he who opposes and exalts himself against all that is called God or that is worshiped; so that he sits as God in the temple of God, setting himself up as God.
In short, the meaning of the verse is, that the wicked teacher of whom the apostle speaks, will first oppose Christ, by corrupting the doctrine of the gospel concerning him, and after that, they will make void the government of God and of Christ in the Christian church, and the government of the civil magistrate in the state, by arrogating to themselves the whole spiritual authority which belongs to Christ, and all the temporal authority belonging to princes and magistrates (429).