Daniel Sermon Series
Daniel 7:24-25
In April 1547 John Knox stepped into the chapel pulpit of St. Andrews castle and preached his first sermon as a Reformed minister and his text was Daniel 7:24-25. The main point Knox made in that sermon was that the Romish papacy was the fulfillment of Daniel’s “little horn,” the Antichrist and Man of Sin. By staking out that claim, Knox was aligning himself with the whole Reformed establishment of the 16th and 17th centuries. Though this position is not widely held any longer, this message takes a look at the reason Knox and the rest of the Reformed held this view and demonstrates that it enjoys a solid Biblical and historical footing.
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2 responses to “The Papacy is the Antichrist”
I am a member of another RP church. I listened to this sermon (on the antichrist) on sermon audio, I am wondering how you take the RP Testimony on antichrists or if you take exception to it. It seems to be saying there are particular people who are antichrists and that there will be one Antichrist at the end of time which if I am understanding you is not your position. I’ve never heard much on the topic and am just trying to sort it out. Thanks
The Westminster Confession of Faith, chapter 25:6 says,
There is no other head of the Church, but the Lord Jesus Christ; nor can the Pope of Rome, in any sense, be head thereof; but is that Antichrist, that man of sin, and son of perdition, that exalteth himself, in the Church, against Christ and all that is called God
The Confession clearly teaches that “the Antichrist” is the “Pope of Rome.”
This position is by no mean contradicted by the RPCNA Testimony. The Testimony says in 25:18 that “Many antichrists will be present in the world throughout history. Prior to Christ’s coming the final “man of lawlessness” will be revealed. He will be destroyed by Christ.”
Confessing that the papacy is “the Antichrist” is by no means antithetical to affirming that “many antichrists” will appear throughout world history, because the apostle John teaches as much 1 John 2:18. If these two positions were truly contradictory then not only would our confessional theology be inconsistent but Scripture itself would be contradictory, something which is indeed impossible since the Lord does not contradict Himself.
Pastor John