“2 Thessalonians 2:7-8 says this:
For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way. And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming”
True. And Paul was telling the Thessalonians something he had already taught them and that they knew. This indicates it was not a mystery, such as the aspect of the rapture whereby those believers who are still alive when Christ comes again will be transformed and given new bodies without dying. If this passage was about the Holy Spirit being taken out, there would be other biblical support, but it is lacking. A better understanding of it is that Paul is speaking about his exegetical exposition of Daniel (which he had taught them in person), which is the primary source we have for the final seven years before Christ’s kingdom is set up on earth. Daniel 12 indicates that it is Michael the archangel who is in charge of protecting Israel and will “stand up” at the exact time the abomination of desolation occurs, Satan is cast out of Heaven (by Michael), and antichrist is revealed as an impostor seeking to destroy Israel and followers of Christ. The restrainer is Michael.
Further, this same passage (2 Thessalonians 2) specifically says the Day of the Lord come only AFTER the restrainer quits restraining and the antichrist is revealed. This places the Day of the Lord distinctly AFTER the abomination of desolation, the seventieth week midpoint, and the other events I described above.
As I’ve indicated elsewhere, the sign of the sun and moon being darkened (simultaneous solar and lunar eclipse) will mark the end of the Great Tribulation but the imminence of the Day of the Lord. The rapture will also be imminent after we see this sign. It will be accompanied by destructive asteroids. Antichrist and his mark-wearing minions will be forced to take a break from their horrific and diabolical persecution of Christians to retreat underground in terror because they will also know the Day of Wrath has finally come. But those of us who live through these days will then “look up for [our] redemption draws near.”
Not trying to dispel your post with a cheap copy/paste, but this is pretty close to how I see it.
https://www.gotquestions.org/restrainer.html
There is one major problem I have with your view, and it goes to Revelation 7, specifically 7:9-14
...........................................
“After this I looked and saw a multitude too large to count, from every nation and tribe and people and tongue, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and holding palm branches in their hands. 10 And they cried out in a loud voice:
“Salvation to our God,
who sits on the throne,
and to the Lamb!”
11 And all the angels stood around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. And they fell facedown before the throne and worshiped God, 12 saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”
13 Then one of the elders addressed me: “These in white robes,” he asked, “who are they, and where have they come from?”
14“Sir,” I answered, “you know.”
So he replied, “These are the ones who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
............................................
I have a problem with the fact that The Apostle John doesn’t have a clue as to who those people are that came out of the Great Tribulation. He literally can’t identify them. Now if they were the Born Again Church, which he is a member of, he’d easily be able to do that - but here he can’t. As if they are another group of God’s people altogether different and distinct from all others in history. Just like Israel, & just like the Church.
There also comes into question the way God focuses on His people throughout history. For most of history, He kept His eyes and focus on Israel. For the past 2,000 years, it’s been the Church. He still has 7 years due to Israel or 1 week. IMHO, that week will begin at the beginning of the “covenant with many” (Daniel 9:27).