And then that wicked one shall be revealed whom the Lord Jesus shall kill with the spirit of his mouth; and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming, him,

“Of whom also the Apostle Paul again, speaking in the second [Epistle] to the Thessalonians, and at the same time proclaiming the cause of his advent, thus says: "And then shall the wicked one be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus shall slay with the spirit of His mouth, and destroy by the presence of His coming; whose coming [i.e., the wicked one's] is after the working of Satan, in all power, and signs, and portents of lies, and with all deceivableness of wickedness for those who perish; because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And therefore God will send them the working of error, that they may believe a lie; that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but gave consent to iniquity."”

“"Let no man deceive you by any means. For that day shall not come, unless indeed there first come a falling away," he means indeed of this present empire, "and that man of sin be revealed," that is to say, Antichrist, "the son of perdition, who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God or religion; so that he sitteth in the temple of God, affirming that he is God. Remember ye not, that when I was with you, I used to tell you these things? And now ye know what detaineth, that he might be revealed in his time. For the mystery of iniquity doth already work; only he who now hinders must hinder, until he be taken out of the way." What obstacle is there but the Roman state, the falling away of which, by being scattered into ten kingdoms, shall introduce Antichrist upon (its own ruins)? "And then shall be revealed the wicked one, whom the Lord 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."”

“"And out of His mouth was issuing a sharp two-edged sword." By the twice-sharpened sword going forth out of His mouth is shown, that it is He Himself who has both now declared the word of the Gospel, and previously by Moses declared the knowledge of the law to the whole world. But because from the same word, as well of the New as of the Old Testament, He will assert Himself upon the whole human race, therefore He is spoken of as two-edged. For the sword arms the soldier, the sword slays the enemy, the sword punishes the deserter. And that He might show to the apostles that He was announcing judgment, He says: "I came not to send peace, but a sword." And after He had completed His parables, He says to them: "Have ye understood all these things? And they said, We have. And He added, Therefore is every scribe instructed in the kingdom of God like unto a man that is a father of a family, bringing forth from his treasure things new and old," -the new, the evangelical words of the apostles; the old, the precepts of the law and the prophets: and He testified that these proceeded out of His mouth. Moreover, He also says to Peter: "Go thou to the sea, and cast a hook, and take up the fish that shall first come up; and having opened its mouth, thou shalt find a stater (that is, two denarii), and thou shalt give it for me and for thee." And similarly David says by the Spirit: "God spake once, twice I have heard the same." Because God once decreed from the beginning what shall be even to the end. Finally, as He Himself is the Judge appointed by the Father. on account of His assumption of humanity, wishing to show that men shall be judged by the word that He had declared, He says: "Think ye that I will judge you at the last day? Nay, but the word," says He, "which I have spoken unto you, that shall judge you in the last day." And Paul, speaking of Antichrist to the Thessalonians, says: "Whom the Lord Jesus will slay by the breath of His mouth." And Isaiah says: "By the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked." This, therefore, is the two-edged sword issuing out of His mouth.”

“For in the last days false prophets shall be multiplied, and such as corrupt the word; and the sheep shall be changed into wolves, and love into hatred: for through the abounding of iniquity the love of many shall wax cold. For men shall hate, and persecute, and betray one another. And then shall appear the deceiver of the world, the enemy of the truth, the prince of lies, [2 Thessalonians 2:3-12] whom the Lord Jesus "shall destroy with the spirit of His mouth, who takes away the wicked with His lips; and many shall be offended at Him. But they that endure to the end, the same shall be saved. And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven;" [Isaiah 11:4; Matthew 24:1-51] and afterwards shall be the voice of a trumpet by the archangel; and in that interval shall be the revival of those that were asleep. And then shall the Lord come, and all His saints with Him, with a great concussion above the clouds, with the angels of His power, [Matthew 16:27] in the throne of His kingdom, to condemn the devil, the deceiver of the world, and to render to every one according to his deeds. "Then shall the wicked go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous shall go into life eternal," [Matthew 25:46] to inherit those things "which eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man, such things as God has prepared for them that love Him;" [1 Corinthians 2:9] and they shall rejoice in the kingdom of God, which is in Christ Jesus.”

“The Antichrist just mentioned by Paul will come when the destined period of the Roman Empire has run its course and the subsequent end of the world is drawing near. Ten claimants to the empire will arise simultaneously, I suppose in different parts, but all wearing the purple at the same time. Antichrist will form an eleventh after them, having seized the imperial power by the use of magic arts. He will humble three of those who came to power before him and cause the remaining seven to be Caesars under him. At first he will feign mildness and will appear to be a learned and understanding man, with pretended prudence and kindness. Then he will take in the Jews, by making them suppose him to be their expected Messiah, by false signs and wonders produced by magical trickery. And afterwards his character will be written large in evil deeds of inhumanity and lawlessness of every kind, so as to outdo all wicked and godless men that were before him. He will display a murderous, most absolute, pitiless and unstable temper toward all people, but especially toward us Christians. He will act insolently for only three and a half years. Then he will be defeated by the second glorious coming from heaven of the only-begotten Son of God, our Lord and Savior Jesus, the true Christ. He will destroy Antichrist "with the spirit of his mouth" and commit him to the flames of hell.”

“We have heard that the Lord Jesus not only judges but also punishes in the Spirit. For neither would he punish Antichrist, whom, as we read, "the Lord Jesus shall slay with the Spirit of his mouth," unless he had already judged him as fit for punishment … but the unity of the divine action remains undivided, since Christ cannot be separated from the Spirit, nor the Spirit act apart from Christ. For the unity of the divine nature cannot be divided.”

“"To the one a savor from death to death, to the other a savor from life to life." For this sweet savor some so receive that they are saved, others so that they perish. If any one is lost, it is his own fault.… Light (as I have already observed) blinds the weak. Such is the nature of good things. They not only correct things similar to them but also destroy their opposite. In this way their power is most clearly displayed. Fire displays its unique power when it gives light and when it purifies gold. The same is true when it consumes thorns. In all these cases it demonstrates itself to be fire. Christ, too, in the same way will display his own majesty when he "shall consume" Antichrist "with the breath of his mouth and overcome him with the manifestation of his coming."”

“Or if by this fire coming down out of heaven and consuming them, John meant that blow wherewith Christ in His coming is to strike those persecutors of the Church whom He shall then find alive upon earth, when He shall kill Antichrist with the breath of His mouth, then even this is not the last judgment of the wicked; but the last judgment is that which they shall suffer when the bodily resurrection has taken place.”

“Above, the Apostle, foretelling, narrated the coming and the guilt of the Antichrist; here he shows the cause of the delay. And first he shows that they have the cause of this knowledge; second he sets forth that cause obscurely, at the words for the mystery. He says therefore: I say that the man of sin must be revealed. And what now restrains — that is, what is the cause that delays it — you know, because I have told you, so that thus at present it is restrained, that in its own time — that is, at the fitting time — it may be revealed. Ecclesiastes 8:6: for every matter there is a time and an opportunity. And in the same place, 3:11: God has made everything good in its time, et cetera. Then, when he says for the mystery, etc., he sets forth its cause. And this text is expounded in many ways, because this word mystery can be in the nominative case, or the accusative. If in the first way, the sense is: I say that in its own time, because even now the mystery — that is, figuratively hidden — is at work in pretenders, who seem good, and yet are evil. And these perform the office of the Antichrist. 2 Timothy 3:5: having a form of godliness, but denying its power. But in the second way, the sense is: for the Devil, in whose power the Antichrist will come, already begins to work his iniquity secretly, through tyrants and seducers, because the persecutions of the Church of this time are figures of that last persecution against all the good, and are, as it were, imperfect in comparison to it. Only that he who now restrains, et cetera. This is expounded in many ways. In one way, according to the Gloss and Augustine, who say that certain persons supposed that Nero, who first persecuted the Christians, was the Antichrist, and that he had not been slain, but withdrawn, and would at some time be restored. Whence the Apostle, dispelling this, says only that he who now restrains — the Roman empire — should hold, until he be taken out of the way — that is, until he dies. But this way is not fitting, because it is many years since Nero died, namely in that year in which the Apostle. But it is better that it be referred to Nero, insofar as he is a public person of the Roman empire, until he be taken out of the way — that is, until the Roman empire be removed from this world. Isaiah 23:9: the Lord of hosts has purposed this, to bring down the pride of all glory, and unto ignominy, et cetera. Or otherwise: only that he who now restrains — that is, who now holds back the coming of the Antichrist — should hold, lest he come; as though it were necessary that still some should come to the faith, and some fall away. As if he were to say: that the departure and approach, which now holds until he come, should hold until that foul one be taken away. Or thus: only let him who now holds the faith, hold it — that is, let him be firm in it. Apocalypse 2: hold fast what you have, that no one take your crown — until he be taken out of the way — that is, until the mingled congregation of the wicked be separated, and become distinct, which will be in the persecution of the Antichrist. Or only, etc. — that is, that the mystery of iniquity, that is, the mystical iniquity, which restrains, may restrain until it be taken out of the midst — that is, until the iniquity be brought into the open, and become, as it were, something existing openly out of the midst. For many now sin in secret, but nevertheless at some time it will be done openly; for God bears with sinners as long as they are hidden, until they sin publicly, and then he will not bear with them, as is clear concerning the Sodomites in Genesis 19:24. But nevertheless Augustine confesses that he does not know what the Apostle is saying to them, who already knew. Whence he says, what now restrains, you know. And besides, this was not very necessary to know. Then, when he says and then, etc., the coming of the wicked one is set forth, and his punishment. First the manifestation; second his punishment. As to the first, he says that wicked one — in the singular — shall be revealed, because his guilt will be manifest, whom the Lord Jesus will slay with the spirit of his mouth. Isaiah 11: the zeal of the Lord of hosts shall do this — that is, the zeal of justice, which is love. For the spirit of Christ is the love of Christ, and this zeal belongs to the Holy Spirit, which he has toward the Church. Or by the spirit of his mouth, that is, by his command; because Michael is to slay him on the Mount of Olives, from where Christ ascended; thus also Julian was extinguished by the divine hand. And this is the present punishment, although he will also be punished eternally in the future, because he will destroy by the brightness, etc. — that is, by his coming, illuminating all things. 1 Corinthians 4:5: he will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, et cetera. And he will destroy, I say, eternally, namely by damnation. Psalm 27:5: he shall destroy them, et cetera. And he says, by the brightness, because he himself was seen to darken the Church, and darkness is driven away by brightness, because whatever the Antichrist shall show, it shall be shown to have been a lie. Then, when he says whose coming is, he foretells the power of the Antichrist. And concerning this he does two things: first he sets forth his power to seduce; second, the cause of this from the justice of the Lord, at the words because the love. Again the first is divided into three, because first he sets forth the author of this power; second, the manner of seducing; third he shows those who are to be seduced. The author of this power is the Devil, and therefore Christ will destroy him. 1 John 3:8: for this the Son of God appeared, that he might dissolve the works of the Devil. And therefore he says that the coming of the Antichrist will be according to the working of Satan — that is, from his instigation. Apocalypse 20:7: Satan will be released from his prison, and will go out, and will seduce the nations, et cetera. For something works according to the working of Satan, as in the possessed, in whom he not only instigates the will, but also impedes the use of reason; which, however, is not imputed to his fault, because he does not have the use of free will. But the Antichrist is not so; rather he will have the use of free will, in which the Devil is suggesting, as is said of Judas, John chapter 3: Satan entered into him — namely, by instigating. But he will deceive in this manner: first through secular power; second through the power of miracles. As to the first, he says in all power — namely, secular power. Daniel 11:43: he shall have dominion over the treasures of gold and silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt. Or power, namely feigned. But as to the second he says in signs, et cetera. Signs are certain wonders, even small ones. But prodigies are great, which show something prodigious, as it were far from the finger. Revelation 13:13: he did great signs, so that he even made fire come down from heaven, et cetera. Matthew 24:24: they shall give great signs and wonders, so that, if it were possible, even the elect would be led into error. And he says lying. A miracle is called lying, either because it lacks the true nature of the deed, or the true nature of a miracle, or the due end of a miracle. The first happens in illusions, when through demons the sight is deceived, so that something appears other than it is: as Simon Magus made a ram be beheaded, and afterward it was shown alive; and a man was beheaded, and afterward the man, who was believed to have been beheaded, was shown alive, and was believed to have been raised. And this men do by changing phantasms and deceiving. In the second way, those things are called miracles improperly which are full of wonder, when the effect is seen and the cause is unknown. Therefore, those things which have a cause hidden to someone, and not absolutely, are indeed called wonders, and not miracles absolutely. But those which have a cause absolutely hidden are properly miracles, whose cause is God himself, the glorious one, because they transcend the whole order of created nature. But sometimes certain wonders happen, not beyond the order of nature, but having hidden causes; and these the demons do much more, who know the powers of nature, and who have determined efficacies for special effects, and these the Antichrist will do; but not those which have the true nature of a miracle, because they cannot do those things which are above nature. In the third way, they are called miracles insofar as they are ordered to bearing witness to the truth of the faith, to bringing back the faithful to God. Mark, last chapter: the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs that followed. But if the glory of miracles is present to someone, and he does not use them for this end, the miracles are indeed true as to the nature of the deed done, and as to the nature of a miracle, but they are false as to the due end, and the intention of God. But nevertheless this will not be in the Antichrist, because no one against the faith does true miracles, because God is not a witness of falsehood. Whence someone preaching false doctrine cannot do miracles, although someone having an evil life could. Then he shows those who are to be seduced, when he says to those who perish — that is, among those foreknown unto perdition. John 17:12: none of them perished, but the son of perdition. And this for this reason, because John 10:27: my sheep hear my voice.”

“Whom the Lord shall consume - He shall blast him so, that he shall wither and die away; and this shall be done by the spirit of his mouth - the words of eternal life, the true doctrine of the Gospel of Jesus; this shall be the instrument used to destroy this man of sin: therefore it is evident his death will not be a sudden but a gradual one; because it is by the preaching of the truth that he is to be exposed, overthrown, and finally destroyed. The brightness of his coming - This may refer to that full manifestation of the truth which had been obscured and kept under by the exaltation of this man of sin.”

“Spirit of his mouth, &c. St. Paul makes use of this expression, to shew the ease with which God can put down the most powerful from his seat. He does it likewise to give the Thessalonians a right notion of the man of sin. For as he before told them, he would cause himself to be adored, they might have imagined him more upon an equality with the Almighty. These words, however, quite take away that meaning. He shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall slay the wicked. (Isaias xi. 4. &c.) (Calmet)”