What must precede the revealing of the Antichrist?

• A. The removal of the Restrainer and therefore the removal of believers at the Rapture
• B. Descent of the angels
• C. Global famine
• D. Conversion of Israel

Answer: (A)

Paul’s teaching here is about the order of end-times events as described in 2 Thessalonians 2:6-7. The Antichrist cannot be revealed until the one who restrains is taken out of the way. That restraining power is commonly understood to be the Holy Spirit’s work through the church; when believers are caught up at the Rapture, that restraining influence is removed, allowing the Antichrist to be revealed during the coming tribulation. So the removal of the Restrainer, and by extension the believers who constitute that restraining influence, is the prerequisite for the unveiling of the Antichrist. The other options don’t fit this sequence: descent of angels, a global famine, or the conversion of Israel aren’t presented as the precondition Paul names for the Antichrist’s appearance.