Bishop Theophan the Recluse (1894)
“he will not appear as long as
royal authority remains in force. It will not allow him to develop, it
will hinder his acting in his own spirit. This, then, is the “one who
holds back” (II Thess. 2:7). But when royal authority falls, and the
people everywhere institute self-government (republics, democracies),
then there will be room for the Antichrist to act. It will not be hard
for Satan to prepare voices in favor of renouncing Christ, as experience
showed during the French revolution. There will be no one to pronounce
an authoritative veto. And so when such regimes, suitable for disclosing
the Antichrist’s aspirations are instituted everywhere, then the
Antichrist will appear. [Commentary on II Thess. 2:6, page 504]