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FUTURE FUEHRERNJERUS LEMor

ROMANCATHOLIC APOSTASY

A Biblical and HistoricalStudy of 2 Thessalonians Chapter 2

RON ABEL


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THE MANOFSIN


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Typeset and Printed bySTALLARD & POTTER2 Jervois Street, Torrensvillefor theCHRISTADELPHIAN SCRIPTURE STUDY SERVICE17 Braemar Road, Torrens Park, 5062South AustraliaMARCH 1984


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FOREWORDAlthough prepared originally for a Toronto Study Day, these notes have amuch wider value and for this reason the Scripture Study Service is pleased to pre-sent this new edition.The Apostle Paul wanted his brethren in Thessalonica to be informed thatChrist would not come until the prophetic forecasts had been fulfilled. A pom-pous , powerful, blasphemous and deceitful system would arise to lure the shallowminds of men. This religious system would exalt itself to God's authority andalthough beginning to form even in Paul's day, it would yet prevail right throughthe centuries until destroyed at the return of Christ.A system of such immense importance is obviously the same as Daniel's ''littlehorn that speaks great things and wears out the saints for 1260 years".Could there be any chance that the Revelation is speaking of some entirely dif-ferent system?Paul had spent time with the Thessalonians to ensure they had these mattersvery clear. The apostle John also had spoken of the Antichrist that 'it shouldcome' and he also affirms that 'even now already is it in the world' (1 John 4:3).Paul and John are in precise accord and the reason for this is that 'the Spirit wasspeaking expressly' concerning the Great Apostasy to come (1 Tim. 4:1).Who should be deceived as to the true identity of this Man of Sin? Only thosewho should perish; "because they received not the love of the Truth, that theymight be saved" (v.10).The issues are very serious. We are very grateful to Bro. Abel for the manyhours of research which he has put into this valuable book. May every reader feelthe joy and value of the Truth of G od a nd be stirred to defend it and to preach it."Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God, even our Father, who hathloved us, and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope throughgrace, Com fort your hearts and stablish you in every good word and work."(2 Thessalonians 2:16-17).

The Committee


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j " L A W L E S S N E S S '4 WHAT RESTRAINS IT " T h e G r e a t n es s o fGOD'S

POWER in BEL IEVERS"

F A I T H T E M P L E a. m."LOOSE THE BANDSO F W I C K E D N E S S "7 pm ."FI VE ASPECTS Of The R APTURE"

TOMORROW S U N .M A R . 1 0 9 P . M .Hear about aF o r th c o min g Tourt o

I S R A E L & E U R O P EATS c a r b o ro G o s p e l T e m p l e7 10 MARKHAMRD. 2 8 4 9 1vryone Mos tWe/com

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"B ehold I show you mystery We shall not all sl e ep t u t shjtt all b* changed. In a moment, m the twinkling of an < *me last trum p, lor ttw trem pet shall sound, and the dead shai kcraised mcorrupt ibie, and we shad be changed For this co/ruptiWemu s t p u t w mc o r r u p t iO f l . an d t t a mo r ta l mu s t p u t w i mmo r ta l i ty " '

I CennttMin IS 5'.


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THE MA N OF SIN

PREFACEThere was a time, perhaps, when it was easier in the Toronto area to be a4 'specialist" in areas of Bible Study. But this is no longer possible to the same ex-tent. The brother who restricts himself to the delightful work of first principle in-struction today finds that prophecy can no longer be left to the rather exclusivedomain of the ''experts". In fact, the very effectiveness of first principle instruc-tion might relate directly to knowledgeability about prophetical themes.In recent years many interested friends have had their initial interest in BibleStudy whetted through attractive prophetical appeals of the "Plain Truth"magazine, Evangelical and Pentecostal tracts and paperbacks, and films on Israel,Russia, Egypt and the Arab lands. The clippings from the religious section of the"Toronto Daily Star" (see opp. page) indicate the diversity of the prophetical ap-peal.As a result of the public exposure to prophecies in Daniel, Ezekiel and Revela-tion, many of the questions asked in first principle classes relate specifically to theevents of the time of the en d. P erhap s one of the mo st widely accepted prophe ticalinterpretations is set out in the best-seller "The Late Great Planet Earth"(2,000,000 printed). In this paperback the reader is presented with the followinginterpretations:

"T he time is ripe and getting riper for the G reat D ictator, the o ne we call theTuture Fuehrer'. This is the one who is predicted in the Scriptures veryclearly and called the 'Antichrist'." 1"T he A ntichrist will deify himself just like the C aesars did . He will pro-claim himself to be God. He will demand that he be worshipped andestablish himself in the Temple of God (II Thessalonians 2:4). There is onlyone place where this temple of God can be and that is on Mount Moriah inJerusalem".2"T he Antichrist, w ho is called by m any names in the Bible, but in II Thessalo-nians is called the 'lawless one', will come in on a wave of anarchy. This is

why the world will be ready to receive him." 3"T his period of time will ma ke the regimes of H itler, Mao and Stalin look likeGirl Scouts weaving a daisy chain by comparison. The Antichrist is going tobe given absolute authority to act with the power of Satan." 4Similarly, David Wilkerson in "Jesus Christ: Solid Rock" writes:

"The Jew is to rebuild the temple again in old Jerusalem. He has to. InII Thess. 2 Pau l speaks of the great world dictator . . . an electrifyingleader: I call him the future Fuehrer; some call him the Antichrist. There is agreat deal given in the Scriptures about this person . . . Paul speaks of thisma n taking a seat in the temple of G od an d declaring himself to be G od. Thetemple of God can only be the temple in old Jerusalem . . . Documentsdiscovered last year, after the repossession of the temple area, gave the exactmethodology of cutting the stones for the temple. They had been buried for


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centuries near the Wailing Wall. Now the temple can be prefabricated inabout six months." 5It is the purpose of these notes to evaluate this interpretation throu gh a Biblical

and historical examination. It is the conclusion of this study that the strong delu-sion which has encompassed the Roman Apostasy is now sweeping thePentecostal-Evangelical communions. This conclusion, if supported, is in itself arema rkable sign in the religious sphere which might otherwise have gone unn otic-ed. "The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy" (Rev. 19:10).May these notes serve to assist the Christadelphian teacher to be better equippedto quench the fiery darts of the wicked, to put to silence the ignorance of foolishmen, and to be a more effective angler in the sea of men.

Ron AbelToronto, June, 1974

1 Hal Lindsey with C.C. Carlson, The Late Great Planet Earth, (New York: Bantam Books, 1973), p.92.2 Ibid., p. 983 Ibid., p. 984 Ibid., p. 995 David Wilkerson, Jesus Christ: Solid Rock, (Dallas, Texas: Jesus Restoration Movement, 1973), p. 5,6,8.


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TABLE OF CONTENTSpage

Foreword 3Bible Proph ecy the new religious appeal 4Preface 5An old Jesuit interp retation of a new guise 9Prop hecy Schools 10Th e histories of the two prophetical interpretations 11Pro testan t minorities protest 14Why the "ab out tu rn " by Protestants? 17Interpreting prop hecy establishing the criteria 19The man of sin prophecy an amplified p a ra p h ra se . . . . . 20Th e m an of sin: his identifying characteristics 22A closer exam ination of the clues 23An tiquity not a proo f of authenticity 25The apostasy began in the 1st century and continues toda y 26Th e Ro m an Catholic apostasy the historical development 27Sources for historical docu me ntation 30A verse by verse exposition of 2 Thessalonians 2 31Reasons for the "m an of sin" prophecy 32Qu otations worthy of reflection 89The Christadelphian witness 92Guide questions on 2 Thessalonians 2 93Ap pend ix: The tragedy of recent Christadelphian confusion 97Bibliography 100


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neumon wiw nomelong termaim unitedChu rch

G U E L P H (CP Special) T h e Unit ed Church of Canad a resolved yesterday to"begin the long journey toward reunion wi t h t h eC h u r c h of Rome."

T h e move came withoutdebate, on a show of hands,dur ing a session of t h e

church's 26th general council.

T h e United Church now islooking into union with theAnglican Church of Canada,but the resolution was thefirst indication of a movetowardthe Roman CatholicChurch.

EcumenicalFestivalofFaithat CNEgrandstand

JesusP e o p le

T h e pro gram is beingplanned by representatives ofAnglican, Baptist, Disciples ofC h r i s t , L u t h e r a n ,P r e s b y t e r i a n , R o m anCatholic Churches , theSalvation Army and UnitedC h u r c h of Canada The Cardinals drum and bugle corpsof Precious Blood Churchwilllead the procession to thestage. The prelude will beprovided by the SalvationArmy Jesus Folk orchestraa n d cho rus. The folk groupfrom St. Cecili a's RomanCatholic church also willperform.

This attitude can be seen in bothEngland and the United States int h e recent publication of the Comm o n Bible. Th is is th e first Englishlanguage Bible text that has beenmutually sanct ioned by RomanC a t h o l i c , Protestant and OrthodoxChurches.

D K U G S are out, Jesus isin . That was the watchword earl y in 1971 as th eJesus People movement swept outpf California and triggered a religious "youth explosion" destined toreverbe rate in every major cityaround the world.

T h e leade r of the House of Em maus, a former Jesus People commune of about a dozen persons, toldT h e Star th at his followers havebecome "an evangelical, Rom anCatholic lay com munit y."

Robert Vellick, 42, said his groupbecam e Catholics because "youc a n ' t com plet ely cut yourself offfrom the history and tradition ofth e church."

An intellectual himself, he saidhis ma in problem while par t of thestreet movement was that he "hadH o root s." He explained tha t while musica l group from the house onKeele St. and some of the othersHill engage in stree t evangelism,th e mai n conce rn is 1 develop atruly Christian com munity.

I n Metro, there were Jesus rallilI n the parks, baptisms in the chillwaters of Lake On tario, and eageStreet evangelists everywhere.rnuncs sprang up like mushroomsAfter rain, while church membersa n d outsiders slike looked on inftaggered disbelief.

Protestantism caughtin theEcumenicalEmbraceof

Roman CatholicismThePLAIN TRUTH

September, 1968T h e Roman Catholic Church re

peatedly speaks of herself as the M o t h e r of the Protestant movement.

T he M O T H E R C H U R C H of Christendom lovingly invites the descendants ofall the C H I L D R E N torn from her bosomby irrelevant issues to return to thepractice of their forebears [meaning theR o m a n Catholic Church] .. ." (90 Common Questions About the Catholic Faith,by John O'Brien, p. 11).

D r . Ramsey has been foremost amon gProtestants in seeking to bring aboutreligious unity. He has tried to bringth e Anglican and Roman Cath olicChurches closer together.

I n early 1966, the Archbishop ofCanterbury went to Rome to meet PopePaul Vl in order to further the cause ofChristian unity.

At that historic meeting with theP o p e , he said "I have come [to Rome]with, the longing in my he art . . . May

Easternchurchesmay helpelect Pope

VATICAN CITY (Reu ter ) Pope Paul has decided toexpand the conclave whichwill elect his successor tomliKte patriarchs of t h et e r n rite chu rches, Vati

ran sources say.T h e Pope hae completed

work on a document settingo u t his prop osals, whichalso gives representativesof bishops membership inth e conclave. He is expected to publish it within thenext few weeks, the sourcesadded.

th e grace of God enable us to serve Hi sdivine purpose by our meeting and enable Christian s everywhere to feel th epain of their D I V I S I O N S and seek U N I T Ya n d truth and holiness."

I n replying to the Archbishop ofCanterbury, the Pope responded: "Yourebuild a bridge, which for centurieshas lain fallen between the Church ofRome and tfie [Anglic an] Church of


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A N OLD JESUIT INTERPRETATION IN A N EW GUISEIt is apparent from the history of futurism that the Future Fuehrer ideas of Hal

Lindsey did not begin with him. 'The Late Great Planet Earth" is a recent presen-tation of the teaching of the Jesuits Ribera and Lacunza which dates back to the1500's. The ironical part is that evangelicals Baptist, Presbyterian, Methodist(in denomination) have left the continuous historical position of their foundingfathers who identified the Man of Sin with the Papacy, and have rather adoptedthe Roman Catholic interpretation set out by the Jesuits. The lapwing design ofLacunza's 'The Coming of the Messiah in Glory and Majesty" has successfullydiverted Protestant attention away from the real Man of Sin the RomanCatholic apostasy. The Counter Reformation mounted by the Roman Church in-filtrated the Church of England in the U.K. through Maitland, Newman and theOxford Movement, and from them throughout Christendom generally.The position of present-day C hristendom is summ arized pictorially by a Protes -tant of the Continuous-Historical school:

THE BIG NOISE TODAY IN FUNDAMENTALISMTHE FABULOUS FUTURE ANTICHRIST

1973 NIGHTMARE

FUTWRZ AAJT/CHRIST


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PROPHECY SCHOOLSI nregard to the "Little H o r n prophecy of Daniel 7; the Man of Sin (2 Thess.

2) and the Harlot Figure of Rev. 17, 18, it is generally recognized that there arethr ee schools of prophetical interpretation:1

a) Past(PreteristSchool) In thisview,prophecies in Daniel and Revelationare regarded aslargelyfulfilled in the events of 70 A.D . when the Roman armiesof Vespasian and Titus destroyed the nation of Irael. The Roman CatholicApostasyisnot the subject of prophecy in this interpretat ion, since it did notexistin 70 A.D . Rather, a Jewish application is often givento thesepassagesof Script u r e .

b) Future(FuturistSchool) This is the most popular position in Christend o m . The Antichrist and Man of Sin prophecies are considered to relate to afuture (and usually unknown) personage. There is a widespread consensus amongP r o t e s t a n t and Roman Catholic writers that the Jesuit, Ribera, founded thisschool of thought. Futurism has a similarity with the Preterist or Past school of int e r p r e t a t i o n , insofar as the Roman Church is not the fulfillment of these prophecies.

c) Continuous(HistoricalSchool) This was once a popular Protestantviewatthe time of the Reformation, but with the growth of ecumenicalism, it is seldomtaught today. In thisview of prophecy, 2 Thess. 2 and Rev. 17, 18 relate to thehistorical development of the apostasy from thefirstcentury to its culmination inRomanism.Bro. John Thomas'Eurekais an example of the continuous historicali n t e r p r e t a t i o n .

1 For the purposes of this study, the examination of 2 Thess. 2 is almost ent irely confined to ananalysisof this chapt er. It has not been assumed th at the "little h o rn " of D aniel 7 is the Papacy ort h a tthe harlot of Rev. 17 is the same system. To use thesepassagesas thekeysto unlock 2 Thess. 2would be to use symbolic Scriptures to explain the non symbolic. Ra ther , the interpret aion, theM a n of Sin = the Roman apostasy, is set out from thepassageitself.If the identity of the Man ofSin can be proven from this passage, it provides a valuable key to unlock D an . 7 and Revelation 17a n d 18.


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THE HISTORIESOF TWO PROPH ETICAL INTERPRETATIONSCONTINUOUSHISTORICAL(Man of Sin = a line of Rom anCatholic apostates)Waldensesin the "Noble Lessons"(1120) declared the Antichristto be the PapacyJoachim Abbasthe harlot city reigning overthe kings of the earth undoubtedlymeant Rome "Commentaryon the Apocalypse"Wycliffthe Papacy is the Antichristof ScriptureJohn HussMartin LutherZwingliJohn CalvinMelancthonWilliam TyndaleJohn Knox

1100

1183

1380

1415

FUTURIST(Man of Sin = a future unknownpersonage yet to arise)

REFORMATION152215241536154315501558

John Foxe

15761580

15861614

Bellarmine Roman CatholicexpositorRibera, Jesuit, founds Futuristschool

Alcazar


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12 THE MAN OF SIN

Thomas Brightman1opposes Jesuit Ribera's futurismIsaac Newton

Jonathan Edwards

6 4 4

69

7

7 7 3

8 2 6

8 3

83

8 3 8

Lacunza, Jesuitpublished book (4 vols.) "Com-ingof the Messiah in Glory andMajesty" using Ben Ezra, a con-verted Jew as a false author.Had a great influence on Pro-testants

PROTESTANTS BEGIN TOACCEPT FUTURISMSamuel MaitlandProtestant librarian to the Arch-bishop of Canterburyinfluenced from Dublin, Irelandbegan tractarian movementpublicizing futurismEdward IrvingScottish Presbyterian ministerdiscovers false authorship ofLacunza's work and translates itfrom Spanish to EnglishDarby (Dublin, Ireland)reads Irving's translation ofLacunza's work, founds PlymouthBrethren and introduces futurismto AmericaDr. James Toddgives credit for his views toMaitland

1 "But mine anger and indignation brast out against the Jesuite . . . [Ribera] . . . They [Papists]dare proclaim to the world that any other thing rather is pointed at in i t than their Pope ofRome? . . . Ribera, the Jesuite being privy to his bad cause . . . like an old crafty lapwing, keepsa pit iful n oise, in any place rathe r, th an where the nest is, so that he might call men away from thenest, I know not wither. But understand [O Ribera] that the seven hills [of Rev. 17] belong toRome, and that these seven kings belong to the same . . ." , "The Revelation of St . John", pp. 4,187.


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THE MA N OF SIN 13

E.B. Elliottpublishes "Horae Apocalyp-t icae" a monumental worksimilar in some expositional sec-tions to "Eureka' 'John Thomas "Eureka ' 'Dr. Grattan Guinness"The Approaching End of theAge"2Albert Close"Antichrist and his TenKingdoms"Baron PorcelliF. Walker et al. "Watchm an What of theNight?"E.M. RichardsProphecy magazine of SeventhDay AdventistsEric PetersOld Fashioned ProphecyMagazine

BarnesCommentary: Notes on theNew Testament

8 4

85

868 7 7

8 9 4

9 7

9 2 7949 4 2

1975

John Henry Newmanleaves C. of Eng. becomes acardinal in Roman Church.Influenced by Todd and Maitlandpublishes book "The Protestantidea of Antichrist" and gives hisweight to tractarian movementdirected to Protestants

E.W. Bullinger Companion Bible

Douay Version

Scofield BibleOral Roberts (Pentecostal) Tulsa, OklahomaBilly Graham evangelistBack to the BibleWinnipeg,ManitobaCarl Mclntire Radio preacherHerbert Armstrong Plain Truth;T.V.; radioDe Haan"Lutheran Hour"radioOliver Green preacher radioBeirnes' brothers (Florida) "The Midnight Cry" magazineHoward Estep (California) Prophetic NewsletterE.M. Ward PentecostalHal Lindsey "The Late GreatPlanet Earth"

2 " . . . the Jesuit, Ribera, who , moved like Alcazar, to relieve the Papacy from the terriblestigma cast upon it by the Protestant interpretation, tried to do so by referring these prophecies tothe distant future . . .", p.95.


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14 TH E MAN OF SIN

AR E YOUSU KE THIS AIN'T YOU?

Z IT JLY BIRD ' . THINKS TKAT\I AT A N T I C H R I S T . BUT I AlOI;LY AnRAGE. TEE: /

Guessanyone you want, Judas, Mussolini orSinbad the Sailor, but NEVER say "POPE"

ROMAN CATHOLIC MERRY GO ROUND* U D A S NERO

M U S S O L I N INAPOLEON

RUSSIANCOMMIE

FundamentalistFuture Antichrist

"Detective"JESUIT

Cartoonstaken from "OldFashioned Prophecy Magazine"


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I n t h e S o u p

"IT BE YORE FAU LT, SCOFIE "A CANDID EXAMINATION OF THE SCOFIELD BIBLE

This 24 page booklet in 8 point is one of the valuable messages of this century. In it you learn alesson about this man that you should never forget; how he encased error between the covers of aBible; the truth of the stopped clock of prophecy, etc.This man is known as Scofield who wrote a "Bible" and gave a tottering Protestantism its finalshove into a Roman Abyss.Price 65 cents including mailing costs.

The Protest ofvtestant inorities


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16 THE MAN OF SIN

PROTESTANT MINORITIES PROTESTNot all Evangelicals within Christendom have accepted the "about turn" ofProtestant writers and preachers. The following extracts from a non-Christade lphian publication illustrate their con cern. 'Today's Protestant leadership can be divided into at least 6 groups in this con-sideration of Faulty Prophecy Exegesis as an important contributing factor in thedemise of Protestant Power in the world.I. The ones directly in the employ of Rome (could be undercover Romanists;Jesuits, etc.). Supervisors to keep the Futurist Kettle boiling.II. The ones so much in love with the Roman Church that they need but anudge to drop into the Pope's lap (ecumenists and related "ists"). They're alreadylost to Protestantism. Let them goIII. The ones not publicly rooting for Rome, but are, nevertheless, Romanistallies through the Romanist Future Antichrist Fable, the greatest single con-tributing factor towards wrecking Protestantism by pointing people to the wrongenemy.IV. The fence-sitters who have nothing to do with Prophecy pro or con.V. The Microscopic Minority who, like Luther, Knox and other early Pro-testants, are faithful witnesses to the truth that the Papacy is the Antichrist, butare so feeble their protests are no louder than a whisper in a whirlwind.VI. So-called Champions of Protestantism presenting their sides of the many-faceted Anti-Romanist Jewel for your consideration and approval, but with the"Pope is Antichrist" facet strangely ignored by one and all. From India toIreland, across the ocean to Canada, U.S.A., and across the Pacific to Australiaand S. Africa. This is true with possibly three exceptions, THE ROCKNEWSPAPER in New South Wales, Old Fashioned Prophecy in New Jersey,U.S.AWhat did these watchmen do to keep faith with the Message of Warningdelivered them to warn their followers that Rome was Babylon and to beware ofits mayor, his "holiness", the Pope, as the Man of Sin predicted?THEY HAVE DONE NOTHING But, not only that, they leaned overbackwards to teach views about Antichrist that Antichrist, himself, concocted(talk abou t Red Riding H ood believing that the wolf was gran dm othe r ). Thusthese pseudo-w atchmen effectually ruined the warning of our Lord Jesus Christ inRev. 1:1 and made it of no effect whatsoever. And thus GOD'S REVELATIONAS TO THE CHARACTER AND IDENTITY OF THIS PAPAL PER-SONAGE WENT FOR NOUGHT. Consequently millions of weak, milk-drinking "saints" (Heb. 12:14) have been sucked into the Romanist Whirlpool inthis active, massive endeavour of the Jesuit-controlled Romanist Counter Refor-

1 Taken from a reprinted copy of Nicholas O'Demus, "Unprofitable Serva nts", pp . 20, 21, 28,29


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THE MAN OF SIN 17mation which began as a retaliatory effort of Catholic Action, less than 20 yearsafter the Reformation began. (Encyc. Brit., 11th Vol. XXIII, p. 489c). That ishow fast the Ro man ists got into the picture to retaliate W hich is a sad picture forthe Protestant Gospel Endeavour. For, while Protestant Evangelists are workingmight and main to garner a few souls for the Master, the Protestant "Prophets"are tossing freshly won souls down the Romanist Chute.

In our b rief career in this work we have received countless sh arp letters decryingour views for lacking "Christian Love" and making charges couched in bitternessand hate, etc. But, brother, sister, it is not "hate" when you are day-dreaming inyour comfortable rocker on your front porch, that causes your neighbour to dashup yelling like a Com anche and to slap you on the face and to drag you out of thatnice chair when, back of you YOUR H OUSE IS ON FIREW H Y THE ABOUT TURN BY PROTESTANTS?Why have the non-Romanist churches of Christendom abandoned the con-tinuous historical view of passages which had previously identified the Papacywith the Man of Sin? The following are set forth as reasons:(1) Reductionism Since the Protestantism Reformation there has been areduction in the number of doctrines required to be believed to qualify as a"Christian". Doctrines such as penance, absolution, auricular confession and in-

dulgences were rightly opposed as non-Biblical and then discarded. Today reduc-tionism has become full-blown. The test of a Christian is simply that he believes"Jesus is Lord", "is born again" or "has had a personal experience with hisL or d" . T here has been a de-emphasis ondoctrinesto be believed and an accom pa-nying emphasis on an "experience" as the test of genuineness.(2) Futurism The acceptance of a view of prophecy which interprets the An-tichrist as future removes the possibility of the application to the Ro ma n Ch urch .It also introduces an ano nym ity abo ut the M an of Sin which removes anypersonalstigma an d is therefore m ore in keeping with contem porary rules of etiquette. The

effect of such a belief is to make the Protestant churches (however unwittingly)more susceptible to the ecumenical overtures of the Roman Church. Joint actionagainst poverty, atheism, racism and pollution is quite in keeping with the exteriorposture of the Roman Church as world-wide peacemaker, defender of the poor,and Mother of Christianity and the Bible. Unity with Rome is now the subject ofconsideration by Protestant churches like the United Church of Canada in-dicative of the way in which churches are now caught within the ecumenical em-brance of Romanism.THE RA PTURE TH E DISASTROUS ERROR

The R aptu re is thebelief,widely held by Evangelicals, that prior to the return ofChrist "saved Christians" will be taken to be with Christ in heaven. They willescape a 7-year tribulation during which the Antichrist reigns supreme. Lindsey's


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.18 TH E M AN OF SIN

book, "The Late Great Planet Earth" puts it this way:"God's Word tells us that there will be one generation of believers who willnever know death . These believers will be removed from the earth before theGreat Tribulation . . ," 1"Someday, a day that God only knows, Jesus Christ is coming to take awayall those who believe in Him. He is coming to meet all true believers in theair . . . It will be the living end. The ultimate trip . . . The big question iswill you be here during the seven year countdo wn ? Will you be here du ringthe time of Tribulation when the Antichrist and the False Prophet are incharge for a time?" 2A rapturous experience is imagined"It was the last quarter of the championship game and the other side wasahead. Our boys had the ball. We made a touchdown and tied it up. The

crowd went crazy. Only one minute to go and they fumbled our qu arter-back recovered he was about a yard from the goal when zap nomore quarterback completely gone, just like that " 3It requires little foresight to see that when Christ returns to the Mount of Olivesto "rule the nations with a rod of iron" (Rev. 2:27) and to "break in pieces anddestroy all other kingdoms" (Dan. 2:44) that he will be rejected by millions whonow profess to follow him . The very activities prophesied of Christ are attribu tedby the Protestant and Evangelical churches to the Antichrist. Furthermore, whenthe rapture does not occur (since it is not taught in the Bible) those awaiting theultimate tripbeforethe return of Christ to the earth will reject him as an imp oster.It is ironical that the Evangelicals and Pentecostals wh o now put forth their per-sonal experiences "with their Lord" as the ultimate test of genuineness ofbelief,will, in the future, reject the personalreturn of C hrist as the Antichrist. Those w horefuse to believe the Truth are ultimately the victims of a strong delusion to believea lie.

THE REAL ENEMY OF THE GOSPEL IS DISGUISEDJesus forewarned: "Beware of false prophets which come to you in sheep'sclothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves." (Matt. 7:15). Similarly, theApostle Paul spoke of "grievous wolves" which would enter among the believers"n o t sparing the flock " (Acts 20:29). If wolves were always recognizable as such,perhaps fewer Bible readers would fall for the guise of sheep's clothing.If it can be shown that the Roman Catholic Church, despite her elaborate at-tempts to claim the contrary, is the embodiment of the apostasy prophesied in2 Th ess. 2, then it mu st be recognized as a system to be destroyed by Christ. M enlike Hal L indsey wh o publicize the futurist view of an u nkn ow n personage w ho isto be the An tichrist, are ignoring therealenemy of the Truth who is already here,

1 Lindsey, p. 127.2 Lindsey, p. 126.3 Lindsey, p. 128.


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THE MAN OF SIN 19and has been for centuries. The Futurist theory can only be regarded as a strawman of the Papacy.

If the Almighty can say of Babylon the Great, "Come out of her, my people,that ye be not partaker of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues'' (Rev.18:4) then now is no time for benediction. As the churches drink from the intox-icating wine cup of their Mother, now is the time to "cry aloud and spare not";perchance some may be rescued from perishing.

INTERPRETING PROPHECY ESTABLISHING THE CRITERIAReligious fundamentalists have always had a flourishing interest in prophecy.Many of these have been non-Biblical, highly subjective, resting on personal vi-

sions and "gifts", and have related to the end of the world, earthquakes or doomfrom comets. The prophecies have been falsified with the passing of time, butthere always seem to be new enthusiasts in the making who appear to profit littlefrom the mistakes of their forebears.It seems reasonable to suggest that an interpretation of proph ecy is more likelyto be the right one if all the clues given in the prophecy can be explained. On theother hand, interpretations which ignore details which are inconsistent with theview being set forth, or which leave details unexplained must be regarded with lessconfidence. It is for this reason that a comprehensive analysis of this chapter hasbeen undertaken with the relevant section of 2 Thess. 2 set out verse by verse.

Finding the cluesMystery books once made popular reading. The clues were set out in the earlychapters and by the time the last chapter had been read, the villain was clearlyidentified. A careful reader might identify the villain in the first few chapters.Everyone, however could identify him by the time the end of the book was reach-ed; and in retrospect all the early clues "fitted". 2 Thess. 2 reads like a mysterystory.The following paraphrase updates the language of the A.V. translation (e.g.

'letteth' = 'restrains') and consistently renders a Greek word each time it occursby an English equivalent. How many identifying clues can you find?


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20 THE MAN OF SIN

THE MAN OF SIN P ROP HECY(An Amplified Paraphrase)2:1 Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christand our assembling to meet him

we intreat you brethren2:2 No t to be quickly agitated in mindor continually troubled

neither by a spirit [a claimant to Spirit-gifts]nor by a word of mouth reportnor by a spurious letter said to be sent by me, Paulto the effect that the day of the Lord is now here.

2:3 Let no-o ne deceive you in any way;for that day will not come,unless the apostasy comes firstand the man of sin [lawlessness] is revealed,the son of perdition and destruction

2:4 W ho opposesand exalts himself above every so-called godor object of worshipso that he takes his seatin the temple of Godproclaiming himself that he himself is God.

2:5 Do you not reme mb er, that when I was still with you ,I told you these things?2:6 An d you know wh at is restraining him now (from being revealed atthis time)so that he might be revealed in his time [appointed].2:7 For the mystery (what is kno wn only by revelation)of iniquity [lawlessness, sin]is already at work.

It will be restrained only until the restraint is removed [a person? orpersonification?]2:8 And then the m an of sin, the lawless on e, will be revealedand the Lord Jesus will slay him [consume, bring to nothing],by the breath of his mouthand destroy him [to make him of none effect],by the appearing or brightness of his coming [parousia].2:9 The coming of the lawless one is like the activity of Satanattended with all power,signs [miracles]


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THE MAN OF SIN 212:10 and lying wonders [wicked decep tions, delusive ma rvels],

for those who are to perishbecause they refused to love, or welcome the Truthand so be saved.2:11 Therefore Go d sends upo n thema strong delusion [a misleading influence]to make them believe what is false2:12 so that all may be judged and condemn edwho did not believe the Truthbut who took pleasure in unrighteousness.Now list your clues:Verse Identifying clue


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22 THE MAN OF SIN

THE MAN OF SIN:HIS IDENTIFYING CHARACTERISTICSHow does your list of clues compare with this one?A Movement

1. Apostate (2:3)2. Lawless (sinful) (2:3)3. Existed in 1st Century (2:7)4. Was Restrained (2:6)5. Later Revealed (2:8)B Focalized in a Man6. Lawless (2:3)7. Opposes the Truth (2:4)

8. Exalts Self (2:4)9. Has a Seat (2:4)10. In the Temple of God (2:4)11. Proclaims Himself God (2:4)

C Converts Seduced by:12. Satanic Activity (2:9)13. Power (2:9)14. Pretended Signs (2:9, R.S.V.)15. Wonders (2:9)16. Belief of Lies (2:11)17. Pleasure in Unrighteousness (2:12)18. A Strong Delusion from God (2:11)

D) The End19. Son of Perdition (2:3)20 . Destroyed by Christ (2:8)21. Followers Condemned (2:12)


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THE MA N OF SIN 23

A CLOSER EXAMINATION OF THE CLUESIt is important to note the reason for the heading, "A Movement", in the list ofclues.

1. "The Man of Sin" A person or succession of persons?The "Man of Sin" is both a person and succession of persons. This is pro-ven from the following:

a) A succession- The "my stery of in iqui ty" or secret lawlessness was at workat the time the Apostle Paul penned his epistle to theThessalonians (2 Thess. 2:7). Since the "Man of Sin" is tocontinue until the "day of the Lord" a span of 1900years w hen he will be destroyed by C hrist (2 Thess. 2:8),he cannot be only one man. The "Man of Sin" therefore,must be a line of wicked ones, the last of which is personallydestroyed by Christ.1.

b) A person- The "M an of Sin " has a "seat in the temple of G o d " (2Thess. 2:4) and is to be consumed by the spirit of Christ'smouth (2 Thess. 2:8). This language requires the "Man ofSin" to be a person. The succession of men of the samestamp is called the "Man of Sin".The R om an pontiff heads the apostasy . The line of popes is a line of men ofsin the "Man of Sin" being the one reigning at any given point in history.When Christ returns the "Man of Sin" will be the pontiff then reigning.

2. An Apostate MovementThe apostasy had its beginning in the first century ecclesia, otherwise it couldnot be a "falling away". The apostasy has continued to the present day andwill continue until the return of the Lord when it will be destroyed (2:8).It is important to note that the apostasy goes back to the first century whenthe "mystery of iniquity" already worked (2:7). It is the claim of the RomanChurch to have originated from an unbroken succession back to Jesus. Thefollowing are typical examples:

"Here we have . . . one of the most strikingand unmistakeable proofsof the divine origin of the Catholic Church in the cold historical factthat for mo re than fourteen centuries after the death of Christ there wasno C hristian church in existence save the Catholic Ch urc h. Th e hereticalsects that arose during that time for the most part, withered and diedaway, while the Catholic Church alone existed throughout all Christen-dom. Of the many various sects that exist today, none of them can traceits origin back mo re than a few centuries at m ost. H ence, it must be evi-dent to all tha t they canno t have Christ for their Fo un der, since they didnot exist at that time, nor for more than fourteen hundred years afterhis death." 2


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24 TH E MAN OF SIN

4T h e Voice of History shows at a glance that the Catholic Ch urch is theonly Church in the world today which traces her origin back toChrist ."3Several observations follow from these excerpts:a) In spite of the evil lives of some of these popes, the Roman C hurch has surviv-ed. Is its survival proof of its claim to be divine? On the basis of this argu-ment, Judaism and sun worship would be even more divine than Romanismbecause they have survived longer.b) There are only two alternatives. The claims of the Rom an C hurch are eithertrue or false. It is either the genuine Church founded by Christ or it is theapostasy. Nor is it surprising that the apostate would claim genuineness sincea strong delusion would be given it (2:11, 12).c) The fact that the Rom an Church claims a continuity "an un broken line "back to the first century makes it a prime candidate for the apostasy sincethe word "apostasy" in itself describes a system which originally held truth,but apostasized with the passage of time ("falling away" of V.3 in GreekAPOSTASIA).

1 Similarly, the harlot of Rev. 17:4 who rides the scarlet coloured beast is not one woman, but al ine of fornicators. Also the head of gold on Nebuchadnezzar's image was identified to beNebuchadnezzar (Dan. 2:38), but before the bronze kingdom of the Medo-Persians commenced torule, kings other than Nebuchadnezzar reigned over Babylon. He was only one in a dynasty or l ineof kings.2 John A. O'BrienThe Faith of Millions: The Credentials of the Catholic Religion, (Hunt ington ,Indiana: Our Sunday Visitor Inc. , 1963), Nihil Obstat: James J. O'Connor Censor Librorum. Im-primatur: Leo A. Pursley, Bishop of Fort Wayne-South Bend, p.20.3 Ibid., p. 46.


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THE MANOFSIN 25

ANTIQUITY NOTAPROOFOFAUTHENTICITY BUT RATHERANESSENTIAL REQUIREMENTFOR THE APOSTASYThe following pictures andquotations aretaken from a popular RomanCatholic publication intendedforwidespread circulationasatoolfor theconver-sionofno n-Catholics. It isironical that the chief pointofappealis the un-broken" continuityofthe R om an pontiffs withthefirst cen tury ecclesia.Itisthisvery fact which makestheRom an Churchtheprime candidatefortheapostasy.

Chart III CHRIST OR LUTHER?

J ES U S C H R I S T f o u n d sC a t h o l i c C h u r c h - J e r u s a l e m

I R o m a n C a t h o l ic s4 3 1 . 4 2 S . 0 0 9

W H O ISR IGHT?. 1S24i f fMartin Luther startsProtestantism-Germany

C opyr igh t , 1 9 4 9 ,byJohn A O'B r ien

More than30 0Protestant sarii

135,000,193

' 500A.D. 1000 1500"Tha t ' s thepointtonote. . .thedivine originofthe Catholic Churchand thehum an originsofall thePro testant sects. CatholicismisGo d-ma de. Protestantismis man-made.""Yes. . . toappreciatethedifference, con trasttheunbroken continuityand themarvellous growthofthe Catholic Church throug h 1900 years withthelatenessofthe arrivalofthe Pro testant sects upon the stateofChristen dom , and the divisionswhich have gone steadilyonwithin theirownranks. . .As thebranchof atreethatiscutfrom thetrunk speedily w ithersanddies,sothesects which havecutthemselvesofffrom theM other Churcharedeprivedofthe life-giving gracesflowing through her sacramental veinsto allmembersofherorganic body,andare without thedivine pro tection which alone canpreserve their unityandvitality." 11 Quoted from John A. O Brien,What s the Truth about Catholics?, (Huntington, Indiana: OurSunday Visitor, 1950), p.61.


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Chert 1 THE VOICE OF HISTORY Chart VII THE GROWTH OF THE CHURCHES IN U. S. A._ I I I I I I I I I I I I

I AmW i t h You All D a y sChrist's Prom ise Fulfilled

U n t a u n sC o n p e t a t a H i s t sB a p u s t s ( 1 5 s e c t s)UrevercaustsM e t h w j s t s ( 1 7 s e c ts )D k of O r e lI t a n w sS ? J v ; l n A r r a yC tir is l is iSF o ar S v j n o ^ o l Qua

W H Y T H E A M A Z I N G G R O W T H A N DC O N T I N U I T Y O F T H E C A T H O L I C C H U R C H

0 500Copyright 1949, by John A. O'Brien

1 0 0 0It I** IM-

THE APOSTASY BEGAN IN FIRST CENTURY AND CONTINUES TODAY" I se e . . . th a t i sw h y t h etitle deeds o f a l l t h en o n - Ca th o l i c d e n o min a t io n s a r einva l id . . .wo r th le s s . . . f o rn o n eg ob a c k b e y o n d t h es ix teenth century . . . No ne co me even close t oChr is t . . . t h eor ig ina l owne r . . . t h ef o u n d e r .H o wu n f o r t u n a t e . . . h o wt r ag ic . . . tha t non -Catho l ics never s top t oexamine the ir t i t le de ed s . "4O n l y t o f ind them wor th less? T hat isn ' t a p leasant d iscovery . . . andpeopl e f ight s h y o f unple asant f ac ts . . . "4 'But some d a y here mus t b e a r e c k o n in g . . . one c a n ' t r e ma in i n a fool's paradise indefinitely . . . s o me d a y h e b o t -tom will fall o u t . . . a n dther e will b e a r u d e a wa k e n in g . . . Bet te r mak e t h etitle valid . . . b y going b ack t o t h eor ig ina l owner . . . t o Chr is t . . . a n d t o H i s C h u r c h . " 11 Quoted from John A. O 'Brien , What's the Truth about Catholics?, (Huntington, Indiana: Our Sunday Visitor, 1950), p.69.


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T H E TITLE DEED OF THE CATHOUC CHURCHUnbrokenListo fPontif fsfrom PetertoToday

Christ to Peter: "Thou art Peter;'and upon this rock I will build myChurch,'and the oate of hell hall not prevail against it ." MAT. :

Table II

1 0*1 1 .1 2 .1 3 .1 4 .1 5 .1 7 .1 9 .2 0 .2 1 .2 2 .2 3 .2 4 .2 5 .2 6 .2 7 .2 8 .2 9 .3 0 .3 13 2 .3 3 .3 4 .

3 5 .3 6 .3 7 .3 8 .3 9 .4 0 .4 1 .4 2 .4 3 .4 4 .4 5 .4 6 .4 7 .4 8 .4 9 .5 0 .5 1 .5 2 .5 3 .5 4 .5 5 .5 6 .5 7 .5 8 .5 9 .0 0 .6 1 .e564 .6 5 .

NmS t. P e t e r . S t. L i n u s , M . . . .sss ss tS tss

s.sstsg8

sssS tssssssss sssss sssssssssss ssssssJsV

. Cletus . M. . . .. Clement I.. M. .. Anacletue. M. .. Evarlstus. M. .. Ale xander I. , M. Slxtus I. . M. . .. Telesphorua. M.. Hyclnus. M. . .. Plus I.. M. . . .t. Anlcetus, M. .. Soterus, M. . . .. Soterus. M. . . .. Eleutherlus, M.. Victor I.. M . .. ZoD hyrlnns, M.. Calllstus I.. M.. Urban I., M.. Pontlan. M. . . .. Anicrus, M . . . .. Kablan, M. . . .. Cornelius. M. .. Lucius I.. M. . .. S tephen I., M.. Sixtus II. . M. ., Dlonyslus. Felix I ., M. . .. 1 .itychlan. M. .. Calue. . M arcclllnus. M.. Marcellus I.. M.. Kusebius. Melchtades . . .. Sylvester I. Mark. Julius I. Llberlns. F e l i x I I . . . . .. D a m a s u s I. . . .' " A n a s t a s l i i s I .". I n n o c e n t I. . . .. . Z o z l m u st. B o n i f a c e I. . . .t. C e l e s t l n e I. . .. S l x t . . * III . . . .. Leo I. H i l a r y. S i m p l l c l u s . . . .t, F e l i x II I. G e l a s i u s I. . . . . . A n n s t a s l u s II . .. S y m t v i a c h u . . .t. H o r r a | s da s . . . .t. J o h n I. F e l i x IV

* h n I I . . . . . . . 1t. Airapltust. Sllverlu . M. .gllluselaplus IJohn IIIBenedict I

Cfocted3 36 77 89 O1 0 01 1 21 2 1. 1321 4 21 5 41 5 81 6 7. 1751 7 5

1 8 21 9 32 0 3. 2212 2 72332 3 82 3 9. 2532 5 52 5 72 6 02 6 12 7 22 7 52 8 3. 29630 43 0 031 1. 314. 33?3 4 1. 352. 3633 6 73 8 4. 3994 0 24 1 74 1 84 2 3. 432. 4404 6 1. 4684 8 34 0 24 9 64 9 85 1 452 5 2 65 3 5 3 25 3 553 0. 538. 555se o5 7 4

Oied6 77 89 01 0 01 1 21 2 13 24 25 45 86 71 7 58 29 32 0 32 2 122 72332 3 8

2 5 32 5 52 5 72 0 02 6 12 7 22 7 52 8 32 0 03 043 0 93 1 13 1 33 3 73 4 03 5 23 0 63 6 53 8 43 9 84 0 24 1 74 1 84 2 34 3 24 4 04 0 14 6 84 8 34 9 24 9 64 9 85 1 4f.235 2 65 3 5 3 25 3 55 3 65 3 865 S56 5 7 35 7 8

6 0 .6 7 .6 8 .6 9 .7 O .7 1 ,7 2 .7 3 .7 4 .7 5 .7 0 .7 7 .7 8 .7 9 .

8 0 .81 .83'.8 4 .

8 5 .8 0 .8 7 .8 8 .8 9 .9 0 .9 1 .9 2 .9 3 .9 4 .9 5 .0 6 .9 7 .9 8 .9 9 .1 0 0 .1 0 1 .0 2 .0 3 .0 4 .0 5 .1 0 6 .0 7 .1 0 8 .1 0 9 .1 1 0 .1 1.1 1 2 .1 3 .1 4 .1 5.1 6 .1 7 .1 8 .1 10.1 2 0 .2 1 .1 2 2 .12 3.I V .1 2 6 .1 2 7 .2 8 .129.3 ' .1 3 1 .

NameS t. Gregory ISablnlanBoniface IIIS t. Boniface IV . .S t. D eusdedlt I. . .Boniface VHonorius IServerlnusJohn IVTheodore IS t. M artin I. . M. .S t. Eugene IS t. VatallinAdeodatus IIDonus IS t. AgathoS t. Leo IIS t. Benedict II. . .John VCononS t. Sertrius IJohn VIJohn VIISis lnniusConstantinoS t. Grepory II.S t. Gregory I II. . .S t. ZacharyStephen l i tS t. S tephen III. . .S t. Paul IStephen IVAdrian IS t. Leo IIIS t. Ste phen VS t. Paschal IFupene I IValentineGregory IVSe rpius IIS t. Leo IVBenedict IIIS t. Nicolas IAdrian IIJohn VIIIMarinus IS t. Adrian III. . . .St ephen VISte phen VII. . . .. .Theodore IIJohn IXBenedict IVLeo VChristopherScrclus IIIAnattaalus II I. . .LandusJohn XLeo VISte phen VIII. . . .John XILoo VIISteuhen IXMarinus IT

Elected. 59 06 0 46 0 76 0 86 1 56 1 96 2 30 3 90100 4 26 4 965 56 5 76 7 26 7 06 7 86 8 26 8 40 8 56 8 6 8 77 0 17 57 0 87 0 8. 71 57 3 17 4 17 5 27 5 27 577 6 87 7 179 58 1 08 1 78 2 48 2 78 2 78 4 48 4 785 585 88 6 78 7 28 8 28 8I8 8 58 0 18 0 68 9 78 9 8. 80 S9O O9 39 491 19139 1 592 H9 2 993


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28 THE MAN OF SIN

THE ROMAN CATHOLIC APOSTASY 1DateImm ortality of the soul (appr ox.) 124Pre -hu ma n existence of Christ 124Substitutio nary sacrifice 124Sprinkling instead of imme rsion 150Greek word "t ri as " used for the trinity 180The term "pr ies t" applied to church officials 200Millennial reign of Christ regarde d as an allegory 200Platonic philosophy introduced by Origen 200Perp etual virginity of Mary 250Primacy of Peter 250Apos tolic succession 250Infant baptism 250Mona sticism founded 270Prayers for the dead (approx.) 300Ma king the sign of the cross (app rox.) 300Emperor Constantine makes apostate Christianity the state religionwholesale inclusion of Christianized paga ns 312Wa x candles 320Jesus a person within the Godhead (Council of Nicaeafrom which came theNicene Creed) 325Veneration of dead "sa int s" and angels 375Use of images 375The "H oly Gh ost " a person within the Godh ead (Council of Constantinople) 381Emp eror Theodosius makes apostate Christianity compulsory 395"Pontifex Maximus" (formerly title of Caesar and high priest of heathen religion) taken as titleof Bishop of Rom e 395

ROMAN EMPIRE DIVIDESCONSTANTINOPLE T H ECAPITAL IN THEEASTAND ROME IN THEWESTJerom e's translation of the Biblethe Latin "V ulg ate " 400Innocent I calls himself "Rule r of the Church of G od " 402Doctrine of purgatory 430Original sin 430Holy Spirit theexclusive agent in regene ration 430Exaltation of Mary "th e Mother of G od " 431Leo I takes the title of "pope" the title is conferred on all previous bishops ofRome posthumously 451ROME FALLST O T H EBARBARIANS 476Indulgences for the dead 476Priests begin to dress differently to laymen 500Extreme Unction 526Latin language used in prayer and worsh ip established by Grego ry I 600Praye rs directed to Ma ry, dead saints and angels 600Decree of Pho cas gives pope tem pora l power 610Rival claimants to Papal throne Hono rius II and Leo II 682Kissing of pop e's foot begins with Con stantin e 709Feat of the assum ption of the virgin Ma ry 819"H ol y w ate r" mixed with a pinch of salt and blessed by a priest 850Wearing of the papal crownN icolas I (approx.) 858Pseud o-Isidor ian Decretals forged do cum ents used by Nicolas I to establish his claims to temp oral pow ers. . 859Western and Eastern Churches (Rome and Constantinople) mutually excomm unicate each other 869Canonization of dead "s ain ts" John XV 995Celibacy of the priestho od decreed by Gregory VII , 1079The Rosa ry, mech anical praying with bead s, originated by Peter the Her mit 1090


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2THESSALONIANS 29

Plenary indulgences grantedto all whotook partin theCrusades 1094PaymentforM asses introduced 1100The Inquisition institutedby theCouncilofVerona 1184Indulgences soldm oney usedtorepairSt.Peter's BasilicainRome 1190Readingof theBiblein the common vernacular condemned 1198Exterminationof theAlbigenses orde redbyInnocentIII 1200Auricular confessionto apriest insteadof to GodinstitutedbyInnocentIII 1215Adorat ionof thewafer (host) decreedbyHonoriusIII 1220Bible forbidden tolaymen,andplacedon theIndexof Forbidden Booksby theCouncilofValencia 1229Limbo originatedfor thedead unbaptized infants 1245Thomas Aquinas publ ished "Sum ma Theologica" 1250The scapular(a shoulder strap connectedby twostrings) inventedbySimon Stock 1251The House of Mary waspurportedly detached from its foundations in Nazareth and transportedby angels firsttoDalmatiaandthentoLoretto, Italy 1291Plenary indulgences grantedbyBoniface VIIIto all whovisit Rom e 1294Priests refuseto paytaxes 1296Treasuryofmeritsm eritscan betransferred 1342Three rival claimantsto papal chairJohn XXIII, GregoryXII,Benedict X III 1409Hussthe reformer promised safe passagetoRomeandthen betrayedandburnedtodeath 1414The cupforbidden to thepeopleatcommunion 1414Seven sacram entsandpurgatory m ade articlesof faith 1439Innocent V III orders exterminationof theWaldenses 1484Indulgences soldfor thelivingand thedead 1513Luther 's95theses 1517Ignatius Loyola founded theJesuits 1534Copernicus excommunicated for hisheliocentric the oryof thesolar system 1534Tradition given equal authority withtheScriptures 1546Council of Trent affirms:LATINlanguage of the massuseof Scripture without permission forbiddenonly Roman Catholic translations allowedabsolute powerof thepope overthewhole earth 1546Solemn mass celebratedfor St.Bartholomew'sDaymassacre when 60,000 Hug uenots exterminated 1572Galileo condem nedbyPaulV andUrban VIII 1616Bulls issuedbyPiusVIagainst Bible Societies 1775NewmanandMann ing, leadersof theOxford Move ment, convertedtoRom an C atholicism 1845Doctrineof Immaculate Conception proclaimedbyPiusIX 1854Virgin Mary supposedly appearstoBernadette SoubirousatLourdesinFrance 1858Pap al infallibility decreedby 1stVat icanCounci l 1870Virgin Mary supposedly a ppearstothree childrenin Fatima, Portugal 1917Lifeofmotherand fetus equally sacred, proclaimedbyPiusXI 1922Lateran accordMussolini restored Pope's temporal powerinVatican City 1929Liguori (canonized saint)in TheGloriesof Mary" declares Mary as a "mediat r ix"she obtainsfavoursnotgrantedby God and quicker than Jesus 1931Papal C oncordat signed with Nazi Germ any 1933Pope remains silent over Ger man y's exterminationof6,000,000 Jews 1943PiusXIIcreates32 newcardinalsrobesof each cost $10,000 1946AssumptionofbodyofMarytoheaven ma deanarticleof faith 1950QueenshipofMary proclaimed"Queenofheaven" 1954Ecumenical movement towards eastern OrthodoxVaticanII 1962Ecumenical movement further attemptedpope addressesU.N.praysforpeace with P rotestants 1962Pope addresses "World CouncilofChurches"andopenedhisarmstowelcome Protestants home 1965Pope maintains that Jerusalem shouldbe an international city although diplomatic relations exist withmany Arab c ountries, none with Israel 1973Pope Paul re-affirms beliefin theDevil 1973'Maythereaderofthese no tes, sensitiveto theScripturaluse of terms like "saint"and "Fa ther" pardonthe use ofthese terms when they refer toRom anists withinthe apostasy. These arrogated titlesareused onlyfor thepurposesof identification. It is with regret that they haveto appear with such unholy associations.


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30 THE MA N OF SIN

SOURCES FOR HISTORICAL DOCUMENTATION1. Loraine Boettner,Roman Catholicism,(Lon don: The Banner of Truth Trust,

1966).2. Henry Halley, Bible Handbook, (Grand Rapids: Zondervan PublishingHouse, 1959).3. Early Christian W ritings: The Apostolic Fathers, Trans, by MaxwellStaniforth, (Aylesbury: Penguin Books, 1968).4. Earle E. Cairns,Christianity through the Centuries, (Grand Rapids: Zonder-van Publishing House, 1964).5. F. W alker et al.,W atchman What of the Night? (Bristol: F. Walker, 1942).6. F. C .H . Dreyer et al.,Roman Catholicism in the Light of Scripture, (Chicago:Moody Press, 1960).7. John A . O'Brien, The Faith of Millions: The Credentials of the CatholicReligion, (Huntington, Ind.: Our Sunday Visitor Inc., 1963). Nihil Obstat:James J. O'Connor, Censor Librorum. Imprimatur: Leo A. Pursley, Bishopof Fort Wayne-South Bend.


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2 THE SSAL ONIA NS 2 31

A verse by verseexposition of2Thessalonians2


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32 THE MAN OF SIN

Why was the "Man of Sin" prophecy givento the Thessalonians?

The language of 2 Thess. 2 is almost surprising to the student of Scripture. Itreads more like Daniel and Revelation than Romans or Galatians. Two reasonscan be inferred from the epistle to the Thessalonians as to why the "M an of Si n"prophecy was given:a) Premature expectations of Christ's return The Laodiceans consideredthemselves to be rich, increased with goods and had need of nothing (Rev.3:17). Such was not the case at Thessalonica. The believers had experienced asevere test of affliction and extrem e poverty (2 C or. 8:1 , 2, R.S .V .). They suf-fered at the hand s of their own cou ntrym en a nd received the word in mu ch af-fliction (1 Thess. 1:6; 2:14; 3:3-4). Understandably, in such circumstances, a

premature expectation of the day of Christ could arise with serious conse-quences.1 It was needful, ther efore, tha t the Thessalonian believers receive in-spired information from the Apostle as to w hat events had to transpire beforeChrist's return could be expected.b) A warning against errorists Evidently spurious inform ation was circulatingat Thessalonica to the effect that the day of Christ had already come.Brethren of doubtful standing were circulating among the ecclesias teachingerroneo us doc trines (e.g. Acts 15:24; G al. 2:4-5; 2 Co r. 3 :1; cf. 11:12-15). Asa counter-measure, the Apostle wrote advising believers:

"not to be quickly shaken in mind or excited, either by spirit or byword, or by letter purporting to be from us to the effect that the day ofthe Lord has co m e." (2 Thess. 2:2, R.S.V.)In chapter one of this second epistle to the Thessalonians, Paul showed that theevents connected with the return of the Lord were so momentous that it was im-possible for the day of Christ to have already come. In chapter two, Paul showsthat a great apostasy must develop before that day would arrive.

1 Is this why the Apostle Paul admonished those "who walk among you disorderly, working notat all, but are busybodies" (2 Thess. 3:11)? Had they stopped working because they thought thatthe day of Christ had already come?


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2 T H E S S A L O N I A N S 2 3 3

2:1 Now we beseech you brethrenThe intreaty of the Apostle introduces his readers to a matter of the greatestimportance to them.by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ"Coming", Gk: "parousia", "a being alongside, presence" (Young)."Parousia" does not mean an invisible presence as Jehovah's Witnessesteach . It m eans a literal, visible presence as the following examples indica te:

2 Cor. 7:6 The coming of Titus1 Cor. 16:17 The coming of visitors to PaulPhil. 1:26 Paul's coming to the Philippians.and by our gathering together unto him"G ath erin g", Gk: "episun agog e", ( 'sun' = together; 'ag o' = to bring),"to lead together" (Young); "collection" (Strong); "assembling", R.S.V.This word occurs as a noun only in Heb. 10:25 where it is used of comingtogether for the memorial service. It might, therefore, be inferred that the"meeting" or "assembling" to which Paul refers is not simply a meeting,but rather is the joyous union of the bride with the groom, the ecclesia withher Lord.The resurrection of the dead and the judgment of the responsible are nothere set ou t. The Apo stle does this in other epistles (e.g. 1 The ss. 4:13-17;2 Cor. 5:10).

2:2 That ye be not soon ['quickly', R.S. V.J shaken in mind or be troubled"shaken", Gk: "saleuo", "to shake, agitate, toss" (Yg.); "primarily of theaction of strong winds, waves" (Vine)."Troubled", Gk: "throeomai", " to be tumultuous" (Yg.); " to make anoutcry" (Vine). The implication here is that the believers were liable to beshaken as a tumultuous storm by rumours as soon as they heard them.There was a great urgency for stability that they "stand firm in the faith".To believe that Christ's return had already taken place would give rise tomany erroneous speculations relating to the resurrection and judgment.neither by spirit [Gk: 'pneuma']Probably a "revelation" purporting to come from a Spirit-gifted believer."Spirit" is used by the figure of speech called "metonymy" for the person.See 1 John 4:1: "Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whetherthey are of God: because manyfalse prophetsare gone out into the wo rld".Weymouth's translation catches the sense of the passage: "either by anypretended spiritual revelation".In the first century the Spirit-gift of "discerning of spirits" (1 Cor. 12:10)would serve to distinguish the counterfeit claimants from the genuine. Peterwas able to do this with Ananias and Sapphira seeing through theirveneer of pretence (Acts 5:1-11).


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34 TH E MAN OF SIN

On the other hand the Thessalonians must not over-react. They were to"quench not the Spirit" nor "despise prophesyings", but rather "prove allthings; hold fast that which is good" (1 Thess. 5:19-21).nor by word [Gk: 'logos']i.e. a word of mouth report, said to come from the Apostle Paul, but in fact,spurious.nor by letteras from usJudaisers had resorted to producing letters of commendation before the Cor-inthian believers (cf. 2 Cor. 3). The problem was acknowledged at theJerusalem Conference:

"Forasmuch as we have heard, that certain which went out from us havetroubled you with words, subverting your souls, saying, Ye must be cir-cumcised, and keep the law: to whom we gave no such com m andm ents."(Acts 15:24)In order to positively prove the authorship of his inspired writings, Paul senthis letters by the hand of accredited representatives (e.g. Titus, 2 Cor. 2:3, 4,13;7:6-8) who w ere known to the ecclesias (e.g. 2 Cor. 8:16-24). F urth erm ore ,Paul signed his letters

"The salutation of Paul with mine own hand, which is the token in everyepistle: so I w rit e" (2 Thes s. 3:17)See also Col. 4:18; 1 Cor. 16:21. Occasionally he wrote the whole epistlehimself as in the Galatian letter."Ye see how large a letter [i.e., the characters, the letters of the alphabet,not the length of the epistle] I have written unto you with my own ha nd ."(Gal. 6:11)

05that the day of Christ"C hris t" = "L o rd " in most recent translations. "D ay ", Gk: "hem era "."T he day of the Lo rd " encompasses more than the return of Christ, althoughthis event is of p aram oun t imp ortance . For example, it involves the resurrec-tion, judgment and immortalization of the faithful and retribution on evil-doers (e.g. Isa. 2:11, 12).Similarly, "day of the Lord" is not simply a 24 hour period. The expressionvaries as follows:

the d ay of Christ (Ph il. 1:10; 2:16) the day of Jesus Christ (Phil. 1:6) the day of the L ord Jesus (1 Co r. 5:5; 2 Cor . 1:14) the day of our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 1:8)."T he day of the L o rd " is often used in the Old Testame nt, e.g. Isa. 2:12; Joel2:3;M ai. 4:5. In these passages the expression relates to G od 's judgm ents onHis enemies.


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2THESSALONIANS2 35

isathand" A t hand" = has com e", R.S.V., is come", Nestle; is now he re" ,Weymouth.It was noterroneoustoteach theLordis ath a n d " Pauldidthis (Phil.4:5 cf. Rom.13:12).The A.V.translation ism isleading. The er-rorists taught tha tthe day ofChristhadcome,notthatit wasprematurelyim-minent (as the A.V.imp lies).2In 1Thess.4:16 the Apostle explained that the return of Christ wouldbeevidencedby:

the Lord's descent from heaven a shout thevoiceof an archangel thet rumpof God.The error at Thessalonica must have relatedto theeventsof thedayof theLord,but notspecificallytheeventsof 1Thess.4:15. Had theerrorist taughtthat these eventshad already commenced and thereturnof Christto gatherthe faithful wasimm inent?

2:3 Let no mandeceiveyou by anymeans"Deceive" , Gk: "exapa teo" , to greatly deceive" (Yg.); to beguilethoroughly,to deceive wholly" (Vine)."By anymeans" = in any way , R.S.V. i.e., by claiming Spirit-giftpowers,by a word of mouth report ,or by letter purpo rtingto be fromtheApostle(cf. v.2).Jesus similarly warnedthebelievers against misinformation as to thetimeofhis appearing (Matt. 24:5). Many things had to transpire: wars, famines,pestilence, widespread e arthqu akes , w idespread persecutionsofbelievers,andthe growthoffalse Messiahsandprophe ts showing " grea t signsandwonders;insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceivethe very elect" (Matt.24:3,24).for that dayshallnot come except there comeafalling away first"Tha t dayshallnotcome"isitalicizedin the A.V.indicating t ha t this clauseis suppliedtogivethesenseof theverse,butdoesnothaveanexact wordforword parallel withthe Greek text."Fall ing away", Gk: "apostas ia" , a defection, revolt, apostasy".3 Thedefinite article occu rsin theGreek. Hencethe apostasy,not a falling away"asin the A.V.

2 Vine comments: In 2 Thess .2:2, A.V., the verb 'enistemi' , 'to be present ' , ( en , in ,"h i s t e m i " , tocauseto s t a n d " ) ,iswrongly translated is ath a n d " , the R.V.correctly rendersit,'i s(now)p r e s e n t ' . " , p .191. Theexpression is very strongin the Greek expressing suddennessorimminence,3 "A p o s t a s y " isused inActs21:21whereit ist rans la ted " fo rs ake " . Theverb formof thewordoccurs in 1 Tim. 4:1 "Some shal l depar t [Gk: 'apostasontai'] from the f a i t h " .


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2 T H E S S A L O N IA N S 2 37

The "Man of Sin" is an appropriate description of the succession of Romanapostates as the following proves:a )The papacy claims to be above law:

i ' T h e pop e is the supreme judg e, even of civil laws, and is incapableof being under any true obligation to them." 6ii " . . . when the Po pe speaks we have no business to examine. W ehave only to obey. We have no right to criticize his decisions ordiscuss his commands." 7iii "H e [the pope] can change justice into righteousness; he can correctthe laws of states, and alter them altogether an d by the plenitude ofhis power, he can, since he is above all law, dispense from everylaw." Pope Nicholas I (858)iv In "Privilegum F o ri " (the privilege of the court) according towhich all cou rts of the law in the world are forbidden to try officialsof the hierarchy without the consent of the pope, or to try any or-dinary priest without the permission of the local bishop. 8.

b) Wicked Lives of PopesWhile claiming to be the " tru e suc cessors" to the Apostles and the b astionsagainst immorality and wickedness, the lives of the popes with few exceptions,have been a succession of wickedness of the grossest character."Pope Vagilius waded to the pontifical throne through the blood of hispredecessor. Pope Joan the Roman Catholic writers tell us a femalein disguise, was elected and confirmed pope, as John VIII. Platina says,that 'she became with child by some of those that were round about her;that she miscarried, and died on her way from the Later an to the te m ple '.Pope Marcellinus sacrificed to idols. Concerning Pope Honorius, thecouncil of Constantinople decreed, 'We have caused Honorius, the latepope of Old Rome, to be accursed; for that in all things he followed themind of Sergius the heretic, and confirmed his wicked doctrines.' Thecouncil of Basil thus condemned pope Eugenius: 'We condemn and deposepop e E ugenius, a despiser of the holy canon s; a disturber of th e peace and

5 Tisch end orf's eighth edition (1865-1872) and Tregelles (1857-1872) give "a n o m ia s" ="lawlessness" in the texts publ ished by them. Some t ranslat ions, therefore, give "man oflawlessness" as does the R.S.V. ; New World Translat ion.6 "Civi l ta Cat tol ica" , quoted in Loraine Boet tner, Roman Catholicism, (London: The Banner ofTruth Trust , 1966), p. 481.7 Pope Pius X when Archbishop of Venice. See the "C athol iqu e N at io nale " , July 13, 1895, andquoted in F. W alker et al., Watchmen What of the Night?, (Bristol: F. Walk er, The Da wn , 1942),p p . 60-61.8 See Emmet t McLoughl in, Crime and Immorality in the Catholic Church, (New York: LyleStuart , 1962), p. 91.


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38 TH E MA N OF SINunity of the church of God; a notorious offender of the whole universalchurch; a Simonist; a perjurer; a man incorrigible; a schismatic; a manfallen from the faith, and a wilful heretic' Pope John II was publiclycharged at Rome with incest. Pope John XIII usurped the pontificate,spent his time in hunting, in lasciviousness, and monstrous forms of vice;he fled from the trial to which he was summoned, and was stabbed, beingtaken in the act of adultery. Pope Sixtus IV licensed brothels at Rome.Pope Alexander VI was, as a Roman Catholic historian says, 'one of thegreatest and m ost horrible m onsters in nature th at could scandalize the ho -ly chair. His beastly morals, his immense ambition, his insatiable avarice,his detestable cruelty, his furious lusts, and monstrous incest with hisdaughter Lucretia, are, at large, described by Guicciardini Ciaconius, andother authentic papal historians. ' Of the popes, Platina, a RomanCatholic, says: The chair of Saint Peter was usurped, rather than possess-ed, by monsters of wickedness, ambition and bribery. They left nowickedness unpractised.' " 9

In spite of her protestations that she is the only divinely founded church, thatshe is holy, the Roman Catholic church has failed in the past to hold aloft thebanner of morality. An ex-priest put it this way:"I have been shocked at the revelation of its real history, written not byscandalmongers and anti-Catholics but by sound, careful, erudite, ac-cepted scholars.All favourable features of the Church are grossly exaggerated. All factsthat might discredit the Church are suppressed as much as possible. This isthe reason for its vast system of censorship." 10

c) Wicked teaching and practicesThe Papacy pu rpor ts to be the Mo ther of Christianity and the Bible, protectorand defender of the Faith, " the G od-made C hu rch " through which "the life-giving graces flow ". It is rather a God-dishon ouring system, teaching for d oc-trines the commandments of men. It has imposed on men burdens not madebinding by God. One has only to think of the following: celibacy, 11 penance,indulgences, absolution and extreme unction. On the other hand, the Papacyhas allowed or encouraged what God forbids: image and relic veneration,political involvement and use of force against enemies, exaltation of theclergy, clergy-laity distinctions.Ex-priest McLoughlin comments:

"J us t as the Ch urch 's grasping for power begot confession, an d confessionbegot purgatory, so purgatory begot indulgences, and indulgences begot a

9 Albert Barnes,Notes on the New Testament, edited by Ingram Cobbin, (Grand Rapids: KregelPublications, 1972), p. 1113.10 Emmett McLoughlin,Crime and Immorality in the Catholic Church, (New York: Lyle Stuart ,1962), p . 31 .


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2 THESSALONIANS 2 39

priestly traffic insoulsforready money andthis begottherevoltof Pro-testantism.They [indulgences] could andstillcan be ga ined ' by any means specifiedbythepopecertain pra yers, good wo rks, pilgrimages,thevenerationofrelicsof thesaints,the use of blessed objects, or especiallyin the MiddleAges,bygiving moneyto thepope.FromtheVatican's viewpointtheprincipal purpo seof indulgenceswas toraise money. The medieval records are filled with ingenious devices withaccompanying fees of granting indulgences for every conceivable'charitable and worthy cause' promoting the Crusades, building St.Peter's in Rome (which deeply influenced Lutherand the Reformation),building bridges,orgettingthepapal tiaraout ofhock, which actuallyhap-pened when Pope Innocent VIII mortgaged his papal headdress for100,000 d ucatsin 1487."12

d) Followersofthe ManofSinThe discipleof Jesusis commanded, Let every soulbe subject untothehigher powers. For thereis no powerbut of God . . . whosoever thereforeresisteththepower, resisteththeordinanceof God (Rom. 13:1, 2); "Submityourselves to every ordinance of men for the Lord 's sake" (1 Pet. 2:13).Studies however have indicated that Roman Catholics are imprisoned moreoften than non-Roman Catholics (atheists, agnosticsand all thesectsof Pro-testantism combined)inrelationto the general population. The studies wereconducted by three Franciscan priests in 1936. Similar findings weresup-portedby the figures suppliedby the Bureauof Prisonsof the U.S.Depart-ment of Justice (1951) 26.4% of all federal prisoners were RomanCatholics, but less than 19% of the population claimed to be RomanCatholics.13 .Similarlyin 1943 it wasreported that three fifthsof alljuveniles arrestedinthe cityof NewYork were Rom an C atholics,butonlyonefifth of thepopula-tion was Roman Catholic.Even allowing for what appearsto be a heavily inflated figure claimedby

th eR.C.hierarchyto be theproportionof itsfollowersto thegeneral popu la-tion, the percentageof Catholicsto non-Catholics charged with crimes runscounterto the Church's claim thatit is themeanstoholiness.

11 These are always defended in such a manner as to enhance the position of the Roman Churchas defender of the faith. Pope Paul's defence of celibacy is typical:

*'Priestly celibacy has been guarded by the church for centuries as a brilliant jewel, and re-tains its value undiminished even in our time . . . Hence we consider that the present law ofcelibacy should today continue to be firmly linked to the ecclesiastical ministry.

Papal encyclical Sacerdotalis Celebatus issued by Pope Paul VI in 1967 and quoted in the NewYork Times , June 24, 1967.12 Emmett McLoughl in , Crimeand Immoralityin theCatholic Church,pp. 237-239.


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40 TH E MAN OF SINColombia, a country in South America, has been a staunchly RomanCatholic country for years. According to the "National Catholic Almanac",Catholicism was introduced into Colombia in 1538, and the nation is 97%Roman Catholic (1958). Yet with a population of 13,824,000 in 1958 it had

11,058 murders and assassinations 3,000 more than in the U.S.A. whichhas thirteen times the population.Similarly, Peru is said to be 95.4% Rom an Catholic (according to the 'N a-tional Catholic Almanac') after 430 years of Catholic influence, yet officialstatistics indicate that in a 4 year period there have been nearly as many il-legitimate as legitimate births in the two cities of Lima and Balnearios (thepercentage of illegitimate births is reputed to be much higher in the rural areas 70-80%).The Roman Church portrays itself as the bastion of morality anti-divorce, anti-abortion, anti-birth-control (except for methods approved bythe Church) and yet where Catholicism has had generations of time to teachmorality its codes appear to be disregarded and ignored by its ownadherents. The "M an of Si n" has succeeded in reproducing his like offspring.The tree is known by its fruits.

be revealedGk: "apokalupto", "to uncover, unveil" (Yg.).

Although the apostasy existed when the Apostle P aul w rote (the mystery ofiniquity already worked, 2:7), it did not become full-blown until much laterwhen the apostasy became a political force. This occurred about the time ofConstantine when apostate Christianity became the state religion.the son of perdition"Perdition", Gk: "apoleia", "loss, destruction" (Yg.). Although "the manof sin" is the incarnation of lawlessness in his disregard and usurpation ofdivine law, his end is sealed; he is a son of destruction. His destiny has beenfixed from his beginning.

Like produces like. If perdition could be a father the man of sin wouldbe his son. Scripture is employing the figure of personification. "P er di tio n" ,(destruction) is personified as a "father" and its "son" is the Man of Sin.

Similarly, Jud as is called " a son of perd ition " (Jo hn 17:12),15 and the beastwhich carried the harlot of Rev. 17 is a beast which goes "into perdition"(Rev. 17:8).

13 See Emmett McLoughlin, Crime and Immorality in the Catholic Church, pp. 31-37.15 A contemporary religionist , DeHaan has mistakenly misinterpreted "son of perdit ion" tomean that Judas would be raised from the dead to become the antichrist .


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THE MAN OF SIN'S FOLLOWERS A Comparison of Crime and Immorality betweenCatholics and non-CatholicsTable 1. Percentage of CatholicPrisoners Compared to Percentage ofCatholics in Total Population

ArizonaArkansasCaliforniaColoradoConnecticutFloridaIdahoIllinoisIndianaIowaKansasLouisianaMarylandMassachusettsMichiganMinnesotaMississippiMissouriNebraskaNew HampshireNew JerseyNew MexicoNew YorkOhioOklahomaOregonPennsylvaniaSouth CarolinaTennesseeTexasUtahVermontWashingtonWest VirginiaWisconsinWyoming

C A T H O L I CIN STATE33.16%1.2116.8310.9138.882.764.1919.049.6711.807.0527.8816.1137.9218.7318.231.6513.0610.6630.7426.8243.3226.7316.392.155.9521.480.591.019.102.3021.506.354.3523.797.13

C A T H O L I CIN PRISON53.26%3.1443.6137.4250.630.7418.5132.3514.4721.9010.9416.2221.3653.2917.3338.650.5822.0323.0356.8847.6666.6756.4624.031.7618.9638.411.001.9912.2032.7940.2829.43

7.7543.5232.18

Table IV. R eligious Affiliation andCriminal Population in New Zealand1910

Church of EnglandCatholicsPresbyteriansWesleyansOthers

POPULATION CRIMINALS40.27% 41.47%14.07 32.9522.78 17.1510.44 3.0012.44 5.43

Table VI. Murders per 100,000Population, for the Combined years

1957, 1958, and 1959.ScotlandSwitzerlandNorwayNew ZealandIrelandLuxembourgEngland and WalesDenmarkSpainSwedenWest GermanyAustriaNetherlandsAustraliaCanadaItalyFinlandUnited StatesYugoslaviaFrancePhilippinesColombia

().54P0.67P0.68P0.68P0.88C

]

]

1.00C1.01P1.27P1.50C1.92P1.93P and C2.11C2.22P2.30P2.77P and C3.31C3.68P4.72P and C6.69C8.69C30.20C56.50C


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4 2 T H E MAN OF SINTable VII. Murders per 100,000

Population,for the Combined Years1885, 1886 and 1887.

Table V.Birth Statistics,Lima andBalnearios

ScotlandEnglandG e r m a n yIrelandItaly

Table III.

ItalySpain

0.94 F r a n c e 2.131.08 Belgium 2.521.14 Austria 3.111.93 Spain 8.59

12.67

1955LegitimateIllegitimate




Homicidesin Seven European Countries.MURDERS

2,7201,265

ustroHungary 1,180FranceIrelandEngland&Germany

58296

Wales '48602

TOTALPOPULATION

27,000,00017,000,00016,000,00037,000,0005,000,000

25,000,00045,000,000

P/CENT AGEOF

CATHOLICS9090608095

BirthsBirths

BirthsBirths

BirthsBirths

BirthsBirths1880.

N U M B E RO F B I R T H S

22,63020,84224,02621,384

26,93122,205

28,32621,741

P E R C E N T A G EO F TOTALB I R T H S

52.147.952.947.1

54.845.2

56.643.4

Usingthe rateper 100,000,which is themodern international method of comparingnations,the 1880scaleof murdersshapesup as follows:Englandand WalesGermanyFranceIreland ustroHungarySpainItaly

1.20 per 100,0001.30 per 100,0002.30 per 100,0002.40 per 100,0003.00 per 100,0007.20 per 100,000

10.10 per 100,000All tables reproduced from official records and reported in E m m e t t McLoughlin,Crimeand Immorality in the CatholicChurch,(New York: Lyle Suart, 1962).


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2 T H E S S A L O N I A N S 2 43In 1534 Ignatius Loyola founded the Jesuit organization the Society of Jesus.It was conditionally sanctioned by the bull of Pope Paul HI (1540), unconditional-ly app roved by him in 1543. Missionaries were sent out and colleges established inSpain (1546); Japan (1549); Abyssinia (1557); England (1580); China (1584), andin America and Asia before 1556. The crimes, intrigues and conspiracies commit-ted and perpetrated by these Jesuits in the countries they entered resulted in theirexpulsion even from predominantly Roman Catholic countries. Note the follow-ing expulsions:

Sargossa 1555LaPalinterre 1558Vienna 1566Avignon 1570An twerp , Por tugal, &c 1578England 1579Eng land again 1581Eng land again 1584Eng land again 1586Japan 1587Hu ngary and Transylvania 1588Bordeaux 1589The whole of France 1594Holland 1596To uro n and Berne 1597Eng land again 1602Eng land again 1604De nm ark, Venice, &c . . 1606Venice again 1612Am ura, Japan 1613Bohemia 1618Moravia 1619Naples and Netherlands 1622China and India 1623Turkey 1628Abyssinia 1632Malta 1634Russia 1723Savoy 1724Paraguay 1733Portugal Sp . 3rd 1759Proh ibited in France 1762France again 1764Spain, colonies and Sicilies'and Naples 1767Pa rm a and M alta 1768

All Christendom, by Bull ofClement XIV , July 21 1773Russia 1776France again 1804Ca nton Grisson 1804Naples again 1810Fran ce again 1816Moscow, St. Petersburg andCa nton Soleure 1816Belgium 1818Brest (by the people) 1819Russia again 1820Spain again 1820Rouen Cathedral, by people . . . . 1825Belgium schools 1826France 8 colleges closed 1828Great Britain and Ireland 1820France again 1831From entering Saxony .1831Portugal 1834Spain again 1835Rheim s (by the peop le) 1838From entering Luce rne 1842Lucerne again 1845France again 1845Switzerland 1847Bavaria and Ge noa 1848Papal States by Pius IX.Sardinia, Vienna, Austria .... 1848Several Italian States 1859Sicily again I860Spain again 1868Guatemala 1871Switzerland 1871Germ an Em pire 1872France again 1880

14 Taken from "O ld Fashioned Prop hecy M aga zine ", (May-J une, 1960), pp . 3-4.


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44 TH E MAN OF SIN

2:4 who opposeth"Oppose", Gk: "antikeimai", literally, "to lie opposite to, to be set overagainst (Vine). The following illustrates the way in which the Roman Catholicsystem has opposed God's laws and God's people.1. An exclusive claim to be God's chosen "church""T he Catholic Church is the only organization au thorized by God to teachreligious truth and to conduct public religious worship." 1 6"The eternal salvation of any out of the true church of Christ is not even tobe hoped for."17"It is necessary even in the present day that the Catholic religion shall beheld as the only religion of the State, to the exclusion of all other forms ofworship."172. Extermination of "infidels" and "heretics"a) The Roman Church made Spanish king, Ferdinand III of Castile, asaint in 1671 and in the Breviary (book of daily readings for the priests)praised him in these words:

"He permitted no heretics to dwell in his kingdom, and with his ownhands brought wood to the stake for their burning."1 8b) "[If] anyone infected with heresy . . . could be set forth and manifestto all, that the moment a man is convicted or held in grave suspicion ofheresy he must not be favoured with hon ours or w ealth but be put dow n

from these benefits. And if a few examples could be made, punishing afew with the penalty of their lives or with the loss of property and exile,so that there could be no mistake about the seriousness of the businessof religion."19 . (Ignatius Loy ola, founde r of the Jesuits).c) "T ho ugh heretics must n ot be tolerated because they deserve it, we mustbear with them , till, by a second adm onition , they may be brou ght backto the faith of the chu rch. But those who after a second adm onition, re-main obstinate in their errors, must not only be excommunicated, butthey must be delivered to the secular power to be exterminated." 20

16 Francis J. Connell , (with the Imprimatur by Cardinal Spellman), quoted in Boettner, RomanCatholicism, p. 501.17 Pope Pius IX, 1864, from the "Syllabus of Errors" issued by him, and quoted in Boettner,Roman Catholicism, pp.40-41.18 Cardinal Lepicier, The Stability and Progress of Dogma, (1910), p.202, and quoted in Boett-ner, Roman Catholicism, p.504.19 Obras Completas de San Ignacio de Loyola, edicion Biblioteca de Autores Crist ianos. Trans,by Dwight Cristoanos, (Madrid, 1952), quoted in Boettner, Roman Catholicism p. 506.


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2THESSALONIANS2 45d )Massacres of Waldenses and Huguenots

In St. Bartholomew's Massacre, 70,000 protesters against Romishdoctrine and practice perished in a bloody war of extermination inSouthern France. Pope Innocent III ( ) issued a papal bull celebratingthe victory. His instructions to his exterminators were issued in a papalbull. The heretics were "to be crushed like venomous snakes". All par-ticipants were absolved "from all ecclesiastical pains andpenalties . . . and promised remission of all their sins."20 Thomas Aquinas , Summa Theologica, vol. 4, p.90, quoted in Charles Chiniquy,Fifty Years inthe Church of Rom e, (New York: Fleming H. Revell Co., 1886), p. 676. This quotation is of greatimportance since Pope Leo XIII (1878) ordered that the theology of Thomas Aquinas should betaugh t in all the colleges, seminaries and universities of the church of Rom e throug hou t the w holeworld. Priests, once a year, under threat of eternal dam natio n, are required to say that these wordsof Thomas Aquinas in the breviariums (official prayer books) are "so good and holy, that everyword of i t has been inspired by the Holy Ghost to Thomas Aquinas".

THE MASSACRE OF ST. BATHOLOMEW, A.D. 1572.

The wordsN O T O R U M ST R A G ESmeanSlaughter of the Huguenots.

Translation :' HERESIES EXTINGUISHE D."

The St. Bartholomew Medalstruck by Pope Gregory XIII, in1572 to commemorate them a s s a c r e o f t h e F r e n c hHuguenots. Note: The blood-drunken slayer holds the Crucifixin one hand and the drawn swordin the other.

MEDALS STRUCK IN FRANCE, 1685 A.D. Translation :RELIGION CONQUERED.THE TEMPLE OF CALVIN

OVERTHROWN


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46 T H E M A N OFS IN

Papal Piedmontese hurling Waldensiansinto flaming lime-kilns near Pignerolo,

A.D. 1655. By Leger, who witnessedthe massacre.

Shown also in Sir Samuel Morland's Waldensian Massacre, 1655 A.D., British Museum Library.Taken from W atchman What of the Night?, p p . 84 , 105; Old Fashioned Prophecy Magazine.

3. The Inquisition: TortureTorquemada (1420-98) a Dominican monk, burned 10,200 victims, con-demned to perpetual imprisonment 97,000.21 . The first inquisitor andothers of the judges have been canonized by the Roman Church.

21 Henry Halley, Bible Handbook, p.898. The Spanish Inquisition was abolished by Queen MariaChristina in 1834, 350 years after its inception. The Jews suffered greatly un der it 30,000 were burnedat the stake. M any Jewish settlements in England w ere founded by refugees from Spain in the 17th cen-tury. The Inquisition was described in the Jesuit publication "Civilta Cattolica" (1885, Vol. I, p.55) as"a sublime spectacle of social perf ection " Quoted in Baron Alfred P orcelli,The Antichrist, (London:The Protestan t Truth Society, 1962), reprinted by "Old Fashioned Proph ecy M aga zine ", 1971, p.44 .


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TORTURE WITH THE RACK AND CANDLEConstitutio criminalis Theresiana. The victim, A, of eighteenth-century justice is here stretched on the rack, which is being tightenedby the executioner's assistant, G. An added refinement consists in theapplication of the candle flame to the area marked, L. The area Lis further carefully located by the inserted figure in front and side view.

POPE STEPHEN I I . SOLICITS PEPIN S AID." Stephen implored Pe pin to defend him against the Lo m-bards. In this he only acted upon the invariable policy of hisChurch . When Rome has dared, she has been insolent anddefiant; when she has been firmly opposed, she has ever beencrouching and servile. She has been the slave, the rebel, andthe usurper by turns; licking the dust beneath the feet of kings,or plunging the dagger into their hearts." Life and Times ofCharlemagne.


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48 THE MAN OF SIN

Dress of the "heretic"in which he is burntat the stake.Dress of one condemnedto be strangled. Dress of a penitent whoselife is saved.

THE SANBENITOThe term "S an be ni to" is from St. Benedict. It is a penitential garment a tunic of yellow cloth going down to the knees. Painted on it is the pictureof the person wearing it, burning in flames with figures of dragons anddevils in the act of fanning the flames. T he costum e indicates tha t the weareris regarded by the Roman Catholic Church as an incorrigible heretic to beburned alive.If the heretic is converted just before being led out of prison to be b urn ed,then the "sanbenito" is painted with flames downward and he is "merciful-ly " strangled before the fire is applied to the pile.The pasteboard cap 3 feet high is called a " co ro za ", and o n it are paintedcrosses, flames and devils. Some of the victims were gagged on their way

from prison to the burning site lest they should reveal secrets or revile thetribunal.Papal kings and queens of Spain witnessed the burnings from a magnifi-cent stage and canopy erected for the purpose. It was considered meritoriousby the Jesuits for the king to supply a faggot for the pile to be burned. KingCharles II supplied a faggot, the sticks of which were gilded, adorned byflowers and tied up with ribands. It was honoured by being the first faggotplaced upon the pile.When the "heretics" arrived at the site of burning a sermon was givenpraising the Inquisition. They were burned on days called "Auto-da-fe" act of faith a "sabbath" day when large numbers of them were broughtforth from gloomy dungeons and prison cells with wax candles in hand.


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2THESSALONIANS2 49

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BETTMANN ARCH IVEP o p e Innocent III (1198 1216) issues a bull against heretics. In this,4'heretics" such as the Waldenses were "to be crushed like venomoussnakes". In a crusade against them all participants were "absolved from allecclesiastical pains and penalties . . . and promised remission of all theirsins . . . "


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50 THE MAN OF SIN

TORTURES OF THE INQUISITION


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2 T H E S S A L O N I A N S 2 51

INSTRUMENTS OF TORTURE (From the Tower of London)2. Block and Axe. 3. Scavenge r's Dau ghter. 4. Leg-irons. 5. Necklace. 6. Thum b-screws

A powerfuland opposing system


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4. Public burning of Bibles and TranslatorsWilliam Tyndale's translation of the Bible was publicly burned at St.Paul's Cross (about 1526). Tyndale himself was strangled and burned at