Who is the Restrainer in the Bible? 
The question of who is the restrainer in the bible is a complicated one. There are several potential restrainers: the Holy Spirit, the Church, the Angels, and even Human government. Each has their own purpose in God’s plan. Let’s take a look at a few of them.
Holy Spirit
The masculine restrainer is not the same as the neuter restrainer. The restrainer is not mentioned in the context of the Bible, and men who argue that the Holy Spirit is the restrainer in the Bible introduce information that is not present in the context. For this reason, they cannot use related passages to justify their interpretation.
The restrainer of the Bible must be a member of God, and the Holy Spirit is the only one who is powerful enough to restrain the forces of Satan and the Man of Sin. This restrainer, in particular, works within the church, which is the vehicle of God’s righteous presence. He acts as the righteous agent of the age, and he restrains the world from its iniquity.
Church
The restrainer is God, the Holy Spirit, and the preached Gospel. God is the preserving agent active in the world, and through the Church’s activity He restrains Satan from attacking the world through the Anti-Christ. However, this preserving agent’s ministry is ending at the Rapture. When the Rapture occurs, the events of tribulation will occur.
Although it is possible that the Church is the restrainer, Paul varies the gender when describing the Spirit’s role in the New Testament. The Greek word for Spirit is neuter, but the Spirit is often referred to as a masculine noun or a masculine pronoun.
Angels
The term restrainer in the Bible means to withhold, and is a neuter participle with a neuter article. It does not refer to a particular person, but to a powerful force. This is what Paul is referring to in verse seven. In this verse, he speaks of a person with “extreme power” who restrains the man of lawlessness and evil in the world.
In Revelation 14:4 the 144,000 are called “first fruits” to God, meaning that they will be the first converts after the Tribulation begins. Later in the Tribulation, the four trumpet judgments will take place. During this time, the four winds will be temporarily restrained, by another angel with authority over them.
Human government
The word “restrainer” in 2 Thessalonians 2 means “to withhold” or “to keep in check.” Unlike the word “contain,” restrainer is not a person, but an abstract force or power. While this may seem strange to some, Paul used the word “restrainer” to speak of an impersonal principle or power that could restrain the sinful man or evil in the world.
In 2 Thessalonians 2:6-7, the Bible refers to human government as “the restrainer of lawlessness.” Although we can’t see it yet, lawlessness was already present in the world before the church was raptured. That person is the Antichrist, but he will not become king until the last three kings are dead. Until then, the human government will restrain him.
Antichrist
Antichrist is a man of sin or the son of perdition who will soon overthrow the governments of the world. He is the one who Satan has crowned as God and he will have great power and authority. He will destroy the law of God and all other religion.
The restrainer is a restraining force that holds back lawlessness and sin. This restraining force may be the government, the church, the Holy Spirit, or the angel Michael. In the Bible, this restraining force must be both good and supernatural.
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