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Disingenuous

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Publishing Committee · Battle Creek, Mich. · Jan 22, 1857

FromReview and Herald, Vol. 9, No. 12.

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Disingenuous.

By Editor

THE apostle writes to the Thessalonian brethren: "That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, . . . as that the day of Christ is at hand. 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," &c., who shall be destroyed by the brightness of his coming.
The italicised has been often quoted to prove that the day of the Lord cannot be now at hand. When once asked to harmonize this text with the view of the near advent, we asked,
"Who called your attention to this passage?" "Rev. Mr. so and so."
We replied, "Paul asserts, does he not, that Christ cannot come till that man of sin be revealed?"
"Yes."
"Who does Mr.—understand that man of sin to be?"
"The Papacy."
"Does he admit that the Papacy has been revealed?"
"He does."
"Then, as the revelation of the Papacy is the only event that Paul mentions as first to transpire before the second advent, and as that man of sin has been revealed now near 1260 years, how can a reference to this text prove that the day of the Lord is not now at hand?"
The irrelevancy of the reference was at once seen and surprise expressed that it should have been thus referred to.
In other instances we have heard a part only of the text quoted,—leaving off with the words, "That day shall not come,"—as though the day of the Lord could never come. This last and partial use of the text can only be regarded as a culpable one; but the former may have been the result of inadvertence, and a failure to perceive the irrelevancy.
Men's theories should always harmonize with the interpretation they give to specific passages; all the parts of their theory should harmonize, and they should never seek to avoid in one connection, the principles of interpretation which they fully admit in another—particularly when in the one case the admission would be fatal to their theory.—Ad. Herald.