11. The Antichrist.
The Scriptures use the word "antichrist" in a general and in a specific sense. In the passage 1 John 2:18, all false teachers are called "anti-Christs" (αντίχριστοι πολλοί γεγόνασιν). The reason for this designation is revealed clearly enough in Scripture. Because the Scriptures command that in Christ's church only Christ's word shall be taught and reign,1646) so all who teach any other word are eo ipso Christ's adversaries, rebels in his kingdom. ¶ But 2 Thess. 2:3-12 the word Antichrist is evidently used in a special sense, namely, to designate an adversary of Christ in whom the "many antichrists" are gathered into one, so that in this one the apostasy par excellence κατ' εξοχήν (ή αποστασία) makes its appearance. In this special sense ό αντίχριστος also stands in 1 John 2:18 next to the ηολλοϊ αντίχριστοι as distinct from them, "Ye have
1644) That is, to administer the Lord's Supper (X, 1576).
1645) Cf. Walther on "The Ministry as the Highest Office in the Church, from Which All Other Church Offices Flow," Kirche und Amt, pp. 342 ff. [Walther and the Church, p. 78 f.]
1646) Matt. 28:20; Joh. 8:31-32; 17:20; 1 Pet. 4:11; 1 Tim. 6:3 ff.
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heard that Antichrist is coming (ερχεται), and now many antichrists have have become" (γεγόνασιν, that is, already there).1647) That to be grasped futurally is enforced by the opposition in which it stands to the perfect tense: they, the many antichrists, have become, are already there. In the many antichrists, already present in the false teachers, the spirit is active that will present itself in full expression in the Antichrist κατ' έξοχήν. Paul expresses this 2 Thess. 2:7 like this: Τό μυστήριον ήδη ενεργεϊται τής ανομίας. [“The mystery of iniquity doth already work.”]
The characteristics of the Antichrist are described in detail in 2 Thess. 2. They are the following:
1. The position that is proper to the Antichrist is called apostasy absolutely (ή άποοταοίά), v. 3. of course, not a political apostasy is to be thought of, but an apostasy from the Christian religion, because in the whole context there is no address of political or social, but only of things that belong to the field of religion. What the Antichrist represents are "powerful errors", "lies", and those who adhere to the Antichrist have not accepted the love of "truth", that is, of Christian truth, and are eternally lost, vv. 10-42. Even Lünemann, who otherwise misunderstands the whole passage, says correctly in regard to the αποστασία: "Not apostasy in the political sense, but solely religious apostasy, that is, apostasy from God and true religion, can have been meant by the αποστασία. To this assumption compels, 1. By what is said of the άνϑρωπος τής αμαρτίας in immediate internal connection with apostasy, 2. By the characteristic of άποστασία v. 3 by άνομία (lawlessness) v. 7, 3. by the constant Biblical use of language. Cf. Act. 21:21; 1 Tim. 4:1. According to this, the view that a mixture of religious and political apostasy is to be thought of must also be rejected as inadmissible."
2. The Antichrist has his seat in the temple or house of God (ό ναός τον ϑεοϋ), v. 4, that is, in the Christian church. The assumption that the Antichrist will choose the pagan idolatrous temples as his seat hardly deserves the name of an invasion. Paul does not call the idolatrous temples "God's house," but the
1647) So correctly also Huther, Sander.
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Christian church.1648) Then the Antichrist with his sitting in the idol temple would not be a "mystery of wickedness", but a wickedness that is obvious to Christians from the beginning.
3. The behavior of the Antichrist corresponds to his sitting in the temple. He behaves as if he were God himself, v. 4. He exalts himself above all authorities that exist in the world (επί πάντα λεγόμενον ϑεόν ή οέβασμα), and his exaltation goes so far, that he sits down in the temple of God as a god and makes a show of himself that he is God (άποδεικνύντα εαυτόν δτι εστι ϑεός). By the πας λεγόμενος ϑεός η οέβασμα, of course, we are not to think also of the gods of the heathen—for exaltation over these is not impiety—but of those persons in the world who, though not God by their very nature, are called gods because of divine functions assigned to them, such as the magisterial and parental estate (dei nuncupativi). The concept of λεγόμενοι ϑεοί is also clearly defined in Scripture.. 1649)
4. The Antichrist is not the devil himself, as some have thought, but his future (παρουσία) happens according to the action of Satan (κατ' ενέργειαν του Σατανά), in that his kingdom is set up and supported with all kinds of lying powers, signs and wonders.1650)
5. The Antichrist will remain until the Last Day. Christ will only dismiss him by his visible appearance for judgment (καταργήσει).
So who is this Antichrist? If we take the listed characteristics together — and in their totality they are meant — they neither fit to a political strongman like Nero, Napoleon, Boulanger etc.. (they did not pose as
1648) 1 Cor. 3:16 ff; 1 Tim. 3:15; 2 Tim. 2:20 etc.
1649) Joh. 10:34. 35; 1 Cor. 8:5; Rom. 13:1 ff. Buddeus, Instit. theol. dogm. 1741, p. 1224: In templo Dei sedebit, ώς ϑεός, ut Deus, hoc est, ea sibi vindicans, quae soli Deo sunt propria, adeoque se pro Deo quodam venditans. Eodem pertinet, quod ibidem Paulus dicit fore, ut se efferat im πάντα λεγόμενον ϑεόν ή οέβασμα, super omne id, quod dicitur aut colitur ut Deus, hoc est, super omnes magistratus, reges, principesque. Quo ipso potestatem vere divinam sibi tribuit, cum soli Deo proprium sit, quod sit Rex regum et Dominus dominantium. [Google]
1650) The genitive ψεύδους belongs to all three nouns. The powers, signs and wonders belong to the realm of lies, whose father is the devil, Joh. 8:44.
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church greats) or the obvious unbelievers and scoffers (who do not want to have anything to do with the temple of God), 1651) but only on a historical phenomenon in the world, namely the Roman Papacy. ¶ First of all, in the Papacy there is the most decisive and conceivable apostasy from the Christian religion. It is well known that this doctrine by which alone a man can be saved is that of salvation through faith in Christ without any works of his own. This is the article, as Luther says, and for which he has the approval of every Christian, "qui solus ecclesiam Dei gignit, nutrit, aedificat, servat, defendit; ac sine eo ecclesia Dei non potest una hora subsistere."1652) What for the natural life is the air, that for the spiritual life is the doctrine of justification by faith without man's own works. But this doctrine is officially cursed by the Papacy,1653) and the whole machinery of the papal church is set against this doctrine. This is truly this apostasy (ή αποστασία) from the Christian religion, and the personal representative of it, the Pope, is truly the greatest adversary of Christ and His Church under Christ's name. As certainly as the Christian Church consists of men who, through the action of the Holy Spirit, believe that they have a gracious God, without works of their own, for Christ's sake alone, so certainly does the Pope, under Christ's name, cast an excommunication on the whole Christian Church, and is continually engaged in destroying the Christian Church, e.g., making the children, who under him have become members of the Christian Church through Holy Baptism, disgusting with Christ and leading them to trust in their own works. ¶ Secondly, the papacy is not outside but inside the Christian church, because it has many members of the church among it, first of all the baptized children, then also adults, who, despite the seductive environment of the gospel that occasionally becomes loud, trust in Christ's merit alone.1654) ¶ Furthermore: That the Pope does not want to be subject to anyone, but wants to be the supreme in church and world, is a generally known fact. Although he curses and dismisses the only way to salvation, he still claims that only those men can be saved who submit to him. He changes Word of God and commandments according to his will, he wants to judge all,
1651) L. u. W. 1869, p. 39 ff.
1652) St. L. XIV, 168. Opp. v. a. VII, 612.
1653) Trident, sess. VI, can. 11. 12. 20.<w:t xml:space="preserve">1654) Luther XVII, 2191.
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but be judged by no one; indeed, he expressly claims infallibility for himself. He also claims sublimity over all secular authorities and demands from them that they recognize his supremacy as secular authorities and place themselves at the service of his kingdom. ¶ Likewise, it is common knowledge that the papacy uses all kinds of lying powers, signs and wonders in its service in the past and now.1655) ¶ Nor can it be denied that the papacy has remained to this day, and indeed has remained the same, even though its former unrestricted rule over the world and the church was thoroughly broken by the Reformation. ¶ Therefore, the Lutheran Confessions rightly says: "Thus all the vices prophesied in the Holy Scriptures of the antichrist rhyme with the papal kingdom and its members." Furthermore: Haec doctrina ostendit, papam esse ipsum verum antichristum.1656)
1655) Luther rightly points out that the power exercised by the papacy can only be explained by diabolical effects. It is not only against the Word of God, but also against all reason. No one loves it; even its own followers do not love it; but everything fears it, deceived and held captive by the pretense of piety and by the signs and wonders of falsehood. (Opp. v. a. V, 356. St. L. XVIII, 1529.)
1656) Smalc. Art. 336, 39 ff. [Trigl. 515, Power and Primacy of Pope, 39 🔗] Philippi (Doctrines of the Antichrist, p. 67): "In the papacy is found, step by step, what the Holy Scriptures say of the Antichrist. Here is found not only apostasy and false doctrine in general, but elevation of man to the temple of God in God's stead (think of the two newest dogmas: immaculata conceptio and infallibility); here human authority takes the place of Holy Scriptures, human righteousness the place of the righteousness of Jesus Christ; here human commandments are elevated above God's law; here passages of Scripture that go to Christ (e.g. Is. 28:16; Ps. 72:11; Matt. 28:18; Rev. 5:5) are applied to a man, the Pastor; yes, here a man arrogates to himself the highest power not only on earth, but also in heaven through indulgences, canonization of the deceased, transubstantiation, and the like. Here a man claims iure diviuo to be the rightful and sole owner of all spiritual and temporal power on earth, so that he not only wants to order divine services and proclaim doctrines of faith, but even to make salvation dependent on faith in his divine authority; here we find contempt for the divine order of marriage (celibacy); here we find striving for world domination, courting world power, exploiting world power for selfish purposes, using unholy means allegedly for holy purposes; here we find streams of spilled martyr's blood: here are found lying signs and wonders (think of Luise Lateau, Lourdes and Marpingen, of the miraculous images of Mary and the saints, etc.) etc. etc. All these are such characteristic traits that we cannot but say: the Pope is the Antichrist."
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Against this it has been objected that the Antichrist prophesied in 2 Thess. 2 is an individual ("individual person"). This is not what is said in the passage. Rather, what is said there points beyond the duration of a human life. The mystery of wickedness is already effective at the time of the apostle, but there is an obstacle that holds back its manifestation; the obstacle must first be removed. This is followed by the manifestation of the Antichrist and his eventual destruction by the appearance of Christ for judgment. Also the many lying powers, signs and wonders, by which the Antichrist builds and maintains his kingdom, the mass seduction to unrighteousness among those who are lost, let us think of a longer period. Philippi therefore judges: "There is no exegetically more unfounded and arbitrary assertion than that 2 Thess. 2:3. 4 can only be referred to a concrete, individual person." 1657) — Furthermore, it has been objected against the confessional statement that the Antichrist prophesied in 2 Thess. 2 stands before us fully developed in the papacy, that the question of the Antichrist is a historical question and therefore cannot be answered with certainty of faith. This objection is based on an assertion which those who raise the objection cannot and do not want to maintain. That in Jesus of Nazareth the prophesied Christ appeared, was for the Jews at Christ's time also a "historical" question. But as it could be recognized by the Jews on the basis of the Scriptures and from the addresses and works of Christ with certainty of faith that in Jesus of Nazareth "the Christ" had appeared, so we can recognize on the basis of the Scriptures and from the addresses and works of the papacy that in the papacy "the Antichrist" has recognizably placed himself before us.1658)
1657) Dogmatik VI, 181. Buddeus, Inst, theol. dogm., p. 1223: Quae de antichristo 2 Thess. 2:3. 4 sqq. referuntur, ita comparata sunt, ut nec ab uno homine, nec eo temporis spatio, quod unius hominis aetati respondet, peragi queant.
1658) So also Spener: "But how do we prove that the Pope is the great anti-Christian? Answer: In the same way that we prove that Jesus of Nazareth is the true Christ or Messiah, namely, that Jesus is the Christ or Messiah, because everything that was prophesied about the Messiah before in the prophets belongs to him, and to no one else besides him. So also the Pope must be the Antichrist, because everything is directed to him, and on the other hand it cannot be shown that what the Scripture says about the Antichrist belongs to some other. … This truth and matter, as the Roman Pope of the
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That the Romanists deny that "papam esse ipsum verum antichristum" is not to be blamed on them from their point of view. But that also the modern Protestant theologians, the Lutheran ones included, deny almost unanimously that the pope is the Antichrist,1659) comes from the fact that with their denial of sola gratia (synergism) and with their "liberal" position on Scripture (denial of inspiration) they do not recognize 1. 2. what an abomination there is in the Pope's dismissal of the authority of the Word of God, and thus of Christ's authority, and his substitution of his own authority, and all this under Christ's name and under a great appearance of holiness. ¶ It has been argued that the papacy still confesses "main articles" of Christian doctrine, e.g., the articles of the Trinity and of the God-man person of Christ. On the other hand, it must be said that no man will be saved by these "main articles" if the Christian doctrine of justification is also denied and cursed. Without the article of justification all other doctrines are empty help.1660) That the papacy still professes those "main articles" is part of the outward adornment by which it seeks to cover its apostasy from the Christian doctrine. ¶ It has also been argued that there have been some personally honorable, even "pious" popes. This objection is not based on Christian judgment. There can be no talk of piety in the case of Popes, since even the "pious" among them stand at the head of the machinery and direct the machinery by which the Christian doctrine of justification, that is, the Christian faith, is dismissed and cursed.1661) If Popes are respectable in the civil sense,
Antichrist, we must diligently remember and not let ourselves regret the time we have now spent listening to it. This article is one to which our church expressly professed itself in the Smalcald Articles, and we must not let go of this truth either, and the closer we find ourselves to the Roman Babel pouring out its last fury and persecution upon us, the more we need to be completely founded and strengthened in this knowledge, so that we may learn to guard against it; as then I consider this to be a certainty: Whoever does not recognize the papal kingdom for the kingdom of Antichrist, does not yet stand so firmly that he would not like to be seduced to it by this or that inducement." (Gerechter Eifer wider das antichrist. Papsttum 1714, p. 39 f.; in Baier III, 681.)
1659) Cf. Baier-Walther III, 683.
1660) Cf. Luther's exposition, St. L. VIII, 629 ff.
1661) Luther, XVIII, 1530: "The papacy is such a sovereignty that exterminates faith and the gospel."
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this is also part of the outward adornment by which the inner, spiritual abomination of the Antichrist is concealed. All characteristics mentioned in 2 Thess. 2 fit to all Popes. Very correctly, Joh. Adam Osiander:1662) "It is to be noted that the essence of the Antichrist does not consist in a personal righteousness or impiety, but in the nature of the office; but there is no Pope, however many and however righteous, who did not say that he was the general head of the Church, who did not exercise dominion over spiritual and worldly things, who did not approve of the curses of the Council of Trent, even if he temporarily refrained from murder and tyranny for political reasons." This has been expressed even more clearly by Luther when he states that the Papacy is not the Pope's malice, but the Papacy's malice. He says:1663) "There is much else about the sovereignty which the Pope has, and about all the other sovereignties in the whole world, which, if they be good or evil, may not do harm, whether they be tolerated. But the Papacy is such a sovereignty that destroys the faith and the gospel. … Therefore the wickedness of the prince is not punished, but the wickedness of the sovereignty, which is such that it cannot or may not be administered by a pious, honest prince, but only by him who is an adversary to Christ."
It has been asked whether the doctrine that the Pope is the Antichrist belongs to the "fundamental articles" of Christian doctrine. Our answer is that this doctrine is certainly not one of the fundamental articles, because a man is a Christian only through the knowledge of Christ and not through the knowledge of the Antichrist. Before and after the revelation of the Antichrist, there have been many righteous Christians, although they did not recognize the Pope as the Antichrist. But every teacher in the Christian church is weak in theology who, although familiar with the historical appearance of the papacy, does not recognize in the Papacy the Antichrist prophesied in 2 Thess. 2. 1664)
1662) Colleg. theol. VIII, 162; in Baier-Walther III, 682.
1663) St. L. XVIII, 1530. opp. v. a. V, 357.
1664) On the "Antichrist" cf. Baier-Walther III, 672 sqq. L. u. W. 7, 267; 13, 297; 16, 312; 5, 311; 15, 39; 15, 198; 16, 339; 17, 47; 26, 94; 50, 489. Der Lutheraner 24, 113. 81. 126. 182; 30, 41 [Walther and Loehe]; 31, 25. Philippi, L. v. Antichrist 1877.
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