Lux Lucet

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: Even
him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders.

– 2 Thessalonians 2:8, 9

Pope Francis on parade in Washington D.C., 9/23/15.

“I have no idea who Antichrist is,” said the veteran Presbyterian missionary to the congregation. His words, at once disappointing and unsurprising, could easily be those of nearly the entire Evangelical church at the beginning of the 21st century. No one, it seems, knows who Antichrist is. The dispensationalist Left Behind crowd thinks it’s Nicolae Carpathia. The preterists see Antichrist as some figure from the distant past. Both are dupes of the Jesuits. And neither camp, because of their poor eschatology, is able recognize Antichrist and his works, even while watching him quite literally parade around our nation’s capital on their high definition flat screens. So much for seeing is believing.

But earlier generations of Protestants were not at all confused about the identity of Antichrist. The average Evangelical would be shocked and, perhaps in these times of political correctness, somewhat embarrassed by the forcefulness with which the Reformation applied the title of Antichrist to the papacy. Not to a single pope, but to the entire line of popes. For the reformers, the papacy was the office of Antichrist. Consider the following comments on 2 Thessalonians from some of the foremost reformers:

• The apostle afterwards speaks of the revelation of that wicked one (v.8) intimating the discovery which should be made of his wickedness, in order to his ruin…and to whom can this better apply than to the bishops of Rome [another name for the pope], to whom the most blasphemous titles have been given (Matthew Henry, Commentary on 2 Thessalonians).
  
• [T]the Roman empire and the Roman emperors were by degrees entirely removed, and so made way for the revelation of this wicked one: and which was done partly by Constantine the emperor receiving the Christian faith, whereby the Roman empire as Pagan ceased; and by increasing the riches of the church, and feeding the pride, ambition, and covetousness of the bishops, especially the bishop of Rome; and next by removing the seat of the empire from Rome to Byzantium [a title of the pope]; so that way was made for antichrist to come to his seat, and there was nothing to rival and eclipse the grandeur, power, and glory of the Roman popes…that lawless one, who sets himself above the laws of God and man, and dispenses with them at pleasure, who judges all men, but is judged by no man (John Gill, Commentary on 2 Thessalonians).
  
• Daniel [Dan. 9:27] and Paul [II Thess. 2:4] foretold that Antichrist would sit in the Temple of God. With us, it is the Roman pontiff we make the leader and standard bearer of the wicked and abominable kingdom (John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion 4.3.12).
  
• There is no other head of the Church but the Lord Jesus Christ. Nor can the Pope of Rome, in any sense, but head thereof; but is that Antichrist, that man of sin, and son of perdition, that exalts himself, in the Church, against Christ, and all that is called God (Westminster Confession of Faith, XXV).
  

But here in the enlightened 21st century, Evangelicals have relegated all that to the theological dustbin of history. So

Pope Francis I at the White House, 9/23/15.

much so that some who claim the Evangelical mantle are willing, not just to praise the pope from afar, but go out of their way to serve as props for furtherance Rome’s ungodly political, economic and religious agenda. As Christianity Today
reports,

An enthusiastic crowd or 11,000 ticketed guests gathered on the South Lawn of the White House this morning as President Obama officially welcomed Pope Francis to the United States

Among the overwhelmingly Catholic audience there to greet him on his first US visit was a smattering of evangelical leaders.

Leith Anderson and Galen Carey from the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE), Gabriel Salguero of the National Latino Evangelical Coalition. David Anderson, pastor of Bridgeway Community Church. Lisa Sharon Harper from Sojourners. Joel Hunter of Northland Church.

And if the words and actions of these individuals did not constitute enough of a betrayal of the Lord Jesus Christ, the worshipful tone of the reporting in Christianity Today – a magazine that bills itself as providing “evangelical thought leaders a sense of community, coherence, and direction through thoughtful biblical commentary on issues and through careful, caring reporting on the news – shows its editors are more than willing to prostitute their publication in the service of Antichrist. So much for being salt and light. Why, that may cost them access to society’s movers and shakers and, God forbid, subscribers!

The American Evangelical church is in a sorry state. We have sacrificed fidelity to the Word of God and the cause of Christ for a mess influence peddling pottage, hoping that if we just keep quiet about the “embarrassing” stuff in our attic that, by golly, people will like us. And where has this gotten us? Our reward is the humiliating sight of that Wicked parading himself around Washington D.C. as if a conquering Roman general.

But at least no one had his feelings hurt by mean spirited words from crotchety old-school Protestant types, so at least the neo-evangelicals should be happy.