Paul and Daniel on the Antichrist
He speaks as follows: “We ask you, brothers, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to him, not to be shaken from your mind or alarmed, either by a spirit or by a word or by a letter as if from us, as though the day of the Lord were already here. Let no one deceive you in any way; for that day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God. Do you not remember that I told you these things while I was still with you? And now you know what restrains him, so that he may be revealed in his own time. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only the one who now restrains is still here, until he is out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will consume with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearing of his coming. The lawless one’s coming is according to the working of Satan, with all power and signs and lying wonders, and with all the deceit of unrighteousness for those who are perishing, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved. And for this reason God sends them a power that leads them astray, so that they believe the lie, in order that all may be judged who did not believe the truth but took pleasure in unrighteousness” (2 Thessalonians 2:1–12).
To make each of these points clear does not suit the present treatise. But the prophecy about him is given in Daniel, and it can move one who reads with good sense and fairness to marvel at the words as truly inspired and prophetic. In them are told the things concerning the kingdoms to come, beginning from the times of Daniel and reaching to the destruction of the world. Anyone who wishes may read it; but see whether what concerns the Antichrist is not as follows: “And at the last of their kingdom, when their sins are coming to the full, there shall arise a king shameless of face and understanding riddles. And his strength shall be mighty, and he shall destroy marvellously, and shall prosper and act, and shall destroy the mighty and a holy people. And the yoke of his collar shall prosper; deceit is in his hand, and he shall be magnified in his heart, and by deceit he shall destroy many, and he shall stand up for the destruction of many, and shall crush them like eggs in the hand” (Daniel 8:23–25).
And what is said in Paul, in the passage of his that I set out, which says, “so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God” (2 Thessalonians 2:4), is also said in Daniel in this way: “And upon the temple an abomination of desolations, and until the end of the time an end shall be given upon the desolation” (Daniel 9:27).
It seemed reasonable to me to cite these few passages out of many, so that the hearer may understand, at least a little, the intent of the divine words when they teach about the devil and the Antichrist. Content with these on this subject, let us look at another passage of Celsus and contend against it as best we can.
Greek
λέγει δὲ οὕτως· „ἐρωτῶμεν δὲ ὑμᾶς, ἀδελφοὶ, ὑπὲρ τῆς παρουσίας τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ (Χριστοῦ) καὶ ἡμῶν ἐπισυναγωγῆς ἐπ᾿ αὐτὸν, εἰς τὸ μὴ σαλευθῆναι ὑμᾶς ἀπὸ τοῦ νοὸς μηδὲ θροεῖσθαι, μήτε διὰ πνεύματος μήτε διὰ λόγου μήτε διὰ ἐπιστολῆς ὡς δι᾿ ἡμῶν, ὡς ὅτι ἐνέστηκεν ἡ ἡμέρα τοῦ κυρίου. μή τις ὑμᾶς ἐξαπατήσῃ κατὰ μηδένα τρόπον, ὅτι, ἐὰν μὴ ἔλθῃ ἡ ἀποστασία πρῶτον καὶ ἀποκαλυφθῇ ὁ ἄνθρωπος τῆς ἁμαρτίας, ὁ υἱὸς τῆς ἀπωλείας, ὁ ἀντικείμενος καὶ ὑπεραιρόμενος ἐπὶ πάντα λεγόμενον θεὸν ἢ σέβασμα, ὥστε αὐτὸν εἰς τὸν ναὸν τοῦ θεοῦ καθίσαι, ἀποδεικνύντα ἑαυτὸν ὅτι ἐστὶ θεός. οὐ μνημονεύετε ὅτι ἔτι ὢν πρὸς ὑμᾶς ταῦτ᾿ ἔλεγον ὑμῖν; καὶ νῦν τὸ κατέχον οἴδατε, εἰς τὸ ἀποκαλυφθῆναι αὐτὸν ἐν τῷ αὐτοῦ καιρῷ· τὸ γὰρ μυστήριον ἤδη ἐνεργεῖται τῆς ἀνομίας, μόνον ὁ κατέχων ἄρτι, ἕως ἐκ μέσου γένηται· καὶ τότε ἀποκαλυφθήσεται ὁ ἄνομος, ὃν ὁ κύριος Ἰησοῦς ἀναλοῖ τῷ πνεύματι τοῦ στόματος αὐτοῦ καὶ καταργήσει τῇ ἐπιφανείᾳ τῆς παρουσίας αὐτοῦ, οὗ ἐστιν ἡ παρουσία κατ᾿ ἐνέργειαν τοῦ Σατανᾶ ἐν πάσῃ δυνάμει καὶ σημείοις καὶ τέρασι ψεύδους καὶ ἐν πάσῃ ἀπάτῃ ἀδικίας τοῖς ἀπολλυμένοις, ἀνθ᾿ ὧν τὴν ἀγάπην τῆς ἀληθείας οὐκ ἐδέξαντο εἰς τὸ σωθῆναι αὐτούς. καὶ διὰ τοῦτο πέμπει αὐτοῖς ὁ θεὸς ἐνέργειαν πλάνης εἰς τὸ πιστεῦσαι αὐτοὺς τῷ ψεύδει, ἵνα κριθῶσιν ἅπαντες οἱ μὴ πιστεύσαντες τῇ ἀληθείᾳ ἀλλ᾿ εὐδοκήσαντες ἐν τῇ ἀδικίᾳ.“ ἕκαστον δὲ τούτων σαφηνίσαι οὐ τῇ παρούσῃ ἁρμόζει πραγματείᾳ. ἡ περὶ αὐτοῦ δὲ προφητεία ἐν τῷ Δανιὴλ λέλεκται, δυναμένη τὸν φρονίμως καὶ εὐγνωμόνως ἀναγινώσκοντα ἐπιστρέψαι ἐπὶ τὸ θαυμάσαι τοὺς λόγους ὡς ἀληθῶς ἐνθέους καὶ προφητικοὺς, ἐν οἷς λέλεκται τὰ περὶ τῶν μελλουσῶν βασιλειῶν, ἀρξάμενα ἀπὸ τῶν χρόνων Δανιὴλ μέχρι τῆς φθορᾶς τοῦ κόσμου. ἐνέσται δὲ τῷ βουλομένῳ ἐντυχεῖν αὐτῇ· πλὴν τὰ περὶ τοῦ ἀντιχρίστου ὅρα εἰ μὴ τοιαῦτά ἐστι· „καὶ ἐπ᾿ ἐσχάτῳ τῆς βασιλείας αὐτῶν. πληρουμένων τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν αὐτῶν, ἀναστήσεται βασιλεὺς ἀναιδὴς προσώπῳ καὶ συνιῶν προβλήματα· καὶ κραταιὰ ἡ ἰσχὺς αὐτοῦ, καὶ θαυμαστὰ διαφθερεῖ καὶ κατευθυνεῖ καὶ ποιήσει καὶ διαφθερεῖ ἰσχυροὺς καὶ λαὸν ἅγιον. καὶ ὁ ζυγὸς τοῦ κλοιοῦ αὐτοῦ κατευθυνεῖ· δόλος ἐν τῇ χειρὶ αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἐν καρδίᾳ αὐτοῦ μεγαλυνθήσεται, καὶ δόλῳ διαφθερεῖ πολλοὺς, καὶ ἐπὶ ἀπωλείας πολλῶν στήσεται, καὶ ὡς ὠὰ χειρὶ συντρίψει.“ ὅπερ δὲ παρὰ τῷ Παύλῳ λέλεκται ἐν ᾗ ἐξεθέμην αὐτοῦ λέξει, φασκούσῃ· „ὥστε αὐτὸν εἰς τὸν ναὸν τοῦ θεοῦ καθίσαι, ἀποδεικνύντα ἑαυτὸν ὅτι ἐστὶ θεὸς,“ τοῦτο καὶ ἐν τῷ Δανιὴλ τοῦτον εἴρηται τὸν τρόπον· „καὶ ἐπὶ τὸ ἱερὸν βδέλυγμα τῶν ἐρημώσεων, καὶ ἕως συντελείας καιροῦ συντέλεια δοθήσεται ἐπὶ τὴν ἐρήμωσιν.“ τοσαῦτα δὴ ἀπὸ πλειόνων ἔδοξεν εὔλογον εἶναί μοι παραθέσθαι εἰς τὸ κἂν ἐπ᾿ ὀλίγον συνιέναι τὸν ἀκροατὴν περὶ τοῦ βουλήματος τῶν θείων λόγων, διδασκόντων τὰ περὶ τοῦ διαβόλου καὶ τοῦ ἀντιχρίστου· οἷς εἰς ταῦτα ἀρκεσθέντες ἴδωμεν καὶ ἄλλην τοῦ Κέλσου λέξιν καὶ πρὸς αὐτὴν κατὰ τὸ δυνατὸν ἀγωνισώμεθα.