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The Man of Sin

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Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Jan 27, 1874

FromReview and Herald, Vol. 43, No. 7.

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The Man of Sin.

By John Norton Loughborough

Paul, in writing to the church in Thessalonica, says, “Let no man deceive you by any means; 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, shewing himself that he is God. Remember ye not, that when I was yet with you, I told you these things? And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. For the mystery of iniquity doth already work; only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming.” 2 Thess. 2: 3–8.
Some few modern expositors of prophecy have taken the position that the words above quoted relate to some individual who is yet to figure largely in a blasphemous work against God. Before me lies an English work, entitled “Signs of Our Times,” published as late as Nov. 1, 1872, in which the writer claims Napoleon III. as the great power who is to accomplish twelve wonderful acts, and his career end by his “fall at the battle of Armageddon.” But as Napoleon III. is dead, and his dynasty has passed away, it is time for calm reflection. We wish to make some inquiries and present some facts relative to the great apostasy and “the man of sin.”
Adam Clarke, at the close of his comments on 2 Thess., chap. 2, says: “The general run of Protestant writers understand the whole as referring to the popes and church of Rome; or of the whole system of the papacy.” Still further on, he says: “Bishop Newton has examined the whole prophecy with his usual skill and judgment. The principal part of modern commentators follow his steps. He applies the whole to the Romish church, the apostasy, its defection from the pure doctrines of Christianity and the man of sin, &c., the general succession of the popes of Rome.”
Newton says: “The apostasy here described is plainly not of a civil, but of a religious nature; not a revolt from the government, but a defection from the true religion and worship. In the original, it is the apostasy, with an article to give it an emphasis; the article being added, signifies, ‘that famous, and before-mentioned prophecy?’ So likewise is the man of sin, with the like article, and the like emphasis. If, then, the notion of the man of sin be derived from any ancient prophet, it must be derived from Dan. 7:25, and 9:36. Any man may be satisfied that St. Paul alludes to Daniel’s description, because he has not only borrowed the same ideas, but has even adopted some of the same phrases and expressions. The man of sin may signify either a single man, or a succession of men. It is agreeable to the phraseology of the Scripture, and especially to that of the prophets, to speak of a body or number of men, under the character of one; thus a king, Dan. 7:8, Rev. 17, is used for a succession of kings.”
“Who opposeth, &c., is manifestly copied from Daniel. He shall exalt himself, &c. The features exactly resemble each other. He opposeth and exalteth himself above all; or according to the Greek, above every one that is called God, or that is worshiped.”
“After the death of Christ, the temple of Jerusalem is never called by the apostles, the temple of God; and if, at any time, they make mention of the house, or temple of God, they mean the church in general, or every particular believer. Whoever will consult 1 Cor. 3:16, 17; 2 Cor. 6:16; 1 Tim. 3:15; Rev. 3:12, will want no example to prove that, under the gospel dispensation, the temple of God is the church of Christ; and the man of sin’s sitting, implies his ruling and presiding there; and sitting there as God implies his claiming divine authority in things spiritual as well as temporal; and shewing himself that he is God, implied his doing it with ostentation. If the apostasy be rightly charged upon the church of Rome, it follows of consequence that the man of sin is the pope; not meaning any pope in particular, but the pope in general, as the chief head and supporter of this apostasy. He is properly the man of sin, not only on account of the scandalous lives of many popes, but by reason of their most scandalous doctrines and principles; dispensing with the most necessary duties, and granting, or rather selling, pardons and indulgences to the most abominable crimes.”
“He opposeth. He is the great adversary of God and man, persecuting and destroying, by crusades, inquisitions, and massacres, those Christians who prefer the word of God to the authority of men. The heathen emperor of Rome may have slain his thousands of innocent Christians; but the Christian bishop of Rome has slain his ten thousands.”
“He exalteth himself above all that is called God, or is worshiped; not only above inferior magistrates, but likewise above bishops and primates; not only above bishops and primates, but likewise above kings and emperors; deposing some, obliging them to kiss his toe, to hold his stirrup, treading even upon the neck of a king, and kicking off the imperial crown with his foot; nay, not only kings and emperors, but likewise above Christ and God himself, making even the word of God of none effect by his traditions, forbidding what God has commanded, as marriage, the use of the Scriptures, &c., and also commanding, or allowing, what God has forbidden, as idolatry, persecution, &c.”
“So that he, as God, sitteth in the temple of God. He is therefore in profession a Christian and a Christian bishop. His sitting in the temple of God implies plainly his having a seat, or cathedral in the Christian church; and he sitteth there as God, especially at his inauguration, when he sits upon the high altar in St. Peter’s church, and makes the table of the Lord his footstool, and in that position receives adoration. At all times he exercises divine authority in the church, shewing himself that he is God; affecting divine titles, and asserting that his decrees are of the same, or greater, authority, than the word of God. So that the pope is, evidently, according to the titles given him in the public decretals, the God upon earth, at least, there is no one like him, who exalteth himself above every God, no one like him, who sitteth as God in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.”
“The foundations of popery were laid in the apostles’ days, but the superstructure was raised by degrees, and several ages passed before the building was completed, and the man of sin revealed in full perfection. The tradition that generally prevailed was, that which hindered was the Roman Empire. This tradition might have been derived from the apostle himself, and therefore the primitive Christians in the public offices of the church prayed for its peace and welfare; as knowing that, when the Roman Empire should be dissolved and broken in pieces, the empire of the man of sin would be raised upon its ruins. In the same proportion as the power of the empire decreased, the authority of the church increased, and the latter at the expense and ruin of the former, till at length the pope grew up above all, and the wicked, or lawless, one, was fully manifested and revealed.”
“But how much soever the man of sin may be exalted, and how long soever he may reign, yet, at last, the Lord shall consume him. This is partly taken from Isa. 11:4 (And with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked one), where the Jews put an emphasis upon the words, the wicked one, as appears from the Chaldee, which renders it, ‘He shall destroy the wicked Roman.’ . . . The Lord Jesus shall gradually consume him with the free preaching of the gospel, and shall utterly destroy him at his second coming, in the glory of the Father. The former began to take effect at the Reformation, and the latter will be accomplished in God’s appointed time. The man of sin is now upon the decline, and he will be totally abolished when Christ shall come in judgment.”
Dr. Macknight quotes verse 3: That man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition. Greek, Ho anthropos tes hamartias, ho huios tes apoleias, and says, “The article, joined to these appellations, is emphatical, as in the former clause, importing that the ancient prophets had spoken of these persons, though under different names, particularly the prophet Daniel, whose description of the little horn and blasphemous king agree so exactly in meaning with Paul’s description of the man of sin, and son of perdition, and lawless one, that there can be but little doubt of these being the same person.”
J. N. LOUGHBOROUGH.