This literally occurred to me while reading that passage (2 Thess 2) a couple of years ago.... I dropped it on a (young) friend who’d just finished seminary to see what he thought about it being an option rendering the text, his eyes grew very large and glazed over and he never really got back to me on it.
It would be a very strange thing for the church or Holy Spirit to "withhold” or "restrain” the Antichrist from being exposed when the scriptures tell/command us to expose evil/darkness.... that just doesn’t fit well for me in context of that whole passage of scripture, perhaps I’m missing something 🤷🽔♂ï¸
It would seem that satan would have cause to "withhold” the AC’s revealing until the world had been so conditioned/deceived into accepting him... tho I’ve always been taught that "he” who letteth and "that” which withholdeth was the church or Holy Spirit ðŸ§
Firstly the "church” is not a "he” it’s a "she” so (for me) that rules out the church...
Secondly the Holy Spirit couldn’t be "taken out of the way” because we know there are those saved during the great tribulation (Rev 7:14) and that’s not possible w/out Holy Spirit....
Yet the pattern referenced by Jesus pertaining to Noah & Lot (Luke 17:27-30) seems to demonstrate it wasn’t satan but a righteous man that in fact was doing the restraining.... and in both of these cases when they (Noah & Lot) we’re taken out of the way then judgement/destruction came quickly...
In both of those cases referenced by Jesus as a "template” with which to view these future events, the prayers/preaching of a righteous man was in fact the restraining force.
This (for me) was a conundrum... tho when I looked into the matter indeed I found that the preachers of righteousness in our day had, each one, been being removed and so far not really replaced at the same level that I’ve seen while at the same time, evil and ungodliness have proliferated effectively "being revealed” at the passing of these righteous men.
So while a definitive conclusion eludes me, my present observations tend toward a (righteous) person or small number of (righteous) persons who are in fact restraining this wickedness from being revealed through intercessory prayer and preaching. Tho when they die, if there are none who offer such, what then would restrain that wickedness from being revealed ?
Also pertaining to 2 Thess 2 -
It seems the "great apostasy” ir falling away isn’t so much people falling away from the "church” so much as the "church” is falling away from faith in God and teach others also to rely on something other than God...
Regarding Joel, his ministry blipped my radar years ago when I came across and listened to Walid Shoebat’s messages and Joel was very much in line with his perspectives and if I remember correctly, they actually worked together a few times ...
It does seem that we are witnessing (at least) the beginning of the great apostasy prophecy which would mean the AC would follow and be revealed after it was completed but that, as far as I can see, hasn't happened just yet.
