SUBJECT OF THE TREATISE. XXVII Every thing betokens this fuller development of the papal theory. The gradual manifestation of " the Man of Sin" has been marked by a corresponding obscuration of the glory of Him who is the " brightness of his Father's glory, and the express image of his per- son." At first, this appeared in the church claiming the honours of her King. Reversing her true position, as themaid looking to the hand of her master, she assumed the lofty tones of the mistress. Instead of reverentially bowing to Him of whom it was said, " This is my beloved Son; hear ye HIM ;" the church points to herself as the object of faith and reverence, saying, "Hear ye ME." As the spirit of antichristianism grows stronger, we behold the Saviour degraded to a level with his own servants, and though nominally retained in the Roman Pantheon, receiving only his share of homage in common with a multitude of inferior deities. Instead of " seeing no man save Jesus only," the church of Rome says, " Let us build here three tabernacles, one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias." But now, even this divided homage is denied the Saviour ; his name, his character, and his functions, are all but ignored; his worship is superseded by that of Mary ; his distinct personality is merged in the Deity ; and, if they speak of him at all, it is under the phrase- ology of " invoking the aid of God, through the intercession of his mother I" It requires no great ingenuity to perceive, in this gradual sinking of the name of Christ, the ripening of the plot for the full- blown manifestation of Antichrist, "the Man of Sin, who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is wor- shipped." The papal theory, thus unfolded to all its extent, threatens, in our day, to become a practical reality. Under the auspices of the Jesuits, or ultramontane divines, who have gained an undoubted ascendency in the councils of Rome, the supremacy of the pope bids fair to be set on a higher eminence than ever. No longer a mere prince of bishops, propped up by the authority of fathers and coun- cils, he stands revealed as the "King of kings, and Lord of lords." No longer a petty sovereign in Italy, he comes boldly out as the earthly image of Godhead, clothed with the attributes of the Al- mighty, and challenging the sovereignty of the world. To a claim so portentous no limits can be set ; to the encroachments and demands founded on it no end can be foreseen. Deity is the mea- sure of the demands,Deity the pretext for the encroachments. Before such a gigantic phantom of power, conjured up by supersti- tion, the governments of this world, with all their interests, powers, and glories, shrink into insignifi*nce.
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