Wherein the Clergy is Revealed as the "Son of Destruction"

I considered putting this in the conspiracies section for certainly it is. Men conspiring against the Christian teachings in an utter apostasy against truth!

I find my threads come as an extension of reading another thread most of the time, and this one is no different. I was perusing a recent Thread about the rise of the Catholic Church, it's tradition, and deviation from the true faith.

This is an extension of a post I made in that thread about the title Pope.

I don't know how long this is going to get, I hope not long. But I want to preface this with stating the following information is not to disparage any persons or the sincerity of beliefs they may or may not have. It is not to start a debate or an argument about personal beliefs. It is to simply show Biblical proof that the clergy of Christendom is the apostasy foretold in the Bible known as the "worker of lawlessness," or "son of destruction." Some translations refer to it as the "son of perdition":



In the above pic I posted the scripture from my Bible referring to the apostasy. Notice that it had to come first. Before what? Before they went to heaven. If you notice in the first 2 verses Paul is referring to the anointed Christian congregation being gathered together to go to heaven during Christ's presence. This was long in the future and they all would be long dead and sleeping in death awaiting for Christ's return before that took place. In the transpiring centuries, indeed millennium, an apostasy would develop in the Christian congregation.

Before the return of Christ, before "our being gathered together to him" in the heaven, before the "day of Jehovah" (Armageddon) the apostasy would come first. And then that "son of destruction" would be revealed.

Now in the previous thread I showed how the early Church leaders corrupted Christian teaching and started to form apostasy from the truth, lording it over the others, setting themselves up as god, as leaders of others.

The titles bishop and deacon and such were not used as titles in the Bible. Rather the Greek episkopos from which the title bishop is derived means overseer. The Greek presbyteros is where we get the word presbyter and simply meant a spiritually mature person in the congregation, elder. Deacon is a transliteration of the Greek diakonos and means a person who ministers or waits upon another. A straight translation into English would be "ministerial servant."

The early Church did not have a laity and a clergy. Rather all were considered to be brothers, no one lording it over the others, and only Jesus as the head and leader of the Christian congregation.

The unscriptural separation of a clergy from the laity, the change of the simple terms of elder to the title Bishop one of spiritual power are all utter deviations from the clear teachings of Jesus Christ during a time of apostasy or turning away from the truth foretold by Jesus and the Christian Greek Scriptures:


"Not that we are the masters over your faith, but we are fellow workers for your joy, for it is by your faith that you are standing."-2 Corinthians 1:24.

Paul says here that the apostles and older men in the congregation, the elders were not their leaders, but rather their fellow brothers, or fellow workers in the Christ.

So how did this apostasy and the formation of the clergy and laity begin? Jesus exposed it in an illustation of wheat and weeds:

"He presented another illustration to them, saying: “The Kingdom of the heavens may be likened to a man who sowed fine seed in his field. While men were sleeping, his enemy came and oversowed weeds in among the wheat and left. When the stalk sprouted and produced fruit, then the weeds also appeared. So the slaves of the master of the house came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow fine seed in your field? How, then, does it have weeds?’ He said to them, ‘An enemy, a man, did this.’ The slaves said to him, ‘Do you want us, then, to go out and collect them?’ He said, ‘No, for fear that while collecting the weeds, you uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and in the harvest season, I will tell the reapers: First collect the weeds and bind them in bundles to burn them up; then gather the wheat into my storehouse.’”-Matthew 13:24-30.

In this illustration we have:

1. The master (the sower of the fine seed).
2. The enemy (sows weed among the fine seed).
3. A field.
4. Wheat.
5. Weeds.
6. Reapers.
7. The harvest.

What does it all mean? Well later on in the chapter Jesus' close disciples, not understanding his illustrations and wanting to know what it meant asked him about it. And Jesus reveals it. Here is a pic of that scripture that reveals what each represent:



So using Jesus' own explanation we see the following:

1. The master was Jesus Christ while he was on earth.
2. The enemy is Satan the Devil.
3. The field was humankind.
4. The wheat are the sons of the kingdom.
5. The weeds are false Christians that Satan sows in among the Christian congregation during a time of apostasy.
6. The reapers are the angels.
7. The harvest is the conclusion of the system of things when the wheat (real genuine anointed Christians) would be separated from the weeds. Fake imitation Christians that Satan sowed.

This apostasy was already at work while the Bible was still being written in the first century. But it did not take off or become fully blown until the last of the apostles died off. They were working as a prevention from it becoming fully mature while they were alive.

When they died off all that was Christian about Christianity disappeared. A clergy and laity class were formed. Titles were given to leaders in the Church along with many schisms and divisions. Many false teachings from pagan religions and human philosophy were incorporated into the congregation, and it even started to involve itself in the politics of the day, incorporate pagan holidays and traditions in their worship, until a truly false form of "weed" Christianity was in full bloom.

It would not be until the "conclusion of the system of things" the last days, our days, that Jesus would separate true Christians from the false. Today that is taking place. The preaching work in the last days by God's named people is the fulfillment of that prophecy, wherein true Christians are being separated from the false, weeds. The repears are the angels. They are involved in the preaching and teaching and separating work.

That there is no mistaking that the "worker of lawlessness" is indeed the clergy of Christendom read what Jesus foretells about that class:


"21 “Not everyone saying to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter into the Kingdom of the heavens, but only the one doing the will of my Father who is in the heavens will. 22 Many will say to me in that day: ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and expel demons in your name, and perform many powerful works in your name?’ 23 And then I will declare to them: ‘I never knew you! Get away from me, you workers of lawlessness!’-Matthew 7:21-23.

Yes go back to the first picture and read about the apostasy. The man of lawlessness, the "son of destruction" is exposed before Jesus comes to call his anointed Congregation to heaven.

And it is God's own chosen and anointed, those left among the 144,000 who have done the exposing of this "son of destruction."

a reply to: MidnightHawk
Comparison with the "final rulers" described in Daniel and Revelation make it clear that the arrival of the "man of iniquity" leads to a grand persecution of the faithful, which is terminated only by the return of Christ. That feature ought not to be left out of the picture, and any interpretation of that verse needs to allow for it. You cannot go straight from "the apostacy" to "the Return".

a reply to: DISRAELI

The scripture says that the "son of lawlessness" was already at work in the first century while he was yet living and writing the prophecy. So its arrival has nothing to do with the last days:

"True, the mystery of this lawlessness is already at work, but only until the one who is right now acting as a restraint is out of the way."-2 Thessalonians 2:7.

It is only until the conclusion of the system of things, during Christ's manifestation that he will be exposed, revealed:

"Then, indeed, the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will do away with by the spirit of his mouth and bring to nothing by the manifestation of his presence."-vs 8.

a reply to: MidnightHawk
You are not properly distinguishing between the "mystery of lawlessness" and the "man of lawlessness".
It was the "mystery" that was already present at the time of writing; the man himself would come later.
This is the direct equivalent of John's assertion that "the spirit of antichrist" was already in the world (1 John ch4v5), while the antichrist himself would come later. (Actually the translations say "spirit of antichrist", but the literal Greek is "the of antichrist"- ""antichrist's thing", perhaps).

And I must repeat the point, which you are quietly ignoring, that the man of lawlessness, alias the king of Daniel ch11, alias the Beast of Revelation, is engaged in a wholescale persecution of the faithful, and only once he has progressed with that to a dangerous extent does God see fit to intervene.

In other words, there is an interval of time between the "revealing" or first appearance of this man and the moment when Christ destroys him.

How can you possibly venture to discuss the Biblical end-times and ignore the great tribulation?

What is an "atheist, or a Gnostic that believes that the Earth isnt the center of universe, and that a giant snake that could swallow a child of light" is?

originally posted by: DISRAELI
a reply to: MidnightHawk
You are not properly distinguishing between the "mystery of lawlessness" and the "man of lawlessness".
It was the "mystery" that was already present at the time of writing; the man himself would come later.
This is the direct equivalent of John's assertion that "the spirit of antichrist" was already in the world (1 John ch4v5), while the antichrist himself would come later. (Actually the translations say "spirit of antichrist", but the literal Greek is "the of antichrist"- ""antichrist's thing", perhaps).

And I must repeat the point, which you are quietly ignoring, that the man of lawlessness, alias the king of Daniel ch11, alias the Beast of Revelation, is engaged in a wholescale persecution of the faithful, and only once he has progressed with that to a dangerous extent does God see fit to intervene.

In other words, there is an interval of time between the "revealing" or first appearance of this man and the moment when Christ destroys him.

How can you possibly venture to discuss the Biblical end-times and ignore the great tribulation?

Daniel 11 is a prophecy of the kings of the north and south. In the initial fulfillment it had to do with the relation to Jerusalem. Egypt and Syria. They change actors over the millennium. Today the king of the south is the Anglo-American duel world power with the United States and Great Britain. The king of the North is the Russian Confederation.

As we clearly saw in the OP the "son of destruction" or "worker of lawlessness" is a spiritual entity. The clergy of Christendom that claims to perform works and many powerful signs in Jesus' name, as Jesus said, but he will tell them to get away from him, he never knew them, "worker of lawlessness."

a reply to: MidnightHawk
You haven't looked at the end of Daniel ch11, leading into ch12, where the prophecy gets into the final battle between God and the persecutor, after which the faithful live eternally with their God. In other words, this is about the Return of Christ ending the great persecution.

I think the problem is that you are not familiar with the full range of Biblical teaching on the end-times, and are trying to argue on the basis of one fragment of it. That is why you are a little out of your depth.

I say again, you cannot leave the great tribulation out of the picture.

originally posted by: DISRAELI
a reply to: MidnightHawk
You haven't looked at the end of Daniel ch11, leading into ch12, where the prophecy gets into the final battle between God and the persecutor, after which the faithful live eternally with their God. In other words, this is about the Return of Christ ending the great persecution.

I think the problem is that you are not familiar with the full range of Biblical teaching on the end-times, and are trying to argue on the basis of one fragment of it. That is why you are a little out of your depth.

I say again, you cannot leaave the great tribulation out of the picture.

Actually I am quite familiar with the prophecies of Daniel 11 and 12. And have studied them actually very thoroughly for decades. Not that I am anyone. What was shown stands on the Bible's merit. Like it was shown in Jesus' own illustration of the weeds, they are separated during the conclusion of the system of things and then thrown into fire, this great tribulation when Christendom, and indeed the entire world-wide empire of false religion will be exposed and turned upon by their former paramours, the rulers of the world, and utterly destroyed. When they will cry out "Lord, Lord!" And say they foretold and performed many powerful works in Jesus'* name, but he will then reply to them, "Get away from me you workers of lawlessness! I never knew you." And that is where the weeping and the gnashing of their teeth will be.

a reply to: MidnightHawk
The great tribulation is the time when the enemies of God are conducting a wholescale persecution of the faithful believers in God, and I still don't see that in your picture.
You are still, as in the OP, going straight from "apostacy" to "Return of Christ" without any persecution of the faithful community. Why are your leaders ignoring this teaching?

a reply to: DISRAELI

I have no leaders aside from Christ. And I think you are misreading, or having a bad time comprehending the OP. None of what you stated is true about it.

I am confused. You are using the words written in a book by a church to say that the leaders of that church are bad? How does that work?

originally posted by: MidnightHawk
I have no leaders aside from Christ.

Come off it, sunshine. Pull the other leg, it's got bells on.
You are a Jehovah's Witness, are you not? Even the setting up of "Christendom" as the great enemy gives you away.
How much are Jehovah's Witnesses encouraged to depart from the teaching which has been provided for them?

How much are your own "clergy" leading you astray?
Would you like me to show you how the elements of the end-times that you are not taught about could lure you into working for the Beast, when he initiates the great persecution, which you are not being taught to expect?