Quote Archive | Antichrist, Jerusalem, the Jews, and the Temple

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The “Becoming Catholic” blog presents the biblical, philosophical, and historical evidence for why Eternal Christendom Founder, Joshua Charles, became and remains Catholic. The series table of contents is here.

(Last Updated November 18, 2024)

This Quote Archive is on the eschatological (end times) topic of Antichrist, Jerusalem, the Jews, and the Temple. Each Archive is a treasury of original source quotes on various topics relevant to the Catholic Faith, and addressed in Becoming Catholic articles. They are intended to help people explore the “gold, silver, and precious gems” that have been mined and sifted from the sources of the Great Tradition by Eternal Christendom as a labor of love for our readers, and all seekers of Truth. They are periodically updated as more research is completed.

Some Quote Archives cover topics that include multiple sub-topics, in which individual quotes only address particular sub-topics. Therefore, in order to help readers more easily identify the sub-topics addressed in each quote, they will be listed in alphabetical order after each citation.

The sub-topics in this Quote Archive are:

Jerusalem (i.e. Antichrist’s presence there)
Jews (i.e. their acceptance of Antichrist and final conversion to Christ)
Temple (i.e. whether the “Temple” of 2 Thess. 2:4 is a rebuilt Jewish Temple, the Temple of the Catholic Church, etc.)

St. Irenaeus of Lyon (c. 130-c. 202) (EAST/WEST)

St. Irenaeus of Lyon, Against Heresies (Book 5, Ch. 25, §§1-2, 4) (c. 180) | Jerusalem | Temple

(§1) …This he [Antichrist] does, in order that they who do [now] worship the devil by means of many abominations, may serve himself by this one idol, of whom the apostle thus speaks in the second Epistle to the Thessalonians: “Unless there shall come a failing away first, and the man of sin shall be revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he sits in the temple of God, showing himself as if he were God” (2 Thess. 2:3-4). The apostle therefore clearly points out his apostasy, and that he is lifted up above all that is called God, or that is worshipped—that is, above every idol—for these are indeed so called by men, but are not [really] gods; and that he will endeavor in a tyrannical manner to set himself forth as God.

(§2) Moreover, he (the apostle) has also pointed out this which I have shown in many ways, that the temple in Jerusalem was made by the direction of the true God. For the apostle himself, speaking in his own person, distinctly called it the temple of God. Now I have shown in the third book, that no one is termed God by the apostles when speaking for themselves, except Him who truly is God, the Father of our Lord, by whose directions the temple which is at Jerusalem was constructed for those purposes which I have already mentioned; in which [temple] the enemy shall sit, endeavoring to show himself as Christ, as the Lord also declares: “But when ye shall see the abomination of desolation, which has been spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let him that reads understand), then let those who are in Judea flee into the mountains; and he who is upon the house-top, let him not come down to take anything out of his house: for there shall then be great hardship, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, nor ever shall be” (Matt. 24:15, 21)…

(§4) The Lord also spoke as follows to those who did not believe in Him: “I have come in my Father’s name, and you have not received Me: when another shall come in his own name, him you will receive” (John 5:43), calling Antichrist “the other,” because he is alienated from the Lord. This is also the unjust judge, whom the Lord mentioned as one “who feared not God, neither regarded man” (Luke 18:2), to whom the widow fled in her forgetfulness of God—that is, the earthly Jerusalem—to be avenged of her adversary. Which also he shall do in the time of his kingdom: he shall remove his kingdom into that [city], and shall sit in the temple of God, leading astray those who worship him, as if he were Christ. To this purpose Daniel says again: “And he shall desolate the holy place; and sin has been given for a sacrifice, and righteousness been cast away in the earth, and he has been active (fecit), and gone on prosperously” (Dan. 8:12). And the angel Gabriel, when explaining his vision, states with regard to this person: “And towards the end of their kingdom a king of a most fierce countenance shall arise, one understanding [dark] questions, and exceedingly powerful, full of wonders; and he shall corrupt, direct, influence (faciet), and put strong men down, the holy people likewise; and his yoke shall be directed as a wreath [round their neck]; deceit shall be in his hand, and he shall be lifted up in his heart: he shall also ruin many by deceit, and lead many to perdition, bruising them in his hand like eggs” (Dan. 8:23). And then he points out the time that his tyranny shall last, during which the saints shall be put to flight, they who offer a pure sacrifice unto God: “And in the midst of the week,” he says, “the sacrifice and the libation shall be taken away, and the abomination of desolation [shall be brought] into the temple: even unto the consummation of the time shall the desolation be complete” (Dan. 9:27). Now three years and six months constitute the half-week.

St. Hippolytus of Rome (c. 170-c. 235) (WEST)

St. Hippolytus of Rome, Treatise on Christ and Antichrist (§§6, 63) | Jerusalem | Temple

(§6) Now, as our Lord Jesus Christ, who is also God, was prophesied of under the figure of a lion [Apoc. 5:5; cf. Gen. 49:8], on account of His royalty and glory, in the same way have the Scriptures also aforetime spoken of Antichrist as a lion, on account of his tyranny and violence. For the deceiver seeks to liken himself in all things to the Son of God. Christ is a lion, so Antichrist is also a lion; Christ is a king [John 18:37], so Antichrist is also a king. The Savior was manifested as a lamb [John 1:29]; so he too, in like manner, will appear as a lamb, though within he is a wolf. The Savior came into the world in the circumcision, and he will come in the same manner. The Lord sent apostles among all the nations, and he in like manner will send false apostles. The Savior gathered together the sheep that were scattered abroad [John 11:52], and he in like manner will bring together a people that is scattered abroad. The Lord gave a seal to those who believed on Him, and he will give one in like manner. The Savior appeared in the form of man, and he too will come in the form of a man. The Savior raised up and showed His holy flesh like a temple [John 2:19], and he will raise a temple of stone in Jerusalem. And his seductive arts we shall exhibit in what follows. But for the present let us turn to the question in hand…

(§63) And the blessed Apostle Paul, writing to the Thessalonians, says: “Now we beseech you, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and our gathering together at it, that you be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letters as from us, as that the day of the Lord is at hand. Let no man deceive you by any means; for (that day shall not come) except there come the falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped: so that he sits in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. Remember you not, that when I was yet with you, I told you these things? And now you know what withholds, that he might be revealed in his time. For the mystery of iniquity does already work; only he who now lets (will let), until he be taken out of the way. And then shall that wicked be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus shall consume with the Spirit of His mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of His coming: (even him) whose coming is after the working of Satan, with all power, and signs, and lying wonders, and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: that they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness” (2 Thess. 2:1-11). And Isaiah says, “Let the wicked be cut off, that he behold not the glory of the Lord” (Isa. 26:10).

Origen (c. 184-c. 253) (EAST)

Origen, Commentary on Matthew (Ch. 29)¹ | Temple

After Christ predicted everything that was about to happen to Jerusalem, he who had preserved the temple left it, lest it collapse while he was still in it. The temple stood safe and secure as long as the Word and the kingdom of God were with the Jews, as did all things Jewish. Subsequently, however, the kingdom of God was taken from the Jews and given to the Gentiles, as it is written, “The kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to the nations who produce its fruit” (Matt. 21:43). Both Jesus and the kingdom of God were then established among the Gentiles. Therefore neither Jesus nor the kingdom of God is to be found among the Jews, because they were abandoned “like a booth in a vineyard and like a hut in a cucumber field and like a city besieged” (Isa. 1:8), on account of the crime they committed against Christ.

Lactantius (c. 250-c. 325) (WEST)

Lactantius, Divine Institutes (Book 7, Ch. 15, 17) | Temple

(Ch. 15) …And—my mind dreads to relate it, but I will relate it, because it is about to happen—the cause of this desolation and confusion [at the end of the world] will be this: because the Roman name, by which the world is now ruled, will be taken away from the earth, and the government return to Asia; and the East will again bear rule, and the West be reduced to servitude…

(Ch. 17) …He will command fire to come down from heaven, and the sun to stand and leave his course, and an image to speak; and these things shall be done at his word—by which miracles [2 Thess. 2; Apoc. 13] many even of the wise shall be enticed by him. Then he will attempt to destroy the temple of God, and persecute the righteous people; and there will be distress and tribulation, such as there never has been from the beginning of the world.

St. Hilary of Poitiers (c. 310-c. 367) (WEST)

St. Hilary of Poitiers, Commentary on Matthew (Ch. 25, §§1-4)² | Temple

(§1) …He [Christ] said that it [the Temple] will be entirely destroyed and demolished since the stones of the entire structure would be knocked down [Matt. 24:2]. But an eternal temple is one that is consecrated to be a habitation of the Holy Spirit, that is, the temple is a person who is worthy to become a dwelling for God by knowledge of the Son [1 Cor. 6:19; 2 Cor. 6:16], by confession of the Father, and by obedience to his commandments…

(§2) …All this happened in Jerusalem, just as it had been foretold; the city was consumed—ruined by her stonings, by her expulsions, by her murder of the apostles, by her hunger, by war, and by her captivity. For having rejected the preachers of Christ, she was shown to be unworthy of God’s message and not worthy to exist.

(§3) Then there follows a sign of his [Christ’s] future advent. When they see the “abomination of desolation” standing in the holy place [Matt. 24:15], we should understand his glorious return. Concerning this matter, I think that our comment is superfluous given the teaching of the most blessed Daniel [Dan. 9:27] and Paul [2 Thess. 2:4]. That which is spoken by each writer concerns the times of the Antichrist. He is an “abomination” because he rises up against God by claiming for himself the honor due to God. As the “abomination of desolation,” he is going to render the earth desolate by war and bloodshed in keeping with its sacrilege. Because the Antichrist was received by the Jews, he will stand in the holy place [Matt. 24:15; Dan. 11:31-32] where God used to be invoked by the prayers of his saints and where the Antichrist is received by unbelievers with the same honor with which they venerated God.

(§4) The error of the Jews will be that, having rejected the truth, they adopted a lie. The Lord warns them to abandon Judaea and flee to the mountains [Matt. 24:16], lest the violence and contagion of those who will believe in the Antichrist be brought among them. But for all who remain faithful, they will be safer in the deserted places of the mountains than in the busy avenues of Judaea.

St. Cyril of Jerusalem (c. 313-386) (EAST)

St. Cyril of Jerusalem, Catechetical Lecture 15 (§§9, 15) (c. 350) | Temple

(§9) And what comes to pass after this? He says next, “When therefore you see the abomination of desolation, which was spoken of by Daniel the Prophet, standing in the Holy Place, let him that reads understand” (Matt. 24:15). And again, “Then if any man shall say unto you, ‘Here, here is the Christ,’ or, ‘Here, there,’ believe it not” (Matt. 24:23). Hatred of the brethren makes room next for Antichrist; for the devil prepares beforehand the divisions among the people, that he who is to come may be acceptable to them. But God forbid that any of Christ’s servants here, or elsewhere, should run over to the enemy!

Writing concerning this matter, the Apostle Paul gave a manifest sign, saying, “For that day shall not come, except there came first the falling away, and the man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself against all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he sits in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. Remember you not that when I was yet with you, I told you these things? And now you know that which restrains, to the end that he may be revealed in his own season. For the mystery of iniquity does already work, only there is one that restrains now, until he be taken out of the way. And then shall the lawless one be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus shall slay with the breath of His mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of His coming. Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan, with all power and signs and lying wonders, and with all deceit of unrighteousness for them that are perishing” (2 Thess. 2:3-10).

Thus wrote Paul, and now is the falling away. For men have fallen away from the right faith; and some preach the identity of the Son with the Father, and others dare to say that Christ was brought into being out of nothing. And formerly the heretics were manifest; but now the Church is filled with heretics in disguise. For men have fallen away from the truth, and “have itching ears” (2 Tim. 4:3). Is it a plausible discourse? All listen to it gladly. Is it a word of correction? All turn away from it. Most have departed from right words, and rather choose the evil, than desire the good. This therefore is “the falling away,” and the enemy is soon to be looked for: and meanwhile he has in part begun to send forth his own forerunners, that he may then come prepared upon the prey. Look therefore to thyself, O man, and make safe thy soul. The Church now charges thee before the Living God; she declares to thee the things concerning Antichrist before they arrive. Whether they will happen in your time we know not, or whether they will happen after you we know not. But it is well that, knowing these things, thou shouldest make thyself secure beforehand…

(§15) And again he says, “Who opposes and exalts himself against all that is called God, or that is worshipped; (against every God; Antichrist forsooth will abhor the idols) so that he seats himself in the temple of God” (2 Thess. 2:4). What temple then? He means, the Temple of the Jews which has been destroyed. For God forbid that it should be the one in which we are! Why say we this? That we may not be supposed to favor ourselves. For if he comes to the Jews as Christ, and desires to be worshipped by the Jews, he will make great account of the Temple, that he may more completely beguile them; making it supposed that he is the man of the race of David, who shall build up the Temple which was erected by Solomon. And Antichrist will come at the time when there shall not be left one stone upon another in the Temple of the Jews, according to the doom pronounced by our Savior (Matt. 24:2); for when, either decay of time, or demolition ensuing on pretense of new buildings, or from any other causes, shall have overthrown all the stones, I mean not merely of the outer circuit, but of the inner shrine also, where the Cherubim were, then shall he come “with all signs and lying wonders,” exalting himself against all idols; at first indeed making a pretense of benevolence, but afterwards displaying his relentless temper, and that chiefly against the Saints of God. For he says, “I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints” (Dan. 7:21); and again elsewhere, “there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation upon earth, even to that same time” (Dan. 12:1). Dreadful is that beast, a mighty dragon, unconquerable by man, ready to devour; concerning whom though we have more things to speak out of the divine Scriptures, yet we will content ourselves at present with thus much, in order to keep within compass.

St. Jerome (c. 342/347-420) (EAST/WEST)

St. Jerome, Letter 121: To Algasia (§11) | Temple

The apostle remedies this error [thinking the Antichrist was about to appear] and explains the things which are to be expected before the arrival of the antichrist, so that, when they see that these things have happened, then they will know that the antichrist is about to come, that is, the man of sin and the son of perdition, “who is opposed and is raised above everything that is called God or that is worshipped” and who “sits in the temple of God.” “Unless,” he says, “revolt comes first,” which in Greek is called apostasia, so that all nations, which are subject to the Roman Empire, may withdraw from them—“and he will be revealed”—that is, he will be shown, whom the words of all the prophets announce in advance—“the man of sin”—in whom lies the spring of all sins—“and the son of perdition”—that is, the devil; for he himself is the destruction of everything—“who is opposed” to Christ and for that reason is called the antichrist “and he is raised above all that is called God,” so that he might trample with his foot the gods of all nations or every approved and true religion and “in the temple of God”—or in the temple of Jerusalem, as some think, or in a church, as I think more correctly—“he might sit and show himself,” as if he were Christ and the son of God.

St. Jerome, Commentary on Daniel 11:44-45³ | Jerusalem

Those of our party, on the other hand, explain the final chapter of this vision [of Daniel] as relating to the Antichrist, and stating that during his war against the Egyptians, Libyans, and Ethiopians, in which he shall smash three of the ten horns, he is going to hear that war has been stirred up against him in the regions of the North and East. Then he shall come with a great host to crush and slay many people, and shall pitch his ten in Apedno near Nicopolis., which was formerly called Emmaus, at the beginning of the mountainous region in the province of Judaea. Finally he shall make his way thence to go up to the Mount of Olives and ascend to the area of Jerusalem; and this is what the Scripture means here: “And when he has pitched his tent…” at the foothills of the mountainous province between two seas. These are, of course, that which is now called the Dead Sea on the east, and the Great Sea on the shore of which lie Caesarea, Joppa, Ashkelon, and Gaza. Then he shall come up to the summit therefor, that is of the mountainous province, or the apex of the Mount of Olives which of course is called famous because our Lord and Savior ascended from it to the Father. And no one shall be able to assist the Antichrist as the Lord vents his fury upon him. Our school of thought insists that Antichrist is going to perish in that spot from which the Lord ascended to heaven.

St. Jerome, Commentary on Matthew (Book 4, Matt. 24:15-18)⁴ | Temple

24:15. “Therefore, when you see the abomination of desolation, which was spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place, let the reader understand.”

Whenever we are summoned to understanding, what has been said is shown to be mystical. Now, we read it in Daniel in this way: “And for half a week my sacrifice and libations will be removed, and in the Temple there will be an abomination of desolations until the consummation of the time, and the consummation will be given over the devastation” (Dan. 9:27). The apostle also speaks of this, that the man of iniquity and the adversary is to be lifted up against everything that is called God or that is worshipped. He will dare to stand in the Temple of God and show that he himself is God [2 Thess. 2:3-4] that his coming in accordance with the working of Satan destroys them [2 Thess. 2:8-9], and that it reduces those who received him to a devastation, void of God [Lev. 26:31; Jer. 25:18]. Now this can be interpreted either literally of the Antichrist, or of the image of Caesar that Pilate placed in the Temple, or of the equestrian statue of Hadrian, which stands to the present day in the very location of the holy of holies. According to the old Scripture, an “abomination” is also called an “idol,” and this is why “of desolation” is added, because an idol will be placed in the desolated and destroyed Temple.

24:16-18. “Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, and let the one who is on the housetop not go down to take anything from his house, and let him who is in the field not turn back to take his tunic.”

The “abomination of desolation” can also be understood of all perverted doctrine. When we see it standing in the holy place, that is, in the Church, and showing itself as God, we should flee from Judea to the mountains; that is, when the letter that kills and Judaic depravity have been abandoned, let us draw near to the eternal mountains from which God illumines marvelously. Let us be on the housetop and in the home where the flaming arrows of the devil cannot reach. Let us not go down and take anything from the house of our former way of life, nor seek the things that are below. Rather, let us sow in the field of the spiritual Scriptures, that we might receive fruit from it.

St. John Chrysostom (c. 347-407) (EAST)

St. John Chrysostom, Homily 76 on Matthew 24:16-18 (§§1-2) | Temple

(§1) Having spoken of the ills that were to overtake the city, and of the trials of the apostles, and that they should remain unsubdued, and should overrun the whole world, He mentions again the Jews’ calamities, showing that when the one should be glorious, having taught the whole world, the others should be in calamity.

And see how He relates the war, by the things that seem to be small setting forth how intolerable it was to be. For, “Then,” saith He, “let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains.” Then, When? When these things should be, “when the abomination of desolation should stand in the holy place.” Whence he seems to me to be speaking of the armies. Flee therefore then, says He, for thenceforth there is no hope of safety for you.

For since it had fallen out, that they often had recovered themselves in grievous wars, as under Sennacherib, under Antiochus again (for when at that time also, armies had come in upon them, and the temple had been seized beforehand, the Maccabees rallying gave their affairs an opposite turn); in order then that they might not now also suspect this, that there would be any such change, He forbids them all thought of the kind. For it were well, says He, to escape henceforth with one’s naked body. Therefore them also that are on the housetop, He suffers not to enter into the house to take their clothes, indicating the evils to be inevitable, and the calamity without end, and that it must needs be that he that was involved therein should surely perish…

(§2) …But He not only encouraged them, but also led them off secretly and unsuspectedly from the customs of the Jews. For if there is not to be a change afterwards, and the temple is not to stand, it is quite evident that the law also shall be made to cease.

St. John Chrysostom, Homily 3 on 2 Thessalonians (1:9-2:5) | Temple

Verses 3-4: “Let no man beguile you in any wise: for it will not be, except the falling away come first, and the man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition, he that opposes and exalts himself against all that is called God or that is worshiped; so that he sits in the temple of God, setting himself forth as God.”

Here he discourses concerning the Antichrist, and reveals great mysteries. What is “the falling away [apostasy]?” He calls him Apostasy, as being about to destroy many, and make them fall away. “So that if it were possible,” He says, “the very Elect should be offended” (Matt. 24:24). And he calls him “the man of sin.” For he shall do numberless mischiefs, and shall cause others to do them. But he calls him “the son of perdition,” because he is also to be destroyed. But who is he? Is it then Satan? By no means; but some man, that admits his fully working in him. For he is a man. “And exalts himself against all that is called God or is worshiped.” For he will not introduce idolatry, but will be a kind of opponent to God; he will abolish all the gods, and will order men to worship him instead of God, and he will be seated in the temple of God, not that in Jerusalem only, but also in every Church. “Setting himself forth,” he says; he does not say, saying it, but endeavoring to show it. For he will perform great works, and will show wonderful signs.

St. John Chrysostom, Discourse 4 Against the Jews (Ch. 4, §9)⁵ | Jews | Temple

This is certain not only from what I have said but also from the prophets. What excuse would the Jews of today have when it is clear that the Jews of old never offered sacrifice, nor sang hymns in an alien land [cf. Ps. 136(137):4], nor did they observe any such fasts as they do today? To be sure, the Jews of old were expecting to recover the way of life in which they could observe these rituals. Therefore, they remained obedient to the Law and did what it commanded, for the Law told them to expect this. But the Jews of today have no hope of recovering their forefathers’ way of life. In what prophet can they find proof that they will? They have no hope, but they cannot bear to give up these practices. And yet, even if they were expecting to recover the old way of life, even so they ought to be imitating those holy men of old by neither fasting nor observing any other such ritual.

St. John Chrysostom, Discourse 5 Against the Jews (Ch. 1, §3; Ch. 3, §§13, 15; Ch. 4, §§1-3; Ch. 10, §§5, 7; Ch. 11, §§1, 6)⁶

(Ch. 1, §3) (pg. 98) | Jews | Temple

For even if the Jews were going to recover their own city, if they were about to return to their old commonwealth and way of life and see their temple rebuilt—an event which will never come to pass—even so, they have no defense for their present practices.

(Ch. 3, §§13, 15) (pg. 109) | Jews | Temple

(§13) Tell me this. What human being ever had the power to do this? Yet this man [Jesus] made all these predictions about that woman, about the Church, and about the wars which would be waged against it. He also predicted that the temple would be destroyed, that Jerusalem would be captured, and that the city would no longer be the city of the Jews as it had been in the past…

(§15) Suppose a mere ten, twenty, thirty, or fifty years were to have passed since the capture of Jerusalem. Even then you would have absolutely no right to show your impudence by rejecting this prediction, but if you wished to be obstinate, you might have had some pretext for protest left to you. But not only fifty years but many more than one, two, or three centuries have passed since Jerusalem was captured. And never has there been seen a single trace or shadow of the change for which you are waiting. Why, then, are you so rash and foolish as to keep up your shameless objections?

(Ch. 4, §§1-3) (pgs. 110-11) | Temple

(§1) We have said enough to prove that the temple will never be rebuilt. But since the abundance of proofs which support this truth is so great, I shall turn from the gospels to the prophets, because the Jews put their belief in them before all others. And from the words of the prophets I shall make it clear that the Jews will recover neither their city nor their temple in days to come. And yet the need was not mine to prove that the temple will not be restored. This was not my obligation; the Jews have the obligation to prove the opposite, namely, that the temple will be rebuilt. For the years that have elapsed by my side in the combat and bear witness to the truth of my words.

(§2) Even though the outcome of events defeats them, even though they cannot prove in deeds what they maintain in words, even though they are simply making a rash boast, they have a right to present their testimony. The proof for my position is that the events of which I speak did actually occur: Jerusalem did fall and has not been restored after so many years. Their position rests on their unsupported words.

(§3) Yet the burden of proof was on them [the Jews] to show that the city would rise again…They must produce a prophet who says that by all means Jerusalem will be rebuilt. For if there was going to be an end to the present captivity for you Jews, there was every need for the prophets to foretell this, as is clear to anyone who has even so much as glanced at the prophetic books. For it was the custom of old among the Jews that, under inspiration from above, their prophets would foretell the good or evil things which were going to befall the people.

(Ch. 10, §§5, 7) (pgs. 134-36) | Temple

(§5) And again, in speaking of this slavery, he said: “The incense and the oblation will be abolished and, furthermore, on the holy place will be the abomination of desolation: and accomplishment shall be given to the desolated until the end of time” (Dan. 9:27). When you hear him say “Until the end of time,” what else is left for you the Jews to look forward to?…

(§7) What is there for me to say to you now that has not already been said? When the prophets predicted the other captivities, they spoke not only of the captivity but also of the length of time it was appointed for each bondage to last; for this present captivity, however, they set no time but, to the contrary, said that the desolation would endure until the end. And to prove that what they said is true, come now and let me offer as witnesses the events themselves. If the Jews had never attempted to rebuilt the temple, they could say: “If we had wished to set our hands to the task and to begin to rebuild it, we could by all means have completed the task.” But now I shall show that not once, not twice, but three times they did attempt it and three times, like wrestlers in the Olympics games, they were thrown to the ground. Therefore there can be no dispute or question but that the Church has won the victory crown.

(Ch. 11, §§1, 6) (pgs. 136, 138) | Temple

(§1) Yet what kind of men were they who set their hands to the task [of rebuilding the temple]? They were men who constantly resisted the Holy Spirit, revolutionists bent on stirring up sedition. After the destruction which occurred under Vespasian and Titus, these Jews rebelled during the reign of Hadrian and tried to go back to the old commonwealth and way of life. What they failed to realize was that they were fighting against the decree of God, who had ordered that Jerusalem remain forever in ruins…

(§6) These abominable and shameless men had the impudence to ask these things from an impious pagan [Emperor Julian the Apostate] and to invite him to rebuild their sanctuary with his polluted hands. They failed to see that they were attempting the impossible. They did not realize that if human hands had put an end to those things, then human hands could get them back for them. But it was God who destroyed their city, and no human power could ever change what God had decreed. “For what God, the Holy One, has planned who shall dissipate? His hand is stretched out; who will turn it back?” (Isa. 14:27). What God has reared up and wishes to remain, no man can tear down. In the same way, what he has destroyed and wishes to stay destroyed, no man can rebuild. (For all the details from this account, see: Study Bank | Pagan Attempt to Rebuild the Temple Thwarted)

Theodore of Mopsuestia (c. 350-428) (EAST)

Theodore of Mopsuestia, Commentary on 2 Thessalonians (2:4)⁷ | Temple

And he calls him “the adversary” [“who opposes”], inasmuch as he does things adverse to the divine will and strives to draw all people over to himself. And he is the one “highly exalting himself above everything that is said to be god or that is worshipped,” because by persuading all people to depart from their own sect, he will make them worship him, saying that he is himself Christ, to whom he will claim the honor of God should be bestowed by all, as is right. For in this way even “in God’s temples,” that is, even in the houses of prayer, he will enter and take his seat as though he were Christ and for this reason should be worshipped in the rank of God by all.

St. Augustine (354-430) (WEST)

St. Augustine, City of God (Book 20, Ch. 19) | Temple

I see that I must omit many of the statements of the gospels and epistles about this last judgment, that this volume may not become unduly long. But I can on no account omit what the Apostle Paul says, in writing to the Thessalonians, “We beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Thess. 2:1-11), etc.

No one can doubt that he wrote this of Antichrist and of the day of judgment, which he here calls the day of the Lord, nor that he declared that this day should not come unless he first came who is called the apostate—apostate, to wit, from the Lord God. And if this may justly be said of all the ungodly, how much more of him?

But it is uncertain in what temple he shall sit, whether in that ruin of the temple which was built by Solomon, or in the Church; for the apostle would not call the temple of any idol or demon the temple of God. And on this account some think that in this passage Antichrist means not the prince himself alone, but his whole body, that is, the mass of men who adhere to him, along with him their prince; and they also think that we should render the Greek more exactly were we to read, not “in the temple of God,” but “for” or “as the temple of God,” as if he himself were the temple of God, the Church.

Theodoret of Cyrus (c. 393-c. 458/466) (EAST)

Theodoret of Cyrus, Commentary on 2 Thessalonians (2:3-4)⁸ | Temple

“Because unless the defection comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship so that he takes his seat as God in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God” (vv. 3-4).

By “defection” he referred to the Antichrist in person, making a title out of the event. He called him “the man of sin” since he is a man by nature, receiving all the devil’s activity in himself, and “son of perdition” as being ruined himself and proving the source of ruin to others. In fact, human beings’ avenging spirit mimics the Incarnation of our God and Savior; as the latter by assuming human nature procured our salvation, so the former by selecting a human being capable of receiving all his activity will endeavor through him to deceive all human beings, calling himself Christ and God, and betraying the falsity of the so-called gods, which he himself practices in times past. By “temple of God” he referred to the churches, in which he will arrogate to himself pride of place, striving to declare himself God. The divine Daniel also prophesied this in the words, “He will not recognize him over gods of his ancestors, and will glorify Maozim as god in his own place” (Dan. 11:37), that is, he will name himself powerful god.

Oecumenius (600s?) (EAST)

Oecumenius, Commentary on the Apocalypse (Ch. 6, Apoc. 11:7-8)⁹ | Jerusalem | Jews

He says, “the beast that ascends from the bottomless pit” (v. 7): he calls the Antichrist a “beast” because he is cruel, inhuman, and greedy for blood. He calls the life of human beings a bottomless pit, bitter wit its sins, distasteful, and never at rest with the proliferation of wicked spirits. For the wretch will not arise from any other source other than our own human nature. For he will be a man “whose coming is due to the activity of Satan” (2 Thess. 2:9), as has just been said. Therefore he says “the beast will kill” the two witnesses, and he will cast their bodies unburied into the streets of Jerusalem. For he will reign there as king of the Jews, whom he will keep deceived as they comply with him and obey him in every way, as the Lord says according to John, “I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not receive me; if another comes in his own name, him you will receive” (John 5:43).

St. John of Damascus (c. 675/76-749) (EAST)

St. John of Damascus, Exposition of the Orthodox Faith (Book 4, Ch. 26) | Jews | Temple

And the apostle says: “Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshipped, so that he sits in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God” (2 Thess. 2:3-4); “in the temple of God” he said; not our temple, but the old Jewish temple. For he will come not to us but to the Jews: not for Christ or the things of Christ, wherefore he is called Antichrist.

St. Thomas Aquinas (c. 1225-1274)

St. Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on 2 Thessalonians (Ch. 2, Lecture 1)¹⁰ | Jerusalem | Jews | Temple

When he says “so that he sits in the temple of God, showing himself as if he were God,” he gives the sign of this wrongdoing. For the Antichrist’s pride is greater than the pride of all who came before him. So as it is written of Gaius Caesar that he wanted to be worshipped while he was still alive, and put statues of himself in every temple, and as Ezekiel says of the king of Tyre, “I have said that I am God” (Ezek. 28:2), so it is quite believable that the Antichrist will act as they did, saying that he is both God and man. And as a sign of this he will sit in the temple.

But in what temple? Was it not destroyed by the Romans? This is why some say that the Antichrist is from the tribe of Dan, whose tribe is not named among the other twelve in Revelation (Apoc. 7:5). Because of this, the Jews will accept him at first, and will rebuild the temple in Jerusalem, and thus Daniel will be fulfilled: “an abomination and an idol will be in the temple” (Dan. 11:27). “But when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet standing in the holy place, let him who reads understand” (Matt. 24:15).

But some say that neither Jerusalem nor the temple will ever be rebuilt, but that their desolation will last until the final consummation. And even some Jews believe this. So this text is explained to mean “in the temple of God,” i.e., in the Church, since many from the church will accept him. Or according to Augustine, “he sits in the temple of God,” i.e., he rules and governs as though he himself with his messengers were the temple of God, as Christ is the temple with his adherents.