iW^}^ 
 
 # LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 
 
 
 I UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. J 
 
THE 
 
 Mystery of Iniquity 
 
 OR, 
 
 ROMANISM NOT CHRISTIANITY. 
 
 BY 
 
 EEV. JESSE S. GILBEET, A. M., 
 
 Of the Newark M, K Conference. 
 
 NEWARK, N J,: 
 
 WARD & TICHENOR, PRINTERS AND PUBLISHERS. 
 
 1872. 
 
The LiBRjiRr 
 OP Congress 
 
 WlSBWOTOU 
 
 
 Entered according to Act of Congress in the year 1871, 
 
 By WARD & TICHENOR, 
 
 In the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D. C. 
 
OOI^^TEE"TS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Preface, ...... 5 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 The Issue Stated, .... 9 
 
 CHAPTER H. 
 
 A Glance at the Past, . . . .18 
 
 CHAPTER in. 
 Shall the Bible be our Guide ? . . 31 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 How HAS Rome Treated the Bible ? . .43 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 The Test Applied, . . . .56 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 The Great Usurper, . . . .75 
 
4 CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 The Mass, . . ... 95 
 
 CHAPTER Vm. 
 Confession, . . . .103 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 Purgatory, . . . . . 115 
 
 CHAPTER X, 
 
 To Whom shall we Pray ? . . ,128 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 Celibacy, . . . . . 147 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 The Convent System, . . . .158 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 Minor Follies, . . , . . 171 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 Drunk with Blood, .... 193 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 Rome in Prophecy, .... 205 
 
 CHAPTER XVL 
 The Peril of the Hour, .... 227 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 ^ I ^HE author of the present treatise is well aware 
 
 that much has already been written and printed on 
 the subject of Eomanism. Ever since the memor- 
 able day when Luther nailed his celebrated theses 
 to the door of the Wittenberg Cathedral, busy pens 
 have been at work exposing the folly of Papal doc- 
 trine and Papal practice. Much that has been 
 written has, however, gone out of print and become 
 obsolete, because it no longer bears on the existing 
 state of the controversy. The spirit of Eome has 
 never been changed, but her mode of operation, in 
 this country at least, has been greatly modified 
 within the past ten years. Waning in the old 
 world, the idea has been conceived that the Papal 
 
-6 PREFACE. 
 
 throne may some day be erected on the ruins of the 
 American Eepublic. To carry out this bold plan 
 no expense will be deemed too great, and no toil too 
 severe. Our public school system must be destroyed, 
 our rights of person and property invested, our halls 
 of legislation and courts of justice brought under 
 the control of Eomish influence, one citadel of our 
 liberties after another taken and destroyed, until we 
 are brought under the complete dominion of Eome, 
 and are changed from a nation of inteUigent free 
 men to a nation of blind and helpless Papal slaves. 
 This new aspect of things renders it necessary 
 that we have the advantage of fresh and additional 
 light. It must be shown that the spirit of Eome is 
 still the same, that she is ever the enemy of civil and 
 religious liberty, and that, under a smiling exterior 
 and fair promises, she conceals dark and- deep de- 
 signs. Much that has been written on the subject 
 of Eomanism within the past twenty-five years is 
 either too learned and elaborate for general circula- 
 tion, or else too abusive and sensational to gain 
 
PREFACE. 7 
 
 general credence. The author humbly hopes that 
 he has met a real want of the times. The present 
 work is not designed to be an exhaustive treatment 
 of the subject^ but simply to furnish a brief manual 
 of the past history and present status of the Eoman- 
 istic controversy. Great pains have been taken to 
 secure absolute accuracy of statement, and to do 
 justice in every case to those who maintain opposite 
 views. How well the proposed object has been ac- 
 complished must be left to the reader to determine. 
 Trusting that some good may be wrought by the 
 work now offered to the public, praying for the 
 divine blessing on those still kept in the darkness of 
 Eomanism, and looking earnestly forward to the 
 time when the man of sin shall be destroyed and 
 Jesus reign supreme over the nations of the earth, 
 the author commits this, the result of much toil and 
 study, to the thinking men and women of the land. 
 
 Verona, N. J. J. 8. G, 
 
CHAPTER I. 
 
 THE ISSUE STATED. 
 
 " We do not look on the Fopish sect as a religion, hut rather as a 
 hierarchical tyranny under a cloak of religion, clothed with the spoils 
 of the civil power, which it has usurped to itself, contrary to our 
 Saviour's own doctrine.^^ — MiLTON. 
 
 nriHERE are elements of devotion in the char- 
 acter of man, so deep-seated and universal, 
 that some form of religion is rendered impera- 
 tive. A sort of intuitive belief in the existence 
 of a Supreme Being and a future state, impels 
 all men to acts of adoration. Travelers have 
 met with tribes and races, existing in a fearful 
 state of physical and moral degradation : but 
 none have been found without some form of 
 religious belief and some form of worship. The 
 belief is often vague and absurd, the form of 
 worship low and revolting : but still the fact 
 
lO THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY. 
 
 remains, that men are everywhere instinctively 
 impelled to acts of devotion. The stars of 
 heaven, the beasts of the earth, and the fruits of 
 the field, have all been the objects of human 
 adoration. " In Judah was God known : his 
 name was great in Israel :'^ but the Persian, 
 ignorant of the true God, bowed before the 
 setting sun, while the Egyptians gravely adored 
 cats and cows, and the streets of Athens were 
 filled with '< carved divinities.'' 
 
 In addition to this general belief in the ex- 
 istence of a Supreme Being and a future state, 
 there is an almost universal conviction of sin, 
 leading men to oflPer sacrifice and to look in some 
 way for salvation. Hence in all ages, animal 
 sacrifice has been common among the heathen, 
 and for four thousand years was ofiered by a 
 portion of the human family by Divine direction. 
 If then, we are a fallen, sinful race, how impor- 
 tant that we seek the Divine favor in the divinely 
 appointed way ? A mistake here may be fatal. 
 Who dare assert that in religion, it matters not 
 what a man believes, so long as he is sincere ? 
 
THE ISSUE STATED. I I 
 
 It is not SO in other matters. If we take poison, 
 deeming it to be food, our sincerity and igno- 
 rance will not save us from the natural conse- 
 quences of our folly. In a hundred matters, 
 *' there is a way which seemeth right unto a man, 
 but the end thereof are the ways of death.'' 
 The question of what is right and wrong in 
 religious belief, becomes important and pressing, 
 as the interests and value of the soul rise 
 superior to the interests and value of the body. 
 If all men were agreed as to the right method of 
 regaining the Divine favor and image, it would 
 nevertheless be our duty seriously to ponder 
 whether mankind had found the path of truth : 
 but when we remember that the world is divided 
 in these things, that men profess opposite and 
 exclusive creeds, how important and solemn 
 becomes the question, " What is truth T^ The 
 population of the world at the present time 
 may be estimated at 1,250,000,000, and the 
 religious condition of the world may be repre- 
 sented in round numbers as follows: Idolaters, 
 737,500,000; Christians, 328,980,000; Moham- 
 
12 THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY. 
 
 medans, 177,500,000; Jews, 6,020,000; Mor- 
 mons, 200,000. 
 
 By " Christians,'' we mean those who profess to 
 derive their doctrines from, and to be followers 
 of Christ. Those that have been classified under 
 the general name of Christians do not, however, 
 all agree either in practice or in doctrine. 
 Under this term have been included (improperly, 
 we hope to show,) those who follow the faith of 
 Rome. These number about 170,000,000, re- 
 gard the Pope as their sole head and infallible 
 guide, while all others are denounced as vile 
 heretics, and without reserve given over to end. 
 less damnation. The creed to which all bishops, 
 ecclesiastics and teachers in the Romish Church, 
 must give public assent, calls itself »' This true 
 catholic faith, out of which none can be saved." 
 Within the past few years fearful anathemas 
 have been fulminated from the Papal throne, 
 against all who dare to do their own thinking. 
 
 One of the predecessors of the present Pope, 
 in a celebrated bull, has said, <' We declare and 
 determine it a principle absolutely necessary to 
 
THE ISSUE STATED. I 3 
 
 salvation that all human beings are subject to the 
 Pope." If the high claims of this arrogant 
 Church are true, all Protestants will surely be 
 forever damned. Luther, Calvin, Wesley, White- 
 field, Locke, Newton, Leighton, Howard are, 
 beyond all question, in hell : while Newman 
 Hall, Bishop Simpson, Dr. McCosh, and thous- 
 ands of devoted men, who are seeking to serve 
 God and to do good, must be on the W£ij. Now, 
 the Church of Rome, claiming for itself the name 
 '* Catholic,'' holding that beyond its pale there 
 can be no possibility of salvation, looking upon 
 all other religious bodies as ^' pestilent sects," 
 that are to be denounced and destroyed, chal- 
 lenges the investigation of all thinking men. To 
 investigate these claims is the object of the 
 present treatise. If we find them sustained, we 
 must lose no time in hiding ourselves under the 
 protecting shadow of Rome ; but if we find them 
 absurb and false, no contempt will be too severe 
 for the Church that has dared to put them forth. 
 We shall endeavor to carry on our investigation, 
 in a Christian and candid spirit. We propose to 
 
14 THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY. 
 
 show that Romanism is in no sense Christianity, 
 that it is a foreign hostile power, the unfailing 
 foe of all true religion, whose rise, progress, 
 persecutions, and final overthrow have all been 
 portrayed in Holy Writ. 
 
 We propose to show that the doctrines and 
 spirit of Romanism are in direct conflict with 
 the doctrines and spirit of the Bible, that its 
 history is dark and blood-stained, that it is the 
 ** Man of Sin^^ to be " destroyed," Babylon to be 
 " thrown down,'' and the '' Great Whore'' to be 
 "judged." We are well aware, that we shall 
 not meet the views of that large class of 
 persons, who look on Romanism as one form 
 of Christianity among many others, or who, 
 having given little or no attention to the subject, 
 regard all denunciations of Popery as unchristian, 
 because " there is good in all religions," and 
 ^* good and bad in all churches." If these good- 
 natured people could only get a peep " behind 
 the scenes," and behold the internal workings 
 and morals of Romanism, they would soon find 
 some more worthy object on which to bestow 
 
THE ISSUE STATED. 1 5 
 
 their overflowing charity. There is another class 
 that will take exception to the views set forth in 
 this book. I mean that class of whom Father 
 Morrell and Dr. Ewer constitute the fitting repre- 
 sentatives. These men are professedly Protes- 
 tant, yet harp on the " Failure of Protestantism/' 
 and as far as they dare, mimic the ways and 
 forms of Romanism. Every now and then some 
 of them muster up courage to identify them- 
 selves with the church that they have so long 
 admired, and all lovers of outspoken truth re- 
 joice that another, like Judas Iscariot, has gone 
 ** to his own place.^' While, however, we hold 
 and maintain this view of the Roman Catholic 
 Church, we would not imitate her bigotry and 
 narrow-mindedness. Let it be remembered that 
 in these high and exclusive claims, the Church of 
 Rome stands alone, like Milton's Satan, " By 
 sin exalted to so high pre-eminence. '^ No other 
 religious body claims to be the janitor of Heaven. 
 The charity that they withhold from us, we 
 extend to them, for while we cannot fail to per- 
 ceive that the great mass of Romanists are 
 
1 6 THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY. 
 
 living in sin and without Christ, we cannot 
 forget that Fenelon, Pascal, and Masillon, were 
 in communion with the Church of Rome. These 
 were saints, not because they were Roman Cath- 
 olics, but in spite of the fact. They were like 
 those flowers that grow up from the bosom of a 
 dead and decaying tree. The writer of this 
 book has met with some members of the Romish 
 Church, whom he had every reason to believe 
 were sincere Christians. But all this proves 
 nothing in favor of Romanism. A man may be 
 saved while a member of the Church of Rome, in 
 the same manner and for the same reason, that a 
 heathen living up to the light of reason and con- 
 science will be saved. *' God is no respecter of 
 persons : but in every nation, he that feareth Him 
 and worketh righteousness, is accepted with Him.'^ 
 We shall use the word '* Church^' when speaking 
 of Popery, only by way of accommodation. We 
 do not believe that it is a church, any more than 
 Mormonism or Mohammedanism can be called a 
 church. It is more of a political than it is an 
 ecclesiastical body. But as it claims to consti- 
 
THE ISSUE STATED. 1 7 
 
 tute a church, and is usually called the Koman 
 Catholic Church, we will sometimes use the word 
 by way of convenience. We cannot, however, 
 consent to use the word Catholic, unless accom- 
 panied by some qualifying term, for this would 
 concede the entire argument. We believe in, 
 and belong to the true Catholic or Universal 
 church. This church is composed of all who 
 love and serve the Lord Jesus in sincerity and 
 truth, no matter by what name they are called, 
 or in what part of the world they reside. The 
 matter then is fairly before us. The Church of 
 Rome claims to be the only true church, and 
 consigns to eternal damnation all who refuse to 
 bow at her altars. This claim we propose to in- 
 vestigate in the light of Scripture, reason and 
 history, but with the spirit of Christian fairness 
 and candor, without fear and without prejudice. 
 May both reader and writer be guided into a 
 knowledge of the truth. 
 
CHAPTER 11. 
 
 A GLANCE AT THE PAST. 
 
 " Ask for the old paths. ''^ — Jer. vi., 16. 
 
 "'VJ'EARLY every one knows that the Church of 
 Rome boasts of its antiquity, and in a tri- 
 umphant tone, asks us, " Where the Protestant 
 religion was before Luther ?^^ To answer this 
 question will be the object of the present chapter. 
 Let it be remarked, however, that the argument 
 drawn from antiquity does not carry much weight 
 with it, after all. Judaism is older than Roman- 
 ism, and Heathenism older than either. We will, 
 however, examine the claims of antiquity set up 
 by Romanism, and see how well they are sus- 
 tained by Scripture and history. To be of any 
 value, the antiquity of the Church of Rome must 
 be equal to that of the New Testament, else it 
 cannot be the Church of Christ and his Apostles. 
 
A GLANCE AT THE PAST. IQ 
 
 That a society of Christians existed in the City 
 of Home, in the time of Paul, no one will deny. 
 But did they set up the same claims, hold to the 
 same doctrines and practices, that are now main- 
 tained by the Papacy. If they did not, if they 
 maintained views and practices the very opposite, 
 then the Church now having its central power at 
 Rome, is not the same with the small band of 
 believers gathered there in the time of Paul, 
 any more than midnight is one with noonday. 
 We know what the Church of Rome teaches 
 at the present time — we find it in her catechisms, 
 prayer-books, in the writings of her leading men, 
 in the canons and decrees of the Council of 
 Trent. Perhaps it would be best, just at this 
 point, to present a brief summary of her teach- 
 ing, that we may have it for reference in the 
 future : She believes, in common with us, in God 
 the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy 
 Ghost; in the incarnation-— death and resurrec- 
 tion of Jesus Christ, the final judgment, and a 
 future state of reward and punishment. But on 
 this foundation of truth, a vast superstructure of 
 
20 THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY. 
 
 false doctrine and absurd practice has been 
 erected. Here is a summary of Papal belief, as 
 concocted by the Council of Trent, and issued in 
 the form of a bull in December, 1564, (alas, for 
 the boasted antiquity,) by Pope Pius IV. This 
 is the creed before alluded to, to which all bish- 
 ops, ecclesiastics and teachers in the Church of 
 Rome must give public assent : " I most firmly 
 admit and embrace apostolic and ecclesiastical 
 traditions, and all other constitutions and obser- 
 vances of the same Church; I also admit the 
 sacred Scriptures according to the sense which 
 the holy mother Church has held and does hold, 
 to whom it belongs to judge, of the true sense 
 and interpretation of the Holy Scriptures ; nor 
 will 1 ever take or interpret them otherwise 
 than according to the unanimous consent of the 
 fathers. I profess, also, that there are truly and 
 properly seven sacraments of the new law, insti- 
 tuted by Jesus Christ our Lord, and for the sal- 
 vation of mankind, though all are not necessary 
 for every one, namely : baptism, confirmation, 
 eucharist, penance, extreme unction, orders, and 
 
A GLANCE AT THE PAST. 21 
 
 matrimony, and that they confer grace; and of 
 these, baptism, confirmation and order cannot be 
 reiterated without sacrilege. I do also receive 
 and admit the ceremonies of the Catholic Church, 
 received and approved in the administration of 
 all the above said sacraments. 1 receive and 
 -embrace all and every one of the things which 
 have been defined and declared in the holy 
 Council of Trent concerning sin and justification. 
 1 profess, likewise, that in the mass, is offered to 
 God a true, proper and propitiatory sacrifice for 
 the living and the dead; and that in the most 
 holy sacrament of the eucharist, there is truly, 
 really and substantially, the body and blood, 
 together with the soul and divinity of our Lord 
 Jesus Christ; and that there is made a conver- 
 sion of the whole substance of the bread into the 
 body, and of the whole substance of the wine 
 into the blood, which conversion the Catholic 
 Church calls transubstantiation. I confess, also, 
 that under either kind alone, whole and entire, 
 Christ and a true sacrament is received. I con- 
 stantly hold that there is a purgatory, and that 
 
22 THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY. 
 
 souls detained therein are helped by the suffrages 
 of the faithful. Likewise that the saints reign, 
 ing together with Christ are to be honored and 
 invocated, that they offer prayers to God for us, 
 and that their relics are to be venerated. I 
 most firmly assert that the images of Christ, and 
 of the mother of God ever virgin, and also of 
 the other saints, are to be had and retained, and 
 that due honor and veneration are to be given 
 to them. I also afiBrm that the power of indul- 
 gences was left by Christ in the Church, and that 
 the use of them is most wholesome to Christian 
 people. I acknowledge the holy catholic and 
 apostolic Roman Church, the mother and mistress 
 of all churches ; and I promise and swear true 
 obedience to the Roman bishop, the successor of 
 St. Peter, prince of the Apostles and vicar of 
 Jesus Christ. I also profess and undoubtedly 
 receive all other things delivered, defined, and 
 declared by the sacred canons and general coun- 
 cils, and particularly by the holy Council of 
 Trent ; and likewise, 1 also condemn, reject and 
 anathematize all things contrary thereto, and all 
 
A GLANCE AT THE PAST. 23 
 
 heresies whatsoever condemned, rejected and 
 anathematized by the Church. This true cath- 
 olic faith, out of which none can be saved, which 
 I now freely profess and truly hold, I, A B, 
 promise, vow and swear, most constantly to hold 
 and profess the same, whole and entire, with 
 God^s assistance, to the end of my life ; and to 
 procure, so far as lies in my power, that the 
 same shall be held, taught, and preached by all 
 who are under me, or are entrusted to my care, 
 by virtue of my office, so help me God, and these 
 holy gospels of God, Amen." 
 
 Now we know what are the teachings of 
 Romanism, can we tell what was maintained by 
 the primitive society of believers at Rome ? If 
 we do, we can soon settle the question of anti- 
 quity. Well, if we do not know what they 
 taught, we know what was taught them. 
 
 There was quite a long letter written to them 
 by the Apostle Paul, which has come down to 
 our day. Paul is good authority, (even if Peter 
 was the reigning Pope,) but when it is remem- 
 bered, that both parties admit that this letter 
 
24 THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY. 
 
 was inspired, and that it is a portion of Holy 
 Scripture, its authority as umpire in the case 
 becomes supreme. Well, let us look at it. Do 
 we lind anything in it about extreme unction, 
 penance, indulgences, transubstantiation, the wor- 
 ship of Mary, the adoration of saints and images ? 
 Anything about purgatory, masses for the dead, 
 the pre-eminence of the Roman Church, the su- 
 premacy of St. Peter, confession, or worship in 
 an unknown tongue ? Not a single word from 
 beginning to end. The greatest heretic could 
 have done no worse. Nay more, there are some 
 things in this inspired letter that must have a 
 curious sound to Roman Catholic ears. 1 wonder 
 that they have never suspected Paul of being a 
 Protestant. No doubt but that they would, had 
 he lived and written a few centuries later, but in 
 PauFs time, there was nothing in the Church at 
 Rome, to protest against. He could say, " 1 
 thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, 
 that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole 
 world.'' Should any one write such a letter at 
 the present day to the people in Rome, he would 
 
A GLANCE AT THE PAST. 25 
 
 very soon be condemned as a vile heretic. 
 Surely times have changed. But let us look a 
 little further into this epistle. It will amply 
 repay examination. In the first verse of the 5th 
 chapter, he saySj " Therefore being justified by 
 faith^ we have peace with God, through our Lord 
 Jesus Christy Why, Luther himself could not 
 lay any more stress on faith. If we are justified 
 by faith, what becomes of purgatory, penance 
 and indulgences ? In the 33d and 34th verses of 
 the 8th chapter, he says again : '* Who shall lay 
 anything to the charge of God's elect~? It is Grod 
 that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth ? 
 It is Christ that died, yea, rather, that is risen 
 again, who is ever at the right hand of God, who 
 also maketh intercession for us.'' This looks as 
 though we might go right up to the throne of 
 God, without having to stop in purgatory, and 
 there endure fire of purification. Christ is said 
 to make " intercession for us," but what has 
 become of Mary and all the saints ? ** Paul, thou 
 art beside thyself." 
 
 In chapter 10th, verse 13th, he says : " For 
 
26 THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY. 
 
 whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord 
 shall be saved." This is too bad. What is to 
 become of the poor priests, with their confession 
 boxes, indulgences, and masses for the dead ? 
 The poor old Pope has just been hurling thunder- 
 bolts of wrath against all not in communion with 
 the '* Apostolic See,'' and here Paul tells us that 
 if we " call on the name of the Lord'' we *' shall 
 be saved." Other passages might be adduced, 
 showing how little Paul knew of the dogmas and 
 doings of Popery. Let such declarations as 
 these be compared with the history and practices 
 of Romanism. ^^ Him that is weak in the faith, 
 receive ye." *' For the Kingdom of God is not 
 meat and drink, but righteousness, and peace, 
 and joy in the Holy G-host." Beside the letter 
 to the Romans, Paul wrote a number of others, 
 as also did Peter and John. These letters both 
 Roman Catholics and Protestants believe to be 
 inspired, and place in the Canon of Scripture. 
 But they all run like the Epistle to the Romans. 
 Nothing about purgatory, mass, penance, relics, 
 prayers to saints. Nothing is said of the Church 
 
A GLANCE AT THE PAST. QT] 
 
 at Rome as being superior in power or dignity 
 to the Church at Corinth, Ephesus or Jerusalem. 
 Peter lays no claim to any superiority over his 
 brethren, calls himself an " elder," and permits 
 Paul to withstand him to the face. 
 
 Now we are prepared to retort, and to ask 
 Romanists where their religion was when Paul, 
 Peter, James and John wrote their letters to the 
 several churches. The Roman Catholic faith is 
 old, we admit, but then it is not old enough. If 
 we take a journey down the centuries, in order 
 to get at the true faith, we will not stop short of 
 Christ and his apostles. We are determined not 
 to lose our way among the councils and fathers : 
 but to pursue our inquiries until we reach the 
 fountain head. Now, we are prepared to answer 
 the question, " Where was the Protestant religion 
 before Luther?" We reply, where it always 
 was, still is, and ever will be : in the Bible. 
 The Protestant religion is nothing new. It is 
 simply the religion of the Bible, nothing more 
 and nothing less. We ask the Romanists where 
 their religion is, and what it is, and we are 
 
28 THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY. 
 
 pointed to Papal bulls, to decrees of Councils,, 
 and to the sayings of the fathers. Ask us the 
 same question, and we point to the Bible. From 
 it we derive our doctrines and morals. History 
 informs us how the Papal corruption was brought 
 about. We can tell when the fiction of purga- 
 tory was invented, when that of the mass, and so 
 on all through the chapter of shameful and 
 shameless impositions. Not only can we point 
 to the New Testament as the foundation of our 
 faith and practice, but we have ample proof of 
 an external kind, of the long continued, uninter- 
 rupted, and pure existence of our faith on earth. 
 Dr. Breckinridge has well put this point : " The 
 fact is, if the Roman Catholic Church had never 
 existed in the world, we would have abuniJantly 
 more proof of the pure succession of thie Church 
 of God on earth, than we have now. Because 
 the chief objects of her existence have been to 
 banish the Scriptures, to corrupt the church, to 
 degrade the human race, to kill the saints of 
 God, and to cover the earth with palpable dark- 
 ness. How vast and how glorious would have 
 
A GLANCE AT THE PAST. 29 
 
 been the living monuments to God, erected in 
 whole nations which that church has butchered — 
 that would now stand forth to bless our eyes, if 
 she had never existed ! Alas ! our hearts sink 
 within us when we contemplate the evil she has 
 done, and dwell on the probable condition of 
 the human race, at this moment, but for the dire 
 influence of the Latin Church. Yet the very- 
 breadth of her errors and crimes afibrds us 
 evidence of the continued existence of the truth, 
 in the hearts and lives of those who resisted her 
 sway, or died beneath her strokes. The African 
 churches of the early ages, the various Asiatic 
 churches, especially the Nestorians, the Greek 
 church, the Caldees in Ireland, the Waldenses 
 in the South of Europe, the Moravians and 
 Bohemians in the east of Europe, the writings of 
 the early Greek and Latin fathers, the army of 
 martyrs, have handed down to us evidence of 
 the constant existence of those who did not bow 
 the knee to Baal/' — Papism in the United States^ 
 page 32. 
 
 God has always had a people to serve Him. 
 
30 THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY. 
 
 Truth has never been quite banished from the 
 earth. Of this succession we are proud. We 
 care but little for that boasted chain over which 
 Romanists and High-Churchmen make so great 
 an ado, every link in which is covered with rust 
 and blood : but we do glory in the succession ot 
 faithful witnesses for the truth. Many a long 
 century has the true church abode in the wilder- 
 ness, but she has never yet become extinct. She 
 has lived all through the dark and stormy past, 
 is advancing from one victory to another, and 
 shall yet become the "joys of the whole earth." 
 Popery has burned men and women and bibles, 
 but the eternal truth of God, cannot be burned 
 with iSre, bound by chains, or drowned in flood. 
 
 " No : marble and recording brass decay, 
 And, like the graver's memory, pass away : 
 The works of man inherit, as is just, 
 Their author's frailty, and return to dust : 
 But truth divine forever stands secure. 
 Its head as guarded as its base is sure ; 
 Fixed in the rolling flood of endless years, 
 The pillar of the eternal truth appears. 
 The raving storm and dashing wave defies, 
 Built by that Architect who built the skies." 
 
OHXPTER III. 
 
 SHALL THE BIBLE BE OUR aUDDE? 
 
 " To the law and to the testimony T — IsAiAH viii. 20. 
 " Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my pathP — 
 Psalm cxix. 105. 
 
 rpHB great question between Eoman Catholics 
 and Protestants is simply this : " Is the 
 Bible sufficient as a rule of faith, and guide to 
 salvation ? " We say that it is. They say that 
 it is not. Prove that the Bible alone is suf- 
 ficient ; that it is possible for us to read, study 
 and understand the Bible, without the aid of 
 popes, fathers or councils, and a complete victory 
 is soon secured. No Eoman Catholic has ever 
 dared to defend the doctrines and rites of his 
 church by a simple appeal to the pure word of 
 God. Smarius in his '^ Points of Controversy,'' 
 (a Eoman Catholic work recently published) 
 starts off with a chapter entitled, " The Bible 
 
32 THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY. 
 
 not the only Rule of Faith and Practice/^ Lest 
 some may think that our opponents are misrepre- 
 sented, I will quote from, a standard Roman 
 Catholic work — Milner's ^' End of Controversy : " 
 
 *' The Catholic rule of faith, as I stated before, 
 is not merely the written word of God, but the 
 whole word of God, both written and unwritten; 
 in other words, Scripture and tradition, and these 
 expounded and explained by the Catholic Church. 
 This implies that we have a twofold rule, or law, 
 and that we have an interpreter or judge to 
 explain it, and to decide upon it in all doubtful 
 points/^ — End of' Controversy, page 80. 
 
 The italics are those of the author quoted. 
 There is a very short way by which to decide 
 the question now fairly before us. The Bible is 
 inspired. In other words, God is its author. 
 Men wrote it: but God guided the pen and kept 
 them from all error. This is admitted by both 
 parties. Now what does the Bible say of itself? 
 Does it claim to be man's only infallible and all 
 sufficient guide? If it does, the matter is set- 
 tled. In the 2d epistle to Timothy, 3d chapter 
 
SHALL THE BIBLE BE OUR GUIDE? 33 
 
 and 15th verse, Paul says: *'And that from a 
 child thou hast known the Holy Scriptures which 
 are able to make thee wise unto salvation." 
 This has a plain, straight-forward look. The 
 Holy Scriptures are able to make a child " wise 
 unto salvation/' Is not that wise enough ? Can 
 Bishop Bailey or even Archbishop McCloskey do 
 any better with the help of tradition and '^ Holy 
 Mother Church ? '' But hold on, we are too fast. 
 According to Dr. Milner, we have no right to 
 discuss the question at all. On the 103d page of 
 his most remarkable book, he has the following 
 astonishing passage : 
 
 ** Before I enter on the discussion of any part 
 of Scripture with you or your friends, I am 
 bound, dear sir, in conformity with my rule of 
 faith, as explained by the fathers, and particu- 
 larly by Tertullion, to protest against your or 
 their right to argue from Scripture, and, of 
 course, to deny any need there is of mj replying 
 to any objection which you may draw from it. 
 For I have reminded you that ?io Scripture is of 
 any private interpretation ; and I have proved to 
 
34 THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY. 
 
 you that the whole business of the Scriptures 
 belongs to the Church — she has preserved them, 
 she vouches for them, and she alone, and by the 
 help of tradition, authoritatively explains them. 
 Hence, it is impossible that the real sense of 
 Scripture should ever be against her and her 
 doctrine; and hence, of course, I might quash 
 every objection which you may draw from any 
 passage in it by this short reply, The Church 
 understands the passage differently from, you^ 
 therefore you mistake its meaning.^^ 
 
 Shades of Whately, defend us ! Is not this a 
 perfect gem of fair and conclusive reasoning? 
 I wonder that he ever wrote anything on the 
 subject, when the matter can be settled without 
 the exercise of thouglit or argument. But he 
 gives us the reason : " Nevertheless, as charity 
 beareth all things and never faileth, I will, for 
 the better satisfying of you and your friends, 
 quit my vantage ground for the present, and 
 answer distinctly to every text not yet answered 
 by me, which any of you gentlemen, or which 
 
SHALL THE BIBLE BE OUR GUIDE T 35 
 
 Dr. Porteus himself, has brought against the 
 Catholic method of religion.'' 
 
 The dogmatic manner in which Dr. Milner 
 assumes the very matter in discussion, and then 
 triumphantly talks about leaving his ^' vantage 
 ground/^ leads us to imagine that if he had lived 
 a few centuries ago, he would have employed 
 weapons more to his liking than are logic and 
 Scripture. Rome has often found that fire and 
 sword are no mean allies ; but of this, more anon. 
 
 We will return to our examination of Scripture; 
 nor will we allow Dr. Milner to rule this divine 
 witness out of court. And Scripture, too, shall 
 speak for itself, untrammeled by the sayings of the 
 fathers, or by the decrees of councils. A Chris- 
 tian church was founded by St. Paul in the city 
 of Berea. We read that when the apostles 
 preached to them, not satisfied even with their 
 testimony, they ^' searched the Scriptures daily 
 whether these things were so.'^ Strange to 
 relate, this conduct on their part was com- 
 mended ; and they were pronounced " more 
 noble '' than the unthinking inhabitants of Thes- 
 
36 THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY. 
 
 salonica. The preaching of the apostles might be 
 investigated in the light of Scripture; but now 
 we must receive with unquestioning faith the 
 teaching of every little upstart of a priest, 
 though he be too ignorant to read correctly a 
 single line of the original Greek or Hebrew. 
 St. Luke, in his preface to the book which bears 
 his name, gives us the reason why he wrote : 
 
 " It seemed good to me also, having had per- 
 fect understanding of all things from the very 
 first, to write unto thee in order, most excellent 
 Theophilus, that thou mightest know the cer- 
 tainty of those things wherein thou hast been 
 instructed. '' Ah ! then tradition is not the most 
 reliable thing in the world; and in order to 
 *' know the certainty '' of divine things, we must 
 have recourse to the written word. 
 
 I think that we have pursued this line of thought 
 long enough. Scripture claims to be an infallible 
 guide ; and in no place allows to tradition a share 
 in this high prerogative. Consider what tradi« 
 tion is. Peter and Paul before they die, instruct 
 some of their pupils in matters not mentioned in 
 
SHALL THE BIBLE BE OUR GUIDE? 37 
 
 Scripture, or stated too obscurely to be under- 
 stood. These, before they die, instruct others. 
 These again, tell somebody else : and so the 
 tradition is passed along through eighteen cen- 
 turies of turmoil and conflict. And this is the 
 "unwritten word,'' equal in importance and 
 authority to the Holy Bible itself. Away with 
 such absurd blasphemy. Tradition either merely 
 accords with Scripture or else it must flatly con- 
 tradict it. If it merely accords with Scripture, 
 why is it of such high value ? The same virtue . 
 may be claimed for thousands of worthy Chris- 
 tian teachers. If it contradicts Scripture, it 
 must be of the Devil. But, says another, it in- 
 forms us on those points upon which Scripture is 
 silent. Then it must go beyond Scripture, and 
 what shall we do with those solemn words of the 
 beloved disciple : *' If any man shall add unto 
 these things, God shall add unto him the plagues 
 that are written in this book.'' (Rev. xxii., 18.) 
 But, says another, it does not contradict or go 
 beyond Scripture ; it simply explains Scripture. 
 But is Scripture so obscure that we must take 
 
38 THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY. 
 
 this difiBcult and roundabout way to get at its 
 meaning ? So Roman Catholics say. Indeed, one 
 of their most eminent authors tells us that " The 
 Scripture is not of itself, demonstratively clear in 
 points of first rate importance ; and the divine 
 law, like human laws, without an authorized 
 interpeter, must ever be a source of doubt and 
 contention." 
 
 This simply amounts to saying that tradition 
 is clearer than Scripture. Now if Paul, Peter, 
 James and the other apostles could preach ip a 
 clear and intelligent manner, why in the name of 
 common sense could they not write in a clear and 
 intelligent manner ? Men usually take more care 
 in writing, than they do in speaking. More than 
 this, they wrote by inspiration. I think, then, 
 that we can get along very well without tradi- 
 tion. The Scriptures are able to make us " wise 
 unto salvation." 
 
 One more point must be cleared up before we 
 proceed with our discussion. Who shall interpret 
 the Bible ? The Church of Rome claims to be 
 the sole interpreter of this sacred volume. She 
 
SHALL THE BIBLE BE OUR GUIDE? 39 
 
 must do the world's thinking in this respect. 
 This claim we refuse to recognize. We claim 
 that every man has not only the right to read, 
 but to interpret this Book. In this glorious em- 
 ployment, we may have the aid of God's Holy 
 Spirit. " If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask 
 of God, that giveth to all men liberally, aud up- 
 braideth not." (James i., 5.) Let us see how 
 the rule of the Romish Church will work. A 
 poor sinner reads in the New Testament such 
 gracious invitations as these : *' Come unto me, all 
 ye that labor and are heavy-laden, and I will 
 give you rest." *' And the Spirit and the bride 
 say come. And let him that heareth say 
 come. And let him that is athirst come. And 
 whosoever will, let him take the water of 
 life freely." Now, before he can form any idea 
 as to the meaning of this, he must find out how 
 the Church understands it, how all the Popes, 
 councils and fathers have interpreted it. Then if 
 he finds in all church history, a single dissenting 
 voice, he jnust forever remain in awful uncer^ 
 tainty : for there must be, according to the creed 
 
40 THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY. 
 
 of the Council of Trent, the *^ unanimous consent 
 of the holy fathers.'' Does not this shut us off 
 from ever knowing the will of God ? But, says 
 the Roman Catholic, do you not know that " No 
 prophecy of the Scripture is of any private inter- 
 pretation '' ? This is a correct Scriptural quota- 
 tion, we admit : but let us look at it. You will 
 find it in 2d Peter i., 20. Let us take context 
 and all. " We have also a more sure word of 
 prophecy: whereunto ye do well that ye take 
 heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, 
 until the day dawn, and the day star arise in 
 your hearts : knowing this first, that no prophecy 
 of the Scripture is of any private interpretation. 
 For the prophecy came not in old time by the 
 will of man ; but holy men of God spake as they 
 were moved by the Holy Ghosf 
 
 Notice three things : First, the remarks of the 
 apostle only refer to the prophetic parts of 
 Scripture. Second, we are urged to *' take 
 heed" to (that is, consider,) the subject of 
 prophecy. Third, the reason assigned why it is 
 not of private interpretation, is that it came not 
 
SHALL THE BIBLE BE OUR GUIDE T 4 \ 
 
 by the " will of man/' but from those who were 
 "moved by the Holy Ghost.'' Now it seems 
 strange that because prophecy is inspired, we 
 must therefore be unable to understand it. Now 
 suppose the word rendered interpretation, be 
 translated as Doddridge, McKnight, Nevins, and 
 many other excellent Greek scholars have trans- 
 lated it, invention or impulse : how clear and 
 intelligible becomes the entire passage. '^ Know- 
 ing this first, that no prophecy of the Scripture 
 is of any private invention. For the prophecy 
 came not in old time by the will of man : but 
 holy men of God spake as they were moved by 
 the Holy Ghosf One thing is certain, the 
 apostle does not mean to deny the right of 
 private judgment, or he would not exhort us to 
 ** take heed" to the " more sure word of pro- 
 phecy." Romanists have no other passage of 
 Scripture with which to support their strange 
 views of biblical interpretation. Having but 
 this one, they make a great ado over it, but we 
 think that we have shown the utter fallacy of the 
 conclusions they draw from it. In the present 
 
42 THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY. 
 
 discussion, we shall cling to the Bible. This is 
 the rule of our faith and practice : 
 
 '* Most -wondrous book ! bright candle of the Lord ! 
 Star of eternity, the only star 
 By which the bark of man could navigate 
 The sea of life, and gain the coasts of bliss 
 Securely ; only star which rose on time, 
 And, on its dark and troubled waters, still 
 As generation, drifting slowly by 
 Succeeded generation, threw a ray 
 Of heaven's own light, and to the hills of God, 
 The everlasting hills, pointed the sinner's eye." 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 HOW HAS ROME TREATED THE BIBLE ? 
 
 " Tor I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the 
 prophecy of this hook. If any man shall add unto these things, 
 God shall add unto him the_plagues that are written in this hooh ; 
 And if any man shall take away from the words of the hook of 
 this prophecy^ God shall take away his part out of the hook of life, 
 and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written 
 in this hook.^^ — Key. xxii., 18-19. 
 
 rr^HE Bible is God's great gift of love and 
 mercy to a lost and dying world. It was 
 designed to exist for all time, and to be read 
 by all men. It teaches us how to escape from 
 sin, death and hell. It contains such a rich 
 world of hidden treasure, that centuries of de- 
 vout study have not revealed all its meaning; 
 while, at the same time, the great plan of sal- 
 vation is so clearly revealed, that the most 
 simple need not go estray. Millions have feasted 
 on its heavenly truth, and died with its precious 
 
44 THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY. 
 
 words of promise on their tongues. It has 
 brought comfort to the broken-hearted mourner, 
 peace to the burdened conscience and troubled 
 heart of the poor sinner. Well has one of 
 Israel's sweet singers said : 
 
 " Precious Bible ! what a treasure 
 Does the word of God afford ! 
 An I want for life or pleasure, 
 
 Food and medicine, shield and sword ; 
 Let the world account me poor, 
 Having this I need no more." 
 
 Guilty, false, and cruel must be the system, 
 that will degrade in any way this sacred vol- 
 ume ; strive in any way to shut it out from the 
 hearts and homes of the people. We call, then, 
 in the name of our sin-burdened and suJBfering 
 humanity, the Church of Rome to answer for 
 her treatment of this Divine Book. We charge 
 the Romish Church with having degraded, cor- 
 rupted and mistranslated the Bible. We charge 
 her with the crime of making the Bible a sealed 
 book, by claiming to be its only expositor. 
 With the crime of retarding in every pos- 
 sible way, the circulation and reading of the 
 
HOW HAS ROME TREATED THE BIBLE? 45 
 
 Bible. To sum up the whole in a single sen- 
 tence, we charge the Romish Church with being 
 at all times^ and in every possible way^ the invet- 
 erate enemy of the Holy Bible, Can this charge 
 be sustained? We shall see. It has already 
 been shown that the Roman Catholic Church 
 exalts tradition to an equal footing with Scrip- 
 ture. This has been proved by witnesses 
 taken from the Romish Church itself. It is 
 a well-known fact, and one which no intel- 
 ligent person, whether a Romanist or a Pro- 
 testant, would ever think of denying. Is not 
 this degrading Scripture? If we should make 
 the doggerel of old Mother Goose a text 
 book in our schools and colleges, would it not 
 justly be considered as an insult to the writings 
 of our philosophers and scientists ? 
 
 It has also been shown from Roman Catholic 
 authority that this Church claims to be the only 
 reliable expositor of Scripture. Does not this in 
 effect make it a sealed book? Let Dr. Milner 
 answer. We are happy to refer the reader to 
 
 this treatise, because the work of Milner is a sort 
 5 
 
46 THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY. 
 
 of standard among Roman Catholics as the wri- 
 tings of Calvin are to the Presbyterians, or the 
 writings of Wesley and Watson amoirg Meth- 
 odists. He says : " The Churck does not dictate 
 an exposition of the whole Bible, because she has 
 no tradition concerning a very great proportion of 
 itJ^ — End of Controversy, page 109. 
 
 Well, things have come to a pretty pass, 
 indeed. We dare not, as we value our eternal 
 interest, interpret a single passage of Scripture 
 for ourselves. We must trust all to the infallible 
 church. But this infallible church itself does not 
 know anything about ^^a very great proportions^ of 
 the Bible. I have just been looking again at the 
 work of Dr. Milner. I thought that I must have 
 made a mistake, the announcement is so astonish- 
 ing. But no, there it is in black and white, on 
 the 109th page of his book. Any one may get 
 and read it. " A very great proportion'' of the 
 Bible can never be understood. Why was it 
 written? Let the infallible church reply. But 
 why may we not understand it ? Did not God 
 intend that we should understand it ? We are 
 
HOW HAS ROME TREATED THE BIBLE ? 47 
 
 told that all Scripture is profitable : but what 
 good can it do us, if it is impossible for us to 
 understand it ? Are we unable to secure the aid 
 of the Divine Spirit : and is this the reason why 
 we may not understand it? No, for God de- 
 clares himself ever willing to bestow this price- 
 less gift. What then is the reason ? Alas, we 
 have no tradition. Who is willing to receive 
 such absurd and blasphemous teaching ? Who is 
 willing to follow a guide so blind and intolerant ? 
 To the Roman Catholic the Bible must ever 
 remain a sealed book. He dare not interpret 
 the simplest passage, until he has secured the 
 " unanimous consent of the holy fathers.'' Those 
 who know much about the teachings of the holy 
 fathers, must laugh at the idea of getting their 
 *' unanimous consent.'' But we charged the 
 Church of Rome with having corrupted the 
 Bible. Let us look at this for a short time. In 
 many large family Bibles, between the Old and 
 New Testaments, there are placed fourteen vol- 
 umes called the Apocrypha. The word apocry- 
 pha is derived from the Greek Apokrapha, and 
 
48 THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY. 
 
 means hidden, mysterious. There is no reason 
 why these books should be bound together with 
 the Old and New Testament. Any one can see 
 that they form no part of Scripture. They do 
 not claim to be inspired. They are not found in 
 any catalogue of canonical writings made during 
 the first four centuries after Christ. The Jewish 
 Church never received them as a part of the 
 Canon. Christ never quoted them, neither did 
 any of the apostles. Those books contain state- 
 ments at variance with history, self-contradictory, 
 and opposed to the doctrines and precepts of 
 Scripture. These books the Roman Catholic 
 Church has exalted to a place in the sacred 
 Canon. This was done by the Council of Trent 
 in the 16th century. {The next time a Romanist 
 asks me where my religion was before Luther^ I 
 am going to ask him^ where his faith was before 
 the Council of Trent.) 
 
 Is not this a gross corruption of Scripture ? 
 Why, the Bible is a very small part of the rule 
 of faith and practice, adopted by the Church of 
 Rome. By the time we get through with tradition. 
 
HOW HAS ROME TREATED THE BIBLE? 49 
 
 •» 
 
 the fathers and the apocrypha, we need but 
 devote very little attention to the Bible. 1 do 
 not wonder that so little prominence is given to 
 the Bible, in the preaching and writing of Roman 
 Catholics. 1 do not wonder that so few Roman 
 Catholics know so little about the Bible. 
 Imagine a Romanist commencing to read the 
 Bible through. He must pause at the first verse, 
 and before he can attach any meaning to the 
 words, get the "unanimous consent of the holy 
 fathers.^' When would he complete his first read- 
 ing of the Bible ? I do not think I should care 
 much to read the Bible myself, if I had to go 
 through it in that style. 
 
 We have charged the Church of Rome with 
 being the inveterate foe of the Bible : and 
 history confirms the truth of the charge, ^ay, 
 more, we do not appeal to history alone. Let 
 the present speak. The Romish Church claims 
 to be the same in every age : and in some 
 respects the boast is true. She certainly mani- 
 fests in every age the same strange hostility to 
 the word of God. To begin, then, the Roman 
 
50 THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY. 
 
 Catholic Church has never published a Bible. 
 This may seem a sweeping and uncharitable 
 charge, but it is nevertheless true. We under- 
 stand by a Bible, the pure, unadulterated word 
 of God, published in the language of the people, 
 without note or comment. Commentaries are 
 good enough in their place, but commentaries are 
 not Bibles. Barnes^ Notes, Clark's and Benson's 
 Commentaries are not Bibles. If you went to 
 purchase one of them, you would not ask for a 
 Bible. Now, the Eomish Church has published a 
 version of the Scriptures, but they have taken 
 good care to counteract its manifestly Protestant 
 tone, by appending a large addition of Papal 
 comment. 
 
 They have never dared to give the pure word 
 of God to the people. What would you think if 
 Presbyterians and Methodists should refuse to 
 publish a Bible, unless interlarded with Cal- 
 vanistic or Armenian comments ? Would you not 
 say that they were afraid of the Bible ? This 
 Romish version of the Scriptures is called the 
 Douay Bible, because made at a town of that 
 
HOW HAS ROME TREATED THE BIBLE? 5 1 
 
 name in France. Every scholar knows that it is 
 a poor affair compared with our common English 
 Bible, and that it contains many gross inac- 
 curacies. Nor could it well be otherwise. The 
 version of the Bible in common use among the 
 Protestants, was made in England, under the 
 reign of King James, in the year 1611. It was 
 a careful translation of the original Greek and 
 Hebrew, made by a large number of wise and 
 good men. The Douay Bible is a translation of 
 the Latin Yulgate, not of the Greek and Hebrew. 
 It is a translation of a translation. This Latin 
 Vulgate is itself a mixed and imperfect affair. I 
 will simply mention one gross mistranslation, as 
 a specimen of the rest. We frequently meet 
 with the word repentance in the New Testament. 
 It is a translation of the Greek word Metanoia, 
 and expresses one of the conditions of salvation. 
 It is a very important word. In the Douay 
 Bible it is translated, doing penance. For this 
 translation there is no earthly warrant. They 
 might as well have rendered it dance a jig. Dr. 
 Nevins justly remarks : " It would seem as if they 
 
52 THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY. 
 
 were anxious to avoid the use of any word which 
 expressed or implied either sorrow or amendment^ 
 and therefore they fix on the phrase doing 
 penance. I am mistaken if these translators 
 have not a solemn account to give. This single 
 rendering, if it were the only exceptionable one, 
 would be as a millstone about the neck of that 
 translation. Just think of the false impression, 
 and that on a point of the highest moment, made 
 on the minds of so many millions by this one 
 egregiously erroneous version.^^ — Thoughts on 
 Popery^ page 113. But the Church of Rome 
 does not want the people to have the word of 
 God in any form : and does not even look with 
 favor on the general circulation and reading of 
 the Douay Bible. As many may at first be 
 tempted to question this statement we will go to 
 a Romish work for proof, and once more appeal 
 to the *' End of Controversy.^' ^^ Hence the 
 Catholic Church requires her pastors, who are to 
 preach and expound the word of God, to study 
 this second part of her rule no less than the 
 first part, with unremitting diligence; and she 
 
53 
 
 encourages those of her flock, who are properly 
 qualified and disposed, to read it for their ediflca- 
 tion^ Notice two things, first, reading the Bible 
 is not required as a Christian duty. It is merely 
 encouraged. Second, only a few can ever enjoy 
 this privilege : " those who are properly qualified 
 and disposed.^ ^ This extract may be found on 
 the 99th page of- Dr. Milner's celebrated work. 
 But again he tells us that : *' The Catholic clergy 
 must, and do employ, no small portion of their 
 time, every day, in reading different portions of 
 holy writ. But no such obligation is generally 
 incumbent on the flock, that is, on the laity ; it is 
 sufficient for them to hear the word of God from 
 those whom God has appointed to announce and 
 explain it to them, whether by sermons, or cate- 
 chisms, or other good books, or in the tribunal of 
 penance.'^ Page 311. 
 
 This does not look as though Rome favored 
 much the free circulation and reading of the 
 Bible. But history gives us additional facts. In 
 the 11th century, Pope Gregory VII. (the patron 
 saint of American bishops) formerly returned 
 
54 THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY. 
 
 thanks to God, because the decadence of the 
 Latin tongue made the old Latin Bible unfa- 
 miliar to the people. In 1229, the Council of 
 Toulouse in its 14th canon "forbids the laity 
 to have in their possession any copy of the books 
 of the Old and New Testament, except the Psalter, 
 and such portions of them as are contained in the 
 Breviary, or the Hours of the Virgin : and most 
 strictly forbids these works in the vulgar tongue/' 
 The Council of Tarracone, 1242, ordered all 
 versions of the Bible, that were in the language 
 of the people, to be brought to the bishops and 
 burnt. In the *' Ten Rules Concerning Pro- 
 hibited Books, '^ drawn up by order of the 
 Council of Trent, and approved by Pope Pius 
 IV., we find in rule III. that versions of the Old 
 Testament may be " allowed only to pious and 
 learned men at the discretion of the Bishop.^' In 
 rule IV. the free circulation of the Bible is 
 declared to be hurtful in the extreme; permis- 
 sion to read it must be obtained of the bishop or 
 inquisitor, and all booksellers selling it to un- 
 authorized persons are to be punished. 
 
HOW HAS ROME TREATED THE BIBLE ? 55 
 
 The position of Eome on this subject has never 
 changed. In 1816, 1832, and 1824, ordinances 
 were issued from the Papal throne, against the 
 diffusion of the pure Word of God. In the 
 August number of the Catholic World for the year 
 1868, the burning of Protestant translations of 
 the Holy Bible is boldly justified. Enough has 
 been said to show that the Church of Rome is 
 the deadly foe of the Bible. As Protestants, we 
 are prepared to boldly announce that we will 
 never give up our right to read and study the 
 Bible for ourselves. We will have it in our 
 public shools, in our families and in our churches. 
 It is too precious a book to be easily given up. 
 Rome had better beware how she touches this, 
 the Magna Charta of our spiritual freedom. We 
 live in a Bible land, and in a Bible age. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE TEST APPLIED. 
 
 " Ye shall know them hy their fruits^ — Matt, vii., 16. 
 " Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee^ — Luke xix., 22. 
 
 "\ /TEN may use the same term, but yet attach 
 to it a widely diflferent meaning. There 
 are few words in our language employed in so 
 many different ways, as the word <« Church.'' 
 Roman Catholics differ widely from Protestants 
 in their view of the Church of Christ. Roman- 
 ists claim that Jesus Christ established a visible 
 ecclesiastical organization, in communion with 
 which salvation is certain — out of which, it is 
 impossible. We do not deny the existence of a 
 visible church, but claim that " The Church (or a 
 part of it) is there where the word and the sacra- 
 ments are ; and the society in which the one is 
 preached, and the other administered is a legitimate 
 
THE TEST APPLIED. 57 
 
 part of the visible Catholic Church.'^ — Lit ten 
 on the Churchj page 254. 
 
 Of this visible church very wicked men may 
 become members. The wheat and tares grow 
 together. It is clear, then, that the true Church 
 of Christ on earth must be invisible in its nature, 
 and can only include those who love the Lord 
 Jesus in sincerity and in truth. Such we claim 
 it to be. The marks of the true Church as given 
 by most Roman Catholic writers are unity, sanc- 
 tity, catholicity and apostolicity. These they 
 claim belong to the Church of Rome ; hence it is 
 the true, the only Church. We maintain that 
 these attributes can only be found in the invisible 
 Church, and that no visible corporation or society 
 on earth has ever been endowed with them. 
 Least of all do they belong to the Church of 
 Rome. This we propose to show ; and thus judg- 
 ing Rome by her own standard, we shall condemn 
 her out of her own mouth. The lirst testing 
 attribute set up by Rome, is that of unity. On 
 this theme they never seem weary of harping. 
 Our church, say they, is ever the same — the 
 
58 THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY. 
 
 same in government, the same in doctrine, and 
 the same in worship — the same in every age and 
 in every land : while Protestants are divided up 
 into a vast number of discordant and hostile 
 sects. This boast, however, has but little founda- 
 tion in fact. The simple truth is, that change 
 after change has taken place in the government 
 and worship of the church ; one doctrine after 
 another has been added to the faith, while be- 
 tween the various monastic orders and parties, 
 there has been far more difference and hostility 
 than exists between the various denominations 
 of Protestantism. 
 
 Suppose we look first at the matter of govern- 
 ment. The Pope is the great central power in 
 Romanism — hence, it is very properly called 
 Popery. He is the vicar of Christ, the Head of 
 the Church, and in illustration of his supposed 
 power over three worlds — Heaven, Earth and 
 Hell — wears a triple crown. What can be more 
 important in the government of the church than 
 the manner of electing a Pope ? Well, suppose 
 it can be shown that the Church of Rome has 
 
THE TEST APPLIED. 59 
 
 greatly varied in the manner of selecting the 
 successors of St. Peter, will it not look bad for 
 the boasted unity ? Let us take Maimbourg, the 
 great Jesuit historian, for our guide. We do this 
 that our opponents may not charge us with un- 
 fairness. According to Maimbourg, the first 
 Pope selected his own successor. Then for the 
 next five centuries, sometimes the people alone, 
 sometimes the clergy alone, and sometimes the 
 people and clergy conjointly, elected a Pope by a 
 plurality of votes. Here are five different ways 
 of choosing a Head for the Church. Then for 
 the next twenty years no Pope could be chosen 
 without the consent of the reigning prince. By 
 and by, the Gothic kings cut the matter short by 
 selecting the Pontiff without consulting either 
 people or clergy. At the present time, the Pope 
 is elected by the College of Cardinals : but we 
 might show by continuing our study of this Jesuit 
 historian, that before the present manner of se- 
 lecting a Pope was fixed upon, there have been 
 thirty fundamental variations in this important 
 matter. Another curious reflection must come in 
 
6o 
 
 THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY. 
 
 right here. In 1181 the cardinals began to 
 assume the sole power of electing a Pope. For 
 eleven centuries they had no voice whatever in 
 the election of a Pope. For the last five centu- 
 ries they have had all to say in the matter. For 
 eleven centuries those whom Christ appointed to 
 select his representative had no voice in that 
 election; or for more than five centuries those 
 whom Christ never called to this authority have 
 taken violent possession of it, and thrust out the 
 true electors. Alas, for us poor divided Protest- 
 ants ! We have no trouble in selecting a head 
 for the church. We all agree that Christ is the 
 great Head of the church. But not only has 
 there been great diiBference among Romanists in 
 the manner of selecting a head for the church, 
 but there has often been no small amount of 
 trouble in ascertaining who the real head was. 
 Any one at all acquainted with church history 
 has heard of the great western schism. Gregory 
 XI. died in the year 1378. From that time until 
 the year 1447, there were always two, and at one 
 time three rival popes. One party had a Pope 
 
THE TEST APPLIED. 6 1 
 
 reigning in Rome, and the other party had a Pope 
 reigning in Avignon. 
 
 This bears rather heavily on the unity argu- 
 ment. Another startling fact remains to be 
 mentioned: Not only has the church had two 
 and even three heads at a time, but more than 
 once has had no head whatever. After the death 
 of Pope Leo IX., the papal throne was vacant 
 for an entire year. After the death of Nicholas 
 IV., it was without an occupant for two years 
 and three months; and again stood empty after 
 the death of Benedict XI. for eleven months. 
 Many other such cases might be mentioned. We 
 have referred to the great western schism. It 
 may be well to state that of this schism Maim- 
 bourg says : "It was the twenty-ninth which 
 separated the Catholic communion, and divided 
 between different heads the same church, to which, 
 by all laws, human and divine, there should have 
 been but one, and that in one person.'^ Glorious 
 Unity. In fact, the Church of Rome is without a 
 head every time a Pope diesy for there is always 
 an interval before another Pope can be elected. 
 
62 THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY. 
 
 Can it be that Christ's true church can some- 
 times have three or four heads at once, and then 
 again have no head whatever? We Protestants 
 think that the church can have but one head, and 
 that that head is Christ Jesus, the ever living 
 and ever blessed Saviour of men. 
 
 Which of the two beliefs do you regard as the 
 most sensible ? We have spoken of the change 
 that has come over the government of the Rom- 
 ish Church; let us now look at the doctrines of 
 this church and see if there has been any change 
 there. The great strength of the Roman Cath- 
 olic Church lies in its supposed infallibility. 
 Yet strange to say, never before the decree of 
 the late Ecumenical Council, have the Romish 
 theologians been able to locate this infallibility. 
 Some have placed it in the general council with the 
 Pope at the head, while a few have ascribed it 
 to the Pope alone. Archbishop Purcell, in his 
 celebrated controversy with Alexander Campbell, 
 distinctly repudiated any belief in the infallibility 
 of the Pope alone. Dr. Milner, in his book on 
 the papal controversy, distinctly says that no 
 
THE TEST APPLIED. 63 
 
 member of the Roman Catholic Church is 
 required to believe in the individual infallibility 
 of the Pope. Yet it has just been defined as a 
 dogma, and those who refuse to believe it are 
 pronounced anathema. 
 
 It is extremely difiScult to see how this decree 
 has any logical force. If the Council is fallible, 
 why may it not err in pronouncing the Pope to be 
 infallible ? If the Pope pronounces himself to be 
 infallible, we are then in a most ridiculous circle. 
 Tl^e Pope is infallible because he declares himself 
 so; and his declaration is true because he is in- 
 fallible. Such is the sublime logic of Eome. 
 Take the dogma of the immaculate conception of 
 the Virgin Mary. This was never required or 
 defined as an article of faith until December 8th, 
 1854. Dr. Milner, writing in the beginning of 
 the present century, said of it : '' The church 
 does not decide the controversy concerning the 
 conception of the Blessed Virgin, and several 
 other disputed points, because she sees nothing 
 absolutely clear and certain concerning them, 
 either in the written or the unwritten word, and 
 
64 THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY. 
 
 therefore leaves her own children to form iheir 
 own opinions concerning them/^ But if any one 
 should now dare to speak or write against the 
 dogma of the immaculate conception, he would 
 at once be given over to endless . damnation. 
 This quotation from Dr. Milner is interesting, 
 because it admits that there are " controversies'' 
 and "disputed points'' even in the church claim- 
 ing never to vary in the slightest particular. 
 How can Romish writers claim the attribute of 
 unity for a church, the history of which is a his- 
 tory of successive corruption and change ? 
 
 The Apocrypha, and Vulgate, and tradition 
 were not exalted to canonical authority until the 
 sixteenth century. The use of the Latin tongue 
 in worship to the exclusion of the vernacular, was 
 introduced in the seventh century. Transubstan- 
 tiation was first taught in the eighth century and 
 made no small commotion. In the eleventh, the 
 Lord's Supper was mutilated by the establish- 
 ment of communion in one kind. In the twelfth, 
 the doctrine of Seven Sacraments was first 
 taught. The doctrines of the meritorious virtue 
 
THE TEST APPLIED. 65 
 
 of penance, of purgatory, and prayers for the 
 dead, date no earlier than the seventh century, 
 and were not positively aflfiirmed until the year 
 1140. The power of granting indulgences was 
 not claimed by the popes till the twelfth century. 
 Auricular, confession was first enjoined by the 
 fourth Lateran Council, in the thirteenth century. 
 The celibacy of the clergy as universal and com- 
 pulsory was ordained at the end of the fourth, 
 and was confirmed by Gregory YII. at the end of 
 the eleventh century. 
 
 We admit that Eomanism forms a single 
 organization, but the secret of this is very 
 simple. Every rebellious and offending member 
 is at once cut off. Those who bow not to every 
 papal dogma, are immediately given over to the 
 awful fate of unruly heretics. Yet even after 
 all this ecclesiastical pruning and carving, many 
 elements of discord remain. The Romish Church 
 is made up to a large extent of different orders 
 and societies. These are united enough so far as 
 opposition to and persecution of Protestants are 
 concerned, yet are far from constituting a '* happy 
 
66 THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY. 
 
 family" among themselves. History acquaints 
 us with long and bitter contests between the 
 Franciscans and the Dominicans. The Jesuits 
 have often been complained of to head-quarters, 
 and were abolished by Clement XIV., in 1773, 
 but restored by Pius VI., in 1814. There is now 
 no small amount of discord between the Galilean 
 and the Ultramontain parties. So much for the 
 unity in the Roman Catholic Church. The 
 second testing attribute or mark of the true 
 church, claimed by Rome, is (do not laugh) 
 sanctity. While absolute sanctity can only 
 belong to the true invisible church, yet it is the 
 design of pure religion to make men holy. ^- Be ye 
 holy'' is God's great command. *^ Without holi- 
 ness no man shall see the Lord." A system of 
 faith that works no change in the heart, and 
 effects no reformation in the life, cannot be of 
 God's devising. Now, we affirm of Romanism 
 that it has even no tendency to make men holy. 
 The fact that now and then we discover a saint 
 within her pale, does not refute the charge, for 
 isolated cases of moral rectitude have occurred 
 
THE TEST APPLIED. 67 
 
 even among the heathen. The Popes themselves 
 have often been monsters in human form. This 
 is admitted even by papal writers. The bishops 
 and priests present a record, if possible, still 
 darker. Says Dr. Kuter, in his Church History, 
 speaking of the seventh century : *' Almost every 
 crime which disgraces humanity entered into the 
 dark catalogue of clerical vices.^' The centuries 
 that follow present no change, unless for the 
 worse. Those who think that priestly morals 
 have improved in modern times, would do well to 
 consider the sad case of Edith O'Gorman : or the 
 abduction of Mary Ann Smith, with its dark 
 record of lies and forgery. These, some may 
 say, are only spots upon the surface, yet they are 
 dark and deep enough to reveal the corruption 
 that must lurk within. If any reader of this 
 book doubts the charge of corrupt teaching and 
 practice, let him obtain and peruse Den^s Theol- 
 ogy^ or the Secreta Monita of the Jesuits. Some 
 parts of the former work are so obscene, that no 
 publisher dare give them to the world in an English 
 form. He. would be subject to indictment under 
 
68 THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY. 
 
 the law against indecent literature. The Secreta 
 Monita contains the secret laws and regulations 
 of the Society of Jesus or Jesuits, and form an 
 exhibition of depravity and hellish teachings, 
 absolutely appalling to contemplate. What can 
 we expect from such teachers and such teaching ? 
 " Like priest, like people." " If the blind lead 
 the blind, both shall fall into the ditch." The 
 most degraded and depraved of our populace are 
 in open and full communion with the boasted 
 " Mother Church.'' And never does Rome ele- 
 vate in the mental or moral scale, those who 
 throng her altars. Of this we see the proof 
 every day. It is safe to affirm that one-third of 
 the crime committed in this country, is committed 
 by Roman Catholics. 
 
 The history of the Romish Church is one long, 
 dark record of bloodshed, oppression, hypocrisy 
 and wrong. And to-day, there is no sign of any 
 change for the better : no manifestations of 
 spiritual life. It is still mumbling the misty 
 traditions of the past, still encircled in medieval 
 shadows, and still pouring forth a stream of 
 
THE TEST APPLIED. 69 
 
 corrupt teaching, that bears death and desolation 
 on every poisoned wave. Hear the testimony of 
 one who has recently drank of this stream, and 
 tested by a sad experience the present spiritual 
 condition of Romanism. Rev. Edward Husband, 
 who left the Church of England for the Church 
 of Rome, recently came back again, and in a 
 public letter states some of his experiences dur- 
 ing his sojourn among the Romanists. " Wherever 
 I went I was forced by what / saw and heard to 
 make a comparison between the individual spirit- 
 uality of mind in those I had left behind me in 
 the Anglican Catholic Church, and those I found 
 in the Roman Catholic Church. The result was 
 that 1 knew there was far more spirituality, far 
 more personal piety, far more holiness amongst 
 the members of the Church of England than 
 amongst those of the Church^'of Rome. And this 
 was (in the first instance) not the fault of individ- 
 uals, but of the system in which they were being 
 educated. They had certain forms and cere- 
 monies to keep and perform, and they did them 
 
 because it was their duty to do them : and whea 
 
 7 
 
yO THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY. 
 
 they had accomplished this duty, they flattered 
 themselves that all was right in the sight of God. 
 They worshiped him with their lips, but in too 
 many cases their hearts were far from him. 
 During the four or five months I was a Roman 
 Catholic, I hardly ever heard the name Jesus 
 devotionally mentioned. It was always the 
 name of Our Lady. She was the ' Befugiam 
 'peccatoriam^ not Christ, to the Roman Catholic 
 in practice, though I hope in theory that it may 
 be otherwise. Their churches, instead of sound- 
 ing out the sweet name of Jesus, rang with the 
 holy name of Mary : until her name, which, as a 
 member of the Church of England, I loved and 
 honored so highly, became shorn of nearly all its 
 attractiveness because of the frightful abuse to 
 which it was subjected. 1 never felt my soul so 
 stirred and fired with indignation as when I saw 
 the glory and supremacy of our only Saviour 
 Jesus trampled upon by the Mariolatry of Rome. 
 In short, it was the sense that I had left Jesus 
 behind me (so to speak) in the Church of England, 
 that drove me to her communion again. I felt 
 
THE TEST APPLIED. 7 1 
 
 that Mary, with all her blessedness, was a poor, 
 poor exchange for the unfathomable love of 
 Jesus. And search where I would, I could not 
 find him in the devotions of the Koman Catholic 
 Church, except in the background/' 
 
 If sanctity is an attribute of the true church, 
 surely the Church of Rome will have a difiBcult 
 task in making good her high claims. The third 
 mark of the true church given by Romish writers 
 is that of Catholicity or universality. " Ours is 
 the Catholic, that is, the universal church, there- 
 fore it must be the true one,'' is their great argu- 
 ment. This attribute does indeed belong to the 
 true invisible Church of Christ. We are all one 
 in him. But this true church has no one com- 
 munity on earth, and has no one visible ruler. 
 The Romish Church proudly claims the title 
 ** Catholic" for herself, and thus assumes the 
 very point in discussion. But if universal, why 
 does she not include us ? How is it, that beyond 
 her pale, there are millions of truly pious souls, 
 serving God, and working to extend his King, 
 dom ? The lives of these are, at least, as holy, 
 
72 THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY. 
 
 their word as good, and their deaths as peaceful 
 as though they were in communion with the 
 Church of Home. The Church of Home is no 
 more entitled to the name Catholic, than the 
 Greek Church, the Church of England, or the 
 Methodist Episcopal Church. A part cannot be 
 the whole. But let our opponents speak for 
 themselves. " The true church is Catholic : or 
 Universal in three several respects : as to persons^ 
 as to places^ and as to time. It consists of the 
 most numerous body of Christians ; it is more or 
 less diffused^ wherever Christianity prevails : and 
 it has visibly existed ever since the time of the 
 apostles^ — End of Controversy, page 179. 
 
 Let us look at the three points named : Eirst, 
 the Romish Church is Catholic, because it con- 
 sists of the '* most numerous body of Christians.'' 
 In other words it consists of the '^ most numerous 
 body of Christians ^''^ therefore it includes all the 
 Christians. Glorious logic I Second, it is more or 
 less diffused wherever Christianity prevails. But 
 the same may be said of the Presbyterian, 
 Baptist, or Methodist Episcopal Church. We 
 
THE TEST APPLIED. 73 
 
 are all -'more or less diffused wherever Chris- 
 tianity prevails :'' and are pushing out daily into 
 regions where it does not prevail. Third, '* it 
 has visibly existed ever since the time of the apos- 
 tles. ^^ In the second chapter of this book, the 
 reader will find this point examined. It has there 
 been shown that Romanisn is a great apostacy, a 
 gradual corruption of Christian truth. The apos- 
 tles knew as little about the teachings of Roman- 
 ism, as Romanists seem to know about the teach- 
 ings of the apostles. The last testing attribute 
 set up by Roman Catholics is that of Apostolicity, 
 They mean by this that their Popes form an un- 
 broken succession from the days of Peter to the 
 present time, and that no man has any right to 
 exercise sacred functions, unless he derives his 
 commissions through the Papal See. In proof of 
 this they exhibit a curious list of the Popes, begin- 
 ning with St. Peter and ending with Pius IX. 
 We intend in a future chapter to give this subject 
 a full discussion. Let it suffice to remark here 
 that except to a few high-churchmen in the 
 Church of England and Protestant Episcopal 
 
74 THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY. 
 
 Church in this country, this boasted apostolic 
 chair is a universal laughing stock. John Wesley- 
 was for many years inclined to high-church 
 views: but after a careful investigation of the 
 subject, he was compelled to admit that ^'Apos- 
 tolic Succession is a fiction which no man ever did 
 or can prove,^' But on this subject more anon. 
 Rome is thus condemned by her own assumptions. 
 We can turn her weapons against her, and by the 
 tests that she lays down, show that she is not the 
 true Church of Christ. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 THE GEEAT USUKPER. 
 
 " WTio opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, 
 or that is worshiped ; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, 
 shewing himself that he is God.^"* — 2 Thes. ii., 4. 
 
 XnVERY system of faith has its great central 
 head : the source from which it emanates^ 
 and the recognized authority in all matters 
 of dispute. Romanism has such a central 
 head. What Christ is to the Christian, Mo- 
 hammed to the believer in the Koran, Brahma to 
 the Hindoo, or Brigham Young to the Mormon, 
 the Pope is to the Roman Catholic. His devo- 
 tion is directed to Rome rather than to Bethlehem 
 or Calvary. The power of the Pope in spiritual 
 matters is regarded as supreme : and as the inter- 
 ests of the soul are superior to the interests of 
 the body, he is supposed by many Romanists to 
 have supreme power over states and princes. 
 
7^ THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY. 
 
 He is the great Head of the Church, and from 
 his infallible teaching there can be no appeal. 
 He is the Vicar of Christ, and carries the keys 
 of Heaven and Hell. He is called by the most 
 blasphemous of titles, blasphemous because they 
 belong of right only to Diety : and is approached 
 with the most abject adoration. His blessing is 
 sought as the greatest of boons, while his curse 
 is supposed to convey unnumbered woes. Such 
 are the views, and such the practice of the Ro- 
 mish Church on this subject. 
 
 It is well known that these enormous claims of 
 power and dominion, are built up on the sup- 
 posed supremacy of St. Peter, and on the as- 
 sumption that each reigning Pope is his direct 
 successor. We propose to show that Peter 
 neither claimed nor exercised any supremacy over 
 the other disciples : and that if he did, the Pope 
 cannot prove that he is his successor. The pas- 
 sage on which Romanists base their high claims 
 for the Papacy is Matt, xvi., 18-19. ^'And I 
 say unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this 
 rock I will build my church, and the gates of 
 
THE GREAT USURPER. 77 
 
 Hell shall not prevail against it. And I will 
 give unto thee the keys of the Kingdom of 
 Heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt bind on 
 earth, shall be bound in Heaven ; and whatsoever 
 thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in 
 Heaven.^^ On this text the entire superstructure 
 of Papal dominion has been erected. The keys 
 and the rock is their unfailing argument. From 
 the bold and decided manner in which they con- 
 tinually quote these words, one would not be led 
 to suppose that the argument derived from them 
 and the false meaning ascribed to them, had 
 been exposed and refuted a thousand times. 
 Yet, such is the fact. We must use Scripture to 
 explain Scripture. A concordance is often better 
 than a commentary. The verses preceding the 
 text in dispute, furnish a key to its successful in- 
 terpretation. 
 
 '' When Jesus came into the coasts of Cesarea 
 Phillippi, he asked his disciples, saying : Whom 
 do men say that I, the Son of Man, am ? And 
 they said : Some say that thou art John the 
 Baptist; some Elias, and others Jeremiah, or one 
 
j8 THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY. 
 
 of the prophets. He saith unto them, But whom 
 say ye that I am ? And 8imon Peter answered 
 and said : Thou art the Christ, the Son of the 
 living God. And Jesus answered and said unto 
 him : Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona, for flesh 
 and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my 
 Father which is in heaven. And I say unto 
 thee, that thou art Peter,^' etc. Now, what is the 
 rock ? All hinges on this. Is it Peter, or the 
 glorious confession of our Lord^s Divinity, that 
 Peter had just made ? We think that it is the 
 latter. 
 
 1. The Greek word petros or Peter does not 
 mean a rock, but a stone, or little piece of a rock ; 
 but petra (of which our Lord says, " Upon this 
 petra I will build my church,^') does mean a 
 rock. Now a real rock is superior to a mere 
 stone, or a little piece of the rock. Ag2iiu, petros 
 is a masculine noun, but petra is feminine. How 
 then can Peter be referred to as the rock on 
 which the church is built? He cannot be the 
 rock, and yet only a small piece of the rock at 
 the same time. 
 
THE GREAT USURPER. 7g 
 
 2. Christ is, in other passages, expressly de- 
 clared to be the foundation or rock on which the 
 church is built. '* For other foundation can no 
 man lay than that is laid, which is Christ Jesus." 
 1 Cor. iii., 11. 
 
 3. A rock implies courage and immovability^ 
 when employed as a metaphor: but Peter was 
 proverbially impulsive and fickle. The gates of 
 hell so far prevailed against him, that he denied 
 his Master with oaths and curses. Through fear of 
 the Jews, he also refused to mingle at Antioch with 
 the Gentile converts, and was openly withstood to 
 the face by Paul, '^ Because he was to be blam- 
 ed." So much for the rock. Now, what about 
 the keys ? Why, our Lord gave them to Peter. 
 The Bible says so, and that is enough for us Pro- 
 testants. " And I will give unto thee the keys of 
 the Kingdom of Heaven," This is one of the few 
 passages that Eoman Catholics are willing to ad- 
 mit is easy to be understood. But, what are 
 keys for ? Why, to unlock and open a door is 
 one of the uses to which they may be put ; and 
 the only other use that I ever heard of is to lock 
 
80 THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY. 
 
 it again. Well, to which use did Peter put the 
 keys ? *' He opened the Kingdom of Heaven, 
 that is, the Gospel Church, or Christian dispensa- 
 tion, to both Jews and Gentiles. He preached the 
 first sermon, and was the instrument of making 
 the first converts among each. With one key he 
 opened the Kingdom of Heaven to the Jews, and 
 with the other to the Gentiles. This was a dis- 
 tinction conferred on Peter, it is true; but' it was 
 necessary that some one of the twelve should 
 begin the business of preaching the Gospel. The 
 whole twelve could not turn the keys and open 
 the doors.^^ — JYevins on Popery, page 45. But 
 who has the power of the keys now ? Why no 
 one. What could they do with the keys if they 
 had them? Peter opened the door, and it is 
 never to be closed. If a door is unlocked and 
 opened, and is never to be shut again, who cares 
 what becomes of the keys ? But Roman Catho- 
 lics say that those keys signify the authority con- 
 ferred on the Church, and especially on the 
 Popes. The keys have been passed along from 
 one to another, until they have reached old Pius 
 
THE GREAT USURPER. 8 1 
 
 IX., making each Pope the door-keeper of 
 heaven. But where is the Scripture warrant for 
 such claims ? Simply, nowhere. We challenge 
 any one to find it. Christ will attend to that 
 matter himself. ** He that hath the key of David, 
 he that openeth and no man shutteth, and shutteth 
 and no man openeth,^' is not the Pope, but 
 Christ. — Rev. iii., 7. 
 
 So much for the keys. The poor Pope can get. 
 no more comfort from them than he does from 
 the rock. Now, one more point remains to be 
 considered, namely : the power of binding and 
 loosing. This power was conferred on Peter, it 
 is true ; but not on him alone. It was conferred 
 on the entire twelve. In Matt, xviii., 18, Christ 
 addressed them as a body, and says : " Yerily I 
 say unto you, whatsoever ye shall bind on earth 
 shall be bound in heaven ; and whatsoever ye 
 shall loose on earth, shall be loosed in heaven.'^ 
 The meaning of this declaration is not difficult to 
 understand. In the Jewish language, to bind 
 and loose were words made use of by the Rabbi ; 
 to signify the lawfulness or unlawfulness of 
 
82 THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY. 
 
 things. Whatsoever, then, the disciples, as the 
 inspired teachers of the Church, should declare 
 to be forbidden to men on the earth, should be 
 forbidden by heaven, and whatsoever they should 
 permit to be done, should be lawful in the • sight . 
 of heaven. This power, however, belongs only 
 to the apostles, and no more to Peter than to all 
 the rest. Peter never claimed any supremacy 
 over his brethren. He suffered himself to be 
 openly rebuked by Paul. He wrote two encycli- 
 cal or general epistles ; but they bear no resem- 
 blance to those issued by Pius IX., or any other 
 of those claiming to be St. Peter^s successors. 
 
 He commences his epistle " Peter, an Apostle 
 of Jesus Christ." Why, what is the matter with 
 the man ? He claims no supremacy whatever 
 over his brethren, for Paul frequently began his 
 epistles in the same way. Why does he not say, 
 »« Peter, Primate of the Apostolical College, 
 Supreme and Infallible Head of the Church," 
 etc. ? This would be somewhat in the style of a 
 modern Pope. But in the first verse of the fifth 
 chapter of his first letter, we find a still stronger 
 
THE GREAT USURPER. 83 
 
 declaration : *' The elders which are among you I 
 exhort, who am also an elder.'^ I do not wonder 
 that while the letters and speeches of Pius IX. 
 may be read by any one. the two letters of 
 Peter (Pope Peter, they would say,) cannot be 
 read by a Roman Catholic layman, without the 
 addition of notes and comments. I do not 
 wonder that while the letters and bulls of Pius 
 IX. may be understood by anybody, that while 
 private interpretation is allowed here, the church 
 and tradition can alone explain the letters of 
 poor Peter. But Peter was inspired by the Holy 
 Ghost. All admit this. To what conclusion 
 then are we driven ? Why, that Peter with in- 
 spiration, is a poorer and more careless writer 
 than Pius IX. and all other Popes are without it ! 
 What an absurd and blasphemous doctrine. 
 
 We are not through with this matter of the 
 first Pope yet. Peter was married. This is bad 
 for a Pope. Not even a common priest in the 
 Romish Church, dare take a wife. But there can 
 be no mistake about the case of Peter. The 
 New Testament tells us that his wife's mother 
 
84 THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY. 
 
 was very ill with a fever, and that Jesus restored 
 her to health. If she had only died, there would 
 have been no trouble. I wonder if Roman 
 Catholics do not wish that she had died. 
 Eomanists tell us that Peter did not live with his 
 wife, after he became Pope : but the Bible gives 
 us no such intelligence. The Roman Catholic 
 Church tells us that it is indebted to tradition for 
 this precious piece of information. Now, it is 
 very nice to have tradition to appeal to. It is 
 such a dim, shadowy thing, that if it were 
 asserted that tradition teaches us that the moon . 
 is made of green cheese, it would be difficult to 
 directly disprove it. But we Protestants are 
 cruel enough to fling tradition aside, and keep 
 the discussion centered around the Bible. Peter 
 then was a married man, and lived with his wife 
 like a respectable Christian. Some may be un- 
 reasonable enough to think that this is much bet- 
 ter, than to live as many of the Popes have 
 done, in sinful relation to the wives of others. 
 You see when a man leaves the infallible churchy 
 there is no telling what queer notions he may 
 
THE GREAT USURPER. 85 
 
 entertain. Again, the Pope must reside at 
 Rome : but we have no good reason to believe 
 that Peter ever saw the city of Rome. The 
 Bible tells us nothing about it. So they fall 
 back on tradition again. Tradition says that 
 Peter was Bishop of Rome, and that he died in 
 that city. In the words of an eminent author, 
 we think that : ^* Tradition must be treated as a 
 notorious liar, to whom we give no credit, unless 
 what he says is confirmed by some one in whom 
 we can rely. If it be affirmed by him alone, we 
 must suspend our belief until we obtain better 
 testimony." The story of Peter's visit to Rome 
 is mixed up with so much absurdity, as to utterly 
 destroy our faith in the whole transaction. We 
 are told, for instance, that he went there chiefly 
 to oppose Simon, the magician. That at their 
 first meeting, Simon flew up into the air, in the 
 sight of the whole city : that the Devil, frightened 
 by the name of Jesus, let him fall to the ground, 
 by which fall he broke his legs, and so on, 
 ad nauseum. They will show you to-day in Rome, 
 the place where Peter kneeled on the occasion, 
 
86 
 
 THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY. 
 
 and a stone marked with the blood of Simon. 
 We must receive a hundred such stories, if we 
 admit Peter to have been at Rome, for they all rest 
 on the same authority. We will conclude what 
 we have to say on the supremacy of Peter, by 
 adducing some more Scripture testimony on the 
 subject. We deem this a better guide than tradi- 
 tion. We read of a strife among the apostles as 
 to who among them should be greatest. '^ And 
 there was also a strife among them, which of 
 them should be accounted the greatest. And he 
 said unto them, the kings of the Gentiles exercise 
 lordship over them ; and they that exercise 
 authority upon them are called benefactors. But 
 ye shall not be so : but he that is greatest among 
 you, let him be as the younger, and he that is 
 chief as he that doth serve.'^ (Luke xxii., 24, 25, 
 26.) Three questions at once occur, which we 
 will leave Romanists to answer. First, if our 
 Lord, by the figure of the rock and keys, had just 
 given the supremacy to Peter, why should there 
 be any dispute among the apostles, as to who 
 should be chief? Second, why did not our Lord 
 
THE GREAT USURPER. 87 
 
 answer plainly that Peter should be chief, if such 
 was his design ? Third, how does the statement 
 of our Lord, as to the lack of lordship and 
 authority among the disciples, agree with the 
 claims of the Papacy ? 
 
 Several events in the history of the early 
 Christian Church, as recorded in the Acts of the 
 Apostles, are very difficult to understand, if 
 Peter was the first Pope. 
 
 First, Peter in company with John, was sent to 
 the newly converted Church in Samaria by the 
 other apostles. " Now when the apostles which 
 were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had re- 
 ceived the Word of God, they sent unto them 
 Peter and John.^' — Acts viii., 14. 
 
 This looks bad for Peter's supremacy. He 
 must have forgotten about the keys. 
 
 Second, The Church did not receive with un- 
 questioned faith the teaching of Peter. 
 
 On the contrary : '* When Peter was come up 
 to Jerusalem, they that were of the circumcision 
 contended with him, saying : Thou wentest in to 
 men uncircumcised, and didst eat with them. 
 
bo THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY. 
 
 But Peter rehearsed the matter from the begin- 
 ning, and expounded it by order unto them.^' — 
 Acts xi., 2-4. This looks worse yet. They 
 " contended " with Peter. Now, surely, he will 
 flourish the keys, and fall back on infallibility. 
 Not a bit of it. He does not even pronounce 
 them " Anathema^^ but " rehearsed the matter 
 from the beginning, and expounded it by order 
 unto them.'' Well, they certainly had better 
 success than some of their fellow-heretics in after 
 ages. Poor Luther was excommunicated, Huss 
 was burned, the body of Wickliff was dug up 
 and given to the flames, and all for '^ contend- 
 ing '' with those who claim to be the literal suc- 
 cessors of St. Peter. 
 
 Third, The first General Council of the 
 Church was held at Jerusalem. Peter made a 
 speech, but James presided, and pronounced the 
 decision. See the fifteenth chapter of Acts. 
 Verily, the Bible is a hard book to understand, 
 if we must reconcile it to the claims and teach- 
 ings of Romanism. •* Let us hear the conclusion 
 of the whole matter.'' 
 
THE GREAT USURPER. 8^ 
 
 First, Christ never declared Peter to have 
 any supremacy over his brethren. 
 
 Second, Peter never claimed or exercised any 
 such supremacy ; for he simply calls himself an 
 apostle and elder, suffered Paul to openly with- 
 stand him, allowed the Church to call in question 
 his teaching, was sent by his brethren to Sama- 
 ria, and did not preside in the Council in Jerusa- 
 lem. 
 
 Third, He was a married man. 
 
 Fourth, We have no reason to believe that he 
 ever saw the city of Rome, much less established 
 there the Papal See. ' 
 
 Fifth, The power claimed for him and his sup- 
 posed successors by the Romish Church, is in 
 direct conflict with the teachings of our Saviour 
 as to the spiritual nature of his Kingdom, and the 
 purity of his ministers. 
 
 We now propose to show that even if Peter 
 did have any supremacy over his brethren, it 
 cannot be proved that the Popes are his succes- 
 sors. This can soon be done. We are well 
 aware that a long list of Popes, extending from 
 
go THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY. 
 
 Peter to Pius IX., is exhibited in triumph by the 
 Romish Church. This looks very convincing. 
 If naughty Protestants only would cease to ques- 
 tion and examine everything, and trust to tradi- 
 tion and the Infallible Church — there would be 
 no more trouble. What is the use of infallibility 
 if you have to stop and prove everything? They 
 might as well be without it. Suppose we look at * 
 this boasted chain a little. Somehow we have 
 contracted a very bad habit of looking into mat- 
 ters and things for ourselves, and feel very little 
 fear of papal curses. One thing must be remem- 
 ••bered about this chain. To be of any value it 
 must be complete. If a single link is broken, the 
 chain is of no more use. Well, then, if Peter was 
 the first Pope, who succeeded him ? Who was 
 the second Pope ? 5"^. Clement, say some ; 5"^. 
 Linvs, say others. All start off with Peter, but 
 the very next step is uncertain. The fathers do 
 not agree about it. Turtullian says that St. Cle- 
 ment succeeded Peter; while other fathers be- 
 stow this honor on St. Linus. Now, we cannot, 
 according to the Church of Rome, explain a 
 
THE GREAT USURPER. 9 1 
 
 single passage of the Scripture, unless we have the 
 unanimous consent of the holy fathers. Now, 
 suppose we apply the same rule to this papal 
 chain. It is a poor rule that will not work in 
 more than one way. Have not things come to a 
 pretty pass ? The very first link in this chain is 
 broken. No one can tell who was the second 
 Pope. We might go on and show that the way 
 grows darker and darker as we advance ; but we 
 will wait until they find the " missing link.^' It 
 might seem cruel to keep up the investigation. 
 The Church of Rome has a doctrine called " in- 
 tention,'' that casts a still deeper gloom about 
 this chain. If in administering a sacrament, the 
 administrator intends to bestow the grace, it is 
 accomplished, no matter what the character of 
 the recipient. If, on the other hand, the admin- 
 istrator does not intend to bestow the grace, it is 
 withheld, in the same strange and arbitrary man- 
 ner. Now, suppose we knew that St. Clement 
 and not St. Jjinus, or St. Linus and not St. Cle- 
 ment, succeeded St. Peter ; suppose the historic 
 character of this famous chain is all right, how 
 
92 THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY. 
 
 are we to know that each reigning Pope was a 
 literal successor of St. Peter ? For if in ordain- 
 ing a Pope, the administrator did not intend to 
 ordain, the matter was not accomplished, and the 
 poor man was no Pope after all. This makes 
 ^' confusion worse confounded. ^^ It has been 
 shown in a previous chapter that the boasted 
 succession has frequently been interrupted by 
 vacations and schisms. It has frequently been 
 decreed by councils, that all those ordinations 
 are null and void, in which the person to be or- 
 dained secured his elevation by fraud or bribery. 
 Now, we know that the popedom has often been 
 obtained by just such, unfair means. Here, then, 
 is another way in which succession has been in- 
 terrupted. According to the Romish doctrine, 
 no heretic can transmit episcopal or priestly 
 power to another. This looks bad for the suc- 
 cession, as many of the Popes have been heretics. 
 Pope Libreius was an Arian ; Anastasius was a 
 Nestorian ; Honorius was a Monothelite ; John 
 XX. taught that the souls of the pious, when re- 
 leased from the body, would not see God before 
 
THE GREAT USURPER. 93 
 
 the Day of Judgment ; John XXIII. believed 
 that the soul died with the body. This is afiBrm- 
 ed of him by the Council of Constance. Many 
 of the Popes have been men of the vilest charac- 
 ter. 
 
 Can we believe that God would call such men 
 to preside over his Church, and teach his truth ? 
 Monstrous ! Roman Catholics themselves admit 
 that one-tenth of the Popes have disgraced the 
 oflBce. Alas for this boasted chain! It is broken 
 at a hundred points, and all covered with rust and 
 blood. Well has Bishop Janes said : '' He who 
 would trace his ecclesiastical pedigree up to the 
 chair of Peter, must wade through slime and blood 
 to his very neck." We will now conclude what 
 we have to say on this branch of the subject, by 
 summing up our reasons for refusing to believe in 
 this boasted succession. 
 
 1. The list of reigning Popes presented by 
 the Church of Rome has no historic value. 
 
 2. The successions has been interrupted by 
 long and repeated vacations. 
 
 3. And also by violent and frequent schisms. 
 
94 THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY. 
 
 4. According to the doctrine of '' intention," 
 many of those occupying the papal throne, may 
 never have been ordained to the oflBce. 
 
 5. Many of the Popes have been heretics, 
 and according to the Romish Church, no heretic 
 can properly transmit priestly or episcopal 
 power. 
 
 6. Many of the Popes have obtained the office 
 by fraud and bribery ; and this, according to the 
 views of our opponents, is enough to render their 
 ordination void. 
 
 7. Many of the Popes have been men of vile 
 character. 
 
CHAPTER VTL 
 
 THE MASS. 
 " Teaching for doctrines the commandments of menP — Matt, xv., 9. 
 
 T TAYING cleared away the false rules of 
 faith and practice, adopted by the Romish 
 Church, and established our right to read and 
 understand the Bible, and argue from it alone : 
 having shown by their own tests, that the Romish 
 corporation is not the true Church of Christ, and 
 demonstrated the unreliable nature of their 
 boasted succession: we are now prepared to 
 examine their false teachings and corrupt doings 
 in the light of God's holy word. We will begin 
 with what they are pleased to term the Mass. 
 The word is not in the Bible. They had to 
 invent it. If you went to one of their churches 
 when they were celebrating mass, you would 
 hardly think that it was intended to represent 
 
96 THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY. 
 
 the humble scene in the little upper chamber at 
 Jerusalem, or in other words, that it was the 
 Lord^s Supper, True, they have the bread (in the 
 form of a wafer, but we let that pass,) and the 
 wine : but here the resemblance ceases. They, 
 however, do not regard it as bread and wine ; 
 but as the body and bloody soul and divinity of 
 the Lord Jesus Christ. This they eat and drink. 
 Surely, this must be a Protestant misrepresenta- 
 tion. No, here it is in the catechism : 
 
 '' Q. What is the holy eucharist ? A. It is a 
 sacrament, which contains the body and blood, 
 soul and divinity of Jesus Christ, under the forms 
 and appearance of bread and wine. 
 
 " Q, Is it not bread and wine which is first put 
 upon the altar for the celebration of mass? A. 
 Yes ; it is always bread and wine till the priest 
 pronounces the words of consecration during 
 mass. 
 
 " ^. What happens by these words ? A. The 
 bread is changed into the body of Jesus Christ,- 
 and the wine into his blood. 
 
 «' Q. What is this change called ? A. It is 
 
THE MASS. 97 
 
 called transubstantiation, that is to say, a change 
 of one substance into another." 
 
 This is the doctrine taught to every Roman 
 Catholic child in the country. And all this is 
 founded on the simple words of Jesus : " This is 
 my body." True, he right after, called the wine, 
 (which Romanists say is his blood) the " fruit of 
 the vine f and Paul in his first epistle to the 
 Corinthians calls the bread, bread, and not the 
 " body and blood, soul and divinity of Jesus 
 Christ." True, Christ is in other places called 
 a rock, a door, a vine, ('* 1 am the door/^ " 1 am 
 the vine." "That rock was Christ,") thus plainly 
 showing that the words ^* this is my body," are 
 to be taken figuratively ; true, we can still see 
 after the mystic words of consecration, that it is 
 bread and wine, and not body and blood : but 
 what are Scripture or reason when they conflict 
 with the teaching of the Church of Rome ? The 
 body of Christ is said to be entire in each particle 
 of the sacred host. To state this absurd and 
 blasphemous doctrine is its best refutation. It 
 is simply incapable of belief Yet it has been 
 
98 THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY. 
 
 called the burning article in the Church of Borne. 
 Thousands have been burned and tortured 
 because they would not believe it. But we are 
 not through with the enormities of the mass. 
 After professing to turn the bread and wine into 
 Jesus Christ, (this is simply a shorter way of 
 stating it) the priest claims to oflfer him up in 
 sacrifice. This they call the ^' unbloody sacrifice 
 of the mass.'^ This is no Protestant slander. 
 Read the canons of the Council of Trent on this 
 subject : 
 
 •' Canon 1. If any one shall say, that a true 
 and proper sacrifice is not offered to God in the . 
 mass ; or that what is to . be offered is nothing 
 else than giving Christ to eat: let him be 
 accursed. Canon 2. If any one shall say, that 
 by these words < Do this for a commemoration of 
 me,' Christ did not appoint his apostles priests, 
 or did not ordain that they and other priests 
 should offer his body and blood : let him be 
 accursed." 
 
 Is not this in direct violation of the oft-made 
 declaration of Scripture, that Jesus was once 
 
THE MASS. 99 
 
 offered, and then completed the work of human 
 redemption? Does it not give the lie to the 
 dying words of Jesus ? He declared that it was 
 finished. Rome says, it has been going on ever 
 since, and will continue to the end of time. 
 Then " an unbloody sacrifice/^ does not agree 
 very well with the declaration of Scripture that 
 *' without shedding of blood is no remission." 
 Cain offered an " unbloody sacrifice,^' but there 
 was no divine recognition of it. He went forth, 
 however, to slay his brother, and so has Roman- 
 ism, with its "unbloody sacrifice," more than 
 once stained its altars with the blood of heretics. 
 According to the Romish doctrine Christ has 
 been offered millions of times. A little, ignorant 
 priest can cause the Saviour of the World to be 
 offered whenever he pleases. The sacrifice 
 on Calvary is not enough. We are prepared 
 now to hear of almost any absurdity in connec- 
 tion with the mass ; and need not wonder to hear 
 that Roman Catholics worship the consecrated 
 wafer. Yes, they actually fall down and wor- 
 ship it. The priest lifts it up to the people, and 
 
lOO THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY. 
 
 cries, ^'Ecce Agnus Dei, qui tollit mundi peccata — 
 Behold the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin 
 of the worlds The congregation fall down and 
 worship it, crying, " Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea 
 maxima culpa — My fault, my fault, my very great 
 faulty Then they walk up and eat it. Do the very 
 heathen go ahead of this ? Did ever a heathen 
 make a god, consecrate him, worship him, and then 
 turn around and eat him ? They tell us that it 
 is not the wafer they worship, but that the wafer 
 has been turned into the blessed Saviour. We 
 have just shown that this is impossible. In fact, it 
 needs no showing. There it is, still a wafer. If 
 we cannot believe our senses, we cannot believe 
 anything. They think that it is the blessed 
 Saviour ; but then that does not make it so, or 
 exempt them from the charge of idolatry. All 
 idolatry is founded on ignorance. This moreover 
 is willful ignorance. All they have to do is to 
 believe their senses. 
 
 One more folly remains to be considered in 
 relation to this subject. The Church of Rome 
 withholds the cup from the laity. This was 
 
THE MASS. lOI 
 
 done by the Council of Trent. All admit that 
 before this, the laity communed in both kinds. 
 Now the poor layman can only have half a sacra- 
 ment, or really no sacrament whatever. It is 
 true that Christ administered it in both kinds, 
 and the early Church did the same, and we never 
 hear of a divided sacrament before the Council 
 of Trent ; but what are these trifles to an Infalli- 
 ble Church ? See what a vast change Romanism 
 has made in the simple and beautiful sacraments 
 of the Lord^s Supper. Five fearful changes have 
 been made. 
 
 First, The doctrine of transubstantiation has 
 been invented. 
 
 Second, They pretend to offer up Christ. 
 
 Third, They use a wafer instead of bread. 
 
 Fourth, They worship this wafer. 
 
 Fifth, They withhold the cup from the laity. 
 
 Surely this is a terrible record. 1 would love 
 to have two pictures painted and placed side by 
 side : one representing the simple scene in the 
 little upper chamber, when Christ instituted the 
 Last Supper; and the other representing mass 
 
102 THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY. 
 
 as performed in a Romish Church. We might 
 well say, "Look on this picture, and then on 
 that.^' I would love to see the man who could 
 trace any connection or resemblance between the 
 two. If this was the only corruption introduced 
 by the Koman Catholic Church, it were enough 
 to sink her forever, like a mill-stone, beneath the 
 waves of the sea. But we shall find much more 
 to excite holy indignation, ere we finish our inves- 
 tigation of her abominations. 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 CONFESSIOIsr. 
 
 ^^ Every crime, as I have stated before, which the Romish Church 
 sanctions, and almost all the immortalities of its members, either orig- 
 nate in or have some connection with Auricular Confession.''^ — Ho- 
 GAN. 
 
 "TT is a peculiar feature in the economy of Ro- 
 manism, that it perverts and misguides ele- 
 ments in human nature, that originally are good 
 and beneficial. For instance, it is natural for a 
 soul, when burdened beneath a load of sin and 
 guilt, to confess this sin and misery, and to cry 
 out, " God be merciful to me, a sinner.^' The 
 Romish Church, at this point, comes in between 
 the soul and its Saviour, and sends the trembling 
 sinner to the priest ; to him his sins must be con- 
 fessed, and through him pardon must be received. 
 All this sounds very strange to Protestant 
 ears, yet it is the unchanging doctrine, and daily 
 
I04 THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY. 
 
 practice of the Roman Catholic Church. We 
 prefer to state their doctrines in the language of 
 their own standards, that none may charge us 
 with unfairness or misrepresentation. It is diffi- 
 cult to state fairly the views of an opponent, 
 unless you do it in his own language. 
 
 Well, here it is: *' Whoever shall affirm that 
 the confession of every sin, according to the cus- 
 toms of the Church, is impossible, and merely a 
 human tradition, which the pious should reject; 
 or that all Christians, of both sexes, are not 
 bound to observe the same once a year, accord- 
 ing to the constitution of the great Council of 
 Lateran; and, therefore, that the faithful in 
 Christ are to be persuaded not to confess in Lent, 
 Let him be accursed.^' — Council of Trent de- 
 crees. Canon 8, Sess, xiv. 
 
 If these confessions were made to God, we 
 would interpose no objection (though what man 
 could recount and specify every sin that he had 
 ever committed ?) ; but they are made to a priest, 
 a fellow-man, ^fellow-sinner. We all admit that 
 sin should be confessed ; but common sense would 
 
CONFESSION. 105 
 
 indicate that the confession should be made to 
 the Being offended. We do not read of any one 
 in the Bible who confessed his sins to a priest ; 
 David confessed to God. •' I acknowledge my 
 sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have 1 not hid ; I 
 said, I will confess my transgressions unto the 
 Lord, and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin.^' 
 — - Psa. xxxii., 5. He adds, moreover: ^' For 
 this (the forgiveness of sin) shall every one that 
 is godly pray unto thee,» in a time when thou 
 mayest be found.'^ 
 
 If David confessed to God, why not any other 
 sinner ? If Isaiah, Job, Daniel, Paul, Peter, and 
 the poor publican confessed to God, why may not 
 we? We object, then, to auricular confession, 
 that it has no foundation in Scripture. We do 
 not read that any of the apostles established a 
 confessional. It has been said that we read of 
 no one in the Bible, who confessed to a priest. 
 We forgot about- Judas Iscariot, He did not go 
 to God with his confession, but to the chief 
 priests. He also took moneys thirty pieces of sil- 
 ver. We will not investigate the case of Judas 
 10 
 
I06 THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY. 
 
 any farther. The Romanists are welcome to all 
 the comfort and support they can get from it. 1 
 know that the Romanists quote the well-known 
 passage, " Confess your faults one to another ; '' 
 but this implies something mutual. It bears not 
 the smallest resemblance to confession as prac- 
 ticed in the Romish Church. Does the priest turn 
 around and confess to his parishioners ? If not, 
 how can it be called confessing " one to another?" 
 Auricular confession is an insult to Christ. He 
 is the great, the only Mediator between God and 
 man. Why, then, need the priest interfere ? 
 Christ says to men, '^ Come unto me ; '^ but Rome 
 says : " You must go to the priest ; he is to you 
 in the place of God.'' We object to Romish 
 confession, ♦that it is absurd. 
 
 I have not sinned against the priest, but against 
 God. If a child should sin against his father, 
 would he go to a neighbor with his confession ; or 
 to make the illustration stronger, would he go to 
 a brother, who had sinned equally with himself? 
 Suppose they confess to each other, and forgive 
 each other, will that satisfy the father ? Roman- 
 
CONFESSION. 1 07 
 
 ists tell us that parties must repent before they 
 can obtain absolution ; that the priest cannot for- 
 give them until they do repent ; well, if they sin- 
 cerely repent, will not God forgive them, and 
 then who cares whether the priest forgives or 
 not? At the very best, auricular confession is 
 useless. Facts, with which every one ought to 
 be acquainted, compel us to urge another objec- 
 tion against confession. It is immoral in its ten- 
 dencies and results. As Romanists stoutly deny 
 this, and urge the contrary, we will take special 
 pains to prove it. It produces immorality both 
 in the confessor and in the confessed. It pro- 
 duces immorality in the confessor. The mind of 
 the priest becomes a sink for the reception and 
 retention of all sorts of moral corruption. He 
 must listen month after month, and year after 
 year, to the most disgusting details of all sorts of 
 vice. Old men and children, young men and 
 maidens, must pour into his attentive ear, a reci- 
 tal of their thoughts, desires, and most secret 
 sins. This, surely, cannot have a very refining 
 or sanctifying influence. 
 
io8 
 
 THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY. 
 
 Then the secrets of the confessional must never 
 be divulged. The priest must carry them for- 
 ever in his own bosom. Rather than reveal any- 
 thing made known in confession, he must stoop to 
 lying and perjury. Here is the proof: Peter 
 Den, in his Theology, which is the class-book in 
 Maynooth College, in Ireland, and in other Ro- 
 mish schools, has the following, on the duty of 
 confessions, in this respect : '* Can a case be given 
 in which it is lawful to break the secrecy of the 
 confession ? Answer : None can be given ; al- 
 though the life or salvation of a man, or the 
 destruction of the commonwealth, would depend 
 thereon. What, then, ought a confessor to answer 
 when interrogated respecting any truth which he 
 knows only by sacramental confession ? Answer : 
 He ought to answer that he does not know it; 
 and, if necessary, to confirm that by an oath. 
 Obj, It is not lawful to lie in any case ; but the 
 confessor lies, because he knows the truth ; there- 
 fore, he ought not to confirm by an oath that which 
 is not true, Ans. The minor proposition is de- 
 nied ; because such confessor is interroirated as a 
 
CONFESSION. 1 09 
 
 man, and answers as a man, but he does not know 
 this truth as man, though he knows it as God.'' 
 
 Is not this beautiful morality ? What must be 
 the effect of such teaching and such practice on 
 the minds of father confessors ? 
 
 This confession to the priest, it must be re- 
 membered, is not a general one ; but must all be 
 given in detail. To do this, a long list of ques- 
 tions has been prepared. Bach commandment 
 (except the second, the Church of Rome has re- 
 moved this from the decalogue, for reasons which 
 we shall understand hereafter,) is gone over in 
 turn. The most minute, and in some cases, dis- 
 gusting questions are asked. 1 dare not pollute 
 these pages with the list of questions asked on 
 the sixth (our seventh) commandment. If the 
 reader wishes to see them, he is referred to the 
 " Garden of the Soul,'' a book published under 
 the recommendation of the late Archbishop 
 Hughes. This confession is always made in pri- 
 vate, often by young and fair women, to men 
 devoted by their ordination vows to a life of celib- 
 acy. The fair penitent kneels before the priest, 
 
I lO THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY. 
 
 a man of flesh, and blood, and passion. Her 
 warm breath is upon his cheek. Into his ears 
 she pours her most secret thoughts and desires. 
 Nothing must be concealed. Could the devil 
 himself invent anything better suited to ruin 
 both soul and body? History is not silent on 
 this subject : ** In Spain, Pope Paul IV. uttered 
 his bull against the crime of solicitants, or of 
 those priests who, in the act of confession, solicit 
 the person confessing to indecent acts. When 
 this bull was introduced into Spain, every person 
 who had been solicited was instructed, within 
 thirty days, to report to the inquisitions. So 
 great was the number of females who went to the 
 palace of the inquisitor in the city of Seville only, 
 to reveal the conduct of their infamous confes- 
 sors, that twenty notaries, and as many inquisitors, 
 were appointed to note down their several infor- 
 mations. But these being found insufficient, sev- 
 eral periods of thirty days was appointed, and 
 the matter was finally given up, and the whole 
 matter terminated where it began. ^' — Elliott on 
 Romanism^ Vol. 11. j page 323. 
 
CONFESSION. I I I 
 
 This is a picture of Eomish morality as devel- 
 oped in the confessional, that may well make 
 every lover of his land and his kind tremble with 
 alarm. 
 
 I will conclude this branch of my subject by 
 giving some extracts from the writings of the 
 Rev. L. J. Nolan, once a popish priest, but now 
 a Protestant minister : " During the last three 
 years that I discharged the duties of a Romish 
 clergyman, my heart often shuddered at the idea 
 of entering the confessional. The thoughts of 
 the many crimes I had to hear; the growing 
 doubt upon my mind that confession was an erro- 
 neous doctrine, that it tended more to harden 
 than to reclaim the heart, and that through it 
 1 should be rendered instrumental in ministering 
 destruction to souls, were often considerations to 
 me in the hours of my reflection. The recitals of 
 the murderous acts I had often heard through 
 this iniquitous tribunal, had cost me many a rest- 
 less night, and are still fixed with horror in my 
 memory. But the most awful of all considera- 
 tion is this, that through the confessional 1 had 
 
I 12 THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY. 
 
 been frequently apprised of intended assassina- 
 tions and most diabolical conspiracies, and still 
 from the ungodly injunctions of secrecy in the 
 Romish creed, lest, as Peter Den says, ' the con- 
 fessional should become odious,^ I dared not give 
 the slightest intimation to the marked-out victims 
 of slaughter. But though my heart now trem- 
 bles at the recollections of the murderous acts, 
 still duty obliges me to proceed and enumerate 
 one or two instances of the cases alluded to. 
 The first is the case of a person who was barbar- 
 ously murdered, and with whose intended assas- 
 sination I became acquainted at confession. One 
 of the five conspirators (all of whom were sworn to 
 commit the horrid deed,) broached to me the 
 bloody conspiracy in the confessional. I im- 
 plored him to desist from his intentions of becom- 
 ing an accomplice in so diabolical a design ; but 
 alas ! all advice was useless, no dissuasion could 
 prevail; his determination was fixed, and his only 
 reason for having disclosed the awful machina- 
 tion to his confessor, seemed to have originated 
 from a hope that his wicked design would be hal- 
 
CONFESSION. I 13 
 
 lowed by his previous acknowledgment of it to his 
 priest. Finding all my remonstrances unavail- 
 ing, 1 then recurred to stratagem. I earnestly 
 besought him to mention the circumstances to me 
 out of the confessional, in order that 1 might ap- 
 prise the intended victim of his danger, or cau- 
 tion the conspirators against the committal of so 
 inhuman a deed. But here ingenuity itself failed 
 in arresting the career of his satanic obstinacy. 
 The conspirator's illegal oath, and his apprehen- 
 sion of himself becoming the victim of brutal 
 assassination, should he be known as the revealer 
 of the conspiracy, rendered him inflexible to my 
 entreaties ; and awful to relate — yes, awful, and 
 the hand that now pens it shudders at the record 
 it makes — a poor, inoffensive man, the victim of 
 slaughter, died a most cruel death by the hands 
 of ruthless assassins.'' 
 
 Mr. Nolan then proceeds to relate a case still 
 more heart-rending. All converted Romanists 
 agree in regarding the confessional as the citadel 
 of popish strength, and the great fountain of her 
 moral corruption. It gives the priests and 
 
I 14 THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY. 
 
 bishops an almost absolute control over the peo- 
 ple. It is the chain that binds them to the throne 
 of papacy. From early childhood, their most 
 secret thoughts have been confided to the priests, 
 the whole history of their lives have been com- 
 mitted to them, and shall they dare to rebel ? 
 May God in his mercy soon remove this great 
 plague-spot from American soil. 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 PURGATORY. 
 
 " To-day thou shalt he with me in paradise,^ — LuKE xxiii., 43, 
 
 " The saints who die of Christ possessed, 
 Enter into immediate rest ; 
 Por them no further test remains, 
 Of purging fires and torturing pains." 
 
 0, Wesley, 
 
 "V7"0U will not find the word ^^ purgatory" in 
 the Bible. Eome cannot express her doc- 
 trines and customs in scriptural language. She 
 has been compelled to invent a terminology of 
 her own. Mass, rosary, pope, extreme unction, 
 chrism, acolyte, and a host of other words, 
 very familiar to Romish ears, may be found in a 
 dictionary, but not in the Bible. A '* form of 
 sound words'' is of great value, but nevertheless, 
 if the things themselves could only be found in 
 
I 1 6 THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY. 
 
 the Word of God, we would not object so strongly 
 to the use of new terms. But the worst of it is, 
 that the doctrines and customs signified by these 
 words, cannot be found in the Bible. Thus it is 
 with the doctrine of purgatory. The Bible does 
 not give it the faintest shadow of support. But 
 what is this purgatory, about which we hear so 
 much from Romanists, and of which we can find 
 no trace in the Bible ? 
 
 It is not Heaven. It is not Hell. They do 
 not mean by it, the doctrine of the intermediate 
 state, in which so many worthy Protestants 
 believe, the place where departed spirits wait 
 the resurrection from the dead, and the great day 
 of judgment. They believe in purgatory as a 
 place where the souls of departed Roman Cath- 
 olics go to be purified and prepared for Heaven. 
 It is not for Protestants. They must go direct 
 to Hell. It is a place of literal fire^ of fearful 
 pain, Roman Catholic writers make its torments 
 as great and terrible as are those of Hell. But 
 then you may escape from purgatory, while in 
 Hell there gleams no hope. This seems to be 
 
PURGATORY. I I 7 
 
 about the only difference. The escape from 
 purgatory is helped and hastened by masses and 
 prayers offered by the priests. Such is the 
 Romish doctrine of purgatory. But we had 
 better state it in their own language. In the 
 creed drawn up by the Council of Trent, before 
 quoted at length, it is stated thus : *' I con- 
 stantly hold that there is a purgatory, and that 
 the souls therein detained are helped by the 
 suffrages of the faithful. '^ Dens, in his Theology, 
 says of it : " It is a place in which the souls of 
 the pious dead, obnoxious to temporal punish- 
 ment, make satisfaction.^' The catechism of the 
 Council of Trent gives this rather evasive view 
 of it : <' In the fire of purgatory the souls of just 
 men are cleansed by a temporal punishment, in 
 order to be admitted into their eternal country, 
 into which nothing defiled entereth.^' The Douay 
 Catechism gives the following short exposition of 
 it: 
 
 " Q. Whither go such as die in mortal sin ? 
 Ji. To Hell, to all eternity. 
 
 " Q. Whither go such as die in venial sin, or 
 11 
 
I 1 8 THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY. 
 
 not having fully satisfied for the punishment due 
 to their mortal sins. A. To purgatory, till they 
 have made full satisfaction for them, and then to 
 Heaven/^ 
 
 Now what foundation has this division of sins 
 into mortal and venial sins, this idea of making 
 satisfaction for sin by suffering in the world to 
 come, in the word of God ? Simply none what- 
 ever. Still, the very Devil himself can quote 
 Scripture, and we do not wonder, when we learn 
 that Romanists make a faint show of defending 
 their favorite doctrine from the Bible. It is but 
 natural that they should. Protestant teaching 
 has inspired so much love and reverence for the 
 Bible, that they must for the sake of public 
 opinion, make some show of proving their doc- 
 trines by it. Even tradition and the fathers are 
 not quite enough. So they give us a few pas- 
 sages of Scripture. They refer to 1 Cor. iii., 13, 
 14, 15. '^ Everyman's work shall be made mani- 
 fest, for the day shall declare it, because it shall 
 be revealed by fire : and the fire shall try every 
 man's work, of what sort it is. If any man's 
 
PURGATORY. I I 9 
 
 work abide which he hath built thereon, he shall 
 receive a reward. If any man's work shall be 
 burned, he shall suffer loss : but he himself shall 
 be saved, yet so as by fire.'' 
 
 This fire, however, is not as the tire of purga- 
 tory is supposed to be, to purify men's souls, but 
 to try every man^s work. Every man^s work is 
 to be tried : but purgatory is only gotten up for 
 the benefit of good Roman Catholics. Poor 
 Protestants have no such chance of salvation 
 after death. It does not say that persons are 
 saved by fire, but only, so as by fire — that is, 
 with great diflSculty. By carefully reading the 
 text and context, any one may understand this 
 beautiful passage of Scripture. " A good man, 
 who, on the precious foundation of Jesus Christ, 
 builds worthless materials, such as wood, hay, 
 stubble, shall suffer the loss of his works, yet he 
 himself shall be saved, though with great diflB- 
 culty, so as hy fireP — Kevins on Popery^ 'page 155^ 
 
 Matt, v., 25, 26, is urged in favor of purgato- 
 ry : '* Agree with thine adversary quickly, whilst 
 thou art in the way with him ; lest at any time 
 
I20 THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY. 
 
 the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the 
 judge deliver thee to the oflBcer, and thou be cast 
 into prison. Verily, I say unto thee, thou shalt 
 by no means come out thence till thou hast paid 
 the uttermost farthing." 
 
 This text has about as much to do with purga- 
 tory as the man in the moon. To present a clear 
 exposition of it is the very best way to refute 
 the false doctrine that has been founded upon it* 
 This I will do by quoting from Whedon's inval- 
 uable commentary : " The whole is a symbolical 
 representation of divine judgment, as is shown 
 by the next verse, in which justice without mercy 
 is inflexibly declared. The Adversary stands 
 for our offended God. Quickly and the way 
 stand for the brief period of our probation. The 
 Judge is the Son of Man at his coming. The offi- 
 cer is the judicial angel. Matt, xxv., 31. The 
 prison is HelL Sentiment : repair every wrong 
 beibre divine justice inflict punishment to the 
 utmost." Is not this exposition clear, simple,, 
 beautiful? To what straits must men be reduced 
 when they press this text into the service of 
 
PURGATORY. I 2 I 
 
 purgatory ? The words of Christ concerning the 
 sin against the Holy Ghost, are sometimes pressed 
 into this controversy by Romanists. '' The blas- 
 phemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be for- 
 given, neither in this world nor the world to 
 come/' — Matt, xii., 32. Does not this, they in- 
 quire, imply that there will be forgiveness in the 
 world to come ? It implies no such thing. This 
 form of expression is simply used to strengthen 
 the affirmation. If any one doubts this, let him 
 just look at the parallel passages in Mark and 
 Luke. 
 
 Mark says, that the blasphemy hath never for- 
 giveness, and Luke, that this blasphemy shall not 
 be forgiven him. — Mark iii., 29 ; Luke xii., 10. 
 
 Sometimes we are told with a great flourish of 
 triumph, that Christ went and preached to the 
 spirits in prison, and does hot, they ask, this set- 
 tle the question? The reader is referred to 
 1 Peter, iii., 18, 19, 20. He will there find, first, 
 that this preaching took place ^' in the day of 
 Noah, while the ark was a preparing.^' Second, 
 that it was '' by the Spirit,' ' that Christ preached. 
 
122 THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY. 
 
 Third, that the persons to whom this preaching 
 was sent, was the antediluvians. Fourth, that 
 the prison was the earth on which they then 
 lived. So clear is it, that this text gives no sup- 
 port to the doctrine of purgatory, that a number 
 of Roman Catholic writers have themselves given 
 it up. We have now examined the texts of 
 Scripture put forth in favor of this horrid doc- 
 trine. Let us look for a moment at the clear 
 Scripture testimony against it. I hardly know 
 where to begin, so numerous are the declarations 
 of Scripture that bear against the existence of a 
 purgatory for departed spirits. Remember, that 
 this purgatory is for God's children. The blood 
 of Christ is not enough. Sin must be burnt out 
 in fire, not washed away in Jesus' blood. Paul 
 said : " I am in a strait betwixt two, having a de- 
 sire to depart and be with Christ, which is bet- 
 ter.'' — Phil, i., 23. This does not look much as 
 though he expected to stop in purgatory. 
 
 •' We know that if our earthly house of this 
 tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of 
 God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the 
 
PURGATORY. 1 23 
 
 heavens.^^ — 2 Cor. v., 1. Somehow this pas- 
 sage does not look much in the direction of pur- 
 gatory. In another place we are told that to be 
 '^ absent from the body '' is to be '* present with 
 the Lord/' Is the Lord in purgatory ? A voice 
 from heaven declares that the dead in the Lord 
 are blessed, and that they *' rest from their la- 
 bours.' ' What kind of rest could a person ob- 
 tain if racked by the pains of purgatory ? This 
 inquiry might be continued much longer, but 
 enough has been presented to show that the Ro- 
 mish fiction of purgatory has no foundation in 
 Scripture. Prayers for the dead grow out of 
 the doctrine of purgatory. This is one of the 
 ways by which the unhappy souls escape. If 
 they are poor, and have no rich friends to pay for 
 masses and prayers, they must remain in purga- 
 tory until they suffer enough to atone for their 
 sins. But if they have rich friends to see that 
 masses are said '' for the repose of their souls,'' 
 their departure may be hastened. The priests 
 seem to know all about the state of departed souls. 
 Else why do they say masses for the repose of a 
 
124 THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY. 
 
 departed soul for a season, and then give the 
 matter up? If the soul is not in purgatory, 
 these prayers are useless, and had better be 
 offered in behalf of some one else. And why do 
 they cease saying masses, unless they know that 
 the soul is liberated? To do this would be 
 cruel. Yet masses are not said forever for the 
 repose of a soul. Some only have a mass said at 
 the funeral. Others, again, keep it up for several 
 months, or a year. All this seems strange. 
 Surely, the priests must know when to stop, when 
 the soul is liberated. But, then, how do they 
 know ? Would it not be awful if they stopped 
 too soon, and left the soul in torment ? Another 
 curious thing about these prayers for the dead is, 
 that they wait so long, sometimes. They do not 
 keep right at it, until the work is done. Some- 
 times months, and even years, intervene between 
 the masses. 
 
 It may be very nice for friends on earth to 
 have things done in this quiet, genteel way ; but 
 how about the poor soul in purgatory ? I think 
 that I should want them to hurry up. 
 
PURGATORY. I 25 
 
 A very queer thing about these masses for the 
 dead is, that they are very often sung. They 
 sing for the repose of souls in purgatory. Is not 
 that cruel? If you were burning in the fires of 
 purgatory, would you think it kind in your 
 friends on earth to get together and sing over it? 
 Singing expresses joy and mirth. I will mention 
 another strange feature in connection with these 
 masses. When a Bishop or a Pope dies, they 
 say more masses than they do for a common sin- 
 ner, and keep it up longer. Now, either the 
 priests, bishops and popes are worse than the 
 common run of men, or else the Church does not 
 care so much for the souls of the poor and un- 
 known. I do not care which horn of the dilem- 
 ma they select. Now, when we put all these 
 queer things together, does it not look as though 
 they (I mean the clergy,) do not believe it them- 
 selves ? How can they pass each other in the 
 street and not laugh ? But it is sad to think of 
 the deluded flock. How dark the view that rises 
 up before the dying papist! Nothing but fire 
 and pain. The crown and harp are a great way 
 
I 26 THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY. 
 
 off, and to reach them he must wade through 
 smoke and flame. No wonder that we never 
 hear of a Roman Catholic dying shouting happy ! 
 Death for him has a fearful sting, and the grave 
 is robed in blackness. How different when a 
 Christian dies. His lips may be wet with the 
 dew of the vale, and his cold cheeks kissed by 
 the spray of Jordan ; yet all is well. Jesus 
 waits to receive him, and the hosts of glory en- 
 camp about his dying pillow. 
 
 " Sure the last end 
 Of the good man is peace. How calm his exit ! 
 Night dews fall not more calmly on the ground, 
 Nor weary, worn-out winds expire so soft." 
 
 It has often been my privilege to stand by the 
 bed-side of departing saints, and witness the 
 calmness. and peace with which they looked for- 
 ward to the life beyond. 
 
 O ! Rome thou hast shut out the light of Beth- 
 lehem^s star, and replaced the skeleton crown on 
 Death^s dark brow. We may almost say of thee, 
 as the legends of the Rabbi say of Cain, that the 
 flowers wither at thy touch, and the earth turns 
 
PURGATORY. I Tj 
 
 black beneath thy tread. The difference between 
 thy teaching and the teaching of the Bible is best 
 shown in the hour of death. I hope the reader 
 will trust to Christ, and not to Rome. The priest 
 may stand at your dying bed, with hallowed oil, 
 holy water, crucifix and beads ; yet these will 
 give your soul no peace and comfort. But Jesus 
 will make your death a transition to joys un- 
 known. 
 
 Well has the poet said : 
 
 " Oh ! change — oh, wondrous change ! 
 Burst are the prison bars ; 
 This moment there, so low, 
 So angonized, and now 
 Beyond the stars. 
 
 ' " O ! change — stupendous change ! 
 There lies the soulless clod, 
 The sun eternal breaks — 
 The new immortal wakes — 
 Wakes with his God." 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 TO WHOM SHALL WE PRAY ? 
 
 " Let your requests he made known unto GodP — Phil, iv., 6. • 
 
 " Prayer is the Christian's vital breath, 
 The Christian's native air : 
 His watchword at the gates of death, — 
 He enters Heaven by prayer." 
 
 Montgomery, 
 
 TDRAYER is the great duty of the Christian 
 life. No man can lead a pious life without 
 praying, any more than he could sustain physical 
 life without eating. Prayer is the first indica- 
 tion of the new life, the first act of the awakened 
 soul : while the last words of the expiring saint 
 are often breathed in prayer. Prayer is a 
 golden thread, woven by the shuttle of faith, all 
 through the warp and woof of the Christian life. 
 The question then, " to whom shall we pray T^ is 
 one of great importance. A mistake here may 
 
TO WHOM SHALL WE PRAY ? I 29 
 
 be fatal. Still, the question is soon answered by 
 Protestants. We reply at once, to God and to 
 God only. Now, we do not deny that . Roman 
 Catholics pray to God, but we do affirm that 
 they do not pray to him alone. They pray to 
 saints and angels, and to the Virgin Mary. They 
 deny that they pray directly to the saints, and 
 say that they simply ask the saints to pray for 
 them, in the same manner that we request a like 
 favor of earthly friends. This is all very well as 
 a way to answer the inquiries of Protestants : 
 but is it the truth ? We think not : and shall 
 present full proof of our charge. Roman Cath- 
 olics do pray directly to the Virgin Mary and 
 the saints, as directly as we pray to God. 
 They worship them. Pope Gregory XVI., in his 
 encyclical letter, addressed to all patriarchs^ 
 primates, archbishops, and bishops, dated August 
 15th, 1832, says : <' We select for the date of our 
 letter this most joyful day, on which we celebrate 
 the solemn festival of the most blessed virgin's 
 triumphant assumption into Heaven, that she 
 
 who has been, through every great calamity, our 
 12 
 
130 THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY. 
 
 patroness and protectress, may watch over us 
 writing to you, and lead our mind, by her 
 heavenly influence, to those counsels which may 
 prove most salutary to Christ's flock.'' 
 
 Toward the conclusion of the same letter, he 
 says : " But that all may have a successful and 
 happy issue, let us raise our eyes to the most 
 blessed Virgin Mary, who alone destroys here- 
 sies, who is our greatest hope, yea, the entire 
 ground of our hope." 
 
 This is high praise to bestow on a creature. 
 She (the Virgin Mary) is our only hope, its 
 *^ entire ground." What room is left for Jesus, 
 whom Protestants, who have no infallible pope 
 to guide them, are wont to regard as the great' 
 foundation of all their hopes ? We will now 
 give the ** Litany of the Blessed Virgin," a 
 rigmarole of nonsense and blasphemy, to be 
 found in nearlv all Romish books of devotion : 
 
 ** We fly to thy patronage, O holy mother of 
 God ! Despise not our petitions in our neces- 
 
TO WHOM SHALL WE PRAY f I 3 t 
 
 sities, but deliver us from all dangers, O ever 
 glorious and blessed virgin ! 
 Lord ! have mercy on us. 
 Christ ! have mercy on us. 
 Lord ! have mercy on us. 
 Christ ! hear us. Christ ! graciously hear us. 
 God the Father of Heaven, have mercy on us. 
 God the Son, Redeemer of the world, have 
 mercy on us. 
 
 Holy Trinity, one God, have mercy on us. 
 
 Holy Mary, 
 
 Holy mother of God, 
 
 Holy virgin of virgins, ^ 
 
 Mother of Christ, jj 
 
 Mother of divine grace, ^ 
 
 Mother most pure, ^ 
 
 Mother most chaste, ^ 
 
 Mother undefiled, Jj 
 
 Mother unviolated, 
 
 Mother most amiable, ^ 
 
 Mother most admirable, 
 
 Mother of our Creator, 
 
 Mother of our Redeemer, ; 
 
132 THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY. 
 
 Virgin most prudent, 
 
 Virgin most venerable, 
 
 Virgin most powerful, 
 
 Virgin most renowned, 
 
 Virgin most merciful, 
 
 Mother most faithful, 
 
 Mirror of justice, 
 
 Seat of wisdom, 
 
 Cause of our joy, 5^1 
 
 Spiritual vessel, |> 
 
 Vessel of honour, ^ 
 
 Vessel of singular devotion, ^ 
 
 Mystical rose, ^ 
 
 Tower of ivory. 
 
 House of gold, ^j 
 
 Ark of the covenant. 
 
 Gate of Heaven, 
 
 Morning star, 
 
 Health of the weak, 
 
 Kefuge of sinners, 
 
 Comforter of the afflicted. 
 
 Help of Christians, 
 
 Queen of angels, 
 
TO WHOM SHALL WE PRAY ? I 33 
 
 Queen of patriarchs, ^ 
 
 Queen of prophets, S* 
 
 Queen of apostles, i^ 
 
 Queen of martyrs, h| 
 
 Queen of confessors, S) 
 
 Queen of virgins, cj 
 
 Queen of all saints, 
 Lamb of God ! who takest away the sins of the 
 world, spare us, Lord ! 
 
 Lamb of God ! who takest away the sins of the 
 world, hear us. 
 
 Lord ! have mercy on us. 
 Christ ! hear us. Christ ! graciously hear us. 
 Lord ! have mercy on us ! Christ ! have mercy 
 on us. 
 
 V. Pray for us, O holy mother of God. 
 B. That we may be worthy of the promises 
 of Christ.'' 
 
 In this litany, some prayers, we admit, are 
 directed to the Father and the Son, but the most 
 of it is directly addressed to Mary. She is the 
 <* Gate of Heaven ; " whereas Christ proclaims 
 
134 THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY. 
 
 that He is the only way of entrance, the one great 
 door. 
 
 She is the Morning Star, not Christ, as we 
 read in Revelations. "I am the bright and 
 morning star/' — Rev. xxii., 16, She is the 
 " Health of the weak," not Christ, the Great 
 Physician. She is the *' Refuge of sinners/' the 
 " Comforter of the afflicted,'' the " Help of Chris- 
 tians." Is not this gross idolatry, pure creature 
 worship ? 
 
 It is true they use the form, ^' Pray for us;" 
 but, then, they mean, be our advocate, intercede 
 for us ; and they do this because of her supposed 
 merits. When we ask for the prayers of our 
 living friends, we make no mention of advocacy 
 or merits. We think, after all, that it is most 
 effectual, when we pray for ourselves. So their 
 plea will not hold good. They cannot exonerate 
 themselves from the charge of idolatry. They 
 degrade the Lord Jesus by introducing a new 
 mediator and intercessor. But the Bible declares 
 that, ** There is one God, and one mediator be- 
 
TO WHOM SHALL WE PRAY? I 35 
 
 tween God and men, the man Christ Jesus." — 
 1 Tim. ii.,8. 
 
 But they are not content with appealing to the 
 Virgin Mary. They want any quantity of 
 " strings to their bow." If one saint is well, a 
 hundred saints are better. So they have a <* Lit- 
 any of Saints." 
 
 A whole string of saints are invited to act 
 as our mediators. There seems to be hardly 
 any room for Christ whatever. Yet the Bible 
 declares that he is the only Mediator, Is it not, 
 then, gross and shameless idolatry, for those call- 
 ing themselves Christians, thus to invoke the 
 whole host of heaven ? But they give the Virgin 
 Mary the pre-eminence. To her they not only 
 pray, but sing. Yes, they sing to her. Their 
 temples resound with her songs of praise. 
 
 From the 334th page of the Roman Missal, I 
 subjoin a specimen of this form of idolatry : 
 
 " O, holy mother of our G-od ! 
 
 To thee for help we fly ; 
 Despise not this our humble prayer, 
 
 But all our wants supply. 
 
136 THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY, 
 
 ! glorious Virgin, ever blest, 
 
 Defend us from our foes ; 
 From threatening danger set us free, 
 
 And terminate our woes." 
 
 According to this hymn, the Virgin Mary is 
 the source to which they fly for help. She sup- 
 plies their wants, protects them from their enemies, 
 and terminates their sorrows. I am glad that I 
 am not a Roman Catholic. Here is another of 
 their hymns to the Virgin : 
 
 "AVE MARIS STELLA." 
 ** Hail, thou resplendent star 
 
 Which shineth o'er the main ; 
 Blest mother of our God, 
 And ever Virgin Queen. 
 
 Hail, happy gate of bliss. 
 
 Greeted by Gabriel's tongue ; 
 Negotiate our peace, 
 
 And cancel Eve^s wrong. 
 
 Loosen the sinner^s bonds, 
 
 All evils drive away ; 
 Bring light unto the blind. 
 
 And for all graces pray. 
 
 Exert the mother's care, 
 
 And us thy children own ; 
 To Him convey our prayer. 
 
 Who chose to be thy Son. 
 
TO WHOM SHALL WE PRAY ? I 37 
 
 O ! pure, O ! spotless maid, 
 
 Whose meekness all surpass'd 
 Our lusts and passions quell. 
 
 And make us mild and chaste. 
 
 Preserve our lives unstained, 
 
 And guard us in our way. 
 Until we come to thee^ 
 
 To joys that ne'er decay. 
 
 Praise to the Father be, 
 
 With Christ, his only Son, 
 And to the Holy Ghost, 
 
 Thrice blessed Three in One." 
 
 This hymn teaches that Mary is the Saviour of 
 the world. She 
 
 " Negotiates our peace. 
 And cancels Eve's wrong." 
 
 She loosens the bands of the sinner, and brings 
 light to the darkened mind. She sanctifies the 
 heart and guides to endless peace. We Pro- 
 testants think of Heaven, as the place where 
 Jesus reigns, but the Romanists think of it as the 
 place where Mary reigns. We love to think of 
 meeting with Jesus, they love to think of meeting 
 with Mary. We think that Mary was a good 
 woman, was highly honored in being the mother 
 
I 38 THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY. 
 
 of Jesus, and is now in Heaven. But is that any 
 reason why we should worship her? Is it any 
 reason why we should pray to her, sing to 
 her. dedicate churches to her, and adore her 
 images and pictures? This creature worship, 
 this adoration of Mary and the saints, runs all 
 through their preaching, their prayer books, 
 their newspapers. The worship of the creature 
 has supplanted the worship of the Creator. 
 
 Let us see how this worship of, and praying to 
 saints, looks in the light of Scripture. This is 
 the great test. Before it the idolatry and super- 
 stition of Rome melt away like dew on the moun- 
 tains. We have already seen that we are invited 
 to make our wants known unto God, and that 
 there can be only one mediator between him and 
 us, *• the man Christ Jesus.'' Prayer is most 
 certainly one method of worship. Singing is 
 another. Now, the Romanists pray and sing to 
 Mary and the saints ; hence they worship them. 
 How this does agree with the solemn declaration, 
 ** Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him 
 only shalt thou serve.'' — Matt, iv., 10. 
 
TO WHOM SHALL WE PRAY? I 39 
 
 Here is another passage that ought to make 
 Romanists tremble with fear and guilt : '* Let no 
 man beguile you of your reward in a voluntary 
 humility and worshipping of angels, intruding 
 into those things which he hath not seen, vainly 
 puffed up by his fleshy mind/' — Col. ii., 18. 
 
 Elijah did not seem to be acquainted with 
 the Romish ways, for he said to Elisha, ^* Ask 
 what I shall do for thee before I be taken away 
 from thee.''— ^2 Kings ii., 9. 
 
 If Elijah expected to be prayed to in a future 
 state, what was the need of this admonition ? 
 Peter (Romanists regard him as their First Pope,) 
 seems to have been a bit of a Protestant; for 
 when Cornelius fell down at his feet, and wor- 
 shipped him, Peter raised him up, and said : 
 ** Stand up ; I myself am a maa." This is not 
 much after the manner of modern Popes. 
 
 Now, if we are not to worship saints when on 
 the earth, why should we worship them when 
 taken to Heaven ? But we have a case in the 
 Bible where the worship of a saint in Heaven 
 was directly rebuked and forbidden. John, the 
 
140 THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY. 
 
 beloved disciple, fell down to adorn the angel 
 showing unto him the heavenly glory; but he 
 said unto him, ^' See thou do it not ; 1 am thy fel- 
 low-servant, and of thy brethren that have the 
 testimony of Jesus ; worship God/^ — Rev. xix., 10. 
 
 If all the angels and saints feel and act like 
 this, one-half of the praying done in Roman 
 Catholic Churches had much better be omitted. 
 As for the worship of Mary, Christ treated her 
 with kindness and respect, loved her as his 
 mother, but has never indicated that she should 
 be worshipped or prayed to, never announced 
 her as the Queen of Heaven, or as a mediator 
 between him and us. So far from this, he seems 
 to have guarded his followers against excessive 
 reverence for her. 
 
 " One said unto him. Behold thy mother and 
 thy brethren stand without, desiring to speak 
 with thee. But he answered and said unto them 
 that told him, Who is my mother ? and who are 
 my brethren ? And he stretched forth his hand 
 towards his disciples, and said : Behold my 
 mother and my brethren ! For whosoever shall 
 
TO WHOM SHALL WE PRAY ? 1 4 1 
 
 do the will of my Father/which is in heaven, the 
 same is my brother, and sister, and mother.' ' — 
 Matt, xii., 47-50. 
 
 What a rebuke do we have here to the disgust- 
 ing Idolatry of Romanism. But they still per- 
 sist in telling us that the mother of Jesus never 
 sinned as other mortals ; that she never lived 
 with Joseph as his wife ; that she was taken up 
 bodily to heaven ; that she is queen of angels and 
 saints ; has supreme command over the heart of 
 Jesus, and must be adored and prayed to. 
 
 The Church of Rome is the " Church of Mary/' 
 
 not the *' Church of Jesus." The most prominent 
 
 object in her hymns, her prayers, and in her 
 
 teachings, is Mary. To Mary her altars are 
 
 dedicated, and in honor of Mary her churches 
 
 are built. It is throughout Mariamty, rather 
 
 than Christianity. Is it not strange that if the 
 
 teaching of this Church is correct, we should 
 
 read nothing about Mary in the epistles of the 
 
 primitive apostles ? Paul, James, and Peter, in 
 
 their several letters, do not even mention her. 
 
 John, in his visions of the heavenly world, saw 
 13 
 
142 THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY. 
 
 the Lamb in the midst of the throne, but makes 
 no mention of Mary, whom Romanists regard as 
 heaven's great queen. This was certainly a very 
 grave omission. 
 
 The reader may now see the great difference 
 between Romanism and Protestantism on the sub- 
 ject of prayer. We have only the great and the 
 glorious God to pray to, and feel that we need 
 no other refuge. Romanists direct a great part 
 of their praying to Mary, to the saints and 
 angels. We only pray to God, because we have 
 no Scriptural warrant for praying to any other 
 Being. This ground has been already gone over. 
 1 will only add that we have one instance in the 
 New Testament of praying to saints. The rich 
 man prayed in hell, but his prayer was never 
 answered. The Roman Catholics are welcome 
 to get all the aid they can from this single case 
 of praying to saints. We should hardly know 
 how to pray to the saints, even if we wished to. 
 If we should pray to them in a general way, it 
 would be a random sort of work. We fear that 
 we would not gain much by the operation, as it 
 
TO WHOM SHALL WE PRAY? 1 43 
 
 might be with them as it is with their brethren 
 on earth, that ** what is everybody's business, 
 soon comes to be regarded as nobody's business.'' 
 If we do not pray in this general manner, but 
 select individual saints, we ought to know just 
 who are in heaven and who are not. But this 
 we do not know, nor will we know who are in 
 heaven until we get there ourselves. God alone 
 can look down into the human heart, and tell 
 who are truly loving and serving him. Now, 
 suppose we should make a mistake, and pray to 
 some one not in heaven, of what avail would our 
 prayers be ? But waiving this difficulty, how 
 are we to know that the saint to whom we pray 
 hears us ? The saints are not omnipresent. The 
 distance between them and us is very great, and 
 how do we know that a saint can hear a thousand 
 prayers, addressed to him from a thousand parts 
 of the earth at the same time ? Besides all this, 
 praying to saints is a very roundabout way of 
 getting access to our heavenly Father. Why not 
 go at once to God ? He loves to have us come 
 
144 THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY. 
 
 to Mm, invites and even urges us to come. In 
 fact, we have a standing invitation. 
 
 Why not, then, improve it ? For these and 
 many other reasons we prefer to pray to God 
 only. We love the saints and angels. We love 
 to think of the time when we may fellowship 
 with them, but we do not pray to them. We do 
 not worship them. We never worshipped them 
 when on the earth, and do not feel inclined to 
 worship them now that they are in heaven. We 
 have never felt any loss from this action. 
 
 We have always found God an all-sufficient 
 Friend. We never expect to exhaust the fountain 
 of Divine goodness. We have yet to learn that 
 Romanists bear the ills of life, with more calm- 
 ness or trust in God than Protestants. We will 
 conclude this chapter with a brief refutation of 
 the arguments commonly advanced by Roman 
 Catholics in defence of their saint worship. 
 
 It has been said that we ought to worship the 
 saints, because of their supernatural excellence. 
 But mere excellence is no ground for adoration. 
 
TO WHOM SHALL WE PRAY? 1 45 
 
 If it were, every inferior being should worship 
 the rank of beings above him. There are many 
 excellent persons on earth, but we do not feel 
 that we ought to worship them. Dens rests the 
 matter on the authority of the church, but we 
 deny the authority of the church to establish a 
 species of worship, which is not supported by 
 the Word of God. He also says : " that the 
 saints are to be invoked, because the Council of 
 Trent has enjoined it." To this we still reply, 
 that we regard nothing as an infallible guide in 
 matters of faith and practice save the Word of 
 God. It has been said that subjects cannot go 
 directly to their king, but have to approach him 
 through his ministers. To this queer argument, 
 we reply that the illustration does not hold good. 
 The doings of God are not to be judged by 
 human proceedings. His ways are not as our 
 ways, or his thoughts as our thoughts. 
 
 Earthly governments are weak and imperfect, 
 but this is not the case with the Divine Govern- 
 ment. They argue that Christ is too great to 
 be touched by our miseries, too exalted to be 
 
146 THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY. 
 
 approached by us, that the saints are more human, 
 etc. This we flatly deny. The New Testament 
 everywhere speaks of Jesus as tender and loving. 
 He can " be touched with the feeling of our 
 infirmities.'' A few more arguments might be 
 mentioned, but as they are about like those 
 already given, the reader will not require their 
 examination. The Church of Rome stands 
 charged with gross idolatry. She worships the 
 creature more than she does the Creator. This 
 is a mill-stone that will yet sink her beneath the 
 waves of oblivion. May God hasten the time. 
 Her dark shadow comes between the soul and 
 God at every turn. She sends her children for 
 aid and grace to nearly everything but God. 
 May God in his own good time, reveal himself to 
 them, and bring them out into the light. 
 
CHAPTER XL 
 
 CELIBACY. 
 
 " Marriage is honorable in alV — Heb. xiii., 4. 
 " A bishop, then, must be blameless, the husband of one wifeP — 
 1 Tm. iii., 2. 
 
 " Let the deacons be the husbands of one wife, riding their children 
 and their own houses well^ — 1 TiM. iii., 12. 
 
 " Domestic happiness, thou only bliss 
 Of Paradise, that hast survived the fall." 
 
 Cowper. 
 
 ^ I ^HE love of one man for one woman, 
 and the life-long union of such devoted 
 hearts, in the holy estate of matrimony, is a most 
 blessed and a divine institution. This benign 
 ordinance escaped the wreck of Eden, and has 
 been handed down to us. Even this pure and 
 heaven-ordained institution, has not escaped the 
 withering touch of Romanism. One would think 
 that so fair a flower might have been allowed to 
 bloom and flourish unharmed ; but it has not been 
 
148 THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY. 
 
 the case. Rome teaches that there is a holier, a 
 more exalted state, than that of marriage. It is 
 better, says Rome, to live in a single than in a mar- 
 ried state. Surely, this looks like an improvement 
 on the word of God. Man has become purer than 
 his Maker. The tenth canon of the Council of 
 Trent on the subject of marriage, reads as fol- 
 lows : " Whoever shall affirm that the conjugal 
 state is to be preferred to a life of virginity or 
 celibacy, and that it is not better and more condu- 
 cive to happiness to remain in virginity, or celib- 
 acy, than to be married, let him be accursed." 
 
 Their catechism puts it in this form : <* The 
 words increase and multiply, which were uttered 
 by Almighty God, do not impose on every indi- 
 vidual an obligation to marry ; they declare the 
 object of the institution of marriage; and now 
 that the human race is widely diffused, not only 
 is there no law rendering marriage obligatory, 
 but, on the contrary, virginity is highly exalted 
 and strongly recommended in Scripture, as su- 
 perior to marriage, as a state of greater perfec- 
 tion and holiness." 
 
CELIBACY. 1 49 
 
 This is certainly a strange doctrine. We ad- 
 mit that no one is obligated to marry, that it is no 
 sin to remain in an unmarried state ; but that 
 celibacy is holier and more pleasing to God 
 than a married life, does seem strange, indeed. 
 Perhaps it is because we have read the Bible so 
 much. The Bible can be very well understood 
 without Romanism, and Romanism can certainly 
 get along without the Bible ; but to receive both, 
 and then try to reconcile them, is a most puzzling 
 task. 
 
 God himself instituted marriage. He joined 
 our first parents together in this holy state, and 
 bade them, "Be fruitful, and multiply, and 
 replenish the earth." 
 
 Paul, writing to the Church at Corinth on the 
 subject of marriage, says : '* Nevertheless, to 
 avoid fornication, let every man have his own 
 wife, and let every woman have her own hus- 
 band.'^ In writing to his son in the gospel, Tim- 
 othy, the same apostle says : " I will, therefore, 
 that the younger women marry, bear children, 
 guide the house, give none occasion to the adver- 
 
150 THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY. 
 
 sary to speak reproachfully.^' It is declared 
 honorable in all ; and is especially enjoined on 
 those who take holy orders. 
 
 The first miracle of Christ was performed at a 
 wedding ; and from the relations of husband and 
 wife are drawn many tender and beautiful illus- 
 trations, setting forth the union between Christ 
 and his people. 
 
 The more I see of Romish folly, and the more 
 I contrast its teachings with the Bible, the less 
 do I wonder that they dislike so much to see this 
 blessed book circulated and rdad. What would 
 Roman Catholics think, if taking up the Bible, 
 they should read that marriage is " Honorable in 
 all," or that a bishop **must be the husband of 
 one wife''? If the Church of Rome wishes to 
 retain its hold upon the people, it had better con- 
 tinue its old plan of keeping the Bible away 
 from them. We give them credit for seeing and 
 carefully guarding their weak point. For the 
 sake, however, of us Bible-loving Protestants, 
 and that great regard for the Bible which per- 
 vades the entire community, they do make a faint 
 
CELIBACY, I 5 I 
 
 show of defending their doctrine from the Bible. 
 They well know that in order to make converts 
 from the ranks of Protestantism, they must pre- 
 tend to have some little regard for the Bible. 
 For their own people they have a much more 
 direct and pleasing method. The voice of the 
 Infallible Church is enough for them. 
 
 Well, for the sake of us Protestants, they try 
 to defend their horrid doctrine of celibacy from 
 the Bible. It is a sorry sort of defence, but 
 none of us would be likely to do any better, if 
 we had so poor a cause and so little to sustain it. 
 They appeal to the first epistle of Paul to the 
 Corinthians, the seventh chapter. We admit 
 that in this chapter there are some expressions 
 that seem to favor a single state. But the ex- 
 planation is very easy. The Church was soon to 
 undergo a terrible persecution; even then to be a 
 Christian brought reproach and peril. In such 
 a state of things common prudence would suggest 
 great caution in entering upon the married state. 
 As we have before said, no man is obligated to 
 marry, and it may often be a question of great 
 
152 THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY. 
 
 moment, whether it be best to enter upon married 
 life, or to remain single. Such was the state of 
 things in the minds of many, when Paul wrote 
 to the Church at Corinth. The key to the whole 
 chapter is given in the 26th verse : " I suppose 
 this is good for the present distress.'^ Yet, even 
 under these circumstances, he does not command 
 any man, or class of men, to abstain from mar- 
 riage, but expressly declares that it is lawful for 
 all. So much for the argument drawn from the 
 seventh chapter of Corinthians. 
 
 Sometimes Matt, xix., 12, is quoted in favor of 
 Romish celibacy. We read in this verse, that 
 " There be eunuchs, which have made themselves 
 eunuchs for the Kingdom of Heaven^s sake.'' 
 These, however, are rare and special cases. It 
 may sometimes happen that men are called to 
 some work that they can perform better if free 
 from the care of a family. 
 
 The reader will recall the case of Bishop 
 Asbury and the early American Methodist 
 preachers, as furnishing a good illustration of the 
 fact just stated. In those days of severe toil and 
 
CELIBACY. 153 
 
 great poverty, it were well nigh impossible for 
 preachers to provide for and watch over the in- 
 terests of a wife and family. 
 
 The celibacy referred to by Christ, and of 
 which the early Methodist preachers in this coun- 
 try form an example, is only for those able to 
 receive and practice it. After all, it is only per- 
 mitted, not commanded. The celibacy in the 
 Church of Eome is forced, and often leads to 
 fearful sin and shameless lust. The following 
 passage is perhaps more frequently cited in favor 
 of celibacy than any other : " The children of this 
 world marry, and are given in marriage ; but 
 they which are worthy to obtain that world and 
 the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor 
 are given in marriage ; neither can they die any 
 more ; for they are equal unto the angels ; and 
 are the children of God, being the children of 
 the resurrection." — Luke xx., 34-36. 
 
 "The plain meaning of this passage is, that 
 marriage is the condition of our present mode of 
 existence ; but it is not the condition of the fu- 
 ture life. According to the Roman Catholic 
 14 
 
154 THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY. 
 
 interpretation of this passage we might argue, 
 * Animal life is sustained by aliment ; not so the 
 angelic life ; therefore to abstain from food, as far 
 as possible, is in the same degree to make one's 
 self an angel.' " — Elliott on Romanism, Vol, IL, 
 page 385. 
 
 We will not pursue this investigation into the 
 Bible argument in behalf of celibacy any farther. 
 One or two more passages might be given, as 
 sometimes quoted by Romanists ; but before they 
 can by any means be pressed into the service of 
 Romanism, they must receive so fanciful an inter- 
 pretation, and be so grossly perverted, that to 
 formerly consider them, and refute the meaning 
 forced upon them, would be an insult to the in- 
 telligence of the reader. We object, then, to the 
 Popish doctrine of celibacy, that it has no 
 support or foundation in Scripture. We object 
 also that it is absurd. All men ought to be as 
 holy as they can. If celibacy is a holier state 
 than matrimony, no man ought to be married. 
 Well, suppose we all practice celibacy. There 
 would soon be none left to argue concerning 
 
CELIBACY. 1 55 
 
 which is the better way : unless we adopted the 
 practice of Rome, and allowed fornication, 
 because too pure to enter upon matrimony. This 
 may seem a severe charge, but we appeal to well- 
 known facts. If Father Walsh, the would-be 
 seducer of Miss Edith O'Gorman, had taken to 
 himself a wife, he would soon have been hurried 
 out of the church and ministry : but as he only 
 attempted to ruin a poor and defenceless nun, he 
 is now and always has been an ordained priest in 
 the Romish Church, 
 
 All the punishment he received was a removal 
 from one parish to another. I think I can under- 
 stand why the Church of Rome forbids its priests 
 to marry. If they marry, and rear families, they 
 will form social and political ties. They will 
 cease to be the mere tools of the Pope. They 
 will contract a love of country, and the great 
 binding power of the Papacy will be broken. 
 As it is now, they can easily be transferred from 
 one country to another, or employed to great ad- 
 vantage as spies and politicians. This gives the 
 Pope an immense power. 
 
156 THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY. 
 
 We object to celibacy as maintained and prac- 
 ticed in the Roman Catholic Church, that it pro- 
 duces a fearful amount of licentiousness. It has 
 done this in the past, and it is doing it to-day. 
 A tree is known by its fruits. If celibacy is 
 such a holy state, it ought to fill the earth with 
 blessing. The voice of history tells a very differ- 
 ent story. 
 
 In the third century Cyprian complains bitter- 
 ly of the conduct of the celibates of his day. 
 He tells us that males and females occupy the 
 same bed, although living under a vow of celib- 
 acy. In the fourth century, Ohrysostom admits 
 of conduct in the professed virgins of his day, as 
 gross as that described by Cyprian. 
 
 Udalric, bishop of Augusta, who flourished 
 several centuries later, tells us : " That Gregory 
 the Great, by his decree, deprived priests of their 
 wives ; when, shortly after, he commanded that 
 some fish should be caught from the fish-ponds, the 
 fishers, instead of fish, found the heads of six 
 thousand infants that had been drowned in the 
 pond." These, he tells us, *' were born from the 
 
CELIBACY. 1 57 
 
 concealed fornications and adulteries of the 
 priests." Bernard, who died in 963, speaking of 
 the celibates of his day, says : " Nay, besides for- 
 nications, adulteries, and incests, there are not 
 wanting among some the most shameful and 
 ignominious conduct." 
 
 Thus we might go through each successive 
 century, and show by competent witnesses, how 
 degraded and vile have been the lives of the 
 great majority of those professing celibacy. In 
 our days, we have no reason to believe that 
 things are much improved. Those professing 
 celibacy are simply men and women, with all the 
 passions and infirmities of our frail humanity. 
 They are, in general, unconverted men and wo- 
 men. They live high, on rich foods and wines. 
 They have free access to each other's society. 
 They can easily conceal their guilt. For these 
 and other reasons, we believe that Romish celib- 
 acy is still a fearful curse, and a fruitful source 
 of crime. 
 
CHAPTER XII. 
 
 THE CONVENT SYSTEM. 
 
 " God hath made man upright ; hut they have sought out many 
 inventions^ — Eec. vii., 29. 
 
 A S the Church of Rome ascribes great merit 
 to a life of celibacy, so likewise she ascribes 
 great merit to a life of solitude. The great 
 doctrinal error at the foundation of these false 
 views of human life is, that the atonement of 
 Christ is not in itself sufficient to save the soul. 
 It must be supplemented by penance and self-in- 
 flicted pain in this life, and the fires of purgatory 
 in the life to come. Protestants believe that the 
 followers of Christ must often bear the cross of 
 suffering and painful toil in this life ; but they do 
 not believe that Christians should seek for suffer- 
 ing, or that they should inflict it upon them- 
 selves. Neither do they regard Christian 
 suffering and toil as vicarious, or in any way as 
 
THE CONVENT SYSTEM. 1 59 
 
 adding to the perfect work of Christ. Romanists 
 seem to think that the more miserable we are in 
 this world, the happier we will be in the next. 
 They think that human suffering may become 
 vicarious, and transfer merit to others, by making 
 the soul of the sufferer advance in sacrifice and 
 purity beyond the requirements of the law of 
 God. 
 
 This surplus of holiness and good works, con- 
 stitute what they are pleased to call the '* Celes- 
 tial Treasury of Indulgences,^' and is generously 
 retailed by the Holy Father in prices to suit the 
 pockets of the various purchasers. We can now 
 very easily understand the rise of the convent 
 system. We see the nature of the foundation on 
 which it rests. 
 
 The heart of man is given to pride. The 
 Bible plan of salvation does not flatter this proud 
 heart — sin must be confessed and forsaken, eternal 
 life must be received as the free and unmerited 
 gift of God. All this is very repulsive to the 
 proud and unrenewed heart. Man would earn 
 salvation. He would buy it. He would rather 
 
l6o THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY. 
 
 get it in any way, than as a free and unmerited 
 gift. Very early in the history of the Christian 
 Church, did this self-righteous spirit begin to 
 manifest itself. Even in the life-time of Paul, 
 the Mystery of Iniquity began to work. Once 
 having commenced, this vile cancer of monkery 
 continued to spread, until it threatened to eat 
 away the last remaining semblance of Christian- 
 ity. Says Dr. Ruter, in his '^ Church History," 
 speaking of the fourth century : " Another branch 
 of superstition, which daily increased, was Monk- 
 ery ; the actual establishment of which is to be 
 dated from the fourth century. Numbers, seized by 
 a fanatical spirit, voluntarily inflicted upon them- 
 selves the severest sufferings, and were content 
 to be deprived of every earthly good. In this 
 solitary state, like their leader, the illiterate An- 
 thony, they rejected learning as useless, if not 
 pernicious, and professed to be occupied solely in 
 silence, meditation and prayer. When, however, 
 they were formed into regular societies, they em- 
 ployed some part of their time in study. Their 
 melancholy modes of life prepared and qualified 
 
THE CONVENT SYSTEM. l6l 
 
 them for all the vagaries of a heated imagina- 
 tion; they had prophetic dreams, saw visions, 
 conversed with the different inhabitants of the 
 invisible world, and many closed a life of despair 
 in madness. Considerable numbers of the softer 
 sex forsook their elegant abodes, and all the en- 
 dearments of domestic life, to dwell in caves and 
 deserts. Egypt was the great theater for monas- 
 tic action ; and at the close of the fourth century, 
 it was computed that twenty-seven thousand 
 monks and nuns were to be found in that country. 
 The fortunate Anthony had the happiness, in tra- 
 versing the deserts, to discover the retreat of 
 Paul, the hermit, whose eyes he piously closed, 
 and resolved to imitate his holy example. His 
 solitude was soon enlivened by numbers, for 
 whose government he composed regulations, 
 which were in a short time introduced, by his 
 disciple Hilarion, into Syria and Palestine, and 
 by others into Mesopotamia and Armenia. From 
 the East it passed with celerity into the West. 
 Basil introduced it into Greece, and Ambrose 
 into Italy. Martin, the celebrated bishop of 
 
1 62 THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY. 
 
 Tours, propagated monkery so rapidly in Gaul, 
 that his funeral is said to have been attended by 
 no less than two thousand monks. The numbers 
 of these deluded people, and the veneration paid 
 to them were such as to induce them sometimes 
 to conceive themselves superior to the laws, the 
 execution of which they frequently suspended, 
 and ventured with impunity to snatch criminals 
 from the hands of justice while on their way to 
 execution." — Church History j pages 15j 76. 
 
 In the next century matters grew still worse. 
 Of monkery in this century, Dr. Ruter says : 
 " The approbation of monastic institutions was 
 not only extensively diffused, and numbers made 
 unhappy from the defection of their relations, 
 and the consequent loss of their support, but the 
 more judicious part of the community had the 
 mortification to observe that, as the numbers who 
 embraced the state of monachism sensibly in- 
 creased, so also monastic folly increased in the 
 same proportion. In the beginning of this cen- 
 tury a new order of monks was instituted by a 
 person of the name of Alexander, who obtained 
 
THE CONVENT SYSTEM. 1 63 
 
 the name of watchers, from their method of per- 
 forming divine service without any intermission. 
 They divided themselves into three classes, which 
 relieved each other at stated hours ; and by that 
 means continued, without any interval, a perpetual 
 course of divine service. Among the Mystics, 
 many not only affected to reside with wild and 
 savage beasts, but imitated their manners. With 
 a ferocious aspect they traversed the gloomy 
 deserts, fed upon herbs and grass, or .remained 
 motionless in certain places for several years, ex- 
 posed to the scorching heat of the mid-day sun, 
 or to the chilling blast of the nocturnal air. All 
 conversation with men was studiously avoided by 
 these gloomy fanatics, who frequently concluded 
 their lives by an act of violent madness, or shut 
 themselves up in narrow and miserable dens, to 
 howl out the remainder of their wretched exis- 
 tence.'' — Church History, page 101. 
 
 It would be an easy task to follow out the de- 
 velopment of this miserable superstition during 
 the succeeding centuries. It still exists in the 
 Church of Rome. Men and women still think 
 
164 THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY. 
 
 that they can please God, and secure a high place 
 in Heaven, by shutting themselves up from the 
 busy world, and spending their years in undis- 
 turbed seclusion. Two things, however, are over- 
 looked. 
 
 First, They do not escape temptation by rush- 
 ing into the cloister of some convent. They 
 take with them our frail and imperfect human 
 nature. The human heart is the same in convent 
 and in hall. The devil, our souFs arch enemy, 
 cannot be shut out by gates and bars. 
 
 Secondly, They lose noble opportunities for 
 doing good. Some nuns, we know, lead busy 
 lives among the sick and suffering ; but others are 
 called cloistered nuns, and never leave the con- 
 vent, even for the purpose of public worship. 
 
 Now, what right has any one, professing to be 
 a follower of Jesus, to shut himself up in useless 
 and inglorious solitude? Admitting that even 
 cloistered nuns, do not lead lives of utter useless- 
 ness,how much more good might be accomplished 
 if freed from the vows and fetters of convent 
 life! 
 
THE CONVENT SYSTEM. 1 65 
 
 Think of the sorrowing hearts to be comforted, 
 of the hungry to be fed, the sick and dying to be 
 visited, the sinful to be directed to the cross. 
 What would Paul and Peter, Dorcas or Phebe, 
 have done for the Church and the world, if they 
 had been monks and nuns in some gloomy con- 
 vent ? 
 
 But in their day convents were unknown. 
 Christ never founded any, Peter never saw one. 
 The whole tenor of the Bible is opposed to this 
 dark system. We are to " Let our light shine f 
 to be as "^ A city that is set on a hill." I wonder 
 if any Romish bishop, when preaching a sermon 
 on the occasion of some impulsive girl taking the 
 black veil, ever selected for his text. Matt, v., 15: 
 <* Neither do men light a candle, and put it under 
 a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth 
 light unto all that are in the house.'' I should 
 very much love to hear a sermon preached 
 from such a text, on such an occasion. The con- 
 vent system, like celibacy, is not only unscrip- 
 tural, but absurd. If it is such a grand 
 
 institution, all ought to have the advantage of it. 
 15 
 
\66 THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY. 
 
 All Christians want to be as holy as it is possible 
 for them to be. Well, suppose we all go into 
 convents, and become monks and nuns, what is to 
 become of a world perishing in sin ? 
 
 The convent system is cruel. It tramples 
 on the purest and best instincts of the human 
 heart. It takes young and impulsive creatures, 
 fills their minds with glowing conceptions of the 
 purity and bliss of convent . life, binds them by 
 the most awful of vows, to a loveless and dreary 
 life. 
 
 The false step has been taken. Soon the 
 bright dreams are dispelled. Sleeping on com- 
 fortless beds in narrow cells, getting up at four 
 o'clock in mid-winter, and a complete severance 
 from all human loves ; with ghostly fathers, 
 priestly brothers, jealous sisters, and a snappish 
 old superior for mother, is found to be anything 
 but romantic and pleasing. Eepentance comes 
 too late. The fatal vow has been taken, and 
 death alone can bring relief 
 
 Thackeray, in his Irish Sketch Book, has said 
 some truthful words. Would that all thinking 
 
THE CONVENT SYSTEM. 1 67 
 
 to enter upon convent life, might read and ponder 
 them. Referring to the Ursuline convents at 
 Black Rock, near Cork, he says : " In the grille 
 is a little wicket, and a ledge before it. It is to 
 this wicket that women are brought to kneel; 
 and a bishop is in a chapel on the other side, and 
 takes their hands in his, and receives their vows. 
 I had never seen the like before, and felt a sort 
 of shudder in looking at the place. There rests 
 the girl's knees as she offers herself up, and for- 
 swears the sacred affections which God gave her; 
 there she kneels and denies forever the beautiful 
 duties of her being — no tender maternal yearn- 
 ings — no gentle attachments are to be had from 
 her or for her — there she kneels and commits 
 suicide upon her heart. 0, honest Martin Luther ! 
 thank God you came to pull that infernal, wicked,^ 
 unnatural altar down — that cursed Paganism. 
 I came out of the place quite sick ; and looking 
 before me, there, thank God ! was the blue spire 
 of Minkstown church, soaring up into the free 
 sky — a river in front rolling away to the sea — 
 liberty, sunshine, all sorts of gladness and motion, 
 
1 68 THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY. 
 
 roundabout; and I couldn^t but thank Heaven 
 for it, and the Being whose service is freedom, 
 and who has given us affections that we may use 
 them — not smother and kill them ; and a noble 
 world to live in, that we may admire it and Him 
 who made it — not shrink from it, as though we 
 dared not live there, but must turn our back upon 
 it and its bountiful Provider. I declare, 1 think, 
 for my part, that we have as much right to per- 
 mit Sutterism in India as to allow women in the 
 United Kingdom to take these wicked vows, or 
 Catholic bishops to receive them/' 
 
 These convents, it must be remembered, are 
 shut out from public inspection. No one can 
 enter them, or have any interview with any of 
 their inmates, unless allowed so to do by the 
 Romish authorities in charge. 
 
 A few years ago a motion was made in the 
 British Parliament, and carried by a small major- 
 ity, to appoint a committee to inquire into con- 
 ventual and monastic institutions. In referring to 
 the agitation growing out of the question, the Lon- 
 don Watchman justly made the following remarks : 
 
THE CONVENT SYSTEM. 1 69 
 
 " The convents are prisons. They are built, as 
 every one may see, almost strongly enough to 
 stand a seige. High walls, massive doors, for- 
 midable fastenings, grates and bars of portentious 
 solidity — are these things the favored instru- 
 ments of liberty? Or are they the habitual 
 vreapons of tyranny and oppression ? The con- 
 vents are prisons ; at least, ' the show of their 
 countenance doth witness against them.' Wo- 
 men enter them under compulsion ; remain in 
 them under severe and terrible restraint; and 
 disappear from them entirely, leaving no trace 
 behind. It is well known that convents in this 
 country are in communication with convents 
 abroad, and that refractory nuns, or young women 
 who have not yet taken the conventual vows, and 
 about whom unpleasant inquiries are made by 
 friends or lovers, are removed to the Continent ; 
 out of reach, sometimes forever out of reach, of 
 all whom they love. As if to give special point 
 to Mr. Newdegate's arguments, only a few days 
 before he raised this question in the House, an 
 unsuccessful attempt was made to remove a 
 
lyO THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY. 
 
 young woman to some convent-prison in France. 
 Happily, the pursuit of her friends and her own 
 vigorous resistance baflfted the attempt; but no* 
 one who heard her cries for help resounding 
 through the hotel where her spiritual guardians 
 detained her for the night, could well believe 
 that this * bride of heaven' voluntarily * sought 
 the refuge of the cloister/ '' 
 
 In this country, they are no better. We 
 sincerely hope the time will come when these 
 institutions will be annually inspected by oflBcers 
 appointed expressly for this purpose. We in- 
 spect prisons and lunatic asylums, why not 
 inspect convents ? God only knows how many, 
 like Mary Ann Smith, have been abducted and 
 confined in them : or how many would fain be 
 restored to society and liberty if they only had 
 the opportunity. If these words of warning 
 shall lead any to turn aside from the snare, ere 
 they take the fatal and unnatural vows upon 
 them, or shall in any way hasten the time when 
 these prisons shall be inspected by proper ofiBcers, 
 the author will be amply repaid for all his toil. 
 
CHAPTER XIIl. 
 
 MINOR FOLLIES. 
 
 " The Mother of Karlots and Abominations of the Earth.^^ — 
 Rey. xvii., 5. 
 
 "TN comparing the doctrines and doings of 
 Eomanism, with the teaching of Holy Writ, 
 we cannot fail to perceive a wide departure from 
 Scriptural simplicity. We have gone over much 
 of this ground, but have not yet completed the 
 list of Papal abominations. Wishing to make 
 this book rather a brief manual on the subject of 
 Romanism, than an extended and exhaustive 
 treatise; and having yet to consider the posi- 
 tion of Rome in prophecy, its cruel and blood- 
 thirsty persecutions, the danger with which it 
 threatens our national life, together with its 
 certain and utter overthrow, we will compress 
 our examination of some remaining Romish 
 
172 THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY. 
 
 abominations into the space of a single chapter. 
 Of course a mere outline can only be given. We 
 hope that many of our readers will be led to 
 make a thorough comparison of Eomish doings, 
 with the pure and infallible word of God: 
 Those who do this, will never follow in the foot- 
 steps of Doane, Rogers or Dr. Stone; unless 
 their desire of notoriety and gain is greater than 
 their love for truth. If you should go to worship 
 in some Roman Catholic Church, you would find 
 it a very difierent affair from a Presbyterian, 
 Baptist, Methodist, or any other truly Protestant 
 Church. Perhaps the first thing to attract your 
 attention, would be a little vessel filled with 
 water, (often not over-clean) and fastened to the 
 wall in the vestibule. This is the far-famed holy 
 water, A little salt and a few other ingredients 
 are put in some common water, a blessing is 
 added by the priest or bishop, and behold ! we 
 have ^' holy water.'^ This holy water is put to 
 many different uses, and is supposed to possess 
 untold merits. It is supposed to keep away the 
 Devil, prevent sickness and to ward off harm of 
 
MINOR FOLLIES. 173 
 
 every possible kind. The people dip their 
 fingers in it, and then cross themselves. They 
 sometimes carry it away in little bottles, and 
 sprinkle it on their beds, in order to keep away 
 the Devil, and to prevent danger and accident. 
 
 " One of the most senseless and extraordinary 
 uses to which the papists apply this holy water, 
 is the sprinkling and blessing of horses^ mules, 
 asses ^ &c., on the festival of St. Anthony, observed 
 annually on the 17th of January. On that day 
 the inhabitants of the city of Rome and vicinity 
 send their horses, &c., decked with ribbons, to 
 the convent of St. Anthony, which is situated 
 near the Church of St. Mary the Great. 
 
 '^ The priest, in his sacerdotal garments, stands 
 at the church door, with a large sprinkling-brush 
 in his hand, and as each animal is presented to 
 him, he takes off his skull cap, mutters a few 
 words in Latin, intimating that through the 
 merits of the blessed St. Anthony, they are to be 
 preserved for the coming year from sickness and 
 death, famine and danger, then dips his brush in 
 a huge bucket of holy water, that stands by him, 
 
174 THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY. 
 
 and sprinkles them in the name of the Father, 
 and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Some- 
 times the visitor at Rome will see a splendid 
 equipage driven up, attended by outriders, in 
 elegant livery, to have the horses thus sprinkled 
 with holy water, all the people remaining un- 
 covered till the absurd and disgusting ceremony 
 is over. On one occasion a traveler observed a 
 countryman, whose beast having received the 
 holy water, set off from the church door at a 
 galop, but had scarcely gone a hundred yards 
 before the ungainly animal tumbled down with 
 him, and over its head he rolled into the dust. 
 He soon, however, rose, and so did the horse, 
 without either seeming to have sustained much 
 injury. Tfie priest looked on, and though his 
 blessing had failed, he was not out of counte- 
 nance; while some of the bystanders said that 
 but for it, the horse and its rider might have 
 broken their necks.'' — Bowling^ s History of Ro- 
 manism^ pages Wl-Wi, 
 
 Now, what warrant in the Bible can we find 
 for such degrading ceremonies, such absurd 
 
-MINOR FOLLIES. 175 
 
 superstition ? It is not enough to say that the 
 Bible does not condemn it. We should have 
 some positive foundation, on which to rest it. 
 Many things are not forbidden in the Bible, 
 simply because when the Bible was composed, 
 these modern follies were unknown. But it does 
 not seem to fit in with the general spirit of the 
 Bible. When the Bible is silent upon a point on 
 which we seek information, we test the matter by 
 an appeal to its general spirit and tone. Now, 
 the general tone of the Bible is opposed to such 
 operations. Holy water was unknown to the 
 Jewish priest, unknown to Christ and to his 
 apostles. We can trace the origin of this super- 
 stition to no very flattering source. It is mani- 
 festly transmitted from Paganism. Roman Catho- 
 lic writers themselves have been compelled to 
 admit this. This matter of holy water may be 
 deemed by some as a thing of small importance ; 
 but it serves to illustrate the corruptions and 
 follies of Romanism. Passing now within the 
 church, we find it filled with images and pictures 
 of Mary and the saints. To these the people 
 
\j6 THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY. 
 
 kneel, and before them, at least, they engage in 
 prayer. This certainly has a very heathenish 
 and idolatrous appearance. We can hardly get 
 away from the impression that we are in some 
 heathen temple. Romanists tell us that their 
 people only pray befoi^e them, and not to them : 
 that the worship given them is only of a relative 
 and secondary kind, &c. ; but after all it looks at 
 least very much like idolatry, and we have been 
 warned to avoid even the ^^ appearance of evil.^' 
 Let us put the language of the Council of Trent, 
 and that of the Word of God, side by side, that 
 we may compare them. This is the language of 
 the Council : ^' I most firmly assert, that the 
 images of Christ, of the mother of God, ever 
 virgin, and also of the saints, ought to be had 
 and retained, and that due honor and veneration 
 is to be given them.'' This is the language of the 
 Word of God : " Thou shalt not make unto thee any 
 graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is 
 in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or 
 that is in the water under the earth : Thou shalt 
 not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them." 
 
MINOR FOLLIES. I 77 
 
 I leave the reader to decide the question, 
 whether the Council and the Bible entirely agree. 
 The practice of the Romish Church is even worse 
 than its doctrine on this subject. The ignorant 
 at least do pray to them and do worship them. 
 In Rome they have actually taken old heathen 
 gods, given them Christian names, and set them 
 up for the adoration of the people. 
 
 <^ The noblest heathen temple now remaining 
 in the world, is the Pantheon, or Rotunda; 
 which, as the inscription over the portico informs 
 us, having been impiously dedicated of old by 
 Agrippa to Jove, and all the gods, was impiously 
 reconsecrated by Pope Boniface lY., about 
 A. D. 610, To The Blessed Virgin And All The 
 Saints. 
 
 Pantheon, &c. 
 
 Ab Agrippa Augusti Genero, 
 
 Impic Jovi Caeterisq ; Mendocibus Diis, 
 
 A. Bonifacio IIII., Pontifice, 
 Deiparoc & S. S. Christi Martyrilus Pio 
 
 Dicatum, &c. 
 16 
 
lyS THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY. 
 
 " With this single alteration, it serves as exactly 
 for all the purposes of the popish as it did for the 
 pagan worship, for which it was built. For as 
 in the old temple, every one might find the God 
 of his country, and address himself to that deity, 
 whose religion he was most devoted to ; so it is 
 the same thing now ; every one chooses the patron 
 whom he likes best; and one may see here 
 difierent services going on at the same time at 
 different altars, with distinct congregations round 
 them, just as the inclinations of the people lead 
 them to the worship of this or that particular 
 saint.'' — Dowling^s History of Romanism, page 
 124. 
 
 Papal Rome seems to be as much given to 
 idolatry as ever was pagan Rome. In addition 
 to the veneration of images and pictures, Rome 
 teaches her followers to adore the relics of the 
 saints, that is, their bones^ clothings hair, &c. No 
 Roman Catholic Church can be consecrated^ 
 unless some sacred relics are stored in it. It 
 may be a very small relic, a tooth, a toe-nail, a 
 hair, a drop of the blood, or a preserved tear 
 
MINOR FOLLIES. 179 
 
 from the eye ; but so long as it has been declared 
 genuine by the Pope, and placed with the usual 
 ceremonies in the altar of the church, it will 
 sufl5ce. The reverence in which these relics are 
 held is very great, and they even go beyond 
 holy water in their power to work miracles. As 
 every church, in order to be consecrated, must 
 have some relic, the demand for them, and the 
 hunting after them has been immense. It is said 
 that there are as many pieces of the true cross 
 in different parts of Europe, as would supply a 
 town with fuel for an entire winter. We are 
 reminded of the story of the showman, who 
 exhibited the sword with which Balaam smote his 
 ass. The rustic crowd gazed in mute admiration, 
 and the showman was having it all his own way, 
 when a gentleman present called his attention to 
 the fact, that Balaam did not have any sword, but 
 only wished for one. Nothing abashed, the show- 
 man replied, *' This is the one for which he 
 wished. '' This certainly was not a very reliable 
 or valuable relic, yet as good as thousands ex- 
 hibited by the Church of Rome. It is very 
 
l8o THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY. 
 
 diflScult to see what advantage can be derived 
 from the possession and study of these relics^ 
 even if they were all genuine. In what way can 
 the toe-nail of St. Peter, a drop of St. PauFs 
 blood, or some of the beard of John the Baptist, 
 excite our devotion, or make us any holier^ 
 even if we are sure that we have them in our 
 possession ? But how can we ever know that 
 these old bones, etc., ever did belong to any of 
 the saints ? There is no external difference be- 
 tween the bones of St. Paul, and the bones of 
 Judas Iscariot ; none between the skull of St. 
 Peter, and that of the impenitent thief. It is true 
 we can get the decision of the Pope. This may 
 satisfy devoted Romanists, but will hardly con- 
 vince the great outside world. We need not 
 wonder that Roman Catholic countries abound in 
 infidels. Let the Church of Rome pull down its 
 pagan images and pictures, throw away its old 
 bones and other ridiculous relics, and if it does 
 not secure obedience, it may possibly command 
 respect. Having considered the holy water at 
 the door, the images and pictures on the wall, 
 
MINOR FOLLIES. l8l 
 
 the relics under the altar, we now turn to the 
 priest ; (this is the blasphemous name they give 
 to their ministers,) and are at once struck with the 
 strange appearance of his attire. He is dressed 
 in as fantastic a style as though he were a clown 
 in some circus. Joseph^s coat of many colors 
 would soon fade if compared with this priestly 
 robe. Now, this may be all right, but it seems 
 difficult to imagine Peter or Paul dressed after 
 such a fashion. Christ declared that God, being 
 a Spirit, must be worshiped *^ in spirit and in 
 truth. ^^ Now no particular kind of dress for 
 ministers is forbidden in the Bible, and none is 
 commanded ; but at the same time all this display 
 of pomp and pride seems strangely inconsistent 
 with pure and spiritual worship. In addition to 
 the images and pictures on the wail, the fantastic 
 attire of the priests, the glitter of altar and 
 shrine, we notice at a certain point in the service, 
 clouds of incense floating in the air. This is 
 a purely pagan custom. The use of incense was 
 unknown to the early christians, except as they 
 
1 82 THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY. 
 
 beheld it in the temples of the heathen. Virgil, 
 speaking of the Paphian Venus, says : 
 
 ^' Her hundred altars there with garlands crowned, 
 And richest incense smoking breathe around 
 Sweet odors."— ^w. 1, 420. 
 
 <' Under the pagan emperors, the use of incense 
 for any purpose of religion was thought so contrary 
 to the obligations of Christianity^ that, in their 
 persecutions, the very method of trying and con- 
 victing a Christian, was by requiring him only to 
 throw the least grain of it into the censer, or on 
 the altar. Under the Christian emperors, on the 
 other hand, it was looked upon as a rite so pecu- 
 liarly heathenish, that the very places or houses 
 where it could be proved to have been done, were, 
 by a law of Thedosius, confiscated to the govern- 
 ment. In the old bas-reliefs, or pieces of sculp- 
 ture, we never fail to see a boy in a sacred habit, 
 which was always white, attending on the priest, 
 with a little chest or box in his hands, in which 
 this incense was kept for the use of the altar. And 
 in the same manner still, in the Church of Rome, 
 
MINOR FOLLIES. I 83 
 
 there is always a boy in a surplice waiting on the 
 priest at the altar, with the sacred utensils ; among 
 the rest the Thuribulum, or vessel of incense, 
 which the priest, with many ridiculous motions 
 and crossings, waves several times, as it is smoking 
 around and over the altar, in different parts of 
 the service.'' — Dowling^s History of Romanism^ 
 pages 115, 116. 
 
 Candles will also be observed by the curious 
 visitor burning upon the various altars. These 
 are not for the purpose of illumination, as they 
 are kept burning in the day-time. Here we have 
 another innovation upon primitive worship, drawn 
 from the abominations of heathenism. This cus- 
 tom, Herodotus tells us, was first introduced by 
 the Egyptians. Many of the early writers ex- 
 pose the folly of this heathen practice. " They 
 light up candles to God,^^ says Loitontius, '» as if 
 He lived in the dark ; and do they not deserve to 
 pass for madmen who offer lamps to the Author and 
 Giver of light r' 
 
 If any reader of this book doubts the correct- 
 ness of theaccount here given of Romish worship, 
 
184 THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY. 
 
 let him step into the nearest Roman Catholic 
 church, and verify the matter for himself. If the 
 images and pictures, the costly robes and glitter- 
 ing altars, the candles, incense and holy water, 
 the operatic music and gay processions, do not 
 remind him of some gorgeous pageant, or heathen 
 temple, we will be very much mistaken. Turn- 
 ing from these matters to the worship itself, we 
 are astonished to hear the priest read the service 
 in a strange aod unfamiliar tongue. It is Latin ; 
 for this is the language of the Church of Rome. 
 In this dead and, to the masses of the people, for- 
 gotten tongue, the Romish service is said. One 
 would think that if an unknown tongue were to 
 be employed, it would be Hebrew or Greek — the 
 language in which the Word of God was first writ- 
 ten. But Rome says that Latin is to be pre- 
 ferred — and Rome claims to be infallible. A 
 curse is pronounced upon all who afiBrm that Mass 
 should be performed in any other tongue. As for 
 our part, we do not see the necessity of perform- 
 ing any part of divine service in any other than 
 the language of the people. Paul says : " In the 
 
MINOR FOLLIES. I 85 
 
 church I had rather speak five words with my 
 understanding, that by my voice I might teach 
 others also, than ten thousand words in an un-^ 
 known tongue.^' — 1 Cor. xiv., 19. Not only is 
 the service said in Latin, but by the most of the 
 priests it is so poorly and hurriedly said that the 
 whole thing takes the appearance of a farce. 
 Time would fail to enumerate all the abominations 
 introduced by the Church of Kome in the worship 
 of the pure and holy God. The attention of the 
 people is turned away from the sublime and holy 
 truths of Revelation, and directed to a senseless 
 round of form and ceremony. Rome has poisoned 
 the very fountain of Christian life ; for it is by 
 waiting on the Lord (joining in His worship) that 
 Christians renew their strength. 
 
 We have already gone over the major part of 
 Romish doctrine, but one awful subversion of sa- 
 cred truth, one gross abomination, remains to be 
 mentioned. The Church of Rome says that there 
 are seven sacraments. We only read of two in 
 the Bible, but the Church of Rome, having tradi- 
 
1 86 THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY. 
 
 tion to appeal to, and being (in his own estima- 
 tion) infallible, has added five more. 
 
 These five are Confirmation, Penance, Extreme 
 Unction, Holy Order and Matrimony. Confirma- 
 tion is their ceremony of receiving persons into 
 full communion with the church. The Bishop is 
 the administrator. The candidates kneel before 
 him. A chrism, made of oil of olives and balsam, 
 and consecrated by the bishop, is put on the face 
 of the person in the form of a cross, the bishop 
 saying : " I sign thee with the sign of the cross, 
 and I confirm thee with the chrism of salvation, in 
 the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the 
 Holy Ghost.'' A little blow on the cheek is some- 
 times added. This, they say, is to teach them to 
 bear the trials and persecutions of the world with 
 Christian calmness and fortitude. 
 
 Now, if this was simply their manner of receiv- 
 ing members into the church, although we should 
 much prefer some other method, we would yet 
 have no controversy with them on the subject, but 
 when they give it sacramental qualities, we feel 
 
MINOR FOLLIES. I 87 
 
 compelled to oppose it as unsound and unscrip- 
 tural. They base it on the laying on of the hands 
 of the apostles, several times mentioned in the 
 New Testament; but this was for the bestowment 
 of special and extraordinary gifts. The gifts have 
 ceased, and therefore the ceremony. " Every 
 sacrament must have its appointment from Christ, 
 consisting both of an outward sign and words of 
 institution. But this ordinance of theirs has none 
 of these. The sign which they use is oil. Their 
 words of consecration are, ^ 1 sign thee with the 
 sign of Ihe cross, anoint thee with the chrism of 
 health, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, 
 and of the Holy Ghost.' But none of these have 
 their institution from Christ or his apostles. We 
 read, indeed, that the apostles used imposition of 
 hands, but never of chrism or oil. Indeed, this 
 superstitious device was not then in use, being 
 brought in long after by Sylvester, who is reported 
 by Damascus to have been the deviser of chrism." 
 — Elliot on Romanism^ pages 232-233. 
 
 Penance is the performance of some task given 
 by the priest in confession, (as the saying of so 
 
1 88 
 
 THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY. 
 
 many Ave Marias or Pater JYosters), by which 
 satisfaction is made for sin. This matter of con- 
 fession and the true method of obtaining pardon, 
 has already been gone over. Jesus Christ died 
 for all men, and all who will may obtain pardon 
 through faith in him. Nothing that we can do, 
 will add to the perfect work of Calvary. Extreme 
 Unction is the funniest ceremony in the Church. 
 of Rome. There is nothing funny in the occasion, 
 for it is given to those about to die, but the idea 
 of anointing the body of a dying man, in order 
 to help him elude the grasp of the Devil, is su- 
 premely ridiculous. The ceremony consists in 
 anointing the dying man with oil that has been 
 blessed by the bishop, the oil being applied to the 
 eyes^ ears, nose, mouth, hands, and sometimes to 
 the kidneys. Now, where is the scriptural foun- 
 dation for all this ? We are pointed, it is true, to 
 the case mentioned by St. James, but the anoint- 
 ing in this case was given with reference to the 
 cure of the sick man, whereas Romanists never 
 give extreme unction while there remains any 
 hope of life. The anointing practiced by the 
 
MINOR FOLLIES. I 89 
 
 apostles was the attendant and token of a miracu- 
 lous cure. These miraculous recoveries have 
 ceased, and why should we continue the sign ? 
 The two remaining of the added sacraments are 
 Orders and Matrimony. How unscriptural it is 
 to place them among the sacraments, we will leave 
 the Bible-loving reader to determine. 
 
 The pen tires, and the heart sickens in recount- 
 ing the abominations of which Rome is the pro- 
 lific mother. The author well remembers a remark 
 made to him by the late lamented Dr. Mattison. 
 " If," said he, -^ all the devils in Hell had been at 
 work for a thousand years to devise a system of 
 falsehood and iniquity, they could have prepared 
 nothing better suited to their purpose than Ro- 
 manism." Romanism perverts Scripture truth, 
 exalts the Father and tradition as of equal au- 
 thority, denies the right of private interpretation, 
 turns the worship of God into childish mockery, 
 and, whenever possible, persecutes even unto 
 death all who will not bow to her ghostly author- 
 ity. Her bishops and chief pastors, convened in 
 
 general council, curse the progress of the age, 
 
 17 
 
I go THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY. 
 
 bewail the prevalence of civil and religious liberty, 
 and would, if they could, put back the world into 
 the darkness of the middle ages. Like certain 
 deadly plants, Popery thrives best in darkness 
 and in gloom. The light of progress and liberty 
 will bring death to her dark and deep designs. 
 Let the people have the light of knowledge — let 
 them learn to reason for themselves — and the 
 power of Rome will be forever broken. 
 
 I will conclude this chapter by referring to one 
 more of the abominations of Romanism, I mean 
 the pretended power of working miracles. This 
 power was given to the apostles as the credentials 
 of the correctness of their message and the reality 
 of their commission. As the church became 
 established, and received for a guide the New 
 Testament, miracles gradually disappeared, and 
 soon ceased to exist at all. This power the Ro- 
 man Catholic Church has never ceased to claim. 
 If, however, we examine her boasted miracles by 
 the usual tests, they soon disappear. The mira- 
 cles of the Bible are dignified and beneficent. 
 The miracles of Romanism are absurd in the high- 
 
MINOR FOLLIES. igi 
 
 est degree. The miracles of the Bible are well 
 attested by competent witnesses. The miracles 
 of Romanism are unattested, except by those pre- 
 tending to effect them. A few of them may be 
 named for the amusement of the reader. Dogs, 
 asses and bees^ for the benefit and conversion of 
 heretics, have adored the sacred host. Many mir- 
 acles are ascribed to St. Dominic. A knight, to 
 whom he presented a rosary, became so holy that 
 every time he dropped a bead he beheld an angel 
 convey it to the Virgin Mary, who magnified it, 
 and with the whole string built a palace upon a 
 mountain in Paradise. When Dominic entered 
 the city of Thoulouse, all the bells of the city rang 
 to welcome him, untouched by human hands. 
 When a nursing babe he regularly observed fast 
 days, and would get out of bed and lie upon the 
 ground as a penance. They will show you at Lo- 
 retto, in Naples, a house in which the Virgin 
 Mary is said to have been born ; and will gravely 
 inform you that this house was carried through the 
 air by angels, from Nazareth to Loretto, a few cen- 
 turies ago. 
 
192 THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY. 
 
 Our whole book might be filled with these ab- 
 surd, '^ lying wonders/^ and thousands yet would 
 remain untold. 
 
 Is not Rome well called the *' Mother of harlots 
 and abominations of the earth" ? No name is too 
 harsh for such a monster of iniquity. There may 
 be words in the English language strong enough 
 to express our indignation and contempt for this 
 vile system of shame and wrong, but we cannot 
 now recall them. 
 
 So, blessing the memory of honest Martin 
 Luther, and praying that author and reader may 
 alike be kept secure from the machinations of the 
 " Man of Sin," we bring this chapter to its close. 
 
CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 DRUNK WITH BLOOD. 
 
 " And 1 saw the woman drunken with the blood of the Saints, and 
 with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus^ Key. xvii. 6. 
 
 " Such are the tender mercies, tyrant Rome ! 
 The rack, the faggot, or the hated creed — 
 Fearless amid thy folds fierce wolves may roam, 
 Whilst stainless sheep upon thy altars bleed." 
 
 Tj^ROM the commencement of her history, up 
 to the present time, Rome has been distin- 
 guished by a cruel and blood-thirsty spirit. 
 Millions of our fellow-beings have met with death 
 at her hands. These bloody and terrible perse- 
 cutions have not been exceptions to an otherwise 
 peaceful history ; but the steady and unvarying 
 practice of the church. It is the doctrine of the 
 Romish Church, that heretics may be persecuted 
 even unto, death. Cardinal Bellarmine is the 
 great expounder of Romish doctrines. In the 
 
194 THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY. 
 
 21st and 22d chapters of the third book of his 
 work, entitled *' De Laias/' (concerning the laity,) 
 he boldly claims for the church, the right of , 
 punishing heretics with death. The notes in the 
 Rhemish Testament teach the same horrid 
 doctrine. The comment on Luke ix., 55, reads 
 as follows ; '' Not justice, nor all rigorous 
 punishment of sinners, is here forbidden ; nor 
 Elias's fact reprehended ; nor the Church, nor 
 Christian princes, blamed for putting heretics to 
 death : but that none of these should be done for 
 desire of our particular revenge, or without 
 discretion, and in regard of their amendment 
 and example to others." In the celebrated work 
 of Peter Dens, a text-book in nearly every 
 popish college and seminary, we find the follow- 
 ing on this subject : '^ Are heretics rightly 
 punished with Death ? St. Thomas rightly 
 answers in the affirmative. Because forgers of 
 money, or other disturbers of the state, are justly 
 punished with death ; therefore also heretics, 
 who are forgers of the faith, and, as experience 
 shows, greatly disturb the'state. * "^ ^ This 
 
DRUNK WITH BLOOD. 1 95 
 
 is confirmed by the command of God, under the 
 old law, that the false prophets should be 
 killed. -^ ^ ^ The same is proved by the 
 condemnation — by the fourteenth article, of 
 John Huss, in the Council of Constance/' Thus 
 the reader will see that this is still the doctrine 
 of the Romish Church. They have not the 
 power to put this doctrine in practice, as they 
 once had, but should (God forbid) this power 
 ever return to them again, we have no reason 
 to expect anything else than a return to the 
 bloody persecutions of the past. It has been 
 estimated that from the birth of Popery, in 
 606, to the present time, more than Fifty 
 Millions of our race, have been slain by this 
 Monster of Iniquity. This is an average of 
 more than 40,000 for every year of the existence 
 of Popery. 
 
 " No computation can reach the numbers who 
 have been put to death, in diJBFerent ways, on ac- 
 count of their maintaining the profession of the 
 Gospel, and opposing the corruptions of the 
 Church of Rome. A million of poor Waldenses 
 
igS THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY. 
 
 perished in France; nine hundred thousand or- 
 thodox Christians were slain in less than thirty 
 years after the institution of the order of the 
 Jesuits. The Duke of Alva boasted . of having 
 put to death, in the Netherlands, thirty-six thou- 
 sand, by the hand of the common executioner, 
 during the space of a few years. These are a few 
 specimens, and but a few, of those which history 
 has recorded ; but the total amount will never be 
 known till the earth shall disclose her blood, and 
 no more cover her slain.'' — [Scotfs Church His- 
 tory.) The persecutions of pagan Rome dwindle 
 into insignificance, when compared with the per- 
 secutions of papal Rome. 
 
 England, now a peaceful, happy Protestant 
 country, has been the scene of many a fierce 
 Romish persecution. During the reign of the 
 ** Bloody Queen Mary,'' a space of five years, 288 
 persons were burned at the stake, for the crime 
 of loving Jesus and the blessed Bible. The first 
 martyr was the venerable John Rogers, who was 
 burned at Smithfield on the 4th of February, 
 1555. The martyrdom of Saunders and Hooper, 
 
DRUNK WITH BLOOD. 1 97 
 
 of Taylor and Bradford, of Latimer, of Ridley, 
 and Cranmer, soon followed. The death of Cran- 
 mer was a very remarkable one. In a moment of 
 weakness, when threatened with a cruel and vio- 
 lent death, he placed his signature to a written 
 recantation. He lived to bitterly repent of this 
 act, and died at the stake, thus, like thousands of 
 others, sealing his testimony with his blood. As 
 the flames rose up around him, he held forth his 
 right hand and said : ^* This is the hand that 
 wrote it, and therefore it shall suffer punishment 
 first." He died in glorious triumph. 
 
 God can make human wrath result in his own 
 glory and the good of his children. So was it at 
 this time. Queen Mary soon after died, and 
 peace was restored to the unhappy land. The 
 people had seen enough of Romanism. The Pro- 
 testants of France^ although they enjoy a fair 
 degree of religious liberty now, have suffered 
 many severe persecutions in the past. Who has 
 not heard of the massacre of St. Bartholomew ? 
 Romanists wish that it might be forgotten, but 
 unrelenting history has carefully preserved the 
 
igS THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY. 
 
 record of it. It took place on the 24th of 
 August, 1572, It began and raged most exten- 
 sively at Paris, yet extended throughout the 
 kingdom. The plan was laid by the queen-dow- 
 ager of France, Catharine de Medici, in concert 
 with her son, Charles IX. Under the pretext 
 of a marriage between Henry, the Protestant 
 king of Navarre, and Margaret, the sister of 
 Charles, the Protestants, in vast numbers, had 
 been attracted to Paris. At midnight the signal 
 was given, and the butchery commenced. No 
 human language can set forth the horrors of that 
 frightful massacre. For several days the streets 
 of Paris ran with blood. Some ten thousand 
 persons, of every age and sex, were murdered. 
 From Paris the slaughter extended throughout 
 the kingdom, and nearly 100,000 Protestants fell 
 as victims to papal cruelty. Solemn thanks were 
 returned to God for so signal a victory. Medals 
 were ordered to be coined to perpetuate its mem- 
 ory. The news of this fearful murder was 
 received at Rome with unrestrained delight. A 
 universal jubilee was proclaimed by the Pope. 
 
DRUNK WITH BLOOD. 1 99 
 
 The guns of St. Angelo were fired, and bonfires 
 lighted in the streets. A medal was struck in 
 the Pope^s mint, with his own head on one side, 
 and a representation of the massacre on the 
 other, with an angel brandishing a sword, bear- 
 ing the inscription : ^* Hugonotarum Strages/^ 
 overthrow of the Huguenots. 
 
 In the year 1598, twenty-six years after this 
 horrid massacre, Henry IV. issued an edict 
 granting the Protestants liberty of worship. In 
 1685 Louis XIV. revoked this edict, and the old 
 persecutions were revived. They were not al- 
 lowed to assemble for public worship, their min- 
 isters were banished, and their children com- 
 pelled to go to Romish churches. A common 
 mode of punishment was called dragooning, that 
 is, quartering brutal dragoons upon the poor 
 Protestants. 
 
 These dragoons could torture the defenceless 
 people in any way they pleased. Cowling, in his 
 very able history, gives the following extract on 
 this matter, from Quick's Synodicom : " There 
 was no wickedness, though ever so brutal, which 
 
200 THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY. 
 
 they did not put in practice, that they might en- 
 force them to change their religion. Amidst a 
 thousand hideous cries and blasphemies, they 
 hung up men and women by the hair or feet upon 
 the roofs of their chambers, or hooks of chimneys, 
 and smoked them with wisps of wet hay till they 
 were no longer able to bear it ; and when they 
 had taken them down, if they would not sign an 
 abjuration of their pretended heresies, they then 
 trussed them up again immediately. Some they 
 threw into great fires, kindled on purpose, and 
 would not take them out till they were half 
 roasted. They tied ropes under their arms, and 
 plunged them again and again into deep wells, 
 from whence they would not draw them till they 
 had promised to change their religion. They 
 bound them as criminals are when they are put 
 to the rack, and in that posture, putting a funnel 
 into their mouths, they poured wine down their 
 throats till its fumes had deprived them of their 
 reason, and they had in that condition made them 
 consent to become Catholics. Some they stripped 
 stark naked, and after they had offered them a 
 
DRUNK WITH BLOOD. 20I 
 
 thousand indignities, they stuck them with pins 
 
 from head to foot ; they cut them with penknives, 
 
 tore them by the noses with red-hot pincers, and 
 
 dragged them about the rooms till they promised 
 
 to become Koman Catholics, or till the doleful cries 
 
 of these poor tormented creatures, calling upon 
 
 God for mercy, constrained them to let them go. 
 
 They beat them with staves, and dragged them, 
 
 all bruised, to the Popish churches, where their 
 
 enforced presence is reputed for an abjuration. 
 
 They kept them working seven or eight days 
 
 together, relieving one another by turns, that 
 
 they might not get a wink of sleep or rest. In 
 
 case they began to nod, they threw buckets of 
 
 water in their faces, or, holding kettles over their 
 
 heads, they beat on them with such a continual 
 
 noise that those poor wretches lost their senses. 
 
 If they found any sick, who kept their beds, men 
 
 or women, be it of fevers or other diseases, they 
 
 were so cruel as to beat up an alarm with twelve 
 
 drums about their beds for a whole week together 
 
 without intermission, till they had promised to 
 
 change. In some places they tied husbands and 
 18 
 
202 THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY, 
 
 fathers to the bed-posts, and ravished their wives 
 and daughters before their eyes. And in other 
 places rapes were publicly and generally permit- 
 ted for hours together. From others they plucked 
 off the nails of their hands and toes, which must 
 needs have caused an intolerable pain.'' 
 
 The heart sickens at the review of these horrid 
 details. After all, the half has not been told us. 
 Much will never be known until the awful day of 
 judgment shall reveal all the secrets of earth. 
 We will briefly refer to the persecutions of the 
 Waldenses. This peaceful and virtuous people 
 lived in the south of France and in Piedmont. 
 They would never bow to the dictum of the Pope, 
 or follow the corrupt teachings of the Roman 
 Catholic Church. For this they suffered the 
 most terrible and protracted persecutions. Pop- 
 ish armies again and again laid waste their happy 
 homes. Children were torn from the arms of 
 loving parents, that they might be reared under 
 Roman Catholic influence. The helpless victims 
 of papal cruelty suffered death in a thousand dif- 
 ferent forms. Some, like the saints of old, were 
 
DRUNK WITH BLOOD. 2O3 
 
 sawn asunder. Some had their throats cut. Oth- 
 ers were hurled from the top of some lofty clift. 
 Neither old age nor helpless infancy could pro- 
 voke pity. 
 
 Let those who regard the Romish hierarchy as 
 a branch of Christ^s true church, and who love to 
 imitate her ways and teachings, seriously ponder 
 on these bloody persecutions. If ever Popery 
 gets control of this land, we may expect to see 
 these awful scenes re-enacted. 
 
 It is true, these horrid transactions are a thing 
 of the past, but when have they been repudiated ? 
 They never have been, and never will be. The 
 Church of Rome claims to be infallible, and 
 having set her seal to these enormities, dare not 
 go back on her past history. 
 
 Again we affirm, that all Rome wants is the 
 power. Her teachings are unchanged, her spirit 
 as stern and cruel as ever. Her garments are 
 stained with the blood of fifty million saints^ and 
 she still thirsts for more. Let us not flatter our- 
 selves that the spirit of Rome has been tamed, or 
 her thirst for blood quenched. It will be time 
 
204 THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY. 
 
 enough to believe this, when she shows sorrow 
 for her past deeds of blood and cruelty. We 
 must see to it that her persecutions are over, in 
 this land of Freedom, at least. We must not 
 trust to honeyed words and soft pretences. If we 
 warm the viper, we will surely be bitten. Pre- 
 vention is better than cure. God helping us, we 
 will never allow Romanism to establish her 
 infernal Inquisition on American soil. 
 
CHAPTER XV. 
 
 ROME IN PROPHECY. 
 
 " Now the Sphnt speaketh expressly y that in the latter times some 
 shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doc- 
 trines of devils ; speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their conscience 
 seared with a hot iron ; forhidding to marry, and commanding to 
 abstain from meats, which God hath created to he received with 
 thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truths — 1 TiM. 
 iv. 1-3. 
 
 ny /TAN has always manifested an intense desire 
 to know the future. History acquaints him 
 with the past, and his faculties of observation give 
 him a knowledge of the present; yet still he 
 loves to peer into the shadowy future, and often 
 anxiously inquires concerning " Things coming 
 on the earth/' This desire God has, in a measure, 
 been pleased to gratify. He has, in his Holy 
 Word, to some extent, lifted the vail concealing 
 the future, '.and revealed to us a grand outline of 
 all human history. It is true, that all parts of 
 
206 THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY. 
 
 prophecy are not fully understood, and perhaps 
 will not be, until the events predicted shall have 
 taken place ; much seems dim and uncertain, yet 
 still much can be understood. We see that truth 
 is to triumph over evil and error, and that the 
 glory of God is one day to cover all the earth. 
 No one, it seems to me, can read the Bible 
 without perceiving that a terrible and fearfully 
 wicked power was to arise, hold sway over the 
 earth, and persecute the saints of the Most High 
 for many weary centuries, and finally to disappear 
 beneath the wrath of Almighty God. " Man of 
 Sin,^' " Anti-Christ,'^ " Babylon,'' " Great Whore," 
 seem to refer to the same sinful and cruel power, 
 though representing it under different images. 
 These prophetic terms, together with many other 
 names and images, all refer, we think, to the 
 same anti-christian and persecuting hierarchy — 
 Papal Rome. The coming of this monster sys- 
 tem of iniquity, is first, shadowed forth in the 7th 
 chapter of Daniel. This chapter contains an 
 account of a vision, in which the prophet beheld 
 four beasts rising up in succession, and holding 
 
ROME IN PROPHECY. lOTj 
 
 dominion over the earth. An explanation of the 
 vision is also furnished us in the same chapter. 
 By comparing this vision, and its explanation, 
 with Nebuchadnezzar^s vision of the image, 
 described in the 2d chapter of Daniel, and the 
 prophet's explanation, it will be seen that both 
 visions refer to the same line of events. The 
 four different parts of the image, and the four 
 beasts, represent the four great universal King- 
 doms of the earth. 
 
 No student of history need be informed that 
 these four kingdoms are the Chaldean or Babylo- 
 nian, the Medo-Persian, the Grecian, and the 
 Latin or Roman. This last universal kingdom, 
 the Roman, is represented by a beast more terri- 
 ble and fierce than any of the others. " After 
 this I saw in the night visions, and behold a 
 fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong ex- 
 ceedingly ; and it had great iron teeth : it de- 
 voured and brake in pieces, and stamped the 
 residue with the feet of it : and it was diverse 
 from all the beasts that were before it ; and it had 
 ten horns." — Dan. vii., 7. Nor is this all. From 
 
208 
 
 THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY. 
 
 among the ten horns, another, a '* little horn'' 
 arises and plucks up three of the first horns by 
 the roots. " And behold in this horn were eyes 
 like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking 
 great things.'' 
 
 In the latter part of the chapter, this part 
 of the vision is fully explained. " Thus he 
 said. The fourth beast shall be the fourth king- 
 dom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all 
 kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and 
 shall tread it down, and break it in pieces. And 
 the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings 
 that shall arise ; and another shall arise after 
 them ; and he shall be diverse from the first, and 
 he shall subdue three kings. And he shall speak 
 great words against the Most High, and shall 
 wear out the saints of the Most High, and think 
 to change times and laws ; and they shall be given 
 into his hand until a time and times and the 
 dividing of time. But the judgment shall sit, and 
 they shall take away his dominion, to consume 
 and to destroy it unto the end." — Verses 25, 26. 
 
 The fourth beast was difi'erent from the other 
 
ROME m PROPHECY. 2O9 
 
 three, and the Roman was different from all 
 other kingdoms in its republican form of gov- 
 ernment, its greatness, length of duration, and 
 extent of dominion. This fourth beast is repre- 
 sented as treading down and devouring the whole 
 earth. The protracted wars, bloody conquests, 
 and universal dominion of the Koman Empire, 
 are all matters of history. It was finally divided 
 into ten kingdoms, represented by the ten horns. 
 The list of the ten kingdoms rising up out of the 
 dissolution of the old Roman Empire, as given by 
 Bishop Newton, is as follows: 1. The Senate of 
 Rome, who revolted from the Greek emperors, 
 and claimed, and exerted, the privilege of choos- 
 ing a new Western emperor. 2. The Greeks in 
 Revenna. 3. The Lombards in Lombardy. 4. 
 The Huns in Hungary. 5. The Alemannes in 
 Germany. 6. The Franks in France. 7. The 
 Burgundians in Burgundy. 8. The Goths in 
 Spain. 9. The Britons. 10. The Saxons in Bri- 
 tain. And now, after, or behind (that is, unper- 
 ceived by them), arises another kingdom, repre- 
 
2IO THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY. 
 
 sented by the little horn, and one diverse from 
 all the others. 
 
 ''This is generally agreed, by all Protestant 
 interpreters, to be the kingdom of the Pope, 
 which was certainly of a very different nature 
 from any of the former, being first ecclesiastical, 
 or spiritual, and afterward claiming a temporal, 
 or civil jurisdiction." — Benson, 
 
 Three of the ten kingdoms were to be plucked 
 up by this arrogant new-comer ; and history in- 
 forms us that in the eighth century the exarchate 
 of Revenna, the kingdom of the Lombards, and 
 the state of Rome, were reduced to papal domin- 
 ion. This little horn '' had eyes, and a mouth 
 that spake very great things, '^ and a look " more 
 stout than his fellows, ^^ 
 
 These eyes denote craft, and cunning, qualities 
 for which Popery has ever been noted. Cer- 
 tainly, if we consider the bulls, anathemas, and 
 absolutions of the various Popes, we shall not 
 have much trouble in finding the '' Mouth that 
 spake very great things.'^ This horn was also 
 
ROME IN PROPHECY. 2 1 1 
 
 to ^* speak great words against '' or as *' the 
 Most High.^^ This is being fulfilled at the 
 present hour. The old Pope, Pius IX., claims 
 for himself, and his fellow popes, the attribute 
 of infallibility, a matter that belongs only to 
 God. In Gration^s Decretals, the title of God 
 is given to the pope ; while to-day he is hailed 
 as " O, Lord, our God, the Pope.'' This hostile 
 power should also ^< wear out the saints of the 
 Most High ; '' and the frequent and bloody 
 persecutions of Rome, remind us that this pre- 
 diction has been more than fulfilled. It should 
 also "Think to change time and laws." This 
 Rome has done in " Appointing fasts and feasts, 
 canonizing saints, granting pardons and indul- 
 gences for sins, instituting new modes of worship, 
 imposing new articles of faith, enjoining new 
 rules of practice, and reversing at pleasure the 
 laws of God and man.'' — Bishop Kewton, For a 
 long time this proud horn will exercise domin- 
 ion, but some day " The judgment shall sit, and 
 they shall take away his dominion, to consume 
 
2 12 THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY. 
 
 and to destroy it unto the end/' Christ must 
 finally triumph, and his Kingdom will sooner or 
 later overcome all opposition. Popery will 
 perish, and the Kingdom of Emanuel arise in 
 everlasting beauty upon its ruins. 
 
 Passing on now to the New Testament, we 
 have in the second epistle of Paul to the Thessa- 
 lonians a very full prediction of the papal do- 
 minion and enormities. '* Let no man deceive 
 you by any means : for that day 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, shewing 
 himself that he is God. -h- -sf- -jf ^ ^ ^^^d 
 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 com- 
 ing : even him, whose coming is after the work- 
 ing of Satan, with all power, and signs, and lying 
 wonders, and with all deceivableness of unright- 
 
ROME IN PROPHECY. 2 I 3 
 
 eousness in them that perish; because they re- 
 ceived not the love of the truth, that they might 
 be saved. 
 
 <*And for this cause God shall send them 
 strong delusion, that they should believe a lie : 
 
 " That they all might be damned who believed 
 not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteous- 
 ness.^' 
 
 Nothing has ever appeared in the history of 
 the world to which this description applies so 
 well, as to Popery. Unless we apply them thus, 
 it seems well nigh impossible to give them any 
 meaning whatever. Those who compare this 
 chapter with the 7th of Daniel, will see a won- 
 derful resemblance between tlie two. In some 
 verses Paul seems to be almost quoting the pre- 
 cise language of his brother prophet. 
 
 Some false teachers had persuaded the Thessa- 
 lonians that the day of judgment was nigh at 
 hand. As the result of this teaching, many of 
 them had indulged in great folly, going so far in 
 some cases us to neglect their usual business, and 
 ceasing to make any further provision for their 
 
2 1 4 THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY. 
 
 families. Paul wrote his second epistle that he 
 might bring them back to a sound mind, and re- 
 store the Church to its former healthy condition. 
 He tells them that before the end of the world 
 shall come, there will be a fearful apostasy from 
 the truth, a dark and stormy period for the true 
 followers of Christ. He warns them that already 
 the unholy leaven has commenced to work. 
 Germs of false doctrine and practice have been 
 sown, from which shall spring up a corrupt and 
 blood-red harvest. 
 
 By the *• Man of sin ^' we do not think that 
 any one pope is meant, but the whole succession of 
 boastful deceivers. The term " king '^ is some- 
 times used in Scripture for a whole succession of 
 kings. The term high-priest is used (Heb. ix., 
 7, 25,) for the series and order of high-priests. 
 So we think the term '^ Man of sin '^ is used to 
 designate the whole line of unholy, cruel, arro- 
 gant and vicious men, that have occupied for so 
 many centuries the pretended chair of St. Peter. 
 
 Having gone over the predictions of Daniel 
 relative to the Papacy somewhat in detail, we 
 
ROME" IN PROPHECY. 2I5 
 
 need not dwell very long on the chapter before 
 us. Allusion has already been made to the high 
 claims and blasphemous titles of the Popes. They 
 have seemed to take special pains that the 4th 
 ver^e of the chapter before us should not lack for 
 fulfillment. The ^' signs and lying wonders'' are 
 worthy a brief consideration. For these Roman- 
 ism has ever been noted. The " Lives of Saints/' 
 so popular among Roman Catholics, are full of 
 the most ridiculous stories. The '^ Breviary/' 
 which every priest must read for nearly two 
 hours every day, is stuffed with narrations of a 
 like character. One of them may be given as a 
 sample of the rest. A saint had his head nearly 
 cut off by some wicked person, yet he lived two 
 days, and carried it in his hands two miles across 
 the country, and laid it down where a church was 
 afterwards built. 
 
 Many other examples of a like character might 
 be given. Who can tell but that the period of 
 Rome's ''strong delusion" has now fully come, 
 and that the lie to which they are given over is 
 none other than the dogma of Papal Infallibility ? 
 
2l6 THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY. 
 
 Paul, in his first epistle to Timothy, refers 
 again to the coming apostasy. His words have 
 been placed at the head of this chapter. It was 
 a " departure from the faithj^^ that Paul foretold, 
 and this answers exactly to Romanism. The 
 little society of believers, gathered at Rome in 
 the time of the apostles, was so pure, that their 
 faith was ^-spoken of throughout the whole world." 
 But, one corruption crept in after another, power 
 and wealth completed the work, and the pure 
 faith of Christ was banished from Rome, leaving 
 the '* Mother of Harlots" enthroned mistress of 
 the world. This apostasy was to '^ give heed to 
 seducing spirits;^^ and thus has papal Rome long 
 been doing. She prays to saints and angels, 
 claims to know the exact condition of the depart- 
 ed, and enforces her pretended revelations by 
 claiming angelic visions and visitants. ^' And 
 doctrines of devils ^''^ or rather, doctrines concern- 
 ing demons. The demons of the Greeks were 
 beings of a middle nature between God and man. 
 To these they prayed and gave worship as medi- 
 ators. 
 
ROME IN PROPHECY. 2I7 
 
 The doctrine and practice of Rome concerning 
 the supposed mediatorship of saints and angels, 
 agrees very fully with the doctrine of the ancient 
 Greeks concerning demons. ^'Speaking lies in 
 hypocrisy^ How well this accords with the 
 character of the Romish priesthood, those who 
 know much about them can soon decide. These 
 lies seem to be spoken especially in establishing 
 the doctrine of demons, that is, the worship of 
 saints and angels. *^ It is impossible,^' says 
 Bishop Newton, " to relate or enumerate all the 
 various falsehoods and lies which have been in- 
 vented and propagated for this purpose ; the 
 fabulous books, forged under the names of apos- 
 tles, saints and martyrs ; the fabulous legends of 
 their lives, actions, sufferings and deaths; the 
 fabulous miracles ascribed to their sepulchres, 
 bones, and other relics ; the fabulous dreams and 
 revelations, visions, and apparitions of the dead 
 to the living ; and even the fabulous saints, who 
 never existed but in the imaginations of their 
 worshipers ; and all these stories the monks, the 
 priests, the bishops of the church, have imposed 
 
2l8 THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY. 
 
 and obtruded upon mankind, it is diflBcult to say, 
 whether with greater artifice or cruelty, with 
 greater confidence or hypocrisy, and pretended 
 sanctity, a more hardened face, or a more hard- 
 ened conscience." 
 
 ^* Having their consciences seared with a hot 
 ironJ^ Of course, no man could set forth lies so 
 great in number and dark in guilt, unless the con- 
 science was thus seared. ^* Forbidding to marry J' 
 Papal Rome has long forbidden marriage to her 
 clergy, and exalted celibacy as a holier state. 
 ** Jind commanding to abstain from meatsP Rome 
 forbids the use of animal food to some men at all 
 times, and to all men at certain times. 
 
 Well has Dr. Hatfield, speaking of the pre- 
 dictions we have been considering, said : ^' It 
 is almost impossible to read these words without 
 a conviction, or at least a suspicion, that they 
 were written for the express purpose of describ- 
 ing the apostate Church of Rome.'' 
 
 John, in his epistles, speaks of an " A.nti-Christ." 
 The Greek word means instead of, as well as 
 opposed to. The anti-popes claimed papal au- 
 
ROME IN PROPHECY. 2 1 9 
 
 thority for themselves, and opposed the reigning 
 pontiff. Anti-Christ likewise means one opposed 
 to Christ, and also claiming the titles and power 
 of Christ. Able interpreters agree that Anti- 
 Christ denotes an organized body of men, per- 
 petuated from age to age, opposed to Christ, and 
 which he will destroy. 
 
 Where can we look for the fulfillment of this 
 prophecy, if it is not fulfilled in the Popedom ? 
 The identity of papal Rome with Anti-Christ 
 has been maintained by Luther, Calvin, Zwingli, 
 Melancthon, Bucer, JBeza, Bengel, Cranmer, Lati- 
 mer, Ridley, Hooper, Tyndale, Rogers, Sir Isaac 
 iSewton, Mede, Bishop Newton, Louth, Vitringa, 
 D^Aubigne, Gaussen, Ouseley, Dowling, Mattison, 
 and a host of other able thinkers, both in this 
 country and Europe. 
 
 We will now turn to the 13th chapter of 
 Revelations. The Book of Revelations is the 
 most mysterious in the Bible. It is full of types, 
 shadows, and symbols. Much of it is not per- 
 haps at this time fully understood. Still, we are 
 not to turn away from it, as from a book hope- 
 
220 THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY. 
 
 lessly sealed. A blessing is pronounced upon 
 those who read and understand it. It is a 
 part of Scripture, and is therefore " Given by 
 inspiration of God/' and designed for our com- 
 fort and instruction. Moreover, the author in 
 presenting a few thoughts to the reader, concern- 
 ing the part Romanism plays in the grand 
 apocalyptic vision, is not giving the result of 
 independent research, but the views of some • of 
 the ablest and most sober commentators. In 
 the 13th chapter of Revelations, John tells us 
 that he beheld two beasts, one rising up from the 
 sea, and the other coming out of the earth. 
 These two beasts, we think, represent Romanism, 
 the first representing its secular, and the second 
 its ecclesiastical power. It claims to be supreme 
 in both. The first beast came up out of the sea, 
 that is, from the midst of war and tumult, and 
 had seven heads and ten horns. The great 
 mass of commentators, ancient and modern, 
 Protestants and Papists, agree in maintaining 
 that this beast represents the Roman Empire. 
 The only question is whether it represents pagan 
 
ROME IN PROPHECY. 221 
 
 Eome, or Rome under the Popes. It must mean 
 Eome under the Popes, for the pagan Roman 
 empire rose and was established long before St. 
 John's time. The seven heads may allude to the 
 seven mountains, on which the city of Rome is 
 built, or to the seven forms of government which 
 successively prevailed there. The ten horns 
 signify the ten Kingdoms, into which the Roman 
 empire was divided. This has already been 
 considered. '* The names of blasphemy '' may 
 refer to the idolatrous names applied to the city 
 of Rome, such as '* Tke Eternal City,^^ *' The 
 heavenly city,'' etc. This beast is the same as 
 Daniel's fourth beast. It partakes, however, of 
 the qualities of the three former beasts, having 
 the form of a leopard, the feet of a bear, and 
 the mouth of a lion. 
 
 Many of the evils of the G-recian, Persian, and 
 Babylonian empires were perpetuated in the 
 Roman. To this new form of the Roman empire, 
 the dragon, old pagan Rome, gave " his power, 
 and his seat, and great authority." One of the 
 seven heads was " wounded unto death." This 
 
222 THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY. 
 
 appears to have been the sixth head, for five were 
 fallen before St. John's time. (See chap, xvii., 10.) 
 The five fallen heads, or forms of government, 
 were kings, consuls, dictators, decemvirs, and 
 military tribunes. The sixth head, or the power 
 of the emperors, was wounded unto death, when 
 the Roman empire was overturned by the inva- 
 sion of the northern nations, and the name and 
 ofiBce of emperor alike destroyed. This^' deadly 
 wound was healed " when the pope and people 
 of Rome revolted from the exarch of Ravenna, 
 and proclaimed Charles the Great emperor of the 
 Romans. This beast is represented as speaking 
 great things, blaspheming God, persecuting the 
 saints, and holding almost universal sway over 
 the nations of the earth. 
 
 This the secular empire did, yet^ under the con- 
 trol and by the dictation of the ecclesiastical power. 
 Roman Catholic writers have sometimes boasted 
 that the Church never claimed the power of slay- 
 ing heretics ; it could only give them over to the 
 civil power. We all know just what that 
 means. 
 
ROME m PROPHECY. 223 
 
 As well might the assassin afl&rm that he did 
 not do the fatal deed, but the knife that he held 
 in his hand. And now (verse 11) the prophet 
 beholds another beast. This beast rises up out 
 of the earth, that is, like a plant, silently, 
 without at first attracting much attention, and 
 has two horns like a lamb. This beast repre- 
 sents, we think, the ecclesiastical power of 
 papal Rome. Although this beast had the 
 appearance of a lamb, he nevertheless " spake 
 as a dragon. ^^ The Romish Church pretends to 
 be very meek and holy, yet commands and 
 slays like a tyrant. This second beast joined 
 in concerted action with the first. The secular 
 and ecclesiastical power of Rome go hand in 
 hand. We do not hear so much of the former 
 now, simply because they dare not exercise it. 
 We have no doubt that if Romanism ever gets 
 control of national affairs again, we shall hear 
 the same lordly pretentions and the same stern de- 
 crees, absolving subjects from allegiance to their 
 government, and giving states and crowns to 
 parties pleasing to the *' Mother Church." 
 
224 THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY. 
 
 Yerse 13th refers to the pretended miracles 
 of Romanism, to which reference has been made 
 already. '* And he doeth great wonders, so 
 that he maketh fire, come down from heaven on 
 the earth in the sight of men/^ 
 
 By means of these pretended miracles the na- 
 tions of the earth have been deceived, and the 
 power of Popery extended far and wide. ^-And 
 deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by means 
 of those miracles which he had the power to do 
 in the sight of the beast, saying to them that 
 dwell on the earth, that they should make an im- 
 age to the beast, which had the wound of a sword, 
 and did live. And he had power to give life unto 
 the image of the beast, that the image of the 
 beast should both speak, and cause that as many 
 as would not worship the image of the beast 
 should be killed/' — Verses 14, 15. This image of 
 the beast, this representative idol, many have sup- 
 posed to be the Pope. He is only a private per- 
 son until the two-horned beast, the ecclesiastical 
 power, select him and consecrate him as pope. 
 He is then adored as the vicar of Christ, and 
 
ROME IN PROPHECY. 225 
 
 millions have suffered death because they would 
 not join in this idolatry. 
 
 The two-horned beast is further represented as 
 causing all men to receive in the hand or forehead 
 some mark, by which his ownership of them 
 might be publicly acknowledged. Those who 
 had not this mark could neither buy nor sell. 
 Rome, whenever possessed of the power, has al- 
 ways caused men to bow down to her peculiar 
 forms, and has often interdicted from buying or 
 selling those who would not comply. 
 
 The reader is referred for further light on the 
 history and destiny of Popery to the 17th and 
 18th chapters of the book of Revelations. In 
 one chapter it is represented under the figure of 
 a harlot; in the other under that of a wicked and 
 populous city* But the harlot is to be judged, 
 and the city to be overthrown. The Bible clearly 
 marks out the rise, progress, sway and final over- 
 throw of Romanism. Its days are numbered. Al- 
 ready there are signs of the coming ruin. The en- 
 tire edifice is rotten, and must fall. It is crimsoned 
 
 by the blood and reeking with the moral filth of 
 20 
 
226 
 
 THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY. 
 
 ages, and soon the thunderbolts of Divine wrath 
 shall cleave it from cap-stone to foundation. The 
 twelve hundred and sixty days are hastening to 
 their close. The Pope is propped up by French 
 bayonets, and when they are withdrawn the Ital- 
 ians will hurl him in indignation from the throne. 
 I hope that reader and writer will live to see the 
 hour. It seems to me that the skies will be 
 brighter, and the light sweeter, and that men 
 will breathe freer, when the dark shadow of 
 Popery is lifted from the earth. 
 
CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 THE PERIL OF THE HOUR. 
 
 ^*To be forewarned is to be forearmed." — Old Proverb. 
 
 /~\UR task is well-nigh done. We have 
 endeavored to state fairly the questions at 
 issue between Romanists and Protestants. We 
 have demonstrated the right of the Bible, and 
 the Bible alone, to decide in this, and all other 
 controversies of a religious character. We have 
 shown how Popery arose, and have carefully con- 
 sidered its false dogmas and superstitious prac- 
 tices. We have followed the stream of her dark 
 and bloody history, until we turned with horror 
 from the theme. We have viewed the prophetic 
 relations of Romanism, and have read of its cor- 
 rupt history and final overthrow in the Word of 
 God. It now onlv remains that we warn our 
 
228 
 
 THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY. 
 
 countrymen of its dark and deep designs con« 
 cerning our beloved land, and of the fearful 
 shadow hanging over this fair republic. Casting 
 a hurried glance over the nations of the earth, 
 we see that in many lands Romanism is going 
 down. It is going down in Spain, in Mexico, in 
 Austria, in France — yea, in Italy itself. Bibles 
 are now distributed in Rome, and more than this, 
 thanks to Victor Emanuel, Protestant churches 
 have been organized in that city. Spain has been, 
 in like manner, thrown open to the light, and the 
 pure gospel of Christ may now be preached in that 
 once benighted land. In Austria the Pope has 
 been openly defied, and a faint gleam of religious 
 liberty breaks in upon that land, so long held in 
 complete subjection to the Papal See. In Mexico 
 a small band of believers have organized the 
 ** Church of Jesus,'^ in opposition to the corrupt 
 Church of Rome, called in that land the '* Church 
 of Mary.'' 
 
 While Romanism is thus going down in the 
 Old World, and even in some parts of the New, 
 it is on the increase in the United States. It pre- 
 
THE PERIL OF THE HOUR. 229 
 
 sents the phenomenon of a tree dead or dying in 
 the trunk and branches, yet sending up a green and 
 vigorous shoot from the roots. The old Pope sees 
 that his power is waning in Europe, and longs to 
 establish his tottering throne on a firmer basis in 
 the United States. The Romish press and priest- 
 hood already begin to boast that this country will 
 soon be theirs. Father Hecker has predicted that 
 such an event will be brought to pass within the 
 next thirty years. He may be bolder and more 
 hopeful than some of his colleagues, but they all 
 look forward to the time when this republic shall 
 be completely under their control. 
 
 Any one by comparing the strength of Rome 
 in the United States, at the present time, with 
 its strength and position ten years ago, will see 
 that during the past ten years it has made fear- 
 ful progress. If we want to know what will be 
 our position, if Rome ever gets supreme control 
 in this land, we can soon satisfy our curiosity. 
 We know what Romanism has been in the ages 
 past. We tremble as we read her dark and 
 blood V history. We know what Romanism is to- 
 
230 THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY. 
 
 day. We hear the same lordly pretensions, and 
 every now and then, see the manifestations of her 
 cruel and intolerant spirit. We know what 
 Romanism is in Spain, in Austria, in Mexico? 
 in Ireland, in Italy. We know how much reli- 
 gious liberty was enjoyed at Rome, when the 
 Pope was supreme, and the influence of Protest- 
 antism was unfelt ; in Rome, where Protestant 
 worship was forbidden by law, and American 
 women arrested for seeking to found an orphan 
 asylum. No Protestant Englishman or Scotchman 
 dare buy land in any part of Romish Ireland 
 with a view to living on it. Here is the notice, 
 which not long ago was served on many Protest- 
 ant landlords and tenants in the Romish dis- 
 tricts of Ireland : • 
 
 *' NOTICE! 
 
 March, 1869. 
 
 ** Sir :—You have let to a heretic, or Protestant, a farm in this 
 part of the country, hut he shall never put his foot upon it, or he will 
 never leave it alive. We will never allow a heretic to live amongst us. 
 80 if he put his foot mi these lands he will he shot dead. The hall is 
 ready for him. This is no idle threat, so help me God. 
 
 '' One of the People." 
 
 This spirit Romanists bring with them to this 
 
THE PERIL OF THE HOUR. 23 I 
 
 country. A fine illustration was given of it, 
 a short time ago, in the city of New York, when a 
 peaceful pic-nic, held under the auspices of the 
 «< American Protestant Association," was violently 
 assailed and broken up. These things are not 
 done by the people without the knowledge and 
 connivance of the priests and leaders. They 
 have the people under their complete control, 
 and could prevent these scenes of bloody if they 
 only wished to. If they can keep them from read- 
 ing Protestant books, and going to Protestant 
 churches, they can keep them from assailing Pro- 
 testant pic-nics and mobbing Protestant lecturers. 
 
 Once in a while some of their leaders are rash 
 enough to lift the curtain and show us the dark 
 and fearful background. Some years ago the 
 Shepherd of the Valley, the organ of the Bishop 
 of St. Louis, gave expression to the following 
 sentiment: '^The Church is, of necessity, intoler- 
 ant. Heresy she endures when and where she 
 must ; but she hates it, and directs all her ener- 
 gies to its destruction. If Catholics ever gain an 
 immense numerical majority, religious freedom in 
 
232 THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY. 
 
 this country is at an end. So our enemies say ; 
 so we believe.'^ Brownson's Review, of about 
 the same date, joins in substantially the same 
 assertion : " The liberty of heresy and un belief 
 is not a natural right. All the rights the sects 
 have, or can have, are derived from the State, 
 and rest on expediency. As they have, in their 
 character of sects hostile to the true religion 
 (Popery), no rights under the law of nature or 
 the law of God, they are neither wronged nor 
 deprived of liberty, if the State refuses to grant 
 them any rights at all.^' The New York Tablet 
 ridicules the idea of a '' liberal Catholic/^ A 
 Western Koman Catholic paper recently said : 
 '' Heresy and unbelief are crimes, and in states 
 under religious (Romish) control, are to be pun- 
 ished as other crimes.'' 
 
 A very important question now arises, namely : 
 By what means does Romanism hope to get the 
 supremacy in this country ? She has more than 
 one method of reaching this point. Her plans 
 are deep and well laid. Some of them we will 
 now consider. 
 
THE PERIL OF THE HOUR. 233 
 
 1. She hopes to destroy our public school system^ 
 and thus increase her power ^ by quenching this 
 torch of light and learning. 
 
 The more ignorant and superstitious a commu- 
 nity is, the better can Romanism work among it. 
 A mad dog does not dread the sight of water any 
 worse than a Roman Catholic priest dreads the 
 sight of a public school. Some think that Ro- 
 manists will be satisfied if they can get the Bible 
 out of the public schools, but such is not the case. 
 Nothing will satisfy them but the complete aboli- 
 tion of the entire system. 
 
 On this point the Roman Catholic press is de- 
 cided and united. The Tablet says: '^ To us god- 
 less schools are still less acceptable than sectarian 
 schools; and we object less to the reading of 
 King James' Bible, even in the schools, than we 
 do to the exclusion of all religious instruction.'' 
 
 The Catholic World says : '* We oppose sepa- 
 rating secular training from religious training, 
 and can never consent to the secularization of 
 education. Here is where we and the present 
 race of Protestants differ. It is because the com.- 
 
234 THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY. 
 
 mon schools secularize, and are intended by their 
 chief supporters to secularize, education, and to 
 make all life secular, that we oppose them, and 
 refuse to send our children to them, when we can 
 possibly avoid it/^ 
 
 It is easy to see the drift of these remarks. 
 They want the schools under the dominion of 
 Romanism, or else they want the entire system 
 abolished. They do not wish to join in support- 
 ing them, and they refuse to send their children 
 to them. Our glorious public school system stands 
 as a mighty barrier before the advancing waves 
 of Romanism. Remove this barrier, and their 
 final victory will become a mere question of time. 
 
 2. They hope to make a host of youthful con- 
 verts by means of their convents and sectarian 
 schools. 
 
 They have a vast number of schools and semi- 
 naries scattered all over the land. They make 
 great pretensions, and many silly Protestants send 
 their sons and daughters to be educated in them. 
 It is so fashionable and romantic to go away to 
 the "' College of the Sacred Heart,'' *< St. Joseph's 
 
THE PERIL OF THE HOUR. 235 
 
 Academy," or the '^Ursuline Convent/^to be ed- 
 ucated. Poor, red-faced, ignorant Mrs. Shoddy, 
 who thinks that *' one church is as good as anoth- 
 er," and who does not know but that the massacre 
 of St. Bartholomew took place during the late 
 war, thinks that it is such a fine thing to say, 
 " My daughter has been educated in a convent.'^ 
 Poor, silly flies ! so easily trapped by the Romish 
 spiders. These academies and seminaries are 
 grand proselyting institutions. They are the 
 poorest schools in the country. They give a little 
 smattering of French and music, painting and 
 drawing ; but as for history, science, literature, 
 but little is taught or learned. They teach silly 
 and romantic young women how to become Roman 
 Catholics, better than they teach anything else. 
 These schools are a very important part of popish 
 machinery. Every year they carry over to Rome 
 a host of youthful and impulsive converts. Thou- 
 sands of dollars are annually voted to them by 
 unscrupulous politicians. They are going up all 
 over the land. They are said to be free from 
 sectarian influence. The rich and the fashionable 
 
236 THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY. 
 
 send their children to them. But we know that 
 they are arranged with the intent of making con- 
 verts. The music, the painting, the conversation, 
 the very atmosphere, all breathe the spirit of 
 Romanism. Why are Romanists so anxious to 
 educate American women ? Why is it that they 
 care so little for the women of Spain, of Mexico, 
 of Austria ? They are very anxious to educate 
 the women of the United States ; why not give a 
 little attention to those of Rome and Italy ? 
 ^^ Charity should begin at home.'^ When they 
 manifest some desire to educate the daughters of 
 other lands, we may give them a little credit for 
 sincerity. Until that time we shall be compelled 
 to think that their schools and seminaries in this 
 land are only so many ways of adding to the 
 wealth and power of the Romish Church. 
 
 3. They hope to gain strength by the tendency 
 of Ritualism to the communion of Rome, 
 
 There has been manifested of late in many 
 churches, nominally Protestant, a painful tendency 
 to imitate the teachings and doings of Romanism. 
 One form after another has been introduced, 
 
THE PERIL OF THE HOUR. 237 
 
 until you can hardly see the difference between 
 them and those they imitate. The whole thing is 
 very funny ; Protestants and Romanists alike 
 despise and laugh at the curious exploits of the 
 Ritualists. Unwilling to be called Romanists, 
 they nevertheless have but little sympathy for 
 their Protestant neighbors. They form a sort of 
 connecting link in the religious world. A show- 
 man in explaining the nature of amphibious 
 animals, said «* they could not live on the 
 land, and died in the water." So the Ritualists 
 can not be happy in the Protestant fold, rebel 
 against the name and its associations, yet hesitate 
 about going over boldly to Rome. 
 
 Every now and then, some of the more ad- 
 vanced Ritualists go over directly to Rome. 
 This is where they all of right belong. One of 
 two reasons can alone deter them all from taking 
 this step. Either they have not moral courage 
 enough to take the step, or else, Jesuit like, they 
 think they can do more harm to the Protestant 
 cause, by remaining where they are. From 
 
 them Rome expects much aid and comfort. They 
 21 
 
238 THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY. 
 
 make the people familiar with her forms and 
 ceremonies, and form a sort of connecting link, or 
 bridge, over which thousands pass to the old 
 " Mother Church." Ritualism would be sad 
 enough, if it meant nothing more than ceremonies 
 and side-shows, a sort of amusement for idiotic 
 and superannuated clergymen. But it means more 
 than that. It means, '' We are weary of Protes- 
 tant forms and doctrines, we want the ceremonies 
 and dogmas of Popery, we want something to 
 please the eye and delight the ear, yet something 
 that will not set too hard upon the conscience, or 
 require too much of the heart." May God in his 
 mercy give the ecclesiastical body to which these 
 men belong, the nerve and power to cast them o£F, 
 so that they may be compelled to show their 
 colors, and prevented from corrupting a church 
 that has given to the world so many brave and 
 true men. 
 
 4. Romanism expects much aid from the poli- 
 ticians^ in the subjugation of this country. Pro- 
 fessional politicians are men of very little prin- 
 ciple. They are after the loaves and fishes, 
 
THE PERIL OF THE HOUR. 239 
 
 seeking ever their own personal emolument. If 
 they can gain votes by donating money to Papal 
 institutions, by sending their daughters to Romish 
 schools, and attending Roman Catholic churches 
 and fairs, they will do it. This is the reason why 
 every year hundreds of thousands of dollars are 
 voted to Roman Catholic institutions. If Metho- 
 dists, Presbyterians, or any Protestant religious 
 body, undertake to build hospitals, or schools, or 
 asylums; they do not ask or expect that the iState 
 will bear any part of the expense. Why is it so 
 different with Roman Catholics ? Why are they 
 so much unlike the rest ? Is it not that they 
 hope one day to become our established church, 
 and begin even now to anticipate their coming 
 glory ? 
 
 If a Protestant church is to be dedicated, we 
 do not see the Governor and Mayor, Senators and 
 Congressmen in such eager haste to attend. 
 Politicians know that Protestants vote differently, 
 that there is no power impelling them to think 
 and vote in concert. They also know that the 
 great mass of Roman Catholics vote in one 
 
240 THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY. 
 
 way, that they act in coucert ; hence the eager- 
 ness with which they labor to secure their 
 votes. 
 
 What, then, is our duty under these circum- 
 stances ? We see the forces of Popery combined 
 together for the overthjow of our civil and 
 religious liberty. We hear the tread of their 
 gathering hosts. Every day brings new recruits 
 from the Old World, and furnishes them with 
 some converts from the New. We see their 
 churches and schools go up as by the hand of 
 magic ; while every week the Romish press grows 
 bolder and more defiant. 
 
 1 We must see to it, that our school system 
 is not impaired or overthrown by them. This is 
 the great strength and glory of our land. Here 
 the children of the poor, and the children of the 
 rich meet together, drinking alike from the 
 springs of learning. The poorest man in the 
 land may give his children a good education. 
 Romanism will never prevail in this land, unless 
 she first succeeds in overthrowing our system of 
 free public schools. 
 
THE PERIL OF THE HOUR. 24 1 
 
 " Fear not the skeptic's puny ire 
 While near the school-house stands the spire, 
 Nor fear the higofs iron rule, 
 "While near the church spire stands the school." 
 
 We must also retain the Bible in our schools. 
 We might as well make a stand at the first assault. 
 Nothing will be gained by a compromise. We 
 might as well try to compromise with the devour- 
 ing flame. Let our glorious public school system 
 stand, Bible and all, and we can bid defiance to 
 Rome and her machinations. 
 
 2. We must not send our children to Babylon 
 for an education. There are Protestant colleges 
 
 and seminaries enough to select from. Shame 
 on Protestant parents who put their children 
 in the very gates of hell for an education. 
 Eomanism is fearfully corrupt. Her doctrines 
 and morals, her priests and her people, are 
 all more or less corrupt. Shall the old har- 
 lot of the seven hills educate the fair daugh- 
 ters of America ? 
 
 3. We must watch our politicians. If they 
 vote away our money to Romish institutions, we 
 
242 THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY. 
 
 must hold them to a strict account. A Eoman 
 Catholic cannot be trusted' in office. They will 
 surely use their influence to promote the cause of 
 the papacy. The ballot is going to be a great 
 power in this contest. God grant that the ballot, 
 and not the bullet^ may decide in this coming 
 conflict. 
 
 4. We must give no more money to support 
 Roman Catholic institutions^ to build their church- 
 es, or to pay their priests. There is always 
 great temptation to do this. Business men 
 do it as a matter of policy ; politicians do the 
 same. But let our politicians and business men 
 remember that every dollar given to Rome goes 
 to build the prison of American hopes, drives a 
 nail in Liberty^s coffin. 
 
 5. We must enlighten the people. They must 
 see and feel the impending danger. Bj and by 
 it may be too late. The price of liberty is eter- 
 nal vigilance. Many of our secular newspapers 
 are under the control of Romanism. Many of 
 our religious papers are afraid to speak out on 
 
THE PERIL OF THE HOUR. 243 
 
 this subject. Some of our ministers are strangely 
 silent. As faithful watchmen, we must give the 
 warning. Many of the people do not know what 
 the doctrines of the Romish Church are. They 
 think of it as one among many other Christian 
 churches. They forget the bloody persecutions 
 of the past, and think that the lion has be- 
 come the lamb. We must lift the veil, and 
 show them the true nature of this Mystery of 
 Iniquity. 
 
 6. We must see that no one suffers in person 
 or property, because they will not bow down to 
 the superstitions of popery. Religious liberty is 
 the birthright of every American citizen. Laws 
 must be passed by which convents shall be in- 
 spected, and those therein imprisoned restored to 
 full liberty. The issue is before us. The conflict 
 is upon us. It will most likely be the last great 
 conflict between light and darkness, good and 
 evil. Defeated here, Romanism will never bear 
 rule over the nations of the earth again. Suc- 
 cessful in her assaults upon this country, and she 
 
244 THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY. 
 
 may put the world back again into the darkness 
 of the middle ages. But we fear no such result. 
 God and truth must triumph. The doom of Anti- 
 Christ is sealed. The towers of Babylon must 
 fall. 
 
 " Take heart ! The promised hour draws near ; 
 
 I hear the downward beat of wings, 
 And Freedom's trumpet sounding clear : 
 Joy to the people ! Woe and fear 
 
 To new-world tyrants, old-world kings." 
 
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