2 Thessalonians 2:7
“For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →The hidden power of lawlessness is already at work, but it is held in check by a restrainer until that restrainer is removed.
What Does 2 Thessalonians 2:7 Mean?
Paul reveals that the spirit of rebellion is not merely future; "the mystery of iniquity doth already work." Beneath the surface of the present age, lawlessness is quietly active, a hidden current running toward the open defiance that will one day appear. Yet for now it is held back: "he who now letteth will let," using an older sense of "let" meaning to hinder or restrain, until that restraint is "taken out of the way."
The picture is of evil straining against a barrier that God has placed across its path. It cannot break through until God lifts the barrier in His own time. This both sobers and comforts the reader. The forces of darkness are real and at work even now, so we must not be naive; yet they are not unleashed, for God restrains them. The church lives in the tension between an evil already present and a fuller evil still held back, trusting the One who holds the line.
In the Original Language
anomia (ἀνομία), "iniquity" — lawlessness, the rejection or absence of God's law.