***THE*** (definite article singular) man of sin aka THE little horn is the anti-Christ of Revelation.
The biblical languages do not merely permit a singular personal Antichrist; several of the principal NT designations
explicitly demand a definite singular referent: ὁ ἄνθρωπος (“THE man”), ὁ υἱός (“THE son”), ὁ ἄνομος (“THE lawless one”), ὁ ἀντίχριστος (“THE Antichrist”), and τὸ θηρίον (“THE Beast”). Daniel likewise progresses from “a little horn” to the determinate “THE horn.”
So no, the dynastic and historical Papacy is not THE SINGULAR lawless one of 2 Thes 2 and Revelation.
And FYI, this beast is a literal Satan-man counterfeit, who is the direct antithesis of the God-man.
And don't fail to recognize the TIMING. Satan enters into THE beast about mid-trib. Then and only then does the beast reach the zenith of his miraculous power. To the degree where the entire world says this about HIM:
Rev 13:4
And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying,
Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?
The world considers THE beast aka THE horn aka THE lawless one to be an UNKILLABLE supernaturally powered entity, and CONSEQUENTLY immediately aligns with him.
This son of perdition is the GREATER Judas, the GREATER Goliath among other historical "types".
In the final form, he is indwelt by Satan
(who was cast down to earth in Chapter 12), and is a literal demonic HYBRID entity as was Goliath and the pre-flood giants.
In other words a literal Satan-man!
The clearest text is
Revelation 13:2:
The Dragon has already been identified explicitly as Satan:
So Revelation's chain is:
Satan/Dragon → Beast → satanic power, throne, authority.
Then Revelation 13:4 makes the relationship even stronger:
Thus worship of the Beast is simultaneously connected with worship of Satan.
However, that is still technically
empowerment, not an explicit statement of indwelling.
The closest biblical precedent for literal satanic entrance is
Judas Iscariot:
and even more explicitly:
That gives us an actual biblical category in which Satan personally enters and controls a human being.
This is why some dispensational/futurist interpreters see Judas as an important
type or foreshadowing of Antichrist. Both Judas and the final opponent are called
“the son of perdition.”
Judas:
Antichrist:
That verbal parallel is very striking.
Paul further describes the Antichrist's arrival as:
Greek:
meaning approximately:
“according to the activity/working of Satan.”
So Paul explicitly attributes his supernatural activity to
Satanic operation.
There is also Revelation 13's apparent death-and-restoration event:
and:
and:
There is another suggestive parallel in Revelation 11 and 17. The Beast is repeatedly described as coming from
the abyss: