Will the Holy Spirit be present during the tribulation?

There is a passage in an early epistle I would briefly notice, which refers to what has hindered, and hinders still, the development of this and other allied wickedness. It is in 2 Thess. 2:6-7: "And now ye know what withholdeth, that he might be revealed in his time. For the mystery of lawlessness doth already work: only there is one who now letteth until he be taken out of the way. And then shall the lawless one be revealed," etc. There is a restraint that God puts upon the lawlessness of the world; and I conceive the Holy Ghost who acts here below is the One spoken of here as "he who now letteth" or hindereth. Still, after the church has been taken away, God will carry on a testimony, though of another sort, and Satan will be kept in check for a season at least. This restraint will be maintained by the operation of the Holy Ghost in a providential way. When this dealing of God ceases, the Holy Ghost will no longer "let," as the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth; that is, the power which the Holy Ghost exerts over the world, and not merely in the church, will no longer be put forth as now to keep Satan under. "He who now letteth" will "be taken out of the way." People do not know how much they owe to this restraint of Satan from doing his worst. But the time will come when God will cease to hinder; and then Satan will for a season carry all before him on the earth. He raises up a person as head, and men are charmed with the grandeur of his energy, exercised as it will be without conscience towards God — charmed with the comparative ease that will result from having one person supreme over all. In short, they will have in many ways what is suited to meet the idolatry and pride of the heart. For men are, like children, constantly disappointed with their own schemes and even successes. Besides, having refused the love of the truth, they will readily fall into whatever snare Satan may put before them. So that, after a previous storm of revolutions, they will gladly fall down and worship the beast and the dragon that gave him his power. But further, the worship of the beast in the day that is coming will be of a different character from common idolatry. They will not merely be adorers of him, along with gods many and lords many, as the heathen of old. There will be an utter denial of any god above the one who is adored as such on earth. This miserable being whom Satan fills will be the object of their worship; and the dragon shares it.

Just as the apostle John says, "Even now are there many antichrists;" so here the mystery of iniquity was already working: only one was holding things in abeyance just now. "He who now letteth [will let] until he be taken out of the way." I do not the least doubt that the hinderer is the power of the Spirit of God, not merely dwelling in the church, but acting in the way of control in the world, as the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth. If it were simply the Holy Ghost dwelling in the church, the moment the church was taken away, the man of sin would be revealed. But it appears that the lawless one will not arrive at his full stature and manifestation immediately on the rapture of the saints. There will be an interval and a testimony which God will give. When this testimony disappears, or is put down by violence, the man of sin comes out full-blown. This seems to be the hour when the Holy Ghost ceases to restrain. He lets men show out then just what they are; and all their wickedness comes forth. The Holy Ghost thus no longer controlling the earth, Satan will be allowed to mature his worst plans for a very brief moment.

This, I think, is the time, and such its character, when the hinderer or hindrance will be taken out of the way. The early Christians used for many years to pray for the continuance of the Roman empire, because they thought it was the letting thing; that gone, they expected the lawless one to be revealed forthwith. And as its diabolical form is assuredly to arise after a previous existence and extinction, there was a certain measure of truth in their thought. But the Roman empire has long been extinct, and yet the man of sin in his full development has not yet been revealed. The re-appearance of the empire, not its extinction, is the critical epoch; and that will depend on the Holy Ghost's ceasing to restrain. When it does take place, all the evil of man and of Satan comes out without measure or disguise. "Only he who now letteth [will let] until he be taken out of the way. And then shall that lawless one be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the shining forth of his presence."

Only when the apostasy has come will "the man of sin" be revealed or "the son of perdition." He is also called "that wicked one" in verse 8, where we are told he will be revealed only after "He who now restrains" is "taken out of the way." These things are intended to be considered together. The Person who now restrains can be none other than the Spirit of God now present on earth in the Church, the body of Christ, and His being taken out of the way is most simply explained by the taking of the Church to glory at the coming of the Lord Jesus for His saints. There have been many and diverse speculations as to this verse, some of them ridiculous, and practically all using the pronoun "He" as applying to no person at all but to governments or other natural influences. But none of these are keys to fit the lock, as does the above simple and uncomplicated explanation which perfectly coincides with the rest of Scripture.

This very simply answers Mr. Nee's question, "How can the Holy Spirit be said to 'be taken out of the way'?" The presence of the Spirit of God in the church will be taken out of the way by the removal of the church to heaven. He will no longer be present in that vast number of people in whom now He works in testimony to a world that cannot easily ignore such witness, however much they may hate it.

On the other hand, certainly the Spirit of God will begin working immediately in the world, not by his indwelling presence, but as He did even in the Old Testament, in the awakening of souls to face the facts of the judgements of God coming upon the world, and to bring them to repentance and faith. But this does not mean His dwelling in people then (such as is seen in His coming at Pentecost -- Acts 2). New birth and the indwelling of the Spirit are clearly distinct things. Today the believer has both. In the tribulation believers will be born again, but not having the Spirit indwelling them, which in fact was the case also before the day of Pentecost.

The apostle says, "The mystery of iniquity doth already work: only there is one now who letteth (or restraineth), until he be taken out of the way." Thus you see the hindering power is to disappear. Further, it is both a principle and a person (being spoken of as neuter as well as masculine); it can therefore apply to none so well as the Spirit of God, Who still, for the sake of the children of God, and to sustain His testimony, continues to hinder the first manifestation of Satan's power. But then that is only for a time, it will not be for ever. "Only there is one who now letteth until he be taken out of the way." The Spirit of God will by and by cease to stand in the way of the working of the Evil One. "And then shall that lawless one be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus shall consume with the spirit of His mouth, and shall destroy with the shining forth (or appearing) of His coming." The Lord Jesus is the appointed destroyer of this lawless being the one who is elsewhere called the antichrist. Even now there are many antichrists, says St. John; when the antichrist comes, he will be destroyed by the Lord Jesus coming from heaven and publicly. "Then shall that lawless one be revealed whom the Lord Jesus shall consume with the spirit of His mouth." The critical addition of "Jesus" I put in, because it is certainly genuine and gives more definiteness to the thought.

However, this new creed is mournful and awful. Denying the vicarious sacrifice of Christ, it removes the foundation of Christianity and destroys the sinner's hope, leaving him without any defence against the righteous wrath of God. Further, it insults the Lord Jesus Christ by rejection of the truth of His Person. Be it observed that while the will to reject divine revelation is manifested, the effort at present is to proceed under cover of the name of Christianity, and to clothe the varied falsities in Christian phraseology. Take the atonement — the name is retained, but the true sin-bearing on the cross is reasoned away. Again, the name of the Lord Jesus is retained, but in what fashion? Hear the Rev. R. J. Campbell: — "Whether Jesus the carpenter had any more right to speak about the mysteries of the universe than I or you have, who can tell? We cannot be sure" (Sermon preached in City Temple, 8th October, 1903). Christianity then is rejected; but rejected covertly. It is apostasy in principle, but as yet dissembled. This measure of restraint is the effect of the presence of the Holy Spirit dwelling in the church. There is a power that restrains, "For the mystery of lawlessness doth already work, only there is one that restraineth now until he be taken out of the way" (2 Thess. 2:7). But at the translation of the church, this restraint will be lifted off. Whatever then the outward condition of the world; whatever its material prosperity and luxury, a moral change of immense moment will have taken place. Not only will the church have gone, but the church is the habitation of God by the Spirit who came down at Pentecost (John 14:16-17; Acts 2:33; Eph. 2:23; 1 Cor. 3:16-17). That blessed Spirit is still here, notwithstanding that He is resisted by the world, grieved and quenched in the church, and He will remain here so long as the church is on earth. His power and testimony have at times been solemnly manifested, leading up to the overthrow of paganism in the Roman Empire. The church is "the pillar and stay of the truth" (1 Tim. 3:15). There only is the truth found; outside, all is spiritual darkness and delusion. The presence of the church inhabited by the Spirit acts as a repressive weight upon the evil of the world; indeed, even the presence of an individual Christian is felt as a curb in a company of the ungodly, for the Holy Spirit dwells in the individual believer as well as in the church collectively. What a change has been wrought on the face of the world by the Holy Spirit's presence! What then will be the inverse change when that gracious, holy presence departs? The dead professing body left by the Holy Ghost will be like the earthly temple abandoned by Jesus; and, as with the earthly temple, will not long be tolerated by the profane world. It may be content enough to go on without Christ, but its destiny is to be cast off by the very world to which now it basely accommodates itself.

But this will only be when the saints of God are removed from the scene of conflict by the coming of the Lord for them. At present the forces of evil are under restraint — restraint is the meaning of the two words withholds and lets in verses 6 and 7. There is "He who restrains" and also "what restrains." The former doubtless refers to the Holy Spirit of God, who is at this time personally upon earth as He never was before and will not be again. The latter, we believe, refers to the presence of the church on earth; the church being the house of God wherein the Holy Ghost is dwelling.

(2 Thess. 2:5-8). In the course of his description of the coming Antichrist, the Apostle stops to remind us of what is taking place at the present moment, while the true Christians are still on the earth. First, in the goodness of God, there is that which holds back the revelation of this terrible man of sin. Secondly, though the goodness of God holds back the full manifestation of wickedness, yet the evil, that leads to the apostacy, and the revelation of the man of sin, is already at work. This iniquity was, indeed, at work in Paul's day, for he has to say, it "doth already work." It has continued working all through the Christian period, though in a secret way, and therefore is called "the mystery of lawlessness." The great restraining power is spoken of as a Person, and One who is present upon the earth, but who will soon be gone, so we read, "He who now restrains until He be gone" (N. Tn.). There is only One to whom this can refer — the Holy Spirit. It is not merely the presence of true Christians that hinders the full development of evil, however much the Holy Spirit may use such in restraining power, but it is rather the presence of a Divine Person who restrains the power of Satan.

No, because evil will not come into its full manifestation as long as the church is here, and God withholds His judgment until evil reaches its climax, that none may charge Him with unrighteousness. That is plain from 2 Thessalonians 2. The mystery of iniquity is already working, and those who are taught of God can discern it; indeed it is obtruding itself everywhere, in the increasing lawlessness, the impatience at authority, the disdain of God's claims and the diminishing of His fear in the world, the rejection of the great truths of the Word, the spread of ritualism and modernism, and the substitution of "Science falsely so called" for the gospel in professed Christian circles; yet there is a restraining power here. There is that which withholds, or restrains, and "He who now lets, or hinders, until He be taken out of the way" (chap. 2:6-7). He that hinders is the Holy Spirit of God who dwells in the church. As long as He is here it will be said to all the pride and purposes of men, "Hitherto shalt thou come and no further, and here shall all thy proud waves be stayed." We have often seen it especially during the last quarter of a century; when evil forces have seemed to be rising up in irresistible waves, threatening to overwhelm all law and order, they have been checked and have subsided, and Christians have still been able to "pray for kings and for all that be in authority, that we may lead quiet and peaceable lives in all godliness and honesty." But when the church is completed and taken up to heaven, the Holy Spirit will go with it, and God will allow men to have their own way. Then "that man of sin," "the son of perdition" (v. 3) and "that wicked one" (v. 8) will be revealed. In these two men — the Beast and the false prophet, who is also called Antichrist, and of whom we read in Revelation chapters 13, 17, 19, — Satan will find vessels of wrath, through whom he will work his will, and by them he will make his most desperate attempt to hold the world against God and Christ (see Revelation 16:13-14; 17:14). It is against these and their deluded followers, that the Lord will appear in judgment. Revelation 19:11-21 describes this appearing. Every name and character that He bears in that vivid description of His appearing is consistent with the event. He is the Faithful and the True, in contrast to the false pretensions of men and the lie with which the devil has deceived them (see 2 Thess. 2:9-11). "In righteousness He will judge and make war," against all "the deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish." He is called "the Word of God," for He will reveal God's holy wrath against sin in its completeness, as once He revealed His love to sinners. He is King of kings and Lord of lords, and will assert and establish His rights by the sharp sword of His mouth and with the rod of iron. There will be no mercy for those who oppose Him, for He will tread the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.

At the beginning of 2 Thessalonians 2, Paul shows that three things must happen before the day of the Lord comes. The first is ‘the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to him’ — the rapture of all the saints to Him.[1] When this happens the check on the manifestation of the antichrist will be taken away. In this connection there is both ‘that’ which restrains (v. 6) and ‘he who restrains … until he be gone’ (v. 7). The first is the government of God and the second is the Holy Spirit who is personally present in the assembly on earth. When the saints are taken up the Holy Spirit will go up with them. Those on earth who afterwards believe the gospel, which is to be distinguished in its terms from the glad tidings that are announced now, will be brought into blessing (Matt. 4:23; 24:14; Rev. 14:6). God will afterwards ‘pour out [His] Spirit upon all flesh’ (Joel 2:28–31). This will involve the activity of the Spirit as already seen in certain cases in the Old Testament but He will not indwell believers as He does now.