, we can logically infer who the restrainer is.
First, however, let’s review some inadequate views.
Some of the church fathers believed that the restrainer mentioned in 2 Thessalonians 2:7-8 was the Roman Empire. They believed the restraining power was embodied in the person of the Roman emperor.
These church fathers suggested that the apostle Paul was purposefully vague about the identity of the restrainer. After all, if he explicitly identified the restrainer as Rome and his epistle fell into the hands of Roman authorities, his statement about Rome being removed might be viewed as seditious.
This understanding of the restrainer may have made some sense to people living during those days, but from our vantage point today we can see multiple problems with it. Foundationally, the Roman Empire fell from power in the fifth century AD, and the antichrist is yet to be revealed. This means that the restrainer of 2 Thessalonians 2:7-8 cannot be the Roman Empire.
There is another explanation for Paul’s vagueness that makes good sense. Paul had already spoken to the Thessalonians verbally about the restrainer. Thus, Paul’s brief allusion to it in 2 Thessalonians 2 would have been readily understood by them without him having to explain it in detail again.
Another thorny problem for the Rome view is that the antichrist will not only be a powerful figure himself, exercising authority over the whole world, but will also be empowered by Satan. Thus, many interpreters say the restrainer must be powerful enough to stand against Satan. They suggest that no human being or human government has the power to restrain Satan’s work.
Further, Scripture reveals that the antichrist will rule over a revived Roman Empire (Daniel 2; 7). It thus hardly makes sense to say that the Roman Empire—itself a bastion of false religion—would restrain the coming of the antichrist.
In a similar view, human government in general is said to restrain the antichrist. The idea here is that “restraint through the rule of law [by the government] is the opposite of the man of sin and the mystery of lawlessness.”2 In other words, lawlessness is restrained by the enforcement of law by the government. In this view, the antichrist will one day overthrow human government so that he can work his lawless will in the world.
Perhaps the most cogent argument for this view comes from prophecy scholar Arnold Fruchtenbaum in his book The Footsteps of the Messiah.
The task of restraining evil was given to human government under the Noahic Covenant in Genesis 9:1-17, and this basic doctrinal truth was reiterated by Paul in Romans 13:1-7. On one hand, human government is even now restraining lawlessness. On the other hand, the government of the last of the three kings will restrain the Antichrist, the lawless one, until the middle of the Tribulation.3
Fruchtenbaum is referring to Daniel 7:7, which speaks of the rise of the antichrist.
Behold, a fourth beast, terrifying and dreadful and exceedingly strong. It had great iron teeth; it devoured and broke in pieces and stamped what was left with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns. I considered the horns, and behold, there came up among them another horn, a little one, before which three of the first horns were plucked up by the roots. And behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking great things.
This wild imagery refers to the Roman Empire. Rome already existed in ancient days, but it fell apart in the fifth century AD. It will be revived, however, in the end times, apparently comprised of ten nations ruled by ten kings (ten horns). An eleventh horn—a little one (the antichrist)—starts out apparently in an insignificant way but grows powerful enough to uproot three of the existing horns (kings) who apparently resist his rise. He eventually comes into absolute power and dominance over this revived Roman Empire. Fruchtenbaum offers this interpretation:
It is only when the last of these three kings has been killed, leading to complete submission by the other seven kings, that the Antichrist will be free to take over full global dictatorship…Consequently, the last restrainer of the Antichrist will be the last of the three kings and the government which he represents.4
It is certainly possible that Fruchtenbaum is right. If there is a weakness to the view, it relates to whether human beings—who make up human government—are strong enough to stand against the antichrist, who will be energized by Satan. Indeed, Satan is more powerful than humans by a large measure, so some Bible interpreters reject the possibility of any form of human government restraining him. One scholar notes, “It would seem that a person is required to restrain a person, and a supernatural one to restrain this man of lawlessness who is motivated by Satan himself.”5
Some Bible expositors also point out that both Scripture and modern empirical evidence reveal that not all human governments restrain sin—some actually encourage it. So it may be unrealistic to say that the restrainer is human government, especially during the future tribulation period, when lawlessness will prevail. But this view still remains a possibility.
Many theologians believe that only one person—the omnipotent God—is powerful enough to restrain Satan. For this reason, they interpret the restrainer as being the Holy Spirit who indwells the church. This view was held by many in the early church, including Theodoret, Theodore of Mopsuestia, and Chrysostom.6
Bible expositor Thomas Constable is representative of more modern scholars. “The Holy Spirit of God is the only Person with sufficient [supernatural] power to do this restraining…The removal of the Restrainer at the time of the Rapture must obviously precede the day of the Lord.”7
In keeping with this, 1 John 4:4 tells us, “He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.” “He who is in” Christians is the Holy Spirit, who is more powerful than “he who is in the world”—that is, the devil.
The Popular Bible Prophecy Commentary draws support for this view from the grammar of 2 Thessalonians 2.
The word “restrain” (Greek, katecho, “to hold down”) in both verses 6 and 7 is a present active participle, but in verse 6 it appears in the neuter gender (“what restrains”) while in verse 7 it is in the masculine (“he who restrains, holds down”). Such usage also occurs in reference to the Spirit of God. The Greek word for “spirit,” pneuma, is a neuter gender word, but the masculine pronoun is used when referring to the person of the Holy Spirit.8
The Greek word translated restrain carries the idea, “to hold back from action, to keep under control, to deprive of physical liberty, as by shackling.”9 This is what the Holy Spirit does in our day in preventing the antichrist from arising.
The Holy Spirit’s restraining of the lawless one (the antichrist) is in keeping with His broader work of restraining sin in the world. Prophecy expert Mark Hitchcock notes, “The Holy Spirit is spoken of in Scripture as restraining sin and evil in the world (see Genesis 6:3) and in the heart of the believer (see Galatians 5:16-17).”10 Mal Couch likewise tells us, “By divine providence, and by all the evidence of the Scriptures, the Holy Spirit characteristically restrains and strives against sin (Genesis 6:3). The Spirit presently abides in the world in a special way in this age through the church.”11 Once this special work of the Holy Spirit is removed, the antichrist will be manifest.
When the rapture occurs, the church—the universal body of believers in Christ from the day of Pentecost right on up to the present (Ephesians 1:3; 2:5; see also Acts 1:5; 1 Corinthians 12:13)—will be caught up to be with Christ in the air. This church is indwelt by the Holy Spirit. First Corinthians 3:16 tells us, “Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?” First Corinthians 6:19 tells us, “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God?” First Corinthians 12:13 tells us, “In one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit” (see also 1 John 3:24).
This means that if the church is taken off the earth at the rapture (John 14:1-3; 1 Corinthians 15:51-54; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17), the Holy Spirit will be “out of the way.” This removal of the Holy Spirit’s restraint allows the antichrist, energized by Satan, to come into power during the tribulation period.
If the Holy Spirit is taken out of the way at the rapture, will He still be active on earth during the tribulation period? I believe He will. So does Bible scholar John Phillips.
The church age is a parenthesis in God’s dealing with the world. The church, injected supernaturally into history at Pentecost and supernaturally maintained throughout the age by the baptizing, indwelling, and filling works of the Holy Spirit, will be supernaturally removed when this age is over. What is to be removed then is the Holy Spirit’s mighty working through the church. Until that happens, Satan cannot bring his plans to a head…
After the rapture of the church, the Holy Spirit will continue His work in bringing people to salvation, but He will no longer baptize them into the mystical body of Christ, the church, nor will He actively hinder Satan from bringing His schemes to fruition. Once Satan has achieved his centuries-long goal, Christ will return and demolish the whole thing!12
Bible scholar Paul Feinberg agrees.
There seems to be abundant evidence that the Holy Spirit will be active in the earth during the tribulation period. He will empower His witnesses (Mark 13:11). Evangelism will be more effective than it has ever been (Matt. 24:14; Rev. 7:9-14). It is reasonable to assume that as satanic activity increases, so will the activity of the Holy Spirit.13
So the Holy Spirit will still be active on earth during the tribulation period. But His work will not be identical to that of the present age.
The evidence that Jesus Christ was physically resurrected from the dead is overwhelming (Matthew 28:1-15; Mark 16:1-11; Luke 24:1-12; John 20:1-18; Acts 1:3; 1 Corinthians 15:1-4; Colossians 1:18; Revelation 1:5,18). Once He was resurrected, many witnesses came forward to attest that it happened (Acts 2:32; 3:15; 10:39-40; 1 Corinthians 15:3-8; see also John 20:24-29).
The wondrous fact that now lies before us is that Jesus’s resurrection ensures our own resurrection from the dead. Recall Jesus’s words to Martha following the death of Lazarus: “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die” (John 11:25-26). To prove His authority to make such statements, Jesus promptly raised Lazarus from the dead!
Jesus had made a similar affirmation before. “This is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day” (John 6:39-40).
Because of what Jesus Himself accomplished on our behalf, we too shall be resurrected from the dead. We can rest in the quiet assurance that even though our mortal bodies may pass away in death, turning to dust in the grave, they will be gloriously raised, never again to grow old and die.
What are death, the grave, and decomposition in the presence of such power as this?…Millions that have been moldering in the dust for thousands of years shall spring up in a moment into life, immortality and eternal glory, at the voice of that blessed One.14
This wondrous resurrection from the dead will take place at the rapture of the church. In an instant—in the twinkling of an eye—dead believers will be raised from the dead. Even better, at that same rapture, the bodies of living Christians will be instantly transformed into resurrection bodies, and we will all meet the Lord in the air (1 Thessalonians 4:13-17). Never again will we be subject to the frailties of our weak, mortal bodies.
In 1 Corinthians 15:42-43, the apostle Paul says this of the resurrection body: “What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power.” What a forceful statement this is of the nature of our future resurrection bodies.
Paul here graphically illustrates the contrasts between our present earthly bodies and our future resurrection bodies. The reference to sowing is probably a metaphorical reference to burial. Just as one sows a seed in the ground, so the mortal body is “sown” in the sense that it is buried in the ground. When our bodies are placed in the grave, they decompose and return to dust.
The exciting thing is that the resurrection body is raised out of the ground. Paul notes that our present bodies are perishable. The seeds of disease and death are ever upon them. Fighting off dangerous infections is a constant struggle. We often get sick, and all of us eventually die. It is just a question of time. Our new resurrection bodies, however, will be raised imperishable. All liability to disease and death will be forever gone. Never again will we have to worry about infections or passing away.
What does Paul mean when he says our present bodies are “sown in dishonor”? Any way you look at it, having your lifeless corpse lowered into the ground and having dirt heaped on it is anything but honorable. We may try to bring honor to a funeral service by dressing our dead loved ones in their best clothes, purchasing a fancy casket, bringing in beautiful flowers, and offering glowing eulogies. And we should do all of these things. But underlying it all is the fact that death—despite our efforts to camouflage it—is intrinsically dishonoring. After all, man was created to live forever with God, not to die and be buried in the ground.
Our new bodies, by contrast, will be utterly glorious. No dishonor here. Our new bodies will never again be subject to aging, decay, or death. Never again will our bodies be buried in the ground. How great it will be!
Paul also notes that our present bodies are characterized by weakness. From the moment we are born, “our outer nature is wasting away” (2 Corinthians 4:16; see also 1:8-9). Vitality decreases, illness comes, and then old age follows with its wrinkles and decrepitude. Eventually, in old age, we may become utterly incapacitated, not able to move around and do the simplest of tasks.
By contrast, our resurrection body will be one of great power. “Our new body, like our Lord’s, will be characterized by power. Sleep will not be necessary to relieve weariness or recoup spent energy. Our abilities will be enlarged and we will throw off the limitations of which we are so conscious in life on earth.”15 Never again will we tire or become weak or incapacitated. Words truly seem inadequate to describe the incredible differences between our present bodies (those that will be “sown” in the earth) and our future resurrection bodies.
The apostle Paul compared our present earthly bodies to tents and our permanent resurrection bodies to buildings (2 Corinthians 5:1-4). Paul was speaking in terms that his listeners would have readily understood. After all, the temporary tabernacle of Israel’s wanderings in the wilderness (a giant tentlike structure) was eventually replaced with a permanent building in the promised land (the temple) when Solomon was king. In like manner, the temporary “tent” (or body) in which believers now dwell will be replaced on the day of the rapture with an eternal, immortal, imperishable body (see 1 Corinthians 15:42,53-54). One commentator paraphrased Paul’s words this way:
Don’t take your physical situation too seriously. Your body is fine to camp out in for a while, but before long, the tent will begin to sag; a stake or two will be lost along the way; seams will begin to tear…Our Father is so good to gently remind us every time we look in the mirror that we’re rushing toward eternity. Paul was one who truly understood that his body was only a temporary dwelling.16
Paul’s statement in 2 Corinthians 5:4 (NIV) is particularly relevant: “For while we are in this tent [of our present mortal body], we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed [without a body] but to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling [resurrection body], so that what is mortal [our earthly body] may be swallowed up by life [resurrection].” Paul here indicates that being “unclothed”—that is, being without a physical body as a result of death—is a state of incompletion and for him carries a sense of nakedness. Even though departing to be with Christ in a disembodied state is far better than life on earth (Philippians 1:21-23), Paul’s true yearning was to be “clothed” with a physically resurrected body (see 2 Corinthians 5:6-8). That yearning will be fully satisfied on that future day of resurrection at the rapture.
Meanwhile, as Paul said, “we groan.” Why? Because our bodies are burdened by sin, sickness, sorrow, and death. Commentator Albert Barnes explains it this way: “The sense is…that the body is subjected to so many pains, and to so much suffering, as to make us earnestly desire to be invested with that body which shall be free from all susceptibility to suffering.”17 Or, more to the point, “We groan because our ‘tents’ are showing signs of use, because our bodies are wearing out.”18
In 2 Corinthians 5:5, the apostle Paul affirmed that God has given us the Holy Spirit as a deposit of what is to come in the afterlife. Paul had just referred to our earthly bodies as tents and our future resurrection bodies as buildings (verses 1-3). While still existing in our mortal bodies, however, Paul says we groan (verse 4). Moreover, Paul said, we ideally prefer to immediately receive resurrection bodies instead of temporarily becoming disembodied spirits—despite the fact that being a disembodied spirit with Christ in heaven is far better than our present lives on earth (Philippians 1:23).
In this context, Paul added that God has given us the Holy Spirit as a deposit of what is yet to come. The Greek word translated deposit was used among the Greeks to refer to a pledge that guaranteed final possession of an item. It was sometimes used of an engagement ring, which acted as a guarantee that the marriage would take place. The Holy Spirit is a deposit in the sense that His presence in our lives guarantees our eventual total transformation and glorification into the likeness of Christ’s glorified resurrection body (see Philippians 3:21). The Holy Spirit in us is a guarantee of what is to come.
This helps us to maintain an eternal perspective. Our present bodies truly are wearing down. They’ve been infected by the fatal disease of sin. One day, they will simply cease functioning (they will fall down like a flimsy tent). By contrast, our resurrection bodies in heaven will never again wear down, never again get sick, and never again die (they will be as solid and sturdy as a building). “There will be no blind eyes in heaven. No withered arms or legs in heaven. No pain or agony there. Tears will be gone. Death will be gone. Separation will be gone. This will be the ultimate healing. Then and only then, we will be free at last.”19
Our resurrection bodies will be physical. How do we know this to be so? We know it because Jesus was physically resurrected from the dead, and Scripture promises that our resurrection bodies will be like His resurrection body. How do we know that Jesus’s resurrection body was physical?
• The body was missing from the tomb (Matthew 28; Mark 16; Luke 24; John 20).
• It retained the crucifixion scars (Luke 24:39-40; John 20:27).
• It was composed of flesh and bones (Luke 24:39).
• People touched it (Matthew 28:9; John 20:27-28).
• It was visible (Matthew 28:17).
• Christ ate food after His resurrection (Luke 24:30,42-43; John 21:12-13; Acts 1:4).
We know our resurrection bodies will be the same, for Christ “will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body” (Philippians 3:21 NIV). John likewise said, “Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:2 NIV). These body upgrades will be awesome!