Revelation Chapter 12
Verse 5 continued, “She bore a male Child who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron. And her Child was caught up to God and his throne.”
“The long desired favor of Rome came at last by the conversion of Constantine, A.D. 313, and there we believe the labor pangs of tribulation ceased and Papacy was born i.e. there the blending of church and state commenced (the iron and clay mentioned by the Prophet in, Dan 2:33,41-43 here Jezebel was betroth to Ahab). It was not yet the "Man of Sin," in the same sense that a child is not a man; but it was the beginning, of what resulted in Papacy--"The Man of Sin," the man-child was born.” (R 306)
“In A.D. 314 Constantine’s Edict of Toleration gave the Christian religion a standing of authenticity among the other heathen forms of worship in the empire, thus opening the door for further advancement. In A.D. 323 the emperor elevated Christianity as the official religion of his government.”
Note: The following list is but a few of the reformers who recognized who and what the Antichrist was long ago. This likewise gives evidence of how far the churches of today have strayed from the wisdom of their founding fathers.
Martin Luther (1483-1546) Lutheran
“We here are of the conviction that papacy is the seat of the true and real Antichrist… (The Prophetic Faith of our Fathers, Vol. 2 page 121)
Thomas Cranmer (1489-1556) Anglican
“Whereof it follows Rome to be the seat of antichrist, and the pope to be very antichrist himself, I could prove the same by many other scriptures, old writers, and strong reasons.” (Referring to prophecies in Revelation and Daniel, taken from “Works” by Cranmer Vol. 1 pages 6, 7)
John Knox (1505-1572) Presbyterian
Knox wrote to abolish “that tyranny which the pope himself has for so many ages exercised over the church” and that the pope should be recognized as “the very antichrist, and son of perdition, of whom Paul speaks” (The Zurich Letters, Page 199)
John Calvin (1509-1564) Presbyterian
“Some persons think us too severe and censorious when we call the Roman pontiff Antichrist. But those who are of this opinion do not consider that they bring the same charge of presumption against Paul himself, after whom we speak and whose language we adopt… I shall briefly show that (Paul’s words in 2 Thess 2) are not capable of any other interpretation than that which applies them to Papacy.” (“Institutes” by John Calvin)
Roger William (1603-1683) First Baptist Pastoral America
He spoke of the Pope as “the pretended Vicar of Christ on earth, who sits as God over the Temple of God, exalting himself not only above all that is called God, but over the souls and consciences of all his vassals, yea over the Spirit of Christ, over the Holy Spirit, yea and God himself…speaking against the God of heaven thinking to change times and laws; but he is the son of perdition (2 Thess 2).” (The Prophetic Faith of our Fathers Vol. 3 page 52)
Cotton Mather (1663-1728) Congregational Theologian
“The oracles of God foretold the rising of an Antichrist in the Christian Church; and in the Pope of Rome all the characteristics of that Antichrist are so marvelously answered that if any who read the Scriptures do not see it, there is a marvelous blindness upon them.” (The Prophetic Faith of our Fathers Vol. 3 page 113)
John Wesley (1703-1791) Methodist
Wesley speaking of the Papacy said, “He is in an emphatical sense, the Man of Sin, as he increases all manner of sin above measure. And he is too, properly styled the Son of Perdition, as he has caused the death of numberless multitudes, both of his opposers and followers...He it is that exalts himself above all that is called God, or that is worshiped…claiming the highest power and highest honor…claiming the prerogatives which belong to God alone.” (Antichrist and His Ten Kingdoms, Page 110)
We shall take a look at Verse 6 in our next post.
Verse 5 continued, “She bore a male Child who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron. And her Child was caught up to God and his throne.”
“The long desired favor of Rome came at last by the conversion of Constantine, A.D. 313, and there we believe the labor pangs of tribulation ceased and Papacy was born i.e. there the blending of church and state commenced (the iron and clay mentioned by the Prophet in, Dan 2:33,41-43 here Jezebel was betroth to Ahab). It was not yet the "Man of Sin," in the same sense that a child is not a man; but it was the beginning, of what resulted in Papacy--"The Man of Sin," the man-child was born.” (R 306)
“In A.D. 314 Constantine’s Edict of Toleration gave the Christian religion a standing of authenticity among the other heathen forms of worship in the empire, thus opening the door for further advancement. In A.D. 323 the emperor elevated Christianity as the official religion of his government.”
Note: The following list is but a few of the reformers who recognized who and what the Antichrist was long ago. This likewise gives evidence of how far the churches of today have strayed from the wisdom of their founding fathers.
Martin Luther (1483-1546) Lutheran
“We here are of the conviction that papacy is the seat of the true and real Antichrist… (The Prophetic Faith of our Fathers, Vol. 2 page 121)
Thomas Cranmer (1489-1556) Anglican
“Whereof it follows Rome to be the seat of antichrist, and the pope to be very antichrist himself, I could prove the same by many other scriptures, old writers, and strong reasons.” (Referring to prophecies in Revelation and Daniel, taken from “Works” by Cranmer Vol. 1 pages 6, 7)
John Knox (1505-1572) Presbyterian
Knox wrote to abolish “that tyranny which the pope himself has for so many ages exercised over the church” and that the pope should be recognized as “the very antichrist, and son of perdition, of whom Paul speaks” (The Zurich Letters, Page 199)
John Calvin (1509-1564) Presbyterian
“Some persons think us too severe and censorious when we call the Roman pontiff Antichrist. But those who are of this opinion do not consider that they bring the same charge of presumption against Paul himself, after whom we speak and whose language we adopt… I shall briefly show that (Paul’s words in 2 Thess 2) are not capable of any other interpretation than that which applies them to Papacy.” (“Institutes” by John Calvin)
Roger William (1603-1683) First Baptist Pastoral America
He spoke of the Pope as “the pretended Vicar of Christ on earth, who sits as God over the Temple of God, exalting himself not only above all that is called God, but over the souls and consciences of all his vassals, yea over the Spirit of Christ, over the Holy Spirit, yea and God himself…speaking against the God of heaven thinking to change times and laws; but he is the son of perdition (2 Thess 2).” (The Prophetic Faith of our Fathers Vol. 3 page 52)
Cotton Mather (1663-1728) Congregational Theologian
“The oracles of God foretold the rising of an Antichrist in the Christian Church; and in the Pope of Rome all the characteristics of that Antichrist are so marvelously answered that if any who read the Scriptures do not see it, there is a marvelous blindness upon them.” (The Prophetic Faith of our Fathers Vol. 3 page 113)
John Wesley (1703-1791) Methodist
Wesley speaking of the Papacy said, “He is in an emphatical sense, the Man of Sin, as he increases all manner of sin above measure. And he is too, properly styled the Son of Perdition, as he has caused the death of numberless multitudes, both of his opposers and followers...He it is that exalts himself above all that is called God, or that is worshiped…claiming the highest power and highest honor…claiming the prerogatives which belong to God alone.” (Antichrist and His Ten Kingdoms, Page 110)
We shall take a look at Verse 6 in our next post.
