A Psychoanalytic Perspective on the Idea of Katechon in the Second Epistle to the Thessalonians

Abstract

In this paper we aim to analyze the meanings of the concept of Katechon that appears in The Second Epistle to the Thessalonians, attributed to Paul the Apostle. The concept of Katechon is related to Chapter 2, v. 7, where the steps of the parousia are presented. The Apostle reminds us that the coming of the Antichrist is delayed until his time will come, and the "mystery of lawlessness" will no longer be prevent by "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. The aim of our paper is to analyse an important archetype, such as that of the Self, in order to decipher, in a psychoanalytic key, the enigma of who or what the Katechon in The Second Epistle could be. Approaching a concept that has religious connotations brings us closer to the analyzes made by C.G. Jung on the concept of Self. The idea of the Antichrist reflects precisely a disruption of the archetype of the Self as a harmonious unity between consciousness and the unconscious, due to the lack of a "hinderer", of a Katechon, in the face of the illicit drive forces of the unconscious. In the absence of Katechon, consciousness puts itself at the service of the most terrifying forces of the unconscious, trying to justify violence, aberrant sexuality, vanity, immeasurable pride, or, in other words, selfishness and all the complexes that turn man into a veritable monster, bearing the face and likeness of Satan, respectively of the very darkest illicit, destructive drives, which are ruinous to any effort of human achievement.