Then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will kill with the breath of his mouth, and bring to nothing by the brightness of his coming;
And shall destroy - καταργήσει katargēsei. Shall bring to nothing; cause to cease; put an end to. This is, in some respects, a stronger word than that which in the former part of the verse is rendered “consume.” It denotes a more entire destruction than that, though it does not refer so much to any positive agency by which it will be done. In the former word, the attention is directed more to the agency by which the destruction will be effected - to the exertion of some kind of power to do it; in this word the attention is directed rather to the entireness or totality of the destruction. The anti-Christian domination will wholly cease, or be entirely destroyed. The words would naturally harmonize with the idea that there would be a somewhat gradual process under the operation of truth toward the destruction of the man of sin, but that the complete annihilation of his power would be by some more manifest exhibition of the personal glory of the Saviour.