Thomas Helwys: A Short Declaration of the Mystery of Iniquity
Of all the works penned by Thomas Helwys, A Short Declaration of the Mystery of Iniquity is his most famous. A Short Declaration is Helwys’ interpretation of prophesies in John’s Apocalypse as taking place in England. Helwys uses apocalyptic imagery and prophesy to address the contemporary issues of his day [1]. Before dealing with the book’s specifics, an overview is helpful.
The volume is split into four books. The first book lays the foundation by saying that the abomination of desolation has rooted itself in the corruption seen in the ecclesiastical authority of both the Roman Catholic Church and the Church of England. The second book explains how the king further establishes this work by not allowing religious liberty and by forcing men to go against conscience. The third book criticizes the Puritans for furthering this abomination in their attempts to purify the Church of England and not abandon it altogether. Finally, the fourth book condemns the Separatists for their hypocrisy. Though they had split from the Church of England, they had still considered their infant baptism as valid. Though these issues greatly concerned people in Helwys’ day, we will find that they have relevance today too.
Corruption in the Church and the Need for Religious Liberty
In the first book, Helwys discusses the errors of both the Roman Catholic Church and the Church of England. Helwys believed that both were promoting the abomination of desolation as described in John’s apocalypse, the book of Revelation. Helwys considered the Roman Catholic Church to be the first antichrist. He calls the papal office the man of sin and says that the mystery of iniquity prevailed by this deception. His exalted status and authority made it perfectly clear to Helwys that such prophecy had been fulfilled. However, he makes clear elsewhere that it is not the pope’s “person” that is the man of sin, but rather the office itself [2].
Though this is the first beast, Helwys argues that the coming of the second beast (Rev. 13:11-18) is found in the establishment of the Church of England. These archbishops and lord bishops “are those that pretend (in meekness and humility) to speak the word and power of the Lamb . . . but exercises the power of the beast and speaks like the dragon” [3]. He argued that the Church of England had used her courts, offices, and officers to force and subjugate men under their authority. Helwys’ main purpose in writing these things was to move people to action by the forewarning prophecies. His understanding of these end-time events logically leads him to discuss an issue important to many Christians who refused to conform to the Church of England—religious liberty.
In light of these prophecies, Helwys states in book two that the kings of the earth will “hate the harlot” (the Catholic/Anglican ecclesiastical which prevented religious freedom) and make her “desolate and naked” (Rev. 17:16). He calls all kings and princes to “take all their power and authority from the beast and withdraw all affections of their hearts and souls and turn again to hatred and an utter abhorring of the beast and whore” [4]. However, when the King of England persecutes Christians for their want of religious liberty, he does not fulfill Revelation 17:16, but advances the purposes of the beast, instead.
Helwys then clarifies as to what end the king is permitted to execute his power. The king has power to call his subjects to war and appoint officials to government. These are earthly powers. However, the king does not have power over his subjects’ consciences. Theses are outside his jurisdiction. He has been given only an earthly sword, not a spiritual one. “For an earthly sword is ordained by God only for an earthly power and a spiritual sword for a spiritual power,” says Helwys [5]. His concern was not only for religious freedom among Christians, however; but for other religions also. He says, “Let them be heretics, Turks, Jews, or whatsoever, it does not appertain to the earthly power to punish them in the least measure” [6].
Helwys’ discussion on the corruption of Roman Catholicism and Anglicanism reminds us why religious liberty is a Gospel issue. The effects of sin can even reach into church hierarchy. When a particular tradition or denomination becomes corrupted by sin, Christians need the freedom to separate themselves when necessary. A state established religion prevents such action. Religious liberty was so important to the Gospel that Helwys was imprisoned for it.
As Christians who have reaped the benefits of religious liberty, we must tirelessly do everything we can to maintain this freedom. For American Christians, though religious liberty is not being threatened by an established state religion (at least, not right now), government oversight as to how the Christian faith can be applied in the public arena is threatening religious liberty. Controversies over same-sex marriage, mandatory healthcare funding for abortion contraceptives, and public prayer at city counsel meetings prove this to be fact.
Furthermore, we must not only be concerned about religious liberty for Christians, but also for non-Christians. For this, Helwys was unpopular. However, he understood that Christianity cannot be coerced with the state’s physical sword, but must be evangelized with Christ’s spiritual sword. He believed that when placed on a level ground with other religions, the Gospel’s light would far outshine the darkness that accompanies paganism. We can be confident in that too. For Helwys, religious liberty for Christians meant religious liberty for everyone.
Biblical Faithfulness
In book three, Helwys addresses the Puritans because they submit to the power of the first and second beast in their desire to purify the Church of England [7]. His main grievance with them is that they seek to purify a church that cannot be cleansed. He says:
Let this suffice in this place that you walk in a false profession of Christ by your own acknowledgment, calling daily for liberty that you might reform yourselves, but seeing it will not be granted, you go in the false way you disapprove of [8].
Therefore, they submit to the beast’s authority, receive their ordination from him, and exercise his power over all. For Helwys, this is unacceptable. The Church of England must be abandoned in order for Christians to maintain the Gospel’s purity.
Finally, Helwys concludes by demonstrating how the mystery of iniquity is at work within the Separatists (also referred to as the Brownists). They claimed that they were called to be separate from the world (that is, Church of England) and voluntarily join together by their profession of faith in the Gospel. However, though they sought to cast off Babylon, they still retained her mark as the seal of their faith—infant baptism. “This you will not part with upon any condition,” says Helwys [9]. Consequently, their baptism is a “worldly baptism brought out of the world” and is not the “baptism and ordinance of Christ” [10]. Since their baptism comes from a false church, it is no baptism at all.
For today’s culture, biblical faithfulness is essential. The loss of biblical authority among liberal denominations has had ripple effects that impact the Gospel’s essence itself. Recently, Timothy Tennett wrote about this in regard to the recent epidemic in the United Methodist Church. The UMC is not in a struggle over homosexuality, church decline, or discipline enforcement; instead he says, “We are in a fundamental struggle over the gospel of Jesus Christ” [11]. Let us understand that when denominations fall into decline because of sin, inevitably the Gospel’s fundamental nature is at stake if sin remains unchecked. As Helwys said to the Puritans, there comes a time when we must decide that enough is enough. Otherwise, the Gospel will be lost.
In addition, at times Christians are hesitant, upon affirming their beliefs, to give themselves fully them. Helwys thought this to be the case for the Separatists. Even though they had separated from Anglicanism, they would not accept the invalidity of their own infant baptisms. From this we learn of the need to fully understand the implications of our doctrine, and to be prepared to fully surrender to it once we are convinced of its validity. The same is true for beliefs regarding Christian morality too. Biblical fidelity requires this.
As we can see, Thomas Helwys spoke to issues that are relevant today in A Short Declaration. Not only was he known for his strong support of Arminian theology, he was also concerned about issues that had great impact on the future of Christianity. Along with others like him, Christians throughout the world enjoy religious liberty because of what he sacrificially sowed during his imprisonment. Who would have thought that a man otherwise unknown to many today would have laid the foundation for the religious freedom we now enjoy?
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[1] Some may question Helwys’ intent for interpreting his contemporary circumstances as being fulfilled in the Book of Revelation. However, it was quite common for pastors and theologians to interpret Revelation in this light. For instance, Protestantism has a long history of interpreting the pope or Roman Catholicism as being the Antichrist or Babylon, the harlot, as foretold in Revelation. When thinking about the corruption that had settled in the church during this time, it is easy to see why so many people thought this. Therefore, it would be unfair of us to disregard Helwys’ interpretation as poor exegesis since so many Protestants did likewise. Instead, we should try to understand his interpretations and arguments and see if there is validity to his claims in light of the social, political, and religious corruption prevalent during this time.
[2] Joe Early, Jr., The Life and Writings of Thomas Helwys (Macon, GA: Mercer University Press, 2009), 182.
[3] Ibid., 171.
[4] Ibid., 173.
[5] Ibid., 191.
[6] Ibid., 191.
[7] Ibid., 219.
[8] Ibid., 221.
[9] Ibid., 249.
[10] Ibid., 247-248.
[11] Timothy Tennett, “Orthodoxy vs. Heterodoxy: The Fundamental Divide in the United Methodist Church,” http://timothytennent.com/2014/05/05/orthodoxy-vs-heterodoxy-the-fundamental-divide-in-the-united-methodist-church/; Accessed June 7, 2014: Internet.
May 31, 2015
Thank you for this site. I have been doing some reading on classic Arminianism in light of the popularity of Calvinism. This site should help shed additional light on the subject. Thanks very much.
June 3, 2015
Mike, that is one of the many reasons we started HSF. Because of the rise of the new Calvinism, there aren’t that many Arminian voices out there, particularly of the Reformed Arminian persuasion. Thanks for your viewership.