civil power, and in both cases the highest degree of power. — g/£ rbv vaov ro\j ©sou, in the temple of God) in that temple of God which is mentioned, Rev. xi. 1. For in ver. 7 of that passage this adversary is the subject of discussion. — xaQitai, sitteth) by virtue of his authority? — atfodsixvvvra eavrbv, declaring himself [" showing himself "J) avodsixw/M, to mark out, to designate, to declare. Herodian uses more than once the phrase, d-rods/ga/ Kafaapa, to name, or declare the Ccesar. — on sffrt ©sog, that he is God) The strong asseveration of the Iniquitous one [* Wicked'] concerning himself is here expressed. He will not say, that he is very God, the Creator of heaven and earth, but still, that he is a god superior to any other that is called god.
5. Ou ^vjj/Aovsusrfi ; do ye not remember^) The apostle intimates, that he neither contradicts himself, nor helps out his former statement by some sort of new declaration, as men under the influence of a fond imagination (conjecturers) are wont to do after being the cause of offence : that he had not said, the day of the Lord Avas near in such a sense, as that other important great events would not occur in the meantime. — In, yet) The Antithesis is vvv, now, ver. 6. — T^O; &,«,«£, with you) In the pre sent day Judaism greatly prevails at Thessalonica, and at the proper time the opportunity will be given of observing whether the Iniquitous one [' Wicked'] is to have a great party, especially in that city. Some even of the tribes \_<pv"Kuv ; not as Engl. Yers. kindreds] of Israel, before the death and resurrection of the two witnesses, will stand by the beast, Rev. xi. 9, and after the ascen sion of the witnesses into heaven, and the earthquake, will repent. In my opinion, it may happen, that a concealed Jew may be come Pope ; comp. Thes. xvi., on ver. 3 above. I do not assert this positively. — e'Xgyov i///,/v, I told you) So, ver. 15, ye have been taught.
6. To xarl^ov, that which withholdeth, holdeth back) Some in terpret it of one obtaining authority ; but o xarsp/wv is not thus
1 For the marg. of both Ed., as well as the Germ. Vers., intimate that the words a; 6tw before x.a,diaat>i should not be considered as a various read ing, but should be retained. — E. B.
ABD(A) corrected, / Vulg., Orig. 1,424J, 669«, Iren. Memph. and Theb. Versions, omit «$• faw ; Rec. Text reads as faov, with Syr. and later Syr. Versions, and, according to Tisch., with G. But Lachm. quotes Gg for 'tvoe, 0t6v. — ED.