Michael, the restrainer removed (2 Thess. 2:6–7)

Summary

Introduction: 2 Thess. 2:6–7 and the restrainer

One of the most enduring exegetical enigmas of the Pauline corpus is the identification of ό κατέχωνκ/τό κατέχον in 2 Thess. 2:6–7. Discussion of the issue has reached something of an impasse, with some recent contributions expressing pessimism regarding the whole enterprise and a few even postulating that the author himself had no particular referent in mind. Certainly one could be forgiven for concluding that the key to unlocking the secrets of 2 Thess. 2:6–7 has yet to be, and perhaps never will be, discovered. Nevertheless, the quest for the elusive key continues. The goal of this appendix is to question the most common interpretations and to suggest where the key to this most controversial conundrum may be found.

First, we shall undertake a brief exegesis of 2 Thess. 2:6–7. Οἴδατε and the enigmatic nature of these two verses indicate that the readers already know about the κατέχων (-ον) and suggest that the author is seeking to jog his readers' memories in order that they might apply their existing knowledge to their new situation. If they do so, it will help them recover from the erroneous eschatological claim concerning the Day of the Lord to which they have apparently succumbed (verse 2b).