Total Name Count:
1. Pius 78
2. Leo +91
3. Gregory +136
4. Benedict +105
5. John +231
6. Paul +21
7. John Paul +3
8. New Name +1 = 666
Most of what I have written here on this subject was written while John Paul II was still living, and was originally written from that perspective. Some things that were written then, which were about things that were yet future, are now past, and the fulfillment of this prophecy has progressed another step forward. As expected, the event that occurred has continued to follow the prophecy, and more prophecy is revealed that point forward to the next fulfillment. Prophecy bears a true mark, and nothing can offset it from its course toward its intended target.
11So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.
Isaiah 55:11
FULFILLED PROPHECY MUST MATCH HISTORY
“To know whether we have the true historical event for the fulfillment of prophecy: if you find every word of the prophecy, after the figures are understood, is literally fulfilled, then you may know that your history is the true event; but if one word lacks a fulfillment, then you must look for another event, or wait its future development; for God takes care that history and prophecy shall agree, so that the true believing children of God may never be ashamed.” William Miller.
17For God hath put in their hearts to fulfill his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled.
Revelation 17:17
15Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
2 Timothy 2:15
BEHOLD, I HAVE TOLD YOU BEFORE
Many theologians have gone before trying to solve the meaning of the prophecies in these chapters, and much of what they say is correct, while at the same time, there are passages that have eluded them. But as the time comes nearer to the end, these elusive truths must come to light. Otherwise, if we go through the time of the end, and have not gained the truths that were intended, then it will have been written in vain.
This research uses the exact data derived directly from the Vatican’s own Lateran record of popes, as was dedicated to John Paul II when he took the Papal Chair. It is demonstrated here, that it forms an exact match with the prophecies in the Bible. The Bible, the written Word of God, which openly speaks of its identity; the number 666, may be the only source from God’s Word that makes this identity provable.
Protestantism has asserted that the seven-headed beast of Revelation 13 is the papacy. I introduce here additional confirming evidence of this identity.
So compelling is this evidence, that once you are able to grasp the significance, and understand it, you will be amazed that it fits so perfectly, and has been there a long time, yet it is only in these last few years, that it has been introduced. No one before 1997 has seen this evidence, though it has been present since 1978. The numbers that the popes bear on their names, are counted to produce the sum of 666.
A large part of the end time prophecies demonstrate a precise alignment with the historic record of the popes. This research has simultaneously unlocked the troublesome interpretation of Revelation 17, as well as the mysterious number 666. Both parts of the prophecy are linked by the call for wisdom.
The Biblical guidelines within the text indicate the whole counting process. It is not a random selection of papal names that produce the numbers that add up to 666. The prophetic elements determine the papal names that are counted. Human selection is removed from this process. All of the elements of the prophecy are brought into this interpretation. So before anyone thinks that I have not counted correctly, or I have ‘selected’ only those numbers that add up, or I have not counted all the numbers, please go back through the research more carefully, and you should find that it is presented correctly and should answer your objections.
The historical record of the popes, from the inception of the Catholic church, as they so declare in the official public record, reflect every facet of the prophecy, and without skipping any word of it, demonstrates that it forms this alignment with papal history, to a fine degree of accuracy. This interpretation is the biblically correct interpretation of the prophecy of the number 666.
The ancient kingdoms as the seven heads of the beast, and other teachings that are commonly believed in, are sourced from Catholic teachings. This is her intoxicating wine; her false doctrines.
The papacy is the beast. Where upon the papacy are there numbers found that can be counted? The number 666 is derived from the numbers that the popes have added to their names; by having chosen papal names that have already been used, they have created a series of numbers... The designation of their identity has employed the use of numbers to differentiate one papal name from another of the same name. These are real numbers that can be counted. The papal record can be found in most encyclopedias, almanacs and dictionaries.
Most of the popes throughout history have numbered their names, as many kings have done. For example, Pope John Paul I has the count of 1 and John Paul II has the count of 2. Therefore, if we add up the count numbers of ‘John Paul’ we arrive at 3. John Paul I (1) plus John Paul II (2) equals 3.
If we add all the numbers of the popes whose names are found in the time period specified in Revelation 17, and counting up to and including Pope John Paul II, we arrive at the number 665. (Benedict XVI is an antipope.)
Other interpretations fail to differentiate between the beast and the dragon and try to make the beast’s and the dragon’s heads and horns all the same. They are not the same. They also try to make heads out of the referenced parts of the body, mouth and feet that are given as descriptors of the beast, and attempt to make up four more heads that seem to fit. The primary fault in all these interpretations is that it attempts to make these descriptors match with kingdoms, that are not, nor can ever be made to be the papal beast’s heads. The feet like a bear, does not signify them as one of its heads. An artist drawing this prophetic image would draw ‘bear feet’ on the image of this beast. Its body like a leopard does not signify it as one of its seven heads. The prophecy, signifying a lion’s mouth, also does not imply that it is representing one of it heads. The whore woman that sits upon the seven mountains, never sat on any of these ancient kingdoms, as stated in the prophecy.
Because the identities of the beasts in these various interpretations are not clarified, and the distinctions that they fail to make between them are not carefully drawn, they all result in wrong conclusions; they have mingled the elements from one prophecy with the elements of another, which will always produce error and confusion.
The interpretation in this book is not just a ‘fanciful idea,’ it is the most formidable interpretation that challenges the contemporary views and past interpretations, and is based on pure reality, fully grounded in biblical interpretation, and it will not simply fade away. It is supported by tangible evidence drawn from history, which anyone can verify.
Chapter 1
THE BIBLICAL COUNT OF THE 666 BEAST
18Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.
Revelation 13:18
9And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth.
Revelation 17:9
10And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space.
Revelation 17:10
11And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition.
Revelation 17:11
THE PATH TO DISCOVERY
From my initial point of inspiration in 1994, in a flash of insight I perceived that the set of the numbers of the popes, when added up would total somewhere near 666.
After I had gathered the list of the popes’ names, I noticed that there are the same number of the names of the popes since 1798 to the present, as there are heads and mountains in Revelation 17:9.
I turned to the Scriptures to see what is the wisdom in the counting of the beast. In Revelation 13:18, it reads; “Here is wisdom...” and again in Revelation 17:9; “And here is the mind which hath wisdom...” Both verses are referring to the same beast.
When the popes are elected, they take a different name than their own, and of these names, they have repeatedly used the same name, and have added ‘numbers’ to them. I then thought; ‘If the popes do not want to be associated with the 666 beast, then why do they put numbers on their names?’ I set out to add up these numbers and see how many popes there are.
The use of the term mountains to further define the heads, indicates that a mountain consists of the multiple use of one name, and the current count would be found by counting the numbers given to the names of the whole mountain of each head. The first of the seven heads is Pope Pius VI, following the transition that occurred in 1798 at the end of the 1,260 year period allotted to the beasts rule over the kings of the earth; the beast “that was, and is not.” In 1798, the beast became; “is not,” and each name used for the popes constitutes one of the seven mountains of the beast.
While it has been understood by Protestants for a long time that the 666 Antichrist will arise from within the papacy and even feared by Catholics alike, the available knowledge of its fulfillment is limited to the perspective of the end time. Only since the time given in Revelation 17:10 with the observer after the time of the sixth head (1963-1978), do we perceive the papal line that identifies the seven heads and the count that they represent.
Finding one correctly interpreted set of matching elements led to finding all the others: When one portion of truth is perceived, it is like striking a rich vein in a mine; it leads along a path to greater truths. By making the first correct identification of the beast’s heads, all of the subsequent elements of the prophecy came together by their own weight and merit, thus allowing the Bible to interpret itself. It is as though this research wrote itself because every subsequent element of the prophecy also finds its answer from this same papal list.
The papal record has already given us pinpoint evidence that it forms a perfect alignment with every element of the prophecy of Revelation 17:9, 10, the “five are fallen, one is, and the other is not yet come,” even to the detail of the “short space,” and the same evidence forms a perfect alignment with Revelation 13:18. Revelation 17:10 states that at the time of the sixth head, the seventh had not yet come. John Paul, as the seventh head, came only after Paul, the sixth head.
It was not my plan to discover the identity of the seven heads and the other parts of the detailed fulfillment of the prophecy, but that was the natural result of the course, which I had set out to do. This research would have gone nowhere, except that I have found an affirmative answer in my quest. Attached to this first answer, was the whole line of elements in the prophecy, all neatly following in their order, being reflected in the same historic record.
I was commended for having tried to interpret such a difficult chapter (Revelation 17). I disagree. There was nothing difficult about it; I watched as it interpreted itself. The Bible should always be that simple. I did not write the prophecy, nor did I control the history that it aligns with. All that I have done is to show that these prophecies of the number 666, and of the seven heads of the beast, are completely and accurately matched with the historic record of the papacy.
THIS IS NOT TIME SETTING
Many people today believe that it is now very close to the second coming of Christ. This research points to a specific fulfillment that precedes the second coming: the event that marks the identity of the Antichrist. It is being fulfilled now. Because these results do not yield any knowledge of the time of the Second Coming, nor set any dates of the events to follow, it does not qualify as time setting. This prophecy of the number 666 only reveals the identity of the Antichrist when he arrives, just as the prophecy in 2Thessalonians 2:8 states: “And then shall that Wicked be revealed.” This research has never claimed to reveal the time of our Lord’s second coming. There are several elements in Revelation 13 and 17 that reference events after revealing the identity of the Antichrist; the beast goes into perdition, its ten horns will hate the whore and burn her with fire, and the making of the image to the beast and setting up the mark of the beast. At the next transition in the papacy, Benedict XVI will be deposed and the Antichrist set in his place. The anticipated ‘Loud Cry’ of the angel of Revelation 18 is to occur at some time following the events of this prophecy of the number 666.. Even after the Loud Cry, the Sunday Laws that are predicted to come, take the remnant right up to the very edge of the Second Coming. The preparations for these Sunday laws are already underway as Pope Benedict XVI has urged its inclusion into the new European Constitution.
There are many prophetic events that will occur that will place man far closer to the Second Coming than this 666 count does, and all will then know that they are at a time subsequent to this prophecy. At that time, that which I have given as an interpretation here would be past history. ‘Soft time setting’ is an invention devised to reject the interpretations of end time prophecies that approach the end time, yet does not set any dates. They may as well say that when they see the fulfillment of the parable of the fig tree; “When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves...” that they should call it soft time setting, based on the grounds of time setting in general, and they reject the signs, though they be given by God Himself. This interpretation does not involve setting any times.
The prophecies of Daniel gave us the time spans that identify this beast, and marks the time that the beast is wounded.
11And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days.
Daniel 12:11
This prophecy of Daniel 12:11, spans from 508 to 1798. And it is at its terminal end in 1798, that the first head of the beast is wounded. This begins the seven head / mountain line-up of Revelation 17:11. The first head thus begins in 1798, when the beast is called “is not”, and ends with the eighth who enters perdition, which is the beast’s final destruction when Christ comes.
11And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition.
Revelation 17:11
This interpretation of Revelation 13:18 urges the reader to concede to the heart of the Gospel. It points on the last great message from God before He comes; the Three Angels’ Messages. It forms the impetus of the Loud Cry, to call God’s people to come out of Babylon. This message repeats the Three Angels’ Messages. It bears all the same elements: The hour of judgment is come; come out of Babylon; do not worship the beast, his image, or receive his name or his mark.
We are now past the “short space”. The Second Angel’s Message is directly linked to Revelation 18, as it repeats; “Babylon is fallen, is fallen”. The imminent mark of the beast will be soon to follow. As pertaining to the Third Angel’s Message, the identification of the man whose number is 666 directly relates to the warning of the third angel in his statement; “If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand.” It is directly linked to the message in Revelation 13:17; “And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.”
John the Revelator was taken in his vision by the angel to the wilderness where the beast was in 1798 and it is from there that he sees this beast. The outline of the prophecy tells us John saw that the first five are fallen, and the sixth being the “one is” making Pope Paul VI as the point of perspective from which John the Revelator is perceiving this seven head line-up. John Paul is the seventh head that is “not yet come”. Only a new name such as John Paul had introduced, could fit the seventh head between these requirements;
1 The name must be new, not having existed before Paul VI, who was the last representative of the sixth mountain. John Paul I, by his number, signifies him as the fulfillment of having “not yet come” from the perspective of the prophecy that places it in the setting of the sixth head.
2 He must be followed by another pope of the same name; John Paul. He must also be a mountain requiring at least two pontificates of this new name.
3 The count from his mountain name must not exceed 666, nor equal it. It must be within the count of “1” from 666, and in fact, must equal 665.
4 The seventh mountain must “continue a short space.” A small mountain of two consecutive pontificates generates a “short space” and in noting that history has given us the first pontificate of the seventh mountain having a duration of only 33 days, effectively limiting the duration of the seventh mountain’s short space as being the span of one pontificate. History also shows us that the average span of the pope’s reign before 1798 was almost 7 years, and the average span of the pope’s reign after 1798 was over 14 years. At 26½ years, it is considered to be a “short space.”
The subtotal of the count to the sixth head had attained to 662, and then to 663 and then to 665 with John Paul I and II, leaving only the last one at 666, the seventh must fit within this last count of three before 666. A new name produces the smallest mountain, and at the count of three, it fits precisely.
The name of John Paul fits all of these requirements. John Paul I fulfilled the requirement of a new papal name, yet still maintained the papal tradition of honoring a former pontificate by honoring two of his predecessors’ names; Pope Paul VI and John XXIII (XXI). John Paul II followed faithfully behind him, which made his name a mountain.
From the papal election that brought us John Paul II; as it became apparent that Karol was about to be elected, he told another Cardinal that if chosen, he would take the name of Stanislaus, to give honor to the Cardinal in Poland. He was immediately reprimanded by Franz Cardinal Koenig of Vienna, and told that if elected, he was to take the name of John Paul II. And thus he did. Had he done as he wished, the prophecy would have not been fulfilled.
THE MOUNTAINS ARE COUNTED
The Bible identifies the beast by these seven heads, and the count of the numbers of these seven heads, which are also mountains, plus the eighth, is what comprises the number of the whole beast.
Chapter 17 of Revelation has been also noted by other theologians, that it portrays the papacy after 1798. Having this clue, we examine the papal record from 1798 to the present;
1 1.Pius VI (1775-1799)
2 1.Pius VII (1800-1823)
3 2. Leo XII (1823-1829)
4 1.PiusVIII (1829-1830)
5 3. Gregory XVI (1831.1846)
6 1.Pius IX (1846-1878)
7 2. Leo XIII (1878-1903)
8 1. Pius X (1903-1914)
9 4. Benedict XV (1914-1922)
10 1.Pius XI (1922-1939)
11 1.Pius XII (1939-1958)
12 5. John XXIII (1958-1963)
13 6. Paul VI (1963-1978)
14 7. John Paul I (1978)
15 7.John Paul II(1978-2005)
16 4. Benedict XVI (2005+)
(Benedict XVI is an antipope; he is named among the first five that the prophecy identifies as having already fallen.)
It’s obvious that there are only seven different names since 1798. The name of Pius appears seven times and is already seen as a mountain. Leo appears twice, but to show that Gregory, John, and Paul are mountains, requires that the popes before 1798 be included. There, the papal record displays them all as mountains. It is precisely that verse (Revelation 17:9) that introduces the symbol of a mountain, which is linked to the verse (Revelation 13:18) that gives us the number 666. The multiple use of the same names, created the numbers that are counted.
John Paul I was not a mountain, nor was he a part of a mountain, until John Paul II arrived, then the head name of John Paul, became a mountain. A mountain is the line of popes that all bear the same name, differentiated by a number; Pope 1, Pope 2, Pope 3, etc. It is these numbers that are derived from the popes, which are used in the counting of the number of the beast. The popes of these mountains, throughout the papal reign are represented. Counting all the numbers of all the popes that use these seven papal names produces the count of the beast, up to the current point in time. There is no dispute regarding the conversion of letters into numbers, because these are already numbers on their names, waiting to be counted. With John Paul II, from 1978 to 2005, the cumulative total of all the numbers of these seven mountains is now at 665. The eighth completes the count of the beast and he is thus revealed as the 666 man of sin. Though some think that this recent election that introduced Benedict XVI has changed the count and has voided this interpretation of the prophecy. That is false. The count continues to stand at 665, because this prophecy has already identified Benedict as one of the first five that have “fallen” and is thus he is identified as an antipope, in which his number is zero.
ERRORS IN THE PAPAL RECORD
If the papal record had contained no errors, we could just use the numbers that are shown after their name. The errors in the papal record are thus corrected to what they actually are, without any errors. The count reflects the legitimate number of popes within each mountain. Since there was no John XX; and Benedict X and John XVI were deposed, the number of legitimate popes named John and Benedict are corrected to 21 and 14 respectively. All other popes of these seven mountains are legitimate and their numbers are counted directly. If the Vatican would move to correct the errors in the numbering of the popes to eliminate the gaps in the official papal list, then the count would be exactly as it is shown in this research, and there would not be any need to explain the errors of the papal numbers. The papal numbers are thus corrected to reflect their respective count as though no errors were made. Antipopes are not counted, nor do their numbers affect the count in any way. If their number has been skipped, then their number is applied to the next legitimate pope. The official papal record has failed to maintain this rule in all instances and thus they have introduced error into the record. These errors are corrected to eliminate the errors in the count.
There is no John XX in any papal record, John XVI (997-999) and Benedict X (1058-1059) were deposed, so the “actual” number is reduced by the same amount. This corrects the count to the true number that was naturally done with the following antipopes not listed in the record: Benedict XIII (1394-1423), Gregory VIII (1118-1121) and John XXIII (1410-1415) were deposed and their count continues with the true Benedict XIII (1724-1730), Gregory VIII (1187) and John XXIII (1958-1963). Gregory (1012) and John (844) were deposed and were not even numbered, therefore the count was never affected by them.
An explanation is given of the discrepancy in the numbers assigned to the name John; “It should be observed that there is no John XX in the catalogue. This is due to the fact that, in the ‘Liber Pontificalis,’ two dates are given in connection with the life of John XIV (983). This introduced confusion into some of the papal catalogues, and a separate pope was assigned to each of these dates. Thus three popes named John were made to appear between Benedict VII and Gregory V. The error led the pope of the 13th century who should have been called John XX to style himself John XXI.” (Duchesne, “Lib. Pont.” 2:17).
Pope Benedict IX ascended to the papacy three times and was deposed twice as an antipope. In spite of his vile life and having been deposed twice, he retired from the papacy as a legitimate pope and it is said of him that he died penitent.
Revelation 13:18 confirms that the number 666 is both the number of a man and the beast. Revelation 17:10 confirms that the eighth head that arises after the seven, is the beast, and is only one person who is alive to the end and is destroyed by the second coming of Christ. He is the eighth, following in sequence after the first seven, but not included in the list of heads that are also called mountains. While none of the seven could consist of a single pope, being the only one with that name, the eighth can not be a mountain, and must bear a single name.
The table below adds up each number of their names. Pope Paul for example adds 21 to the count by adding the numbers of all the popes named Paul:
Paul 1+2+3+4+5+6 =21
TABLE 2
...0=0.................................0 An Antipope + 0
0+1=1................................... The Antichrist + 1
1+2=3....................................... John Paul + 3
3+3=6
6+4=10
10+5=15
15+6=21........................................ Paul + 21
21+7=28
28+8=36
36+9=45
45+10=55
55+11=66
66+12=78 ........................................... Pius + 78
78+13=91…………………………………………. Leo + 91
91+14=105................................ Benedict +I05
105+15=120
120+16=136……............................. Gregory +136
136+17=153
153+18=171
171+19=190
190+20=210
210+21=231......................................... John +231
Total …………………………………………………………..666
TABLE 3
Head Name Number Count
1 Pius XII ......................... (12) ........................78
2 Leo XIII ........................ (13) ........................91
3 Gregory XVI ................. (16) ........................136
4 Benedict XIV ................ (14) ........................105
5 John XXI ....................... (21) ........................231
6 Paul VI ........................... (6) .........................21
7 John Paul II ................... (2) .........................3
Antipope ................ Benedict XVI .................0
8 Antichrist ............ New Name..(1) ...............1
Total .............................................................666
Anyone capable of performing math calculations can confirm from this record that the count is correct.
There is only one more space to fill to make the count complete. The current pope, Benedict XVI is an interim antipope, preceding the Antichrist. The number of an antipope cannot count toward the total, because an antipope counts as a zero.
The events after the death of John Paul II also confirm the prophecy and this research as the correct interpretation. Benedict XVI, because his name has been used by other popes and is a name that has been declared “fallen” is an antipope. We have entered another interim waiting period of an undetermined length of time. He “withholdeth,” until he is “taken out of the way” (2Thessalonians 2:6, 7) then the wicked one will be revealed. So long as the antipope Benedict XVI remains in office, the Antichrist is held back, for it is the office that he holds that the Antichrist must have. Thus, when the Antichrist comes, Benedict XVI will be removed.
On Sunday, March 22, 1998, I sent this e-mail; “So far, in my study, I have figured that there will be a new pope shortly. This new pope will only reign for a short term, (unknown duration, but short). He will then be followed by the Antichrist. Though the next pope would ultimately become an antipope due to his being deposed, the count will remain at 665, awaiting the Antichrist pope, who will not adopt the papal names but will use his own name. This new name results in adding 1 to 665.”
Many Catholic writers and theologians also have anticipated that the Antichrist would become the last pope. A few ancient and contemporary Catholic writers have also predicted the rise of an antipope who precedes the Antichrist. These predictions are not the basis for this 666 count interpretation, but are provided to give you some insight as to what some Catholic theologians are saying. Here are some notes from The Reign of Antichrist, 1951, by R. Gerald Culleton:
“St. Cyril of Constantinople wrote: (Foretells the fall of the Church and papal throne.’
“St. Francis of Assist wrote: There will be an uncanonically elected pope, who will cause a great Schism.’
“Abbot Joachim wrote: Towards the end of the world, Antichrist will overthrow the Pope and usurp his See.’
“Sister Ludmilla of Prague wrote; After the world war one will endeavor to prevent the Pope from exercising his sacred office.’
“Father Jerome Votin wrote; ‘...The shepherd (Pope) will be smitten and the sheep scattered.’
“Since Antichrist simulates Christ, and the Pope is an image of Christ, Antichrist must have some similarity to the Pope.’ Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. 1 Fr. Maas.
“I am convinced that it is theologically necessary that Antichrist be a pope.” (Last Days of the Catholic Church, 1978, W.F. Strojie, p. 7).
“I agree... Antichrist, the Man of Sin, Son of Perdition, to deserve these titles must hold a unique spiritual office, one in which the greatest possible doctrinal disciplinary and moral corruption can be accomplished. And to oppose Christ who is all Truth the essential procedure of Antichrist will not be one of force but of deception. This follows from St. Paul’s prophecy of a great spiritual blindness in the time of Antichrist and the Great Apostasy... With due respect for possible non-Catholic claimants, I scoff at the notion that anyone other than a pope could be the Antichrist.
“Strojie is not alone among Roman Catholic writers in his concerns about the modern papacy. Malachy Martin (1921- 1999) is also concerned although not as outspoken in his criticisms as Strojie. Martin speaks of a ‘new agenda’ which the pope seems to be desirous of fulfilling which involves far more than the future of the Roman Catholic institution.
“Saint Malachy was a 12th century Irish monk, who, while on a visit to Rome had a vision of all the popes who would ever reign. Malachy ‘saw’ - and committed to paper - a series of Latin phrases describing the popes to come. He catalogued each one with an epigrammatic verse, such as ‘the tears of the sun.’ Reportedly it was entrusted to Pope Innocent II in 1140. But for some reason it was ‘lost’ in the Vatican for 400 years, only to be ‘discovered’ in 1595 A.D. Malachy’s predictions reputedly were made in 1139 while he was on a pilgrimage to the Vatican, where he was appointed papal legate for Ireland. On his last trek to the Holy See in Rome, in 1148, Malachy accurately predicted the place and time of his own death: Clairvaux, France, on All Souls Day, November 2, of that same year.
“In his predictions for the pope to follow John Paul II he gives this motto: The Glory of the Olive. It is interesting that Jesus gave his apocalyptic prophecy about the end of time from the Mount of Olives. This pope will reign during the beginning of the tribulation Jesus spoke of. The 111th prophesy is ‘Gloria Olivae’ (The Glory of the Olive). The Order of Saint Benedict has claimed that this pope will come from their ranks. Saint Benedict himself prophesied that before the end of the world his Order, known also as the Olivetans, will triumphantly lead the Catholic Church in its fight against evil. Traditionally, the olive branch has been associated with peace, but in both the Old and New Testaments it also serves as an emblem for the Jews. Putting the two together, some commentators believe that the reign of this pope will be a peaceful one during which the prophesied conversion of the Jews will take place.” (The Popes of Rome, Ronald Cooke).
The popes that were predicted in Saint Malachy’s line-up do not guarantee their status as being legitimate popes. Saint Malachy listed all the antipopes from his time as well. The motto itself has led many to speculate that his name would be Benedict. Benedict XVI has said that he chose his name in honor of the peace efforts of Benedict XV. It appears then, that the prophecy of St. Malachy has converged with the element of the prophecy from the Bible.
Chapter 2
The Alignment of the Elements History and Prophecy
Thirty-four elements of the prophecy are shown here that are aligned with their corresponding elements seen in history. First, to correctly understand these thirty-four elements, you must put aside any other interpretations that you think concerning them, as they apply to the interpretation paradigm that you think you already know.
No interpretation can be explained by using the meanings given to the elements from a different interpretation outside of its own paradigm. The definition of a head, or a mountain in one proposed interpretation, cannot be imposed upon a different interpretation. The raw question is: Does the suggested historic evidence align with the words of the prophecy? The answer is: The alignment here is demonstrated to be more accurate than any other interpretation.
A Matching Alignment Confirms the Interpretation
When a prophecy is interpreted correctly, it will take all the elements of the prophecy and congeal them into one contiguous account. Where false interpretations are introduced, they fail to fit the whole account, often appearing to stand separate from the rest of the elements of the prophecy. When one portion of the truth is perceived, it is like striking a rich vein in a mine; it leads along a path to more truth.
The papal record shows seven heads from 1798 as outlined in the prophecy (Revelation 13:10, Revelation 17:8) and the cumulative sum of the numbers of these seven heads equals a total of 665.
I neither wrote the prophecy nor the history that it aligns with, but I can affirmatively show that they form the most detailed and precise alignment than any other interpretation of this prophecy. I demonstrate a contiguous account that brings together all of the elements of this prophecy, and the historic record demonstrate that it matches all of the elements of this prophecy, like a strand of DNA; both history and prophecy form the same pattern.
As soon as the *next papal election takes place, it will be seen to fall exactly within the disclosed parameters of this prophecy. You should be able to understand now what this prophecy says and know what will soon take place. *(Both after the death of John Paul II and the end of Benedict XVI).
The Elements of the 666 Prophecy from Scripture and Their Matching Elements of Fulfillment from the Historical Record
In this segment, Revelation 13:18 and Revelation 17:8-11 are listed with each of the prophecy’s elements and showing their historic counterpart that matches.
1. Wisdom
2. Count
3. The number of the beast
4. A number of a man
5. The number 666
6. Was
7. And is not
8. Shall ascend out of the bottomless pit
9. And go into perdition
10. And yet is
11. Seven heads
12. Seven mountains
13. Woman sits
14. Seven kings
15. Five fallen; 1-5
16. One is; 6th
17. Not yet come; 7th
18. Short space
19. The eighth
20. Of the seven
21. Names of blasphemy
22. Head wounded and healed
23. The Whore
24. That sitteth upon many waters
25. The kings of the earth have committed fornication with her
26. The inhabitants are made drunk with her wine
27. Into the wilderness
28. Sitting on a scarlet colored beast
29. Arrayed in purple and scarlet
30. Decked in gold and pearls
31. Drunk with the blood of martyrs
32. The ten horns that reign one hour
33. The many waters
34. The ten horns turn on the whore to destroy her
The Scriptures for These Elements;
18Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.
Revelation 13:18
8The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.
9And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth.
10And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space.
11And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition.
Revelation 17:8-11
1And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.
Revelation 13:1
3So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.
Revelation 17:3
1. Wisdom
This word links these two verses together. They are part of the chiastic pattern of the whole book of Revelation. The elements of the prophecy written in both verses are brought together and explain more detail about each other. The number 666 is given in Revelation 13:18 and it is also reflected in the details of the seven heads written in Revelation 17:9 and 10. The number 666 calculated from Revelation 17:9 and 10, links back to Revelation 13:18, “He that hath understanding.” As the elements of these passages are correctly identified in history, the source of the count and the factors that guide it, are provided to give the understanding of how the count is to be done. Revelation 17:9 provides the mathematical parameters for the counting of the 666 beast.
Of the many elements of prophecy that are found to be fulfilled in the historical record of the Catholic Church, this one is an exception. Here, the mind which hath wisdom depicts someone who deciphers the mathematical clues from all of the elements within this prophecy, demonstrating that it requires the alignment of all of its elements in the correct interpretation. It does not state as some translators have rendered it to mean that “anyone who has wisdom” can solve this. If this were the case, where are all these wise people? As often with puzzles, one person solves the puzzle, then it is shown to others.
A previous application of the riddle of the number 666 refers to another writer who had made a calculation; Professor Andreas Helwig (1572-1643) was the one who deciphered the count of the letters “Vicarius Filii Dei” in the year 1612, and others that are merely making reference to his work, need no wisdom to copy his research. Yet this application by Helwig has been met with such grand apologetics that it is nearly impossible to convince a Catholic that it is true. Moreover, they are right, because it is not true. With this new interpretation, no one has been able to refute that the historic record of the popes bear out this number.
2. Count the Number
The number is the result of counting lesser numbers. It is not a symbolic number. Nor are these numbers to be counted, the result of letters that are converted to numbers, but are numbers that are derived from the papacy itself as numbers that already exist as numbers. All of the numbers on the popes’ names are count numbers.
3. Number of the Beast
The counts of the numbers of all the popes from the seven heads make up the combined total for the beast. The count of the beast is from the seven heads plus the coming eighth, who is destroyed by Christ at His second coming. The entire time of the beast is considered in the count.
4. The Number of a Man
The last legitimate pontificate that completes the 666 count of the beast is the man whose number is 666. This will also be the eighth papal name since 1798. The historic record provides the count up to and including the seventh mountain, leaving only a count of “1” to complete the total of 666. The designation of a mountain is not given to the eighth, but is said to be “of the seven.” The seven which has given the number 665, is followed by an eighth that is like unto the seven before it.
Since all factors point to one man as the Antichrist, this requires that to match the prophecy, the next legitimate pontificate must have a new name. Consider the prophecy given by Christ Himself in John 5:43; “I am come in my Father’s name, and ye receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive.” This last pope will have a name that is his own, and not used by another pope, thus it will constitute a count of “1” necessary to complete the count of the number 666.
5. And His Number is 666
This number is derived from the beast, and is given in the verse. That verse is linked to Revelation 17:9, 10 and the seven mountains referred to in that verse demonstrates that the same 666 number is contained within it, and thus links it back again to Revelation 13:18. The number 666 is the count given to the beast, and when this number is reached by the eighth, it identifies that man as the “man of sin”.
6. The Beast that Was
The papacy in its power, as it is seen from 538 A.D. to 1798 A.D. Revelation 11:3 shows that this same papacy obscures the Two Witnesses who prophesy in sackcloth for this same period of time.
6And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days.
Revelation 12:6
During this time, the papal church exercised its power and persecuted many and killed those whom it called heretics.
5And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months.
Revelation 13:5
7. And “Is Not”
This is the papacy from 1798 A.D. to the end of the restrainer that follows John Paul II and who “withholdeth” the arrival of the Antichrist until he is “taken out of the way.”
Napoleon took Pope Pius VI captive in 1798 and declared that the papacy was dead. The beast was slain for its harm that it had done to the Two Witnesses. (Revelation 11:5) At that time, the beast received a deadly wound to one of its heads. The papacy is decreed “dead” thus it receives the status of “is not.”
5And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed.
Revelation 11:5
As the papacy had put the Scriptures into seclusion, away from the people, so it was put into the seclusion in 1798. There it remains until it rises again. The papacy was declared dead by Napoleon. Its rule over the earth was temporarily terminated.
8. And “Shall Ascend Out of the Bottomless Pit”
This is the beast as it will be seen after Benedict XVI is deposed. The beast ascends from the bottomless pit and then it becomes the time of the “yet is.” This corresponds to the eighth head also referenced in Revelation 17:11 and as the “yet is” at the end of Revelation 17:8. Thus when the eighth head arises, it will do so by coming up out of the bottomless pit. This is the papacy as it regains its former power and begins its war against the remnant. This eighth head is also Satan himself as he comes impersonating Jesus Christ’s second coming. Satan will then take the “Seat of Peter” and be as “Christ on earth.”
Revelation 11:7 shows that when it arises from the bottomless pit, it will be this eighth head that will make war on the Two Witnesses and kill them. Many of the remnant will suffer martyrdom as their brethren before them.
11And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.
Revelation 6:11
9. And Go Into Perdition
The final outcome of this last presentation of the papacy in its eighth head will suffer the judgments of God in the seven last plagues and be finally destroyed at Christ’s second coming. When Christ comes, everything is destroyed except His chosen people.
10. And Yet Is
The beast is seen in its three phases; “was”, “is not” and “yet is”, and the “yet is”, is linked to the “eighth” in verse 11, which when he comes, will ascend from the bottomless pit. This is the next legitimate pope following John Paul II. The Antichrist will be the next “legitimate” pontificate, and he will take the papacy away from the antipope Benedict XVI.
11. The “Seven Heads”
These are the seven papal names as seen since 1798; Pius, Leo, Gregory, Benedict, John, Paul, and John Paul.
If the beast that has seven heads is the papacy, then the seven heads upon it must also be papal. This principle is seen in the Grecian beast in Daniel 7 having four Grecian heads. Beginning with Pope Pius VII after the death of Pope Pius VI in prison, we have now all seven heads presented.
12. Are “Seven Mountains”
These are the entire seven lineages of these seven papal names. The complete group of each of these names constitutes a mountain. These seven heads are seven mountains. Each name has more than one pope. Thus, the heads and the mountains are derived from the same element. A new head is formed from a new papal name, and it becomes a mountain when that name is used again, as every one of these seven have done.
13. On Which the Woman Sits
The woman sits upon seven mountains, representing the whole time of the beast. The Catholic Church consists of its people beholden to the structure and principles set forth by the popes. The beast arose in 140 A.D. and received its seat and power from the dragon in 538 A.D. “Although Catholic tradition regards St. Peter as the first Bishop of Rome and therefore as the first pope, there is no evidence that Peter was involved in the initial establishment of the Christian community in Rome…or that he served as Rome’s first bishop. Not until the pontificate of St. Pius I in the middle of the second century (140-155) did the Roman church have one bishop as pastoral leader…” (Richard McBrien, Lives of the Popes, p. 25).
14. And Are Seven Kings
These are Pius, Leo, Gregory, Benedict, John, Paul, and John Paul. In the Greek this is written; “And are seven kings,” equating the seven heads to seven mountains and then to seven kings. Then it supplies a template of how these seven kings are to appear. The heads are to the beast as its leaders and its kings.
15. Five Are Fallen
1. Pius, 2. Leo, 3. Gregory, 4. Benedict and 5. John. These names do not appear again after the sixth head Paul. To say they are fallen, means that their use as a name has ended. There will never again be another one of these five. This recognizes the equal status of the seven kings as being the seven heads which are also seven mountains. It is only the last pope of each mountain that bears the same name that becomes fallen when each mountain count had reached its maximum. This fact stood ready to announce that Benedict XVI would become an antipope from the moment that he chose that name.
16. And “One Is,” (The Sixth)
This is Pope Paul VI 1963-1978. John was taken away in the spirit; Revelation 17:1. “And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials,” “saying…Come hither;” and Revelation 17:3 “So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness.” This conveyance clearly places the whole setting of the elements into John’s future. John was shown the things in the future as though he were there. There is nothing in the context that indicates that it has anything to do with the time that John lived. On the contrary; it indicates that it is at a time that John is taken to in his vision. John himself did not live in the wilderness, nor did he write in the perspective of his own time. The time that this whore woman is put into the wilderness is at 1798. The perspective of the seven heads is then shown to John from the time of the sixth head. Five mountains were fallen before this, and the seventh had not yet come.
This particular passage has been used by Preterists to pinpoint the sixth head to be the head ruling in power at the time the prophecy was written by John. This is also used by historians who believe that the seven heads are seven kingdoms. There is no evidence that the emperors of Rome have any place in the remaining end-time elements of this prophecy, and they do not fit. There are not only seven emperors, but eleven. The fifth emperor of Rome was Nero and the eighth was not the Antichrist, and there remains yet an unexplained period of more than 1,800 years between the last emperor and the end. No explanation is given to explain this long delay. Neither was Nero destroyed by Christ at His second coming. The structure of this phrase does present a better explanation. John was taken in vision to the future, near the end of time.
It is from the perspective of the sixth head that he is shown that the whole of the seven heads are perceived. The explanation of the vision is within the very same context of the time in which the vision applies. It places a demarcation point at the sixth and before the seventh that requires the seventh to appear only after the sixth. This requirement is met by John Paul, whose name was not present before Paul.
9And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb’s wife.
10And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God.
Revelation 21:9, 10
The same language used in Revelation 17:1 and 3 is also seen in Revelation 21:9 and 10; “one of the seven angels which had the seven vials” “saying, Come hither,” “And he carried me away in the spirit.” John did not see the Holy City descend upon the Isle of Patmos where he was, but in the context we see, we associate it to be in the future after the millennium. The angel bidding John with his words; “Come hither,” excludes it from being relevant to John’s day.
17. Not Yet Come
John Paul introduced a new name, and from the perspective of Pope Paul VI the sixth head, John Paul had not yet existed. At the time of Paul, (1963-1978) there had never been a pope named John Paul. John Paul I said that he chose the names of his two predecessors, and fashioned his name after theirs. This directly fulfills the element; “not yet come”, with reference to the perspective of the sixth head.
18. He Must Continue a Short Space
This was John Paul, 1978-2005, 26½ years. John Paul comprises the smallest mountain. The short space is a measure that is short in relation to the other six heads. The tenure of John Paul was 26½ years, and in comparison to the other six heads, it is the shortest space. The next shortest tenure is that of Paul, where the total number of years of that mountain is 67 years. The other mountains number in years as follows; Benedict 88 years, Leo 99 years, John 122 years, Gregory 125 years, Pius 161 years.
19. The Eighth
The eighth is numbered in the sequence after the seven. This eighth is the “yet is” of Revelation 17:8.
20. And is of the Seven
The eighth head follows after the seven and is set apart from them; he is not included in the listing of the seven that are also called mountains. Because he is the Antichrist, he comes in his own name. He will call himself the “Christ” the “Messiah.” This “1” completes the final appearance of the beast and precisely finishes the count from 665 to 666.
The Catholic Church will turn the keys of their kingdom over to this eighth head Antichrist, thinking that he is indeed the “Christ.” He will appear to fulfill their expectations of the coming of Christ.
21. Full of Names of Blasphemy on His Seven Heads
1And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.
Revelation 13:1
So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.
Revelation 17:3
These two verses demonstrate the chiastic nature of the book of Revelation, and directly links the seven heads to its names. Both the heads and the names are said to have blasphemy upon them.
By falsely attributing the power to forgive sins to the popes and the priests, the papal church fits this identifying element. Any method by which man has employed to displace the true Gospel is false. God made the provision for the dispensing of man’s sins fully and completely, and to displace this with any other system constitutes blasphemy. Thus the popes’ claim to absolve a sinner of his sins is blasphemy.
By first insisting that no one can have their sins forgiven except through the Catholic Church, they then lay claim that no one can have salvation outside of the church.
5When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee.
6But there were certain of the scribes sitting there, and reasoning in their hearts,
7Why doth this man thus speak blasphemies? who can forgive sins but God only?
Mark 2:5, 6, 7
The seven heads all have the name of blasphemy upon them. This element is given just before it is said that this beast has seven heads. Then, in chapter 17, it does not limit the papal heads to seven, but says that it is “full of names” of blasphemy. In Revelation 13:1 it is written; “...and upon his heads the name of blasphemy” thus it associates blasphemy with the names of its heads. If these heads were kingdoms such as Babylon, Medo-Persia, or Grecia, then explaining the presence of blasphemy would require a more convoluted definition of blasphemy, as they would not demonstrate blasphemy in the same way as the papacy does. It would not be defined as blasphemous for Babylon to forgive the sins of its people. They would only forgive the sins that might have been committed against its own laws, for it could care less about the sins committed against God’s laws.
22. The Wounding and Healing of One of the Heads of the Beast
3And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast.
Revelation 13:3
This wounding was to Pope Pius VI in 1798. It was Pius XI who received sovereignty again in 1929, thus the same head was healed. The Concordat of 1929 is the rescinding of Napoleon’s 1798 decree that the papacy is dead, reinstating it into the political arena. It was Pope Pius VI that was the head of the beast that was wounded, and it was Pope Pius XI who was the same head that was healed in 1929. The beast has been ever rising in power. Pope Pius was the first of the seven heads. Pope Pius VI in 1798 was the head of the beast that “was wounded with a deadly wound and did live.”
14And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.
Revelation 13:14
Napoleon, upon hearing of the new pope, dispatched another order to take Pope Pius VII captive, and he too was held in prison to remind the world that the papacy is dead. He was released only after the death of Napoleon.
This element also indicates the nature of the identity of the beast’s heads. It says that one of its seven heads was wounded. One of these heads of the beast was wounded with a deadly wound and did live. That head being Pius, indicates that the beast’s heads are also popes.
23. The Whore
The largest church in the world is described here; Catholicism. It is called the whore because of the false doctrines that it has incorporated into its system and because of the nature of this church; it tenaciously clings to these false doctrines lest it should admit that their popes were in error. The Reformation reflects this. The whore woman represents the people within the papal system. They are the primary target of this message. God is gleaning every precious soul of His that are still amidst their assemblies in the final call: “Come out of her My people.”
24. That Sitteth Upon Many Waters
During the 1,260 year reign of the Catholic Church, it had proselytized and dominated most of the inhabited world. No other church could boast of this. Every country has been entered and its kings made subject to the rule of the papacy.
25. The Kings of the Earth Have Committed Fornication with Her
Kings were anathematized by the popes until they repented before them for refusing to accept their decrees. It was easier to follow the papal church than to resist her. Through the centuries of papal dominion over the kings of the earth, these kings have lent their power to the will of the papacy. Our world’s current leaders have all taken advice from the popes.
26. The Inhabitants Are Made Drunk with Her Wine
The Catholic Church had embarked on its own Douay Rheims Bible and have added to this their own tradition which they have regarded above that of the Word of God. New doctrines have been created by the popes and their tradition has been elevated to a status higher than that of the Bible. Many of the false Catholic doctrines are derived from the Apocrypha, which contradicts the established Word. The Catholic Church has accumulated a long list of doctrines that are false.
27. Into the Wilderness
The true people of God were hiding from papal oppression during their 1,260 years of ruling over the kings of the earth. But since France had taken Pope Pius VI prisoner in 1798, she lost her power and had been driven into the wilderness. There she has remained until the rising of the eighth head, which is to come after Benedict XVI.
28. Sitting on a Scarlet Colored Beast
The papacy is the beast that this whore woman sits upon, and this beast has received its power and seat from the red dragon spoken of in Revelation 13:2.
29. Arrayed in Purple and Scarlet
The common attire of the Roman Catholic priests is that of the colors purple and scarlet. Their tradition has persisted in spite of this identifying feature.
30. Decked in Gold and Pearls
The many cathedrals of the Catholic Church are heavily decorated with a costly array of precious stones art, and gold.
31. Drunk with the Blood of Martyrs
Declaring all opponents of Catholicism to be heretics, many of the Protestant Reformers were persecuted and put to death during its 1,260 years of power.
32. Ten Horns Reign One Hour with the Beast
The Bible states that the ten horns have not received their kingdom yet, but at the last hour, they will rule with the beast and lend their power to its wishes. Benedict XVI has followed John Paul II in the attempt to unify the many Protestant churches back into the mother church. It is from among these that the ten horns form. Let the prophecy speak for itself when that time comes. We must await the unrolling of the scroll.
33. The Many Waters
The Bible does well to define the waters in Revelation 17:15, “The waters which thou sawest are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.” It portrays the worldwide scope of the influence of the papal beast. The Three Angels’ Messages are also to go to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people in a final loud cry when the eighth arrives.
34. The Ten Horns Turn on the Whore to Destroy Her
After the ten horns have lent their power to this beast and have come to realize that t hey were deceived, they then turn upon her to destroy her. This event will be fulfilled at the time appointed.
In my final analysis of all the elements from this prophecy, the papal record accurately matches them all. No other interpretation has been able to demonstrate anything near this depth or degree of accuracy. Every prophetic element is seen to match the record with the same simplicity and accuracy as the previous sets before it.
Chapter 3
The Rules of Interpretation of Prophecy
There are basic rules of prophetic interpretation that cannot be violated, and every interpretation must meet these basic rules if it is correct.
Instead of reinventing the wheel or making a list of new rules, I considered that there are some basic rules already in use. After searching the Internet for the best sites that gave credible information regarding rules of interpretation, I found about seven suitable sites and extracted from these, rules and other guidelines that are credible. This is by no means an authoritative list, nor comprehensive. Here they are:
1. Applied to Bible study, rules are nothing more than a means of disciplining the mind by which we allow the Bible to mean what it must mean, not what we want it to mean. A passage has a certain meaning, and we need to study it to understand what it is trying to say.
2. A verse can only mean what it means in its context and must not be pulled out of its context. When it is pulled out of context, it is often presented as meaning something that it cannot mean within the context.
Many times another passage will shed light on the obscure passage and bring forth a sudden revelation of understanding. We know more than one instance in which this had happened. However, one word of caution is in order at this point. Such a practice can be overdone by forcing comparisons that are not relative.
The Ultimate Test: Of course, no prophetic expositor can prove his or her predictions about the future. It is impossible to prove the accuracy of a conclusion before it happens. The most direct method to test a prediction for accuracy is to record the prediction before the event comes to pass. Then, when the predicted event occurs, ordinary people can judge the accuracy of the prediction. This simple procedure allows an impartial jury of observers to decide which predictions and interpretations are accurate by simply noting the presence or absence of events which have been predicted.
The book of Daniel was written about twenty-six centuries ago, but unlike the other sixty-five books in the Bible, some of the prophecies in the book of Daniel were sealed up “until the time of the end.” The angel, Gabriel, said to Daniel, “…Go your way, Daniel, because the words are closed up and sealed until the time of the end.” (Daniel 12:9) What does “closed up and sealed until the time of the end” mean? It means that certain information in the book of Daniel remains “top secret” until the time of the end arrives. My study of Bible prophecy has brought me to the conclusion that we are living chronologically “at the time of the end”. If this conclusion is true, the time has come for the secrets of Daniel to be unveiled. (If we are at the time of the end, and as near as many say we are, then these elements contained in the prophecies must be able to show that there are corresponding fulfillments already within our recent history. The seven heads and mountains would not have time enough now to begin their appearing, thus they must be largely found in recent history.)
God embedded secrets in the book of Daniel a long time ago. These secrets have remained hidden within the text of Daniel for almost twenty-six centuries. Now that we have come to the time of the end, it is time for the secrets of Daniel to be opened. No one can know the truth about some of Daniel’s prophecies until all of the necessary information is unsealed. The book of Daniel was sealed up until the time of the end; therefore, only those people who live at the time of the end can know all the truth about Daniel’s prophecies.
When God decides to disclose a truth or open to us its understanding, He enables ordinary men and women to discover what He has hidden. Through the ages we find this process at work: On or about the time of fulfillment, elements of prophecy are understood. For example, when it came time to understand the timing of Christ’s birth, the wise men from the East figured it out (Matthew 2:2).
In Daniel 3, we read about Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego facing a mandatory requirement to worship a golden image set up by the king of Babylon. In Revelation 13:15 we read about the inhabitants of the world facing a mandatory requirement to worship an image set up by the king of modern Babylon. These dramatic stories of faith were recorded in Daniel to benefit all generations, but especially for the final generation!
Often, two or more prophecies describe the same event. Because of this, precise alignment of the prophecies is not only possible but essential to understanding the big picture. Together they are the events that unite the eighteen prophecies in Daniel and Revelation into one grand story. God has revealed things to come, by visions, in figures and parables; and in this way, the same things are oftentimes revealed again and again by different visions or in different figures and parables. If you wish to understand them, you must combine them all in one (Psalms 89:19; Hosea 12:10; Habakkuk. 2:2; Acts 2:17; 1Corinthians 10:6; Hebrews 9:9, 24; Psalms 78:2; Matthew 13:13, 34; Genesis 41:1-32; Daniel 2, 7, 8; Acts 10:9-16 8).
This statement is critical: Rules are not invented; rather, man may only discover the presence or operation of rules by repeatedly testing the architecture that God created. We detect the presence of a rule when we recognize a consistent behavior or structure. After finding the presence of a rule, it becomes necessary to carefully state the rule so that the behavior can be independently validated by others. When you see an unfamiliar rule that appears to be invented just to support a particular interpretation, it is not a legitimate rule. The architecture of the prophecies already known form the pattern for other prophecies.
Beware also of the false ‘wisdom’ of men who make up their own rules of interpretation and tell you that all the heads and horns of the beast and the dragon in Revelation 12, 13, and 17 are all the same. The structure present within the text shows that they are not the same. They willfully ignore the Scriptural evidence. The Bible does give its own direction to its study and is simple enough for children to understand.
“And that from a child thou hast known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.”
2 Timothy 3:15
The historic record must accurately match the prophecy. If it appears that a compensatory adjustment is needed to explain the apparent discrepancy in sequence or appearance, then it is not the correct historic fulfillment of that prophecy. If you find every word of the prophecy (after the figures are understood) is literally fulfilled, then you may know that your history is the true event; but if one word lacks a fulfillment, then you must look for another event or wait its future development. For God takes care that history and prophecy shall agree so that the true believing children of God may never be ashamed. Psalms 21:5; Isaiah 14:17-19; 1Peter 2:6; Revelation 17:17; Acts 3:18.
In applying such rules and after arriving at an understanding… “The most important rule of all is that you must have faith. It must be a faith that requires a sacrifice, and, if tried, would give up the dearest object on earth, the world and all its desires - character, living, occupation, friends, home, comforts, and worldly honor. If any of these should hinder our believing any part of God’s Word, it would show our faith to be vain. Nor can we ever believe so long as one of these motives lies lurking in our hearts. We must believe that God will never forfeit his Word; and we can have confidence that He who takes notice of the sparrow’s fall, and numbers the hairs of our head, will guard the translation of His own Word, and throw a barrier around it, and prevent those who sincerely trust in God, and put implicit confidence in His Word, from error…though they may not understand Hebrew or Greek” (William Miller, “Views of the Prophecies and Prophetic Chronology, Selected from Manuscripts of William Miller with a Memoir of his Life” By Joshua V. Himes, p. 23).
The most violated rule seen in many interpretations is the relationship of the heads to the beast that they are on. The respective parts of a beast in a prophecy pertain directly to the beast that they are shown to be on. It is repeatedly shown in the architecture of the prophecies of Daniel that the heads of a beast are the leaders or kings of the people who their beast kingdom represents. To say that the papal beast has seven heads and show them to be kingdoms that rose and fell before the papal beast had even begun, places them outside of the time of the beast shown. They therefore cannot be that beast’s heads. In all examples shown in the prophecies of Daniel, the heads of the beast shown are the leaders of the kingdoms that the beast symbol represents.
The numbers that the popes have used on their names have not always been correct, and the actual count of the beast is done by the count of the popes as they occurred naturally; There were twenty-one legitimate popes named John, and though the record lists John XXIII (23), from 1958, he is the twenty-first John by natural count. While the actual numbers given to the names used by the popes had given rise to the original question that I had sought to answer, it is only the natural numbers that are used in the true count of the number. Five of the seven mountains are numbered correctly. The historic record of these errors is listed here with the correct number in {brackets}.
Table 4
John XVII 1003 {XVI, 16}
John XVIII 1003-09 {XVII, 17}
John XIX 1024-33 {XVIII, 18}
John XXI 1276-77 {XIX, 19}
John XXII 1316-34 {XX, 20}
John XXIII 1958-63 {XXI, 21}
Benedict XI 1303-04 {X, 10}
Benedict XII 1334-42 {XI, 11}
Benedict XIII 1724-30 {XII, 12}
Benedict XIV 1740-58 {XIII, 13}
Benedict XV 1914-22 {XIV, 14}
The historic record reflects the absence of a Benedict X, and John XVI and John XX.
I encountered an ordinal rule that an antipope has no count, as the number that the antipope had used is taken by the next legitimate pope who takes that same name. This is demonstrated in several papal lines where antipopes have been present. Thus the count continues unchanged as if there were never any antipopes.
Chapter 4
The “Perfect” Truth
The correct interpretation of any Scripture, will demonstrate that it includes all of the passages that are involved in a unified manner. It will not exclude any elements that cannot be shown because there is no apparent explanation. It will show a cohesive agreement within itself, and within the whole context. As in this book, the interpretation I have given demonstrates that it naturally aligns with all of the elements involved, and is contiguous with itself and within its context.
Many believe that the interpretation of the prophecy giving us the number 666 is found in the alleged papal title; “Vicarius Filii Dei,” as the fulfillment that is intended. Many also falsely believe that this interpretation is within the established truths and are foundational pillars of Protestantism. The official position as held by the Seventh-day Adventist Church has been for many decades that the papal title is not the answer to the number 666. The Vicarius Filii Dei calculation was first produced by Andreas Helwig in the year 1612 A.D. The process involving the conversion of letters into numbers, is not indicated by the prophecy, but it is based upon the footnotes of the Douay Rheims Bible, which reads; “Six hundred sixty-six…The numeral letters of his name shall make up this number.”
In reference to the seven heads of the beast, the Douay Rheims Bible also gives footnotes for Revelation 13:1. Note also that they link it with Revelation 17:10; “A beast…This first beast with seven heads and ten horns, is probably the whole company of infidels, enemies and persecutors of the people of God, from the beginning to the end of the world. The seven heads are seven kings, that is, seven principal kingdoms or empires, which have exercised, or shall exercise, tyrannical power over the people of God; of these, five were then fallen, viz.: the Egyptian, Assyrian, Chaldean, Persian, and Grecian monarchies: one was present, viz., the empire of Rome: and the seventh and chiefest was to come, viz., the great Antichrist and his empire. The ten horns may be understood of ten lesser persecutors.”
The Biblical Research Institute of the General Conference of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, (BRI) has responded to an inquiry of their view and it is openly evident that it is based on the Catholic interpretation.
The BRI states: At John’s time five were fallen, namely Egypt, which is mentioned in Revelation, Assyria, ancient Babylon, Medo-Persia, and Greece. One is, which is Rome. John experiences the Roman empire. One has not yet come, which is the Papacy. The ten horn exists at the same time as the last head lives. From John’s perspective this was still future. All of this belong to the period “the beast was” which brings us to the end time. The period “the beast is not” refers to the Millennium. In Rev. 20
Satan’s fate during the thousand years is described, and during this time, he is in the abyss. The period “it will be” will take place after the Millennium, this is the eighth head. Satan will be freed from the abyss but will go to destruction.
Notice that there is only one small difference between the BRI and the Catholic view. The BRI has inserted the “papacy” as one of the beast’s heads. It is obvious that the BRI has fallen for the Catholic’s Preterist interpretation, mingling Historicism with Preterism. (Why do the SDA leaders espouse Catholic teaching? They are drunk on the wine of Babylon!)
James and Ellen White among the early Adventist pioneers had believed up to the 1860’s, that the number 666 would come from the number of Protestant churches that had formally sought recognition status from the government of the Two-Horned beast. James White answered one inquiry concerning the issue of the Seventh-day Adventist formally organizing as an entity under this same government, without receiving equal status among Protestants of being part of the Two-Horned beast’s number. He replied; “Here is a call for wisdom. Let him that hath understanding come forward. We confess our lack of wisdom, and decline attempting an exposition to the matter. But let them that have wisdom come forward and ‘count the number of the beast.’” “Fifteen years since some declared the number 666 to be full-that there was that number of legally organized bodies. Since that time there have been almost numberless divisions, and new associations, and still the number is just 666!”
Uriah Smith is the source among Adventists that believe that the papal title is the answer to the 666 prophecy. (NOTE: None of Uriah Smith's commentary on the number 666 is true. It is based on false testimony.)
Here is Uriah Smith’s commentary from his book “Daniel and Revelation”:
“VERSE 18. Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast; for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.” (p. 579, Para. 4.)
The Number of His Name. -- The number of the beast, says the prophecy, “is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six” (666). This number, some attempt to find in the word Lateinos, the “Latin” kingdom. Thus they make, by what rule we do not understand, L stand for 30; A, for 1; T, for 300; E, for 5; I, for 10; N, for 50; O, for 70; and S, for 200; which numbers, added together, make 666. Deriving the number from the name in this manner, must be regarded as rather conjectural than otherwise, seeing that names making just that number can be found to almost any extent. We think we discover, however, a serious objection to the name here suggested. The number, says the prophecy, is the number of a man; and if it is to be derived from a name or title, the natural conclusion would be that it must be the name or title of some particular man. But in this we have the name of a people, or kingdom, not of “a man,” as the prophecy says. (p. 579, Para. 5.)
The most plausible name we have ever seen suggested as containing the number of the beast, is the title which the pope applies to himself, and allows others to apply to him. That title is this: Vicarious Filii Dei, “Vicegerent of the Son of God.” Taking the letters out of this title which the Latins used as numerals, and giving them their numerical value, we have just 666. Thus we have V, 5; I, 1; C, 100 [a and r not used as numerals]; I, 1; U [formerly the same as V], 5 [s and f not used as numerals]; I, 1; L, 50; I, 1; I, 1; D, 500 [e not used as a numeral]; I, 1. Adding these numbers together, we have just 666. (p. 580, Para. 1.)
In a later edition of his book he adds verbal testimony of two men who claim to have seen the papal title. This title, there is reason to believe, was formerly inscribed upon the pope’s crown. The following testimony on this point is given by the late Elder D. E. Scoles, of Washburn, Mo.:-- (p. 624, Para. 2.)
“I have met two men who declare that they have seen this specific crown; and their testimony is so perfectly in agreement that I am convinced that what they saw is true. The first man was M. De Latti, a Sabbath-keeper who had previously been a Catholic priest, and had spent four years in Rome. He visited me when I was pastor in St. Paul, Minn., several years ago. I showed him my tract, “The Seal of God and the Mark of the Beast.” He at once told me that the inscription was not correctly placed in my illustration. He stated that he had often seen it in the museum at the Vatican and gave a detailed and accurate description of the whole crown.
When my tract was published, I was ignorant of the arrangement of the words of the Latin inscriptions, hence, in the illustration of the crown, placed them in one line. Brother De Latti at once pointed out the mistake, and said the first word of the sentence was on the first crown of the triple arrangement, the second word on the second part of the crown, while the word Dei was on the lower division of the triple crown. He also explained that the first two words were in dark-colored jewels, while the Dei was composed entirely of diamonds. (p. 624, Para. 3.)
“During a tent-meeting which I held in Webb City, Mo., I presented the subject, ‘The Seal of God and the Mark of the Beast.’ I used charts to illustrate it, one being a reproduction of the crown as Brother De Latti had described it. A Presbyterian minister was present, Rev. B. Hoffman, and when I described the crown, he spoke out publicly and made a statement to the congregation, saying that while in Rome studying for the priesthood, he had seen this very crown, and noted its inscription, and that the word Dei was composed of one hundred diamonds. I met him and learned his name, and visited him at his home, and was convinced from his description that this was the identical crown that Brother De Latti had seen, but which has been denied by many. I then asked him for a written statement, and he gave me the following:-- (p. 624, Para. 4.)
“‘To Whom It May Concern: This is to certify that I was born in Bavaria in 1828, was educated in Munich, and was reared a Roman Catholic. In 1844 and 1845 I was a student for the priesthood in the Jesuit College in Rome. During the Easter service of 1845, Pope Gregory XVI wore a triple crown upon which was the inscription, in jewels, Vicarious Filii Dei. We were told that there were one hundred diamonds in the word Dei; the other words were of some other kind of precious stones of a darker color.
There was one word upon each crown, and not all on the same line. I was present at the service, and saw the crown distinctly, and noted it carefully. (p. 625, Para. 1.)
“‘In 1850 I was converted to God and to Protestantism. Two years later I entered the Evangelical Church ministry, but later in life I united with the Presbyterian Church, of which I am now a retired pastor, having been in the ministry for fifty years. (p. 625, Para. 2.)
“‘I have made the above statement at the request of Elder D. E. Scoles, as he states that some deny that the pope ever wore this tiara. But I know that he did, for I saw it upon his head. (p. 625, Para. 3.)
“‘Sincerely your in Christian service, (p. 626, Para. 1.)
[Signed] “‘B. HOFFMAN. “‘Webb City, Mo., Oct. 29, 1906.’” (p. 626, Para. 2.)
The following extract is from a work entitled The Reformation, bearing the date of 1832:-- (p. 580, Para. 2.)
“‘Mrs. A.,’ said Miss Emmons, ‘I saw a very curious fact the other day; I have dwelt upon it much, and will mention it. A person, lately, was witnessing a ceremony of the Romish Church. As the pope passed him in procession, splendidly dressed in his pontifical robes, the gentleman’s eye rested on these full, blazing letters in front of his miter: “VICARIUS FILII DEI,” the Vicar of the Son of God. His thoughts, with the rapidity of lightning, reverted to Rev. 13:18.’ ‘Will you turn to it?’ said Mrs. A. Alice opened the New Testament and read: ‘Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.’ She paused, and Miss Emmons said, ‘He took out his pencil, and marking the numerical letters or the inscription on his tablet, it stood 666.’” (p. 580, Para. 3.)
Here we have indeed the number of a man, even the “man of sin;” and it is a little singular, perhaps providential, that he should select a title which shows the blasphemous character of the beast, and then cause it to be inscribed upon his miter, as if to brand himself with the number 666. The foregoing extract doubtless refers to a particular pope on a particular occasion. Other popes might not wear the title emblazoned on the miter, as there stated. But this does not affect the application at all; for the popes all assume to be the “Vicar of Christ” [see Standard Dictionary under “vicar”], and the Latin words given above are the words which express that title, in the form “vicar of the Son of God;” and their numerical value is 666. (p. 580, Para. 4.)
Thus closes chapter 13, leaving the people of God with the powers of earth in deadly array against them, and the decrees of death and banishment from society upon them for their adherence to the truth. Spiritualism will be, at the time specified, performing its most imposing wonders, deceiving all the world except the elect. Matt. 24:24; 2Thess. 2:8-12. This will be the “hour of temptation,” or trial, which is to come, as the closing test, upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth, as mentioned in Rev. 3:10. What is the issue of this conflict? This important inquiry is not left unanswered. The first five verses of the following chapter, which should have been numbered as a part of this, complete the chain of this prophecy, and reveal the glorious triumph of the champions of the truth. (p. 581, Para. 1.)
(End of Smith’s erroneous commentary.)
Since the time that this had first surfaced among Seventh-day Adventists, many have come to believe it, and are not slack in continuing to teach this interpretation. The influence has been so effective, that many non-Adventists have accused the Seventh-day Adventists for having invented it. Other scholars have stated that the alleged papal title theory needs no corroborating evidence that it was ever written upon the papal tiara in order to be valid. Some cling so tenaciously to this papal title theory that they say that because for hundreds of years there have been many popes who have used this false title, that it makes it valid. It is a false claim to begin with and a false claim to be used by those popes... so how do two wrongs make it into a truth? Can the correct interpretation of the number 666 be based on such errors? Never!
The Sabbath School Quarterly lesson study guide for June 2002 has directly refuted the “Vicarius Filii Dei” interpretation for the number 666.
Many decades earlier, this same issue had been brought forth calling all our evangelists to dispense with this papal title interpretation, yet they refuse to give this up, and are still preaching it as if it were truth, even in spite of the more recent open rejection of the papal title interpretation by the church leadership and published before the whole church through its Sabbath School Quarterly Study Guide in June 2002:
Thursday June 6, 2002
“Why do we say that those who keep Sunday do not have the mark of the beast now? Why is it important that we make this point clear?
The number of the beast. The mark, the name, and the number of the beast are closely related (Rev. 13:17). Many suggestions have been made to explain the meaning of 666. Here we must be very careful. The Bible does not say that the number is the added numerical value of the letters of a name. Some see in the meaning of 666 a symbol of humanity separated from God. Humans were created on the sixth day, and the number can stand as a symbol for humanity without divine rest (the seventh day). Humans have claimed ultimate independence from God (the cause of their fall), and even now they do not want to find rest in Christ.
Over the years, numerous Bible students have come up with various explanations for the 666. Some found significance in the fact that if you added up the number of letters in the name of a former president of the United States, Ronald Wilson Reagan, it came to 666; others saw meaning in that, years ago, all the buses in Jerusalem had 666 on their license plates. This is futile speculation that adds nothing toward understanding truth. The important point is that God’s Word has given us enough information to know what the key issues are and who the players will be in the last days, even if we do not know all the details for now, such as the precise meaning of 666.
Friday June 7, 2002
Please note the following points in conclusion to this week’s study: “Vicarius Filii Dei (Vicar of the Son of God). Since the Reformation, this papal title has been used to calculate the number 666. But there are several questions that should make us cautious. First, it is not clear that this title is an official one. Second, there is no clear indication in Revelation 13 that the number is based on the numerical value of the letters of a name. The phrase “it is the number of a man” (vs. 18, NIV) could be translated “it is the number of [humanity]”; that is, of humans separated from God. Third, those who insist in counting the numerical value of letters confront the problem of deciding which language will be used. Because the text does not identify any language, the selection of a particular one will be somewhat arbitrary. At the present time, the symbolism of intensified rebellion, six used three times, and total independence from God seem to be the best option. Time will reveal the full meaning of the symbol.
There are serious problems with the above passage. It is clear that the alleged papal title is not official. The correct interpretation should be very clear and affirmative.
To change the words “a man” into “humanity” completely changes the applied meaning to something other than the beast. It must be remembered that it is the number of the beast and a man, and if “a man” is changed to “humanity,” it completely loses its relevance to the beast.
Humanity does not represent the beast; it is the papacy that is represented by the beast, and “a man” is directly related to “that man of sin” and that “Wicked” one spoken of in 2Thessalonians 2:3 & 8.
The phrase “six used three times” totally delves into the absurd. It breaks the elements into separate pieces and then assigns different meanings to them, which destroys all continuity between the various parts. What this presumes upon, is that it is based on the idea that the number 6 is the number of man, because God created man on the sixth day, and somehow, this translates to some as being in rebellion to God. But when God created man on the sixth day, He pronounced that all He had made was very good. There was nothing evil on or about that day. Furthermore, no regard is given to the injunction to “count” anything at all when the number is thus symbolized. It is also obvious that they have listed several other interpretations of the number 666 yet completely avoided the interpretation set forth in this book, though they all knew of it when they wrote their lesson study.
Time has already revealed the full meaning: The principle interpretation of this book had already been given to the very person who authored this nonsense. I believe that the reason that this was entered into the Quarterly Sabbath School lesson, was to counter the interpretation of the number 666 as outlined in this book. They appear to be afraid to point the finger where the prophecy indicates, as it would seem to them to be unlike the “Spirit of Christ.” They are forgetting who the author is of this prophecy.
As I examined the ancient-kingdoms-as-heads theory, I saw that the elements of the interpretation did not match the prophecy. For the heads to represent kingdoms, which were all set upon a beast which also is to represent a kingdom, attempts to say that there are seven kingdoms upon one kingdom. History does not demonstrate this. These observations were also noted by George McCready Price in what he wrote before his death in 1963:
“For many centuries the Catholic Church has had her own interpretation of this chapter, as will be found in her notes in her Douay Bible. Her theologians, followed closely by the Modernistic critics, have always assumed that the time viewpoint from which the angel’s explanation was given to John was the time of the Roman emperors. Accordingly they have always thought they had to bring in Egypt and Assyria to lead off the list of Babylon, Medo-Persia, and Greece, in order to have five ‘kings,’ or empires, which at that time had ‘fallen,’ as stated in verse 10. Pagan, or imperial, Rome was then reigning, and would be (number) 6 of the series. Of course the next one, number 7, which at that time had not yet come, would be the horrible Antichrist.
“A number of years ago, before the paradoxical language of this chapter was well understood; even some Adventist writers were deceived by this part of the wine of Babylon. They adopted this Catholic interpretation of this most vital of all the prophecies, probably because they thought they had a clear case for making number seven of this series a symbol of the great Antichrist. They overlooked the fact that Egypt and Assyria are never once referred to in any of the serial prophecies of Daniel. They also forgot the well known historical fact that the Babylon of Nebuchadnezzar and Daniel is often called the Neo-Babylonian empire, or the second Babylonian empire; because the first career of Babylon antedated both Egypt and Assyria, going back to the time of Nimrod, soon after the Flood.
“As we shall see in later chapters, the religious factor is vastly more important to the conflict of the ages than is the political, and it is always more the concern of Bible prophecy. This was the case in ancient times. Neither Egypt nor Assyria, though cruel and oppressive, ever exerted anything like the bewitching, seductive, and deceptive influence which, during all the centuries from Nimrod to Belshazzar and long after, the cults and priesthoods centered in ‘holy’ Babylon exercised over the surrounding nations. A. H. Sayce tells us that from the days of Hammurabi’s empire onward Babylon ‘continued to be the capital of Babylonia and the holy city of Western Asia.’ (Encyc. Brit., 11th ed., Vol. III, p. 98). In fact, both Egypt and Assyria were relatively insignificant in their religious and cultural influence on the rest of the world.
“The advocates of Egypt and Assyria disregarded the plain statement of the prophecy that number 7 of the series would have only a very brief career – ‘and when he cometh, he must continue a short space’ (verse 10), or ‘must remain only a little while’ (R.S.V.), or ‘his stay must be brief’ (Goodspeed). But everybody knows that the Catholic Church has lasted almost as long as all the others put together.
“These are serious objections and indicate that this cannot be the correct interpretation.
“The true view will not involve any denial of facts. We need a sensible, self-consistent interpretation of this chapter, so that we can give intelligently the last gospel message, ‘Come out of her, my people.’ Revelation 18:4” (George McCready Price, “The Time of the End”, Chapter 3).
The Clear Word Bible that some use today has also espoused this view because it includes the interpreted note “within” the text itself. They have incorporated into it the papal interpretation:
“This calls for more than human wisdom, but with spiritual insight anyone can know its number. Its title translates into the number six hundred and sixty six, and this is the name of a man, not a creature.”
(The Clear Word Bible) Revelation 13:18
“To identify the beast calls for more than human wisdom. Here are some clues: The seven heads represent seven mountains on which the woman sits, where the religious - political system has its headquarters. The seven heads also represent seven great kingdoms which over the ages have persecuted God's people. By the beginning of the end, five will have come and gone, one will still be and the other will not yet be fully grown, but when it is, it will exercise its authority for only a short time.”
(The Clear Word Bible) Revelation 17:9, 10
History has already repeated itself here, because many have fallen for the papal title interpretation as being an historic landmark of the faith. It is not. Those who have not been deceived by this part of the wine of Babylon, are deceived by yet another; they have tried to “symbolize” the number away. If the number 666 were symbolic, then the Bible’s word that indicates that it is to be a number that is “counted” makes no sense. You cannot count a number that has only a symbolic meaning, and no one has stepped forward to explain how “counting” is symbolic. The papal title interpretation that derives the count of 666 from the words “Vicarius Filii Dei” is not an old landmark that many seem to believe.
The Identification of a Beast’s Head from Daniel’s Prophecies
An example is given in prophecy: in Daniel 7 the leopard beast that has four heads. Alexander the Great ushered in the Grecian empire. His rapid conquest is shown by a fast beast with four wings.
When Alexander died, his kingdom was divided among his four generals; Cassander, Lysimachus, Ptolemy, and Seleucus. Ultimately, Grecia was divided into four notable parts. These four heads of the Grecian beast are also Grecian. The Babylonian head was the king of Babylon. Thus, it sets forth a very clear principle of interpretation that the heads of a beast are of a like nature to the beast, which they are on. And so are the three other beasts; their heads are the leaders of the kingdom of the beast that they are on. It is a straight conclusion that if the seven heads are the heads “of the beast”, then they are the heads “of the papacy”, then the seven heads must also be papal. By correctly identifying the dragon’s seven heads, it is easier to understand the identity of the beast’s seven heads. Since the seven-headed beast in Revelation 13 is equated to the little horn, then the heads of the dragon cannot be the same heads as those on the beast. In all prophetic examples given that employ the symbols of the beasts and their heads, the known interpretation of their heads have shown that the heads are the leaders, kings, or rulers, of the kingdoms represented by the beasts.
The beast has seven heads, and therefore if the papacy is to be the identity of this beast, the papacy then must show seven heads. I think that it is the most straightforward interpretation of this symbol; that the popes are the heads of the papal Church and from among these compose the seven heads of the beast.
The seven heads cannot be the ancient kingdoms that many seem to believe. All but one of these ancient kingdoms have come to their demise long before the beast ever arose from the sea. How, I ask, can these ancient kingdoms be the heads of the papal beast? No one has properly answered that question. To make these ancient kingdoms to be the heads of the beast, requires that the identity of this beast to be changed into being a representative of Satan, and to remove it from its papal identity. The leopard-like sea beast and its seven heads is similar to the leopard beast of Daniel and its four heads. Biblically showing that the four heads of the leopard beast in Daniel 7, are all Grecian heads. Revelation 12 identifies King Herod as the head of the fourth beast. He was a Roman head over the beast of Rome. The Babylonian head is the king of Babylon.
Note that the beast of Revelation 13 has the body of a leopard, feet of a bear, and the mouth of a lion. These are not any of its seven heads. The mouth of a lion refers to Babylon, whose symbol in Daniel 7 was the lion. The king Nebuchadnezzar set up a great image on the plain of Dura and commanded all to bow down to the image on penalty of death. The papacy will do the same thing before the end. It will command that all bow to worship the image of the beast; to honor its false sabbath. Its ten horns will lend their power for one hour with the beast. The mouth of a lion is a characteristic of the papacy, of what it will yet do. It does not imply that the “mouth of a lion” that this leopard-like beast has, is an identifier of one of its seven heads.
Chapter 5
The Dragon of Revelation 12
In Revelation 12, the dragon is shown to have seven heads with seven crowns and ten horns. It also identifies the dragon as Satan and as Rome.
It begins with the appearance of a pure woman, who gives birth to the Messiah, and then the panoramic career of the dragon is exposed.
1And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars.
Revelation 12:1
The twelve stars are interpreted in Genesis 37, where Joseph’s dreams employ the same elements of the Sun, Moon, and Twelve Stars;
9And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it his brethren, and said, Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and, behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me.
10And he told it to his father, and to his brethren: and his father rebuked him, and said unto him, What is this dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth?
Genesis 37:9, 10
The twelve stars that were present when the woman was ready to be delivered, represent the twelve tribes of Israel. This was the heritage of the woman in the days of her child. While some say that the twelve stars represent the twelve Apostles, but they were not yet present at the birth of Christ. Even during the days of the Apostles, the twelve tribes are referenced directly.
1James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting.
James 1:1
3And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.
4bAnd the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born.
Revelation 12:4b
The Gospel of Matthew identifies this same account:
1Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,
7Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, enquired of them diligently what time the star appeared.
8And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also.
11And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.
12And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way
16Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently enquired of the wise men.
Matthew 2:1, 7, 8, 11, 12, 16
The Bible Identifies the Dragon as Satan and as Rome
Many parallels are seen between the portrayal of the dragon and the beast. These parallels also serve to identify the dragon’s heads and horns. Both the dragon and the beast uprooted three kingdoms in their time. Both are having seven heads and ten horns. Satan is the power behind them, one being his civil power and the other his ecclesiastical power. The seven crowns upon the dragon’s heads denote his power through these kingdoms represented by his heads. The ten crowns upon the beast’s ten horns denote the power of the beast at the time of the eighth head, which is given to the beast by the ten horns that come from her harlot daughters in Protestantism, and both join with the civil powers of the dragon in the final battle against God’s people.
From all the commentaries written regarding the seven heads, I find a common error among them; they do not differentiate between the passages of the prophecy regarding the dragon and the passages of the prophecy regarding the beast. By mingling these elements of these two prophecies, they always produce error. All of the amalgamating seen in other interpretations has come from their imbibing of the “Wine of Babylon”.
The seven heads and ten horns of the dragon are not the same seven heads and ten horns as those that are on the beast. Though they share many common features both have very distinctively different features.
The dragon-beast transition of power changes from being a representation of Satan’s control as it was through the dragon’s heads (political), to a new investiture in the dragon's eleventh horn that was diverse (ecclesiastical), and represented in Revelation as the beast. The eleventh (little) horn of Daniel 7 rises above the other ten and subjected all under its power. Thus, the dragon persecutes the woman who is represented by Christ’s people through the power that he invested into the papal beast, while the woman is hid from the face of the dragon. (Revelation 12:14)
The ten horns of Rome had been subjected to the control of the papacy. Satan put his political kingdoms of Rome’s ten horns under the ecclesiastical power of the little eleventh horn.
The Dragon of Revelation 12 is the Fourth Beast of Daniel 7: Rome
There is an equation in Revelation 12 that identifies Satan as “that old serpent, called the Devil,” which is the dragon, and the dragon is equated to Rome. In Daniel’s prophecy, the terrible beast, and seventh head since ancient Babylon, had ten horns. And another little horn arose among the ten, uprooting three other horns. This little eleventh horn of the dragon’s seventh head is the beast of Revelation 13. The eleventh horn that emerged from the dragon’s seventh head is the beast. The account of the dragon continues into Revelation 13, where the dragon gives great power and his seat to the beast. This beast is seen coming up from the sea, also with its own seven heads and ten horns. Rome is portrayed as having ten horns. The dragon gave up three of its ten horns to accomplish the transferring of his seat and power to the beast. The Roman Empire is the dragon, and therefore, Rome’s ten horns are the dragon’s ten horns.
The dragon is spoken of during the time before the earth began and is seen to extend to the remnant of God’s people, even until after the Millennium and is cast into hellfire before the New Earth. The beast begins in 140 A.D., later receives power from the dragon in 538 A.D., and continues to the end.
The Distinctive Differences between the Dragon, and the Beast
The dragon has seven heads that have seven crowns upon them. The beast’s seven heads do not have crowns.
The ten horns of the beast have ten crowns and receive power for one hour with the beast at the end. The dragon’s ten horns do not have crowns upon them.
The beast’s seven heads have on them many names of blasphemy. Blasphemy was not written upon any of the dragon’s seven heads.
The dragon has an eleventh little horn that arises among the ten and destroys three of these horns. This little horn is itself, the seven headed and ten-horned beast of Revelation 13. There is no eleventh horn on the beast.
The beast has after its seven heads, another eighth head that follows after the seven. The dragon does not have an eighth head. The beast’s seven heads are called seven mountains. The dragon’s seven heads are not called mountains.
Thus, by the distinctions that are made in the characteristics of the seven heads of the beast and the seven heads of the dragon, it shows that the seven heads of the beast are not the same as the seven heads of the dragon.
The Dragon’s Seven Heads and Ten Horns
In Daniel 7, there are four beasts bearing seven heads and ten horns. Since the dragon has been directly equated with Rome and the dragon is also said to have seven heads and ten horns, that during the time that the dragon is represented through Rome, it shows that the head of Rome, is the last of the seven heads in Daniel 7. There is not shown another kingdom head after Rome. The dragon’s seven heads were then complete and finished, and the time of the dragon’s ten horns began. The ten kingdoms that rose out of the ashes of Rome are the ten horns of the dragon. The little horn of Daniel 7 arises after these ten horns of Rome and is part of the subset of the other ten horns of the broken Roman Empire.
Revelation 12 reveals that the dragon through Herod, the ruler of Rome, attempted to kill Christ as a child, but after the Crucifixion, Satan receives the promised bruising of his head. This same Rome is the seventh head of the subset of the heads that are shown in Daniel 7.
Rome, as the agent of Satan, exercised authority over the world and persecuted the people of God. Israel was taken captive by Babylon, continued in captivity after Babylon was taken by Medo-Persia and still continued in captivity by Rome. After Satan’s head is bruised, he then redirects his attacks by infiltrating the beast, giving the papacy its seat and great authority. Three of the dragon's ten horns are sacrificed to give place to the papacy.
THE DRAGON’S SEVEN CROWNS
Notice the last phrase in verse 3, “and seven crowns upon his heads”. A head portrayed wearing a crown conveys a connection with a civil kingly power. The seven crowned heads represent the seven powers through which Satan would attempt to control the world. Verse 4 identifies the power he worked through during the time period of this vision; Rome. Pagan Rome is the last of the crowned heads of the dragon.
“The final overthrow of all earthly dominions is plainly foretold in the word of truth. In the prophecy uttered when sentence from God was pronounced upon the last king of Israel is given the message: ‘Thus saith the Lord God; Remove the diadem, and take off the crown:... exalt him that is low, and abase him that is high. I will overturn, overturn, overturn, it: and it shall be no more, until He come whose right it is; and I will give it Him.’ Ezekiel 21: 26, 27. The crown removed from Israel passed successively to the kingdoms of Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome. God says, ‘It shall be no more, until He come whose right it is; and I will give it Him.’” Education p. 179
The prophecy given to the last king of Israel predicted the final end of all earthly kingdoms:
25And thou, profane wicked prince of Israel, whose day is come, when iniquity shall have an end,
26Thus saith the Lord GOD; Remove the diadem, and take off the crown: this shall not be the same: exalt him that is low, and abase him that is high.
27I will overturn, overturn, overturn, it: and it shall be no more, until he come whose right it is; and I will give it him.
Ezekiel 21:25-27
The dragon’s seven heads have seven crowns. These are the crowns of Babylon, Medo-Persia, Grecia, and Rome. Seven crowns, seven heads, and the last of these seven heads is Rome bearing ten horns, of which three of these, the Ostrogoths, Vandals and Heruli were uprooted to give the beast its power and its seat.
Having made the correct identification of the dragon’s heads, we are prepared to make the correct identification of the beast’s seven heads. It requires that the beast’s seven heads be something other than the heads of the dragon, for the beast is a separate entity from the dragon.
Revelation 13 begins with the transition to the new beast from the dragon. Thus, the dragon works through the beast in which he has infused with his power. The dragon’s dominion is extended further than the beast’s. Thus, their bodies, heads, and horns are found within their times respectively; the dragon’s time from the days of Eden to the end and the beast’s time from 140 A.D. to the end.
In the latest commentary by Ranko Stefanovic; “The Revelation of Jesus Christ”, published by Andrews University in 2002 it reads;
“However, as William G. Johnsson states, the seven heads of the dragon represent ‘the kingdoms through which Satan has worked to oppress God’s people throughout the ages’.” “It is significant that the beasts of Daniel 7 have together seven heads and ten horns in total.” (p. 404).
“However, while the dragon had the seven crowns on his heads, the beast has ten crowns on his horns. We saw earlier that the seven crowns on the dragon’s heads denote Satan’s false claim of full authority and power over the world” (p. 404).
3And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.
Revelation 12:3
If Babylon has one head, Medo-Persia has one head, Grecia has four heads, Rome was the terrible beast that had one head and ten horns, then you have all of the parts for the prophecy that identifies the dragon as having these seven heads and ten horns. The dragon’s head represented by Medo-Persia is depicted with three ribs in its mouth, having uprooted three kingdoms and the beast has uprooted three of the dragon’s ten horns. Israel was free until it was taken captive by Babylon. The crown was then passed to Medo-Persia, then to Grecia, and finally to Rome.
When the papal beast came, power was then transferred from the political agents of Satan to the religious institution of the papacy. The seat of the pagan Roman Empire became the seat of papal Rome.
To say the crown passed means that these were the world powers. The crown is not given to any other world power after Rome.
9And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
Revelation 12:9
17And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.
Revelation 12:17
Satan the dragon is “that old serpent” from Eden. Satan is represented as the dragon in John’s prophecy, and in John’s time, Rome was the dragon’s last head. John did not write any explanation of the dragon’s seven heads. He wrote from his time, and his prophecy is not a rehash of history. Since the dragon’s six previous heads were already history, John only writes from Rome the seventh head of the dragon. The vision does not begin by showing the rise of the dragon with the first of the dragon’s seven heads, but is shown from the time of his seventh head Rome. From there, begins the time of the dragon’s ten horns. The beast is not one of the dragon’s seven heads; it is the eleventh of the dragon’s ten horns. As much as pagan Rome was in the power of Satan, so also is the beast. Rome had given to the beast his power, his seat, and great authority.
Chapter 12 of Revelation reveals Satan’s course through history from the Garden of Eden where he is called “that old serpent” to the work of pursuing the remnant of God’s people through the kingdoms and governments of this world.
The dragon of Revelation 12:3 is represented by Herod of Rome. The dragon represented today, comes from its still active horn powers: the political and religious kingdoms of this earth.
13And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child.
14And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.
17And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.
Revelation 12:13, 14, 17
The dragon is cast to the earth after his place is no longer found in heaven. His role in the death of Christ on the cross, sealed his fate, and his presence was cast out from heaven. His head was wounded, and Rome was doomed to fall. Paul, in writing to God’s people in Rome;
20And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly.
Romans 16:20
15And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
Genesis 3:15
Here is another parallel between the dragon and the beast: The dragon, while Rome was its head, received a head wound. Later, the beast would suffer a wound to one of its heads in 1798. History and prophecy show that two heads have suffered a wound; one of the heads of the dragon, and one of the heads of the beast. The head wound of the dragon occurred after the cross of Christ before the transfer of power to the beast began, and the head wound of the beast occurred in 1798 A.D.
The ending of the power of the Roman government in 476 A.D. corresponds to the end of the time of the dragon’s seven heads. Then the time of the ten horns of the dragon begins. These would remain until the end of the world at the second coming, as many nations, some strong and some weak, are never able to be mixed into one. Three of the ten horns of the Roman Empire were plucked up as the dragon gave his seat and great power to the beast. The dragon then employs the newly formed beast to persecute the woman. For 1,260 years, the people of God endured suffering for the Gospel’s sake. The means by which the dragon sought to persecute the woman is through the beast, because his face is hidden from the woman during these 1,260 years.
The seven heads of the dragon are:
1. Babylon
2. Medo-Persia
3. Greece: Cassander
4. Greece: Lysimachus
5. Greece: Ptolemy
6. Greece: Seleucus
7. Rome
The ten horns of the dragon are:
1. Alemani
2. Franks
3. Burgundians
4. Suevi
5. Anglo-Saxons
6. Visigoths
7. Lombards
8. Vandals
9. Ostrogoths
10. Heruli
An eleventh little horn arises among these, and uproots three of them;
8. Vandals
9. Ostrogoths
10. Heruli
The list then appeared as;
1. Alemani
2. Franks
3. Burgundians
4. Suevi
5. Anglo-Saxons
6. Visigoths
7. Lombards
8. The Papacy
After the rising of the dragon speaking two-horned beast in Revelation 13:11, the number of horns of the dragon are ten again. The second eighth horn of the dragon is the papacy who speaks great words against the Most High (Daniel 7:25), and is represented in Revelation 13 and 17 as the leopard-like sea-beast having seven heads and ten horns. When the serial prophecies of Daniel are merged with Revelation’s prophecies, it shows that the dragon’s eleventh horn, which makes itself the eighth horn, is represented in Revelation 13 as the beast.
It has been a common problem among the different interpretations of the seven heads of the beast, because nearly everyone has been mixing together, the references to the seven heads of the beast and the dragon. The references in Revelation 12 and 13 have delineated the distinction between these prophecies. The dragon’s seven heads are the same as presented in Daniel 7, and the beast’s seven heads are the seven papal names from 1798.
Chapter 6
The Chiastic Pattern of Revelation
The chiastic pattern of Revelation divides it in the middle, and the back half forms inverted parallels to the front half.
There are many interpretations regarding the number 666. However, this interpretation presented here, is the only one that reaches across this chiastic link from Revelation 13:18 to Revelation 17:9 and uses all the elements found in these two linked verses. It demonstrates that the same 666 number is reflected in Revelation 17:9-10 as well. In Revelation 13:18 the number 666 is given. It identifies who it is (the eighth) whose number is 666. This interpretation is the only one that is endorsed by and confirmed through the Bible’s own chiastic structure.
The Chiastic Patterns in Revelation
Two of the chiastic patterns found in Revelation are shown here. The first example shows the chiastic pattern from the whole book of Revelation. In the center core of this chiastic pattern there is another chiastic pattern. It is seen in the whole chapter of Revelation 12. In the first example of the whole book of Revelation, the first chapter bears wording that matches the wording found in the last chapter. Some passages share a similar theme rather than specific words. This patterning yields additional information to the reader that is relevant to the context where the chiastic links are found. From the chiastic pattern of whole book of Revelation, twenty-seven chiastic links are shown. These chiastic links match whole parallel sections.
“In its most general sense, chiasmus involves inverted parallelism between two or more (synonymously or antithetically) corresponding words, phrases, or units of thought. Examples of this basic dynamic would include the contemporary saying, ‘Winners [A] never quit [B] and quitters [B’] never win [A’],’ as well as the biblical description of Christ in Revelation 3:7: He who opens [A] and no one shuts [B], and shuts [B’] and no one opens [A’]. This type of inverted parallelism between corresponding components can take place at a micro level (within a single sentence) or at a macro level (within the broad flow of a large discourse).” Chiasmus: An Important Structural Device Commonly Found in Biblical Literature, By Brad McCoy, pg. 20 CTS Journal 9, Fall 2003
The Whole Chiastic Outline of Revelation
A. Prologue
Revelation 1:1 to Revelation 1:11
B. Church Militant
Revelation 1:12 to Revelation 3:22
C. Ongoing Activity of God
Revelation 4:1 to Revelation 8:1
D1. Seven Trumpet Warnings
Revelation 8:2 to Revelation 11:19
D2. Evil Powers Progressive
Revelation 13:1 to Revelation 14:20
Center: Revelation 12
(between D1 and D2)
d1. Seven Last Plagues
Revelation 15:1 to Revelation 16:17
d2. Evil Powers Judged
Revelation 16:18 to Revelation 18:24
c. Judgmental Finale by God
Revelation 19:1 to Revelation 21:4
b. Church Triumphant
Revelation 21:5 to Revelation 22:5
a. Epilogue
Revelation 22:6 to Revelation 22:21
The list shown here demonstrates the chiastic pattern of the book of Revelation. In particular, the parallel chiastic connection between Revelation 13:18 and Revelation 17:9 is detailed to show that it is speaking of the same beast in both parts of the prophecy
The following sets of verses in Revelation all demonstrate this chiastic parallel pattern.
1:1 - 22:6
1:3 - 22:7
1:7 - 22:12
1:8 - 21:6
1:11 - 22:13
1:20 - 21:9
2:28 - 22:16
4:1 - 19:1
4:4 - 19:4
4:5 - 19:6
4:9 - 19:7
5:10 - 20:6
7:14 - 21:2
7:15 - 21:3
7:17 - 21:4
8:2 - 15:1
8:4 - 15:8
8:6 - 16:1
11:15 - 16:17
11:19 - 16:18
13:15 - 17:6
13:1 – 17:3
13:1 – 17:3
13:3&13:8 - 17:8
13:7 - 17:15
13:18 - 17:9
13:7 - 17:12
Revelation 13 and 17
The two chapters; Revelation 13 and 17 near the center, corresponding to this pattern, reveal seven chiastic links. This passage is set within a parallel structure that explains more specific details about the beast.
1. Seven heads and ten horns
2. Heads with names on which blasphemy is written.
3. All the world shall wonder
4. Whose names are not written in the Book of Life
5. Peoples, multitudes, nations, tongues, kindreds
6. Wisdom
7. Power given to him to reign over the kings of the earth
All seven word phrases that link Revelation 13 to Revelation 17 point to the fact that it is describing the same papal beast power. The same elements in both chapters are describing the same things. Revelation 13:1-10 is describing the papal beast at the time before 1798. In chapter 17, the papal beast is depicted at the time following 1798. These are the common elements of this prophecy that demonstrate that the beast spoken of in these two chapters is identical. These two chapters demonstrate that they align accurately with the chiastic pattern of the whole book of Revelation. The beasts shown in Revelation 13:1-10 and 17 are thus demonstrated to be identical.
The Chiastic Structure Brings Together Additional Information
The chiastic structure of a certain chapter, verse, or book of the Bible can be brought together to understand the meaning that God intends. Studies show there are chiastic patterns in many parts of the Bible. In this one chiastic structure, there is a wealth of meaning that God has placed within it. John does not show that he was aware of this structure when he wrote Revelation.
Revelation chapter 12 shows a panoramic view of the whole career of the dragon.
The Chiastic Center of Revelation: Chapter 12
A. Commandments Ch.11:19
B. Wrath of God 19
C. Pregnant woman Ch.12:1, 2
D. Great red dragon 3
E. Satan’s warfare 4
F. Woman in wilderness 6
G. War in heaven 7
H. No place for dragon 8
I. Deceiver cast out 9
J. To earth 9
Center: Salvation! 10
j. Devil come down 12
i. Deceiver limited 12
h. Earth only for dragon 13
g. War against woman 13
f. Woman in wilderness 14
e. Satan’s warfare 15
d. Dragon angry 17
c. With the woman and her seed 17
b. Wrath of Satan 17
a. Commandments of God 17
Chapter 7
The Wisdom of Mathematics
In Revelation 13:18, the number 666 is given. In Revelation 17:9 and 10, that same number is derived from the count of the numbers of the names of the seven mountains plus the final eighth. The elements defining this prophetic outline of the beast and its seven heads are located in these two linked verses. ‘Wisdom’ is the key chiastic word in both verses. There are shown here eleven delimiting factors that are all precisely integrated to produce the exact count of the number 666.
Eleven Delimiting Factors in the Prophecy of the Number 666
1. The number is comprised of eight numbers: “the eighth”
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Pius Leo Gregory Benedict John Paul John Paul Antichrist
12 13 16 14 21 6 2 1
78 +91 +136 +105 +231+21 +3 +1=666
2. Each of the seven numbers are comprised of triangular numbers: “count”
1=1
1+2=3
1+2+3=6
1+2+3+4=10
1+2+3+4+5=15
1+2+3+4+5+6=21
1+2+3+4+5+6+7=28
1+2+3+4+5+6+7+8=36
1+2+3+4+5+6+7+8+9=45
1+2+3+4+5+6+7+8+9+10=55
1+2+3+4+5+6+7+8+9+10+11=66
1+2+3+4+5+6+7+8+9+10+11+12=78
1+2+3+4+5+6+7+8+9+10+11+12+13=91
1+2+3+4+5+6+7+8+9+10+11+12+13+14=105
1+2+3+4+5+6+7+8+9+10+11+12+13+14+15=120
1+2+3+4+5+6+7+8+9+10+11+12+13+14+15+16=136
1+2+3+4+5+6+7+8+9+10+11+12+13+14+15+16+17=153
1+2+3+4+5+6+7+8+9+10+11+12+13+14+15+16+17+18=171
1+2+3+4+5+6+7+8+9+10+11+12+13+14+15+16+17+18+19=190
1+2+3+4+5+6+7+8+9+10+11+12+13+14+15+16+17+18+19+20=210
1+2+3+4+5+6+7+8+9+10+11+12+13+14+15+16+17+18+19+20+21=231
The first five numbers are all terminal before the sixth arrives: “fallen” The counts of 78, 91, 136, 105 and 231 cannot increase any more, they are the numbers of the first five that have already fallen. A change in any of these would have altered the count and the sum total of 666 would be unattainable.
4. The seventh number is the minimum it could be and still be a triangular number: “a mountain.” It leaves the cumulative total at the precise count of 665 leaving only one to be fulfilled by the coming eighth. From the sixth, the count was left at 662, adding the smallest triangular number 3, sets the total at 665 with only 1 left.
5. The eighth is a single “one” which is necessary to make the pinpoint identification of the man whose number is 666; “a man.” The eighth is not included in the list of the other seven heads, which are also defined as mountains. The eighth does not receive the designation of being a mountain, but it is sequentially aligned with the seven to show that it is of a like nature as the seven, saying “of the seven”.
6. The elements defining this prophetic outline are located in the very verse that is chiastically linked in the book of Revelation to the verse where the number 666 is given. “Wisdom.” Wisdom is the key chiastic word in both verses. This includes the demonstration that all of the elements from the prophecy and the historic record are precisely matched and integrated to produce the exact count it specifies. History has made tracing this path far easier, because none of the elements of history need any additional explanations or compensatory adjustments to make them appear to match; they already align naturally and easily.
7. The combined sum produces the exact total count of 666; “his number is 666.” All of the combined numbers are counted.
8. The seventh could not have arrived before the sixth; “not yet come.” The contribution to the count from the seventh number must all be derived from its source after the passing of the sixth.
9. The seventh must be short in relation to the other six; “a short space.” The combined total of the tenure of the mountain of John Paul was 26½ years. The next smallest tenure is that of Paul, whose six popes held the papacy for 67 years. John Paul’s count of 3 reflects this shortest papal term when compared to the terms of the other six mountains.
10. The seventh must also be comprised of two numbers in order to correctly fulfill its identity as also being a mountain; “seven heads are seven mountains.”
11. This number is applied to both the whole beast and to the “one” man; the “number of the beast is the number of a man.” All of these factors that are already fulfilled require that it meets its final fulfillment in the last man and eighth head of the beast.
The closer that this count has approached the end, the more accurate and pinpoint it has become, which requires that it will all end at the precise count. There is no more room for any variability. Had there been just one more pope named John anywhere in history, then the fifth mountain would have exceeded the count. History has already led up to a pinpoint count, which is all that is left to complete in the next papal transition.
All these factors have converged to create an accurate alignment in the mathematics, which could have been altered by a slight change anywhere in the historic record. History leaves only a single one that remains to be fulfilled. It is very unlikely that such convergence would happen by chance.
Chapter 8
Dealing with Current Views
The following are quotes from Volume 7 of the Daniel & Revelation Committee Series; Symposium on Revelation, Book 2, Frank B. Holbrook, Editor. Kenneth Strand wrote the chapter on the Seven Heads:
“The problem lies in the foundational center of the Preterist stance, and therefore, is one that afflicts all Preterist interpretations in spite of any and all idiosyncrasies that may exist among individual writers. That ‘root problem’ is the perspective that limits the scope of Revelation’s message to John’s own era. The Biblical evidence reveals, as we have seen, that the leopard-bodied sea-beast, its seven heads, and its ten horns relate to things that were still future for John” (p. 205). This excludes the application of the seven mountains to any kingdoms before 95 A.D..
“Since the word ‘mountains’ is obviously symbolic in Revelation 17:9, proper principles of interpretation would require that we look for the scriptural usage of the term ‘mountain’ in cases where the term is employed as a symbol. When we do so, we never find ‘mountain’ used to symbolize an individual monarch or ruler.” (p. 186)
Thus, to assert that the seven heads which are also mountains as a line of popes that use the same name, complies with every aspect of the verse. The interpretation given to the beast is that of a specific identity; the papacy. This is in agreement with the Symposium on Revelation. Therefore, it is in the papacy where we are to look for the seven heads, mountains and kings.
The content of the chapter on the seven mountains consists almost entirely of debunking the Preterist’s view; which defines the seven mountains as the emperors of Rome. Elder Strand had no definitive conclusion to say exactly what the seven mountains or the seven heads are, except that the leopard-like sea-beast, its seven heads and ten horns, are all future to John. By stating that these are all future to John, completely removes the “one is” from possibly being applied to John’s day.
The conclusion of the 1996 Symposium on Revelation was that there was no defined interpretation on the seven mountains of Revelation 17:9, and did not name them.
The Alleged Papal Title: Vicarius Filii Dei
While many have referred to the counting of the letters of the alleged title of the papacy, by assigning numerical values to the letters, the Bible does not specifically indicate that this is the correct application. It does state that 666 is the number of the beast and a man. To apply the title to the broad spectrum of the papacy does not completely fulfill the description in Scripture. Certainly, it points to the beast which has the spirit of antichrist, but only one man will be the Antichrist at the time appointed, and it’s not just the whole system of the papacy. The papacy is already represented as the beast, and only the last head or pope will become the one Antichrist. The 666 man and the beast are one and the same, and he is the last one that enters perdition and is destroyed at the second coming of Christ.
There are elements of the prophecy that are completely ignored by the count of the letters of the alleged papal title; Vicarius Filii Dei. It does not demonstrate to be the number of a single man. It asserts that all popes are men and the papal title comprises how it applies to the beast. It does not pinpoint who this last “man of sin” is, but it presumes this same number upon all the popes. It leaves the identity of this Antichrist to some other unspecified source and leaves open the possibility that the deceptions of the Antichrist will sway them into error.
The application of the phrase “Vicarius Filii Dei” to the number 666 is a false interpretation that occludes the real truth, yet it is sincerely believed by many. It falls short of identifying the “man.” It does not suffice to identify the “seat.” That which is presented here not only identifies the 666 beast, but also the 666 man. It is not possible that every pope has been the Antichrist, for this identity belongs to a single individual man and not to everyone that is seated in the papal office.
The interpretation in this book, involves a count of pure numbers, ONLY numbers, not letters that are assigned a numeric value and are then added up. This method is a direct application of the element of counting as written in the prophecy.
It is from the Douay Rheims Bible from which the footnote to the number 666 says that the letters of his name make up the number. Since the source of this interpretation is from the beast, it should immediately be suspect of being a deception.
The dragon gave its seat and power to this beast who has corrupted the word of God. They have added their footnotes to the Word. Satan thus tries to divert everyone from the real truth. It has sent many on a 666 number hunt to find the Antichrist, which by this method is inherently invalid, as there are millions of names that bear this number. Which one is provable? The interpretation I present demonstrates that the Antichrist is the beast’s eighth and last head. It is very specific.
Many individuals have the numeric value of 666 in their name, but that does not mean that they are associated with the Antichrist. The true identity of the 666 man and his count must be precise. The counting of the beast is intended to identify the Antichrist. The phrase “Vicarius Filii Dei” is not able to disclose precisely, who the “man of sin” is.
Though the debate on the Vicarius issue still continues and it is definitely settled as valid in the minds of some, while others have opted to the more recent view that 666 is a symbolic number.
Others are asserting that the number 6, is the number of man and represents imperfection, sin, and rebellion from God. This is predicated on the fact that man was created on the sixth day. But was man created imperfect, or was he the crowning act of God who created all things perfect? There is no evidence given in Scripture that takes a specific number given in prophecy and changing it to a root value of 6, because in our modern numeric system, the number 666 contains three of the same digit. There is no evidence that any prophetic number is reduced to a single digit because it repeated in our modern system. This is foreign to proper Biblical exegesis. Neither is the number 666 symbolic. Even an elementary examination of the exegetics of the text, shows that to symbolize this number nullifies the necessity of counting anything at all. The Bible says it is a number that is to be counted, and to symbolize it away leaves the reader to believe that there is no need to count anything. Doesn’t anybody really investigate the source of their beliefs? Test it, test it, test it!
The interpretation of this book also matches the expected events that are yet to come; it presents a straight testimony that confronts the popular errors found in today’s theology and thus it sets up for the “shaking” to come. It reveals the imminent rise of the Antichrist and heralds the cry of the angel of Revelation 18. It is a repeating of the Third Angel’s Message and announces that the hour of the judgment that is coming upon us.
Errors of Former Interpretations: Satan’s Counterfeits
Most are not aware that their beliefs regarding this prophecy are not biblical. There is a traceable line of truth through the prophecies that is commonly accepted and known. There are many false interpretations that are perpetrated to detract from this truth. These false interpretations lack one critical element; they fail to demonstrate continuity. There is a straight line of truth that maintains continuity and is demonstrated by the Scripture and supported by history. This interpretation of the count of the number 666 follows precisely with this same line of truth.
It is important to know where we are within the time-frame of prophecy if we are to assert what is present truth. To correctly divide this line, we must know what prophecies have been fulfilled and what is yet to be fulfilled. Yet some of these truths are not possible to be discerned until the time appointed for them. Now I believe the time for some of these things is here. Prove, through the Word of God, whether or not that which I present here is true. The Bible says to “Prove all things; hold fast that which is good” (1Thessalonians 5:21).
What I have presented here is not new information or new prophecy. It has always been written there in the Scriptures and for many years recorded in history. Examine the record of recent history, and see for yourself that it is an exact parallel of the prophecy.
Other Interpretations of the Seven Heads
As Preterists have defined them, they are the Roman Emperors;
1. Augustus
2. Tiberius
3. Caligula
4. Claudius
5. Nero
6. Domitian
7. Antichrist
8 (missing in this interpretation)
The problem with this interpretation is that it must ignore 5 other valid emperors following Nero;
6. Galba
7. Otho
8. Vitellius
9. Vespatian
10. Titus
Did anyone note here that Nero is listed as number five and not the eighth in order to be the one that is counted as the 666 man? Yet they count the letters of this name up to be the antichrist. Another observation is that the antichrist is listed as the seventh, and they have no eighth head as the Scripture reads.
In another commentary these seven heads, also called mountains are defined as the seven great world kingdoms;
1 Babylon,
2 Persia,
3 Grecia,
4 Pagan Rome,
5 Papal Rome,
6 Republicanism or Democracy,
7 The Last Great Confederacy of Evil.
8 (missing in this interpretation)
Another commentary lists;
1 Egypt
2 Assyria
3 Babylon
4 Persia
5 Grecia
6 Rome
7 Antichrist
8 (missing in this interpretation)
Again, there are many other world kingdoms not included in the list, and the problem applying the seven mountains to mean the ancient kingdoms, puts the first five or six of these world kingdoms prior to 1798, when Pius VI was taken captive (it even places them prior to John).
Some try to add to it; saying that there is some relevance to the time that the prophecy was given to John, based on the present tense of the words “and one is,” claiming that the time that the five fallen kingdoms had fallen before the prophecy was uttered to John. This ignores the fact that the seven heads are the heads of the beast, and they try to place them outside of and beyond that of the time of beast that is symbolized here. The context of the explanation given to John is in an eschatological setting. It is not given in reference to when John lived. John is not in any way referenced to the time in the prophecy written as “one is.” Neither did John know what these were to be. If he had known who the five fallen were, then why would he not simply have stated that they were of kingdoms before his time? A prophecy that has been fulfilled, is a foundation for the remainder of the prophecies that are not yet fulfilled. The elements of the prophecy given to John in Revelation 17, all pertain to future events. To Daniel, Babylon in his vision was already in fulfillment and became past fulfillment as the kingdom of Medo-Persia took power. It became the foundation for identifying the subsequent powers that succeeded Medo-Persia, beyond Daniel’s time. If the five fallen were already past fulfillment in John’s time when he wrote Revelation, then he would have set that as the basis for the final elements, showing the identity of those first five fallen. John’s writing of the prophecy is not to escape the scrutiny of Roman authorities, John is not encrypting his words for any purpose. They are to be understood only by the unrolling of the scroll of time. John is told what to write. Eschatological prophecy is intended to be understood for the benefit of those living at the end of time.
Some of the prophecies that were given to Daniel and John, refer to time periods spanning from their inception when they were first given, but most that John wrote refers specifically to the end; the focus being set within the lifetime of those living in the end. So it does not make any sense to apply it to any other period; the context of the seven heads (mountains) is from 1798 to the present, so any rulers, or kingdoms outside of this period are irrelevant. The whore as it appears in Revelation 17: 9-11 is depicted by the contemporaneous presence of the two-horned beast. This is set within the final end period. Therefore, for this whore woman to sit upon seven mountains, and to be the worship target of the two-horned beast, it must be that these heads (mountains) are contemporary, and in the same period of time as the two-horned beast. Besides the writing of the book of Revelation, none of these events have any relevance to John himself, nor any other purpose than to be the truth for the people of God at the time of the end. Since the first and second century Christians were not able to witness any of these “last day” events, it is understood that it did not benefit them beyond the promise that a final victory will be won by God. The last-day prophecies are written for the people of the last generation who will experience them.
Many false interpretations have been given to the prophecies of the number 666 and of the beast. Satan has made sure that before the truth would be revealed, that he would fill the world with a host of false interpretations.
Others say that there is some relevance to the time that the prophecy was given to John based on the present tense of the words “and one is,” claiming that the time that the five fallen kingdoms had fallen before the prophecy was uttered to John.
The angel gave the vision to John, which are of eschatological events, and then the explanation given to John about the vision also pertains to the same end-time events. None of it is given in reference to the time that John lived. The Preterist view also ignores the fact that the seven heads are the heads of the beast, and they try to place them outside of and beyond that of the time of beast that is symbolized here. That interpretation tries to put heads from 457 B.C. to 4 B.C. on a beast that exists from 538 A.D. to the present. But John saw the beast in a time that was future to him. How could the heads of this beast be in existence before the beast itself? No other prophecy of a beast shows its heads to pre-exist the time of the beast.
A continual returning to Preterism and Preterist teachings continues to produce errors. The readers of John’s day could not possibly have participated in the eschatological events that his prophecies apply to, therefore whatever they might have understood concerning eschatological prophecy is completely irrelevant. If the theologians of today can scarcely agree on eschatological events even as they pass right by them in our own day, how can they expect their readers to respect the words and thoughts of those who preceded them by nearly two millennia, when they cannot even show us one word of the thoughts of the readers of John’s prophecies in his day? And of those words that do exist, how is it determined that what they thought concerning such a far-off fulfillment was right? It is another false teaching to say that the readers of John’s day were required to be able to understand what John wrote.
Chapter 9
From This Day Forward
We are now past the end of the “short space” and are extended another undefined span of a brief time during the tenure of an antipope. Thus we are watching for the coming of the Antichrist that follows this antipope.
The Bible and recent history present clear evidence that the Second Coming is almost here. Now, the short space being past, we have entered an interim time that awaits the arrival of the Antichrist. Benedict XVI is the “he that withholdeth… until he is …taken out of the way” (2Thessalonians 2:7). This will be followed by yet another undefined period of time, of the reign of the Antichrist before Christ comes to bring it all to an end.
Rapture theologians have attempted to interpret 2Thessalonians 2:7 to mean that the “he” that withholdeth, is the Holy Spirit, which they say will be withdrawn from the earth. But this teaching is contrary to other Scriptures that state that “He” is with us even to the end of the world. And when Christ comes, there will be no one living that will be left behind.
It is clearly evident that the time is imminently upon us and the message of salvation needs to go forward more urgently to finish the harvest of souls. In the prophecies of Revelation, is written the description of the true followers of the Church and of Jesus, and also of the false body of Christ symbolized by a whore woman. The time spans of the prophecies reach from 457 B.C. to 1844 A.D., and then following this, conditional prophecies that are not set within specific periods of time but await the conditional sequences of certain events. When these things are fulfilled, they will be revealed to the true followers of Christ. The final events surround the world’s largest ecclesiastical body: the Catholic Church. Even while God denounces this papal system, identifying it precisely and calling it Babylon, He still recognizes that amidst the followers of this false system of worship, there are still many who truly belong to Him, and just before He pours out His wrath on the Babylon the Great, He calls His people out of her. This call includes all of the ecclesiastical bodies that are the whore woman’s harlot daughters. All of humanity are invited to become God’s people.
“Other sheep have I, not of this fold.” God has His people scattered among all the various denominations, including the Catholic faith. And in the final throes of this world, before God sends His judgments to destroy it, He first implores His people to come out of her.
“My sheep hear my voice.” When God calls His own, He empowers them to understand. He will send home His message and expose the ‘man of sin’ and the corruptions within the churches so His people can see and depart, and not be partakers of the seven last plagues soon to be poured out. Many people fear the inevitable battle of Armageddon; however, seeing it is the seventh and last plague, the destiny of each soul will have already been determined. With a true saving faith, the people of God will not be disturbed at the judgments that fall on the beast and her adherents; they will remain steadfast while those around them will be slain by them.
Many have jumped to the conclusion, that the new pope, having chosen the name of Benedict XVI, has voided this interpretation. That is false. When a pope is elected, he is considered legitimate until it is found that he is an antipope. At his deposition, it is considered that he never was a pope. The count remains at 665. Thoroughly investigate this research and understand that an antipope has always been included in this interpretation that still holds true.
Beginning with the original thesis, it shows that the papal beast of Revelation 17 has seven papal heads as demonstrated by the official papal record. It also shows that the numbers that have been given to these seven names form the sum total of 665 with the arrival of John Paul II. From this point, it led to understanding that John Paul constitutes the seventh head of the beast, and is the ‘smallest mountain’ (of I and II yielding 3) and thus producing the “short space” of 26½ years which John Paul I and II held. The election of Cardinal Ratzinger, who chose the “fallen” name of Benedict, sets himself up as the antipope, who will be deposed at the arrival of the coming eighth, which is very near. The Loud Cry of Revelation 18 will soon commence.
As I wrote this research out, I could only imagine how it would appear, and I wrote it according to the prophecy’s outline and entered the elements from the papal record into it. On April 19, 2005 when the new pope’s name was first known and entered into this research, the conclusion was as expected; he is an antipope. And now with this additional element entered into the prophecy, the next event comes into view.
What Happens Next?
The Bible is the source for the answer:
3Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
4Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.
5Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?
6And now ye know what withholdeth* (Greek; katecho) (an antipope) that he (Antichrist) might be revealed in his time.
7For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth* (Greek; katecho) will let, until he (antipope) be taken out of the way. (deposed)
8And then shall that Wicked (Antichrist) be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:
9Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders.
2Thessalonians 2:3-9
*(Greek; katecho, to hold back) letteth and withholdeth are the same Greek word.
As time goes on, God reveals more and more truth. And thus it is revealed in these texts, some of what is to transpire. This new pope is an antipope, as this research indicates. The correct understanding of the prophecy confirms this. Though he is an antipope, the church and the world do not know it yet.
I had anticipated that we would have an antipope in this election. This is based on the fact that there were two antipopes within the papal record that were interfering with the count of this research. Thus it was a direct possibility that we could have another antipope after John Paul II, and it could not be ruled out. Thus, by the ongoing count with John Paul II leaving us with 665, two options emerged: This new pope would either be the Antichrist, or he would be an antipope. A new name with a count of ‘1’ which a new name would have, would signify that he is the Antichrist, a used name with a count greater than a count of ‘1’ would signify that he would ultimately be an antipope.
There will also be great deceptions to come that will arise that will contradict his identity as the Antichrist. Let the prophecy of the Bible make this identity clear; he who completes the count to 666 is the Antichrist.
Meanwhile, we remain at another waiting period, with yet another unknown timeframe to the next event, which will be the coming of the eighth head Antichrist. How long we will have to freely spread this message before it becomes difficult, is also unknown, but this Antichrist will come in with such flair, that he will move on governments and round up the churches to rally his cause. According to many others, preparations have already been made toward this end. Even now, Benedict XVI has been pushing the agenda of Sunday observance in the new European Constitution and imploring the people and governments to pass laws forbidding work on Sunday. The pope said; “Give the soul its Sunday, give Sunday its soul,” calling Sunday the Church’s “weekly feast of creation.”
There is no evidence in the biblical account of Creation, that God made the first day to be regarded as a “weekly feast of creation” but rather God gave man the first day to do as He did; a day to work. The Weekly Feast of Creation is the seventh day Sabbath.
1And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
2Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, Concerning the feasts of the LORD, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, even these are my feasts.
3Six days shall work be done: but the seventh day is the sabbath of rest, an holy convocation; ye shall do no work therein: it is the sabbath of the LORD in all your dwellings.
Leviticus 23:1-3
The Coming Antichrist
There is no biblical prophecy that gives the time of the Antichrist’s reign. It is interesting that those who refute that the prophecies are calculated as one day for a year, have no problem in believing that the 70th week of Daniel 7:24 is referring to the last 7 years that the Antichrist will reign.
The eighth head will complete the count to the sum of 666. This is the precise identifier of the “man of sin.” While the eighth head sets up his agenda, this brings forward the message of the first angel saying that the “hour of His judgment” has come. The call to come out of Babylon is then repeated. Having correctly identified and re-identified the beast of Revelation 17, those that see and believe will separate from Babylon.
The shockwave that passes through humanity at the time of the Loud Cry will have a grave impact on the economy. Many churches will lose its members. Investments will soon have no value. In that day, not even gold will keep its value. The time of trouble begins.
The Loud Cry swells as the Third Angel’s Message is given for the last time to the world. The Gospel work will be made more difficult because of power being reinstated to the eighth head of the beast.
The plagues will be about to fall, and the people of God will carefully watch the events to unfold before them. Time is very short, and the assistance of the Holy Spirit attends the workers who are agonizing for the souls of others.
When the Abomination of Desolation, (the eighth head) makes his move to stand in the Holy Place spoken of in Matthew, it coincides with the end of Christ’s mediation on behalf of man and makes the final decree; “He that is holy let him remain holy, and he that is unclean shall remain unclean.” The four angels who held the four winds receive the message that God’s people are all sealed, then the time of Jacob’s trouble begins, and the seven plagues are poured out.
The Ten Horns of the Beast
These ten kingdoms are ten Protestant church groups, whose first purpose is to become united with the papal power and then to enforce by use of civil powers the dictates of the Antichrist. Then when it is apparent that the judgment of God is upon them, they turn on the papal beast to destroy it. Therefore, since these ten kingdoms have not yet been fully enlisted to enforce the papal decrees, then we cannot yet know who these ten are, until the time appointed.
12And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast.
13These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.
14These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.
16And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire.
Revelation 17:12-16
Nothing makes a prophetic message more urgent than knowing that it is being fulfilled now. At the time of the papal election following the end of John Paul II, it was evident that the prophecy was followed accordingly. It is time now to study this interpretation completely and put the wheels of action in place so this time is not wasted. Jesus gave this prophecy to give impetus to the Loud Cry message; that the identity of the Antichrist should be made so as to affect the call all the way through the Christian realm to bring His people out of Babylon before His judgments fall. This Antichrist will appear to the whole world with the grandest of deceptions. The true Christ wants His people, who are yet alive in the end to know precisely who this imposter is.
When the Lord comes, it will be no accident or random selection as to who will then be the residing pope. The papal throne is not the “musical chair of Peter” that the one who is seated in it at the end, is misfortunate to be the unlucky one. The one whom will be consumed by the coming of Christ is specifically spoken of as that “Wicked” one.
Even the elect, God’s chosen are brought close to deception, and it is certainly a deception to the identity of the Antichrist, by denying that it is making reference to the one Antichrist at the end, by calling the antichrist as being only a system. This is obviously obscuring the identity of the Antichrist. By so doing, they are preparing the people of God to accept the arrival of the Antichrist as being who he claims to be; “I am the Christ!” The dazzling brilliance of Satan, in impersonating the coming of Christ, will lead many among God’s people into deception.
I am finding it difficult to believe that the ministers and leadership deny the prophetic reference to an individual as the Antichrist, opting to say that the reference to “antichrist” only means that it is the system of the papacy, and to say that it is not any one person.
18Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time.
22Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son.
1John 2:18, 22
Twice John makes the statement; “it is the last time.” This verse specifically places its context as being in the last days. Although spoken by John the beloved Apostle and written in 80-90 A.D., the application in its context refers to the Antichrist at the end of a long line of antichrists.
470
3Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
4Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.
5Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?
6And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time.
7For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.
8And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:
9Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders
2Thessalonians 2:3-9
18Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.
Revelation 13:18
11And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition.
Revelation 17:11
SATAN WILL APPEAR
“As the second appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ draws near, satanic agencies are moved from beneath. Satan will not only appear as a human being, but he will personate Jesus Christ, and the world that has rejected the truth will receive him as the Lord of lords and King of kings.” -Bible Commentary, Vol. 5, 1105, 1900
“The last great delusion is soon to open before us. Antichrist is to perform his marvelous works in our sight. So closely will the counterfeit resemble the true that it will be impossible to distinguish between them except by the Holy Scriptures. By their testimony every statement and every miracle must be tested.” -Great Controversy p. 593, 1911
“The man of sin was to arise, and do his work of exaltation and blasphemy, before the brethren could look for the coming of Christ. That great event was to be preceded by a falling away. There would be revealed a form of antichrist, and the leaven of apostasy was to work with increasing power to the end of time.” -Review and Herald, July 31, 1888
Meaning of Antichrist to Be Understood
“Those who become confused in their understanding of the Word, who fail to see the meaning of antichrist, will surely place themselves on the side of antichrist. There is no time now for us to assimilate with the world. Daniel is standing in his lot and in his place. The prophecies of Daniel and of John are to be understood. They interpret each other. They give to the world truths which every one should understand. These prophecies are to be witnesses in the world. By their fulfillment in these last days they will explain themselves.” -Bible Commentary Vol. 7, p. 949
On one hand you have the Catholic church denying its identity as being antichrist, and Satan masquerading with great deceptions, saying that he is the Christ. And on the other hand you have what few true Protestants left in this world saying that this apostate church and this “Wicked one” are the Antichrist. The purpose of a real, tangible, incontrovertible concrete count numbers is to have PROOF of the identity, by the facts given in the prophecy and matched by history.
There exists a far greater responsibility to God and the world to present a perfect argument complete with proofs so as to convince and persuade another to change their choice of whom they worship. We are here in this world to proselytize for the salvation of others. If we cannot present solid evidence to make this identity certain, then we cannot move forward with the Loud Cry message of Revelation 18.
Again, that which Elder George McCready Price wrote in his book; “Time of the End” concerning the correct understanding of Revelation 17 clearly applies: “The true view will not involve any denial of facts. We need a sensible, self-consistent interpretation of this chapter, so that we can give intelligently the last gospel message, ‘Come out of her, my people.’ Revelation 18:4.”
The choices that people need to make are choices that are founded on the true interpretation and true meaning of the number 666, and how it is counted.
“The lying spirit that enticed Eve in Eden, finds acceptance with the majority of earth’s inhabitants today. Even the Christian world refuses to be converted by the Spirit of God, but listens to the prince of darkness, as he comes to them in the garb of an angel of light. The spirit of Antichrist is prevailing in the world to a far greater extent than it has ever prevailed before.” -Bible Commentary Vol. 7, p. 950
“Satan is still working through every means which he can control to destroy religious liberty. The antichristian power which the protesters of Spires rejected is now with renewed vigor seeking to re-establish its lost supremacy. The same unswerving adherence to the word of God manifested at that crisis of the Reformation is the only hope of reform today.” -Great Controversy, p. 204
Satan’s Last Campaign
18Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time.
1John 2:18.
“The enemy is preparing for his last campaign against the church. He has so concealed himself from view that many can hardly believe that he exists, much less can they be convinced of his amazing activity and power” -Maranatha, p. 64
Those who openly assert that it is only the “system” that is the antichrist, make no relevance to the last days that could add to what they have already produced. They leave nothing left to explain, that they do not already claim to know. Their fulfillment in the last days becomes irrelevant.
“Disguised as an angel of light, he [Satan] will walk the earth as a wonder-worker. In beautiful language he will present lofty sentiments. Good words will be spoken by him, and good deeds performed. Christ will be personified, but on one point there will be a marked distinction. Satan will turn the people from the law of God. He will declare that the Sabbath has been changed from the seventh to the first day of the week; and as lord of the first day of the week he will present this spurious sabbath as a test of loyalty to him.
“It is impossible to give any idea of the experience of the people of God who shall be alive upon the earth when celestial glory and a repetition of the persecutions of the past are blended. They will walk in the light proceeding from the throne of God. By means of the angels there will be constant communication between heaven and earth. And Satan, surrounded by evil angels, and claiming to be God, will work miracles of all kinds, to deceive, if possible, the very elect. God’s people will not find their safety in working miracles, for Satan will counterfeit the miracles that will be wrought. God’s tried and tested people will find their power in the sign spoken of in Exodus 31:12-18. They are to take their stand on the living word: ‘It is written.’ This is the only foundation upon which they can stand securely.” -Maranatha, p. 205
“He will come personating Jesus Christ, working mighty miracles; and men will fall down and worship him as Jesus Christ. We shall be commanded to worship this being, whom the world will glorify as Christ. What shall we do? -Tell them that Christ has warned us against just such a foe, who is man’s worst enemy, yet who claims to be God; and that when Christ shall make His appearance, it will be with power and great glory, accompanied by ten thousand times ten thousand angels and thousands of thousands; and that when He shall come, we shall know His voice. The time is coming when Satan will work miracles right in your sight, claiming that he is Christ; and if your feet are not firmly established upon the truth of God, then you will be led away from your foundation. -Maranatha, p. 206
“As the crowning act in the great drama of deception, Satan himself will personate Christ. The church has long professed to look to the Saviour’s advent as the consummation of her hopes. Now the great deceiver will make it appear that Christ has come. In different parts of the earth, Satan will manifest himself among men as a majestic being of dazzling brightness, resembling the description of the Son of God given by John in the Revelation… The shout of triumph rings out upon the air, ‘Christ has come! Christ has come!’ The people prostrate themselves in adoration before him… In gentle, compassionate tones he presents some of the same gracious, heavenly truths which the Saviour uttered; he heals the diseases of the people, and then, in his assumed character of Christ, he claims to have changed the Sabbath to Sunday, and commands all to hallow the day which he has blessed…” The Faith I Live By, p. 346
All of the arguments against the Antichrist as a man at the end, are based on the construct of the words of men in direct opposition to the Word of God. Both Ellen White and the Scriptures point to a single individual, who at the end will both constitute the beast and a man, in whose identity is marked by the completed count of the number 666. Those who hold to the view that the antichrist is only the papal system and not an individual, are attempting to argue against the Catholic view, which they call “Futurism.” They say that the Futuristic view places the Antichrist far into the future in the attempt to dispel the view that the papacy is the antichrist.
Perhaps the application of “Futurism” did apply in 1585, that the Antichrist was hundreds of years into the future, but have they forgotten that more than 400 years have since passed by? These modern “Protestants” have not progressed in this truth at all.
I expect that the “straight testimony” will pour forth at the unfolding of these prophecies and cause a great upheaval within the church when it is discovered that they have been in error.
Perhaps it will be that “overwhelming surprise” that Satan will appear as Christ to deceive the world. Up to this point in time, the world at large have never seen a true miracle; a true phenomenon that cannot be explained by science. So when Satan himself arrives, it will be said by many that this must be the second coming of the Christ. And when he begins to perform miracles, it will confirm this in the minds of many that he is indeed the Christ. But when he turns the people away from the Law of God, and claim that the Sabbath has been changed from the seventh day to Sunday, it will expose him for who he truly is: the Antichrist.
Chapter 10
The Beast That Ascends from the Bottomless Pit
In all references concerning the last day, and the final end of the world, it speaks of one person, one man, as the Antichrist. Where it speaks directly of the Antichrist, there is reference to the one who is in the last time.
18Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time.
1John 2:18
Many interpret this verse to mean that there were many antichrists in the time that the Apostle John lived. But the whole statement “even now there are many antichrists” is framed within the context of the “last time” written both before it and after. John did not live in the “last time” and therefore the whole context of the Antichrist, is in the last days. This verse does not prove, as many think it does, that there were many antichrists in John’s time. There is another verse that speaks similarly. In Revelation 17:3 it reads “full of names of blasphemy” which in these last days, there have been 79 different names used by the popes.
This is still speaking of the last and final one, who is one, like the many others before him; popes.
The Scriptures all brought together, agree that it is speaking of one individual who will be the Antichrist at the very end of the world.
The Spirit of Prophecy also agrees, and it is even more specific in identifying that Antichrist as Satan himself. Although it also makes reference to the “antichristian power” in reference to the papacy, of all the time it is in power, it does not exclude or deny the existence of the teaching of the Antichrist as being one man at the end of time. However, many are teaching that the Antichrist is not any one person at the end of time, in their attempt to argue against Futurist teachings. In so doing, they shut themselves away from the truth.
Satan Will Be Deified
“In this age antichrist will appear as the true Christ, and then the law of God will be fully made void in the nations of our world. Rebellion against God’s holy law will be fully ripe. But the true leader of all this rebellion is Satan clothed as an angel of light. Men will be deceived and will exalt him to the place of God, and deify him. But Omnipotence will interpose, and to the apostate churches that unite in the exaltation of Satan, the sentence will go forth, “Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her” [Revelation 18:8]. -Testimonies to Ministers p. 62, Review and Herald, Sept. 12, 1893.
In all of Revelation’s discussion of the beast in its prophecies, it is referring to the papacy. It is this papacy that will yet ascend from its bottomless pit and make war on God’s people. It is the very same beast that is also called the eighth in Revelation 17:11.
The phrase: “the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit,” found in Revelation 11:7 and “shall ascend out of the bottomless pit,” in Revelation 17:8 are referring to the same beast and the same event. Likewise, the phrase: “the great city” in Revelation 11:8 and “that great city Babylon,” in Revelation 18:10 are referring to the same thing.
Satan Also Deceives from Within
This research has not been free from the assaults of the enemy of truth. Conflict exists from the predominant interpretations already rendered upon these passages. Also, there have been assaults from within, as those who have decided to help distribute this research have taken only part of it and have corrupted it, changing it to suit their own minds. This original research did not confront any obstacle or problem as it came to the first point of its fulfillment when John Paul II was replaced by Benedict XVI. The original research did not require that it be re-written nor anything sought to find out what went wrong, because nothing went wrong, and this research still stands with no need to make any corrections. It has passed the test of its first interval of fulfillment, and has opened new insights. However, these usurpers’ corrupted interpretation had to be rewritten to accommodate the change in the papacy. Their previous assertion that the next pope would have a new name only, had failed. Their new “accommodated” prediction that Benedict XVI will become the Antichrist by changing his name, will also fail.
The Origin of this Research
It was sometime in the year 1994 that the thought was first conceived in my mind, that the popes had numbers on their names and that it might be possible that these have something to do with the count of the number 666. Though this first thought is a queried presumption, an examination of the historic data would prove or disprove its validity.
The data for this research was not collected or examined until early 1997. The first source for the papal list was from a 1980 Almanac. If the number 666 was to be found in all these numbers, it should be able to be seen.
There were a few popes that were questionable; it was dependent on whether or not certain popes were legitimate or if certain other popes were antipopes. As I was trying to sort out the varying data, and perhaps by chance be able to align it correctly, the number 666 might appear, I then experienced my second moment of insight; I saw that there were seven different names in the papal record that were shown since 1798. I knew then that it would be within these seven names that the number would be found.
I knew that 1798 had played a pivotal role in many prophecies and in the activity of the papacy, and I looked more closely at the popes from 1798. I remembered the text of Scripture in Revelation 17:9 that spoke of the seven heads of the beast. These were the seven heads where the count would be found. And by a careful reading of the verse, I noted the heads are also called mountains, and this indicated to me that all the popes of one name, formed a mountain, and these created the numbers to count.
In going beyond just the answer to the number 666, it has also been revealed that all the other elements of this prophecy are found in this same historic data. They align themselves in a clear and simple manner, and very little explanation is necessary to demonstrate that they fulfill every prophetic element, which, unlike the opposing interpretations, require difficult and convoluted explanations to make them appear to fit the prophecy. Satan has been working for thousands of years just to prepare for the deceptions, which he will use upon the world in the last days.
The Future
This prophecy yields truth about our future. Its elements properly identified and aligned with history and unfolding events, bring us ever closer to seeing the last day events. By knowing this prophecy, we will know what is transpiring and what our response should be.
The Beast That Ascends From the Bottomless Pit
3And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.
4These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth.
5And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed.
6These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy: and have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will.
Revelation 11:3-6
This prophecy in Revelation 11 is yet future, and is also described in other passages of the Bible and in the Spirit of Prophecy, and the elements are shown to match those in Revelation 13 and 17.
“Let all who would understand the meaning of these things read the eleventh chapter of Revelation. Read every verse, and learn the things that are yet to take place in the cities. Read also the scenes portrayed in the eighteenth chapter of the same book.” 21 Manuscript Release p. 91
This same beast that held the Two Witnesses in obscurity, had itself been plunged into obscurity. Revelation 17:3 shows this beast in the wilderness, following its long reign of power. And when this beast under the next legitimate pontificate, presents the eighth head following 1798, Satan arises from out of the bottomless pit, and will wage war again upon the Two Witnesses, and kill them.
How will this be done? By the enactment of the Sunday laws, the papacy will have put to death the Word of the Two Witnesses. Their Testimony will have then been completed, and their death permitted to take place.
After the enactment of the Sunday law, the faithful will make haste to escape the cities and towns and flee to the remote places and the wicked will exult in their demise and rejoice in the ridding of earth of the faithful. Thus it is said that they give gifts to one another, reveling in the death of the Two Witnesses.
“In the closing period of earth’s history the Lord will work mightily in behalf of those who stand steadfastly for the right.
“In those days shall be affliction, such as was not from the beginning of the creation which God created unto this time, neither shall be. Mark 13:19. The time of trouble such as never was, is soon to open upon us; and we shall need an experience which we do not now possess, and which many are too indolent to obtain. It is often the case that trouble is greater in anticipation than in reality; but this is not true of the crisis before us. The most vivid presentation cannot reach the magnitude of the ordeal. And now, while the precious Saviour is making an atonement for us, we should seek to become perfect in Christ.” Maranatha p. 270
“In the midst of the time of trouble-trouble such as has not been since there was a nation-His [God’s] chosen ones will stand unmoved. Satan with all the hosts of evil cannot destroy the weakest of God’s saints.” Maranatha p. 275
This time of the war, references the time after the beast ascends from out of the bottomless pit. Indeed this is the papacy when the eighth head arrives.
God’s Law Appears in the Heavens
“The heavens shall declare his righteousness: for God is judge himself. Ps. 50:6. The clouds sweep back, and the starry heavens are seen, unspeakably glorious in contrast with the black and angry firmament on either side. The glory of the celestial city streams from the gates ajar.
“In the temple will be seen the ark of the testament in which were placed the two tables of stone, on which are written God’s law. These tables of stone will be brought forth from their hiding place, and on them will be seen the Ten Commandments engraved by the finger of God. These tables of stone now lying in the ark of the testament will be a convincing Testimony to the truth and binding claims of God’s law.
“Sacrilegious minds and hearts have thought they were mighty enough to change the times and laws of Jehovah; but, safe in the archives of heaven, in the ark of God, are the original commandments, written upon the two tables of stone. No potentate of earth has power to draw forth those tables from their sacred hiding place beneath the mercy seat.
“There appears against the sky a hand holding two tables of stone folded together. Says the prophet: ‘The heavens shall declare his righteousness: for God is judge himself.’ Psalm 50:6. That holy law, God’s righteousness, that amid thunder and flame was proclaimed from Sinai as the guide of life, is now revealed to men as the rule of judgment. The hand opens the tables, and there are seen the precepts of the Decalogue, traced as with a pen of fire. The words are so plain that all can read them. Memory is aroused, the darkness of superstition and heresy is swept from every mind, and God’s ten words, brief, comprehensive, and authoritative, are presented to the view of all the inhabitants of the earth.
“It is impossible to describe the horror and despair of those who have trampled upon God’s holy requirements.” Maranatha, p. 286
11…and great fear fell upon them which saw them.
Revelation 11:11
“As we approach the last crisis, it is of vital moment that harmony and unity exist among the Lord’s instrumentalities. The world is filled with storm and war and variance. Yet under one head -the papal power- the people will unite to oppose God in the person of His witnesses.” Maranatha p. 187
The very events of the last days as recorded in the Word and in the Spirit of Prophecy, hold forth clear evidence that the papacy beast has fulfilled, or will yet fulfill these elements of this prophecy.
5And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed.
Revelation 11:5
Verse 5 reflects the “is not” time of the beast.
The “little horn” as the blasphemous seven headed leopard-like beast spake great words against God, and having thought to change the Word of God, did indeed hurt the Two Witnesses. And immediately at the end of the 1,260 years of sackcloth, the retribution of the Two Witnesses upon the papal beast, was the wounding of the head Pius with a deadly wound, and the papal beast begins its time as the beast after 1798 “is not.” It was the beast that was killed and is not.
6These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy: and have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will.
7And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them.
Revelation 11:6, 7
This reflects the “yet is” time of the beast, when under the eighth head, the beast completes the number and the antichrist revealed.
The final war is waged over loyalty to God through the recognition of and the keeping of His holy Sabbath. The papacy under the eighth head wages this war by working through the ten Protestant horns and the two-horned beast to enact laws requiring Sunday observance. The installment of a Sunday law, is an annulment of the Two Witnesses, thus killing them.
8And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.
Revelation 11:8
If someone were to suggest to me that these two cities mentioned were a description of the characteristics of the papacy, I would have to agree. Revelation 18:10 Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come. And in verse 16; And saying, Alas, alas, that great city, that was clothed in fine linen, and purple, and scarlet, and decked with gold, and precious stones, and pearls! 17 For in one hour so great riches is come to nought.
This also appears to coincide with;
45And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him.
Daniel 11:45
Jerusalem was the city where our Lord was crucified. Do these passages predict that the Vatican will move to Jerusalem, as others have suggested? And from this place, the papacy issues the decree to exalt Sunday? This would be that abomination that maketh desolate, standing in the holy place, and the sign for the saints. This also seems to be supported by Revelation 11:8 showing that it is at the time that the eighth head kills the Two Witnesses, it will be in Jerusalem.
9And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves.
Revelation 11:9
The reference to the “people, kindreds tongues and nations,” does not allow an interpretation that is limited to France. This is referencing a global event, and not one that is just centered in France, in which the rest of the world are merely onlookers. These are the same groups that the Three Angels’ Messages are preached to; Revelation 14:6, and the same ones that we must prophesy to again, as spoken by the angel that stood upon the sea and the earth; Revelation 10:11. These are the waters upon which the whore sits; Revelation 17:15 And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.
10And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth.
Revelation 11:10
The wicked will have all but destroyed the people of God, and have removed their tormenters from their sight. No one remaining among them will hear the testimony of the Two Witnesses any more. Their voice had been silenced, their testimony was finished, and they are killed.
11And after three days and an half the Spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them.
Revelation 11:11
Satan will cause the world to bow to him for the last time, and when all appears that they have eradicated the saints from bearing the tormenting testimony of the Two Witnesses to their ears, they begin to celebrate the antichrist. Until…the Lord commissions His angels that bear the seven vials of the wrath of God, to pour them out, and the revelers realize that their brief moment of glory has vaporized, and they set out to pursue the remnant. But God has His angels camped around His people assembled in small companies.
Carefulness in Presenting New Views
“All should be careful about presenting new views of Scripture before they have given these points thorough study, and are fully prepared to sustain them from the Bible. Introduce nothing that will cause dissension, without clear evidence that in it God is giving a special message for this time.”
“But beware of rejecting that which is truth. The great danger with our people has been that of depending upon men and making flesh their arm. Those who have not been in the habit of searching the Bible for themselves, or weighing evidence, have confidence in the leading men and accept the decisions they make; and thus many will reject the very messages God sends to His people, if these leading brethren do not accept them.” Testimonies to Ministers p. 106
In my experience with this passage, I confess that I have diligently investigated both the research that I have done, and the research by those who have attempted to support the French Revolution interpretation. They have failed to demonstrate as I have shown, how the elements of prophecy all come together with history by their own weight and merit.
“Others present an array of objections to any new view; and when these objections are plainly answered by the words of Scripture, they do not acknowledge the evidence presented, nor allow themselves to be convinced. Their questioning is not for the purpose of arriving at truth, but is intended merely to confuse the minds of others.” Testimonies to Ministers p. 108
WHY THE TRUTH IS SO IMPORTANT
Knowing the truth, is a defense against being deceived when deceptions and false teachings are everywhere. These prophecies, rightly understood, are a safeguard against deceptions.
The beast that ascends from the bottomless pit, is referring to Satan. When he arises from the bottomless pit, he will usurp Benedict XVI from the papacy and take his seat. Thus it will be that Satan will become the world leader, and be the papal beast’s eighth head. When Satan comes impersonating the return of Christ, the people will become disillusioned with the papacy, and they will plunder the Vatican, kill many of the priests and cardinals, and capture Pope Benedict XVI. It will appear then that Satan is indeed the Christ, who has overturned the papacy, and the “antichrist system.” This adds to the great deception that has been carried by Protestantism that has denied the appearance of the Antichrist at the end of time, allocating all of the prophecies to the “system,” that speak of the Antichrist as a person. Then Satan will set up his headquarters as the new Catholic Church, in Jerusalem. It will be from Jerusalem that the Sunday Laws will be enforced, and the ten horns give their power for one prophetic hour to this beast.
45And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him.
Daniel 11:45
Chapter 11
A Great Cloud of Witnesses
While the world will be carried away with the deceptions of Satan, those who have cherished the truth, and who have come to understand that the number 666 identifies him, will not be deceived. Thus it is prophesied in Scripture that those who do not love the truth, will be given over to the deceptions that they love. I am confident that God will bring this truth forward at the time appointed, that those who love the truth will take up this message, and give the Gospel its last call to the world.
I am certain that many of my readers, having seen this research for what it is, that they could replicate it from the Scriptures and history, if they had never heard of this again. As with any scientific theory, this one, can be readily replicated and is verifiable by anyone.
Truly the world churches of this time are Laodicean. That which they already believe, in regard to this subject prevents them from receiving this truth. There have ever been the “people of God” and as the Bible states; Come out of her My people (Revelation 18:4) indicates that the people of God are both in and out of Babylon, No church; Catholic, Seventh-day Adventist, Methodist, Mormon, Baptist, Anglican, Presbyterian, etc., hold the monopoly on having the “people of God,” for God Himself says that He has some of His people, even in Babylon which is destined to receive His wrath, and that the wheat and tares will grow together until the harvest. God knows who they are; and he that thinks that he stands needs to take heed, lest he fall.
Do not let this prophecy lead you into a false sense of security, for this marks only one identifying landmark on the path of an unfolding Revelation; there are yet many more things to discover after passing this point. Just as it is shown that there are over 26 specific elements of the prophecy that align with history; this cluster of 26 elements form only one part of a much greater picture, there remains more parts before us that are revealed only when we arrive there. The passing of time never stops. The end is almost here. The roadmap upon which you will use to travel from this point onward, must then depend upon the revelation from God and His Word. We are now most certainly, nearer than when we first believed.
At such time in the very near future, and perhaps as you read this, may already be upon us, when those who have heard these things and know them to be the truth for this time, will advance forward and join in a worldwide loud cry that announces the imminent coming judgments from God upon a wicked world. It behooves everyone who claims to believe in God, to pursue a serious course of self-examination to assure their good standing with God, that they may receive a “good writ” in the Day of Judgment. In my parting words to my readers; beware of the wiles and deceptions of the devil. For every truth, the devil has a lie designed to bring in corruption, and mingles his error into it. The path of error often lays right next to the truth. Test everything by the written Word of God. May God bless you on your journey into His new Eternal Kingdom.
Chapter 12
Testimonies from My Readers
“Your hard work is evident and everything is backed up by either Scripture or other previously published works. Elder Donovan Oswald, the father-in-law to Dwight Nelson, corresponded with us for years. Before he died he gave me the text Revelation 17:10-12, and told me to keep a watch on those verses and it would become clear. He did not know the meaning, but he knew that someone would be given the light to interpret. I firmly believe that you have been given that light. Your study is grammatically correct which gives it more acceptability with the brethren and others. You give historical accounts and credits. This is the first thing that scholars will look at when critiquing your study. I am almost through the little booklet! I cannot put it down and read and reread each passage for a clear understanding. You have meticulously researched each passage and seemingly have come to a most correct understanding. I feel in my heart that what you have written is God’s unvarnished truth!
From the Author
This book is not a book of hate. It is a book that exposes the errors that are taught by many faiths. The people of God of all faiths today are of the church of Laodicea. All people have been blinded by their own denominational false teachings. They all share this one common belief: They all believe that their church has the best interpretation on all teachings and that they are not wrong.
The predicted end time events are about to break upon an unsuspecting world. Yet all of the signs point to something huge is pending. The earth itself reels to and fro like a drunkard as all can attest to after the great Tsunami of December 26, 2004. The foundation of the earth is breaking up, as well as the foundations of many faiths that are built upon the doctrines of men. Yet there will remain upon the earth when He comes, a people whom He calls His own.
Ask anyone on the streets today and even those who have no religious faith, see that the world is facing an impending doom. The entire world financial structure threatens to collapse.
35Thus saith the LORD, which giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, which divideth the sea when the waves thereof roar; The LORD of hosts is his name:
36 If those ordinances depart from before me, saith the LORD, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me for ever.
Jeremiah 31:35, 36
The foundation of God’s Word is as fixed as His own creation, and His doctrines are built upon the very foundations of the earth, sun, moon and the stars. So long as these of God’s creation remain, so also will the seventh day Sabbath that He made for us.
The year 2005 has its place in the prophetic chart of events; The death of Pope John Paul II, as the seventh head, marks the end of the “short space” of Revelation 17:10. The next element of prophecy to be fulfilled is the coming of the “eighth,” that “yet is” beast that rises from the bottomless pit, and he will begin to wage his war against the Two Witnesses of Revelation 11:3-7. When this happens, the remaining elements of all eschatological prophecy that is yet future will begin to be fulfilled rapidly. The last effort of the work of the everlasting Gospel will be made.
Let the final message from God to a dying world now be proclaimed;
7Fear God, and give glory to Him; for the hour of His judgment is come: and worship Him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.
8Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.
9If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand,
10The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:
11And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.
Revelation 14:7-11
The Testimony of History and the Testimony of the Prophecy
History provides the testimony of fulfilled prophecy. The beast of Revelation 13 has seven heads and ten horns, and up to Revelation 13:10, it speaks of the beast during its 1,260 years of its dominion. In verse 10, as the beast receives its head wound, it leaves off at 1798, then introduces another beast and details these events from their inception to the end, and it ends with the number 666. Pius VI is one of the heads of the papal beast. History shows that the seven papal mountains bear out these numbers in the cumulative count of the papal beast’s seven heads. The first number in the following list is the number of their pontificate, followed by the name of the pope, and then the years that they served and the last number is the cumulative total carried forward to the present time.
(Antipopes are inserted into the list at the time they appeared.)
The Witnesses of History
10. Pius I (140-155)..................................................1
45. Leo I (440-461)...................................................2
53. John I (523-526).................................................3
56. John II (533-535)................................................5
61. John III (561-574)...............................................8
62. Benedict I (575-579)...........................................9
64. Gregory I (590-604)..........................................10
72. John IV (640-642).............................................14
80. Leo II (682-683)................................................16
81. Benedict II (684-685)........................................18
82. John V (685-686)..............................................23
85. John VI (701-705).............................................29
86. John VII (705-707)............................................36
89. Gregory II (715-731).........................................38
90. Gregory III (731-741)........................................41
93. Paul I (757-767)................................................42
96. Leo III (795-816)...............................................45
101. Gregory IV (827-844).....................................49
antipope John (844)......................0........................49
103. Leo IV (847-855)............................................53
104. Benedict III (855-858)....................................56
107. John VIII (872-882)........................................64
116. John IX (898-900)..........................................73
117. Benedict IV (900-903)....................................77
118. Leo V (903).....................................................82
122. John X (914-928)............................................92
123. Leo VI (928)....................................................98
125. John XI (931-935).........................................109
126. Leo VII (936-939)..........................................116
130. John XII (955-964)........................................128
131. Leo VIII (963-965).........................................136
132. Benedict V (964-966)....................................141
133. John XIII (965-972).......................................154
134. Benedict VI (973-974)...................................160
135. Benedict VII (974-983)..................................167
136. John XIV (983-984).......................................181
137. John XV (985-996)........................................196
138. Gregory V (996-999).....................................201
antipope John XVI (997-99).............0...................201
140. John XVII [16] (1003)....................................217
141. John XVIII [17] (1004-1009).........................234
143. Benedict VIII (1012-1024)............................242
antipope Gregory (1012)......................0...............242
144. John XIX [18] (1024-1032)...........................260
145. Benedict IX (1032-1044).......0 deposed......260
147. Benedict IX (1045).....................0 . ..............260
148. Gregory VI (1045-1046)...............................266
150. Benedict IX (1047-1048)............+9..............275
152. Leo IX (1049-1054).......................................284
antipope Benedict X (1058-1059)..............0.........284
157. Gregory VII (1073-1085)...............................291
antipope Gregory VII (1118-1121).............0.........291
173. Gregory VIII (1187)........................................299
178. Gregory IX (1227-1241)................................308
184. Gregory X (1272-1276).................................318
187. John XXI [19] (1276-1277)............................337
194. Benedict XI [10] (1303-1304)........................347
196. John XXII [20] (1316-1334)...........................367
197. Benedict XII [11] (1335-1342).......................378
201. Gregory XI (1371-1378)................................389
205. Gregory XII (1406-1415)...............................401
antipope Benedict XIII (1394-1423)...........0.........401
antipope John XXIII (1410-1415)...............0.........401
210. Pius II (1458-1464)........................................403
211. Paul II (1464-1471)........................................405
215. Pius III (1503).................................................408
217. Leo X (1513-1521)........................................418
220. Paul III (1534-1549).......................................421
223. Paul IV (1555-1559)......................................425
224. Pius IV (1560-1565).......................................429
225. Pius V (1566-1572)........................................434
226. Gregory XIII (1572-1585)..............................447
229. Gregory XIV (1590-1591)..............................461
232. Leo XI (1605)..................................................472
233. Paul V (1605-1621)........................................477
234. Gregory XV (1621-1623)...............................492
245. Benedict XIII [12] (1724-1730)......................504
247. Benedict XIV [13] (1740-1758)......................517
250. Pius VI (1775-1799).......................................523
251. Pius VII (1800-1823)......................................530
252. Leo XII (1823-1829).......................................542
253. Pius VIII (1829-1830).....................................550
254. Gregory XVI (1831-1846)..............................566
255. Pius IX (1846-1878).......................................575
256. Leo XIII (1878-1903)......................................588
257. Pius X (1903-1914)........................................598
258. Benedict XV [14] (1914-1922).......................612
259. Pius XI (1922-1939).......................................623
260. Pius XII (1939-1958)......................................635
261. John XXIII [21] (1959-1963)...........................656
262. Paul VI (1963-1978). “one is”.........................662
263. John Paul I (1978) “not yet come”..................663
264. John Paul II (1978-05) “short space”.............665
antipope Benedict XVI (2005-?)...............0.............665
The Antichrist Man, Beast, Eighth............................666
History gives witness in this list, that the number 666 is counted from the very source which the prophecy indicates. It is a very real and tangible piece of evidence.
For those who advocate that the number 666 has only a symbolic meaning, I ask: “Why do you deny very real and tangible historic evidence, if it is there, in lieu of the notion that the number 666 must be symbolic?” In addition, “How do you propose to show the meaning of the word ‘count’ in the prophecy, if it is symbolic?”
For those who persist in believing in the papal title theory of Vicarius Filii Dei, and feel that if it is refuted, it would somehow let the papacy off-the-hook; far from it. This interpretation refutes the papal title theory as false, and replaces it with a far better interpretation that implicates the papacy in such a way that no one can deny. The whole world has access to the data that cannot be changed or deleted or refuted and is pinpoint precise in the identification of the 666 beast and the 666 man. It demonstrates a convergence at the very end when the Antichrist comes. From the time that the dominion of the papacy was broken in 1798, the world has experienced a relative sense of peace. That is about to change.
The “peace and safety” campaign of the Antichrist will deceive many, but sudden destruction will follow. There will be one camp that will not be deceived by the Antichrist, and there will be those who have seen him pointed out and exposed by the prophecy and all his “good” works will not dissuade them. Those who believe the prophecies, receive the bitter experience of speaking out and “prophesy again” at the risk of their lives, knowing that some of their hearers will respond and take up their torch of truth where they leave off.
This message about the count of 666 that identifies the Antichrist with pinpoint precision will be preached around the world by thousands of voices. Adding to this, will be the additional evidence from yet even more prophecies that have unfolded during this temporary rule of the Antichrist.
As the persecution begins upon the true people of God by the Antichrist, the people of the world will be able to see the true nature of this beast. It certainly will not be following the teachings of Jesus, who made the call to the people to “Come unto Me…” as an open invitation to His Gospel and give man a freewill decision to accept Him as their Savior.
Preparations for second coming of Christ are not made in one day. Since the Bible does say that He will come as a thief, and we understand that it means with such stealth that it tells us that no man knows the day or hour. We need to get ready and be ready.
The remedy for what those seek, when they care to know the truth, is found in the message of Elijah and John the Baptist. Prepare ye the way for the coming of the Lord. There is nothing to prove after the fact; either God has judged you worthy or not worthy. It is in this life now, that we are to prepare; to make our atonement with God; to accept the gift of the Gospel; and to remain faithful to the end. Repent.
The final message from God to a dying world comes from the Three Angels in Revelation 14:6-12. Now is the time of your salvation. Don’t let it pass you by. After Christ comes there is no second chance.
End of Book Text
What would you think of someone who had lied to you,
and because you believed that lie,
it caused you the most grevious experience and pain?
What would you think of another person
that knew that you were being lied to,
and didn't warn you about the lie?
I will not be like this person,
and so I offer to you here,
the information exposing these lies,
and the knowledge you need,
to know what is truth.
This research documents verifiable evidence
that exposes the lies that the world will yet face.
Knowing this, can keep you from a mountain of sorrows
Copyleft addvantage666
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Unless otherwise noted, all Scriptures are taken from the
Authorized King James Version.
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IBNS 1B:9784414I-0819-4
IBNS I0: 1414I-0819-B
Library of Progress Catalog Card Number: 200690LBI3B
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