Tyndale, the Church, and the Doctrine of Antichrist

A shorter, simpler version of this paper is published on Scribd under the title
Tyndale On Antichrist in the Church

By R. M. Davis

Contents:
Tyndale’s Accusation Against the Pope
Tyndale’s View of the Church
Tyndale’s View of the Scriptures
‘Church’ in the Scriptures
Changes by Church Translators to 2 Thessalonians 2 about Antichrist
Contrasting Tyndale’s Translation with That of the KJV
Antichrist in the Church
Conclusion: The Superiority of Tyndale’s Translation
The Mystery of Iniquity
Parting Thoughts for the Scattered Sheep
Appendix: original spelling versions of 2 Thess 2:3-8

Tyndale’s Accusation Against the Pope

When William Tyndale lived (1494 – 1536), the Roman Catholic Church, headed
by the Pope, was burning men alive for disagreeing with their doctrine, or for
refusing to submit to the authority of the Pope, or for reading the Christian
scriptures in their own language.1 Translating the scriptures into vernacular
languages was a crime punishable by painful death—although Tyndale
undertook such translation work and, in fact, gave us the English translation that
has formed the basis of our best Bibles ever since.

This Church that was killing people and suppressing the scriptures called itself
Christian. It also claimed exclusive authority over God’s word. But William
Tyndale believed these were the actions of Antichrist, who was operating in and
through the Roman Catholic Church and was intent upon suppressing the word
of God through violence or distortion. In other words, while it professed
obedience to the word, the Roman Catholic Church was intent upon destroying
the word and taking it from the people. In his book Answer to Sir Thomas More’s
Dialogue Tyndale wrote that these things revealed antichrist:

1
Not only the Roman Catholic Churches, but also the early Anglican Church and Reformed Churches were
guilty of persecutions, including imprisonments, banishments, inquisitions, the drowning of Baptists who
rejected infant baptism as a means salvation, and the burning of ‘heretics’.
 And when he [More] saith, many mysteries are yet to be opened, as the
coming of antichrist; nay, verily, the babe is known well enough, and all the
tokens spied in him, which the scripture describeth him by.2
We see from this brief statement that Tyndale understood the scriptures to warn
us of the work of Antichrist by describing signs (‘tokens’) that could be ‘spied’, or
seen, in the then present Church. Antichrist was not a mystery yet to be
‘opened’, or revealed. Antichrist was present then in the Roman Catholic
Church, through which he had built up his Antichristian kingdom, which was the
domain of Antichrist, headed up by the Pope who, twisting the Scriptures,
claimed successorship to the apostle Peter. Tyndale wrote bluntly in The
Practice of Prelates:

Then came he [the Pope] to this text, (Matt, xvi.), " Thou art Peter, and
upon this rock I will build my congregation" or church. Lo, saith
antichrist, the carnal beast, Peter is the rock whereon the church of
Christ is built; and I am his successor, and therefore the head of
Christ's church… 3

Here, the Pope was described as an antichrist, a carnal beast.

It is reasonable to suppose that Tyndale’s translations of the New Testament

(mainly 1526, his revision of 1534, and his final, minimally revised New
Testament as contained in the Matthew Bible of 1537) would reflect his
understanding of Antichrist and the Church—or, at least, would not be
inconsistent with it. However later revisionists, disagreeing or not understanding,
might (intentionally or not) make changes distorting his translation and, perhaps,
thus deflect attention away from the Church as a possible agent of iniquity under
Antichrist. That this is in fact what happened will be demonstrated.

The writer is aware that these words may, in some dear breasts, raise a sense of
dismay, or even wrath. But this results from confusion about who and what the
Church is—a confusion Tyndale himself was at pains to repair,4 and, also, to
avoid in his rendering of the New Testament scriptures. This he did for love of the
saints, and for love of God and His word. Tyndale was very concerned that a
mistaken view of the Church leads to much error. Indeed, careful observation
reveals that this error is not really remedied by efforts to distinguish the visible
from the invisible church.

In this article, I capitalize the word ‘Church’ when I wish to refer, collectively or
individually, to visible organizations of men, large or small, that profess
allegiance to the Christian faith. They usually ordain others to positions of power

2
Tyndale, William, An Answer to Sir Thomas More’s Dialogue (Parker Society edition, ed. Henry Walter,
1850) (hereafter Answer), p. 96.
3
Tyndale, William, The Practice of Prelates (Parker Society edition, ed. Henry Walter, 1849, from
Expositions and Notes on Sundry Portions of The Holy Scriptures Together With The Practice of Prelates,
Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2004), p. 281.
4
See in particular Answer, pp. 11-16.

2
or leadership, generally desire to be teachers and inform the faith of others, and
claim authority over the Holy Scriptures. They may or may not grow in wealth or
power as they achieve these goals. That some such organizations are greatly
blessed to have true believers both in ministry and in the pews is a fact. This is
not denied. But many are not so fortunate. And in any case, time has a way of
changing things, as the prophecies and examples in scripture do warn.

I need also to acknowledge that Tyndale did not deny that the Pastoral Epistles
contemplate a level of organization in congregations, where number and
circumstances warrant. He certainly appeared to accept the need for men to
organize for the keeping and propagation of God’s word; this would have been
especially important in and before his day, when most people did not read, and
had no access to written scriptures even if they could. The people were,
therefore, reliant upon Churches, or other groups or individuals, to preach and
expound the word. Tyndale sometimes described what the work of faithful
preachers, bishops, etc., should be: primarily, to teach God’s word, and also to
administer charitable works. But he made it clear—and his New Testament
translation reflects this—that hierarchy, except for the purpose of maintaining
order and permitting individuals to exercise their gifts effectively for the edification
of the congregation, has no place among believers. In his view, ministers should
be subject to the will of the congregation, and all were subject to the word of
God. Disciples of Jesus are to be like-minded (that is, equally-minded), and
eager to give honour to all. The greatest should be as the least, and the servant
of all. No man should lord it over the faith of others. Therefore, the exaltation of
the Pope was entirely wrong.

Tyndale’s View of the Church

Tyndale never actually wrote about ‘reforming’ the Church. But he saw clearly
what it had become: an idol in men’s minds, sitting in their consciences where
the word and law of the Lord should be instead, seeking to have men obey its
ordinances as if they were the ordinances of God. He described how the clergy
exalted themselves over the word of God: “Love they not themselves, their own
decrees and ordinances, their own lies and dreams, and despise all laws of God
and man, regarding no man but them only that be disguised as they be?”5 He
often referred to how the Roman Catholic Church, by various devices, “took
captive” or “crept into” men’s consciences.

Explaining the confusion that arises from the use and abuse of the word ‘church’,
and his solution to avoid it in his New Testament translation, Tyndale wrote in his
Answer to Sir Thomas More’s Dialogue:

Wherefore, inasmuch as the clergy (as the nature of those hard and
indurate adamant stones is, to draw all to them) had appropriated to
themselves the term that of right is common unto all the whole
5
Answer, p 105.

3
 congregation of them that believe in Christ; and with their false and
subtle wiles had beguiled and mocked the people, and brought them into
the ignorance of the word; making them understand by this word
church nothing but the shaven flock [shaven monks] of them that
shaved the whole world, therefore in the translation of the new
Testament, where I found this word ecclesia, I interpreted it by this word
congregation. 6

Because it was only too easy for men to confuse the ‘shaven flock’ of the Church
with true flock of believers, Tyndale would not, in his translation of the New
Testament, call a local congregation of believers a ‘church’. He wrote, “So now
the church of God is double, a fleshly and a spiritual: the one will be, and is not;
the other is and may not be so called, but must be called a Lutheran, an heretic,
and such like.”7 So men would not confuse the fleshly and spiritual churches,
Tyndale sensibly decided they ought not to be called by the same name.

Tyndale also saw the Church for the corrupt organization it had become, wielding
power unto the destruction of men’s souls and headed by proud, covetous
prelates who would rather burn men and women alive than let them read the
scriptures. It tolerated or even encouraged sin, giving priests licenses to keep
whores; Tyndale wrote, “The spiritualty [priests and clergy] repent not; but of
very lust and consent to sin, persecute both the scriptures wherewith they are
rebuked, and also them that warn them to amend; and [the clergy] make
heretics of them and burn them.8

In his distance from the Church, Tyndale was not like some reformers, because
his heart was not given over to the organization. He never sounded the Church
reformation bell like, for example, John Calvin, who remains a favorite of so-
called reformed Protestants but was himself a persecutor who, ostensibly in
God’s name, condemned and punished as heretics those who in good
conscience could not subscribe to certain tenets of his Church.9 For unlike
Calvin, Tyndale did not exalt the Church. He exalted the word of God. And he did
not die for the Church. He died for the word of God. As for those who persecuted
others, he assuredly had no sympathy with them, no matter how they called
themselves or accused others; he wrote, “...while the world standeth, God shall
never have a church that shall either persecute, or be unpersecuted
themselves…” 10

Tyndale’s View of the Scriptures

Although Tyndale lived and worked during Reformation times, benefited from the
work of reformers (especially Martin Luther), and agreed with much Reformation
6
Answer, p 13.
7
Answer p 107.
8
Answer, p 41.
9
For example, see the book Hunted Heretic written by Roland Bainton. Several editions are now in print.
10
Answer p 107.

4
doctrine, yet we cannot find in any of his writings that he had the ambitions of a
Church man. Rather, all his ambitions were for the glory of God’s word. A major
concern was to free the scriptures from the ‘lock-up’ of the Church:

I thought it my duty (most dear reader) to warn thee before, and to

shew thee the right way in, and to give thee the true key to open it
withal, and to arm thee against false prophets and malicious
hypocrites, whose perpetual study is to leaven the scripture with
glosses, and there to lock it up where it should save thy soul, and to
make us shoot at a wrong mark, to put our trust in those things that
profit their bellies only and slay our souls.11

Tyndale wished to unlock and set forth God’s word truly so the people, even by
private study, could feed their souls upon it. He wrote to his readers, in Pathway
to the Scripture, that his desire was that each should:

have all the scripture unlocked and opened before thee, so that if thou wilt
go in and read, thou canst not but understand. And in these things to be
ignorant is to have all the scripture locked up, so that the more thou
readest it, the blinder thou art and the more contrariety thou findest in it and
the more tangled art thou therein and canst nowhere through: for if thou
had a gloss in one place, in another it will not serve. And therefore
because we be never taught the profession of our baptism we remain
always unlearned, as well the spiritualty [clergy] for all their great clergy
and high [learning] (as we say) as the lay people. And now, because the lay
and unlearned people are taught these first principles of our profession,
therefore they read the scripture and understand and delight therein.12

Of the way of clergy and Church leaders with the scriptures, he wrote:

And our great pillars of holy church, which have nailed a veil of false
glosses on Moses's face to corrupt the true understanding of his law,
cannot come in. And therefore they bark and say the scripture maketh
heretics. And it is not possible for them to understand it in the English,
because they themselves do not [understand it] in Latin. And of pure
malice that they cannot have their will, they slay their brethren for their faith
they have in our Saviour and therewith utter [reveal] their bloody wolfish
tyranny, and what they be within, and whose disciples [i.e., Antichrist’s;
the Devil’s].13

If the Church had assisted Tyndale to give God’s word to the people he would, of
course, have been well pleased. But Tyndale worked alone. For the Church was
murderously opposed. Sir Thomas More wrote that Tyndale was “a hell-hound in
11
Daniell, David, Tyndale’s New Testament, Yale University Press (New Haven and London 1995), W.T.
Unto the Reader, p.4.
12
See the slightly modernized article posted at www.truetohisways.com under Reflections. The original
version is also posted there.
13
Ibid.

5
the kennel of the devil…discharging a filthy foam of blasphemies out of his
brutish beastly mouth” and that his work was as “full of errors as the sea is of
water,” and that he “wilfully mistranslated…to deceive blind unlearned people.” 14
Indeed, the Church, in concert with secular authorities, set upon Master Tyndale
like a pack of hounds, and ultimately slew him in Vilvoord in 1536 when he was
less than 45 years old.

‘Church’ in the Scriptures

One of the best-known charges Sir Thomas More made against Tyndale had to
do with his New Testament translation of the Greek word ecclesia (or, ekklesia)
by ‘congregation’. This More deemed evil and heretical because, as one who
loved and exalted the Church, he wanted ecclesia to be rendered ‘church'.15 He
wrote that Tyndale had “changed…this worde chyrche in to this worde
congregacyon” and in this, along with using ‘senior’ [later, elder] instead of the
ecclesiastical term ‘priest’, etc., “Tyndale dyd euyll [evil] in translating the
scripture in to our tonge”.16

But Tyndale’s translation was correct. Writes David Daniell:

Of the words to which Sir Thomas More took exception so bitterly, the
most objectionable was ‘congregation’ instead of ‘church’ for ekklesia…
referring to the communities of Christians around the Mediterranean early
in the second half of the first century. These were, of course, literally
‘congregations’ of people, and that Greek sense cannot be avoided. What
More found heretical in the word ‘congregation’ was that there is not one
hierarchical body, The Church, of which all churches are members, but,
rather, self-governing communities of Christians, led by the Spirit, with
allegiance only to God through their experience of Christ: precisely the
New Testament sense.17

As we saw above, Tyndale himself explained that his translation was

deliberate, to avoid the confusion caused by the use of ‘church’

But it would not be long before men who loved the Church would give further
occasion to such confusion. Even during the dreadful battles, burnings and
persecutions of the Reformation years, its fall-back position was evident. And
when the scriptures were at last freed from its iron grip, the Church moved anew,
through other groups, to take up position in God’s word itself. One William
Whittingham, an Englishman who married John Calvin’s sister (or sister-in-law),18
14
Moynahan, Brian, God’s Bestseller (St. Martin’s Press, New York 2002) p.104
15
Note: in the Vulgate, Jerome simply borrowed the Greek ecclesia throughout. Therefore this word,
although it did not mean ‘Church’ in native tongue or biblical usage, had come to be so understood in the
minds of Churchmen.
16
Moynahan, God’s Bestseller p. 105.
17
Daniell, David, Tyndale’s New Testament, Introduction, p.xxi.
18
F. F. Bruce, The English Bible (Oxford University Press, New York, 1961), p 86

6
produced a revision of Tyndale’s New Testament in which ecclesia was first
rendered ‘church’ in an English translation. His version contained an introductory
epistle by Calvin.19 Needless to say, the Geneva Bible carried on this tradition,
and the Church—now confusingly referred to in the New Testament as if it were
the very body of God’s people—had turned the tide back in its favor. In the
following century it was required of the King James’ translation committee to also
translate ecclesia by ‘church’, and the Church has been in both the English Bible
and the conscience of English-speaking Christians ever since. It succeeded in
assuming for itself the raiment of scriptural authority.

Changes by Church Translators to 2 Thessalonians 2 About Antichrist

It is interesting to see where men who loved the Church altered the translation of
the man who loved the word of God. It has been estimated that the King James
Committee, in 1611, copied up to 83% of Tyndale’s translation from the previous
century20, following the pattern of previous ‘translators’ who also copied him. 21
This copying was a good thing, for it preserved God’s word largely in its best
form, and would have pleased Tyndale. But at certain crucial points, the KJV
committee introduced significant changes.

Small but significant alterations were made in the 2nd chapter of 2 Thessalonians
—one of those places in scripture that Tyndale would call dark and mysterious. In
2 Thessalonians, Paul writes about the ‘man of sin’ or ‘son of perdition’, almost
universally understood to represent Antichrist22. Paul then goes on to speak of
something that is holding down or withholding. The Greek word that describes
this action is important. It is of the verb katĕchof, which Tyndale translated as
‘withholds’ and ‘locks’. The KJV uses ‘withholds’ and ‘lets [hinders]’. The NKJV
refers to that which ‘restrains,’ and the NIV to that which ‘holds back’.

Joseph Thayer mentions a second meaning of katĕchof, namely to possess or

have in possession. If Tyndale had this meaning in mind also, then the
translation by ‘lock’, which may at first glance seem perplexing, will, as I progress
in my argument, be proven logical. It in fact makes very good sense in the
context, for only he who has possession of a thing can withhold it.

19
ibid.
20
As to the extent of the KJV’s reliance upon Tyndale, Professor David Daniell explains in The Bible in
English (New Haven and London, Yale University Press, 2003), at page 448, “A computer-based American
study published in 1998 has shown just how much Tyndale is in the KJV New Testament. New Testament
scholars Jon Nielson and Royal Skousen observed that previous estimates of Tyndale's contribution to the
KJV “have run from a high of up to 90% (Westcott) to a low of 18% (Butterworth)”. By a statistically
accurate and appropriate method of sampling, based on eighteen portions of the Bible, they concluded that
for the New Testament Tyndale's contribution is about 83% of the text, and in the Old Testament 76%”.
21
The Great Bible and the Answer relied heavily upon Tyndale. Since the KJV, we see Tyndale’s influence
in the RSV, even though that version preferred different Greek manuscripts. Unfortunately, however,
modern versions depart significantly, losing much.
22
One recent exception is The Message, a ‘translation’ of Eugene Peterson, where the man of sin becomes
‘the Anarchist’—a truly fleshly understanding from a man who does not understand spiritual things.

7
Translators and expositors generally agree that 2 Thessalonians 2 teaches about
(a) Antichrist, a worker of iniquity, and (b) something—a force or power—that
withholds, restrains, or ‘locks up’. But one crucial difference then emerges. It is a
pivotal and immensely important difference, for an entire false doctrine can be
built upon it, as we will now see.

The difference is this: where Tyndale translated the Greek text indicating that this
withholding or restraining is the work of Antichrist, an evil power that withholds or
restrains, others changed the text so it is possible to understand the restraining
power as a force against Antichrist. Indeed, many modern expounders of this
passage teach that that which restrains is a power for good—a power that works
against Antichrist by holding him back. Such is the ambiguity that much ink has
been spilled speculating if this restraining power is the Church, or the Holy Spirit,
or a political power of some sort. And this doctrine has led to modern thinking
about Antichrist that Tyndale would have deplored, and which he taught against
even then. He never understood scriptures to say that there would be a future
Antichrist in the body of one charming but terrible man, as Christians now teach
and believe. But this error easily arises from the view of the Church as the
restrainer; from it comes the notion that after the Church is miraculously removed
from earth by the ‘Rapture’, Antichrist, no longer restrained by holy Church, will
then be able to rise to power. Tyndale would warn us that this teaching is
Antichrist’s own deceptive doctrine.

But I am getting ahead of myself. Let us look now in detail at the different
translations.

Contrasting Tyndale’s Translation with That of the KJV

The following translations are copied from the English Hexapla. Tyndale’s 1534
translation at 2 Thessalonians 2 reads as follows (minimally modernized - see
Appendix for original versions):
3
Let no man deceive you by any means, for the Lord comes not, unless
there come a departing first, and that that sinful man be revealed, the son
of perdition 4which is an adversary, and is exalted above all that is called
God, or that is worshipped: so that he will sit as God in the temple of God,
and show himself as God. 5Remember ye not, that when I was yet with
you, I told you these things? 6And now you know what withholds: even
that he might be revealed at his time. 7For the mystery of that iniquity
does he already work, which only locks until it be taken out of the
way. 8And then will that wicked be revealed, whom the Lord will consume
with the spirit of his mouth, and will destroy with the appearance of his
coming…

The King James Version of 1611 (again, minimally modernized) reads:

8
 3
Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day will not come, unless
there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of
perdition; 4 Who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God,
or that is worshipped; so that he as God sits in the temple of God,
showing himself that he is God. 5 Remember ye not, that when I was yet
with you, I told you these things? 6 And now you know what withholds, that
he might be revealed in his time. 7 For the mystery of iniquity does
already work: only he who now hinders will hinder, until he be taken
out of the way. 8 And then will that wicked be revealed, whom the Lord
will consume with the spirit of his mouth, and will destroy with the
brightness of his coming…

It must be acknowledged that these passages are difficult in both versions, and
the Greek is apparently quite challenging. Both Tyndale and the KJV committee
felt obliged to add a few words for clarification.

Note the differences in verse 7. One is the placements of the pronoun: ‘he’. In
referring to the ‘withholding’ of the prior verse Tyndale translates, For the
mystery of that iniquity does he already work, which only locks until it be taken
out of the way. In Tyndale’s version ‘he’ is already working the mystery of
iniquity, which locks up or withholds. In other words, ‘he’ is here now, in iniquity
withholding something. That power to withhold must be taken away.

But the KJV translators used ‘he’ twice, later in the verse: For the mystery of
iniquity does already work: only he who now lets will let, until he be taken out of
the way. Note: here ‘he’ is not clearly working the mystery of iniquity. While ‘he’ is
still portrayed as the restrainer, he is not linked to the mystery of iniquity; in fact,
he is distinguished from it and appears to be a different person.23 But in
Tyndale’s translation, the restrainer and the one working the mystery of iniquity
were one and the same.

One can see how the modern Christian understanding of Antichrist can be
derived from the KJV rendition. But this turns Tyndale’s doctrine of Antichrist
upside down: no longer does Antichrist himself work the mystery of iniquity by
holding back from us, but Antichrist is himself held back.

Which teaching is correct? For believers and for Churches, the answer could not
be more important.

If Tyndale is correct, Antichrist has succeeded in turning almost every eye away
from himself, to look for him some time in the future when all along he is right
here in our midst. We miss him because we look for him in the wrong times and
places. Tyndale observed that the Jews missed Christ when he came, and look

23
Interestingly, the Wycliffe version, based on the Vulgate, tended to the same construction as the KJV,
followed also in the Geneva.

9
for him to come later, and likewise, Christians failed to spot Antichrist, looking for
him to come later.

Antichrist in the Church

In current popular Christian doctrine the restrainer—be it the Church, the Holy
Spirit or a political power—is now holding Antichrist back somehow. But at the
end of time, when the restrainer is removed, Antichrist, in the body of a charming,
miracle-working, very evil man, will rise to prominence and lead the world into
terrible times.

This teaching is nothing new.

Few realize that the teaching about a wonder-working future Antichrist is

centuries old, predating Darby, and even predating Tyndale. It was a doctrine
formulated in the Roman Catholic Church long ago. And Tyndale warned us
against it.

William Tyndale, whose voice was swiftly suppressed by Churches of both

Roman Catholic and Protestant profession, warned us that Antichrist was not a
particular man, never would be, and should not be understood in this way. No:
we must watch out for Antichrist in the Church. For he comes as a Christian
imposter. In Christian Churches he will seek to gain and to wield authority,
professing faith and assuming appearances of faith, but in fact teaching and
practicing contrary to Christ. Tyndale wrote:

Mark this also above all things,—that Antichrist is not an outward thing,
that is to say, a man that should suddenly appear with wonders, as our
fathers talked of him. No, verily; for Antichrist is a spiritual thing. And is as
much to say as against Christ; that is, one that preacheth false doctrine,
contrary to Christ. Antichrist was in the Old Testament, and fought with the
prophets; he was also in the time of Christ and the apostles, as thou
readest in the Epistles of John, and of Paul to the Corinthians and
Galatians, and other Epistles. Antichrist is now, and will, (I doubt not)
endure till the world’s end. But his nature is (when he is uttered [revealed]
and overcome with the word of God) to go out of play for a season, and to
disguise himself, and then to come in again with new raiment. As thou
seest how Christ rebuketh the Scribes and the Pharisees in the gospel,
(which were very Antichrists,) saying, Woe be to you, Pharisees, for ye rob
widow’s houses; ye pray long prayers under a colour; ye shut up the
kingdom of heaven, and suffer them not that would enter in; ye have taken
away the key of knowledge; ye make men break God’s commandments
with your traditions; ye beguile the people with hypocrisy and such like;
Which things all our prelates do, but have yet gotten them new names,
and other garments, and are otherwise disguised. There is a difference in

10
 the names between a pope, a cardinal, a bishop, and so forth, and to say
a scribe, a Pharisee, a senior [elder] and so forth; but the thing is all one.
Even so now, when we have uttered him, he will change himself once
more, and turn himself into an angel of light (2 Cor. xi.).24

We see from the foregoing that Roman Catholic Church fathers taught the same
doctrine as is currently taught in the great majority of Protestant or evangelical
Churches about a future Antichrist. I understand the Mormon Church holds to the
same teaching. But Tyndale, looking to the Scriptures, saw that in the past, and
in his time, the work of Antichrist was already being accomplished through the
priests and prophets of the Old Testament, and then through the scribes and
Pharisees (‘very Antichrists’) of Jesus’ time, and later through the popes,
cardinals, bishops and elders of his own era: in other words, through the officers
of then current ecclesiastical organizations.

Therefore as to Antichrist’s ‘new raiment’, need we in our time look any further
than the pastors, priests, prophets or elders of our own religious organizations?
No matter by what names they call themselves, or how they clothe themselves?
For, as he says, ‘the thing is all one’—or in modern parlance, ‘it is all one and the
same thing’. (Again, I am not suggesting that all pastors, elders, etc., are of
Antichrist. To be sure, some are faithful.)

The fact is, we must indeed look to our Churches, in wariness, for signs of
Antichrist. He is present and with us now, and always has been. Paul in his
second epistle to the Thessalonians clearly says that that which ‘holds back’ was
working already when he wrote—And now you know what withholds, that he
might be revealed in his time. For the mystery of iniquity does already work.
Other Apostles warned congregations about antichrists that would rise up from
and within the church:

Jude: For there are certain craftily crept in…

John (in his first epistle): Little children, it is the last time, and as ye have heard
how that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists come
already. Whereby we know that it is the last time. They went out from us…

Conclusion: The Superiority of Tyndale’s Translation

The questions that arise in response to Tyndale’s translation are now evidently
answered. His translation again:
3
Let no man deceive you by any means, for the Lord comes not, unless
there come a departing first, and that, that sinful man be revealed…6And
now ye know what withholds: even that he might be revealed at his time.
7
For the mystery of that iniquity doth he already work, which only locks
until it be taken out of the way.
24
Tyndale, Parable of the Wicked Mammon (Benedicton Classics facsimile reprint, 2008) pp 4-5.

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(1) What is withheld or locked up? There can only be one answer, both according
to scripture and according to William Tyndale, for there could only be one thing
worthy of Antichrist’s virulent attention: the word of God. For it is only by the word
of God that men are saved, rescued from captivity to Satan, and given eternal
life.

Nothing is as important as this; in God’s word are His Spirit and His life.
Tyndale’s constant lament in his writing was that God’s word was so locked up
by the Roman Catholic Church, which was willing to kill in order to keep the Bible
in Latin, so no one could read and understand it, and was willing to kill those who
challenged the Church’s infallibility and right to dictate to men in the matter of
faith, according to its own false teaching. Therefore, called by God to do so,
William Tyndale gave his life to set God’s word forth for the edification, blessing
and salvation of those in the English-speaking world who would seek and love
the truth.

(2) Who or what withholds God’s word? Who ‘locks’ it? In the earth, the only
one(s) who could do so are those who have control of it, those who possess it.
This means Churches, and historically has meant professing Churches of
Judaism and Christianity. Thus Antichrist must work the mystery of iniquity
through a Church that wrongly keeps the word from men through persecutions
or, as Tyndale would say, by destroying its true meaning through false glosses
(distortion and false applications).

Here we see the significance of the second sense of katĕchof: Antichrist

possesses and locks up; he seizes control over the written word and then
withholds it by various means, or he assumes authority as holy teacher and then
locks its true sense away under false teaching.

When we realize that the men who have or claim authority over God’s word
often, in fact, work great evil against it, we see God’s miracle-working power in
that through them He has, nonetheless, maintained it largely intact. We also
understand why He has blinded their eyes and understanding, so they cannot
see how they are condemned by the very word they study and claim to know and
teach: from Matthew 13 - Therefore I speak to them in similitudes. For though
they see, they see not; and hearing they hear not, nor understand. And in them
is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah, which prophecy says: With the ears you will
hear and will not understand, and with the eyes you will see and, will not
perceive.25

(3) Why is Antichrist referred to as ‘he’ or a ‘man’ if Antichrist never will be one
particular male individual? Or, how can Antichrist also be many antichrists as
related by the Apostle John?26 Tyndale’s answer, as we saw above, is that
Antichrist is a spiritual thing. ‘He’ is a spiritual power opposed to Jesus Christ.
25
Matthew 13:13-14, New Matthew Bible (a work in progress).

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One of his major works in these last days is to profess faith in Christ while
cunningly destroying Christ’s witness and testimony, and while usurping His
rightful place in our hearts and minds.

Anichrist and the iniquity he works are, of course, of Satan, who is the father of
lies and the implacable enemy of God, men and truth. This writer is not a Greek
scholar, but it is perhaps noteworthy that the Greek word translated ‘man’ in the
‘sinful man’ of 2 Thessalonians 2:3 is from anthropos, which generally refers to
the human face or countenance without distinction between male and female,
and is often used to distinguish men from other races or orders. 27 It is not
normally used to refer to a particular individual. As Tyndale understood it,
spiritual Antichrist ‘has’ a human face and assumes a human face, for he has
power and dominion over men, and he (or, it) works in earth through men against
Christ, to keep or lead all men (if it were possible) away from God’s word. So,
therefore, Antichrist is not any single man, although in scripture he is sometimes
personified. He may also be perceived in an individual, such as a pope, who is in
a chief or representative position, which individual may at times be referred to as
‘very Antichrist’, in whom the forces of darkness wield highest authority in a
powerful Church. This is one of the more difficult spiritual mysteries to express in
human language, but with thought, it can be understood.

(4) Another subtle difference between the KJV and Tyndale's rendition of 2
Thessalonians 2 is at verse 5 where, speaking of Antichrist, Tyndale put that he
will sit as God in the temple of God, and show himself as God. This is a logical
translation, saying that Antichrist would make a display of himself as if he were
God. Obviously, he would be showing himself to others. Interestingly, the KJV
has Antichrist showing himself to himself: showing himself that he is God. This
strange translation might put one off guard: if Antichrist’s pretence is inward only,
who should be concerned about an outward display?

Also, Tyndale’s translation shows that Antichrist is exalted, whereas in the KVJ
he exalts himself. The KJV misses Antichrist’s success in obtaining the desired
exaltation among men.

The foregoing should demonstrate that Tyndale’s rendition of the man of sin
passages in 2 Thessalonians 2 is logical, clear, internally consistent and realistic.
It admits of no ambiguity. It makes preeminent sense given the primacy of place
that the scriptures claim for themselves in true faith. It makes sense given what
was historically evident in the Church when Tyndale wrote. It makes sense
considering what the scriptures teach about the course of God’s word in the
hands of men, who apostatize. Therefore it is submitted that Tyndale’s translation

26
See 1 John 2:18, where the apostle John wrote, Little children it is the last time, and as you have heard
how that Antichrist will come: even now are there many antichrists come already. Whereby we know it is
the last time. (Tyndale’s 1534 New Testament, David Daniell’s edition).
27
See both Strong and Thayer.

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of 2 Thessalonians 2 is the best of all…no, more than that; it is the only true one
out of all the English Bibles that this writer has surveyed.

The Mystery of Iniquity

William Tyndale’s warnings about Antichrist need to go forth again. Antichrist

always has and will continue to arise in the Churches to work iniquity against the
word of God, cloaking himself in ‘new raiment’ from time to time—newly named
clergy, new sects, etc. He will manifest with the name of Christ upon his lips, but
will in actuality work against Christ through persecution of true believers and
distortion of truth.

Indeed this is mysterious, and most worthy of the appellation ‘mystery of iniquity.’

But if we simply look at the facts, must not Tyndale be correct? It was the Church
of Old Jerusalem that killed God’s prophets, excommunicated the blind man who
spoke for Jesus, and, in concert with secular authorities, had Jesus Himself
crucified. And it was the Christian (Roman Catholic) Church that would lock up
the word of God for centuries and, in the very name of Christ, excommunicate,
revile and seek the death of those who loved it and sought the life it gives—
including Tyndale, who wrote:

Who slew the prophets? Who slew Christ? Who slew his Apostles? Who the
martyrs and all the righteous that ever were slain? The kings and the temporal
sword at the request of the false prophets. They deserved such murder to do
and to have their part with the hypocrites because they would not be learned
and see the truth themselves. Wherefore suffered the prophets? Because they
rebuked the hypocrites which beguiled the world and namely princes and
rulers and taught them to put their trust in things of vanity and not in God's
word…Wherefore slew they Christ? Even for rebuking the hypocrites:
because he said, woe be to you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for ye
shut up the kingdom of heaven before men (Matthew 23) that is, as it is
written (Luke 11), Ye have taken away the key of knowledge. The law of
God which is the key wherewith men bind, and the promises which are the
keys wherewith men loose, have our hypocrites also taken away. 28

That Tyndale would so write about and expose ‘false prophets’, and warn about
Antichrist in Churches, no doubt explains why his works and teaching have been
largely lost to Christendom. For Antichrist in the Church will not tolerate those
who expose him. He will silence them if he can.

Parting Thoughts for the Scattered Sheep

If Antichrist is who the scriptures say he is then he must, above all else, be the
enemy of the word of God. And he must, before anything else, set himself
28
Tyndale, William, The Obedience of a Christian Man (Penguin Books, 2000), pp. 98-99

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against the spread and teaching of the word, which is the kingdom of God, so
that he can spread and build his own kingdom, and set his sights against those
who expound it truly. To this end he must confuse us about his identity, and
about where to look for him, and about how to stand guard against him. He will
send us down many trails seeking the scent of a false Antichrist while he quietly
does his work, consuming the bodies and souls of men.

To further his end Antichrist needs power over men. This can in part be
accomplished by distorting our perception of the Church and developing it as an
idol, giving power to those in high places who would be our masters rather than
our servants. Antichrists in the Church will falsely, for their own purposes, teach
us to place faith in the Church and its clergy, ceremonies, doctrine and authority.
They will subordinate all, even truth, to the well-being and ‘unity’ of the Church,
because they mistake the unity of the Church for the unity of the Spirit. They may
teach the common, modern error that men must be ‘accountable’ to someone,
meaning a pastor or cleric, thus crushing our understanding that we are judged
by no man but are accountable to God’s word. They may teach that a pastor of a
church is our ‘covering’, thereby locking up our understanding of the efficacy of
the blood of Jesus. Or, they will tell us that we need to be ‘under’ someone,
forgetting that we are under the word and seeking themselves to be our lords.
Once we believe such things about ‘the Church’ and its ordained men and
women, it becomes only too easy for antichrists to usurp the Lord’s place in our
faith as we offer our trust and obedience to them. Submission is then offered not
for the sake of keeping order only, as scripturally appointed, but because
antichrists have insinuated themselves into our faith and, as Paul warned the
Thessalonians, are exalted above all that is called God, or that is worshipped: so
that they sit as God in the temple of God [consciences of men] showing
themselves as God [governors and arbiters of our faith].

Antichrist and those he ordains will assuredly take possession of God’s word
somehow, and claim authority over it, and proceed to lock it up, insisting upon
the right to interpret it to us, rather than that allowing us freedom to question and
to seek the Teacher and Counsellor that Jesus promised. (For He promised that
the Holy Spirit would guide us into all truth.) After obtaining possession of the
word, antichrists will seek to cast it aside, one way or another. Thus it is that
some Anglican Churches no longer keep Bibles in the pews, and in Charismatic
Churches, mystic experience is exalted above all.

Of course, God does give us true teachers and preachers. This was particularly
so when men could not read, and we did not have printing presses and the
written word in abundance. But such are to be our servants, not our masters.
They are to make disciples for Jesus, not for themselves! (We might also make
the point that the availability of the written word to men has helped take away
Antichrist’s power to lock up the word of God. We no longer need to gather for
teaching or preaching, in reliance upon the spoken word and the fidelity of those
who put it forth.)

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If Antichrist gets us where he wants us—in a trusting, undiscerning mindset—
distortions and false glosses will multiply, and the word will again become
progressively distorted. We fail to search the Scriptures ourselves, but let
Antichrist teach. And yea, Antichrist will come in a thousand disguises as an
angel of light to enlarge his kingdom. Therefore, warns Tyndale, be cautious to
spy him out. Test the teaching in your congregation or Church against the true
doctrine of the scriptures. Is it true? Praise God. Cherish that congregation, and
those who are faithful within it. Is it partly true only? Seek God and follow your
conscience as to whether or not you should remain. No teacher is perfect; but we
must be faithful to truth as well as the informed conscience dictates. Are
essential truths of scripture denied or is the Gospel ignored in the pulpit? Can
you tell? Have you been studying the word yourself? If there is significant
falsehood then you must not lend your support, by your finances or by your
presence, for then you are not serving Christ, but Antichrist. And test those who
wish to teach you; would they be your servants, or your masters? Do not let
yourself be overcome by any man. And teachers, remember that the least will be
the greatest, and the greatest least, in the kingdom of heaven.

William Tyndale, Martin Luther and John Wycliffe, who in their tumultuous
centuries were guiding lights of the restoration of the word of God, held that the
simplest layman with true faith, who loved and studied the word, would come to
understand scripture better than the clergy. True faith is the key, and each of us
is individually responsible to become a student of God’s word. And Jesus also
taught that He would not leave us alone, but would send the Holy Spirit to teach
and guide us.

Antichrist no longer has the same total, vicious power that he had in the 16 th
century, and in previous centuries when the Roman Catholic Church reigned
supreme—at least, he does not have that power in Western countries at the
present time. But this only means that he may be harder for us to spot. It does
not mean that we can let down our guard. And where Antichrist reigns, the
faithful need to consider separating, so as not to share in his deeds, nor in the
plagues which the Lord may visit upon him.

Keep in mind these scriptures, ye lovers of God’s word:

Acts 7:47: …the Most High does not dwell in temples made with hands.

John 16:7, 13,14: I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away;
for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will
send Him to you…when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide
you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever
He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. He will glorify
Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you.

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 Hebrews 6:10-11: For this is the covenant that I will make with the house
of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws in their mind
and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they will be My
people. None of them will teach his neighbour, and none his brother,
saying, 'Know the Lord,' for all will know Me, from the least of them to the
greatest of them.

Matthew 20:25-28: Jesus called them to Himself and said, "You know that
the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great
exercise authority over them. Yet it will not be so among you; but whoever
desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. And
whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave--just as the
Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a
ransom for many."

Isaiah 1:13,14, speaking of the Israelites, whose history was set forth to
warn us (1 Corinthians 10:1-11): Bring no more futile sacrifices; incense is
an abomination to Me. The New Moons, the Sabbaths, and the calling of
assemblies-- I cannot endure iniquity and the sacred meeting. Your New
Moons and your appointed feasts My soul hates; They are a trouble to
Me, I am weary of bearing them.

Lastly, consider the description below of the destruction of Antichrist’s kingdom

and consider where it is that we find the things described there, such as the
voices of the bridegroom and the bride together, and responsibility for the blood
of the saints and the prophets:

Revelation 18:21-24: Then a mighty angel took up a stone like a great

millstone and threw it into the sea, saying, "Thus with violence the great
city Babylon will be thrown down, and will not be found anymore. The
sound of harpists, musicians, flutists, and trumpeters will not be heard in
you anymore. No craftsman of any craft will be found in you anymore, and
the sound of a millstone will not be heard in you anymore. The light of a
lamp will not shine in you anymore, and the voice of bridegroom and bride
will not be heard in you anymore. For your merchants were the great men
of the earth, for by your sorcery all the nations were deceived. And in her
was found the blood of prophets and saints, and of all who were slain on
the earth."

Tyndale surely understood where we must spy out Antichrist; he was slain by a
Church that called itself ‘holy’. But what a hard teaching it is, this doctrine of the
mystery of iniquity worked by Antichrist through the Church.

Appendix
Original Spelling Versions of 2 Thessalonians 2: 3-9

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For the scholars and Bereans who wish to see the original versions, they are
copied below as reproduced in the Hexapla, except we use a comma instead of
the semi-slash in the older versions. The Hexapla did not employ the tall ‘s’ used
in early Modern English publications, and neither do we.

The 1841 Hexapla was a 6-version parallel New Testament containing

comparative Scriptures of the Wycliffe 1380, Tyndale 1534, Cranmer 1539,
Geneva 1557, Rheims 1582 and KJV (“Authorized”) 1611 versions. It is a
valuable tool for serious Bible students. Facsimile copies are available, for
example at greatsite.com.

Tyndale - 1534

Let no man deceave you by eny meanes, for the lorde commeth not, excepte
ther come a departynge first, and that that synfull man be opened, the sonne of
perdicion which is an adversarie, and is exalted above all that is called god, or
that is worshipped: so that he shall sitt as God in temple of god, and shew him
silfe as god.

Remember ye not, that when I was yet with you, I tolde you these thynges? And
nowe ye knowe what with holdeth: even that he myght be vttered at his tyme. For
the mistery of that iniquitie doeth he all readie worke which onlie loketh, vntill it be
taken out of the waye. And then shall that wicked by vttered, whom the lord shall
consume with the sprete of hys mouth, and shall destroye with the apearaunce of
his commynge, even him whose comminge is by the workynge of Satan, with all
lyinge power, signes and wonders….

Authorized – 1611

Let no man deceiue you by any meanes, for that day shall not come, except
there come a falling away first, and that man of sinne bee reuealed, the sonne of
perdition, Who opposeth and exalteth himself aboue all that is clled God, or that
is worshipped: so that hee as God, sitteth in the Temple of God, shewing
himselfe that he is God. Remember yee not, that when I was yet with you, I tolde
you these things? And now ye know what withholdeth, that he might be reuealed
in his time. For the mysterie of iniquitie doth already worke: onely he who now
letteth, will let, vntill he be taken out of the way. And then shall that wicked bee
reuealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall
destroy with the brightnesse of his coming: Even him whose coming is after the
working of Satan, with all power and signes, and lying wonders…

© R. M. Davis, November 2009

Permission is granted to distribute the complete article in any manner, provided it is kept intact
and unaltered.

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*****

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