John Calvin Commentary 2 Thessalonians 2:8

"And then shall be revealed the lawless one, whom the Lord Jesus shall slay with the breath of his mouth, and bring to nought by the manifestation of his coming;" — 2 Thessalonians 2:8 (ASV)

And then will be revealed—that is, when that impediment (τὸ κατέχον) will be removed. For he does not point out the time of revelation as being when he who now holds the supremacy will be taken out of the way, but he is referring to what he had said before. He had said that there was some hindrance to Antichrist’s entering into an open possession of the kingdom. He afterwards added that he was already hatching a secret work of impiety. In the third place, he has interspersed consolation, because this tyranny would come to an end. He now repeats that he who was still hidden would be revealed in his time; and the repetition is with this purpose—that believers, being equipped with spiritual armor, may nevertheless fight vigorously under Christ, and not allow themselves to be overwhelmed, even if the deluge of impiety should thus spread.

Whom the Lord. He had foretold the destruction of Antichrist’s reign; he now points out the manner of his destruction—that he will be reduced to nothing by the word of the Lord. It is uncertain, however, whether he speaks of the last appearance of Christ, when He will be manifested from heaven as the Judge. The words, indeed, seem to have this meaning, but Paul does not mean that Christ would accomplish this in one moment. Therefore, we must understand it in this sense—that Antichrist would be wholly and in every respect destroyed when that final day of the restoration of all things arrives. Paul, however, intimates that Christ will in the meantime, by the rays which He will emit prior to His advent, put to flight the darkness in which Antichrist will reign, just as the sun, before it is seen by us, chases away the darkness of the night by the pouring forth of its rays.

This victory of the word, therefore, will show itself in this world, for the spirit of His mouth simply means the word, as it also does in Isaiah 11:4, to which passage Paul seems to allude. For the Prophet there understands in the same sense the scepter of His mouth and the breath of His lips, and he also equips Christ with these very weapons, so that He may rout His enemies. This is a remarkable commendation of true and sound doctrine—that it is represented as sufficient to put an end to all impiety, and as destined to be invariably victorious against all the machinations of Satan, as also when, a little later, its proclamation is spoken of as Christ’s coming to us.

When Paul adds, the brightness of His coming, he intimates that the light of Christ’s presence will be such that it will swallow up the darkness of Antichrist. In the meantime, he indirectly intimates that Antichrist will be permitted to reign for a time, when Christ has, in a manner, withdrawn, as usually happens whenever He presents Himself and we turn our backs on Him. And, undoubtedly, that is a sad departure of Christ, when He has taken away His light from people, which has been improperly and unworthily received, in accordance with what follows. In the meantime, Paul teaches that by His presence alone all the elect of God will be abundantly safe against all the subtleties of Satan.