"But we beseech you, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and our gathering together unto him, that ye be not quickly shaken in your mind, nor alarmed, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter, as from us, as that the day of the Lord is present. Let no one deceive you in any way: for that shall not be, unless there come the apostasy first, and there be revealed the man of sin, the son of perdition,
who opposeth and uplifteth himself against every one called God or an object of worship; so that he in the temple of God, as God sitteth, showing himself forth that he is God. Remember ye not when I was with you I told you these things? And now ye know what withholdeth, that he may be revealed in his own time. For the mystery is already working in lawlessness, until only he, who withholdeth for the present, be taken out of the way: and then shall be revealed the lawless one, whom the Lord shall consume with the breath of his mouth, and shall destroy with the appearing of his coming; even him whose coming is according to the energy of Satan, with all power and signs and wonders of falsehood, and with all deceitfulness of unrighteousness in those who are perishing; because they accepted not the love of the truth, that they might be saved; and therefore shall God send them an energy of delusion that they may believe the falsehood.
The apostasy was future in Paul's day, but is not in ours. That man of sin, the Papacy, of which Paul spake, and which Daniel and John saw in vision, has been clearly shown in these last days as described by them. See Dan. vii, 8, 24, 25; viii, 9-12; xi, 36-38; Rev. xiii, 1-10. It has rebelled against the King of kings, its words have been against the Most High; its thoughts to change his laws, its acts to wear out his saints. Dan. vii, 25.
It has shown itself to be the lawless one, by suppressing that precept which forbade the making and worshiping of images; and then, as though the suppression had completely annulled that precept, it proceeded boldly to make these images, and teach the children of men to worship them. But the man of sin stopped not here. After laying his unholy hands on God's holy law, he would fain have its author put out of the way. This he might not do—he could not destroy the author—so he breaks the signet, tears off the royal title, thereby leaving the subjects free to worship a god of their own choosing, providing they would worship a god. And then, as though that were not enough, he would make God a liar. Moved by Satan, he reiterated that fearful lie, the falsehood which brought misery and death upon the happy dwellers in Eden's garden.
God, by the mouth of Ezekiel, said, The soul that sinneth, it shall die.Eze. xviii, 4, 20. 'Nay,' says antichrist, 'you cannot die, for you are already immortal.'
Martin Luther, the great reformer, seeing the corruptions of the Romish church, came out of her, or allowed himself to be disowned. In his defense he says, 'I permit the pope to make articles of faith for himself and his faithful; such as, the pope is emperor of the world, king of heaven, God upon earth, and that the soul is immortal, with all those monstrous opinions to be found in the Roman dunghill of decretals.' 'His argument against the mass, purgatory, and prayer to the saints, was to deny the immortality of the soul;' he maintained that all that had been said about it was vended by antichrist to make the pope's pot boil. From 'Audlin's life of Luther.'
O that papacy had the finishing of the dark picture! My heart sickens, while the truth is pressed upon me, that Protestant christendom is leavened with the same corrupt leaven.
The principles instilled into the very heart of Protestantism, while yet in swaddling bands, carefully nurtured in the bosom of the mother church, without150strength to break away from paternal or maternal restraint, these principles or doctrines, became as it were a part of its being. It needed more than mortal energy to eradicate them. Some, they, the Protestants, considered obviously the doctrines of Satan. But other some, had such a beautiful web over them, that Satan's foot and finger-prints were hidden from their view. But to the law and the testimony: if they speak not according to this word it is because there is no light in them. The word says, "Sin is the transgression of the law." 1 John iii, 4; and "The wages of sin is death." Rom. vi, 23. What is death? The extinction of life; mortality. Webster. But what say nearly all the religionists of the present day? Man is an immortal being, hence cannot die. God breathed a part of himself into man—a part of God cannot die. Satan told Eve she would be as God, and now through the Papacy he makes her children believe they are as God, having an undying nature. And now, in these last days, God permits an energy of delusion to come upon those who would not accept the love of the truth; they accept the delusion, and believe THE FALSEHOOD, and their fate is sure. This strong delusion has been manifested in the spiritual manifestations of this time. The professed object of the mission of spirits is to convince the world of the natural immortality of the soul. Bishop Tillotson says "The immortality of the soul is rather supposed, or taken for granted, than expressly revealed in the Bible." The Talmudists say "it needed a revelation from God to make it believed that the soul is immortal." Yes, that revelation is yet wanting, and wanted; so Satan commissions his servants to bring it, and professed believers of God take it from them. O that the honest ones might discover the source of this doctrine before they are drawn by it into the fatal snare of Spiritualism. Now the Spirit speaketh expressly that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils, forbidding to marry &c. 1 Tim. iv, 13. So did the Catholics,—so do free love Spiritualists now.
Truly these last days are perilous, for some having the form of godliness, creep into houses and lead away silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts. And they resist the truth as Jannes and Jambres resisted Moses. Aided by Satan, Spiritualists perform miracles, causing many to think the spirits are from God. See 2 Tim. iii, 1-9. But as the magicians' deception came to an end, and they and the deceived were destroyed, so will it be with those who are content to be deceived by Satan in these last days. What says the word? "Sin is the transgression of the law." What law? Says Paul, I had not known sin but by the law; for I had not known lust, except the law had said, thou shalt not covet. Rom. vii, 7. What law is this found in? Why in the law of ten commandments—the law of God. The law of what God? for there be gods many. 1 Cor. viii, 5. We examine the law to see if there be a distinctive title by which we may determine. Yes here it is. Here is the royal signature: "The Lord thy God, the maker of heaven and earth." That is plain enough; for none but the living God made heaven and earth and all therein. This God truly is a great God. Let us not dare to transgress even the least of his commands, for certainly he who made, can utterly destroy.
Let us see. Somewhere in close proximity to the seal, we see a command something on this wise: "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy; six days shalt thou labor and do all thy work: but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy man-servant, nor thy maid-servant, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates." That is reasonable—isn't it neighbor Pope? Nay verily! There is no such command for me—I have changed it—it now reads, "Remember the Sunday to keep it holy. In it thou shalt not do any work; for on the first day of the week Christ rose from the dead." O I see you are the one we read of who would think to change laws—we dare not parley with you.
Brother Protestant, how understandest thou the law to read? O, the same as neighbor Pope in regard to the Sabbath. The first day of the week is the Sabbath now, because Christ rose on that day. O brother, how dare you transgress the law of God? "Know ye not that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are whom ye obey?" Rom. vi, 16. "Whenever any civil or ecclesiastical enactment conflicts with the requisitions of Jehovah, that power is worshiped which is obeyed in preference to the other." Do not pattern after THE LAWLESS ONE, but make haste to obey every precept of God's holy law, that you may escape the dreadful fate of those who worship the beast, or Papacy. See Rev. xiv, 9-11. As for me, I mean to obey the command which contains the seal of the living God.