Let no one deceive you in any way. For it will not be, unless the departure comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of destruction,
and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition: The religious world is much divided as to whom the phrases "the man of sin" and "son of perdition" refer? Some believe they refer to Judas Iscariot as the devil in the flesh while most writers believe they refer to the Pope. The most logical reference is to the Roman Catholic system, which includes the Pope and all his wickedness. The phrases "the man of sin" and "the son of perdition" have reference to the same being. They both refer to the Antichrist. The second phrase has reference to the fate of the Antichrist, that is, destruction. The phrase "son of perdition" (apokalupto) refers to "the Antichrist" (Thayer 62-1-601). In this chapter he is referred to three times: