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AN T I C HR I S T DE TE C T E D ,

A SERMON ,

PREAC H ED I N

ST. THOMAS’

S CH"RCH, "IRMIN"HAM ,

"" T H E

RE". " ILL I AM MARSH , D . D .

REC TOR.

P""LISHED ""RE""EST .-AN"PRO"IT TO "E APPROPRIATED TO A CHARIT".

LOND ON

H AM ILT ON , ADAM S , AND Co . AND ". " ERTHE IM .

"IRM IN"H AM

T . RA"" AND Co. 16, SPI CEAL STREET .

TO TH E C ON"RE"AT ION

ST . THOMAS’

s CH"RCH , "IRMIN"HAM .

M" DEAR "RIEND S ,

S ufl'

ering from temporary b lind ness, I have of

late been obliged to preach withou t notes ; b ut, at your

request that it shoul d be printed, I have dictated the

substance of my Sermon on ANT I CHRI S T . The above

must be my apology for any inaccuracies . I make, how

ever, no apology for my subject. Though redeeming love

be the theme on which I delight to dwell, yet I feel it to

be my bounden du ty to guard my people against self

deception, and any prevailing error of the present d ay .

The signs of the times are not to be overlooked, and

as the victory of the truth approaches, the enemy of the

truth will assume every form to deceive the unwary.

Happy are they who are preserved in the simplicity of

the Gospel. My prayer for y ou is, that being justified

by Faith, y ou may have peace with God, bear fruit unto

holiness, and have for your end everlasting peace .

"our affectionate Friend,

" ILL IAM MARSH .

N ov. 4, 184 1 .

AN T I C H R I S'

T‘

.

L ittle child ren, it is the last time and as y e haveheard that Antichrist shall coni e, even now are there

many Antichrists whereb y we know that it is . the last

They went out f rom us, b ut they were not of us

f or if they had b een of us, they would no d ou b t have

continued with us b ut they went out, that they might

b e mad e manifest that they were not all of us .

”

1 John 11 . 18, 19.

HEN thi s fair world rose out of chaos, and man,

formed in the im age of his Maker, was investedwith dominion over all the earth,

”Themorning stars

sang together, and all the sons of God shou ted for joyeven the Lord himself looked down from Heaven uponevery thing that He had made, and behold it was verygood.

” Had man continued holy, he would have continued happy ; b ut an enemy was at hand . Satan

,the

leader of that rebel host of angels who kept not theirfirst estate, beguiled Eve through his subtlety, and thu shuman nature becam e subject to the arch deceiver.

Job xxxviii. 7.

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From that first offence in Paradise commenced the fearful conflict still carried on between the powers of lightand darkness, that is, b etween Christ and Satan . I saybetween Christ and Satan, because, in the threateningagainst the tempter, and before our first parents were sentforth to experience the bitter fruits of their transgression,a deliverer was promised who should destro the powerof the enemy ; I will put enmity between thee and thewoman, and between thy seed and her seed it shallbruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise hisThe Most High, having thu s revealed the plan ofmercy, by which he coul d uphold the honour of hismoral government, an d yet provide salvation for rebellious man, it became Satan

’s object, through d eceit or

violence, either to prevent the knowled ge of that Sor to corrupt and nullify the faith which would lead tosalvation through H im .

It shall therefore be my endeavour to trace theEnemy’spath in his various forms of An tichrist, from the b eginning until the period of his final defeat. Let me, therefore point out to y ou

I. The characteristics of the opponents of Chris t .

II. The best means of detecting them .

III. The evidence they afford to the truth of Christianity.

I . The cha racteristics of the opponents of Christ.

"ea, hath God said, 1'

was the first suggestion of theDeceiver, by which he would raise a doubt in the mindof Eve . He then proceeds to a positive as sertion that" they should not surely die,

”and thereby instils un

belief. H is next step is to present the idea of a greatergood than they at present enjoyed, and thu s was Eve,by degrees, deluded into the sin of disobedience .Human nature having transgressed, and become liable

"en . iii. 15 . 1 "en. iii. 1 .

7

to the penalty of death, God appointed a sacrifice, b ywhich man is taught the desert of sin, and yet the way

ch, through an innocent Substitute, he could obtain

mercy. A bel, in faith, brings the firstlings of his flockas an offering for sin, b ut Cain, who was of that wickedone

,

” rejects the typical atonement, and hating the faithand obedience of his brother, deprives him of his life .Thus early, the lead ing characteris tics of Antichrist,d eceit and violence, were displayed.In the family of Seth, the worship of the true God wasstill continued, b ut in process of time it was so mingledwith false worship, that at length, the light remainingonly with Noah, the rest of the world was swept awayby the flood. Again was the olive branch of peace heldforth , and at the commencement of this new era of ourworld, Noah approached God with the appointed burntofl

'

erings ; b ut, though the light continued to glimmeram ongst his descendants, it seems to have been nearlyextinguished, when it was again rekindl ed in the personof Abraham, and he, with his descendants, Isaac, Jacob,and Joseph, bore faithful witness to that light until itsank in Egyptian darkness .A fter a tim e Moses appeared, and by him it pleasedGod to republish the law of love, and to establish a

typical d ispensation among the Jewish people . Thenwas the malice of Satan again stirred up to defeat thisgracious purpose, and by the imitation of the miracleswrought by Moses, he contri ved to keep the people ofEgypt in their delu sion, and no sooner had the childrenof Israel crossed the Red S ea, and escaped from therage of their enemies, than they were led to corrupttheir faith in the one true God, by worshipping Himunder the symbol of a golden calf. The z eal of Mosessoon put an end to this delu sion, b ut the spirit of itseems to have remained amongst them, for in after timeJerob oam drew ten of the tribes aside to idolatry, andby substitu ting the calves of D an and Bethel for thetrue worship at Jerusalem, provoked the Lord to castthem out.

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”

In Judah was God still known ; b ut false prophetsarose, the priests bare rule by their means, and thepeople loved to have it so,

” till at length the two remaining tribes, Judah and Benjamin, were sent to be purifiedin the furnace of Babylon . "ut the Most High delivered them from their captivity, because He had foretold,b y the patriarch Jacob, that

" the sceptre should notdepart from Judah till Shiloh should And hehad also sworn by an oath to David, that He wouldraise up a son to set on his throne in whom it shoul d beestablished for ever.I need not dwell on the violence of the E nemy in thepersecutions of Daniel and his companions neither onthe still more universal oppression of the Jews underAntiochu s ; nor enlarge on the opposition made by S anballat and T obiah, in order to prevent the restoration ofthe pure worship at Jeru salem . The prophet"echariahinforms us, that Satan was then seen in vision, as

standing at the right hand of Joshu a to resist him .”

A t length the fulness of time arrived when the Son ofGod was to be manifested, to destroy the works of theDevil . N o sooner was hi s birth ann ounced than Herod,into whose hands the sceptre had now fallen, sought,both by stratagem and force, to take away his life . And

when our blessed Lord was about to begin his ministry,the wily foe endeavoured to lure him from his work, b utin vain . O ur great Deliverer in single combat foiledthe A dversary, drove him from the field, and by su ffering on the cross for the sins of men, virtually conqueredhim for ever."ut it was in the council of God, that his churchshould still carry on the

‘

conflict, and both the A cts ofthe Apostles and their Epistles to the churches bearainple testim ony to the violence and d eceit with which theenemy tried, both to oppose and corrupt the truth .

Previou s to the Roman Empire professing the faith ofChrist, violence was the weapon resorted to, in order tosubdue the early Christians, b ut when that weapon could

"en. xl ix. l O. 1 "ech . iii. l .

9

no longer avail, by mingling error with truth, b e b eguiled his unwary victims . Ignorance an d bigotry, withambition and violence, ranged themselves on his side , andpure christian truth was obscured for ages, when God,"who chooses the weak things of this world to confoundthe called from his cell the monk of " ittenb urgh, and placing in his hand the thunderbolts ofHeaven, shook the system of corruption to its centre .Such are some of the various forms ofAntichrist, under

which the characteristics of Satan may be traced fromthe beginning of time until now. St. John, indeed,alludes to those which especially prevailed in his day,such as denying the sinfulness of human nature, andthe d ivinity, humanity, and Messiahship of our Lord ;b ut, however variou s or numerous their forms may be,the Christian need never be ignorant of his devices . Iwill therefore proceed to point out

II.— The b est means of d etecting them.

In the execution of the great work of redemption,Messiah was to fulfil the threefold office of Prophet,Priest, and"ing. Whatsoever

, therefore, opposes itselfto H im in either of these three offices is an Antichrist.Though our Saviour iznay be said to have exercised theprophetic oflice only during his personal ministry onearth, yet it was his Spirit which spoke by all the Pro

phets," testifying before hand the sufferings of Christ,

and the glory which should follow.

”

1' Every attempt

,

therefore,to set aside the inspiration of the Holy Scrip

tures, and every idea that would convey a doubt of theirsu fficiency, is opposed to H is prophetic oflice ; and everyadd ition to them as an article of faith, or any omission bywhich a partial view only is taken, so that one truth ismade to oppose or neutraliz e another, is anti-christian.

" The law of the Lord is perfect, the testim ony of theLord is sure, the statutes of the Lord are right . IInfallibility is to be found in the Scriptures alone not

1 Cor. i. 27 . 1 Pet. i. l l . i Ps. xix. 17.

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in the Fathers, for they d iffered : not in Councils , forthey have erred not in any man, nor in any body ofmen, for they are all fallible, except the Prophets and

Apostles, who never differ, never err, never deceive ;b ut are infallible, because they spake as they weremoved by the Holy Ghost.”1

'

A s to the S acerd otal office , whatever conveys the ideaof human merit, or woul d add any thing to the obedienceunto death of our Redeemer, as the meritoriou s cause ofour ju stification, is anti-christian . Jesus is the only wayto the everlas ting mansions, the only door to the abodesof bliss and as there is no other sacrifice for sin than thatwhich was once offered on the cross, so there is no otherMediator between God and man, b ut the man, Chris tJesu s . The Scriptures are as jealous of this tru th as theyare of the unity of the Divine Nature, therefore whoeverproposes any other medium of approach to "o d , or whoever d irectly or indirectly undermines the tru e advocacyof our Lord, is an An tichrist . It is the incense of thisHigh Priest alone which perfumes our prayers ; it is hisblood alone which cleanses from all sin .

" I am theway, the truth, and the life ; no man cometh unto theFather, b ut by me .

”

iA s to the R egal office of our Redeemer, whosoeverwould set aside the precepts of the Gospel as the rule ofa believer’s life, is an An tichrist for The grace ofGod, which bringeth salvation, teaches u s, that denyingungod liness and worldly lu sts, we should live soberly,righteou sly, and godly in thi s present world . It isby the d i scharge of personal, relative, and social dutiesthat we let our light shine before men, and adorn thedoctrine of God our Saviour. This is the love of God,that we keep his commandments, and His commandments are not grievou s . Thi s is true Chri stianity, andif our faith thu s work by love, and manifest itself in obed ience , we shall be prepared to meet H im whenever Heappears, to put down every Antichrist, as "ing of "ingsand Lord of Lords .

win. 21. 2 Pet. i. 21. 3; John xiv. 6. 5 T im. 1 1.

l 1

Now letme shew y ou

III —The evid encewhich these qrponents of Christ afi ord

to the tru th of Christianity .

We have to admire that wisdom of God by which thewrath ofman is made to praise Him . We might tremblefor the truth, when we consid er the number, the deceit,and the violence of its opponents, were we not assuredthat they do b ut confirm it because

First,— Their rise and f a ll are f oretold in S cripture.

The book ofPsalm s, and all the O ld T estament Prophets,very frequ ently allude to the opposing power b ut in

the New T estament, " the Spirit speaketh expressly thatin these latter times some shall depart from the faith,giving heed to seducing spiri ts and doctrines of devils ;speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their consciences searedwith a hot iron, forbidding to marry, commanding to abstain from O f these characteristics we havehad a long and mournful d i splay in Christendom, andthey have prepared the way for the scoflers walkingafter their own lusts, and saying, where is the promiseof his coming P”1

’ and denying the only Lord God,

and ourLord Jesu s Christ and thu s are we enteringupon those last days, in which perilou s times shallcome for men shall be lovers of their own selves, co

vetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, di sob edient to parents

,unthankful, unholy, without natural affection,

truce-breakers, false accu sers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, high-minded,lovers of pleasure more than lovers of A ll thishave we seen manifested during the French Revolution,and we see its continuance in the spiri t of infidelity andatheism of the present day.

Beloved brethren, perilous times are come . What isChartism,

b ut opposition to all human government "What is Socialism, b ut opposition to all moral and reli

I Jud e fl.‘

§ 2 T im. ii i.

2

gions control, or Infidelity under its most dangerousform,

because, whilst it approaches its victims in thegarb of philanthrophy , it leaves unrestrained all the sinful passions of man, and then charges on religion theevil s which reli

°

on alone could mitigate or remove .And , alas "that should have to ad d , that even amongourselves, men arise, drawing away disciples afterthem .

” From whence come the unhappy divisions inthe very bosom of our own Church, b ut from H im whoknows that a hou se divided against itself cannot stand .

Do we not d iscern, in these signs of the times,” the

mystery of iniquity” distinctly at work P Is not Satan

transforming himself into an angel of light, to deceive,if it were possible, the very elect"Beloved brethren, there is no mystery in Open ungod

lin ess and sin . There is no mystery in the drunkardover his cups,— the mi ser counting his gold, -the voluptuary seeking hi s pleasure, —or in the midnight robber,whose hands are stained with blood —b ut it is a mysterywhen error assumes the garb of truth, and when learnedand piou s men are allured from the word of God tohuman trad itions, - from the power of religion to itsforms and ceremonies . It is a mystery when learnedand piou s men, within the pale of our Church

,uphold

doctrines contrary to her Ar ticles and Liturgy, and oppose the very principles they have sworn to protect. Itrs a mystery when learned and piou s men, who wouldshrink with horror from doing any thing contrary to thename of Jesu s of Naz areth, are yet allowing themselvesto be drawn and are drawing others from the simplicity

.

which is in Christ. Satan well knows, that on mindslike these, the darts of temptation to sin woul d fall harmless . Indeed, it is worthy of notice, that those whohave introduced error in doctrine have not unfrequentlybeen men ascetic and self-denying in practice, while itis also to be lamented that some who have been correctin doctrine, have held the truth in unrighteou sness b ut

the piety of the former should not of necessity recommendtheir principles, b ecause " Angels abode not in the truth .

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Adam fell from a state of innocence, a nd the ApostlePeter was rebuked to his face because he erred uponthis very point, the doctrine of justification by faith alone .Thus we see, that through d eceit, old errors are creeping in under a new name, which threaten to underminethe foundation of our apostolic Church . Let the ministers and members of that Church rise up and protestagains t these errors, while they affectionately exhorttheir erring brethren to retrace their steps, and ab ide bythe principles of Reformers and Martyrs ."ut we have still to notice that these An tichri sts also

afford strong evidence to the truth of Chris tianity, inasmuch as

Secondly,— They never have b een a b le to su b stantiate

any charge against it. Apostates from a fal se religionhave always secrets to disclose injuri ous to its cause , b utno charge has ever been substantiated against the religionof Christ. Pilate is constrained to declare, I find nofaul t in And Judas, the treacherou s dis ciple,exclaimed, I have betrayed the innocent blood.

”

1'

N ay , its foes are even made to advance the cause theywould fain destroy. The blood of Abel and all theMarty rs was the seed of the Church. The Israelitesmultiplied in proportion as they were oppressed. The

fires of persecuti on have cast light upon the truth and

the cru cifixion of Chri st was the salvation of the world.Such has been the conflict carried on h‘

om Abel’stim e unto the present d ay , and it will' continue, underthe vari ou s forms of avowed enemies, false brethren, ormistaken fii end s , until H e shall come, who is emphatically The Antichrist to head the confederated hosts.

Surely we live in times when coming events seem tocast their shadows before signs multiply upon us, bothat home and abroad ; an d if the Antichri sts of St. John

’stime gave proof that his were the las t days of the Jewishdispensation, should not the many Antichrists of ourown time aflord evidence that we are in the last days of

John xix. 6. 1-Matt. xxvu : 4.

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the Gentile d ispensation, and warn us of the quick approach of that Man of S in, whom " the Lord wi ll consume with the spiri t of his mouth, and destroy with thebrightness of his

BE LO"E D BRE TH REN ,

We live in a world which still lieth in wickedness, or in the power of the evil one, except where thestandard of the cross is rai sed. We see clearly demonstrated that there are two kingdoms, the one of light,the other of darkness, and to one of these kingdomseach of u s must belong. There can be no neutrality .

Satan is still the tempter : al though he may changehis form, his nature is the same . He can suit histemptations to every ind ividual , and alter the mode ofhis attack to meet the varying circumstances of theChurch .

In our favoured country the Gospel sounds throughoutthe land, nor can the enemy any longer prevail , eitherby deceit or violence, to keep us from some knowledgeof the truth ; it has therefore become his interest ratherto permit men to go certain lengths in religion, so faras it may b e necessary to lull the conscience to rest, b utnot far enough to save the soul . He cares not by whatmeans he secures his victims . We may imagine him tohave a peculiar sati sfaction in leading them along thesmooth b ut downward path of self deception, until theyfall into the snare that he has laid for them . We live,indeed, in a christian land, b ut the important point tobe ascertained is, Are we Christians " Great are our

external privileges—g reat should be our spiri tual attainments . "ut a fearful coalition seems now to be formedbetween the Church and the world, between God andmammon, which His word declares can never be servedtogether.

Al as "the Spiri t of Antichrist is in everynature, and reigns there as the strong man

2 The” . n . 8.

5

a stronger than he cometh to dispute the sovereignty.

That conflict, then, begins between nature and grace,which is so forcibly described in the 7th of the Romans,a conflict in which nothing b ut the ai d of God’s HolySpiri t can bring us off victoriou s .

Beloved brethren, in the las t verse of my text maybe found the application of the whole subject. Learn

,

First, The insecurity of a nominal prof ession . Theywent out from u s because they were not of u s . Hencethe absolu te necessity of being rooted and grounded inthe faith of "od our Saviour Jesu s Christ. Withoutthis strong foundation, the mind of man is open to everybreath of temptation, and liable to be carried about withevery wind of doctrine .

Learn, Secondly, The sta b ility of a true conversion.

If they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us .

”The tru e Christian may be drawn

aside, or driven out of his course for a time, b ut, like themagnetic needle, true to the pole, he will tremble untilhe regain his point of rest, and that rest is in CH RI S T .

Let me congratulate y ou on beingmembers of a C hnrchwhich afl

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ord s such ample means to secure the stabili tyof her members . She appeal s to Scripture, and toScriptu re alone, as the all-sufficient rule of faith. Shehas provided in her services for the daily reading of it,and its spirit is embodied in her admirable Liturgy. Shebrings us before God in our proper character as sinners .She fixes our hopes on the Lord Jesus Christ as a

Saviour, and she leads us perpetually to pray for theguidance and influence of the Holy Spirit to counteractall the devices of the evil one . Then search the Scriptures daily, and pray for the blessing of a true conversion, for we know not how soon our sincerity may betested. Therefore be upon your guard : it will not doto rest in the mere reception of the sacraments,—ou thestri ctest outward observance,— b ut we mu st look throughall to Christ himself. H e is our hope and ourmotive,He is our example and our strength ; therefore let us

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address Him in the comprehensive words of ourThat it may please thee to lead into the way

all such as have erred and are deceived to strengthensuch as do stand to comfort and help the weak-heartedto raise up them that fall and , finally, to b eat downSatan under our feet.”

M

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