The following understood whereof Paul was speaking:
Martin Luther:
First Principles, pp. 196-197
For who is the
man of sin and the son of perdition, but he who by his teaching and his ordinances increases the sin and perdition of souls in the church; while he yet sits in the church as if he were God? All these conditions have now for many ages been fulfilled by the papal tyranny.
John Knox:
The History of the Reformation of Religion in Scotland, p.65
Yea, to speak it in plain words; lest that we submit ourselves to Satan, thinking that we submit ourselves to Jesus Christ, for, as for your Roman kirk, as it is now corrupted, and the authority thereof, whereon stands the hope of your victory, I no more doubt but that it is the synagogue of Satan, and the head thereof, called the pope, to be that
man of sin, of whom the apostle speaks.
John Calvin:
Commentary on
2 Thessalonians 2:3-4:
Paul, however,
does not speak of one individual, but of a kingdom, that was to be taken possession of by Satan,
that he might set up a seat of abomination in the midst of God’s temple — which we see accomplished in Popery.
Scripture declares that God is the
alone Lawgiver (
James 4:12)
who is able to save and to destroy; the alone King, whose office it is to govern souls by his word. It represents him as the author of all sacred rites; (644) it teaches that righteousness and salvation are to be sought from Christ alone; and it assigns, at the same time, the manner and means.
There is not one of these things that the Pope does not affirm to be under his authority. He boasts that it is his to bind consciences with such laws as seem good to him, and subject them to everlasting punishment. As to sacraments, he either institutes new ones, according to his own inclination, (645) or he corrupts and deforms those which had been instituted by Christ — nay, sets them aside altogether, that he may substitute in their place the sacrileges (646) which he has invented. He contrives means of attaining salvation that are altogether at variance with the doctrine of the Gospel; and, in fine, he does not hesitate to change the whole of religion at his own pleasure.
What is it, I pray you, for one to lift up himself above everything that is reckoned God, if the Pope does not do so? When he thus robs God of his honor, he leaves him nothing remaining but an empty title of Deity, (647) while he transfers to himself the whole of his power.
And this is what Paul adds shortly afterwards, that the son of perdition would shew himself as God.
The Westminster Confession of Faith (1647):
There is no other head of the church but the Lord Jesus Christ. Nor can the pope of Rome in any sense be head thereof; but is that Antichrist, that
man of sin and son of perdition that exalteth himself in the church against Christ and all that is called God.
The Baptist Confession of Faith (1689):
"The Lord Jesus Christ is the Head of the church, in whom, by the appointment of the Father, all power for the calling, institution, order or government of the church, is invested in a supreme and sovereign manner; neither can the Pope of Rome in any sense be head thereof, but is that antichrist, that
man of sin, and son of perdition, that exalteth himself in the church against Christ."
King James:
From the dedication letter for the 1611 King James Bible:
(3) Then not to suffer this to fall to the ground, but rather to take it up, and to continue it in that state, wherein the famous Predecessor of Your Highness did leave it: nay, to go forward with the confidence and resolution of a Man in maintaining the truth of Christ, and propagating it far and near, is that which hath so bound and firmly knit the hearts of all Your Majesty’s loyal and religious people unto You, that Your very name is precious among them: their eye doth behold You with comfort, and they bless You in their hearts, as that sanctified Person who, under God, is the immediate Author of their true happiness. And this their contentment doth not diminish or decay, but every day increaseth and taketh strength, when they observe, that the zeal of Your Majesty toward the house of God doth not slack or go backward, but is more and more kindled, manifesting itself abroad in the farthest parts of
Christendom, by writing in defence of the Truth, (which
hath given such a blow unto that
man of sin, as will not be healed,) and every day at home, by religious and learned discourse, by frequenting the house of God, by hearing the Word preached, by cherishing the Teachers thereof, by caring for the Church, as a most tender and loving nursing Father.
Matthew Henry:
Commentary on
2 Thessalonians 2:3-4:
He is called the
man of sin, to denote his egregious wickedness; not only is he addicted to, and practises, wickedness himself, but he also promotes, countenances, and commands sin and wickedness in others; and he is the
son of perdition, because he himself is devoted to certain destruction, and is the instrument of destroying many others both in soul and body. These names may properly be applied, for these reasons, to the
papal state; and thereto agree also,2. The characters here given,
v. 4. (1.) That he opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God, or is worshipped; and thus have the
bishops of Rome not only opposed God’s authority, and that of the civil magistrates, who are called gods, but have exalted themselves above God and earthly governors, in demanding greater regard to their commands than to the commands of God or the magistrate. (2.)
As God, he sits in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.