I guess tol is not ready for a conversation of this depth? Too bad, I was looking forward to learning something.
The word translated as "anti" is used in another place (I think it was Herod"s son appearing for him and as him but my memory could be wrong) where its definition is seen as "appearing in place of" rather than being against as commonly taught. (I admit I am being lazy here but if needed I will find where it is used.)
Therefore, when the man of sin (2Thess.2:3 KJV) appears in the temple of the Lord where he ought not be claiming himself as God, is nothing more than the man of sin AKA Adam still in us who is our "old man" retaking control of the temple of our bodies after Christ has already paid in blood for the right to be the God of our hearts.
The dragon that is nothing more than a snake with wings is Satan.However, what has fooled the church is the use of these wings and to who they belonged.
Revelation 12:14 And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.
It is commonly taught that the woman is being saved and protected here but this is another coup Satan has pulled over on the church into believing a lie.
As I said a dragon is nothing more than a snake with wings so when you look at their habits and identities, a different story from what is normally believed begins to take shape.
Eagles and other "raptor" birds of prey tear the flesh from their victims and feed torn flesh to their offspring face to face as in mouth to mouth. The eagle is an unclean animal defined as such in the law of God that has taken the church back into the wilderness to die instead of the church making it into the promised land like the Jews were supposed to do and enter in at Tabernacles before provoking God who sent them back into the wilderness to die.
Being "nourished from the face of the serpent" is not being protected as commonly taught but is being fed lies mouth to mouth the same as raptors feed their young. However this time it is being done by the "tail of the dragon" that the Bible tells us are the prophets who teach lies because they (the tail) are being controlled by Satan (the dragon)
Therefore what we have here is the clergy keeping the church captive in the wilderness through lies and deceptions being fed to them when the church should be seizing hold of their inheritance (taking the promise land)
Time, times and half of times adds up to 3.5 that is 42 months that stands for the 42nd generation AKA the first encampment of the jews who finally make it into the promise land after all those sent back to the wilderness to die have done so
The time of 42 generations (Matt.1:17 KJV) took two thousand years and because it has been two thousand years since the church fell away from the truth after being carried "back into the wilderness by the great eagle of the Roman church that took over after the last of the apostles who were holding apostasy and the antichrists at bay "were taken out of the way" (2Thess.2:7 KJV) brings us to right now which is when all of the end time prophecies point to.
Once again this is just a broad brush Cliff Note summary but hopefully enough to stimulate the conversation looked for by the OP
Doug