Charles Spurgeon Commentary 2 Thessalonians 2:3

"let no man beguile you in any wise: for [it will not be,] except the falling away come first, and the man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition," — 2 Thessalonians 2:3 (ASV)

Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;

I believe that, to a large extent, this has already happened, and that the "man of sin" has been revealed. This "son of perdition" has had a long, dark, and terrible reign over myriads of men, and still he sits on the seven hills of Rome, and rules over multitudes of his fellow-sinners.

But Paul held that it was consistent to expect the Lord to come quickly, and yet to know that certain events must occur before he did come. That is just the condition, I think, to which a person's mind will come if he diligently and impartially reads the Scriptures, especially the prophetic parts of them. The Lord will come in such an hour as we think not, yet there are clear indications of certain things which are to happen before he does come.