Treatise on the AntiChrist

Unite Against the Man of Lawlessness

As understood by all true heirs of the Reformation, the common term Antichrist refers to the Man of Lawlessness foretold in 2 Thessalonians.

Biblically speaking, the spirit of Antichrist boasts of itself that by divine right he is supreme, above all others. 1 Further, the spirit of the Antichrist boasts the right to enforce religion by ordained and righteous violence as a matter of course. 2 Finally, the spirit of the Antichrist boasts that you must trust in his worldly supremacy at the risk of loss, both now and in the world to come. 3

Thus, we see that spirit of the Antichrist is godlessness embodied as lies and tyrannies waving the banner of Christianity. 4

Worldly supremacy is always, at soul, the duty to shepherd, subjugate, buttress and/or depose inferiors. The boast of worldly supremacy in any matter is a bold claim, even under God. 5

The spirit of lawlessness arrogates to itself all manner of authorities, considering itself equal to reason and nature, even superseding them so as to hold men bound by conscience. 6a This spirit of lawlessness is willing to found its godless pride of place even upon the name of “Jesus Christ,” and so also to profane Scripture with brilliant sophisms, so long as one bows the knee and suffers its tyranny. 6B

This prince of the principalities of the air wishes to speak for the Bible. Yes, he claims that it is the Bible’s teaching that he safeguards. As such, this lawlessness ever professes that, without it, all hope is to be lost. 6C

Biblical Principle #1: In the Kingdom of God, the only Sovereign Man is Jesus Christ. 7

Example A

In Luke 22:25-26, Christ, our Lord, expressly prohibits lordship within Christianity. Not even an apostle has supremacy of soul over another person. 8ia

The kings of the peoples lord it over them…. But not so with you; rather, he who is greatest among you, let him be of mine with the least; he who governs, as he who serves a higher Lord.

As Christ spoke of his passion, his men jockeyed for supremacy. Our Lord rebuked their boasts, for he sent them as his ambassadors, his dignitaries. In this, claims to lordship within the Kingdom are well out of order, and therefore are to be seen as essential AntiChristian lawlessness. 8ib

Personal note: it is the reign of wisdom, the tongue which persuades, that the Spirit enlivens. In the Kingdom, the need to claim authority (the sword) by means of the tongue is a sign that one self-evidently does not have it.

Example B

In Matthew 18:2, Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them, signifying that in the Kingdom, power is not of the sword but of the heart. 8ii

Example C

In John 20:21, Christ says to his disciples, As My Father has sent Me, even so send I you. He says the same blessing upon them all alike, granting no more or less prestige above the rest, for they all are sent directly by him. 9

Example D

In Galatians 2:7f Paul states that his election to his Office of Apostle needed no confirmation by Peter, nor any other man. Peter being the voice and head of the Apostles in Jerusalem does not in anyway deny or cast shadow on the pure Supremacy of Christ, 10i for Paul spoke the Name of Jesus Christ freely, without seeking permission from Peter. The authority of the Kingdom is the Word of God. 10ii

Thus, no Christian is superior to another, no disciple the master and commander of the others by right. 10iii

Example E

In 1 Corinthians 3:5f, Paul asserts that various powers and personas in the Church are equal ministers in the purpose of Christ. Superiority in lordship is proscribed from the mindset of the Christian soul, for Christ promises “all things are yours!” 11i

Therefore:

1 Let no mortal man assume lordship over Christianity, nor announce his superiority over the gathering work of Christ. 11ii

2 Let no man burden the Church with traditions. 11iii

3 Let not any authority avail more than the Words of the Bible. 11iv

4 Let no one set the words of Peter against Paul, James against John, Moses against Christ. 11v

The History of Bishop of Rome

The Bishop of Rome rose to permanent political prominence when the Council of Nicea, under Constantine, resolved that his office administer the west, and the Bishop of Alexandria the east. 12i

Human law makes distinctions in authority as a mark of nature, order and design. 12ii But human law is not capable of taking what God has commanded one and splitting it into two. 12iii Therefore, either the Council erred when it transferred the Pope’s ecumenical divine right to Alexandria, or the Pope errs by claiming universal divine right now.

In such, either councils or popes (or both) therefore err, as do all men in time. 12iv Thus, the Council of Nice saw wisdom when it determined that bishops be elected by their own congregations with the assistance of neighboring bishops. 13i

Cyprian agrees with Augustine when he says in his fourth letter to Cornelius:

Accordingly, as regards the divine observance and apostolic practice, you must diligently keep and practice what is also observed among us and in almost all the provinces, that for celebrating ordination properly, whatsoever pastors of the same province live nearest should come together with the people for whom a pastor is being appointed, and the pastor should be chosen in the presence of the people, who most fully know the life of each one, which we also have seen done among us at the ordination of our colleague Sabinus, that by the suffrage of the entire brotherhood, and by the judgment of the pastors who had assembled in their presence, the pastorate was conferred and hands laid on him.13ii

Cyprian calls the local appointment of pastors a “divine tradition,” an “apostolic observance,” and affirms that it is observed in almost all the pre-Constantian Roman Empire of his day (c240s AD). 13iii

Because, therefore, ancient tradition declares that none sought ordination nor confirmation from the Bishop of Rome in the early Greek and Latin Church, it is apparent that the present pope’s claims to earthly superiority, that is, his financial domination and taxation of the Christian Church on earth, is neither divine nor guaranteed, except insofar as his is prophesied as the office of the “AntiChrist” or “the Lawless Man” who has been unrestrained since his little season began. 14

These things are evident for all Christians:

1. Permanent superiority among mortal men is impossible. 15-16i

2. It is impossible for one bishop to be the overseer of the churches of the whole world. 15-16ii

3. It is impossible for the churches of the whole world to seek ordination from one bishop. 15-16iii

4. It is manifest biblically and self-evident that the Kingdom of Jesus Christ is scattered throughout the whole world.15-16iv

5. While the pope remains the self-proclaimed and self-evident head of the most visible manifestation of the Church of Christ on earth, the greater majority of the churches on earth do not acknowledge his superiority. 15-16v

6. Among those churches which do acknowledged his superiority, it is sufficiently apparent that they do not agree themselves regarding either his identity or the extent of his authority.15-16vi

7. Such a charade is not only clearly not instituted by God’s law, but further is predicted by God’s Word to be the common, refractive flaw of all humanly-organized religion, as from generation to generation the Spirit of Christ lays claim among the peoples. 15-16vii

Is there need for more testimony?

Many early church councils were held without the bishop of Rome, such as at Nice. So far as his office is what it claims to be, then it is the power of the many antichrists amassed in one sufficient and enduring symbol. This is the work of the true and ascended Reigning Christ, who, by Word and Spirit, hooks Leviathan by the nose. even from ancient times until even. 17