On this article, we will identify who is man of sin as stated by Apostle Paul in II Thessalonians 2:3-4:
3 Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition,
4 who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshipped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. (NKJV)
Short Review of the Past Articles
We learned from the previous articles that the Beast mentioned in the book of Revelation does not only have the three identifying marks like:
- two horns (read my article, The Second Beast, The False Prophet)
- like the lamb (read my article, The Second Beast, The False Prophet)
- speaks like the dragon (read my article, The Second Beast, The False Prophet)
The Beast also
- gave the people the mark on their right hand or on the forehead (read my article, The Followers of the False Prophets)
- has the number 666. (Read my article, The Beast and his number 666)
And these identifying marks of the Beast or the False Prophet are all found in the Pope of the Catholic Church.
The number of Man
However, another visitor of our blog argued that the number 666 is the number of the man not of the office. According to him, Pope is an office not the particular man, so it’s not the Pope that is referred to by the book of Revelation as the Beast that has a number 666.
Well, it is true that the number 666 is the number of man and I agree with that because it was really written as stated:
18 Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man: His number is 666. (Revelation 13:18, NKJV)
The number 666 which is the number of the name of the Beast is also the number of a man.
17 and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
18 Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man: His number is 666. (Revelation 13:17-18, NKJV)
The Man of Sin
But the question is: who is this man who has the number 666?
Actually, this man is the one referred to by the Apostle Paul as the Man of Sin:
3 Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition,
4 who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshipped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. (II Thessalonians 2:3-4, NKJV)
Again, Apostle Paul did not mention the name of that man, but he gave us the identifying marks for us to identify who is this man who is the Man of Sin.
The identifying marks are:
- Man of Sin.
- Exalt himself above all
- He sits as God in the temple of God
- Showing himself that he is God
We all know that sin is the transgression of law, as taught by Apostle John:
4 Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law. (I John 3:4, KJV)
Since, it is said that that man is the Man of Sin. So, it is also true that that man committed sins. And did you know that there is a law of God that if you disobeyed it, you are already exalting yourself above all, and showing yourself as if you are God? Well, this law states:
9 “Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. (Matthew 23:9, NKJV)
According to Christ, we should not call anyone on earth our Father. Why? Because according to Christ, we only have one Father who is in heaven.
Is calling our father in flesh bound by the said law? No, because there is also another law that tells us to honor our father and mother as stated:
4 “For God commanded, saying ‘Honor your father and your mother’ and ‘He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.’ (Matthew 15:4, NKJV)
In other words, the only forbidden thing is calling anyone here on earth as Father similar to the fatherhood of God.
So, what kind of father is God? In the book of Ezekiel, we could read this:
4 “Behold, all souls are Mine;
The soul of the father
As well as the soul of the son is Mine;
The soul who sins shall die. (Ezekiel 18:4, NKJV)
It was stated that all souls are of God. In other words, God is the father of all souls.
Therefore, the Man of Sin exalts himself above all, and showing himself as if he is God by claiming that He is the Father of all Souls.
The Pope is the Man of Sin
And just like what I mentioned already, we already identified who the beast is. The beast (second beast) mentioned in the book of Revelation is the Pope because the identifying marks of the Beast are all found in the Pope, like:
- two horns (read my article, The Second Beast, The False Prophet)
- like the lamb (read my article, The Second Beast, The False Prophet)
- speaks like the dragon (read my article, The Second Beast, The False Prophet)
- he gave the people the mark on their right hand or on the forehead (read my article, The Followers of the False Prophets)
- His name is equivalent to 666, The Beast and his number 666.
Now, let us again examine if the Pope is the Man of Sin because the Beast is also the Man of Sin. So, since the identifying mark of the Man of Sin is his claim that he is the “father of souls”, then let us ask, is it true that the Pope claims to be the father of all souls?
In the book entitled, “Iglesia Ni Cristo”, written by Juan Trinidad, a Jesuit Priest, in page 12, we could read this:
At ang Santo Papa (Ama) ay ang pinakamataas na ama ng ating kaluluwa dito sa lupa dahil sa siya ang kahalili ng ating Panginoon.
At dahil sa ang mga saserdote ang nagbibigay sa atin ng buhay ng ating kaluluwa, sa pamamagitan ng pangangasiwa sa mga sacramento, sila man ay tinatawag na ‘ama ng ating kaluluwa’.
(And the Holy Pope (Father) is the highest father of our souls here in earth because he is the vicar of our Lord.
And because the priests give life to our souls by administering the sacraments, they are also called ‘father of our souls’.)
Our question is: Is the pope exalting himself above all and showing himself as if he is God by claiming that he is the ‘Father of all souls”? The answer according to the Jesuit Priest, Juan Trinidad, is “YES”.
The pope claims that he is the Holy Father. He claims to be the Father of the souls. He is claiming the titles that should not be called to anyone here on earth. He is claiming the titles of God in Heaven.
And one more thing: The other identifying mark of the “Man of sin” is that he sits in the temple of God. And this identifying mark is also true to the Pope of the Roman Catholic Church.
So, we are sure now that the Pope is really the “Man of Sin” who has the number 666.