Christian philosophical concept

The katechon (from Greek: τὸ κατέχον, "that which withholds", or ὁ κατέχων, "the one who withholds"), also known as the restrainer, is a biblical term referring to something that must be removed … Wikipedia
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Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Katechon
Katechon - Wikipedia
1 week ago - The katechon (from Greek: τὸ κατέχον, "that which withholds", or ὁ κατέχων, "the one who withholds"), also known as the restrainer, is a biblical term referring to something that must be removed before the arrival of the "man of sin." Mentioned in the New Testament, the ...
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The Fatima Center
fatima.org › home › articles › who or what is the katechon?
Who or What Is the Katechon? | The Fatima Center
April 25, 2023 - One very controversial eschatological topic today is the identity of the “Katechon” (Greek for “Restrainer”) of 2 Thessalonians 2:6-7. The Restrainer is the one holding back the Antichrist. “And now you know what withholds, that he [Antichrist] may be revealed in his time.
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Wiktionary
en.wiktionary.org › wiki › katechon
katechon - Wiktionary, the free dictionary
katechonWikipedia · [edit] Borrowed ... “the one who withholds”). [edit] katechon · (theology) Someone or something (of disputed identity) whose removal is necessary before the Antichrist can be fully manifested, according to 2 Thessalonians 2:6-7 in the Bible....
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Wordpress
logisticsofreligionblog.wordpress.com › 2022 › 02 › 11 › political-theology-and-the-concept-of-the-katechon-part-1-of-2
Political Theology and the Concept of the “Katechon” (part 1 of 2)
February 11, 2022 - Recently a short article of mine was recently published on the excellent Genealogies of Modernity blog. I repost it here, merely with the aim of including some of the footnotes and references that were precluded by that format. To look up the verb katecho (κατέχω) in a Greek lexicon is ...
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Critical Legal Thinking
criticallegalthinking.com › home › carl schmitt: katechon
Carl Schmitt: Katechon
September 22, 2024 - The principle of the katechon in Schmitt’s eschatology is therefore about maintaining a political order, it is properly a ‘politics of the present.’ It defines “the space between the radically spiritual and the purely political. It is the time window, the mean-time, the in-between of ...
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Minerva Wisdom
minervawisdom.com › 2023 › 06 › 30 › what-is-the-katechon
What is the Katechon? – Discourses on Minerva
June 30, 2023 - Katechon is a Greek word meaning “that which withholds” or “one that withholds.” It is a biblical concept found in the writing of Saint Paul in his letter to the Thessalonians. It has become a major point of focus in political philosophy (or if you prefer from the Hobbesian-Schmittian ...
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Providence
providencemag.com › home › the latest › war › russia-ukraine war (2022) › katechon or satan? the russian deception
Katechon or Satan? The Russian Deception - Providence
October 9, 2023 - However, interest in this spiritual concept fell into abeyance in the West over time, only to survive in two completely different contexts: in Russian Orthodoxy and the European “conservative revolution” between the world wars. The idea according to which Russia is that katechon, although ...
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Sonya Supposedly
sonyasupposedly.com › the-katechon-stahlblau
The Katechon
July 3, 2020 - One of these archetypes is the Katechon (from κατέχων, "the one who withholds"). The term is only found in 2 Thessalonians 2: 6-7. The text is a warning for Christians not to behave as if the Day of the Lord were on the brink of happening. Before the return of the Messiah, the Antichrist ...
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Universitypressscholarship
fordham.universitypressscholarship.com › view › 10.5422 › fordham › 9780823267163.001.0001 › upso-9780823267163-chapter-011
Empire and Katechon: A Question of Political Theology (from Paul, 2 Thessalonians 2) - Fordham Scholarship
The term katechon (“he who holds back” or “that which holds back”) appears in Saint Paul’s Second Letter to the Thessalonians. The passage has generated a substantial literature from the early Fathers of the Church up to Carl Schmitt who resurrected the term in the twentieth century.
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DOI
doi.org › 10.5422 › fordham › 9780823267163.003.0011
Empire and Katechon: A Question of Political Theology ...
January 4, 2016 - Abstract. The term katechon (“he who holds back” or “that which holds back”) appears in Saint Paul’s Second Letter to the Thessalonians. The passage has ge
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Bible Hub
biblehub.com › greek › 2722.htm
Strong's Greek: 2722. κατέχω (katechó) -- To hold fast, to restrain, to possess, to keep
Original Word: κατέχω Part of Speech: Verb Transliteration: katechó Pronunciation: kat-ekh'-o Phonetic Spelling: (kat-ekh'-o) KJV: have, hold (fast), keep (in memory), let, X make toward, possess, retain, seize on, stay, take, withhold NASB: hold fast, keep, restrains, afflicted, bound, ...
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Stack Exchange
hermeneutics.stackexchange.com › questions › 60210 › what-is-the-κατεχον-and-who-is-the-κατεχων-at-2-thess-26-7
What is the κατεχον and who is the κατεχων at 2 Thess 2:6-7?

BDAG has eight different meanings assigned to κατέχω, but all surround the idea if keeping in one's possession of preventing something by restraining.

In the case of 1 Thess 2:6, 7, BDAG has a lengthy paragraph of explanation beginning with this:

that which restrains, and the one who restrains, ie, what prevents God's adversary from coming out in open opposition to God, for the time being. ...

The biggest problem with the proposed translation of the OP is that such a meaning cannot be found anywhere else either in the NT or in 1st cent Koine Greek literature, according to BDAG. Thus, "prevail", while quoted by the dated LSJ (quoting classical sources for the innovative meaning), does not accord with Koine Greek usage in the 1st century. Thus, there is a very good reason why no modern translations adopt the meaning "prevail".

The key to understanding this passage in 2 Thess 2 is V3, & V4

3 No one is to deceive you in any way! For it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, 4 who opposes and exalts himself above [e]every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God.

Paul then expands the point by saying (NASB):

6 And you know what restrains him now, so that he will be revealed in his time. 7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is removed. 8 Then that lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will eliminate with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming; 9 that is, the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and false signs and wonders, 10 and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not accept the love of the truth so as to be saved. 11 For this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false, 12 in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness.

Paul is predicting a time of general apostasy in the church, caused by the "man of lawlessness" who is currently being restrained. He would be revealed to exposed him fully and that revelation of lawlessness will be complete when Jesus returns.

Answer from Dottard on hermeneutics.stackexchange.com
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Opus Publicum
opuspublicum.com › home › politics › katechon – part ii
Katechon – Part II - Opus Publicum
July 13, 2017 - I do not believe that any historical concept other than katechon would have been possible for the original Christian faith. The belief that a restrainer holds back the end of the world provides the only bridge between the notion of an eschatological paralysis of all human events and a tremendous ...
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ResearchGate
researchgate.net › publication › 373674965_A_Psychoanalytic_Perspective_on_the_Idea_of_Katechon_in_the_Second_Epistle_to_the_Thessalonians
(PDF) A Psychoanalytic Perspective on the Idea of Katechon in the Second Epistle to the Thessalonians
August 6, 2025 - The Apostle reminds us that the ... one who now holds it back" (Katechon) (2 Thess 2:7, 2001c, p. 1566). Katechon represents a force that obstructs the full manifestation of Evil....
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OnePeterFive
onepeterfive.com › mystery-antichrist
The Mystery Withholding the Antichrist - OnePeterFive
May 4, 2023 - Just as the Jews were unable to remove (or seriously harm) the physical body of Christ from the earth as long as his time (kairos) had not yet come, so the enemies of Christ are not able to remove (or seriously harm) His mystical body, the Catholic Church, as long as the katechon, the withholder ...
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Politicalconcepts
politicalconcepts.org › katechon-peter-szendy
Katechon : Peter Szendy |
Issue 8 · Issue 7: The Literature Edition · Issue 6 · Issue 5 · Issue 4: The Balibar Edition · Issue 3 · Issue 2 · Issue 1 · Conferences · Political Concepts : The Book
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ResearchGate
researchgate.net › publication › 377647447_The_Concept_of_Katechon_in_the_Thought_of_Carl_Schmitt_Towards_a_Different_Universalism
(PDF) The Concept of Katechon in the Thought of Carl Schmitt: Towards a Different Universalism?
August 6, 2025 - PDF | The concept of katechon, in the way it is generally invoked today, only exacerbates already existing political and ideological divisions, pitting... | Find, read and cite all the research you need on ResearchGate
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Russia Post
russiapost.info › society › katechon
Russia as a Katechon: ‘Civilizationism’ and Eschatological Discourse in Putin’s Russia
Victor Shnirelman explains the popularity of the civilizational discourse among the Russian military, security and clergy as a response to globalization, which threatens their political sovereignty.