The pretribulationist teaches that the Holy Spirit is removed from the earth (and His restraining work ceases) before the Peace Treaty. At that time, the church is said to be raptured with Him. If that is so, then we are left with a new question: If the Holy Spirit is the restrainer and is removed just before the peace treaty, does He come back to indwell the first post-rapture convert? And does He begin restraining again? In other words, if removing the restrainer “proves” the church is removed, would not a new group of saved ones require the Holy Spirit to return before this regeneration can take place? And if His presence is what restrains, would not His return resume the restraining work? In case you are thinking that the solution to this problem is that there will be no saved on earth after the rapture, this is not a viable solution for the PreTrib rapture position. “Saved after the rapture” is the only explanation they have for the many references to believers in Christ during the Tribulation period.
The idea that the restrainer is the Holy Spirit and He vacates the earth when He is taken out of the way creates many problems. Only one of the following three possibilities below can be true:
1> Those who become Christians in the Tribulation are not indwelled by the Holy Spirit (as if
they are Old Testament saints, not New Testament saints).
Or
2> The Holy Spirit returns to indwell the first convert after the rapture and everyone
thereafter.
Or
3> The restrainer only releases the Antichrist to carry out Satan’s evil plans. This does not
require the Holy Spirit to vacate the earth.
Option 1> is truly unbiblical, Romans 8:9 and Ephesians 1:13–14 refute this.
Option 2> begs the question: If the Holy Spirit’s leaving released the Antichrist, then why
doesn’t His returning restrain the Antichrist again? Option 2 is only possible for the
pretribulationist if somehow when the Holy Spirit returns He chooses not to restrain the
Antichrist as He had done before (if the restrainer is the Holy Spirit). If the Holy Spirit can
return without renewing the Antichrist’s restraining, then He would never have had to leave in
the first place, He merely had to stop restraining. Option 2 is self-defeating.
Option 3> The Holy Spirit does not vacate the earth. This is the only solution that is
consistent with the Bible. Notice that this solution does not require the church to be raptured
before the peace treaty. The pretribulationist cannot force the rapture before the peace treaty
with these verses.
Who then is the restrainer, the jailer, of this despicable demon? Whoever he is he has been doing this for over two millennia. He cannot be human. And as we have seen he cannot be the Holy Spirit since deity is omnipresent and never "taken out of the way" as the restrainer will be. -2Thes.2:7.
In Daniel 10:12,13 & 20 who was it that was restraining the angelic powers of Medo-Persia and allowing Gabriel, the angelic messenger from God's throne to get through to Daniel with the End-Time information? Just who executes God's will concerning spirits of darkness, principalities and powers and the ruling angelic princes? Well fortunately we do not need to guess. The Bible tells us quite clearly who it is that holds back or restrains hostile spirit forces on behalf of God's covenant people. Gabriel is speaking here and he says,
10:21 "But I will tell you what is inscribed in the.....Book of Truth. There isno one who holds with me or strengthens himself against these hostile spirit forces except Michael your prince, (national guardian angel). -Dan.10:21 AMPLV
So here we have some good evidence from scripture that the abominable antichrist demon of the abyss is right now held in the abyss/bottomless pit. This demon is destined to emerge at midweek to possess the future antichrist and turn him into the "beast". The one restraining him, the restrainer of 2Thes.2, is none other than the guardian angel of God's elect, the archangel Michael.
