01.10 The Mystery Of Godliness

X. The "Mystery of Godliness" and the "Mystery of Iniquity"

Among the "Mysteries of God" revealed in the Scriptures there stand forth two great Personages, one called the "Mystery of Godliness," the other the "Mystery of Iniquity," or Christ and Antichrist.

I. THE MYSTERY OF GODLINESS

"And without controversy great is the ’MYSTERY OF GODLINESS’: GOD was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory." 1 Timothy 3:16. The study of the "Life and Work of Christ" is confined by most Bible students to His "Earthly Life," that is to the "Days of His Flesh." But we must not forget that Jesus was the "ETERNAL CHRIST." His work of Atonement on the Cross was but one phase of His work, which began in the Creation of the Universe and will continue for all eternity. The "Greater Life and Work of Christ" is a circle of which the circumference is "Eternity" and the centre is "CALVARY." Jesus said of Himself-"I am ’Alpha’ and ’Omega’ the ’BEGINNING,’ and the ’ENDING,’ the ’FIRST’ and the ’LAST,’ which IS, and which WAS, and which is TO COME, the ALMIGHTY." Revelation 1:8-11. See the Chart -"The Greater Life and Work of Christ," page 110. Jesus thus identifies Himself with God, and confirms His earthly statement-"I and my Father are ONE." John 10:30. John tells us that-"THE WORD was made ’Flesh,’ and dwelt among us, and we beheld His GLORY (on the Mount of Transfiguration), the GLORY as of the ONLY BEGOTTEN OF THE FATHER." John 1:14. And in His prayer in the "upper room" before going out to Gethsemane Jesus prayed-"And now, O Father, glorify Thou me with Thine own self with the GLORY which I had with Thee BEFORE THE WORLD WAS." John 17:5. Thus we see that Jesus existed before the World was and is the ETERNAL CHRIST.* THE SELF-EMPTYING OF CHRIST

While Jesus in Old Testament times clothed Himself in human flesh and appeared as a man to men, as He did to Abraham and Jacob (Genesis 18:1-8, Genesis 32:24-32), He did not divest Himself of His Deity, or empty Himself of His Glory. But when the time came to redeem men from the curse of sin it was necessary for Christ to lay aside His heavenly glory and become a MAN. Of that act the Apostle Paul says-"Have this mind in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: who, being in the ’FORM OF GOD,’ counted it not a prize to be on an equality with God, but EMPTIED HIMSELF, taking the form of a servant, being made in the LIKENESS OF MEN." Php 2:5-7 (R. V.). Of what did Christ empty Himself when He became a man? He emptied Himself of the "FORM OF GOD." This "Form" consisted of the "GLORIOUS PERSONAL BODILY FORM" of the Godhead, revealed but for a moment on the Mount of Transfiguration. Matthew 17:1-2. It was the restoration of this "Glory" that Christ prayed for in the "upper room" before going out to Gethsemane. John 17:5. This emptying took place in Heaven in the presence of the angelic hosts. As a monarch Christ descended from the Throne, relinquished His Royal Power and Office, laid aside His crown and robes of state, and arrayed himself in the garment of a SERVANT, and by so doing He subjected Himself to the limitations of a servant. That was one of the "Great Days" in the life of the Son of God. In fact it was the "Greatest Day," for without that "Day of Self-Emptying" the "Day of Crucifixion" and the "Day of Resurrection," and all the other "Great Days" could not have been possible. From this it is clear that the Birth of Christ is not to be understood as an ordinary human birth; which is the birth of a being that had no previous existence, and that had no choice as to its being born. There were only two ways Christ could become "flesh" and dwell among us, one was to be born, as the Scriptures say He was born, of a virgin; the other was to incarnate Himself in some man, some grand character like Samuel or Daniel, but that would be to incarnate Himself in SINFUL HUMAN NATURE. For Christ to have made for Himself a human body in which to dwell during His earthly life would not have fulfilled the Scriptures as to the Messiah being born of the "Seed of David," and of a Virgin (Isaiah 7:14); nor would He then have been subject to the limitations of humanity with all its frailties and weaknesses. The nature of the case demanded a "Virgin Birth."

If it be said that the Virgin Mary with an inherited taint of sin in her nature could not bring forth a pure offspring, it must not be forgotten that that which was conceived in her was of the Holy Ghost, and Mary was so informed by the Angel Gabriel.

"The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of THE HIGHEST shall overshadow thee; therefore also that ’Holy Thing’ which shall be born of thee shall be called the SON OF GOD." Luke 1:35. From this we see that the embryo that was deposited in the womb of the Virgin by the Holy Ghost contained no taint of sin, and that Mary’s womb was simply the vehicle for the formation of the human body of Christ into which the "Spirit of Christ" entered at birth and thus was formed the GOD-MAN.

Four times in his Gospel John calls Jesus the "Only Begotten Son of God." This does not refer to His Eternal origin, for He was co-existent with the Father, but refers to His Virgin Birth. God never begat another son as Jesus was begotten, so He was the only begotton "Son of God." The Apostle Paul in Colossians 1:14-15, speaks of Jesus as the "Image of the Invisible God, the FIRSTBORN OF EVERY CREATURE." This cannot mean that Jesus is only a "Creature," for in the next verse Jesus is described as the Creator of all things. The probable explanation is that as Jesus became by His human birth -"God Manifest in the FLESH," (1 Timothy 3:16), thus becoming to men the "IMAGE of the Invisible God," that He thus became the "Firstborn" of the NEW CREATION of God, of which race the "Second" or "Last Adam" (Christ) is the HEAD. 1 Cor. 15 45, 2 Corinthians 5:17. It is noteworthy that Jesus is not called the "Son OF GOD, or the "Son OF MAN," in the Scriptures before His Incarnation with but two exceptions, and both of these occur in the Book of Daniel, and look forward to His redemptive work at the close of this Dispensation. Daniel 3:25, Daniel 7:13. The claim that Joseph was the natural father of Jesus is disclaimed by Scripture, for we are told that when they were only espoused, "before they came together," and Joseph learned that Mary was pregnant, he proposed to "put her away" (divorce her), but being told in a dream that she was in that condition by the Holy Ghost, Joseph, to protect her character, married her, but "knew her not" until she had brought forth her firstborn son. Matthew 1:18-25. But the Scriptures go farther than that to safeguard the Virgin Birth of Jesus. In Matthew’s Gospel we have the genealogical table of Joseph’s ancestry tracing him back to Abraham. In Luke’s Gospel we have the genealogical ancestry of Mary tracing her back to Adam. See the Chart on the "Virgin Birth," page 114. That there are similar names in the two tables presents no difficulty as such a thing is common in tracing any long line of descent. The statement in Matthew that "Jacob begat Joseph, the husband of Mary," and the statement in Luke that "Joseph was (as supposed) the Son of Heli" are easily reconciled, for Joseph could not be the son of both Jacob and Heli. The fact that the translators of the King James version use the word "supposed," and that the word "son" is in italics (which indicates that it is not in the original but is placed there to make sense) shows that some other word could be inserted that would make sense, and that word is "son-in-law," and so it should read, "Joseph which was the ’son-in-law’ of Heli." This makes the genealogy of Luke that of Mary, for two genealogies so clearly unlike could not both be the genealogy of Joseph.

Now Jesus was to be a "Son of David," and the chart traces the lineage of Joseph through Solomon back to David, and the lineage of Mary through Nathan back to David. Solomon, as we know, succeeded his father as king, but Nathan was older than Solomon and on that ground might have contested Solomon’s right of succession, though we are not told that he did. Nevertheless Solomon’s title had the shadow of Nathan’s claim upon it, and that there should be no cloud upon Jesus’ title to the "Throne of David," God ordained that Mary, the mother of Jesus, should be a direct descendant of David through Nathan, the "legal heir" to the throne. But Jesus had no right to David’s throne through Mary, for she was not in the "Kingly Line" of descent through Solomon. How then was Jesus’ right to David’s Throne to be brought about? Only by marriage. Here we see the wonderful way in which God safeguarded the "Virgin Birth" of Jesus. He saw to it that Mary married (after conception) a man who could not be the NATURAL father of Jesus because of a taint or defect in his ancestry, for while Joseph was a lineal descendant of David through the "Royal Line" of Solomon, there was one Jechonias (Matthew 1:11-12), called in Jeremiah 22:24-30. Coniah, of whom God had said that-"No man of his SEED shall prosper, sitting upon the ’Throne of David’ and ruling any more in Judah." So we see that Joseph could not be the "natural" father of Jesus, for no descendant of his could sit on the throne of David and prosper. This forever sets at rest the claim that Joseph was the natural father of Jesus, and establishes the fact of His "Virgin Birth." The marriage of Joseph and Mary before the birth of Jesus made Him the adopted son and "legal heir" of Joseph. The title, unaffected by the curse pronounced upon Coniah, was thus conveyed to Jesus, in whom there centres through both Nathan and Solomon exclusive right to the Throne of David. When the time came for Jesus to be born God put it into the heart of the Roman Emperor Caesar Augustus to call for an enrollment. This made it necessary for Joseph and Mary to go to Bethlehem. They could not have been enrolled unless their names were on the Register, and that they were enrolled proves that they could at that time trace their ancestry back to King David. Luke 2:1-5; It was doubtless from this register that Matthew and Luke got their genealogy. If the claim of Jesus to the "Throne of David" had not been known in Jerusalem to be absolutely without flaw, the Jews would have denounced Him as an imposter and pretender. Up to the time of Jesus’ rejection as King all genealogical records were preserved in the Temple, but when Titus in A. D. 70 destroyed the city and the Temple, those records were destroyed, and the genealogical tables of Matthew and Luke alone remain to give us the lineal descent of Jesus from King David. Therefore the only living man who today can establish an unbroken genealogy directly and incontrovertibly from King David is the MAN CHRIST JESUS. 1 Timothy 2:5. The Scriptures not only clearly teach that Jesus was a MAN (John 8:40, Acts 2:22, 1 Timothy 2:5), and also was GOD (John 1:1, Titus 2:13, Colossians 2:19), but that these "Two Natures" were united in a single Personality, and that in a VITAL and INSEPARABLE UNION. As a man Jesus possessed a material body with all its functions. He hungered, thirsted, slept, loved, feared, groaned, wept, prayed, had compassion, suffered, and as to His body died. As God Jesus performed the works of God.

While the union of these two natures took place at the birth of Jesus, that does not imply that there was a complete consciousness of that union in the mind of Jesus at the time of His birth, for we read that as a child He "increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man." Luke 2:52. It was probably not until He was twelve years of age, on His first visit to the Temple, that the Holy Spirit revealed to Him that He must be about His Father’s business. Luke 2:49. At His baptism, when the Holy Spirit, like a dove, rested upon Him, He seems to have come to the full consciousness of His Deity, and yet there were limitations to his knowledge, the self-imposed limitations of a servant, for while a servant may know much he is not supposed to know as much as his master.

While the Divine nature in Jesus kept Him from sinning and preserved Him from intellectual errors, His human nature made Him susceptible to the weaknesses and limitations of the flesh. And as the spirit of man in its union with the body suffers with the body, so Jesus the "God-Man" suffered in the flesh, and the agonies of Gethsemane and Calvary were real and agonizing to Him. When Jesus surrendered His Spirit to the Father on the Cross, the union between the "Divine" and "human" in Jesus was not dissolved. Jesus did not go back to heaven as He came to the earth bodiless. He took His resurrected HUMAN BODY with Him, and we now have in Heaven the MAN Christ Jesus. "For there is one God, and one ’Mediator’ between God and men, the MAN Christ Jesus." 1 Timothy 2:5. A man can mediate between two men, but he cannot mediate between a man and y horse, because he has not the nature of both a man and a horse. So the Son of God could not mediate between God and man until He became the "GOD-MAN," that is, had the nature of both God and man, and this necessitated that He not only become a man, but that He take His human nature back with Him to Heaven.

While the only account we have of the "Virgin Birth" of Christ is found in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, this does not militate against its truthfulness. Mark had no occasion to mention it as he confines himself to the public ministry of Christ. John’s Gospel was written 60 years after Christ’s death and resurrection, and the "Virgin Birth" of Jesus was then well known, and John simply alludes to it in the words-"He was made flesh, and dwelt among us." If, however, we translate the first three words of John 1:13, which read-"Which were born" to "Who was born," as some of the Church Fathers claim they should be rendered, the verse would read- "Who (Jesus) was born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God," which would be a clear statement of the Virgin Birth as it denies a human parentage, and declares that Jesus was born of God. As to the silence of Paul, like John, he takes it for granted that the fact of the "Virgin Birth" was then well known, and simply alluded to it in the words-"He took the form of a servant and was made in the likeness of men." Php 2:7. If we accept Luke’s Gospel, as Paul’s Gospel, and Luke was a companion of Paul, then Luke’s account of the "Virgin Birth" is in a sense Paul’s. In Galatians 4:4, Paul says-"When the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth His Son, MADE OF A WOMAN." Why did he say that if he had not reference to the prophetic statement the "Seed of The Woman" of Genesis 3:15? If Joseph and Mary, who were sinners by nature and practice, could have given birth to a sinless being like Christ, then a greater miracle than the "Virgin Birth" took place. If Jesus was born as other human beings are born, He would not only have been a sinner, He would have been subject to death. But death had no claim on Him. He voluntarily surrendered His life on the Cross, and could not be "holden of death," but rose of His own power from the grave. When Jesus at the age of twelve said to His mother-"Wist ye not that I must be about MY Father’s Business," was there not an allusion to His "Virgin Birth," implying that God, not Joseph, was His Father? When the fact of the "Virgin Birth" of Christ first became publicly known we are not told. It was not made known during his lifetime. The secret was known only to Mary and Joseph, and probably Elizabeth. It would never have done to have told it before Christ’s Ascension, as it would have reflected on Mary’s chastity and on Jesus’ legitimacy. So after the death of Joseph and Elizabeth, Mary "hid all those things in her heart." But when the Deity of Christ as He hung on the Cross was witnessed to by the darkness, and earthquake, and rent veil of the Temple, and the opening of tombs, and was further evidenced by His resurrection from the dead, such a supernatural going, demanded just such a supernatural coming as that of the "Virgin Birth." As Luke gives us the detailed description of the "Virgin Birth," and he was a physician, the probability is that Mary, feeling that the time had come to disclose the miraculous manner of Christ’s birth, one day after Christ’s Ascension told Luke all about it and he recorded it in his Gospel, and thus it became a part of the life story of Christ, from which Matthew got his account. As the "God-Man," Christ’s mind was as lucid as the light. With Christ there never was any confusion nor hesitation in answering questions. He taught the profoundest truths in the simplest manner. He spake of things and events in which he was a participant before He came into the world, and prophesied of things that would take place after His departure and in which He would participate. He never took counsel of others. The wisdom of the ages seemed centered in Him. He exhausted every subject He touched with a single sentence, and His parables are beyond improvement. He never conjectured or supposed, and ..never asked questions for information but simply to fix attention on what He was about to do. He not only knew men, He knew their character and read their thoughts. Other Bible characters confess faults and sins, Jesus never. He uniformly expressed a distinct sense of faultlessness and perfection. He never once reproached Himself, or regretted anything He had ever done or said, or indicated that He had taken a wrong step or neglected an opportunity or that anything could have been done or said better than He had done or said it. He said-"I do always those things which please the Father." He never apologized or excused Himself. He asked the Disciples to watch with Him, but never to pray for Him. He never used plural personal pronouns in His prayers. He always said "I" and "Me," and "these" and "them," never "We" and "Us."

He claimed equality with God, that He was the Messiah, that He had power to forgive sins, and that He could give rest. He demanded first place, and said that no one could come to the Father only through Him. He said "I am the ’Bread of Life;’" "I am the ’Light of the World;’" "I am the ’Way,’ the ’Truth,’ the ’Life;’" "I am the ’Water of Life;’ " "I am the ’Resurrection and the Life;’" "before Abraham was I Am." If Jesus was not the Son of God He was the greatest "Egotist" the world has ever seen, aye! He was more, He was a bad man, an imposter, a perjurer, a blasphemer, and unworthy of acceptance or belief.

He was not a Physician. He never employed a splint, tied an artery, used a knife, nor gave a prescription, yet he cured the sick, cleansed the lepers, caused the blind to see and the deaf to hear, and the dead could not remain dead in his presence. He was not an Author. He never wrote, as far as we know, but a single line and that in the sand that the wind obliterated; but the Gospel He preached made such an impression upon the minds of His disciples that they put it into written form in which ,’t has survived down the centuries, and is to be found in the best literature of the world. He was not an Orator, as the world speaks of oratory, but He spake as never man spake, and the common people heard Him gladly. He was a master of every form of human speech, and His parabolic form of speech has never been excelled. He was not a Poet and yet His life has inspired the world’s greatest poets and given us our sublimest hymns and anthems. He was not a Musician, but to Him the great musical composers of the world owe their inspiration. He was not an Artist, but without Him the great Masterpieces of Art would never have appeared on canvas. He was not an Architect, only an humble Galilean carpenter, a maker of wooden ploughs and ox-yokes, but the most beautiful and artistic buildings in the world were designed to commemorate His memory and dedicated to His worship and service. Who was this man? This man whose coming into the world changed the world’s reckoning of the years, and gave to Christendom the festive seasons of Christmas and Easter? Was He a Fanatic? Was He a Lunatic? Was He a Dreamer? There never was another man like Him. No writer could ever invent such a character. Who was He then? He was a FOREIGNER. He was not of the type of men that this world produces. He came from some other realm. He came to make us a "Kinsman," and having done that He went back to His own country again taking our nature with Him. The supernatural manner of His coming demanded the supernatural manner of His going. He was what He claimed to be the "Mystery of Godliness"-GOD MANIFEST IN THE FLESH. ’THAT WICKED’

II. THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY.

Jesus said to the Jews-"I am come in my Father’s name, and ye receive me not; if ANOTHER shall come in his own name, him ye will receive." John 5:43. Who is this "OTHER" who is to come? In both the Old and New Testament we are told of a "Mysterious and Terrible Personage" who shall be revealed in the "Last Times." He is described under different names and aliases. In the Old Testament he is called the "ASSYRIAN" (Isaiah 10:5, Isaiah 10:12, Isaiah 10:24; Isaiah 30:27-33); "LUCIFER" (Isaiah 14:12); the "LITTLE HORN" (Daniel 7:8; Daniel 8:9); a "King of FIERCE COUNTENANCE" (Daniel 8:23); the "PRINCE THAT SHALL COME" (Daniel 9:26); the "WILFUL KING." Daniel 11:36. In the New Testament he is called the "MAN OF SIN," the "SON OF PERDITION," the "MYSTERY OF INIQUITY," "THAT- WICKED" (2 Thessalonians 2:3-8); the "ANTICHRIST" (1 John 2:18); the "BEAST." Revelation 13:1-8.* The difference between Christ and Antichrist is clearly brought out in the following contrasts.

1. Christ came from Above. John 6:38. Antichrist ascends from The Pit. Revelation 11:7.

2. Christ came in His Father’s name. John 5:43. Antichrist comes in his Own name. John 5:43.

3. Christ Humbled Himself. Php 2:8. Antichrist Exalts himself. 2 Thessalonians 2:4:4. Christ Despised. Isaiah 53:3 ; Luke 23:18. Antichrist Admired. Revelation 13:3-4. ’

5. Christ Exalted. Php 2:9. Antichrist Cast Down to Hell. Isaiah 14:14-15; Revelation 19:20.

6. Christ to do His Father’s will. John 6:38. Antichrist to do his Own will. Daniel 11:36.

7. Christ came to Save. Luke 19:10. Antichrist comes to Destroy. Daniel 8:24.

8. Christ is the Good Shepherd. John 10:14-15. Antichrist is the Idol (evil) Shepherd. Zechariah 11:16-17.

9. Christ is the "True Vine." John 15:1. Antichrist is the "Vine of the Earth." Revelation 14:18.

10. Christ-is the "Truth." John 14:6. Antichrist is the "Lie." 2 Thessalonians 2:11.

11. Christ is the "Holy One." Mark 1:24. Antichrist is the "Lawless One." 2 Thessalonians 2:8(R.V.).

12. Christ is the "Man of Sorrows." Isaiah 53:3. Antichrist is the "Man of Sin." 2 Thessalonians 2:3.

13. Christ is the "Son of God." Luke 1:35. Antichrist is the "Son of Perdition." 2 Thessalonians 2:3.

14. Christ, "The Mystery of Godliness," is God manifest in the flesh. 1 Timothy 3:16. Antichrist, "The Mystery of Iniquity," will be Satan manifest in the flesh. 2 Thessalonians 2:7.

Let us examine Paul’s description of the Antichrist.

"Let no man deceive you by any means; for ’that Day’ (the Day of the Lord) shall not come, except there come a ’falling away first,’ and that- ’MAN OF SIN’ be revealed, the ’SON OF PERDITION;’ who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the ’Temple of God’ (the rebuilt Temple at Jerusalem), showing himself that he is God. . . . For the ’MYSTERY OF INIQUITY’ doth already work (in Paul’s day): only He (the Holy Spirit) who now letteth (restraineth R. V.) will let (restrain), until He be taken out of the way. And then shall be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit (breath) of His mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness (manifestation R. V.) of His Coming: even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because’ they received not the love of the truth (Christ), that they might be saved." 2 Thessalonians 2:3-10. In this passage of Scripture Paul gives the Antichrist four different names, the "Man of Sin," the "Son of Perdition," the "Mystery of Iniquity," and "That Wicked." The name that the Apostle Paul gives the Antichrist-the "SON OF PERDITION," is not without significance. The Apostle also calls the Antichrist in this passage the "MYSTERY OF INIQUITY." What does that mean? In 1 Timothy 3:16, Christ is spoken of as the "MYSTERY OF GODLINESS." That is, that He was GOD MANIFEST IN THE FLESH. How did He become "manifest in the flesh?" By being born of the Virgin Mary by the Holy Spirit. Thus it was that Jesus became the "SON OF GOD." Luke 1:35. Now as iniquity is the opposite of Godliness, then the "MYSTERY OF INIQUITY" must be the opposite of the "MYSTERY OF GODLINESS." That is, if Christ is the "MYSTERY OF GODLINESS," Antichrist must be the "MYSTERY OF INIQUITY," and as Christ was the "SON OF GOD," then Antichrist must be the "SON OF PERDITION," that is of SATAN. And as Christ was born of a virgin by the Holy Spirit, so Antichrist will be born of a WOMAN (not necessarily a virgin) by Satan. This is no new view for it has been held by many of God’s spiritually minded children since the days of the Apostle John, and there is warrant for it in the Scriptures. In Genesis 3:15, God said to the Serpent (Satan), "I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between ’THY SEED’ and ’HER SEED.’" Now the Woman’s SEED was CHRIST, then the Serpent’s SEED must be ANTICHRIST. In John 8:44 Jesus said to the Jews-"Ye are of your father THE DEVIL . . . When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own; for he is a liar, and the father of IT." In the Greek there is the definite article before "lie," and it should read "THE LIE," so when the Devil speaks of "THE LIE," he is speaking of his own (child), for he is a liar, and the FATHER OF "IT"- "THE LIE." And it is worthy of note that in the verse (vs. 11) that follows the passage we are considering that the Apostle says:-"And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion that they should believe a lie." Here again the definite article is found in the Greek, and it should read "The LIE," the "SON OF PERDITION," the ANTICHRIST. The character of the "Mystery of Iniquity"-THE ANTICHRIST, was revealed to Daniel. Daniel saw a "LITTLE HORN" (the Antichrist) come up among the "Ten Horns" on the head of the "Fourth Wild Beast," that had "eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking great things." Daniel 7:7-8. Daniel was told that this "Little Horn" was a king that should arise and that he would be a "person" of remarkable intelligence and great oratorical powers, having a "mouth speaking great things." That he would be audacious, arrogant, imperious, and persecuting, and change "times and laws," and that the "Saints of the Most High" (Daniel’s own people, the Jews) would be given into his hands for a "Time," and "Times," and the "Dividing of Time," or 3 1/2 years, after which his dominion would be taken away from him. Daniel 7:23-26. In the next chapter Daniel has another vision of this "Little Horn," as it appeared on one of the "four horns" of the "He Goat." This "Little Horn" waxed exceedingly great, and Daniel was told that in the "latter time" of the "Fourth World Kingdom" (the revived Roman Empire, yet future), that a "King of Fierce Countenance," and understanding dark sentences shall stand up, but not in his own power (he shall be indwelt by Satan): and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practice, and shall destroy the mighty and the Holy People (the Jews), and through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand (no one shall be able to buy without the "Mark of the Beast," Revelation 13:17) ; and he shall magnify himself in his heart (2 Thessalonians 2:3-4), and by peace shall destroy many; he shall also stand up against the "Prince of Princes" (Christ), "but he .shall be broken without hand." Daniel 8:23-25. The "Mystery of Iniquity" will be Satan’s "SUPERMAN." As to ability he will be a "composite man," embracing the powers of Nebuchadnezzar, Xerxes, Alexander the Great, and Caesar Augustus. He will have the marvellous gift of attracting unregenerate men, and the irresistible fascination of his personality, his versatile attainments, superhuman wisdom, great administrative and executive ability, along with his powers as a consummate flatterer, a brilliant diplomatist, a superb strategist, will make him the most conspicuous and prominent of men. All these gifts will be conferred on him by Satan, whose tool he will be. He will pose as a great humanitarian, the friend of men, and the especial friend of the Jewish race, whom he will persuade that he has come to usher in the "Golden Age" as pictured by the prophets, and who will receive him as their Messiah. He will intoxicate men with a strong delusion and his never-varying success. And when he shall be slain and rise again from the dead (Revelation 13:3), in imitation of the resurrection of Christ, he will have lost none of these powers, but will be in addition the embodiment of all kinds of wickedness and blasphemy.

There has never as yet appeared on this earth a person who answers the description given above. Such a character is almost inconceivable. No writer would have invented such a character. He shall reign for seven years, at the end of which time the Lord Jesus Christ shall return to the earth and destroy the allied armies of Antichrist, and he shall be cast with the False Prophet alive into the Lake of Fire. Revelation 19:19-20. Thus will end the "Mystery of Iniquity"-THE ANTICHRIST.

*For a full description of "The Greater Life and Work of Christ," see the chapter on "The Dispensational Work of Christ," in my larger work on "Dispensational Truth."

*For a full description of the Antichrist, see the chapter on the Antichrst in my larger book, Dispensational Truth."