(3) В¶ 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; (4) Who 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. (5) Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things? (6) And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. (7) For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. (8) 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: (9) Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, (10) And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. (11) And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: (12) That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
We have here a very awful prophecy, and most awfully hath it been fulfilled, and still is now fulfilling, in the earth. And what makes it still, if possible, more awful is, that though the Apostle, by the expressions man of sin, and the son of perdition, might seem at first view, to allude to somewhat personal; yet it is not so. It is national: yea, general. It was long since said, by the beloved Apostle John, that as Antichrist should come: so, there were in his days (and how increased in our's) many Antichrists. 1 John 2:18. The best service which I can render, under the Lord, to the Reader of this Poor Man's Commentary, in helping to the proper apprehension of the solemn subject contained within these verses, will be, to gather out the several parts of the passage, one by one, and then consider them, as they appear before us.
And first. Let the Reader remark with me, the names, by which the Apostle hath distinguished this heresy. He calls it the man of sin; the son of perdition: the mystery of iniquity; that wicked, which shall be revealed: him whose coming is after the working of Satan: and who comes with all power, and signs, and lying wonders; and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness. These are the awful names, by which the Holy Ghost hath made known to the Church through Paul, in this scripture, the alarming heresy, which was to appear.
Secondly. The acts, and deeds, by which the character of this delusion should be discovered. He is said to oppose and exalt himself, above all that is called God, or that is worshipped. That he as God, sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. And he is known by the power he is said to assume, and the signs, and lying wonders he comes with, after the working of Satan; and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness.
Thirdly. The awful consequences which shall follow, in them that perish, which are his followers. God shall send them strong delusions, that they should believe a lie; that all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
Fourthly. The sure destruction of this Wicked himself, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and destroy with the brightness of his coming. So much for the Apostle's description of this awful heresy; which, under the Lord the Spirit, he told the Church, would be revealed in the after times, when the Lord, who then withheld it, would remove the cause of obstruction out of the way. Now let us, under the Lord's teaching, look at those characters, one by one; and examine, by scripture testimony, and the facts which have since appeared, to what age of the Church they particularly refer. And, first, respecting the names. The man of sin, and the son of perdition; the mystery of iniquity, and the wicked. It is plain that these all refer to one and the same. And not simply to one person; but rather the name of one, and the same heresy. Not Satan, who is emphatically called the Wicked One; for this heresy is said to be after the working of Satan; consequently could not be Satan himself. Neither any new revelation of the traitor Judas, whom our Lord calls the son of perdition. John 17:12. For Jesus did not so name him, as though he, and he only, should be known by that name. All are sons of perdition, which are lost. Neither did the Apostle mean any individual person, among the enemies of Christ, winch in after ages shall arise to oppose Christ's Gospel, however desperately wicked, and bitter they might be. It is not a person, but a body; an apostacy from the Church, a falling away; still professing Christ, but in works denying him. For the character is further defined, of silting in God's temple, and calling himself god; yea, exalting himself above all that is called God.
And where are we to look for the fulfillment of this prophecy? If a Church professing christianity can be found, to whom those titles clearly belong; there will remain no shadow of doubt, but that this is the very one the Apostle had in view, in this scripture prophecy. And all that have written upon the subject, from the first moment the scriptures have been commented upon, to the present hour, have uniformly, and with one voice, declared it to be the Church of Rome. The selling of indulgencies, pardons, grants, and the like, are too nearly allied to the man of sin; and where practiced, too strikingly represent him, whom Paul describes as sitting in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. And it is to oppose Christ in all his offices, as the Prophet, Priest, and King of his Church; when teaching the worship of saints; when setting up merit, and joining intercessors with Christ; and when taking up the title of supremacy, as head of the Church. And, it is certainly not a little remarkable in confirmation, that what Paul calls in this place, the mystery of iniquity, in allusion to the heresy he had been describing; John, in the book of the Revelations, calls Mystery, Babylon the Great, the Mother of harlots, and abominations of the earth. Revelation 17:5. From these, and numberless other testimonies, which, if necessary, might be brought forward, there cannot be the shadow of a doubt, but that the Apostacy the Apostle had in view in this scripture the See of Rome was all along designed.
But it would have been a blessing to the true Church of Christ, if apostacy had marked only the character of the See of Rome. Alas! what errors have sprung up, in this our own land, in what is called the Reformed Church. Who that reads the beloved Apostle's account of his days, and takes the same mirror to look in for ours; but must be struck with the resemblance. Little children (said he) it is the last time, and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists: whereby we know that it is the last time. 1 John 2:18. Let any man read this blessed Epistle of John, and then look to the professions of men around him! Let him behold how the Godhead of Christ is denied: the Person, Godhead, and, Ministry of God the Holy Ghost is questioned; and then say, are there not many Antichrists?
And, let my Reader bear with me, to make one observation more. What did the Apostle mean, in this scripture, by deceivableness of unrighteousness? Mark the expression. With all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish. Did there need, the Church should be told, that unrighteousness would end in destruction? Certainly this could not be Paul's meaning. Neither in the common sense, and acceptation of the word, unrighteousness could never deceive a man with hopes of being saved by it. But, if a self-righteous Pharisee, fancying himself righteous before God; makes his own good deeds, and prayers, and alms, and ordinances, a part Savior; all of which are unrighteous before God: here is a fallacy indeed, deep, and wretched. And this will well suit the name of all deceivableness of unrighteousness. Reader! it is right to exercise a jealousy over our own hearts. The day is awful. In contending earnestly for the faith once delivered unto the saints, we not only labor to preserve God's truth, but our own happiness. And it is a truth well worth laboring for. For if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain. Galatians 2:21.