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XK AND HERALD OF CHRISTS PRESENCE Vou. LI SEPTEMBER 15, 1930 No. 18 THE MAN OF SIN “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.”’—2 Thess. 2: 3. ‘great sin’’ is disloyalty, rebellion and opposi- tion to the Most High. Under the direction of the Lord the apostle wrote concerning the arising of an- other like unto Satan, the wicked one, and which one he designates ‘the man of-sin, the son of perdition’. The language shows that the one so likened unto Sa- tan exalts himself and opposes God. It also shows that the ‘‘man of sin’? and ‘‘the son of perdition’’ are one and the same. J Scrat 3 has made it clear to his people that the IDENTIFICATION 2 To understand the meaning of the apostle’s words it is necessary to definitely and properly identify the ‘‘man of sin’’. For this reason the article appearing in the previous issue of The Watch Tower, under the title of ‘‘Holy Spirit’’, is first published, that it may be an aid in identifying the ‘‘man of sin’’. ’For a long while this scripture relating to the ‘‘man of sin’’ has been interpreted as applying to the Papal church system. Bible Students, having no better interpretation, have accepted the identification of the ‘‘man of sin’’ as the Papal system and have understood that power whieh had withheld, let or hindered its complete development to be the Pagan Rome empire and that when Pagan Rome was taken over by being overthrown by Papal Rome, then the Papal system or hierarchy was recognized as the “man of sin’’. In support of this interpretation it has been said that the Papacy was organized as a hierarchy about A.D. 300 and advaneed to the zenith of its power about A.D. 800; that its decline began in A.D, 1400; that it was bereft of its temporal power in A.D, 1870; and that from the beginning of the Lord’s presenee in 1874 the Devil used the Papal system as the chicf opposing instrument of God’s kingdom and that the Papal system will mect its final destruction at the beginning of the reign of Christ. —SS Vol. B, pp. 267-361.

• Without a question of doubt the Papal system is,

and for a long time has becn, an instrument of fraud and deception used by the Devil. It has been and now is a part of Satan’s organization. It is still the strongest part of organized religion, which forms a part of Satan’s organization. It is also certain that as a part of Satan’s organization it will be complete- ly destroyed. These facts, however, do not identify the Papal system as ‘the man of sin, the son of per- dition’, There are several reasons why ‘the man of sin, the son of perdition’ docs not mean the Papal system, and some of these reasons are here given, to wit: 5 (1) The apostle was instructing his brethren con- cerning ‘‘the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him’’, On another oceasion he plainly stated that he, Paul, niust wait for his reward until the coming of the Lord, when he and others of like faith and faithfulness would be resurrected and receive the crown of life. The resur- rection of the sleeping saints and the gathering to the Lord Jesus of his own could not take place until after the Lord came to his temple. Elsewhere in this jour- nal the Seriptural evidence is submitted showing that the resurrection of Paul and the other faithful ones could not take place prior to A.D. 1918, and that time is too far moved from the Papal power, its beginning, and decline, to fit the description of the ‘‘man of sin’’. 6 (2) The apostle referred specifically to ‘‘the day of Christ’’, which according to the Scriptures is not exactly synonymous to the ‘‘day of Jehovah’’. It was in 1914 that Jehovah placed his Son upon his throne and sent him forth as his representative to rule and to oust Satan the enemy, and therefore that date marks the beginning of the ‘‘day of Jehovah’’. (Ps. 2:6; 110:1,2) The term ‘‘day of Christ’? evidently means the time in which all the members of Christ are separated from others and the approved oncs brought into the temple and anointed. Since the resur- rection of the saints took place in 1918, we belicve, and preeeded the examination and judgment of those on earth, it follows that the ‘‘day of Christ’? could not begin until 1918 and, it may well be said, will bo completed only when all the body members are select- ed and completely separated from all others of the spirit-begotten ones and brought into the temple, (1 Cor. 1:8; 5:5; 2 Cor. 1:14; Phil. 1:6,10; 2:15) 275