2 Thessalonians 2:8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth… The gospel — "the breath of His mouth." And how admirably adapted is the means to accomplish the end! 1. The man of sin has usurped the place of God in the throne of the Church. What is required to depose the tyrant? The proclamation and reception of the gospel. This shows that St. Peter had no dominion over the consciences of his brethren or the faith of the Church to which he ministered, and consequently that he never transferred such power to others. The gospel shows that God is the only Lord of conscience: and as this is known and appreciated will man fall from the position he has usurped, and God be raised and worshipped. 2. The man of sin has dictated the creed of the Church and declared it to be the merit of human actions and sufferings. And what is necessary to consume this fatal error, but the knowledge of the gospel which declares that the just shall live by faith: that salvation is of grace, through faith, and the gift of God. 3. The man of sin has vended and sold pardons and future rewards, what is necessary to consume this power of the Pope, except the knowledge and belief that God only can forgive sins; that He forgives freely through the merits of Christ, and for His sake confers the kingdom of heaven on those that believe. 4. The man of sin assumes a dominion over the invisible world, and professes to have power to deliver souls from the flames of purgatory, what is necessary to consume this error, but to circulate the Scriptures, which most clearly show that God only has power to reach the inhabitants of the invisible world. 5. The man of sin labours to keep men in ignorance. What is necessary to dispel the darkness of the human mind, and thus to consume this his stronghold, but to send men the light of life. (C. Lee.) Parallel Verses KJV: And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: |
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