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THE
DEFINITION OF ANTICHRIST
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1 John 4:
1Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try
the spirits whether they are of God: because
many false prophets are gone out into the
world.
2Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit
that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come
in the flesh is of God:
3And every spirit that confesseth not that
Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of
God: and this is that spirit of AntiChrist,
whereof ye have heard that it should come;
and even now already is it in the world.
2 John:
7For many deceivers are entered into the world,
who confess not that Jesus Christ is come
in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an AntiChrist.
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What does it mean to deny that Jesus Christ is come
in the flesh? It means to deny that Christ's
nature was identical to our own.
JESUS CHRIST CAME IN OUR FLESH
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Romans 8:
3For what the law could not do, in that it
was weak through the flesh, God sending
His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh,
and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:
Hebrews 2:
14Forasmuch then as the children are partakers
of flesh and blood, he also, himself, likewise,
took part of the same...
17Wherefore in all things it was necessary
for him to be made like unto his brethren,
that he might be a merciful and faithful high
priest in things pertaining to God, to make
reconciliation for the sins of the people.
Hebrews 3:
15For we have not an high priest which cannot
be touched with the feeling of our infirmities;
but was in all points tempted like as we
are, yet without sin.
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THE
COMING OF ANTICHRIST TO POWER
Description of AntiChrist - 2 Thessalonians 2:3-8
1) An apostate (verse 3)
2) A man of sin (verse 3)
3) Will oppose and exalt himself above God (verse
4)
4) Will lay claim to Divine authority (verse 4)
5) Part of a lawless apostasy which already exists
(verses 4-6)
6) Restrained from being revealed in power until
a later time (verse 5)
7) Not in power until 'that which restrains
is taken away' (verses 6-7)
8) Will be destroyed by Christ at his Second Advent
(verse 8)
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE MAN OF SIN
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Daniel 7:
5And he shall speak great words against
the most High...
2 Thessalonians 2:
4Who opposeth and exalteth himself above
all that is called God, or that is worshipped;
so that he as God sitteth in the
temple of God, shewing himself that
he is God.
Revelation 13:
5And there was given unto him a mouth speaking
great things and blasphemies; and power
was given unto him to continue forty and two
months.
6And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against
God, to blaspheme His name, and His tabernacle,
and them that dwell in heaven.
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OPPOSES AND EXALTS HIMSELF ABOVE GOD
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‘2. That the Roman pontiff alone is justly
styled universal…
6. That no person… may live under the same
roof with one excommunicated by the Pope…
9. That all princes should kiss his feet only…
19. That he can be judged by no one…
22. That the Roman Church never erred, nor
will it, according to the scripture, ever
err…’
Gregory VII (Pope Hildebrand, held office
April 1073 to May 1085), ‘The Dictates of
Hildebrand’
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As early as 991 AD, the Catholic Archbishop
Arnulf of Orleans denounced the papacy as the AntChrist:
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‘Looking at the actual state of the papacy,
what do we behold?
John [XII] called Octavian, wallowing in the
sty of filthy concupiscence, conspiring against
the sovereign whom he had himself recently
crowned; then Leo [VIII] the neophyte, chased
from the city by this Octavian; and that monster
himself, after the commission of many murders
and cruelties, dying by the hand of an assassin.
…‘If, holy fathers, we be bound to weigh in
the balance the lives, the morals, and the
attainments of the meanest candidate for the
sacerdotal office, how much more ought we
to look to the fitness of him who aspires
to be the lord and master of all priests!’
Arnulf, Bishop of Orleans, speech at the
Gallican Synod, Council of Rheims, 991
‘Yet how would it fare with us, if it should
happen that the man the most deficient in
all these virtues, one so abject as not to
be worthy of the lowest place among the priesthood,
should be chosen to fill the highest place
of all?
What would you say of such a one, when
you behold him sitting upon the throne glittering
in purple and gold?
Must he not be the “Antichrist, sitting
in the temple of God, and showing himself
as God?’’
Verily such a one lacketh both wisdom and
charity; he standeth in the temple as an image,
as an idol, from which as from dead marble
you would seek counsel.’
Arnulf, Bishop of Orleans, speech at the
Gallican Synod, Council of Rheims, 991
‘O Rome, you are to be mourned, who once brought
the bright glories of the Fathers to our ancestors,
yet in our day have poured forth monstrous
smoking darkness into future ages.’
Arnulf, Bishop of Orleans, speech at the
Gallican Synod, Council of Rheims, 991
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Three centuries later, the Catholic Archbishop
Eberhard identified the AntiChrist in the same way:
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‘They cannot tolerate an equal, they will
not desist until they have trampled all things
under their feet, and until they sit in
the temple of God, and until they are exalted
above all that is worshipped...
He who is servant of servants, desires to
be lord of lords, just as if he were God...
He speaks great things as if he were truly
God.
...
He sits in the temple of God, and has
dominion far and wide.’
Eberhard II, Archbishop of Salzburg, speech
at Council of Ratisbon, 1240
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Despite these protests, the papacy continued to
exalt itself to Divinity:
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‘The pope is as it were God on earth,
sole sovereign of the faithful of Christ,
chief king of kings, having plenitude of power,
to whom has been intrusted by the omnipotent
God direction not only of the earthly but
also of the heavenly kingdom.’
Translated from Lucius Ferraris, Prompta
Bibliotheca, article ‘Papa’ (‘The Pope’),
II, volume VI, pages 26-29, 1755
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‘For thou art the shepherd, thou art the physician,
thou art the director, thou art the husbandman;
finally, thou art another God on Earth.’
Christopher Marcellus, Oration in the fifth
Lateran Council, session IV (1512), as quoted
in Mansi (editor), ‘Sacrorum Conciliorum’,
volume 32, Col. 761
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‘We define that the Holy Apostolic See [Vatican]
and the Roman Pontiff hold the primacy
over the whole world.’
Council of Trent, Decree, quoted in Philippe
Labbe and Gabriel Cossart, ‘The Most Holy
Councils’, volume 13, Col. 1167
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‘Christ entrusted His office to the chief
pontiff… but all power in heaven and in
earth has been given to Christ… therefore
the chief pontiff, who is His vicar, will
have this power.'
Corpus Juris Canonici, 1555 edition, volume
3, ‘Extravagantes Communes’, book 1, chapter
1, Col. 29
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The Protestant Francis Turretin made an excellent
case against the papacy:
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‘Does he not show himself above angels, whose
judge he boasts he has been appointed, when
he claims he has the right to rule over them
as his subjects?
Innocent IV. (C. Canonum): “Every creature
is subject to the author of the canons, who
is also the vicar of the Creator; whose power
was created greater than all power, extending
itself to heavenly things, earthly things
and to things of the underworld, so that all
knees are bent to him,” etc. (Anton. Summ.,
p.3, l.22, c.5).’
Francis Turretin, ‘The 7th Disputation
- Whether It Can Be Proven The Pope of Rome
is AntiChrist’, chapter 25, 1664
‘Clement VI., in his Bull pertaining to the
Jubilee year, ordered the blessed angels
to carry directly to heaven the souls
of those who, after having stated they were
coming to Rome for the purpose of pilgrimage,
died on the journey, but had by chance confessed
on the way:
“We directly order the angels of Paradise
to lead the soul into the glory of Paradise
after that soul has been completely absolved
from Purgatory.”
This extract is from the works of Balseus
on the life of Clement VI.’
Francis Turretin, ‘The 7th Disputation
- Whether It Can Be Proven The Pope of Rome
is AntiChrist’, chapter 25, 1664
‘Glossa of Canon Law Extr. John 22 expressly
calls the Pope our Lord God.
Pope Nicholas, as cited by Gratian (Dist.
69, chapter 7) says, “It is manifestly and
satisfactorily shown that the Pope can neither
be bound by the secular power nor loosed by
it, since it is self-evident that God cannot
be judged by men.”
‘Stapleton (in Preface to Gregory, chap. 16,
Princip. Doctrin.), names the Pope “the best,
the greatest, and most supreme Spirit on earth.”
P. Blond. (1.3., To a Restored Rome) said,
“All leaders of the world honor and worship
the Pope as the highest God.”’
Francis Turretin, ‘The 7th Disputation
- Whether It Can Be Proven The Pope of Rome
is AntiChrist’, chapter 26, 1664
‘(Augustin. Triump. question 6, 1; Tiber.
Deci., vol.3, respon.14, numer.57; Menoch.
cons.51, numer.13), “The Pope has divine
status. Whatever he approves or disapproves,
all must approve or disapprove.”
(Gloss. Dist.19), “No one should question
the Pope, even if he should lead innumerable
people headlong into hell with him.”
(Dist.40), “The Pope holds all mortals subject
to himself. Every human creature is under
obedience to him.”
Extra. De Major. C. Unam sanctam, and innumerable
similar statements which would be too tedious
to mention.’
Francis Turretin, ‘The 7th Disputation
- Whether It Can Be Proven The Pope of Rome
is AntiChrist’, chapter 26, 1664
‘Nor can these impious blasphemies be excused
under the pretext that they are but oratories
or panegyric hyperbole not to be taken for
dogmas.
For not only do these have the consent
of the highest approved teachers of their
Church, (in addition to the fact that
they were introduced through Popes’ councils
into canon law and common books), but who
doesn’t know such epithets have been attributed
to the Popes by their flatterers.
The Popes not only did not refuse such
names, but they willingly endorse them,
not once seeing fit to delete these blasphemous
and contumely appellations from their authoritative
books.’
Francis Turretin, ‘The 7th Disputation
- Whether It Can Be Proven The Pope of Rome
is AntiChrist’, chapter 26, 1664
‘Indeed, in claiming the right to appropriate
the name of God to themselves, they not
only claim the attributes of God, but also
lay claim to the titles of Christ the Lord.
Nor does Bellarmine deny this (de Concil.
Auctorit.1.ii.c.17),
“All names,” he says, “which are attributed
to Christ in the Scriptures, from which source
it is established that he rules over the Church,
are all attributed to the Pontiff.”
Hence, if Christ is called Head, Spouse, Foundation,
supreme Shepherd of the Church, Prince of
the faith, Lord of the House of God, Lion
from the tribe of Judah, Root of David, etc.,
everyone generally acknowledges that these
names are no less attributed to the Pontiff.’
Francis Turretin, ‘The 7th Disputation
- Whether It Can Be Proven The Pope of Rome
is AntiChrist’, chapter 26, 1664
‘In vain does one introduce the argument that
the Pope also calls himself the servant of
servants. Of what benefit is it for the
Pontiff to use feigned humility in calling
himself the servant of servants, when in reality
he proves himself to be insufferably prideful
by claiming the authority of the Lord of Lords?
This is how Trevirensis Præsulum views it,
in a complaint about Pope Nicholas, in his
works, Aventi. Annal.4, “You display the
mask of the Pontiff before you, but you exercise
tyranny; under the clothing of a shepherd
we sense a wolf.
The title, Pope, misrepresents you as parent,
for by your deeds you show yourself as Jupiter.
Although you say you are the servant of
servants, you also assert yourself to be the
Lord of Lords,” etc.’
Francis Turretin, ‘The 7th Disputation
- Whether It Can Be Proven The Pope of Rome
is AntiChrist’, chapter 26, 1664
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Thomas Manton had these excellent points to make
about the 'man of sin' in 2 Thessalonians
2:
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‘Two persons I find in scripture charged
for usurping divine honours. The one,
Herod Agrippa, who was smitten by an angel
for not giving God the glory, when the
people cried, ‘The voice of God, and not of
man,’ Acts xii. 22: his fault was accepting
what was ascribed by others.
The other is the prince of Tyre: Ezek.
xxviii. 2, ‘Because thy heart is lifted up,
and thou hast said I am God, I sit in the
seat of God, in the midst of the seat;
yet thou art a man, and not God, though thou
set thy heart as the heart of God.’
His fault was taking upon him, as if he were
God, to accept divine honours, to do those
things which would make him equalise himself
to our Lord Christ, blessed for ever.’
Thomas Manton, ‘Eighteen Sermons On Second
Thessalonians 2: On the Description, Rise,
Growth and Fall of AntiChrist’, sermon 4,
1685
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Perhaps most blasphemous of all is the claim to
infallibility:
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‘We teach and define that it is a dogma divinely
revealed that the Roman Pontiff, when he
speaks ex cathedra, that is, when in discharge
of the office of pastor and doctor of all
Christians, by virtue of his supreme Apostolic
authority, he defines a doctrine regarding
faith or morals to be held by the universal
Church, by the divine assistance promised
to him in blessed Peter, is possessed of
that infallibility with which the divine Redeemer
willed that His Church should be endowed for
defining doctrine regarding faith or morals;
and that therefore such definitions of the
Roman Pontiff are irreformable [incapable
of correction or alteration] of themselves,
and not from the consent of the Church.’
First Dogmatic Constitution on the Church
of Christ (Pastor Aeternus, published in the
fourth session of the First Vatican Council,
1870), chapter 4; quoted in Phillip Schaff,
‘Creeds of Christendom’, volume 2, pages 269-270,
1877
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‘Sitting in the Temple of God, that is,
speaking ex cathedra as Vice-Christ, the
Pope has, in the most unequivocal manner,
claimed to be god.
To this daring pitch of ambition and blasphemy
has he carried the parallelism or imitation.
The true Christ is god, therefore the Vice-Christ
must claim to be God also.
In the canon law the pope is called God. (Decretum
Gregorii XIII. Destinc 96, Can 7.)
Again he is called "Lord and God" (Decretales
Gregorii IX., Tit. 7.)
And again Innocent says in the decretals,
speaking of the Pope, “God because he is
God's vicar.“’
J A Wylie, ‘The Papacy is the AntiChrist’,
chapter 15, page 45, 1888
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‘We hold the place of Almighty God on earth.’
Pope Leo XIII, ‘Apostolic Letter’, June
20th, 1894
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‘The Pope is not only the representative of
Jesus Christ, but he is Jesus Christ Himself,
hidden under veil of flesh.’
The Catholic National, July 1895
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CHARACTERISTICS
OF THE MAN OF SIN
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Genesis 1:
14And God said, Let there be lights
in the firmament of the heaven to divide the
day from the night; and let them be for
signs, and for seasons, and for days,
and years:
15And let them be for lights in the firmament
of the heaven to give light upon the earth:
and it was so.
Daniel 7:
25And he shall speak great words against the
most High, and shall wear out the saints of
the most High, and think to change times
and laws:
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HE SHALL THINK TO CHANGE TIMES AND LAWS
Again, it is the Catholic Archbishop Eberhard who
first denounces the papacy for usurping this Divine
auhority:
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‘He ponders new counsels under his breast,
in order that he may establish his own rule
for himself, he changes laws, he ordains
his own laws, he corrupts, he plunders,
he pillages, he defrauds, he kills - that
incorrigible man (whom they are accustomed
to call anti-Christ) on whose forehead
an inscription of insult is written: 'I
am God, I cannot err.'
Eberhard II, Archbishop of Salzburg, speech
at Council of Ratisbon, 1240
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The Catholic Church unashamedly made these claims
openly:
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‘The pope is as it were God on earth, sole
sovereign of the faithful of Christ, chief
king of kings, having plenitude of power,
to whom has been intrusted by the omnipotent
God direction not only of the earthly but
also of the heavenly kingdom.
…The pope is of so great authority and
power that he can modify, explain, or interpret
even divine laws.’
Translated from Lucius Ferraris, Prompta
Bibliotheca, article ‘Papa’ (‘The Pope’),
II, volume VI, pages 26-29, 1755
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‘Ques.-Have you any other way of proving that
the Church has power to institute festivals
of precept? [holy days]
Ans.-Had she not such power, she could not
have done that in which all modern religionists
agree with her: She could not have substituted
the observance of Sunday, the first day of
the week, for the observance of Saturday,
the seventh day, a change for which there
is no Scriptural authority.’
Stephen Keenan, ‘Doctrinal Catechism’,
3rd edition, page 176, 1876
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‘Sunday is a Catholic institution, and
its claim to observance can be defended only
on Catholic principles…
From beginning to end of Scripture there is
not a single passage that warrants the transfer
of weekly public worship from the last day
of the week to the first.’
‘Catholic Press’, Sydney, Australia, August,
1900
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‘Not the Creator of Universe in Genesis
2:1-3, but the Catholic Church can claim
the honor of having granted man a pause to
his work every seven days.’
S C Mosna, ‘Storia della Domenica’,
pages 366-367, 1969
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‘Now the Church… instituted, by God's
authority, Sunday as the day of worship.
The same Church, by the same divine authority,
taught the doctrine of Purgatory…
We have, therefore, the same authority for
Purgatory as we have for Sunday.’
Martin J Scott, ‘Things Catholics Are Asked
About’, page 236, 1927
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‘God simply gave His Church the power to
set aside whatever day or days she would
deem suitable as Holy Days.
The Church chose Sunday, the first day of
the week, and in the course of time added
other days, as holy days.’
Vincent J. Kelly, ‘Forbidden Sunday and
Feast-Day Occupations’, page 2, 1943
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CHARACTERISTICS
OF THE MAN OF SIN
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Daniel 7:
25And he shall speak great words against the
most High, and shall wear out the saints
of the most High, and think to change
times and laws: and they shall be given into
his hand until a time and times and the dividing
of time.
Revelation 13:
7And it was given unto him to make war
with the saints, and to overcome them:
and power was given him over all kindreds,
and tongues, and nations.
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HE SHALL MAKE WAR AGAINST THE SAINTS
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'Know that the interest of the Holy See,
and those of your crown make it a duty to
exterminate the Hussites.
Remember that these impious persons dare proclaim
principles of equality, they maintain that
all Christians are brethren, and that
God has not given to privileged men the right
of ruling nations; they hold that Christ
came on earth to abolish slavery; they
call the people to liberty, that is, to the
annihilation of kings.’
Pope Martin V (1417-1431), letter to the
King of Poland, as quoted in L. M. de Cormenin,
‘The Public and Private History of the Popes
of Rome’, volume II, pages 116, 117, 1847
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‘’The church,’ said Luther… 'has never
burned a heretic‘…
I reply that this argument proves not the
opinion, but the ignorance or impudence of
Luther.
Since almost infinite numbers were either
burned or otherwise killed, Luther either
did not know it, and was therefore ignorant,
or if he was not ignorant, he is convicted
of impudence and falsehood; for that heretics
were often burned by the church may be proved
if we adduce a few examples.’
Cardinal Robert Bellarmine, ‘Disputationes
de Controversis Christianae Fidei’, Tom. II,
cap. XXII, 1581-93
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‘“And we do leave and deliver thee to the
secular arm, and to the power of the secular
court; but at the same time do most earnestly
beseech that court so to moderate its sentence
as not to touch thy blood, or to put thy life
in any danger”.’
Michael Geddes, ‘A View of the Court of
Inquisition in Portugal’, Miscellaneous Tracts,
volume I, 3rd edition, page 408, 1730
‘The binding force of the laws against heretics
lay not in the authority of secular princes,
but in the sovereign dominion of life and
death over all Christians claimed by the Popes
as God's representatives on earth, as
[Pope] Innocent III expressly states it.’
Michael Geddes, ‘A View of the Court of
Inquisition in Portugal’, Miscellaneous Tracts,
volume I, 3rd edition, page 408, 1730
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‘The memorials, indeed, of many of her persecutions
are now so scanty that it is impossible to
form a complete conception of the multitude
of her victims, and it is quite certain that
no powers of imagination can adequately realize
their sufferings.
…
These atrocities were not perpetrated in
the brief paroxysms of a reign of terror,
or by the hands of obscure sectaries,
but were inflicted by a triumphant church,
with every circumstance of solemnity and
deliberation.’
William E. H. Lecky, ‘History of the Rise
and Influence of the Spirit of Rationalism
in Europe’, volume II, pages 35, 37, 1879
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‘The civil power can only punish the crime
of unbelief in the manner and to the extent
that the crime is judicially made known to
it by ecclesiastical persons, skilled in the
doctrine of the faith.
But the church taking cognizance by herself
of the crime of unbelief, can by herself decree
the sentence of death, yet not execute
it; but she hands over the execution of it
to the secular arm.’
Alexius M. Lepicier, ‘The Stability and
Progress of Dogma’, page 195, 1910
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‘The Catholic has some reason on his side
when he calls for the temporal punishment
of heretics, for he claims the true title
of Christian for himself exclusively, and
professes to be taught by the never-failing
presence of the Spirit of God…
It is not more 'morally' wrong
to put a man to death for heresy than for
murder… in many cases persecution for
religious opinions is not only permissible,
but highly advisable and necessary.’
‘The Lawfulness of Persecution’, in ‘The
Rambler’, 4, June 1849, pages 119, 126 (English
Roman Catholic journal published from 1848
to 1862)
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‘When confronted by heresy, she does not content
herself with persuasion; arguments of an intellectual
and moral order appear to her insufficient,
and she has recourse to force, to corporal
punishment, to torture.
She creates tribunals like those of the Inquisition,
she calls the laws of state to her aid, if
necessary she encourages a crusade, or a religious
war, and all her 'horror of blood'
practically culminates into urging the secular
power to shed it, which proceeding is almost
more odious--for it is less frank--than shedding
it herself.’
Alfred Baudrillart, Rector of the Catholic
Institute of Paris, ‘The Catholic Church,
the Renaissance, and Protestantism’, pages
182, 183, 1908
‘Especially did she act thus in the sixteenth
century with regard to Protestants. Not
content to reform morally, to teach by example,
to convert people by eloquent and holy missionaries,
she lit in Italy, in the Low Countries,
and above all in Spain, the funeral piles
of the Inquisition.
In France under Francis I and Henri II, in
England under Mary Tudor, she tortured the
heretics, while both in France and Germany,
during the second half of the sixteenth, and
first half of the seventeenth centuries, if
she did not actually begin, at any rate
she encouraged and actively aided the religious
wars.’
Alfred Baudrillart, Rector of the Catholic
Institute of Paris, ‘The Catholic Church,
the Renaissance, and Protestantism’, pages
182, 183, 1908
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CHARACTERISTICS
OF THE MAN OF SIN
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Revelation 13:
15And he had power to give life unto the image
of the beast, that the image of the beast
should both speak, and cause that as many
as would not worship the image of the beast
should be killed.
16And he causeth all, both small and great,
rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a
mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:
17And that no man might buy or sell, save
he that had the mark, or the name of the beast,
or the number of his name.
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FORBIDDING TO BUY OR SELL
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‘…no man presume to entertain or cherish them
[heretics] in his house, or land, to exercise
traffic [commerce] with them.’
Pope Alexander III, Third Lateran Council,
1178
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‘…no man should presume to receive or assist
them in selling or buying, that, being
deprived of the comfort of humanity, they
may be compelled to repent of the error of
their way.
Pope Alexander III, against the Waldenses,
circa 1179
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‘[It is commanded that] they permit not the
heretics to have houses in their districts,
or enter into contracts, or carry on commerce,
or enjoy the comforts of humanity with [Catholic]
Christians.’
Pope Martin V, decree issued after the
Councils of Constance, held 1414-19
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‘Ver. 17. And that no man might buy or sell,
&c.]
…in a civil sense, as to trade, and exercise
merchandise, and this was forbidden by
several Popish councils and synods; the
Lateran council, under Pope Alexander, decreed
against the Waldenses and Albigenses, that
no one should presume to retain or encourage
them in their houses or countries, or "trade"
with them; and the synod of Tours in France
forbid any reception of heretics, or
protection, and that any communion should
be had with them "in buying and selling",
as Mr. Mede has observed; and it was ordered
by a bull of Pope Martin the Fifth, that
no contract should be made with such, and
that they should not follow any business and
merchandise:’
John Gill, ‘Commentary On the Bible’ 1748
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THE MAN OF SIN IS IDENTIFIED BY HIS APOSTASY
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Even Catholic scholars have consistently agreed
that apostasy is an identifying feature of the man
of sin:
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‘Bellarmine (1.iii., Of the Roman Pontiff,
chap.2) says, "The Greek interpreters and
Augustine are in complete agreement in their
teaching that, according to Paul, the Antichrist
himself is able to be recognized by apostasy."
So also do Suárez, Malvenda, and other
of our adversaries agree. Therefore,
the trait of rebelliousness is understood
as being a singular and notable characteristic
of the Antichrist.’
Francis Turretin, ‘The 7th Disputation
- Whether It Can Be Proven The Pope of Rome
is AntiChrist’, chapter 16, 1664
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But some Catholic scholars argued that the apostasy
of 2 Thessalonians 2 is a political falling away,
rather than an apostasy by the Church.
Turretin deals soundly with this argument:
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‘The Pontiffs would have us believe it
is a political apostasy from the Roman empire
referred to here.
But that is impossible, first, because
the apostasy is of a religious nature, not
political, and second, because the
apostasy in question is not one which need
be called by a new name, because this
apostasy is understood to be the defection
from God, the true faith and religion once
professed.
Paul himself explains (1 Tim.4:1): "The Spirit
says clearly that in the latter times certain
ones will commit apostasy from the faith."
Francis Turretin, ‘The 7th Disputation
- Whether It Can Be Proven The Pope of Rome
is AntiChrist’, chapter 16, 1664
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Turretin supports his case with quotes from Roman
Catholic scholars themselves:
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‘Most of the Fathers support us on this
point (Chrysost., Theophyl., Oecumen.,
Theodor.), the last of whom calls the "estrangement
from God."
Augustine concurs (City of God, book 20, chap.19),
as does Cyril of Jerusalem (Catech. 11).
From the Pontiffs, Thomas, Lyranus, Alcazar,
Suárez (tom.2, q.59, art.6, dist.34):
"Although most Latins understand this
to be about the defection from the Roman empire,
nevertheless, it is more properly understood
regarding the defection from Christ,"
etc.’
Francis Turretin, ‘The 7th Disputation
- Whether It Can Be Proven The Pope of Rome
is AntiChrist’, chapter 16, 1664
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Cardinal Manning confesses further that it has been
the historical expectation of Catholic expositors
through the centuries that the 'great
apostasy' spoken of by Paul would be an apostasy
of the Roman Catholic Church:
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‘Malvenda, who writes expressly on the subject…
states as the opinion of Ribera,
Gaspar Melus, Viegas, Suarez, Bellarmine,
and Bosius that Rome shall apostasize from
the faith.’
Cardinal Manning, ‘The Present Crisis of
the Holy See, Tested By Prophecy’, 1861
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FORBIDDING
ACCESS TO THE SCRIPTURES
Is this the work of Christ, or AntiChrist?
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‘No one may possess the books of the Old
and New Testaments in the Romance [common]
language, and if anyone possesses them
he must turn them over to the local bishop
within eight days after the promulgation of
this decree, so that they may be burned.
The lords of the districts shall carefully
seek out the heretics in dwellings, hovels,
and forests, and even their underground
retreats shall be entirely wiped out.’
Pope Gregory IX, Concil Tolosanum, 1229,
cited in D Lortsch, ‘Histoire de la Biblia
en France’ page 14, 1910
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TRADITION PLACED ABOVE THE SCRIPTURES
Is this the teaching of Christ, or AntiChrist?
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‘Like two sacred rivers flowing from paradise,
the Bible and divine Tradition contain the
Word of God, the precious gems of revealed
truths.
Though these two divine streams are in themselves,
on account of their divine origin, of equal
sacredness, and are both full of revealed
truths, still, of the two, TRADITION is
to us more clear and safe.’
Catholic priest Joseph F Di Bruno, ‘Catholic
Belief’, page 45, 1884
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THE PAPACY CLAIMS THE IMPERIAL AUTHORITY
Is this the claim of Christ or AntiChrist?
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‘The Bishop of Rome mounted the throne
whence the Emperors fell, and took, little
by little, the position rendered vacant by
the desertion of the successor of Augustus.’
Duc de Broglie, ‘Histoire de L'Eglise’,
VI, pages 424-456, 1856-66
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‘The Captain who gloriously fills the place
of the ancient Caesars.
Editor of the ‘Acta Sanctae Sedis’, (‘Deeds
of the Holy See’), V, page 324 said of Pope
Pius IX (Catholic publication commenced 1865,
declared in 1904 to be an organ of the Holy
See, such that all documents it contains are
“authentic and official’”
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‘The Caesar who now addresses you,
and to whom alone are obedience and
fidelity due.’
Pope Pius LX, ‘Discorsi’ I, page 253
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‘From the abandonment of Rome (by Caesar)
was the liberation of the Pontiffs.
…
[He cites 2 Thessalonians 2:7]
He was elevated to be, in his Divine Master's
Name King of Kings and Lord of Lords.’
…
‘The abandonment of Rome… left them free
to become independent sovereigns, and to take
up the sovereignty the Emperor had just laid
down.’
Cardinal Manning, ‘Lectures On the Temporal
Power’, preface, pages 42-46, 50, 1862
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‘The Popes called their acts by the same
name as the Caesarean laws Rescripts and Decrees.
…
The notions about the plenary powers of the
Caesars prevalent in the latter days of the
Roman Empire had their influence here.
Dr Dollinger, Catholic historian, ‘The
Pope and the Council’, page 165, 1869
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‘Let them learn that they are subject - to
our Throne, and to our commands.’
Pius VII, ‘Excommunication against Napoleon’,
(Abbe' de Pradt, ‘Quatre Concordats’),
June 10th, 1809
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IS
THE MAN OF SIN A SINGLE INDIVIDUAL?
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‘But because he is called the man of sin,
here it cometh fitly to be inquired whether
Antichrist be an individual person? for
‘that man of sin’ would seem to be some single
person.
No; he is put for a society and succession
of men, that make up the head of the apostate
state.
As one lion figured the whole kingdom of
the Babylonians, and one bear the kingdom
of the Medes and Persians, and one leopard
the kingdom of the Grecians, Dan. vii.,—and
there the fourth beast is the fourth kingdom,—so
one person that succession of men that head
the revolters from Christ.
So Dan. viii., a goat figured a succession
of kings; so the Assyrian, Isa. x. 5,
several kings in that empire; so Isa.
xiv. 9, the king of Babylon, meaning not
one but many.’
Thomas Manton, ‘Eighteen Sermons On Second
Thessalonians 2: On the Description, Rise,
Growth and Fall of AntiChrist’, sermon 3,
1685
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‘So this man of sin doth not note a single
man, but a succession of men, a body politic
or corporate, under one opposite head to the
kingdom of Christ: so the ‘man of God’
is put for all faithful ministers, 2 Tim.
iii. 17; so ‘honour the king,’ I Peter ii.
17, series regum.
So o arciereus, Heb. ix. 25, ‘The high
priest every year entereth into the holy
place;’ meaning not one, but the succession
of the order; and in reason it must needs
be so here.
Because Antichrist, from his beginning to
his end, from his rise and revelation, till
his ruin and destruction, will take up
such a long track of time, as cannot fall
within the age of any one man, even from the
time of the apostles till the end of the world.’
Thomas Manton, ‘Eighteen Sermons On Second
Thessalonians 2: On the Description,
Rise, Growth and Fall of AntiChrist’, sermon
3, 1685
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IS
IT OF CHRIST OR ANTICHRIST?
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‘Where-ever was there an Empire since the
writing of the Prophecy, but that of the
Roman Church, that was so Universal for 1260
years together, as to have all that dwell
upon the Earth, Peoples, and Multitudes, and
Nations, and Tongues, to worship it?
What Ruling Power, but that, so Ancient, as
to have the Blood of the Prophets, and Saints,
and of all that were slain upon Earth, of
that kind for that space of time, to be found
in it?
What Rule but that, had ever so long a duration
in the World, as to continue set upon an
Hill, much less upon seven Hills, for so great
a space of time... ?
Drue Cressener, ‘A Demonstration of the
First Principles of the Protestant Applications
of the Apocalypse’, preface, pages viii, ix,
1690
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‘There is an association which professes
to take His place without warrant. It
comes forward instead of Christ, and for Him;
it speaks for Him, it develops His words,
it suspends His appointments.
It grants dispensations in matters of positive
duty; it professes to minister grace; it absolves
from sin, and all this on its own authority.
Is it not, forthwith, according to the very
force of the word, Antichrist?
He who speaks for Christ must either be
His true ambassador, or Antichrist. There
is no median between a Vice-Christ and Antichrist.’
John Newman, ‘Treatise on Antichrist’,
written while an Anglican (Newman later converted
to Catholicism), 1840
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‘It is Christ or Antichrist.’
Catholic Cardinal Manning, ‘Caesarism and
Ultramontanism’, page 36, 1874
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‘If the Pope is not the vicar of Christ, he
must be Antichrist; there is no middle view.’
Father Philip Fletcher, ‘Guild of Our Lady
of Ransom’, February issue, page 229, 1914
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| QUOTE
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‘If the Church of Rome be not the Church of
Christ, it is the masterpiece of the Devil;
it can be nothing between.’
The Honourable G A Spencer, in reply to
Dr Cumming, undated, late 19th century
|
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‘This is the doctrine of the Bull Unam Sanctam,
and of the Syllabus, and of the Vatican Council.
Any power which is independent, and can alone
fix the limits of its own jurisdiction, and
can thereby fix the limits of all other jurisdictions,
is (ipso facto) supreme.
But the Church of Jesus Christ (i.e., the
Papal Church)… is all this, or nothing,
or worse than nothing, an impostor and a usurpation
- that is, it is Christ or Antichrist.’
Catholic Cardinal Manning, ‘Caesarism and
Ultramontanism’, pages 35, 36, 1874
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