Warned.

FACTS OF FAITH By Christian Edwardson

Chapter  23

A Message For Our Times

     (216) God knows the future, and He has a set "time there for every purpose and for every work." (Acts 15:18; Ecclesiastes 3:1, 17.)

Act 15:18  Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world. 

Ecc 3:1  To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven

Ecc 3:17  I said in mine heart, God shall judge the righteous and the wicked: for there is a time there for every purpose and for every work. 

 He has also pledged Himself to "do nothing" that vitally concerns this world "but He revealeth His secret unto His servants the prophets" beforehand (John 15:14, 15; Psalm 25:14; Amos 3:7),

Joh 15:14  Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you. 

Joh 15:15  Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you. 

Psa 25:14  The secret of the LORD is with them that fear him; and he will shew them his covenant. 

Amo 3:7  Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets. 

and then He holds His servants responsible for warning the world (Ezekiel 33:1-8).

Eze 33:1  Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 

Eze 33:2  Son of man, speak to the children of thy people, and say unto them, When I bring the sword upon a land, if the people of the land take a man of their coasts, and set him for their watchman: 

Eze 33:3  If when he seeth the sword come upon the land, he blow the trumpet, and warn the people; 

Eze 33:4  Then whosoever heareth the sound of the trumpet, and taketh not warning; if the sword come, and take him away, his blood shall be upon his own head. 

Eze 33:5  He heard the sound of the trumpet, and took not warning; his blood shall be upon him. But he that taketh warning shall deliver his soul. 

Eze 33:6  But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword come, and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman's hand. 

Eze 33:7  So thou, O son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel; therefore thou shalt hear the word at my mouth, and warn them from me. 

Eze 33:8  When I say unto the wicked, O wicked man, thou shalt surely die; if thou dost not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand. 

They are watchmen on the walls of Zion, who should be able to read the signs on God's prophetic clock, so they can tell the time and give the warning at the hour of crisis (Isaiah 21:11, 12; 2 Peter 1:19; Romans 13:11; Matthew 16:2, 3);

Isa 21:11  The burden of Dumah. He calleth to me out of Seir, Watchman, what of the night? Watchman, what of the night? 

Isa 21:12  The watchman said, The morning cometh, and also the night: if ye will enquire, enquire ye: return, come. 

2Pe 1:19  We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts

Rom 13:11  And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. 

Mat 16:2  He answered and said unto them, When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red. 

Mat 16:3  And in the morning, It will be foul weather to day: for the sky is red and lowring. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times? 

and when God's hour strikes, He has His agencies in readiness to carry His message to the world.

     Before the world was destroyed by the Flood, Noah warned the people for one hundred twenty years

Gen 6:3  And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years. 

Gen 6:4  There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown. 

Gen 6:5  And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 

Gen 6:6  And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. 

Gen 6:7  And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them. 

Gen 6:8  But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD. 

Noah and the Flood

Gen 6:9  These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God. 

Gen 6:10  And Noah begat three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. 

Gen 6:11  The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. 

Gen 6:12  And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth. 

Gen 6:13  And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth. 

Gen 6:22  Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he. 

2Pe 2:5  And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly

 (Genesis 6:3-13, 22; 2 Peter 2:5); before the destruction of Sodom, Lot gave the warning message to that wicked city

Gen 19:12  And the men said unto Lot, Hast thou here any besides? son in law, and thy sons, and thy daughters, and whatsoever thou hast in the city, bring them out of this place: 

Gen 19:13  For we will destroy this place, because the cry of them is waxen great before the face of the LORD; and the LORD hath sent us to destroy it. 

Gen 19:14  And Lot went out, and spake unto his sons in law, which married his daughters, and said, Up, get you out of this place; for the LORD will destroy this city. But he seemed as one that mocked unto his sons in law. 

(Genesis 19:12-14); and before Christ's first coming, John the Baptist heralded the coming of the Messiah

Luk 1:13  But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John. 

Luk 1:14  And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth. 

Luk 1:15  For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb. 

Luk 1:16  And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God. 

Luk 1:17  And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.

(Luke 1:13-17). Then why should not so important an event as Christ's second coming be given proper notice, and a warning message be sent to prepare the world for its final destruction?

     It is true that the world in general has never received favorably any of God's warning messages in former ages, and Christ declares that His final warning will not be heeded any more than His warnings sent through Noah and Lot. (Luke 17:26-30.)

Luk 17:26  And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. 

Luk 17:27  They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all. 

Luk 17:28  Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; 

Luk 17:29  But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. 

Luk 17:30  Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed. 

Yet the message must be given though there are but few who receive it. Here is Christ's message for our days:

     "I Jesus have sent Mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches." Rev. 22:16. "Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book." V. 7.

 Here we see that the message to be given just before Christ's second coming is found in the "book" of Revelation. This is specifically given in chapter 14, verses 6-14. Here is presented "the everlasting gospel," connected with the warning that "the hour of His judgment is come," and an appeal for a return to the loyal worship of the Creator, combined with a warning against the worship of the "beast and his image," and against taking "his mark." Those who receive this message are characterized by the fact that they "keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus." Rev. 14:6-13. The very next scene is the Son of man coming on the cloud to reap the harvest of the earth, and "the harvest is the end of the world." Verses 14-16 and Matt. 13:39.

     (217) The people who give this message to the world must therefore know what is meant by "the beast," "his image," and "his mark." This we find clearly presented in Revelation 13. Let us study this chapter.

To be continued….

Prophetically- Knowledge Shall Be Increased.

FACTS OF FAITH By Christian Edwardson

Chapter  22

The Time of the End

     (212) The book of prophecy was to be closed up and sealed till "the time of the end." "But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro and knowledge shall be increased." Daniel 12:4. The question was then asked: "How long shall it be?" And the answer was given: "It shall be for a times, times, and an half; and when he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished." V. 6, 7.

     We have seen (pp. 52-60) that the "time, times, and an half," during which the papacy should scatter God's true followers, began in 538 A.D., and ended in 1798 A.D. And as "the time of the end" begins when this period "shall be finished," it is plain that "the time of the end" began in 1798 A.D. And at that time "many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased." Daniel 12:4. And it is remarkable how knowledge has been increased since 1798, not only in the prophecies, but also in general, as we shall presently see. But we must answer one question first. Some ask why God wanted to give important prophecies, and then keep them sealed up for so many centuries. There is a reason.

     The prophecies give solemn warnings against the papal power. If these prophecies had been fully understood during the Dark Ages, when the Roman Catholic Church burned all books she thought were damaging to her, those prophecies would have suffered the same fate. Therefore God spoke in symbolic language, and placed the keys to those symbols where they would not be found till the Papacy lost its power, when God would impress the minds of His people where to find the keys. No one who locks his house will leave the key in the door, but he puts it where only members of his family know where to find it. Just so the Lord did with His prophecies. (The keys to prophetic symbols are given on page 34.)

     (213) When these prophecies were to be opened at "the time of the end," their message would have to go quickly to earth's remotest bounds. (Rev. 14:6, 7; Romans 9:28.) And as this could never have been accomplished without the modern printing press, and the more speedy means of travel and communication, the Lord set in motion those spurs in the human breast that led to new discoveries.

During the 1260 years of papal supremacy, people did not dare to think freely, or independently of the lines of education established by the Church. (See p. 127.) Galileo's trial by the Inquisition in 1623 will serve as an example of how advancement in science and invention was opposed by the church of Rome. But when in 1798 the Papacy lost its power, its downfall broke the shackles, and unloosed the world's genius, so that invention followed invention in quick succession.

TABLE OF INVENTIONS

     1. Gas for lighting purposes. --1798

     2. Cast-iron plows. --1800

     3. Steel pens for writing. --1803

     4. First locomotive. --1804

     5. First steamboat --1808

     6. Steam printing press. --1811

     7. Passenger cars for trains. --1825

     8. Kerosene for lighting purposes. --1825

     9. Matches. --1829

     10. Mowing machine, reaper. --1833

     11. First electric motor. --1834

     12. Telegraph. First message: "What hath God wrought!"--1844

     13. Photography. --1839

     14. Submarine telegraph cable. --1851

     15. Typewriter. --1868

     16. Telephone. --1876

     17. Phonograph. --1877

     18. Electric railway. --1879

     19. Linotype. --1885

     20. Automobile. --1893

     21. Wireless telegraphy. --1895

     22. Aeroplane, first successful flight. --1903

     23. Radio broadcasting. --1921

     24. Television. --1926

     25. Pushbutton elevator. --1934

     26. Airplane bombsight. --1940

     (214) Prophecy had decreed that in the day of God's preparation for finishing His work on earth, "knowledge shall be increased"; and when His hour struck for the giving of His last warning message, nothing could stop it. We read: "The chariots shall be with flaming torches in the day of His preparation....The chariots shall rage in the streets, they shall justle one against another in the broad ways: they shall seem like torches, they shall run like the lightnings." Nahum 2:3, 4.

     How could any one give a better description of modern railroads and automobiles? Even the coming of the Zeppelin and the airplane is foretold in the Bible: "Who are these that fly as a cloud, and as the doves to their windows?" Isaiah 60:8. The simile is striking, for doves and airplanes both need landing places. This prophecy speaks of a time when "darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people," while God's glorious light is shining upon His faithful servants. (Verses 1, 2.) This was never more true than now. The book of prophecy, that had been closed for centuries, is now opened to God's people. (Daniel 12:4, 10; Rev. 5:1-9; 10:1, 2, 8-11; 22:6, 7, 16.) Light is now shining from the throne of God upon them, while evolution, infidelity, spiritism, and Roman Catholic superstitions are enveloping the world in the grossest of spiritual darkness, and crime is at its high tide. Thinking people are everywhere scanning the horizon to detect some prophetic message from heaven that will cast light on the present chaos.

     William T. Ellis, in an article entitled, "Why Don't the Churches Settle Things?" which appeared in the Saturday Evening Post, of February 12, 1921, points out this fact in a striking manner. He says:

     (215) "There never before was a greater interest in religion in America than today - or a smaller interest in the churches. This is the paradox of our times....

     "Ever since the war began, the country has been listening for a clear trumpet note from some prophet of the living God. In vain." He then speaks of "the church's reproach of having failed in her prophetic function." After relating the concern of two business men on this point he says:

     "That incident brings me squarely up against one of the most uncomfortable, perplexing and tragic situations in connection with this entire theme of the strange spiritual stirrings of the race today. Many clergymen seem scarcely aware of what is going forward beneath the surface of life. Many experts upon religion, who are the ministers of the gospel, have seemingly failed to hear 'the sound of a going in the tops of the mulberry trees.' Otherwise we should find them gathering with agony of soul in protracted sessions of prayer....

     "Morbid minds could easily persuade themselves that there is a present visitation of blindness upon the teachers of religion."

     D. L. Moody says:

     "If God did not mean to have us study the prophecies, He would not have put them into the Bible....About one third of the Bible is prophetical....

     "The return of the Lord to this earth is taught in the New Testament as clearly as any other doctrine in it....Whoever neglects this has only a mutilated gospel....Yet I was in the church fifteen or sixteen years before I ever heard a sermon on it....I can see a reason for this; the Devil does not want us to see this truth, for nothing would wake up the church so much. The moment a man realizes that Jesus Christ is coming back again to receive His followers to Himself, this world loses its hold upon him." - "The Second Coming of Christ," pp. 17, 18.

Lies and Deception Disguised As Truth.

FACTS OF FAITH By Christian Edwardson

THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST VERSUS THE GOSPEL OF ROME

     Through sin man has separated himself from God, and his fallen nature is opposed to the divine will; therefore he cannot by his own effort live a godly life, nor can he change his own heart. (Isaiah 59:1; Romans 8:7; Jeremiah 13:23; John 15:5.) Only through Christ, our Mediator, can man be rescued from sin, and again be brought into connection with the source of purity and power.

     But in order to become such a connecting link Christ had to partake both of the divinity of God and of the humanity of man, so that He with His divine arm could encircle God, and with His human arm embrace man, thus connecting both in His own person. In this union of the human with the divine lies the "mystery" of the gospel, the secret of power to lift man from his degradation. "Great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh." 1 Tim. 3:16. The "mystery," or secret of power to live a godly life in human flesh, was manifest in the life of Jesus Christ while on earth. (And "Christ in you" is the secret of power to conquer sin. Colossians 1:27.)

     (205) But mark! It was fallen man that was to be rescued from sin. And to make contact with him Christ had to condescend to take our nature upon Himself (not some higher kind of flesh). "Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, He also Himself likewise took part of the same....Wherefore in all things it behooved Him to be made like unto His brethren." Heb. 2:14, 17. This text is so worded that it cannot be misunderstood. Christ "took part of the same" flesh and blood as ours; He came in "the" flesh. To deny this is the mark of Anti-Christ. (1 John 4:3; 2 John 7.) To bridge the gulf that sin has made, Christ must be one with the Father in divinity, and one with man in humanity, and thus connect again earth with heaven.

     God revealed this truth to the Patriarch Jacob that lonely night at Bethel. When he feared that his sins had cut him off from heaven, God showed him that mystic Ladder, connecting earth with heaven, which Christ explained to be "the Son of man." (Genesis 28:12; John 1:51.) Modernism has tried to cut off the upper part of this ladder by denying Christ's divinity; while the Roman Catholic Church cuts off the lower rounds by teaching that the Virgin Mary was born without sin, and that therefore Christ did not take upon Himself our kind of flesh and blood, but holy flesh, so far above us that he does not make contact with our humanity. For this reason the poor sinner cannot come to Him directly, they say, but must come through Mary, saints, popes, and priests, who will mediate for him. This has opened the floodgate for all the idolatry of the Catholic Church. Here is this "dogma" presented in authentic Catholic works:

     (206) "'We define that the Blessed Virgin Mary in the first moment of her conception...was preserved free from every taint of original sin.'

     "Unlike the rest of the children of Adam, the soul of Mary was never subject to sin." - "Faith of Our Fathers," Cardinal Gibbons, pp. 203, 204. Baltimore: 1885.

     The Sainted Doctor Alphonsus de Liguori says:

     "The merits of Jesus, shall be dispensed through the hands and by the intercession of Mary." - "Glories of Mary," p. 180, New Revised Edition. New York: P. J. Kenedy and Sons, 1888.

     "God has chosen to bestow no grace upon us but by the hands of Mary." - Id., p. 180.

     "Whoever asks and wishes to obtain graces without the intercession of Mary, attempts to fly without wings." - Id., p. 189.

     "Mary is all the hope of our salvation." - Id., p. 195.

     "Thou art the only advocate of sinners." - Id., p. 129.

     "All those who are saved, are saved solely by means of this divine mother;...the salvation of all depends upon preaching Mary." - Id., pp. 19, 20.

     "We ask many things of God and do not obtain them; we ask them from Mary and obtain them." - Id., p. 150. Much more could be cited.

     A Protestant may ask if the merits of Christ's sacrifice on the cross are not sufficient, so that we can receive grace directly from Him. To this the Catholic Church answers:

     "The merits and virtue of the sacrifice of the cross are infinite; but that virtue and these merits must be applied, and this can only be done by certain means." - "Doctrinal Catechism," S. Keenan, p. 129. New York: Kenedy and Sons, 1846.

     "The priest has the power of the keys, or the power of delivering sinners from hell, of making them worthy of paradise, and of changing them from the slaves of Satan into the children of God. And God himself is obliged to abide by the judgment of His priests....'The Sovereign Master of the universe only follows the servant by confirming in heaven all that the latter decides upon earth.'" - "Dignity and Duties of the Priest," St. Alphonsus de Liguori, pp. 27, 28. New York: Benziger Brothers, 1888.

     (207) We now have before us the only means of salvation in the Roman Catholic gospel, as presented by men of unquestionable authority among them. This throws light on the reason why the Catholic priest has such a hold on his people. They dare not oppose him, because he represents their only means of contact with heaven. Cut off from the church, they feel they are lost; for they do not know of a Christ who has come all the way down to the lost sinner's side, to whom they can come personally and receive forgiveness through grace alone. The divine ladder has been cut off, and Mary, saints, and priests have been substituted. But the Bible knows of only "one Mediator," Jesus Christ. (1 Tim. 2:5; Psalm 49:7, 8.)

     

But we have not yet gone to the depth of this substitute "mystery." Let us now take the next step.

Having removed the living Christ from contact with the sinner, they had to substitute something else to satisfy the longing of the human heart for the indwelling presence of Christ. And that substitute is the "Sacrifice of the Mass." The Roman church teaches that the priest in the mass changes the little wafer into the real Christ, which they then fall down and worship, after which they eat Him, believing that they become partakers of Christ and receive the forgiveness of sin. Thus they have substituted a man-made Christ for a living Christ. Liguori says:

     "If the person of the redeemer had not yet been in the world, the priest, by pronouncing the words of a Man-God. 'O wonderful dignity of the priests,' cries out St. Augustine; 'in their hands, as in the womb of the Blessed Virgin, the Son of God becomes incarnate.' Hence priests are called the parents of Jesus Christ....

     "Thus the priest may, in a certain manner, be called the creator of his Creator....'He that created without me is Himself created by me!'" - "Dignity and Duties of the Priest," pp. 32, 33.

     (208) "In obedience to the words of his priests - Hoc est Corpus Meum - God himself descends on the altar,...he comes wherever they call him, and as often as they call him, and places himself in their hands....They may, if they wish, shut him up in the tabernacle;...they may, if they choose, eat his flesh, and give him for the food of others." - Id., pp. 26, 27.

     Then priest and people worship the Christ thus created:

     "Elevating a particle of the Blessed Sacrament, and turning towards the people, he [the priest] says: 'Behold the Lamb of God, behold Him who taketh away the sins of the world.'

     "And then says three times: Lord, I am not worthy that Thou shouldst enter under my roof; but only say the word, and my soul shall be healed....

     "This pure and holy Sacrament. Who livest and reignest forever and ever. Amen." - "The Key of Heaven," Right Rev. J. Milner. D. D., approved by Cardinal Gibbons, pp. 126, 127. Baltimore: J. Murphy and Co., 1898.

     In the following quotation the Catholic Church explains why she believes this worship of the wafer (host) is not idolatry:

     "Now turn for a moment to the Catholic altar. The holy Sacrifice of the Mass is being offered up. The bell has given the signal that the most solemn and awful moment of consecration is at hand. As yet there is only bread in the hand of the priest, and wine in the chalice before him. To worship these lifeless elements would be the grossest idolatry. But suddenly, amid the silence of the breathless multitude, the priests utters the divine life-giving words of consecration; and that which was bread and wine, is bread and wine no longer, but the true Body and Blood of our Lord Himself. It is that same Body that was born of the Blessed Virgin Mary, that died for us upon the cross, that was raised again to life, and that even now sits at the right hand of God the Father....

     "Now in this mystery the power of the creation appears as much as in the mystery of the incarnation." - "The Holy Mass: The Sacrifice for the Living and the Dead." M. Muller, pp. 174, 175. New York. 1876.

     (209) Pastor Charles Chiniquy, a former Catholic priest, says:

     "No words can give any idea of the pleasure I used to feel when alone, prostrated before the Christ I had made at the morning mass, I poured out my heart at His feet....I may say with truth, that the happiest hours I ever had, during the long years of darkness into which the Church of Rome had plunged me, were the hours I passed in adoring the Christ whom I had made with my own lips....

     "In fact, the Roman Catholics have no other Saviour to whom they can betake themselves than the one made by the consecration of the wafer. He is the only Saviour who is not angry with them, and who does not require the mediation of virgins and saints to appease His wrath." - "Fifty Years in the Church of Rome," chapter 17, pars. 29, 31.

     In the thirty-sixth chapter of his book Pastor Chiniquy tells how he was led to question seriously this worship of Rome's wafer-god, the "host." "In the spring of 1840...Father Daule [an old, blind priest, was residing with him at Beauport, Quebec.] One morning when the old priest was at the altar, saying his mass, [and had just change the wafer into the real Christ, and was reaching for it, it was gone. He called to Chiniquy] with a shriek of distress: 'The Good God has disappeared from the altar. He is lost!' [Chiniquy, remembering how often rats had tried to get the wafer while he himself had officiated there, knew what had happened, and in his consternation replied:] 'Some rats have dragged and eaten the Good God!' [The sorrow of the old priest knew no bounds, but Chiniquy declared:] "if I were God Almighty, and a miserable rat would come to eat me, I would surely strike him dead.'" - Id., chapter 36, pars. 7, 13, 24.

     But Catholics deny that the papacy is Antichrist, for, say they, Antichrist is to come in the last days. To this we answer: It is true that both Paul and John speak of the activity of Antichrist at the time of Christ's second coming, but they also speak of its already having begun in their day. (1 John 2:18; 2 Thess. 2:7.) There is a beautiful harmony in this when we look at it in the light of Revelation 13:3, 5, 10 and 17:8, where it is stated that this power will continue forty-two prophetic months, or twelve hundred sixty literal years, after which it is "wounded to death" and lies dormant for a time, till its deadly wound is healed, and all the world will again follow it in wonder and admiration, and finally it will be destroyed at Christ's second coming. So the Antichrist of the last days is simply the Papacy restored to power. See "Romanism and the Reformation," by H. Grattan Guinness, F. R. G. S., and "The Papacy," by Dr. J. A. Wylie.

     (210) "The Romanists themselves shame you in their clear-sighted comprehension of the issues of this question. Cardinal Manning says, 'The Catholic Church is either the masterpiece of Satan or the kingdom of the Son of God.' Cardinal Newman says, 'A sacerdotal order is historically the essence of the Church of Rome; if not divinely appointed, it is doctrinally the essence of antichrist.' Rome declares she is one or the other. She herself propounds and urges this solemn alternative. You shrink from it, do you? I accept it. Conscience constrains me. History compels me. The past, the awful past, rises before me. I see THE GREAT APOSTASY, I see the desolation of Christendom, I see the smoking ruins, I see the reign of monsters; I see those vice-gods, that Gregory VII, that Innocent III, that Boniface VIII, that Alexander VI, that Gregory XIII, that Pius IX; I see their long succession, I hear their insufferable blasphemies, I see their abominable lives; I see them worshiped by blinded generations, bestowing hollow benedictions, bartering lying indulgences, creating a paganized Christianity; I see their liveried slaves, their shaven priests, their celibate confessors; I see the infamous confessional, the ruined women, the murdered innocents; I hear the lying absolutions, the dying groans; I hear the cries of the victims; I hear the anathemas, the curses, the thunders of the interdicts; I see the racks, the dungeons, the stakes; I see that inhuman Inquisition, those fires of Smithfield, those butcheries of St. Bartholomew, that Spanish Armada, those unspeakable dragonnades, that endless train of wars, that dreadful multitude of massacres. I see it all, and in the name of the ruin it has wrought in the Church and in the world, in the name of the truth it has denied, the temple it has defiled, the God it has blasphemed, the souls it has destroyed; in the name of the millions it has deluded, the millions it has slaughtered, the millions it has damned; with holy confessors, with noble reformers, with innumerable martyrs, with the saints of ages, I denounce it as the masterpiece of Satan, as the body and soul and essence of antichrist." - "Romanism and the Reformation," H. Grattan Guinness, pp. 158, 159. London. 1891.

Truth Denied

FACTS OF FAITH By Christian Edwardson

JESUITS UNDERMINE THE TRUTH

     (201) The Rev. Joseph Tanner, B. A., says:

     "So great hold did the conviction that the Papacy was the Antichrist gain upon the minds of men, that Rome at last saw she must bestir herself, and try, by putting forth other systems of interpretation, to counteract the identification of the Papacy with the Antichrist.

     "Accordingly, towards the close of the century of the Reformation, two of her most learned doctors set themselves to the task, each endeavoring by different means to accomplish the same end; namely, that of diverting men's minds from perceiving the fulfillment of the prophecies of the Antichrist in the papal system. The Jesuit Alcasar devoted himself to bring into prominence the Preterist method of interpretation,...that the prophecies of Antichrist were fulfilled before the Popes ever ruled at Rome, and therefore could not apply to the Papacy. On the other hand the Jesuit Ribera tried to set aside the application of these prophecies to the papal power by bringing out the Futurist system, which asserts that these prophecies refer properly not to the career of the Papacy, but to that of some future supernatural individual, who is yet to appear, and to continue in power for three and a half years. Thus, as Alford says, the Jesuit Ribera, about A.D. 1580, may be regarded as the Founder of the Futurist system in modern times.

     "It is a matter for deep regret that those who hold and advocate the Futurist system at the present day, Protestants as they are for the most part, are thus really playing into the hands of Rome, and helping to screen the papacy from detection as the Antichrist. It has been well said that 'Futurism tends to obliterate the brand put by the Holy Spirit upon popery.' More especially is this to be deplored at a time when the papal Antichrist seems to make an expiring effort to regain his former hold on men's minds. Now once again, as at the Reformation, it is especially necessary that his true character should be recognized, by all who would be faithful to 'the testimony of Jesus.'" - "Daniel and the Revelation," pp. 16, 17. London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1898.

     (202) To undermine the work of the Reformers, these Jesuits, Alcasar and Ribera, gathered a mass of material from the writings of the Church Fathers concerning Antichrist. This gave their works the appearance of scientific research, which appealed to many Protestant leaders. (An example of this can be seen in Encyclopaedia Biblica, art. "Antichrist.") but statements from the Church Fathers which speak of the coming of Antichrist as an event then in the future, could be no proof for Ribera's "futurist" theory, for the reign of the papal Antichrist was then still in the future. The 1260 years of the papal persecution, called the Dark Ages, had not yet begun when these Fathers wrote. The theories of Ribera and Alcasar were diametrically opposed to each other, and yet both were taught as Catholic truths, taken from the Church Fathers. From this we see how untrustworthy are these sources. Dr. Adam Clarke is evidently right when he says of the Fathers:

     "We may safely state, that there is not a truth in the most orthodox creed, that cannot be proven by their authority; nor a heresy that has disgraced the Romish Church that may not challenge them as its abetters. In points of doctrine, their authority is, with me, nothing. The Word of God alone contains my creed." - Commentary on Proverbs 8.

BIBLE PROPHECY OF ANTICHRIST IS PLAIN

     The prophecies of the Bible regarding Antichrist are so plain that even Roman Catholics cannot evade them all. The seventh chapter of Daniel foretells the rise of four world empires, which the Douay Bible explains to be "the Chaldean, Persian, Grecian, and Roman empires." The Roman Empire was broken up into ten smaller kingdoms between the years 351 and 476 A.D. And among them there should grow up another power, symbolized by a "little horn." Of this the Douay Bible says: "Another little horn. This is commonly understood of Antichrist." Daniel 7:7, 8. The Papacy is the only power that came up just at that time, and which fits all the specifications of the symbol.

     (203) We have seen on page 195 how clearly the Papacy is pointed out in 2 Thess. 2:3-7. This prophecy states that the apostolic church would be gradually "falling away" until a "man" would exalt himself to take the place of God in the church. This "mystery of iniquity" was already at work in Paul's day, but something was holding it back. (Vs. 6, 7.) As long as the Roman Empire was heathen, and persecuted the Christians, there was no incentive to join the church for worldly gain; but during the time of Constantine the church became popular, and the worldly ambitious struggled for the highest ecclesiastical offices, because of the great honor and emolument connected with them; and when finally the Roman State was abolished, the bishop of Rome seated himself upon the throne of the Caesars. It was therefore heathen Rome that had to "be taken out of the way," before the papal Antichrist could come into power. Speaking of this point the Catholic Encyclopedia says: "The impediment is the Roman Empire; the main event impeded is the 'man of sin.'" - Vol. I, p. 560, art. "Antichrist."

     The Douay Bible says: "The Roman Empire,...was first to be destroyed, before the coming of Antichrist." - Note on 2 Thess. 2:3.

TWO POINTS MADE CLEAR

     There were two arguments used against the position taken by the Reformers which have puzzled many:

     (1) It was claimed that the Apostle John used two distinctions: and Antichrist" to designate the false teachers of his day, and "the Antichrist," referring to some superhuman monster of Jewish extraction that would appear just before Christ's second coming. But on this point Dr. C. H. H. Wright truthfully remarks: "St. John, the only New Testament writer who employs the term, makes no distinction whatever between 'an Antichrist' and 'the Antichrist.' That distinction was in the main an invention of the learned Jesuit interpreters." - "Daniel and His Prophecies," p. 165. London. 1906.

     (204) (2) The second objection was that while "the Antichrist" would deny the incarnation, for he would deny that "Christ is come in the flesh" (2 John 7), the pope does not deny this, therefore he cannot be the Antichrist. This argument has seemed so logical and conclusive that Protestants, to a large extent, have given up the Protestant doctrine that the Papacy is Antichrist, and have ceased to protest.

     This argument, however, is based on a misunderstanding, caused by overlooking one word in the text. Antichrist was not to deny that Christ had come in flesh, but was to deny that He had "come in the flesh," in "the same" kind of flesh, as the human race He came to save. (See 1 John 4:3; 2 John 7, and Hebrews 2:14, 17.) On this vital difference hinges the real "truth of the gospel." Did Christ come all the way down to make contact with the fallen race, or only part way, so that we must have saints, popes, and priests intercede for us with a Christ who is removed too far from fallen humanity and its needs to make direct contact with the individual sinner? Right here lies the great divide that parts Protestantism from Roman Catholicism. In order to understand this point clearly, let us briefly consider the gospel of Christ.

History - Not Hearsay.

FACTS OF FAITH By Christian Edwardson

Chapter  21

The Antichrist

DEFINING THE NAME ANTICHRIST

     (196) The name "antichrist" is found in only three chapters of the Bible, and in every instance it was emphatically stated that he was already in the world. We read:

    

 "Ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists....Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son." 1 John 2:18, 22.

"This is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world." 1 John 4:3.

"For 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." 2 John 7.

How can anyone, in the light of these plain texts, say that the antichrist here spoken of is not yet come, when the very texts declare that he is here already?

     These texts also reveal the fact that the apostle did not believe antichrist to be only one individual, but rather an antichristian tendency in the church: an organization dominated by "the spirit of antichrist," having a man at its head, so that when he died another would take his place, and the antichristian system would continue. Thus there would be "many antichrists," as the apostle says, but only one system; and this system had already made such progress before the apostle died, that it was about to capture the church. Its leader would not accept the Apostle John, one leader "forbiddeth them that would, and casteth them out of the church." 3 John 9, 10. This accounts for the warnings in John's epistles against these "many antichrists." 1 John 2:18.

     The Apostle Paul, during his last journey among the churches, gathered "the elders," or bishops, and warned them against the coming apostasy of the church, which was to be brought about by its leaders. He says: "For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them." Acts 20:29, 30. Later the apostle reminded the believers, that the day of Christ's return was not then at hand: "For that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshiped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God [the church, 1 Cor. 3:10, 16], showing himself that he is God. Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?...For the mystery of iniquity doth already work." 2 Thess. 2:3-7.

     (197) These prophecies point out clearly that the "elders" (later called bishops) would "draw away" the people from the truth of the Bible, to follow men, and that this "falling away," which had "already" begun in Paul's day, would develop, until a "man" would exalt himself to take the place of Christ in the church. Every thoughtful student of prophecy can see that this points unmistakably to the Papacy, and it accords exactly with the significance of the name "antichrist."

     Dr. James Strong says that "antichrist" comes from two Greek words, antee and khristos, and gives the following definition of antte: "Opposite, i.e. instead or because of,...for, in the room of. Often used in composition to denote...substitution." - Exhaustive Concordance, Greek Dictionary, entries Nos. 500, 473. Thomas Sheldon Green says: Anti, prep, over against; hence, in correspondence to; in place of..." - Greek-English Lexicon, p. 14. Boston: 1896. The meaning, therefore, of "antichrist," as it is used in the New Testament, is a rival to Christ, or one who attempts to take the place of Christ as his "vicar." This significance of the prefix "anti" is also seen in the word "anti-pope." (For further information on this point see "The Papacy Is Antichrist," by J. A. Wylie, pp. 2-18. Edinburgh: George M'Gibbon.) We shall now see that this is exactly the position which Catholics claim for the pope, that he holds the place of Christ on earth. Rev. T. L. Kinkead says:

     (198) "Our Holy Father the Pope, the Bishop of Rome, is the vicar of Christ on earth and the visible head of the Church."

     "'Vicar' - that is, one who holds another's place and acts in his name." - 'Explanation of the Baltimore Catechism," p. 130. Benziger Brothers (Sanctioned by Cardinal Gibbons, five archbishops, nineteen bishops, and other dignitaries.)

     Rev. William Humphrey, S. J., says:

     "A vicar is put in the place of him whom he represents. He is invested with his power, he is furnished with his authority....He personates his principal....The master, by his appointment of a vicar, binds himself to ratify his vicar's acts, an to recognize them as his own." - "The Vicar of Christ," p. 4. New York: Benziger Brothers, 1892.

     Thomas Morell, D. D., and Prof. John Carey LL.D., says:

     "Vicarius, a, um. adj. That is in stead, or place of another; that supplies another's room; a deputy....One who performs the office, or duty, of another; a deputy, a substitute." - "An Abridgement of Ainsworth's Latin Dictionary", Designed for the Use of Schools, p. 604. London. 1826.

     When the force of this similarity between the antichirst of prophecy and the pope of Rome dawned upon the mind of Cardinal Newman, he declared:

     "The gibe, 'If the Pope is not Antichrist, he has had bad luck to be so like him,' is really another argument in favour of the claims of the Pope; since Antichrist simulates Christ, and the Pope is an image of Christ, Antichrist must have some similarity to the Pope, if the latter be the true Vicar of Christ." - Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. I, p. 561, art. "Antichrist."

     Thus it is claimed that the pope is the vicar of Christ on earth. But Christ left an altogether different Vicar, or Representative, in His place; namely, the Holy Spirit. (John 14:15-18; 16:7.) Of this Representative Christ says: "He shall teach you all things." "He will guide you into all truth." John 14:26; 16:13. (Compare 1 John 2:29, 27.( The Holy Spirit being the author of the Bible (2 Peter 1:21), certainly should be the proper interpreter of it. To this the Roman church answers:

     (199) "Nor can it be said that being a divinely inspired book, its prime Author, the Holy Spirit, will guide the reader to the right meaning.

     "The Church which made the Bible, likewise interprets the Bible." - "Things Catholics Are Asked About," Martin J. Scott, S. J., Litt. d., pp. 119, 120. N. Y.: Kenedy, 1927.

     Pope Leo XIII says:

     "But the supreme teacher in the Church is the Roman Pontiff. Union of minds, therefore, requires, together with a perfect accord in the one faith, complete submission and obedience of will to the Church and to the Roman Pontiff, as to God Himself." - "The Great Encyclical Letters of Pope Leo XIII," p. 193. New York: Benziger Bros., 1903. He further says:

     "We hold upon this earth the place of God Almighty." - Id., p. 304.

     We have now seen from authentic Catholic sources, that the pope arrogates to himself the "place of God Almighty," the office of Christ on earth, and the prerogative of the Holy spirit, as sole teacher of the faithful, and the interpreter of the Holy Scriptures. What more is needed to fulfill the prediction of 2 Thess. 2:3, 4, and the prophecies of the Antichrist?

ALL AGREED ON ANTICHRIST

     Up to the close of the Reformation God's people were generally agreed that the Papacy was the Antichrist foretold in prophecy. The Waldenses taught it. (See page 122.) About 1384 A.D. John Wycliffe wrote a book against the papal system entitled: "Of Antichrist and His Meynee." In fact, the English Reformers, - Tyndale, Cranmer, Latimer, and Ridley, - all agreed in pointing to the Papacy as the Antichrist. John Huss of Bohemia, in his "De Anatomia Antichristi," did the same. Turning to Germany we find Dr. Martin Luther strong in his convictions on this subject. He says:

     "The Pope is...the true Antichrist, of whom it is written, that he sitteth in the temple of God, among the people where Christ is worshiped....

     (200) "But Papists want to divert this passage from themselves, and they say that Christ and Paul speak about the temple at Jerusalem, and that Antichrist shall sit there and rule; that will not do....It cannot be understood otherwise than of the new spiritual temple, which he says we are.

     "There shall the Pope sit and be honored, not above God, but above all that is called God....So also we see it before our eyes, that many princes and the world regard his law higher and more than the commandments of God....Cannot this rightly be termed exalting and honoring Antichrist above God?" - "Luther's Church Postil,": "Gospels," 25th Sunday after Trinity, par. 24, 25, Part 2, pp. 734, 735. Stavanger, Norway: 1862.

     Luther further declares:

     "Therefore, let whosoever will doubt, God's word and the proper divine worship convinces me sufficiently that the Pope is the Antichrist, and the ecclesiastical orders are his disciples, which deceive the whole world." - Id., Part 1, p. 379.

     "I hope that the last day is at the door. Things could not become worse than the Roman see makes it. It suppresses the commandments of God, it exalts its own commandments above God's. If this is not Antichrist, then some one else must tell what it is." - "Luther's Reformatory Works," p. 280. Copenhagen: 1883.

     "The Pope is the real Antichrist." - Id., p. 278.

     Dr. Charles H. H. Wright, in speaking of the Bible prophecy of "antichrist," says:

     "In all ages of the Church, from the days of Gregory the Great down to the present, men have pointed to the Papacy as the fulfillment of the prophecy. That interpretation is set forth in the Homilies of the Church of England and by all the Reformed Churches. The interpretation, however, has been ignored or rejected by critics, for reasons which need not be specified. It can, however, stand all the tests of criticism." - "Daniel and His Prophecies," p. 168. London: 1906. (See also Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. I, p. 561, art. "Antichrist.")

To be continued….

Spiritual Soldier.

Soldier!

Me?

Yes, you, soldier, front and center!

Really, you mean me?

Yes! I mean you!

I'm not a soldier, you must have mistaken me for someone else.

Are you a Christ follower?

Yes.

Then you are a soldier.

Yeah, well…sure, maybe, I mean not a real soldier.

Not a real soldier?! Then maybe I was mistaken, because all true Christ followers are soldiers.

Wait, a second. I am a true Christ follower, I'm just not a…you know, a military soldier. You know what I mean.

No, I don't know what you mean. Every true Christ follow is a soldier, a real soldier. That's the trouble with people today they are pretending to be true Christ followers not giving a single thought to the Spiritual warfare taking place all around them. They are unconcerned with their spiritual armor, not giving it a second thought when it should be something they put on before they even get out of bed.

Wait, you expect people to lay in bed and pretend to put on…

Did I say anything about pretending!? Did I!? There is no pretending involved unless your entire relationship with Jesus Christ is make believe!

What? No! My relationship with Jesus isn't make believe!

So why would your spiritual armor be make believe?

It wouldn't, I just meant that pretending to…

There you go again.

I…

You?

I just…

What? You never put on your spiritual armor?

It's not real how can I put it on!?

You're unbelievable! If Jesus is real then your spiritual armor is real too. Just because you can't see it doesn't mean it's not there! You put it on spiritually!

Let me get this straight, I have to put on spiritual armor that I can't see?

Yes, because if you don't you'll never get through this spiritual warfare, never.

Okay, so this armor - where do I get it from- spiritually of course.

Of course.  You get it from God, through Jesus Christ, by the Holy Spirit. Go ahead, open your Bible app.

Uh… what am I looking for?

Ephesians 6 verse 11.

Got it… Eph 6:11  Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

What did I tell you, you need to put on the armor of God because soldier, we are in a battle with the devil!

I am? I mean, yeah I am, I just…well, I never know when I'm battling him.
Hah! You are battling him all the time! He never stops, never.

Uh, but I don't feel like I'm battling him all the time. I have good times, I laugh, and have fun, and…

Let me ask you something. Is Christ with you in those good times and laughter, when you are having fun? If He is that's great, but even then the devil isn't stopping his assault he's preparing you for that inevitable turn for the worse, the downer from your high, he's strategizing. 

And this armor helps?

God just told you in His word to put on the armor, what do you think? Of course it helps. Go on read more.

Eph 6:12  For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. 

That's what I'm talking about! You are a spiritual soldier in a spiritual battle! It's real, don't for one moment doubt it.

But my life is ordinary, I don't know of anyone really fighting spiritual wickedness and…

Ordinary? No one really fighting?! Are you serious? You are, aren't you? Every single day you have ups and downs, right? Little things, annoyances. Or maybe big things, that you want to call ordinary, but in truth they’ve been orchestrated to gauge your spiritual connection to Christ. Every single upset, every little nagging thing is an attempt to get through your spiritual armor and get your mind off Christ and your need of Him in all things, yes, all things.  Don’t you see it? People call it ordinary and natural, and just the way of things, they call it 'life'. Then they say we're crazy when we blame the devil for his instigating tactics.  People have to realize that the devil is behind all evil!

Okay, okay, calm down!

Calm down?! Sure, I'll calm down.
Good, because you know God allows the evil.

Hah! Now you're talking! Yes! God allows it because we chose it, and we are being refined, soldier! We are being honed! We are being thrown in fires to test our metal! And we only survive all of it by having our armor on!

Wait.. Wait..

No, I don't want to wait, read more of it, go on.

Eph 6:13  Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. 

Praise God! That's what I'm talking about!

Seriously, you need to calm dow…

I don't think so, this is truth, soldier, truth! Read more!

Eph 6:14  Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; 

Eph 6:15  And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 

Eph 6:16  Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. 

Eph 6:17  And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: 

Eph 6:18  Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints

Yes! That's it! That's the armor!
Wow, I mean, just wow, all that ….

Yes, all that. The girt loins, a breastplate, boots, a shield, a helmet and a sword! Now tell me that's not real!
Well, it's really spiritual.

Yes, soldier, it's a spiritual battle and spiritual armor, spiritual weapons… all REAL. Do you know these verses….

Joh_4:23  But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.

Joh_4:24  God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

I think I heard before, maybe…

Well, now you've heard it again! God is a Spirit and we have to worship Him in spirit and truth! Our entire relationship with Christ is spiritual, and there is a lot of spiritually stuff going on all around us, all the time. Anyway, I just wanted to say, God be with you, soldier, wear that armor always.
 

Mat 26:53  Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels? 

'Could our eyes be opened, we should see forms of evil angels around us, trying to invent some new way to annoy and destroy us. And we should also see angels of God guarding us from their power; for God’s watchful eye is ever over Israel for good, and He will protect and save His people, if they put their trust in Him. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against him.'    Early Writings EGW page 33

2Ki 6:15  And when the servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone forth, behold, an host compassed the city both with horses and chariots. And his servant said unto him, Alas, my master! how shall we do? 

2Ki 6:16  And he answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them. 

2Ki 6:17  And Elisha prayed, and said, LORD, I pray thee, OPEN HIS EYES, that he may see. And the LORD opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha. 

2Ch 32:7  Be strong and courageous, be not afraid nor dismayed for the king of Assyria, nor for all the multitude that is with him: for there be more with us than with him: 

2Ch 32:8  With him is an arm of flesh; but with us is the LORD our God to help us, and to fight our battles. And the people rested themselves upon the words of Hezekiah king of Judah.

Mat 26:53  Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels? 

1Jn 4:4  Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world. 

1Jn 4:5  They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them. 

1Jn 4:6  We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error. 

When You're Spiritually Awake.

FACTS OF FAITH By Christian Edwardson

Chapter  20

The Two Mysteries

     (193) The Bible speaks of two mysteries: "the mystery of godliness," and "the mystery of iniquity." 1 Timothy 3:16; 2 Thessalonians 2:7.

[1Ti 3:16  And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory. 

2Th 2:7  For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.]

Seeing that these two mysteries are fundamental principles of two opposing powers, each claiming the sole sovereignty over the souls of men, and requiring man's unconditional surrender and obedience, the study of these two mysteries becomes both important and interesting.

THE MYSTERY OF GODLINESS

     Ever since the fall, man's nature has been inclined toward evil; and while he still has the power of choice, he cannot in his own strength break with sin, change his nature, or live a godly life. The Bible declares: "Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? Then may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil." Jeremiah 13:23. Yea, "he shall be holden with the cords of his sins." Proverbs 5:22. The Apostle Paul realized this when in his struggle against the evil of his nature he cried out: "The good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do....O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?" Romans 7:19, 24.

     There is only one who can deliver man from sin, and He is abundantly able and always willing to do it. "Thou shalt call His name JESUS: for He shall save His people from their sins," and His gospel is "the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth." Matthew 1:21; Romans 1:16. Here is abundant power available to all who will believe and accept it, so that there is no excuse for continuing in known sin. And sin brings us no happiness, for it always carries with it a trail of woe. God's Father-heart of infinite love has been wrung with anguish for the sufferings of man, and He has settled it that sin with its terrible consequences shall never be permitted to enter His eternal kingdom; therefore our only hope of entering heaven is to part company with evil.

     (194) But as man cannot in his own strength rid himself of sin, his only hope is to let Christ take charge of his life. When Christ dwells in our hearts by His Holy Spirit, He changes our aspirations, our likes, and our dislikes. Sinful habits, which we in vain have tried to break, fall off as the leaves of autumn, and we receive the power of His love to conquer sin and live a happy Christian life. (John 15:5; Romans 8:10-13.) And while Christ would gladly do this work for everyone, for He wants "all men to be saved," yet He will not use force to accomplish it, but is patiently standing at the door of every heart asking permission to come in and supply the needed power to conquer sin. (1 Timothy 2:3, 4; Revelation 3:20.) Sad to say, most people refuse Him admittance. "But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name." John 1:12.

     Here, then, is the secret of victory in Christian life: "the mystery of godliness," "which is Christ in you, the hope of glory." 1 Timothy 3:16; Colossians 1:27. Then we are not left alone in our struggles, for He works in us "mightily" (v. 29), but He always wants our co-operation: "Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure." Philippians 2;12, 13. By this co-operation of the human and the divine such marvelous changes are wrought in human lives and such Christlike character is developed that angels marvel at it, and even worldlings are forced to recognize in the change from sin to godliness a mysterious power with which they are unacquainted.

     The life of Jesus on earth was a living demonstration of this mystery. He combined in His own person both the human and the divine natures. "And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh." 1 Timothy 3:16.

THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY

     (195) It is evident that the "mystery of iniquity" is a counterfeit of the "mystery of godliness," or in other words, some human substitution for the divine plan of salvation, in which man would take the place of Christ, and human efforts would be substituted for the divine presence in the soul. And this is exactly what the Apostle Paul declared it to be, when he foretold that there would "come a falling away" of the apostolic church, and that in this fallen church there would arise "that man of sin,...who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshiped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God....For the mystery of iniquity doth already work." 2 Thess. 2:3-7. Speaking to the church he further says: "Ye are the temple of God." 1 Cor. 3:16, 17. This prophecy plainly shows that after the "falling away" of the early church some "man" would attempt to take Christ's place in the church, which is God's temple, or dwelling place.

     The fulfillment of this prophecy is so clearly seen in the history of the Papacy that God's people have always recognized it whenever they have been spiritually awake. Every well-read person knows that the early Christian church fell away from its apostolic purity and corrupted its doctrines by adopting heathen customs, baptizing them with Christian names, so that the church entirely changed its face within four hundred years after the apostles' death. The "mysteries of Mithras" were substituted for the "mystery of godliness"; "the sacrifice of the mass" took the place of the sacrifice made on the cross; righteousness gained by self-torture and human efforts took the place of Christ's righteousness received by simple faith in Jesus as a personal Saviour; receiving a sacramental Christ by eating the wafer took the place of an indwelling Christ received by faith in God's promises; a multitude of human mediators were substituted for Christ, the "one mediator between God and man." 1 Timothy 2:5. We shall enter more fully into the details of this in the following chapters.