2 Thessalonians 2:4 (DRB)

Passage

Who opposeth and is lifted up above all that is called God or that is worshipped, so that he sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself as if he were God.

Nearby Context

2 Thessalonians 2:2 That you be not easily moved from your sense nor be terrified, neither by spirit nor by word nor by epistle. as sent from us, as if the day of the Lord were at hand.

2 Thessalonians 2:3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for unless there come a revolt first, and the man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition

2 Thessalonians 2:4 Who opposeth and is lifted up above all that is called God or that is worshipped, so that he sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself as if he were God.

2 Thessalonians 2:5 Remember you not that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?

2 Thessalonians 2:6 And now you know what withholdeth, that he may be revealed in his time.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "called", "opposeth", "lifted", "above", "worshipped", "sitteth", "temple", and "shewing". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "called" and "opposeth", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 3's "Let no man deceive you by any..." into verse 5's "Remember you not that when I was...", so "called" and "opposeth" belong inside that flow. In 2 Thessalonians context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "called" and "opposeth" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.