4 ('0, 73.) Who opposeth and exalteth himself above every one who is called a god,' or an object of worship:2 So that he, in the temple of God, as a god sitteth,3 openly shewing himself that he is a god.

5 Do ye not remember, that when I was (er) still with you, I told you these things?!

6 And ye know what now restraineth' HIM in order to his being revealed2 in his own sea

801.

7 For the mystery' of iniquity already inwardly worketh,2 only till he who now restrain eth be taken out of the way.

John xvii. 12. Dr. Newton thinks the application of it to the man of sin signifies, that, like Judas, the man of sin was to be a false apostle, and would betray Christ, and be utterly destroyed.

Ver. 4.-1. Who opposeth and exalteth himself above every one who is called a god. -Some think this an allusion to Ezekiel's description of the power and pride of the king of Tyre, (xxviii. 2.) "Thou hast said, I am God, and sit in the seat of God, in the midst of the sea.' But as the coming of the man of sin is said, ver. 10. to be with all power and signs and miracles of falsehood, and by all the deceit of unrighteousness, among them who perish, because they embraced not the love of truth, I rather think the opposition and exaltation of the man of sin, above all that is called a God, or an object of worship, though it does not exclude his exalting himself above kings and magistrates who in scripture are called Gods, yet it chiefly consists in an opposition to Christ as head of the church, and in an exaltation of himself above all in the church who are commissioned by Christ; consequently, above all bishops, and pastors, and teachers whatever.

2. Or an object of worship.]-Lious is thought by some to mean the Roman emperors, one of whose titles was 265, Augus tus, Venerable. But σboμara is used by Paul to denote the ob jects of religious worship, Acts xvii. 23.; and therefore, in the commentary, I have taken in both kinds of worship.

3. So that he, in the temple of God, as a god sitteth.]-The sitting of the man of sin in the temple of God, signifies his continuing a long time in the possession of his usurped dominion, and his being a Christian by profession, and that he would exercise his usurped authority in the Christian church. It is an observation of Bochart, that, after the death of Christ, the apostles never called the temple of Jerusalem the temple of God; but, as often as they used that phrase, they always meant the Christian church, 1 Tiin. iii. 15. 1 Cor. vii. 19. 2 Cor. vi. 16. Ephes. ii. 19-24. Besides, in the Revelation of St. John, which was written some years after the destruction of Jerusalem, there is mention made of men's becoming pillars in the temple of God, Rev. iii. 12. Hence it is evident, that the sitting of the man of sin in the temple of God, by no means implies that he was to shew himself in Judea. Wherefore Le Clerc and Whitby, who on this circumstance have built their opinion, that the revolt of the Jews from the Romans is the apostasy here spoken of, and the factious leaders the man of sin, have erred in their interpretation of this prophecy. In short, the meaning of the verse is, that the wicked teachers of whom the apostle speaks, will first oppose Christ, by corrupting the doctrine of the gospel concerning him, and, after that, they will make void the government of God and of Christ in the Christian church, and the government of the civil magistrate in the state, by arrogating to themselves the whole spiritual authority which belongs to Christ, and all the temporal authority belonging to princes and magistrates.

Ver. 5. I told you these things.-The heresies which were to disturb the church, the rise and progress of the great apostasy, and the evils which were to be occasioned by the man of sin, were matters of such offence and scandal, that unless the disciples had been forewarned concerning them, their coming might have led the weak to fancy that God had cast away all care of his church. The apostle knowing this, made the prediction of these events the subject even of his first sermons to the Thessalonians, after they had embraced the gospel; and I suppose he followed the same course in all other places where he preached with any degree of success. See 1 Tim. iv. 6.-Beza observes, that this prophecy was often repeated and earnestly inculcated in the first age, but is overlooked and neglected in modern times.

Ver. 6.-1. And ye know what now restraineth him.]-It seems the apostle, when at Thessalonica, besides speaking of the apostasy and of the man of sin, had told them what it was that restrained him from shewing hiniself. But, as he has not thought fit to commit that discovery to writing, he has left it to our own sagacity to find out, who or what the restraining power was. This, therefore, being one of the traditions mentioned ver. 15. which he ordered the Thessalonians to hold fast, we may, from his caution, suppose, with Dr. Newton, that it was somewhat concerning the higher powers then in being. However, though the apostle hath not committed that discovery to writing, the Thessalonians to whom he made it known in conversation, would not conceal it from those in other churches whose curiosity prompted them to inquire about

it. Accordingly, the Christian fathers universally understood the restraining power to be the Roman empire. In which opinion, whether it was derived from tradition or from conjecture, they seem to have been well founded. See ver. 7. note 3.

2. In order to his being revealed in his own season. ]-The revelation of the man of sin, consists in his sitting in the temple of God, as a god,' and in his 'openly shewing himself that he is a god;' as is plain from ver. 4. And the season of his revelation is the time when he first seated himself openly in the temple of God; called 'his own season,' because it was the fittest for his usurping and exercising that sinful destructive tyranny in the church, on account of which he is termed 'the man of sin,' and 'the son of perdition.' -Farther, by informing us that the man of sin was restrained for a time, in order to his being revealed in his own season, the Spirit of God hath insinuated, that there were reasons for allowing the corruptions of Christianity to proceed to a certain length. Now what could these reasons be, unless to shew mankind the danger of admitting any thing in religion, but what is expressly of divine appointment? For, one error productive of superstition admitted, naturally leads to others, till af length religion is utterly deformed. Perhaps also these evils were permitted, that in the natural course of human affairs, Christianity being first corrupted and then purged, the truth might be so clearly established, as to be in no danger of any corruption in time to come.

Ver. 7.-1. For the mystery of iniquity. In the scripture sense of the word, a mystery is something secret, or undiscovered. See Ephes. i. 9. note. The mystery of iniquity,' therefore, is a scheme of error not openly discovered, whose influence is to encourage iniquity.

2. Inwardly or secretly worketh.This is the true import of SvseyT. The apostle's meaning is, that the false doctrines and bad practices which in after-times would be carried to a great height by the persons whom he denominates the man of sin, were already secretly operating in the false teachers who then infested the church. Accordingly, in his speech to the elders of Ephesus not long after this epistle was written, he told them, Acts xx. 29. 'I know this, that after my departure, grievous wolves will enter among you, not sparing the flock. Also, from among yourselves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them.' And before he wrote his epistle to the Colossians, false teachers had actually arisen in Phrygia, who earnestly recommended the worship of angels, and abstinence from all kinds of animal food, and bodily mortification, according to the tradition, cominandments, and doctrines of men. For the apostle wrote that epistle expressly for the purpose of condemning these idolatrous and superstitious prac. tices. Now, which is very remarkable, these very idolatries and superstitions, with the doctrines on which they were founded, gave birth, in after-ages, to the worship of saints, to rigorous fastings, to penances, to monkery, and to the celibacy of the clergy. So that, as Dr. Newton observes, on Proph. vol. ii. p. 380. the foundations of popery were laid in the apostles' days, but the superstructure was raised by degrees; and several ages passed, before the building was completed, and the man of sin was fully revealed.

3. Only till he who now restraineth, &c.]-Here I have nearly followed Chandler, who says this verse should be translated in the following manner: For the mystery of iniquity already worketh, only until he who restrains it be taken out of the way. It works in a concealed manner only until, &c.-The restraining here spoken of refers to the mystery of iniquity, as the restraining mentioned ver. 6. refers to the man of sin. The man of sin was restrained from revealing himself in the temple of God as a god; and the mystery of iniquity was restrained in its working by something which the apostle had mentioned to the Thessalonians in his sermons and conversations, but which he did not choose to express in writing. The fathers, indeed, as was observed ver. 6. note 1. generally understood this restraining power to be the Roman emperors and empire, as is plain from Tertullian, Apolog. p. 31. where he says, "We Christians are under a particular necessity of praying for the emperors, and for the continued state of the empire, because we know that dreadful power which hangs over the whole world, and the conclusion of the age which threatens the most horrible evils, is retarded by the continuance of the time appointed for the Roman empire. This is what we would not experience. And while we pray that it may be deferred, we hereby shew our good-will to the perpetuity of the

hath the signification proper to xuruxeivw, as xeris often hath that of **Taxgs. This miserable end of the teachers and people who reject true doctrine from their delighting in sin, is written to put Christians in all ages on their guard against corrupting the truth for the sake of worldly interest.

2. Have not believed the truth, but have taken pleasure in unrighteousness. Eudoxnoaves signifies both to take pleasure in a thing, and to approve of it. From this we learn, that it is not the simple ignorance of truth which exposes men to damnation. In many cases this may be no fault in the ignorant. But it is men's refusing to believe, through their taking pleasure in unrighteousness, which will prove fatal to them; for a disposition of that sort, renders the wicked altogether incurable.

It is now time to inform the reader, that learned men have dif fered greatly in their interpretation of this famous prophecy. Nevertheless, the diversity of interpretation given of this and of the other prophecies of God, does not prove them uncertain. The facts and circumstances mentioned in these prophecies, are for the most part so peculiarly marked, that they will not easily apply, except to the persons and events intended by the Spirit of God. And therefore, in every case where different interpretations have been given of any prophecy, the proper method of ascertaining its meaning is to compare the various events to which it is thought to relate, with the words of the prophecy, and to adopt that as the event intended, which most exactly agrees, in all its parts, to the prophetic description.

According to this rule, though many different interpretations have been given of the prophecy under consideration, that, in my opinion, will appear the best founded, which makes it a prediction of the corruptions of Christianity, which began to be introduced into the church in the apostle's days, and wrought secretly all the time the heathen magistrates persecuted the Christians; but which shewed themselves more openly, after the empire receiv ed the faith of Christ, A. D. 312, and by a gradual progress ended in the monstrous errors and usurpations of the bishops of Rome, when the restraining power of the emperors was taken out of the way, by the incursions of the barbarous nations, and the breaking of the empire into the ten kingdoms, prefigured by the ten horns of Daniel's fourth beast. Now, to be convinced of this, we need only compare the rise and progress of the papal tyranny, with the descriptions of the man of sin, and of the mystery of iniquity, given in the writings of Daniel and Paul.

And, first, we have shewed in note 1. on ver. 7. that the mystery of iniquity, or the corrupt doctrines which ended in the errors and usurpations of the see of Rome, were working secretly in the apostle's days, as he affirms ver. 7.; and that the power of the Roman emperors, and of the magistrates under them, was that which then, and during the succeeding ages, restrained the mystery of iniquity in its working, and the man of sin from revealing himself. For while the power of the state continued in the hands of the heathen rulers, and while they employed that power in persecuting the Christians, the corrupt doctrines and practices introduced by the false teachers, did not spread so fast as they would otherwise have done. At least, they were not produced to public view as the decisions of Heaven, to which all men were bound to pay implicit obedience. But after the heathen magistrates were taken out of the way by the conversion of Constantine, and after he and his successors called the Christian bishops to meet in general coun cils, and enforced their assumption of divine authority by the civil power, then did they in these councils arrogate to themselves the right of establishing what articles of faith and discipline they thought proper, and of anathematizing all who rejected their decrees; a claim which, in after-times, the bishops of Rome transferred from general councils to themselves. It was in this period that the worship of saints, and angels, and images, was introduced; celibacy was praised as the highest piety; meats of certain kinds were prohibited; and a variety of superstitious mortifications of the body were enjoined, by the decrees of councils, in opposition to the express laws of God. In this period likewise, idolatry and superstition were recommended to the people by false miracles, and every deceit which wickedness could suggest; such as the miraculous cures pretended to be performed by the bones and other relics of the martyrs, in order to induce the ignorant vulgar to worship them as mediators: the feigned visions of angels, who they said had appeared to this or that hermit, to recommend celibacy, fastings, mortification of the body, and living in solitude: the apparition of souls from purgatory, who begged that certain superstitions might be practised, for delivering them from that confinement. By all which, those assemblies of ecclesiastics, who by their decrees enjoined these corrupt practices, shewed themselves to be the man of sin and lawless one in his first form, whose coming was to be with all power, and signs, and miracles of falsehood, and who opposed every one that is called God, or an object of worship. For these general councils, by introducing the worship of saints and angels, robbed God of the worship due to him; and by substi tuting saints and angels as mediators in the place of Christ, they degraded him from his office of mediator, or rendered it altogether useless. However, though they thus opposed God and Christ by their unrighteous decrees, they did not yet exalt themselves above every one who is called God, or an object of worship, Neither did they yet sit in the temple of God, as God, and openly shew themselves to be God. These blasphemous extravagancies were to be acted in after-tines, by a number of particular persons in succession; I mean by the bishops of Rome, after the power of the Chris tian Roman emperors, and of the magistrates under them, should

be taken out of the way. For the bishops of that see, having very early obtained from the Christian emperors decrees in their own favour, soon raised themselves above all other bishops; and, by a variety of artifices, made the authority and influence of the whole body of the clergy centre in themselves; and claimed that infallible authority, which was formerly exercised by general councils, of making articles of faith, and of establishing rules of discipline for the whole Christian community, and of determining in the last resort all differences among the clergy, and of anathematizing every one who did not submit to their unrighteous decisions. In this manner did the bishops of Rome establish in their own persons, a spiritual dominion over the whole Christian world. But not content with this height of power, by dexterously employing the credit and influence which the ecclesiastics, now devoted to their will, had over the laity in all the countries where they lived, they interfered in many civil matters also, till at length they reared that intolerable fabric of spiritual and civil tyranny conjoined, whereby the understandings, the persons, and the properties, not of the laity only, but of the clergy themselves, have for a long time been most grievously enthralled, in all the countries where Christianity was professed. This height, however, of spiritual and civil power united, the bishops of Rome did not attain,till, as the apostle foretold, that which restrained was taken out of the way; or till an end was put to the authority of the Roman emperors in the West, by the inroads of the barbarous nations; and more especially till the western empire was broken into the ten kingdoms, prefigured in Daniel's visions by the ten horns of the fourth beast. For then it was that the bishops of Rome made themselves the sovereigns of Rome, and of its territory, and so became the little horn which Daniel beheld coming up among the ten horns, and which had 'the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking great things,' to shew that its dominion was founded in the deepest policy, and that its strength consisted in the bulls, excommunications, and anathemas, which, with intolerable audacity, it uttered against all who opposed its usurpations. And in process of time the bishops of Rome, having got possession of three of the kingdoms into which the western empire was broken, signifi ed by three of the horns of Daniel's fourth beast being plucked up by the roots before the little horn, they called themselves the Vicars of Christ, on pretence that Christ had transferred his whole authority to them. They also thought to change times, and laws, as Daniel foretold. For, as the vicars of Christ, they assumed the power of saving and damning men at their own pleasure, and altered the terms of salvation, making it depend, not on faith and holiness, but on the superstitious practices which they had established; and sold the pardon of sins past, and even the liberty of sinning in future, for money. Moreover, they openly made war with the saints who resisted their corrupt doctrines and practices, and prevailed against them, and wore out the saints of the Most High; for by the cruel and bloody persecutions which they obliged the princes who acknowledged their authority to carry on against those who adhered to the pure doctrine and worship of Christ, they destroyed incredible numbers of them. Nay, by the terror of their excommunications and interdicts, they forced even the most powerful sovereigns to bend to their yoke. Thus 'with their mouth did they speak very great things.' At length they assumed the right of conferring kingdoms, and of deposing princes; and actually deposed some, with the help of the potentates of their communion, who put their mandates in execution. Lastly, to render this exercise of their tyranny the more effectual, they arrogated the power of loosing subjects from their oaths of allegiance; whereby they made void the most sacred of all moral obligations, the obligation of oaths. But this impious scheme of false doctrine, and the spiritual tyranny built thereon, agreeably to the predictions of the prophet Daniel and of the apostle Paul, began at the Reformation to be consumed by the breath of the Lord's mouth; that is, by the Scriptures put into the hands of the laity, and by the preaching of true doctrine out of the Scriptures.

Upon the whole, I think every impartial person who attentively considers the foregoing sketch must be sensible, that in the bishops of Rome, all the characters and actions ascribed by Daniel to the little horn, and by Paul to the man of sin and the lawless one, are clearly united. For, according to the strong working of Satan, with all power, and signs, and miracles of falsehood, they have opposed Christ, and exalted themselves above all that is called God, or an object of worship; and have long sat in the temple of God, as God, shewing themselves that they are God; that is, they exercise the power and prerogatives of God. And seeing, in the acquisition and exercise of their spiritual tyranny, they have trampled upon all laws human and divine, and have encouraged their votaries in the most enormous acts of wickedness, the Spirit of God hath, with the greatest propriety, given them the appellations of the man of sin, the son of perdition, and the lairless one. Farther, as it is said that the man of sin was to be revealed in his season,' there can be little doubt, that the dark ages, in which all learning was overturned by the irruption of the northern barbarians, were the season allotted to the man of sin for revealing himself. Accordingly we know, that, in these ages, the corruptions of Christianity, and the usurpations of the clergy, were carried to the greatest height. In short, the annals of the world cannot produce persons and events, to which the things written in this passage can be applied with so much fitness as to the bishops of Rome. Why then should we be in any doubt concerning the interpretation and application of this famous prophecy? At the conclusion of our explication of the prophecy concerning the man of sin, it may be proper to observe, that the events foretold in it, being such as never took place in the world before, and in all

13 But we are bound to give thanks to God always concerning you, brethren, beloved of the Lord, because God (ro) hath chosen you from the beginning' to salvation, through sanctification of spirit and belief of truth;

14 To which he called you, by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

15 Well then, brethren, (cert) stand, and hold fast the traditions2 which ye have been taught, whether by OUR word or by our letter.

16 And may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God even our Father, who hath loved us,' and given us everlasting consolation2 and good hope through grace,3

17 Comfort your hearts, and establish' you in every good word and work.

probability never will take place in it again, the foreknowledge of them was certainly a matter out of the reach of human conjecture, or foresight. It is evident, therefore, that this prophecy, which from the beginning hath stood on record, taken in conjunction with the accomplishment of it verified by the concurrent testimony of history, affords an illustrious proof of the divine original of that revelation of which it raakes a part, and of the inspiration of the person from whose mouth it proceeded.

Ver. 13.-1. God (T) hath chosen you from the beginning to salvation. According to Chandler, AT denotes such a choice of a person to an office or honour, as puts it in his power to accept that office or honour, but leaves him at liberty to refuse it, if he pleases. Farther, by 'sexs he understands the beginning of the gospel, the first preaching of it to the Thessalonians, and interprets the passage thus: God, from the time the gospel was first preached to you, hath chosen you to salvation, and hath declared his choice of you by sanctifying you to his service, through the gifts of the Spirit and belief of the gospel. But I rather think 'exns here signifies from the beginning of the world; a sense which the phrase has, 1 John iii. 8. Also I am of opinion, that 'sanctification of spirit' denotes the sanctification of the Thessalonians through the influences of the Spirit; and that 'belief of the truth' signifies a real faith. So that, addressing the Thessalonians as believers, his meaning is, Ye Thessalonians, and all true believers without exception, were included in the covenant which God made with mankind after the fall, in the view of Christ's obedience to death; and were chosen to be heirs of salvation, through sanctification of spirit as the means, and through faith counted to them for righteousness. The same sentiment we have likewise 1 Pet. i. Ï, 2. See Ephes. i. 4, 5. 1 Thess. i. 4. notes.

The judgment which the apostle passed on this occasion concerning the Thessalonians, was not founded on any particular revelation concerning their state, but was merely a judgment of charity. He had discerned in the greatest part of them, from the first, a great love of truth, and had been witness to the operation of that love, in leading them to a holy manner of living; and therefore, concerning the most of them, he did not doubt of their continuing in holiness, through the efficacy of the same principle.

2. Through sanctification of spirit.]-The apostle uses the word spirit here, in the sense which it has 1 Thess. v. 23. where it denotes the mind or rational principle.-1 Pet. i. 2. 'Sanctification of spirit' signifies the cleansing of the mind from the errors of heathenism. Ver. 15-1. Stand, and hold fast.)-Kerv is to hold a thing in consequence of victory; and therefore, to hold it firmly and sure. ly, by the greatest exertion of strength.

2. The traditions which ye have been taught.]-In the apostle's writings, traditions are those doctrines and precepts which persons divinely inspired taught as the doctrines and precepts of God, whether they taught them by word of mouth or by writing. Thus

the apostle terms his doctrines in general traditions, 2 Thess. iii. 6. Withdraw yourselves from every brother who walketh disorderly, and not according to the tradition which he received from us.' This appellation Paul gave to the doctrines and precepts of the gospel on a double account; first, because they were delivered by Christ and by the Spirit to the apostles, merely on the authority of revelation: and, secondly, because the apostles delivered them to the world on the same authority, without attempting to prove them by any other argument. See Col. ii. 6. note. According to this acCount of the matter, the precept in the text, 'Hold fast the traditions which ye have been taught,' applies to none but to the doctrines and precepts which the apostles, and other inspired teachers, delivered to the world as revelations from God. And no doctrines merit the name of traditions, in the scripture sense of the word, but such as were taught by the apostles of Christ, or by other spiritual men, who received them by immediate revelation from him. And though the inspired teachers, to whom these doctrines were revealed, communicated them to the world first of all by word of mouth, they cannot now be known to be theirs, but by their holding a place in those writings which are allowed to be the genuine productions of these inspired teachers. The traditions, therefore, on which the church of Rome lays so great a stress, are of no manner of value.

Ver. 16.-1. May our Lord Jesus Christ, and God even our Father, who hath loved us.-This, and what follows, though standing immediately connected with 'God even our Father,' must be understood as repeated concerning our Lord Jesus Christ, unless y

as is put for you, which is scarcely to be admitted: For the clause, 'may our Lord Jesus Christ,' will be a sentence without meaning, if it is not completed in one or other of the methods just now mentioned. In this passage, the same operation is ascribed to the Son as to the Father, agreeably to what Christ himself hath told us, John v. 19. 'What things soever he doth, these also doth the Son likewise.'

2. And given us everlasting consolation.]-That is, the means of never-failing consolation; as is plain from the following verse, in which the apostle wishes that Christ and God might actually com

fort their hearts.

3. And good hope through grace.]-Good hope is an emphatical expression, signifying hope, not of ordinary blessings, but of such as are great and lasting, and the hope of which is well founded, being founded in the grace and favour of God, which is unchangeable. Ver. 17. Establish you.]-re signifies to support a thing in such a manner as to render it firm, and preserve it from falling. Here it is applied to the mind, and denotes the establishment of it in the belief of every good doctrine, and in the practice of every virtue, by strengthening its faculties, and giving it just views of the doctrines and precepts of religion, and by infusing into it a sincere love of both.