In the Name of the Father, and of the +
Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The term “antichrist” is used in the Scriptures in both a
broad and narrow sense. The broad sense can be found in 1 John 2, in which all
false teachers are called “antichrists.”[1]
This broad sense is the plain understanding of the word. False teachers stand
opposed to Christ, making them “anti-Christ,” “against the Christ.”
The narrow sense of the term “antichrist” is most clearly
described in St. Paul’s second letter to the Church in Thessalonica, where he
writes as follows:
Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus
Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, 2 not
to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by
letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come. 3 Let
no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the
falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the
son of perdition, 4 who opposes and exalts
himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he
sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.
5 Do you not remember that when I was
still with you I told you these things? 6 And now you
know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time. 7 For the mystery
of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will
do so until He is taken out of the way. 8 And
then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the
breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming. 9 The
coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan,
with all power, signs, and lying wonders, 10 and
with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did
not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 11 And for
this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe
the lie, 12 that they all may be condemned who did
not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.[2]
With St. Paul, we can identify 5 marks of this narrow use of
the term “Antichrist.”[3]
First, the position taken by the Antichrist is called the “falling away,” or
apostacy. This means that the Antichrist will lead Christians away from the
true doctrine of the Christ, especially the central doctrine of the
Scriptures—that “man cannot be justified before God by his own strength,
merits, or works, but is freely justified for Christ’s sake, through faith,
when he believes that he is received into favor, and that his sins are forgiven
for Christ’s sake, who, by His death, has made satisfaction for your sins.”[4]
The second mark of the Antichrist is that he will sit in the
temple of God, that is, he will arise from within the Church itself. While it
is tempting to claim any number of evil political leaders as “the Antichrist,”
this would be contrary to Scripture. The Antichrist shall sit himself within
the Church of God and attempt to deceive God’s children from such a position
within the Church.
Third, the Antichrist will conduct himself in accord with
this seat within the church, namely, he will act as if he was God, Himself. The
Antichrist will claim supreme authority over man, refusing to submit to any
other authority. He will claim to be above the authority of all creation and to
be the soul source of God’s interaction with man.
The fourth mark of the Antichrist is that although he is not
Satan himself, his coming and his reign will be built and backed by all manner
of lying powers, signs, and wonders. Christ warns us that many will come in His
name and even perform miracles, claiming to be from God.[5]
All those claiming to be from God must be judged by their doctrine, and that
according to the Word of God.
The final mark of the Antichrist is that he will remain
until the return of Christ. The Lord will destroy the Antichrist at His visible
return and yet, as St. John writes, “As we have heard that Antichrist shall
come, even now are there many antichrists.”[6]
It is this final mark that tells us the term “Antichrist,” when used in this
narrow sense, refers not to an individual person, but to an office. An office
endures longer than the lifetime of one man and yet remains unchanged until God
destroys it.
These five marks are all fulfilled in the office of the
Papacy, or the Roman Pope. At the Council of Trent, the Papacy officially
declared the biblical doctrine of justification to be accursed, saying that
anyone who teaches that man is declared righteous freely through the merits of
Christ and cannot add to his own salvation according to his own works is
anathema, that is, condemned to hell. Thus, in the Papacy, we can see the
greatest and most pronounced “falling away” from the most fundamental article
of faith by which man is saved.
Certainly, there are many others in the world who deny the
doctrine of Justification, but the Papacy promotes such false doctrine from
within the Christian Church. What I mean is that there are Christians in the
Roman Catholic Church. There are Christians because they still receive Holy
Baptism in the Name of the Triune God. The Holy Scriptures are still read and
proclaimed. It is through these means that the Holy Spirit works faith in the
hearts of man. It is a miracle of God that there are Christians who, despite the
false teachings of the Pope and the seductive nature of the Church body to
which they belong, still cling to faith in Christ, trusting in the death and
resurrection of Jesus alone for their salvation.
In 1302, Pope Boniface VIII issued Unam Sanctum, declaring
that it is necessary for salvation that man be subject to the Roman Pope above
all others. This is a matter of official doctrine in the Roman Catholic Church.
It is necessary for salvation that man be subject to the Pope above all other
authorities on earth. This means that the Pope is above any criticism. It means
the Pope alone is supreme in the Church and the world. He submits to no one.
Perhaps the most seductive to the eyes of man are the
numerous reports of miracles, visions, and wonders related to the Roman
Pontiff. Marian apparitions, miracles of healing, and statues that weep, bleed,
or heal are all said to point to the validity of the papacy. In fact, these
signs point to the contrary. Since they do not point to Christ, but instead to
a man who claims greater authority than the Word of God, they are demonic in
origin. I do not deny that some of these signs and wonders have occurred. In
fact, I’m certain they have. However, they are signs fulfilling precisely the
words of our Lord: “We played the flute for you and you did not dance; we
mourned to you, and you did not lament.”[7]
Finally, in the papacy, we see an office that for a time after
the apostles, remained beneath a veil. The early bishops of Rome were pious
Christians who sought to lead the flocks God placed under their authority
according to the Word of God. But after a time, and certainly by the 14th
century, the nature of the Papacy was revealed to be the very seat of the
Antichrist. It is an office which will endure until the return of Christ, when
He will destroy the Papacy, along with all who fight against Christ and His
reign in the Church.
Why is it worth studying the office of the Antichrist? St.
Paul told us that he wrote concerning the man of lawlessness that you would not
be “soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter.”[8]
A proper understanding of the Antichrist is not necessary for salvation.
Salvation is only gained by faith in Christ, a true understanding of the Son of
God who took on human flesh to die on behalf of the sin of man, making
atonement to the Father and sending His Holy Spirit to bestow such faith on
man.
An understanding of the Antichrist serves as both a warning
and a comfort. It is a warning in that it draws your attention to the one thing
most needful—faith in Jesus Christ. It is a warning against fascination with
the mysteries of God which He has chosen not to reveal to man. It is a warning
against the seductive signs, wonders, and claims to history of the Roman
Catholic Church.
It is a warning against seeing different churches as simply
different social clubs. There are doctrinal differences between church bodies
and doctrine is important. It is important whether you confess the biblical
teaching that the Body and Blood of Jesus is truly present in the Holy
Communion. It is important if you confess against the clear teaching of
Scripture that one man is given all authority in heaven and earth to bestow
salvation on whomever he chooses. These differences matter because given time,
false doctrine will destroy faith. Even though there are Christians within the
Roman Catholic Church, these Christians are in danger. They are in danger of
falling into the trap of the Papacy and placing their faith in the salvation of
the Pope, rather than the salvation of Jesus Christ.
The doctrine of the Antichrist is also a comfort, a
consolation for your conscience because it forces you to examine the true doctrine
of the Scriptures. Here you will find that it is not by your works that you are
saved. You will find that there is nothing you can do to save yourself. There
is no work you can perform, no amount you can pay, no decision you can make to
escape the punishment of hell.
Only the perfect life of Jesus, who willingly kept the Law
of God perfect from the moment of His conception to His death on the cross,
merits salvation. Only the sacrifice of Jesus on Mount Calvary, willingly
offered to the Father on your behalf, can atone for you sin. Only the work of
the Holy Spirit, who has called you by the Word of God, the Holy Gospel, can draw
you to salvation.
This is a comfort because it does not rely on you. It does
not rely on how you feel or how much you understand. Your salvation relies on the
Blood of Jesus, shed for you, and the faith bestowed upon you by God to cling
to this Word of promise. The Pope in Rome would have you kneel before him in
submission to his claim to authority. Jesus Christ submitted to death, even
death on a cross for you. We now kneel before Jesus Christ alone, as He alone
has called you by the Holy Gospel to join Him in eternity.
[1]
1 John 2:18.
[2]
2 Thessalonians 2:1-12, quoted from the New King James Version (Thomas Nelson, Inc., 1982).
[3]
Francis Pieper, Christian Dogmatics, Volume 3 (St. Louis, MO: Concordia
Publishing House, 1953), 462-469.
[4]
AC IV.
[5]
St. Matthew 24:24.
[6]
1 John 2:18.
[7]
St. Matthew 11:17.
[8]
2 Thessalonians 2:2.
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