PreteristForum

Who or what does the holding/restraining in v6?


2Th 2:6-8 NHEB
6 Now you know what is restraining* him, to the end that he may be revealed in his own season.
7 For the mystery of lawlessness already works. Only there is one who restrains now, until he is taken out of the way**.

*κατέχον (Verb - Present Participle Active - Accusative Neuter Singular)

**εκ μεσου γενηται

8 Then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will kill with the breath of his mouth...

Candidates for the restrainer include:
1a) the second-to-last high priest who was was unlawfully taken out of the way and replaced by a completely disqualified person who knew nothing about the high priestly duties. This lawless, last high priest held the position right up until the Old Testament temple was destroyed by fire in 70AD.
1b) the second-to-last Old Testament high priest also held back the forces that wanted to give way to the duo of false messiahs, John of Giscala & Simon bar Giora, one of whom set up the unlawful, last high priest. One or both false messiahs it was claimed to be working miracles, (same with Vespasian who had been held back by Josephus for a time). One of those false messiahs set up his headquarters in the temple.
2) Claudius Caesar who was taken out of the way and replaced with Nero.
3) I thought I remembered a third candidate.....

So the last high priest did miracles??
 

I edited my post a bit. Josephus, if I remember correctly, stated that Vespasian was the Messiah and could work miracles. Similar claims were made by both false messiahs John of Giscala and Simon bar Giora, if I'm not mistaken.

I haven't heard of any Josephus claim that Vespasian was the Christ.

Upon bring captured, Jewish priest-turned-general Joseph Ben Mattathius sought audience with Vespasian to tell him of prophecies regarding an expected messianic figure that was  to appear in their time.  Joseph went on to declare his belief that Vespasian was, indeed, that expected man, that miraculous powers would be worked  by him.  Vespasian liked what he heard, befriended and adopted into his family the man known to us now as Flavius Josephus.

Can you provide a citing of this Josephus messianic claim.

http://yeshuaincontext.com/2010/11/jose ... h-concept/

Here's preliminary result to tide us by for now.

 From:
https://ccel.org/ccel/josephus/complete ... .viii.html

"Thou, O Vespasian, thinkest no more than that thou hast taken Josephus himself captive; but I come to thee as a messenger of greater tidings; for had not I been sent by God to thee, I knew what was the law of the Jews in this case?714 and how it becomes generals to die. Dost thou send me to Nero? For why? Are Nero's successors till they come to thee still alive? Thou, O Vespasian, art Caesar and emperor, thou, and this thy son. Bind me now still faster, and keep me for thyself, for thou, O Caesar, are not only lord over me, but over the land and the sea, and all mankind; and certainly I deserve to be kept in closer custody than I now am in, in order to be punished, if I rashly affirm any thing of God."

There may be another reference where Josephus is explaining why he said this to Vespasian, that it was based upon the sacred writings of the Jews.

And here it is:
Flavius Josephus, The Wars of the Jews, 6.310-316
"But now, what did the most elevate them in undertaking this war, was an ambiguous oracle that was also found in their sacred writings, how, 'about that time, one from their country should become governor of the habitable earth.'  The Jews took this prediction to belong to themselves in particular, and many of the wise men were thereby deceived in their determination. Now this oracle certainly denoted the government of Vespasian, who was appointed emperor in Judea."
From:  http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/tex ... tion%3D310