2 Thessalonians 2:4

2 Thessalonians 2:4 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.
• New International Version (NIV)He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God.
• English Standard Version (ESV)who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God.
• New King James Version (NKJV)who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.

Context of 2 Thessalonians 2:4

2Please do not become easily confused about this. Do not let yourselves become afraid because of false messages about the Lord's return. Some people are telling you that the great day of the Lord's return has already happened. Some of these people say that God's Spirit has shown them a message like that. Other people might say that the message came from us. Or they might say that we wrote it in a letter. 3Do not let anyone deceive you like that in any way. That day will not happen until certain other things have happened. Before that day, there will be a time when many people will turn against God. Also, the man who is completely against God will appear. God will surely destroy him in the end. This man will be God's great enemy. He will say that he is greater than everything that people call their gods. He will say that he is greater than everything that people worship. As a result, he will even go into the temple. He will sit down there like a king. He will tell everyone that he himself is God. 5I told you these things when I was with you. I am sure that you remember that. 6Something makes it impossible for this man to come now. And you know what it is. But this man will appear at the proper time.

2 Thessalonians 2:4 word by word

ὁ ἀντικείμενος καὶ ὑπεραιρόμενος ἐπὶ πάντα λεγόμενον θεὸν ἢ σέβασμα ὥστε αὐτὸν εἰς τὸν ναὸν τοῦ θεοῦ καθίσαι ἀποδεικνύντα ἑαυτὸν ὅτι ἐστὶν θεός.¶Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Who opposethὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• Who opposethἀντίκειμαιantikeimai · be an opponentG480
• andκαίkai · andG2532
• exalteth himselfὑπεραίρωhuperairomai · be haughtyG5229
• aboveἐπίepi · upon/to/againstG1909
• allπᾶςpas · allG3956
• that is calledλέγωlegō · to say: callG3004
• Godθεόςtheos · GodG2316
• orἤē · orG2228
• that is worshippedσέβασμαsebasma · object of worshipG4574
• so thatὥστεhōste · soG5620
• heαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
• asὡςhōs · as/whenG5613
• sittethκαθίζωkathizō · to seatG2523
• inεἰςeis · towardG1519
• the templeναόςnaos · templeG3485
• shewingἀποδείκνυμιapodeiknumi · to displayG584
• himselfἑαυτοῦheautou · themselfG1438
• thatὅτιhoti · that/since: thatG3754
• he isεἰμίeimi · to beG1510

Cross-references for 2 Thessalonians 2:4

• Isaiah 14:13You said to yourself, “I will go up into heaven. I will put my throne above the stars of God. I will rule as king on the mountain in the far north, where the gods of the nations meet together.
• Ezekiel 28:2‘Son of man, say this to the ruler of Tyre. “This is what the Almighty Lord says: You are a very proud man. You say, ‘I am a god and Tyre is my throne. I rule over all the seas around me.’ But, whatever you think, you are only a man. You are not a god.
• Daniel 7:8I was thinking about the horns and what they might mean. Then I saw another little horn that came up among the other ten horns. It pulled out three of those other horns to make room for itself. This little horn had eyes that looked like a man's eyes. It had a mouth that spoke proud words.
• Daniel 8:9Then a little horn grew out of one of these large horns. It grew to become very big. Its power reached towards the south, towards the east and towards the Beautiful Land.
• Daniel 11:36The king will do whatever he wants to do. He will say that he is greater than any god. He will even say proud things to insult the God who rules all other gods. He will be successful until the time when God's anger finishes. God will finish doing what he has decided to do.
• Revelation 13:6So it started to speak against God. It insulted God's name and the place where he lives, as well as the people who live there in heaven.
• 1 Corinthians 8:5It is true that people call many things their gods. Those are things both in heaven and on earth. Those people have many gods and many lords.
• Daniel 8:12God's people accepted the rule of the horn, because they had turned against God. They offered their sacrifices to the horn, instead of to God. The horn stopped people from believing the truth. It was able to do everything that it wanted to do.
• Daniel 11:45He will put up his royal tents between the seas, at the holy mountain. But he will die there and nobody will help him.’

Commentaries on 2 Thessalonians 2:4

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4Who opposeth and exalteth - He stands against and exalts himself above all Divine authority, and above every object of adoration, and every institution relative to Divine worship, , himself being the source, whence must originate all the doctrines of religion, and all its rites and ceremonies; so that sitting in the temple of God - having the highest place and authority in the Christian Church, he acts as God - taking upon himself God's titles and…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4Who opposeth - That is, he is distinguished as an opposer of the great system which God has revealed for human salvation, and of those who would serve God in purity in the gospel of his Son. No Protestant will doubt that this has been the character of the papacy. The opposition of the general system to the gospel; the persecution of Wycliffe, of John Huss, of Jerome of Prague, of the Waldenses and the Reformers; the Inquisition, the cruelties in the reign…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 4exalt himself: Like other Roman cities, Thessalonica built temples to worship the emperor (king). This religion (cult) was the model for the worship described here. he will seat himself in the temple of God: Antiochus Epiphanes polluted the temple in Jerusalem in 167 BC (see Daniel 9:27; 11:31; 12:11). This might have anticipated the event prophesied here (Matthew 24:15; Mark 13:14). It could also refer to Emperor Caligula's attempt to place his image in…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 44. Da 11:36, 37 is here referred to. The words used there as to Antiochus Epiphanes, Paul implies, shall even be more applicable to the man of sin, who is the New Testament actual Antichrist, as Antiochus was the Old Testament typical Antichrist. The previous world kingdoms had each one extraordinary person as its representative head and embodiment (thus Babylon had Nebuchadnezzar, Da 2:38, end; Medo-Persia had Cyrus; Greece had Alexander, and Antiochus…Read the comment

Topics related to 2 Thessalonians 2:4

• Antichrist
• Blasphemy
• Self-Exaltation
• Temple

In the dictionaries

• God
• god, false god, goddess, idol, idolater, idolatrous, idolatry
• Antichrist
• Deceivableness
• Let
• Man of sin
• Shake
• Tradition
• Ephesians, Epistle to the
• Eschatology of the New Testament

Commentaries on 2 Thessalonians 2

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Illustrated New Testament
• Burkitt’s Expository Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Family Bible Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• The People’s New Testament
• Robertson’s Word Pictures
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings