The Eternal Gospel, as we have already established, is representative (one acting on behalf of all of us) and historical. This means that our salvation has already been completed in Calvary . The acts of Jesus are my salvation, and by solely accepting I am entitled the right for eternal life, which God already gave me through Calvary. Contrary to this representative and objective salvation there is the subjective salvation—which pretends to establish that God realizes my salvation within my person through the work of the Holy Spirit in my life, and not as Paul declared within through the Spirit of life in Christ; let us confirm this: “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death” (Romans 8:2).
This is the way it is, when the believer pretends to establish himself as the center of attention—due to the distorted view we have mentioned earlier—, he allows himself to be overtaken by strange mystical experiences. As a result, this satanic anti-evangelical delusion entices him astray as to derail him from the whole hearted and sincere devotion to Christ. As a result, the believer welcomes this type of experience as of God and neglectfully surrenders into this spiritual charm without any biblical testing. This is foolish! One of the simplest and clearest teachings in Scripture is that concerning this deceiving spirit also known as the mystery of iniquity or lawlessness. Right? Why, then, do we still insist to ignore God’s words on this respect? Is it not better and safer for all to follow the biblical way rather than our own preconceived thoughts and traditions? Let us read:
(25) “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.” (Proverbs 16:25)
(4) “…It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” (Matthew 4:4)
Let us read Peter advice:
(19) “And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts;
(20) knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation.” (2 Peter 1:19-20)
By the light of this wonderful word we analyze everything concerning to the sudden manifestation of a strange spirit, which appeared for the first time in the United States of America in 1890 and now prowls within almost every religious circle. This way the prophecy about the 1,260 days—which has to do with the dragon, that was enraged at the woman ( U.S.A. ) and waged war on the remainder of her descendants—is fulfilled.
A False Spirit Prophesied
One of the most notable biblical prophecies in Scripture is the one concerning the mystery of lawlessness or iniquity. The apostle Paul wrote, “For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work…” (2 Thessalonians 2:7). Within this context the “man of sin” is connected to the mystery of iniquity. Let us read 2 Thessalonians 2:3: “Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition.” It is not hard for us to understand that the apostle’s statement on regards to the mystery of iniquity identifies Rome and the establishment of the Papal system, who is the man of sin, and it is he “who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God” (2 Thessalonians 2:4). Therefore, we can confidently conclude that this mystery operates within the Church and not from the exterior.
It is the Roman power what initiates the fulfilment of this crucial prophecy. However, it will not end just with the growth and fulfilment of the Catholic power. John writes in Revelation 14:8, that “…she has made all nations [that is religious denominations] drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication” and this will be completely accomplished in this end of the end of time. We must therefore understand that the mystery of iniquity begins with Rome and ends with Pentecostalism (both are the first and second beast of Revelation 13, respectively). Notice that 2 Thessalonians 2:3 alludes to the Pope and verse 9 alludes to Pentecostalism:
(3) “Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and that man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition.”
(9) “The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders.”
This interpretation can be also confirmed through John’s obvious relationship between the two beasts, in which the second beast is depicted as the “image of the beast” (Be sure to read Revelation 13 on this respect).
We are now struggling against the second beast in this chapter. As Luther and the reformers censored and conjured t he first beast ( Rome ), we, as well, censor and conjure the second beast (the Pentecostal nation, which spearheads the rest of the apostate Protestantism in U.S.A. , where the dragon battles against the woman—Revelation 12:7).
Summing up, the mystery of iniquity are both Rome and Pentecostalism as the spearheads of all the other religious denominations, for all have been drunken with the maddening wine (meaning, the false gospel of “faith with deeds”) and follow the same erred guideline for salvation. By the light of the prophecy of Revelation 14:8, we can confidently assure that all—Pentecostalism, Adventism, Russelism , and so forth, have become part of Babylon the great, as foretold by John in Revelation 17:5 where he describes it as a deep state of Laodiceism —the seventh and final stage of the universal church (Revelation 3:14). However, it is imperative to understand that Rome is its origin, and the people characterized by power and signs and lying wonders is its outmost stage, as depicted by Paul in 2 Thessalonians 2:9-10.
Unequivocal Characteristics
Jesus said: “Having eyes, do you not see? And having ears, do you not hear ?… ” (Mark 8:18). No one is blinder than this: He who has sight and fails to see. God, by His everlasting love for mankind, has provided us in black and white with a clear description of Satan’s masterful plan of deception. This work of cunning craftiness will reach its climax with the descent of Satan’s deluding spirit. This spirit is characterized by its ability to perform beguiling miracles. We will bring forth a deeper evaluation concerning on the second beast, as it is depicted on Revelation 13. Let us analize :
(11)“Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth, and he had two horns like a lamb and spoke like a dragon.” (Revelation 13:11)
Understand this first, the Lamb in Scripture is always a symbol of our Lord Jesus, as John the Baptist confessed:“Behold the lamb of God, which takes away the sin of the world.” Knowing this, it is easier to understand grasp that this beast pretends to masquerade itself as Christian, but it speaks as a dragon. Therefore, it “sits as God in the temple of God , showing himself that he is God” (2 Thessalonians 2:4) in order to operate subtly its plan of deception. However, his pretension is revealed when he speaks, for he speaks as a dragon. How does the dragon speaks? Cutting short thoughts, speaking in flattering language and taking everything out of its proper context. This way he did when he pretended to tempt Jesus in the desert. Let us read this narrative: “and said to Him, If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written: He shall give His angels charge over you (. . .) Jesus said to him, It is written again, You shall not tempt the Lord your God” (Matthew 4:6-7). It is therefore evident that such spirit does not interpret correctly within its proper context, but instead he cut shorts the proper thread of thought in order to bring forth confusion. No doubt at all.
As we noted earlier, the deceiving spirit prophesied by Paul and John (2 Thessalonians 2 and Revelation 13, respectively), will be overtly characterized by its capability to performing startling alluring miracles. Satan masquerades himself as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14) and he will let himself be manifested, as John prophesied:
(13) “…so that he even makes fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men.” (Revelation 13:13)
Fire in the Scripture is variously used as a symbol for the Holy Spirit. It is quite understandable that this passage prophecies the descent of a false spirit which will pretend to supplant the legitimate Holy Spirit the Lord had promised. This is the reason why John earnestly exhorts us to “tests the spirits, whether they are of God or not” (1 John 4:1). By following John’s counsel and making a serious careful examination of the given characteristics, we must conclude that only Pentecostalism matches the description given in this prophecy (Revelation 13 and 2 Thessalonians 2). Therefore, it is the Pentecostal movement the power that follows Rome and fulfills this extraordinary prophecy concerning the mystery of iniquity. It is a fulfilled prophecy!
