For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, 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. 2 Thessalonians 2:3, 4

One of the characteristic elements of much “end-times” writing and preaching is a kind of Biblical literalism that cannot easily be justified. This is particularly the case when end-times prophets treat of the Book of Revelation, but it shows up as well in their interpretations of a good many passages of Scripture.

Now I’m all for a literal interpretation of the Scripture, wherever justified. But when it comes to interpreting any text of the Bible, the rules of hermeneutics require that we understand texts in the larger context in which they appear. For example, if you want to understand a word used by, say, the Apostle Paul, the best way to arrive at a sound interpretation is to study all the other uses of that word in their various Pauline contexts.

Take, for example, the word, “temple,” which appears in our text. It’s clear that, on at least four occasions, Paul chose that word to refer to the physical temple of the Jews in Jerusalem. All these uses are in the Book of Acts and have reference to Paul’s arrest within the temple precincts (Acts 22.17; 24.12, 18; 26.21).

Outside the Book of Acts, however, Paul uses this word to refer to the Church, the Body of Christ. Thus, the believers in Corinth were to consider that they were the temple of the Lord, both individually and as a congregation (1 Cor. 3.16, 17; 6.16, 19). He taught the Ephesians that they were part of a larger, world-spanning temple of God which the Holy Spirit is building (Eph. 2.20-22).

In our text, therefore, it is not improbable that Paul, in mentioning the temple of the Lord, intended by that word the Church, particularly since he was addressing people who lived far from Jerusalem and for whom the temple there was probably of little interest or relevance.

When Paul says that the “man of lawlessness” would be taking “his seat in the temple of God”, he seems to be referring to the Church. The age of lawlessness would find its way into the Church through a “man of lawlessness” who embodies its rebellious and secular ways.

But what can he mean by this?

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