-
Identifying “the Man of Lawlessness”The Watchtower—1990 | February 1
-
-
Identifying “the Man of Lawlessness”
“The lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will do away with.”—2 THESSALONIANS 2:8.
1, 2. Why is it vital that we identify the man of lawlessness?
WE LIVE in an era of lawlessness. It is a worldwide phenomenon. Everywhere there is fear of lawless predators and the threat they present to our person and property. Yet, there is a far more insidious lawless element that has been at work for many centuries. In the Bible it is called “the man of lawlessness.”
2 It is vital that we identify this man of lawlessness. Why? Because he is intent on undermining our good standing with God and our hope of eternal life. How? By getting us to abandon the truth and to believe falsehoods in its place, thus diverting us from worshiping God “with spirit and truth.” (John 4:23) It is evident from his actions that this particular lawless element opposes God and his purposes, as well as his dedicated people.
3. How does the Bible call our attention to the lawless one?
3 The Bible tells of this man of lawlessness at 2 Thessalonians 2:3. Inspired by God’s spirit, the apostle Paul wrote: “Let no one seduce you in any manner, because [Jehovah’s day of destruction of this wicked system] will not come unless the apostasy comes first and the man of lawlessness gets revealed.” Here Paul prophesied that apostasy would develop and a man of lawlessness would appear before this system’s end. In fact, Paul stated in 2Th 2 verse 7: “The mystery of this lawlessness is already at work.” So in the first century, this lawless one had begun to manifest himself.
The Lawless Man’s Origin
4. Who is the originator and backer of the man of lawlessness?
4 Who originated and supports this man of lawlessness? Paul answers: “The lawless one’s presence is according to the operation of Satan with every powerful work and lying signs and portents and with every unrighteous deception for those who are perishing, as a retribution because they did not accept the love of the truth that they might be saved.” (2 Thessalonians 2:9, 10) So Satan is the father and sustainer of the man of lawlessness. And just as Satan is opposed to Jehovah, His purposes, and His people, so is the man of lawlessness, whether he realizes it or not.
5. What fate awaits the lawless one and those who follow him?
5 Those who go along with the man of lawlessness will suffer the same fate as he does—destruction: “The lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will do away with . . . and bring to nothing by the manifestation of his presence.” (2 Thessalonians 2:8) That time for the destruction of the man of lawlessness and his supporters (“those who are perishing”) will come shortly “at the revelation of the Lord Jesus from heaven with his powerful angels in a flaming fire, as he brings vengeance upon those who do not know God and those who do not obey the good news about our Lord Jesus. These very ones will undergo the judicial punishment of everlasting destruction.”—2 Thessalonians 1:6-9.
6. What further information does Paul give about the lawless one?
6 Paul further describes this lawless one, saying: “He is set in opposition and lifts himself up over everyone who is called ‘god’ or an object of reverence, so that he sits down in the temple of The God, publicly showing himself to be a god.” (2 Thessalonians 2:4) So Paul warns that Satan would raise up a lawless one, a false object of reverence, who would even put himself above God’s law.
Identifying the Lawless One
7. Why do we conclude that Paul was not talking about one individual, and what does the man of lawlessness stand for?
7 Was Paul speaking of a single individual? No, for he states that this “man” was evident in Paul’s day and would continue in existence until Jehovah destroyed him at this system’s end. Thus, he has existed for many centuries. Obviously, no literal man has lived that long. So the expression “man of lawlessness” must stand for a body, or class, of people.
8. Who is the man of lawlessness, and what are some identifying features?
8 Who are they? The evidence shows that they are the body of proud, ambitious clergymen of Christendom, who over the centuries have set themselves up as a law unto themselves. This can be seen by the fact that there are thousands of different religions and sects in Christendom, each with its clergy, yet each conflicting with the others in some aspect of doctrine or practice. This divided state is a clear evidence that they do not follow God’s law. They cannot be from God. (Compare Micah 2:12; Mark 3:24; Romans 16:17; 1 Corinthians 1:10.) What all these religions have in common is that they do not hold fast to the Bible’s teachings, having violated the rule: “Do not go beyond the things that are written.”—1 Corinthians 4:6; see also Matthew 15:3, 9, 14.
9. What unscriptural beliefs has the lawless one substituted for Bible truths?
9 Thus, this lawless one is a composite person: the religious clergy of Christendom. All of them, whether popes, priests, patriarchs, or Protestant preachers, share responsibility for the religious sins of Christendom. They have exchanged the truths of God for pagan lies, teaching such unscriptural doctrines as immortality of the human soul, hellfire, purgatory, and Trinity. They are like the religious leaders to whom Jesus said: “You are from your father the Devil, and you wish to do the desires of your father. . . . He is a liar and the father of the lie.” (John 8:44) Their practices also expose them as lawless, for they participate in activities that violate God’s laws. To such ones Jesus says: “Get away from me, you workers of lawlessness.”—Matthew 7:21-23.
Elevating Themselves
10. What relationship has the lawless one had with political rulers?
10 History shows that those in this man of lawlessness class have displayed such pride and arrogance that they have actually dictated to rulers of the world. Under the pretext of the doctrine of ‘the divine right of kings,’ the clergy have claimed to be the essential intermediary between the rulers and God. They have crowned and dethroned kings and emperors and have been able to turn the masses for or against rulers. In effect, they have said, as did the Jewish chief priests who rejected Jesus: “We have no king but Caesar.” (John 19:15) Yet, Jesus clearly taught: “My kingdom is no part of this world.”—John 18:36.
11. How have the clergy elevated themselves?
11 To elevate themselves even more above the common people, this lawless class has adopted different garb, usually black. Further, they have adorned themselves with all kinds of imposing regalia, together with crowns, crosses, and miters. (Compare Matthew 23:5, 6.) But Jesus and his followers had no such garb; they dressed as did the common people. The clergy have also taken to themselves titles such as “Father,” “Holy Father,” “Reverend,” “Most Reverend,” “His Excellency,” and “His Eminence,” which add to their ‘lifting themselves over everyone.’ Yet, Jesus taught regarding religious titles: “Do not call anyone your father on earth.” (Matthew 23:9) Similarly, Elihu, in rebutting Job’s hypocritical comforters, said: “Let me not, please, show partiality to a man; and on an earthling man I shall not bestow a title.”—Job 32:21.
12. Whom did Paul say the clergy were actually serving?
12 When Paul back in his day stated that the man of lawlessness had already begun his activity, he also said concerning those who reflect that one’s lawless attitude: “For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself keeps transforming himself into an angel of light. It is therefore nothing great if his ministers also keep transforming themselves into ministers of righteousness. But their end shall be according to their works.”—2 Corinthians 11:13-15.
Rebellion Against True Worship
13. What is the apostasy Paul foretold?
13 Paul said that this man of lawlessness would develop along with apostasy. In fact, the first clue Paul gave as to the identity of this lawless class is that “the day of Jehovah [when Jehovah destroys this wicked system of things] . . . will not come unless the apostasy comes first.” (2 Thessalonians 2:2, 3) But what is meant by “apostasy”? In this context, it does not mean just a lapse or a falling away due to spiritual weakness. The Greek word here used for “apostasy” meant, among other things, a “defection” or a “revolt.” Several translations render it as “rebellion.” William Barclay’s version states: “That day cannot come until the Great Rebellion has taken place.” The Jerusalem Bible calls it “the Great Revolt.” Therefore, in the context of what Paul is discussing, “apostasy” means a revolt against true worship.
14. When did the apostasy begin to develop in earnest?
14 How did this apostasy, this rebellion, develop? At 2 Thessalonians 2:6, Paul wrote, regarding his day, about “the thing that acts as a restraint” on the lawless one. What was that? It was the restraining force of the apostles. Their presence, with their powerful gifts bestowed by holy spirit, prevented apostasy from then becoming an epidemic. (Acts 2:1-4; 1 Corinthians 12:28) But when the apostles had died, by about the end of the first century, the restraining brakes were removed.
Unscriptural Clergy Class Develops
15. What arrangement was established by Jesus for the Christian congregation?
15 The congregation that Jesus established developed during the first century under the guidance of elders (overseers) and ministerial servants. (Matthew 20:25-27; 1 Timothy 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-9) These were drawn from the congregation. They were capable spiritual men with no special theological training, just as Jesus had no such training. Indeed, his opponents wondered: “How does this man have a knowledge of letters, when he has not studied at the schools?” (John 7:15) And concerning the apostles, the religious rulers observed the same: “Now when they beheld the outspokenness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were men unlettered and ordinary, they got to wondering. And they began to recognize about them that they used to be with Jesus.”—Acts 4:13.
16. How did the apostasy cause a deviation from the first-century Christian pattern for congregation organization?
16 However, the apostasy brought in concepts derived from the Jewish clergy and eventually from pagan Rome’s religious setup. As time went by and the turning away from true faith took place, an unscriptural clergy class developed. A crowned pope began ruling over a college of cardinals, who in turn were drawn from hundreds of bishops and archbishops, who in turn were promoted from seminary-trained priests. Thus, not long after the first century, a mystic clergy class took over in Christendom. This class was not patterned after the first-century Christian elders and ministerial servants but was patterned after pagan religious systems.
17. When, especially, was the lawless one’s power solidified?
17 As early as the third century C.E., ordinary believers had been relegated to the second-class status of laity. The apostate man of lawlessness gradually assumed the reins of power. This power was solidified during the reign of the Roman emperor Constantine, especially after the Council of Nicaea in 325 C.E. Then Church and State became welded together. Thus, the man of lawlessness—the clergy of Christendom—became a centuries-long line of apostates in revolt against the true God, Jehovah. The laws and arrangements that they have followed are their own and not God’s.
Pagan Teachings
18. What blasphemous pagan teachings did the lawless one adopt?
18 The developing man of lawlessness also borrowed pagan teachings. For example, a mysterious, incomprehensible Trinitarian god was substituted for the One who says: “I am Jehovah. That is my name; and to no one else shall I give my own glory.” “I am Jehovah, and there is no one else. With the exception of me there is no God.” (Isaiah 42:8; 45:5) This substituting of human, even pagan, concepts for God’s truths was expanded to include a further blasphemy: the veneration of the Bible’s humble Mary as Christendom’s “Mother of God.” Thus, the promoters of such false teachings, the clergy class, became the rankest of “the weeds” sown by Satan to try to choke out the fine seed sown by Christ.—Matthew 13:36-39.
19. How has Christendom fragmented down through the centuries, but what was perpetuated?
19 As schisms and rifts took place, Christendom fragmented into hundreds of religions and sects. But each new religion or sect, with few exceptions, retained its clergy-laity division. Thus, the man of lawlessness class has been perpetuated down to this day. And it still continues to set itself up above the common people with its distinctive garb and high-sounding titles. Clearly, Paul did not exaggerate when he said that the man of lawlessness class would glorify itself and elevate itself to a godlike position.
The Papacy
20. How does a Catholic source describe the pope?
20 An example of such glorification is that of the papacy of Rome. An ecclesiastical dictionary by Lucio Ferraris, published in Italy, describes the pope as “of such dignity and highness that he is not simply a man but, as it were, God, and the Vicar of God.” His crown is a triple crown “as king of heaven, of earth and of hell.” The same dictionary continues: “The pope is, as it were, God on earth, the only prince of the faithful of Christ, the greatest king of all kings.” It adds: “The pope can sometimes counteract the divine law.” Also, The New Catholic Dictionary states of the pope: “His ambassadors have precedence over other members of the diplomatic body.”
21. Contrast the actions of the pope with those of Peter and an angel.
21 Unlike the disciples of Jesus, the pope often wears very elaborate garb and welcomes the adulation of humans. The pope allows people to bow to him, kiss his ring, and carry him on their shoulders in a special chair. What vanity popes have displayed over the centuries! A contrast indeed to the humble simplicity of Peter, who said to Cornelius, the Roman army officer who knelt at Peter’s feet to do obeisance to him: “Stand up, . . . I am only a man after all”! (Acts 10:25, 26, the Catholic Jerusalem Bible) And what a contrast to the angel who gave the apostle John the Revelation! John tried to bow down worshipfully to that angel, but the angel declared: “Be careful! Do not do that! All I am is a fellow slave of you and of your brothers who are prophets and of those who are observing the words of this scroll. Worship God.”—Revelation 22:8, 9.
22. By what Scriptural rule may the lawless one be identified?
22 Is this appraisal of the clergy class too strong? We can determine this by applying the rule that Jesus gave to identify false prophets: “By their fruits you will recognize them.” (Matthew 7:15, 16) What, then, has been the fruitage of the clergy over the centuries and in our own 20th century? What will be the fate of this man of lawlessness, and who will share that fate? What responsibility do those who truly fear God have in regard to this lawless one? The following articles will discuss these points.
-
-
God’s Judgment Against “the Man of Lawlessness”The Watchtower—1990 | February 1
-
-
God’s Judgment Against “the Man of Lawlessness”
“Every tree not producing fine fruit gets cut down and thrown into the fire.”—MATTHEW 7:19.
1, 2. What is the man of lawlessness, and how did it develop?
WHEN the apostle Paul was inspired by God to foretell the coming of a “man of lawlessness,” he said that it was beginning to appear even in his day. As the previous article explained, Paul was talking about a class of individuals who would take the lead in apostatizing from true Christianity. That turning away from the truth began late in the first century, especially after the death of the last apostles. The lawless class introduced doctrines and practices that were in opposition to God’s Word.—2 Thessalonians 2:3, 7; Acts 20:29, 30; 2 Timothy 3:16, 17; 4:3, 4.
2 In time, this lawless class developed to become the clergy of Christendom. Its power was solidified by Roman emperor Constantine in the fourth century when the apostate churches were wed to the pagan State. As Christendom continued to fragment into a multitude of sects, the clergy continued to lift themselves above the laity and often above the secular rulers too.—2 Thessalonians 2:4.
3. What will be the fate of the man of lawlessness?
3 What would be the fate of the man of lawlessness? Paul foretold: “The lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will do away with . . . and bring to nothing by the manifestation of his presence.” (2 Thessalonians 2:8) This means that the clergy’s destruction will take place when God brings Satan’s entire system to its end. God uses his heavenly King, Christ Jesus, to lead the angelic executional forces. (2 Thessalonians 1:6-9; Revelation 19:11-21) This fate awaits the clergy because they have dishonored God and Christ and have led millions of people away from true worship.
4. By what principle will the man of lawlessness be judged?
4 Jesus gave the principle by which the man of lawlessness would be judged, saying: “Be on the watch for the false prophets that come to you in sheep’s covering, but inside they are ravenous wolves. By their fruits you will recognize them. Never do people gather grapes from thorns or figs from thistles, do they? Likewise every good tree produces fine fruit, but every rotten tree produces worthless fruit; a good tree cannot bear worthless fruit, neither can a rotten tree produce fine fruit. Every tree not producing fine fruit gets cut down and thrown into the fire. . . . Not everyone saying to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter into the kingdom of the heavens, but the one doing the will of my Father who is in the heavens will.”—Matthew 7:15-21; see also Titus 1:16; 1 John 2:17.
Fine Christian Fruitage
5. What is the foundation for fine Christian fruitage, and what is a basic commandment?
5 The foundation for fine Christian fruitage is noted at 1 John 5:3, which states: “This is what the love of God means, that we observe his commandments.” And a basic commandment is this: “You must love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 22:39) Thus, God’s true servants must have love for their neighbors regardless of their race or nationality.—Matthew 5:43-48; Romans 12:17-21.
6. Toward whom especially must Christian love be shown?
6 Especially must God’s servants have love for those who are their spiritual brothers. “If anyone makes the statement: ‘I love God,’ and yet is hating his brother, he is a liar. For he who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot be loving God, whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from him, that the one who loves God should be loving his brother also.” (1 John 4:20, 21) That love, Jesus said, would be an identifying mark of true Christians: “By this all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love among yourselves.”—John 13:35; see also Romans 14:19; Galatians 6:10; 1 John 3:10-12.
7. How are true Christians bound together worldwide?
7 Brotherly love is the “glue” that binds God’s servants in unity: “Clothe yourselves with love, for it is a perfect bond of union.” (Colossians 3:14) And true Christians must be at unity with their brothers worldwide, for God’s Word commands: “You should all speak in agreement . . . There should not be divisions among you . . . Be fitly united in the same mind and in the same line of thought.” (1 Corinthians 1:10) To maintain this love and unity on a global scale, God’s servants must be neutral in the political affairs of this world. Jesus said: “They are no part of the world, just as I am no part of the world.”—John 17:16.
8. How did Jesus demonstrate what Christians must do?
8 Jesus demonstrated the extent of what he had in mind when Peter used a sword to strike off the ear of one of the men who had come to arrest Jesus. Did Jesus encourage such use of force even to protect the Son of God against opposers? No, but he said to Peter: “Return your sword to its place.” (Matthew 26:52) Thus, true Christians do not engage in the wars of the nations or in any other shedding of human blood even if refusal results in their being martyred for their neutral stand, as many have been over the centuries and even in our time. They know that only God’s Kingdom under Christ will eliminate war and bloodshed forever.—Psalm 46:9; Matthew 6:9, 10; 2 Peter 3:11-13.
9. (a) What does history tell us about the first Christians? (b) How does this contrast with Christendom’s religions?
9 History confirms that the first-century Christians would not shed human blood. A former professor of theology from England, Peter De Rosa, writes: “Shedding blood was a grievous sin. This was why Christians opposed gladiatorial combat. . . . While war and the use of force were necessary to preserve Rome, Christians felt unable to join in. . . . Christians considered themselves, like Jesus, messengers of peace; in no circumstances could they be agents of death.” On the other hand, the disunited religions of Christendom have violated the commandment of love and have shed an enormous amount of blood. They have not been messengers of peace but have repeatedly been agents of death.
Bloodguilty Babylon the Great
10. What is Babylon the Great, and why is it called that?
10 Satan is “the ruler of this world,” “the god of this system of things.” (John 12:31; 2 Corinthians 4:4) Part of Satan’s world is the earth-wide system of false religion he has built up for centuries, including Christendom and her clergy. The Bible calls this worldwide system of false religion “Babylon the Great, the mother of the [spiritual] harlots and of the disgusting things of the earth.” (Revelation 17:5) The roots of today’s false religions go back to the ancient city of Babylon, which was steeped in false religion and in God-dishonoring doctrines and practices. That is why the counterpart of ancient Babylon is called Babylon the Great, the world empire of false religion.
11. What does the Bible say about Babylon the Great, and why?
11 Regarding religious Babylon, God’s Word says: “In her was found the blood of prophets and of holy ones and of all those who have been slaughtered on the earth.” (Revelation 18:24) How are this world’s religions responsible for the blood of all those slaughtered? In that all these religions—Christendom’s churches and non-Christian religions alike—have supported, condoned, or even taken the lead in the wars of the nations; they have also persecuted and killed God-fearing people who disagreed with them.
A God-Dishonoring Record
12. Why are the clergy of Christendom more reprehensible than other religious leaders?
12 Christendom’s clergy are more reprehensible in shedding blood than other religious leaders. Why? Because in addition to taking God’s name upon themselves, they have taken Christ’s too. They thereby obligated themselves to follow the teachings of Jesus. (John 15:10-14) But they have not followed those teachings, thus bringing great reproach upon both God and Christ. The responsibility for bloodshed by the clergy has been both direct, in the Crusades, other religious wars, inquisitions, and persecutions, and indirect, in condoning wars in which members of the churches killed their fellowman in other lands.
13. For what were the clergy responsible from the 11th to the 13th century?
13 For example, from the 11th to the 13th century, the clergy of Christendom introduced the Crusades. These resulted in horrible bloodshed and pillage in the name of God and of Christ. Hundreds of thousands were killed. The Crusades included the senseless slaughter of thousands of children who were induced to participate in the Children’s Crusade of the year 1212.
14, 15. How does a Catholic author comment on what the Catholic Church introduced in the 13th century?
14 In the 13th century, the Roman Catholic Church officially sanctioned another God-dishonoring horror—the Inquisition. It began in Europe and spread to the Americas, lasting for over six centuries. Originated and backed by the papacy, it was a murderous attempt to torture and stamp out all who disagreed with the church. While the church had previously persecuted non-Catholics, the Inquisition was far more extensive in scope.
15 Peter De Rosa, who states that he is a “patriotic Catholic,” says in his recent book Vicars of Christ—The Dark Side of the Papacy: “The church was responsible for persecuting Jews, for the Inquisition, for slaughtering heretics by the thousand, for reintroducing torture into Europe as part of the judicial process. . . . Popes appointed and sacked even emperors, demanded that they impose Christianity on their subjects under the threat of torture and death. . . . The cost to the Gospel message was horrendous.” The only “crime” of some who were murdered was that they possessed a Bible.
16, 17. What comments are made about the Inquisition?
16 Regarding Pope Innocent III of the early 13th century, De Rosa states: “It has been reckoned that in the last and most savage persecution under [Roman] Emperor Diocletian [third century] about two thousand Christians perished, worldwide. In the first vicious incident of Pope Innocent’s Crusade [against “heretics” in France] ten times that number of people were slaughtered. . . . It comes as a shock to discover that, at a stroke, a pope killed far more Christians than Diocletian. . . . [Innocent] had no qualms about using Christ’s name to do everything Christ objected to.”
17 De Rosa notes that “in the pope’s name, [the inquisitors] were responsible for the most savage and sustained onslaught on human decency in the history of the race.” Of Dominican inquisitor Torquemada in Spain, he says: “Appointed in 1483, he ruled tyrannically for fifteen years. His victims numbered over 114,000 of whom 10,220 were burned.”
18. How does a writer characterize the Inquisition, and what reason does he give for its continuing for over six centuries?
18 This writer concludes: “The record of the Inquisition would be embarrassing for any organization; for the Catholic church, it is devastating. . . . What history shows is that, for more than six centuries without a break, the papacy was the sworn enemy of elementary justice. Of eighty popes in a line from the thirteenth century on, not one of them disapproved of the theology and apparatus of Inquisition. On the contrary, one after another added his own cruel touches to the workings of this deadly machine. The mystery is: how could popes continue in this practical heresy for generation after generation? How could they deny at every point the Gospel of Jesus?” He answers: “Pontiffs preferred to contradict the Gospel than an ‘inerrant’ predecessor, for that would bring down the papacy itself.”
19. What other lawless activity was condoned by most of the clergy?
19 Also lawless was the part that the clergy played in the violent institution of slavery. The nations of Christendom kidnapped many thousands of Africans, took them far from their own lands, and for centuries brutalized them physically and mentally as slaves. Relatively few of the clergy class actively opposed. Some of them even claimed that it was God’s will.—See Matthew 7:12.
Bloodguilt in the 20th Century
20. How has the bloodguilt of the man of lawlessness reached a peak in this century?
20 The bloodguilt of the man of lawlessness reached a peak in our century. The clergy have backed wars that have taken tens of millions of lives, the worst wars in all history. They supported both sides in the two world wars, in which people of the same religion, “brothers,” killed one another. For instance, in World War II, French and American Catholics killed German and Italian Catholics; British and American Protestants killed German Protestants. At times, they killed others who were not only of the same religion but also of the same national background. The two world wars erupted in the heart of Christendom and would not have been possible had the clergy obeyed the commandment to love, and taught their followers to do the same.
21. What do secular sources say about the clergy’s involvement in war?
21 The New York Times affirmed: “In the past local Catholic hierarchies almost always supported the wars of their nations, blessing troops and offering prayers for victory, while another group of bishops on the other side publicly prayed for the opposite outcome. . . . The contradiction between the Christian spirit and the conduct of war . . . seems increasingly clear to many, as weapons grow more brutal.” And U.S.News & World Report noted: “The prestige of Christianity in the world has been gravely impaired by the frequency with which the so-called Christian nations have used violence.”
22. For what else are the clergy responsible in our time?
22 Too, while there is no official Inquisition today, the clergy have used the arm of the State to persecute “prophets” and “holy ones” who differ from them. They have pressured political leaders to ‘contrive mischief under cover of law.’ In this way, they have caused or approved the banning, imprisonment, beating, torture, and even death of God-fearing people in our century.—Revelation 17:6; Psalm 94:20, The New English Bible.
Called to Account
23. Why will God call the man of lawlessness to account?
23 Truly, in false religion there is found the blood of prophets, and of holy ones, and of all those who have been slaughtered on the earth. (Revelation 18:24) Since the worst bloodshed has arisen in Christendom, the guilt of the clergy is the greatest. How aptly the Bible labels them a “man of lawlessness”! But God’s Word also states: “Do not be misled: God is not one to be mocked. For whatever a man is sowing, this he will also reap.” (Galatians 6:7) So God will call the lawless clergy to account.
24. What world-shaking events are soon to take place?
24 Jesus said: “Get away from me, you workers of lawlessness.” (Matthew 7:23) And he declared: “Every tree not producing fine fruit gets cut down and thrown into the fire.” (Matthew 7:19) The time is fast approaching for the fiery end of the man of lawlessness, along with all false religion, when the political elements with which they have played the harlot will turn on them: “These will hate the harlot and will make her devastated and naked, and will eat up her fleshy parts and will completely burn her with fire.” (Revelation 17:16) Since such world-shaking events are soon to take place, God’s servants must make them known to others. The next article will examine how they have been doing this.
-
-
Exposing “the Man of Lawlessness”The Watchtower—1990 | February 1
-
-
Exposing “the Man of Lawlessness”
“Get out of her, my people, if you do not want to share with her in her sins, and . . . receive part of her plagues.”—REVELATION 18:4.
1, 2. (a) How can the man of lawlessness be identified? (b) What is God’s view of those who claim to serve him but who are bloodguilty? (Matthew 7:21-23)
GOD’S Word foretold the coming of a “man of lawlessness.” It also foretold that this lawless element would be ‘done away with and brought to nothing’ by God’s heavenly Executioner, Christ Jesus. (2 Thessalonians 2:3-8) As the preceding articles have shown, that man of lawlessness is the clergy of Christendom. Long ago they abandoned the truths of God’s Word and adopted pagan teachings, such as the Trinity, hellfire, and immortality of the soul. In addition, they produced works contrary to God’s laws. Like those Paul warned Titus against, “they publicly declare they know God, but they disown him by their works, because they are detestable and disobedient and not approved for good work of any sort.”—Titus 1:16.
2 Jesus said: “Be on the watch for the false prophets that come to you in sheep’s covering, but inside they are ravenous wolves. By their fruits you will recognize them.” False prophets would produce “worthless fruit.” (Matthew 7:15-17) An evidence of the clergy’s bad fruitage is their enormous bloodguilt. For centuries they have supported crusades, inquisitions, and wars that have shed the blood of millions. They have prayed for and blessed both sides in wars in which members of their own religions have killed one another. In contrast, the apostle Paul was able to state: “I am clean from the blood of all men.” (Acts 20:26) The clergy are not. To such ones God declares: “Even though you make many prayers, I am not listening; with bloodshed your very hands have become filled.”—Isaiah 1:15.
3. What events of global significance are fast approaching?
3 The time for God to execute his judgment against the man of lawlessness is fast approaching. Soon, as Jesus foretold, “there will be great tribulation such as has not occurred since the world’s beginning until now, no, nor will occur again.” (Matthew 24:21) That unprecedented time of trouble will begin with the execution of Babylon the Great, the world empire of false religion, which includes the religions of Christendom. The political elements “will make her devastated and naked, and will eat up her fleshy parts and will completely burn her with fire.” (Revelation 17:16) The great tribulation will end with the destruction of the remainder of Satan’s world at Armageddon, “the war of the great day of God the Almighty.”—Revelation 16:14, 16; 19:11-21.
Obligated to Love Others
4. What must those who worship God “with spirit and truth” keep in mind?
4 Since these world-shaking events are soon to come upon the inhabited earth, what obligations rest upon those who “worship the Father with spirit and truth”? (John 4:23) For one, they must keep in mind that Jesus said: “If you observe my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have observed the commandments of the Father and remain in his love. . . . This is my commandment, that you love one another just as I have loved you. No one has love greater than this, that someone should surrender his soul in behalf of his friends. You are my friends if you do what I am commanding you.”—John 15:10-14; 1 John 5:3.
5, 6. (a) What did Jesus command his disciples to do that would identify them? (b) In what sense was this a new commandment?
5 True Christians are thus obligated to love other people, especially their Christian brothers and sisters in all lands. (Acts 10:34; Galatians 6:10; 1 John 4:20, 21) Indeed, fellow Christians must have “intense love for one another.” (1 Peter 4:8) That kind of love on a global scale identifies them as true worshipers, for Jesus said: “I am giving you a new commandment, that you love one another; just as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love among yourselves.”—John 13:34, 35.
6 What was new about that commandment? Were not the Jews under the Mosaic Law given the command, “Love your fellow as yourself”? (Leviticus 19:18) Yes, but Jesus indicated something additional when he said, “Just as I have loved you.” His love included his giving up his life for others, and his disciples must be willing to do the same. (John 15:13) That was a higher level of love, since such a sacrifice was not required by the Mosaic Law.
7. Which religion has obeyed the law of love in this century?
7 In our century, which religion has obeyed this law of love? Surely not the religions of Christendom, for they have slaughtered one another by the tens of millions in two world wars and other conflicts. It is Jehovah’s Witnesses who have obeyed the law of love earth wide. They have maintained strict neutrality in the wars of the nations, for Jesus said that his followers must be “no part of the world.” (John 17:16) Thus, they can say, as did Paul, that they are “clean from the blood of all men.” As an example, note the opening part of a resolution adopted by Jehovah’s servants at the Washington, D.C., convention on November 27, 1921:
“As Christians earnestly striving to follow the teachings of Christ Jesus our Lord and his Apostles, we hold: that war is a relic of barbarism, destructive of good morals and a reproach to Christian peoples; that the principles taught by the Lord Jesus Christ preclude consecrated Christians from engaging in war, bloodshed or violence in any form.”
8. What does the historical record say about Jehovah’s Witnesses during World War II?
8 How was that view applied during World War II? In that worst war of all human history, some 50 million people were killed. But not one was killed by one of Jehovah’s Witnesses! For example, nearly all the German clergy actively or passively supported Nazism. In contrast, Jehovah’s Witnesses under Nazi rule maintained strict neutrality and refused to heil Hitler or be part of his military machine. Hence, they did not kill any of their spiritual brothers of other countries, or anyone else for that matter. And Jehovah’s Witnesses in all other lands remained neutral too.
9. What happened to Jehovah’s Witnesses in Germany and Austria under Nazi rule?
9 Many of Jehovah’s Witnesses have surrendered their soul in behalf of their friends in obeying the law of love. A review of the book Kirchenkampf in Deutschland (Fight of the Churches in Germany), by Friedrich Zipfel, says regarding the Witnesses: “Ninety-seven percent of the members of this small religious group were victims of National Socialistic [Nazi] persecution. One third of them were killed, either by execution, other violent acts, hunger, sickness or slave labor. The severity of this subjection was without precedent and was the result of uncompromising faith which could not be harmonized with National Socialistic ideology.” In Austria, 25 percent of Jehovah’s Witnesses were executed, beaten to death, or died from disease or exhaustion in Nazi camps.
10. What confidence did those have who died for obeying the law of love?
10 Those martyred for obeying the law of love were confident that “God is not unrighteous so as to forget [their] work and the love [they] showed for his name.” (Hebrews 6:10) They knew that “the world is passing away and so is its desire, but he that does the will of God remains forever.” (1 John 2:17) They had the sure hope of being resurrected with eternal life in view.—John 5:28, 29; Acts 24:15.
11. In what way are Jehovah’s servants unique, and what prophecy is being fulfilled in them?
11 Jehovah’s servants are unique in obeying the rule spoken by Peter and other apostles to a high court: “We must obey God as ruler rather than men.” (Acts 5:29) Because Jehovah’s Witnesses do this, they are backed by “the holy spirit, which God has given to those obeying him as ruler.” (Acts 5:32) That is the power that enables them to fulfill the prophecy at Isaiah 2:2-4. It foretold that in our time true worship would be reestablished and that people from all nations and religions would flow to it. One result would be: “They will have to beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning shears. Nation will not lift up sword against nation, neither will they learn war anymore.” Because Jehovah’s servants are preparing for life in a peaceful new world, they will not learn war anymore. They learn the law of love.—John 13:34, 35.
12. What must those obeying the law of love do for others?
12 Since Christian love includes ‘loving your neighbor as yourself,’ God’s servants cannot be selfish about what they know. (Matthew 22:39) There are still many others who would want to serve God and live in his new world. While there is yet time, these too need to learn about the law of love and the many other truths related to the Universal Sovereign, Jehovah God. They must be taught that Jehovah alone is worthy of our worship and how that worship is to be rendered. (Matthew 4:10; Revelation 4:11) Those who have already learned these things are under obligation to tell others about them so that they too may come into Jehovah’s favor.—Ezekiel 33:7-9, 14-16.
Exposing the Man of Lawlessness
13. As part of our worldwide witness, what must we make known, and why?
13 Jesus said that the “good news of the kingdom will be preached in all the inhabited earth for a witness to all the nations; and then the end will come.” (Matthew 24:14) As part of this worldwide witness, God’s servants are under obligation to make known his judgment against false religion, especially the clergy of Christendom. These are more reprehensible in God’s sight because they claim to be Christian. They must be exposed so that those who want to serve God can be freed from their influence and can take the proper steps for survival. As Jesus said: “The truth will set you free.”—John 8:32.
14. What clear message must be proclaimed regarding false religion?
14 Thus, Jehovah’s Witnesses must make known this inspired message regarding false religion: “Get out of her, my people, if you do not want to share with her in her sins, and if you do not want to receive part of her plagues. For her sins have massed together clear up to heaven, and God has called her acts of injustice to mind. . . . In one day her plagues will come, death and mourning and famine, and she will be completely burned with fire, because Jehovah God, who judged her, is strong.”—Revelation 18:4-8.
15. How did the year 1914 play a part in Jehovah’s timetable, and what resulted after World War I?
15 Bible prophecies show that “the last days” for this system of things began in the crucial year 1914. (2 Timothy 3:1-5, 13; Matthew 24:3-13) Since that year we have been in “the time of the end.” (Daniel 12:4) Right after World War I, in harmony with Jehovah’s timetable, his servants began vigorously to expand their announcement of God’s Kingdom as foretold at Matthew 24:14. They also began to expose false religion more strongly, particularly the lawless clergy class of apostate Christendom.
16. How has the exposing of the man of lawlessness gathered force for more than 70 years?
16 For over 70 years now, with ever greater force, God’s servants have alerted people to the deceptive activity of the man of lawlessness. There were only a few thousand Witnesses doing this after World War I. But now they have become “a mighty nation” of over three and a half million active ministers organized into more than 60,000 congregations all over the earth. (Isaiah 60:22) On an expanding scale, God’s servants are zealously proclaiming the Kingdom of God as the only hope for mankind and, at the same time, are exposing the clergy for what they are—a deceptive man of lawlessness.
Why So Powerful?
17. Why have Jehovah’s servants powerfully exposed the man of lawlessness?
17 Why have Jehovah’s servants powerfully exposed the man of lawlessness all these years? Because the millions of the great crowd of Jehovah’s sheep that are already on the way to salvation must be protected from Satan’s world and its false religion. (John 10:16; Revelation 7:9-14) Moreover, unless the clergy are exposed, honesthearted people who are not yet part of God’s flock would not know how to avoid a wrong course. So they must be informed, just as Jesus informed people when he said regarding the hypocritical religious leaders of his day: “Blind guides is what they are. If, then, a blind man guides a blind man, both will fall into a pit.”—Matthew 15:14; see also 2 Corinthians 4:4; 11:13-15.
18. What do truth seekers need to know?
18 The clergy are part of Satan’s world. (John 8:44) But it is a world that God will soon crush out of existence. (2 Peter 3:11-13; 1 John 2:15-17) So God’s Word warns: “Whoever, therefore, wants to be a friend of the world is constituting himself an enemy of God.” (James 4:4) The clergy ignore that warning and continue to meddle in political affairs. They tell their followers that a better world will come through efforts of politicians. But that is a false hope, since this world under Satan is on its way out. So people who look to this world for hope are being deceived. They need to be told the truth about where the world is heading and what will take its place.—Proverbs 14:12; 19:21; Matthew 6:9, 10; Revelation 21:4, 5.
19. How has the worldliness of some clergy been exposed in the media in recent times?
19 The worldliness of some clergy has even been exposed in the media in recent times, as for example the licentious and luxurious life-styles of some TV clergymen. One modern songwriter composed a song with the title: “Would Jesus Wear a [$10,000] Rolex [watch] on His Television Show?” The song goes on to say: “Would Jesus be political if He came back to earth, have His second home in [luxurious] Palm Springs and try to hide His worth?” In addition, more and more clergymen condone or practice homosexuality. Even now the Catholic Church in the United States is paying millions of dollars in damages to compensate for priests guilty of sexual abuse of children.—Romans 1:24-27; 1 Corinthians 6:9, 10.
20. Why must God’s servants keep exposing the man of lawlessness?
20 Such wrongdoing cannot be ignored by God’s servants but must be exposed for the benefit of others. The great crowd of other sheep must be protected from those who would try to lead them to break God’s laws. And those “sighing and groaning over all the detestable things that are being done” need to be searched out and gathered to the protective guidance of the Great Shepherd, Jehovah God, and “the fine shepherd,” Christ Jesus.—Ezekiel 9:4; John 10:11; Proverbs 18:10.
21. What will Jehovah’s Witnesses continue to declare?
21 Therefore, God’s people will not hesitate to declare his vengeance against all of Satan’s world, including its man of lawlessness, the clergy of Christendom. They will proclaim with vigor the angelic message of Revelation 14:7: “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of the judgment by him has arrived.” And they will include in this proclamation the urgent warning of Revelation 18:4 regarding false religion: “Get out of her, my people, if you do not want to share with her in her sins, and . . . receive part of her plagues.”
-