made it most perfect of those things which he created from nothing. They say God has placed in it his throne; therefore its glorious majesty befits to receive their lowliest veneration. That salutation which is offered to the rising Sun is not peculiar to them alone. For the modern Persians have the same custom, and also the Armenians, who do the same by frequently signing themselves with the cross before the Sun. They believe also something of Paradise to be in the Sun itself; and the felicity of the Saints to consist in a clear vision of the Sun, in which, they declare, they see God by reflection as in a mirror; but no one is admitted to this felicity until three days after death.". Since, therefore, as you see, they consider the Sun to be a creature of God, it is impossible that they should worship it as God himself, who by the Persians is called Creator of all things, with the remaining attributes." * "The Persians, from the origin of the nation, always have believed in one true, omnipotent, and immortal God. They commence all their books with a formula of this sort: In Nomine Dei Condonatoris, Misericordis, Justi. They believe all the attributes of God which we believe. That, for example, (as is used in their words,) he is, of all things Creator, and Ruler, and Preserver. That he is Eternal, Omnipotent, the Judge of all. That it may be better known what they think concerning God, and in what style they address Him, take the succeeding sentences from the highest authority among them, the Book Sadder, in whose preface the Priest who wrote this book has inserted the following effusions in song: In nomine Domini essentiae Divinae et Attributorum. Domini Abundantia et Dei vitae. Dei qui intellectum et animum creavit. Dei qui corpus et animum condidit. Domini existentiae et Domini vitae. Dei qui in toto orbe unus est." These are the first six. Hyde quotes two pages and a half of similar sentences. We will close this branch of the subject by adducing a quotation from the Universal His

* Hyde, c. 4, p. 106.

+ Translation from Hyde, c. 33, p. 401.

tory, Vol. V. p. 162, which seems conclusively to disprove the charge of Idolatry. After giving a description of the ancient fire temple service, it is said: "At these times all present put up their prayers to God for such things as they had need of; and when prayers were finished, the priest and people withdrew silently, and with all tokens of awful respect. All these rites are still observed; but to prevent idolatry, the priest, as the people are going from their devotions, gives an exhortation, which runs usually as follows: "Forasmuch as fire was delivered to Zerdusht by the Almighty, as the symbol of his majesty, wherefore it was required that we should esteem it holy, and respect it as an emanation from the fountain of light, and that we should love all things which resemble it, especially the Sun and Moon, the two great witnesses of God, the sight of which should put us in mind of his omniscience; therefore let us, without superstition, keep the command given us, evermore praising God for the usefulness of this element, and beseeching him to make us always bear in mind the obligations we are under to do our duty toward him, which is as necessary to the health and happiness of the soul as light and fire are to the ease and welfare of the body."* It may be thought that the Magi, or Parsees of modern time, have derived much of the truth which they possess from intercourse with Mohammedan or Christian nations. But the Mohammedans have always been their inveterate foes, and from them, of course, nothing would be received with favour. As to their deriving light from other sources, they might use the same argument in proof of the purity of their faith, upon which we ourselves rely. We point to the Jews, and various Christian sects, all having the same Bible, as conclusive evidence that it has not been corrupted or changed. For should an individual, or a party, interpolate or corrupt a passage, watchful eyes in other sects would detect and expose the change, when of course it would be rejected. The Magi regard the Zendavesta as we regard the Bible.

Among them,

* Beauchamp's Essays on Important Subjects, sect. 3.

Dr. Hyde tells us, (c. 1, p. 25,) there are more than seventy sects; and by their watchfulness over each other, in like manner, innovations would be prevented. Zoroaster himself seems carefully to have guarded against future innovations, as we see in the rules which he left for the Archimagus. Rule 12, "Though, in consequence of his high office, the Archimagus may for his consolation receive visions, and other manifestations from God, yet he is not to publish them, for that would but confound the people, who are to adhere to the written law."

It may be asked what influence, as yet, our Missionaries have had upon them. A distinguished Professor in one of our Theological Seminaries put this question, not long since, to a Missionary from the East. The reply was, that he had found them perfectly inaccessible. So conscious are they that what they possess is the truth, and so clearly do they perceive their own superiority over the Mohammedans and the Idolaters by whom they are surrounded, that they are disposed to look upon other religions contemptuously, as unworthy of their regard. Yet the truth, wielded by the Spirit, is irresistible. And we trust all will pray that this interesting people may soon be made to rejoice in the full knowledge of that Saviour of whom they dimly heard two thousand years ago.

ARTICLE VII.

ROME, THE MAN OF SIN.

By Rev. JAMES A. HAWLEY, Ridgefield, Ct.

THE testimony of the Word respecting the character of Romanism is clear, explicit, and conclusive. This character is not given in the form of history, for Popery had no existence until the Scriptures were completed. It is given in prophecy, and is often couched in symbolic language; yet no

clearer prophecies are recorded, and the sincere and earnest inquirer need not mistake their meaning.

Paul asserts that "the day of Christ" shall not come "except there first come the apostacy" ( àлoorαoía). The day of Christ is "when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power, when he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe."

This day of Christ shall be preceded by the apostacy, and the revelation or bringing to light of the "man of sin, the son of perdition." We are at once directed where to look for the origin of the man of sin. He arises from "the apostacy," and "sitteth in the temple of God." He comes not from Paganism nor Mohammedanism, but from the Church; and what has there ever been, or what can there ever be in the church, more worthy to be called "the apostacy," than the papacy? Or who assumes the name and attributes of God, but the pope? Constituting the head, and grand result of the apostacy, he justifies his title as the "man of sin," and "the son of perdition.'

He "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, showing himself that he is God." (2 Thes. 2: 2-12.) Pagans may have assumed Divine prerogatives and titles, but no one bearing the Christian name, has set up such pretensions like "our Lord God the Pope; another God upon earth; King of kings and Lord of lords."

His "coming is after the working of Satan, with all power and sigus, and lying wonders, and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish, because they received 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 unrighteousness."

Who have pleasure in unrighteousness, like those who buy and sell indulgences to sin in the name of God? Who like the dupes of the papal hierarchy are the subjects of strong delusion, believers in a lie, a system of falsehood, because they love the pleasures of sin, stifling the voice of conscience and hiding the light of nature to embrace the delusion?

It is not difficult to recognize "that wicked one" "whose coming is after the working of Satan," with every assertion of miraculous power and all authority, and signs and lying wonders, the efficacy of relics and images, and pictures, and the transformations of baptismal regeneration, and the blasphemous creations of the eucharist, and "all deceivableness of unrighteousness" received in them that perish.

Thus may we characterize its whole scheme of deception, by which the merits of works are substituted for the merits of Christ. It identifies popery as the subject of this prophecy, and the object of its fearful anathema; and the character here given of the man of sin, is as significant of that identity as his ominous titles, and characteristic conduct, all which is given with circumstances, particulars, relations, which show definitely who he is, and what he is, and how he is to be regarded; and were his identity less clear, the correspondence of popery with the subject of these prophetic descriptions, and this terrible judicial sentence, would show its character, and deserts, and destiny, with almost equal clearness.

The same inspired writer has given us other marks of the then future apostacy, 1 Tim. 4: 1-3. They who fall into this grand error, do it by "giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils," yielding to the teachers of a cunning deception, and embracing a stupendous system of religious fraud, and substituting the worship of saints in the Christian church for the worship of heroes in pagan temples, which was emphatically the "doctrine of demons," before and after the triumph of Christianity. "Speaking lies in hypocrisy," employing with unscrupulous zeal every artifice to compass their ends, employing the lying wonders of pretended miracles to secure the confidence of the superstitious and deluded, claim