Cease ye from man, whose breath [is] in his nostrils
"From that man" F25, meaning antichrist, the man of sin; who is but a mere man, a poor, frail, mortal man; though he sits in the temple of God, as if he was God, showing himself to be God, by taking that to himself which belongs to the Deity. This is advice to the followers of antichrist, to cease from going after him, and worshipping him, seeing he is not the living God, but a dying man: for wherein is he to be accounted of?
The Targum is,
``for he is alive today, and tomorrow he is not, and he is to be accounted as nothing;''and much less as Peter's successor, as head of the church, and vicar of Christ, and as having all power in heaven, earth, and hell. It may be applied to men in general, in whom no confidence is to be placed, even the greatest of men, ( Psalms 118:8 Psalms 118:9 ) and particularly the Egyptians, in whom the Jews were apt to trust, who were men, and not God; and whose horses were flesh, and not spirit, ( Isaiah 31:3 ) so Vitringa; but the first sense is best.