And now you know what restrains that he might be revealed in his time.
All Commentaries on 2 Thessalonians 2:6 Go To 2 Thessalonians 2
Augustine of Hippo
AD 430
And now you know
They show that he was unwilling to make an explicit statement, because he said that they knew. And thus we who have not their knowledge wish and are not able even with pains to understand what the apostle referred to, especially as his meaning is made still more obscure by what he adds.
what it is that holds him back
I frankly confess I do not know what he means. I will nevertheless mention such conjectures as I have heard or read. Some say it refers to the Roman empire, as if it were said, “Only he who now reigneth, let him reign until he be taken out of the way.” Some refer it only to the wicked and the hypocrites who are in the Church, until they reach a number so great as to furnish Antichrist with a great people, and that this is the mystery of iniquity, because it seems hidden;
