Star.
London, England, 1809-08-04 00:00:00

V

:his. 'the oh* impeetk;.Abe'lsesi dr....ses-it. the
kingdom sot being Wangled; Wilt ilie.wbolo.poofer)
throughout the kngdOm, w4stever &Windom milky
be. file apostacy was not to hejoit of one ,rean or
of a few individeals, but that oM collectiie body. '
This will appear fartheeevident from an examin,a-
tiOnof the name .kself. Man of San; like most
other appellations given Apr the false church, is hay.,
rowed. with some alteration, from the true church,
which is called (1 Tim. iii. 17). a The Mae .af
Gee," and is growing *p to 4 perfsfit vies, unto
the fsdl stature of Cniusx—(Epbes. iv. 13) —Now
the -body of this Man of Gen is not one mensber, Int
many, (-1 Cor. xii. 14) and the head of this body,
the true church, is Cnaisx (Colossi i. 18)—So ids°
the Man of Sin is not one member but many, and the
head of this body, the- false church, is the Pope, the
blazing Star who fell from Heaven under the third
Trumpet ; for to no other does the character, in its
fullest latitude apply.-f—Cmusx's opponent is also
here called the :on of petelition, i. e. the peculiar and
distinguished heir of perdition ; because, like Judas, he
calls himself of the number of his disciples, professing
friendshilS, submission, and respect—betraying while
he kisses the Master. The Man of GOD, the body of
a the second man, the Loan from heaven" is the heir of
glory; all his members being" heir: of GOD, ancl joint
heirs with Cnsusr," (Rom. viii.l7) : the son of perdition,
on the contrary, belongs to the body of-the beast that
aseinds out of .the bottomless pit, and goes into perdition"
(Rev. xvii. 8.) die heavens and the earth, i.e. the rulers
and ruled in this.body politic, being reserved unto fire, 1
against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men
(2 Pet. iii. 7.) when the LORD Julia. :ha be revealed
from heaven with his mighty. angels in flaming fie taking
vengeance on 'his adversaries (2 Thess t. 7:) And here
we may remark that, as the body of Cantirr, of which,
every believer is " a member in ;particular" ( 1 Cor.
xii. ¶a7.), is not confined to one city, district or king-
dom, but extends front sea to sea, and from the river to the
ends of the earth ; se the body .of "Intiehrist is not con-
fined to one city or kingdom, but embraces tevfilett
and kindreds, and . nation:, and tongues; aH worship-
ping Sin', whose name: are not written in the book:1)141i%
In short, wherever men presume, on:pretence expe-
; diency, or from whatever motive, to dispense with, or
Ito alter, in the smallest degree, any,of. the laws which
ClattsT bath given for the government of -his hOuse ;
or to add any commandments or inti`tittions to those
of his appointment, there is the man sitting in the
temple, skewing himself that he is god.
"Do ye not remember," says Paul, a that when I was
stiith'you, I fold you these things ? and ye know what
hindereth now." This was not the first time that the
Apostle had mentioned the coming of the man of sin:
he had orally imparted it when he, was among them,
and had informed them what was the present hin-
drance—they might, therefore, rest assured that he
would be revealed in his time; for' already.the "secret of
iniquity" was at work—the ambitious spirit ofAn tichrist
was operating under disguise. In the common English
version we read a mystery of iniquity "—the. Greek
avord pcoo-TriPIOY not being translated at all, but made
an English, word. The very retention of such a
word in a version—a word, which in its English ac-
ceptation has a sense quite different' from what it has
in the original, is, in itielf, a kind, of specimen of'the
secret of iniquity; which consists in hiding wicltedper-
poses under some veil. There is no necessity, how-
ever, that we should charge our translators with has
ing .wilfully obscured the truth in -this and other pas-
sages in which the word mystery occurs; but, whatever
allowances may be made for the force of habit and the
prejudices of education, they cannot be acquitted of
negSgenee, in permitting a Greek word, which, in its
English 'acceptation, has a different sense from the mi.
ginal, to find a place in their version. The Greek word
myitery, means only secret—something which is con-
cealed, but which when declared is no longer a mystery
or a vcret:t but the Man of Sin has contrived tee give it
another meaning—with him it implies a contradiction
in terms—something which when disclosed still remains
unknown--divine truths, which, though_ revealed and
made known unto the sons of men by the Belau vs Goa
(Ephes. iii. 3-5.), cannot be known by them, but

gress, I beg leax
r, before proceeding to them, to call
she attention of Roader to
ritorliECY, CONcERNINWTHE MAN OF SIN.
" how, we beseech you, brethren ! concerning
owning of our LORD J, sus GNAW, and our gathering to-
gether unto him, that ye be not soon shaken in yourjudgment,
nor troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word nor by letter,
los from us,[intimating] 'hat the day of CHRIST is at hand.
Let no one deceive you by any meant, for there must first
come a faihig away, and THE MAN OF SIN be revealed,
THE SoN or rr.RDITIoN, who opposeth and exalteth him-
self above ail that is called god, or that is worshipped ; so
that lie as god sitteth in the temple of GOD, :hewing him-
self that he is GOD.
" Do you not remember, that when I was with you I
told you these things? and ye know what hindereth now ;
so that he will be revealed in his own time : for the secret
of iniquity is already working ; only there is one who now
hinder th tntil he be taken oat of the eday, and then . shall
that wicked [man of sin] be revealed. The LORD shall
consume with the Irea‘h of his mouth, and with the bright-
ness of his [own] coining shall destroy him whose coming
is according to the :vorling of ratan, cuith all power and
s;gos, and lyirr, wiracirs, and with all manner of unrighte-
ous fraud among Most .who perish, because that receiv-
ed not the love, of thetrish that they might be savel.
And for this cause Goo quill send them strong delusions,
that they may believe the lie, that they.all may be condemn-
ed who believe not the truth, but took pleasure in such sin-
righteousness." (2 Them ii. 1-12).
In the preceding chapter the Apostle had been
speaking to the Thessalonians of the second comint
of the MESSIAH, with hie mighty gagek; hoboes:fire
to take veng-ance en them that know. sot COI, and that
obey not the glad new: of oust LORD JIM; CHRIST I after
which he goes on, in the twelve verses quoted above, to
give them some instmctions.concerning this miring of
suit LORD JNSUS CHRIST, and our gathering together unto
him, that they might remain unshaken is the credit
they bad given to whipt he had before taught them
on this subject,. and net give heed to some who
wished to persuade them .thdt this day of CHRIST was
then et hand. The doctrine which these men were en-
deavouring to propagate, but for this seasonable cor-
rection from the Apostle; might have produced the
most pernicious consequences. Had it received gene-
ral and implicit credit, it would have led to a neglect
of those social duties which are every Where enjoined
Otroughont the New-testament, as indispensible to the
christianeharactir for who would have thought it
necessary to be ieligent in business," that he might be.
pble to " provide things 'honest in the tight of all men" and
be " ready to distribute" on every proper occasion, if
the day was ]ust at hand in which the fruit of his la-
bour toidd no longer be useful either to himself or
others l 44 Let no one eleitive you by any means" says
PAUL, vor there 'nisei ifrsi coke a falling atvay"—qsuch
an apostacy from the truth as has been amply describ-
cl under the third Trumpet] and The MAN 07 Six
be reveelid, the SON or PRltntrtort.
Wloi is' this Man of Sin, this Son of Perdition P—Orie
who oposeth, . and who exalteih himself above all that is
called *kid, or that is hsorshipped. Thessahinians
knew well enough of what power the Apostle was
speaking, but if they had not, this description would
have been sufficient for 'their information ; for the
sealed honk (as 1 hope hereafter to chew) had been
opened before this Epistle was written, and the words
are taken almost verbatim from the character given
in the sealed book of the King who lads to do according
to his own will (Dan. xi. 36.) : Ile shall e:calt and mag-
nify himself above every god;" and again (v. 37):
lie will not regard any god ; for he will magnify him-
self above all."
Many Protestant commentators/ in their zeal to ex;
pose the flagrant wickedness of the Sec of Rome, (for
they are almost unanimous in considering the Pope as
the man of sine), have considered rxn LORD GOD as
intended both by Paul and Daniel, by the words—
" every sod"—" all that is called god." These ex-
pressions, however, do not mean JUIDDVAH, but every
Kinx,iny fah-mart, as
:shall be shewn at greater
length when I come to treat of DANIEL'S Prophecies.
Nor does worthitsid cEPacita here mean adored, but
_ _

venerated—entitled to reverence and respectful sabmis- must still remain as much a secret as ever • . ~
sion. The tkle of the Roman Emperors was crz3acr-sc The spirit of which the Apostle speaks had already
wneralle, expressed in Latin by the word dieeener. begun to operate, but it. workid secretly: it durst not
This is the word employed in Acts xxv. 21. Paul's make its true object manifest, on account of the jest-
appeal was to 0'.3..a.7.71; : the Supreme Power, then, lousy of the higher powers. This was the /et Qrhistd-
is that which is .I's.3lf:fizz., venerated, worshitsped. ranee in the way he son otperdition, nor can the text
But this is not the whole of his character. He not allude to any other; for is aim was power—domi-
only treats
Kings and Magistrates withcontempt, :ma' nion ! and, till. some change should take place, it was
Exalts himself above' them, but as aged, places himself impossible that he could exalt himself above whatever
in the temple of Gen, :hewing himself that he is Goo. In was known by the name of rule or authority: But
the exercise of that usurped power, by which lie this hindrance was to be taken out of the way, and then
!mikes himself a King, he erects his throne in the 'u Mat wicked one to be revealed—then was "Ai: open'
.T: nil .'e, that is, in the Church of GOD. t It is in virtue time"—the time before determined for the revelation
of ti''s pretended sp'ritual authority that he claims a of Antichrist.—Now here it is predicted of two very
high r revert ace than that which is'due.even to the singular events, that they were to be coeeval---a cir-
poter totes ef the earth, and insists that he is their se- cumstance that deserves particular attention .:
the man
perior : but as the scriptures acknowledge no autho- of sin was to be revealed when the then reigning
rity ! igher than theirs, except the sovereign power of power-rthe hindrance to his ambition-.-was taken out
'rile KING OF KINGS, it is plain that by this act of of the way. 'We are told exactly the same thing, but
presumption, h, usurps the seat of him who is alone by. a different phraseology, in the Revelation, where
exalted KING upon the holy hill of Zion (Psal. ii. 6)—he it is said the ten kings receive their power in one hour,
exhibits himself as GOD. In fact, whoever arrogates i. c. at one and the same time with the kost—this
to himself a power not only to add to the laws of new kingdom of the little horn ; and we learn
Con, but to alter them, or dispense with them, makes from the same book, that the rise of these ten, and
himself his superior ; for he who has power to nullify the fall of the 7th head of the Roman Empire coin-
the command:, of another must be more than his tide. In other words—at the period in which the sun
equal. . . is eclipsed in the western empire, as announced by the
I,)oes the epithet "The Man of Sin" mean some in- sounding of the fourth trumpet, we must look for the
_li idual ? No ; for the little horn or king, mentioned revelation of him whose coming is according to the work-
in DANire, which is PAUL'b son of perdition, or man of ling of ratan —him who makes his advances after the
Sin, and .1011 N'S Antichrirt;l, or least that ascended, out ' manner of the Adversary (as rev Tarrant might be ren-
of the abyss, is to continue in poeer for the space of dered), not openly, but secretly at first, till-the obsta-
i 260 prophetic years. Does it mean, then, a succes- Iles in. his way are removed. Then he throws off the
sion of individuals—as the Popes ? No—not the suc- 'ln scripture language the true church is also called . toomicza,
cession of the he:id only, but of the whole man of Sin— J chaste -worming, and her children are virgins : the false church is
likewise re
—a :reseatedd by a unman, the reverse of the other in cha-
the body with its /lead. This is manifest from the style
of DANiee's pr-uphecies ; for is them " king" is put •rlot authe tfitasee 171141,3 a h7t7413. ebT/t.tr'ulL church,
; cr;yetl2rJeriisa /ems .tl Ire for " iitozolcir," and in the Revelation the word I:ing is the iingsisoi of Jesus, the Saviour/the false, the &ivies, of atoll-
• Them are exceptions, of which some curious instances have yens the destroyer. The true church understands the secret or 'nye-
ben given by Bp. N:•wton, in his twenty-second dissertation ; I eery of Godiiisses : the false, thsjecrd or mystery If istirsity. The
where the r.-tider will also find some account of the strange expja- !true church is under the dominion of a 6nt--14e limo Phi Wks of
nations of the ',:4ssate now under r,nbideracien, which have been 1 Judah, who ensue, not to continue but so sect : the Mee belongs
ryen by the yerman catholic writers. I pass them over, as our to the devil and satanr-thc rffia: ha., who goeth about. seeking
pm 3ent business is to ascertain, not trh.i: is Au:, but-what is, the .whom he may destroy. The members of the true chards are rite '
genuine meaning of this prophecy. children of God: those of tie false, the ragtime of I,lse 4ssishesi we.
t See Pbahu lxxxii. t, And John a. $4, 35. t It will be shewn hereafter that the ten !Slags area*? the
i See I Cor. iii. 16, 17—'2 Cor. vi. 16. head of Antichrist, in a certain sense, but they are not meant by-
- § A r.cent commentator tells us that the Church of Rome is
(1 John the epithet,
not Antichristian, for .rba;,l”;,t (LA it: the Father and tir Son man of tin: on the contrary the latter is here put, by a
kind of antithesis in o osit'ort to these kings—be magnifiei and
i, v.-!.) b,,t she atinest•lciljes de. • ! in oppusltion to this Unprote \ exalts himself • PP .
it little reknarliable:
ogouset them .041. But is sec a
.yet atitichristran doctrine, I shall, at present, gray meg the s-
ereasc,_ that they themselves gave him ibis Power hi w 144 he set hi'll°
ding of Paul—" They profess that they know CoD ; but in ;routs I above • 9 . • •• '.
. . 1
self eve them (Rev. awl 13.)
: It' y DENY him, being abominable, and disobedient, ape
0 try good work reprobate." (Tit. i. 16.) ,an mete I I See some judicious criticisms on this wore in Paltililllasiee
/ Gr. o!,d Enk lindreit—also CAMPIELI. AVMS IX•