Chapter 2

The Biblical Count of the 666 Beast

Revelation
13: 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.

17: 9 And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth.

17: 10 And 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.

17: 11 And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition.

When a prophecy is interpreted correctly, it will take all the elements of the prophecy and congeal them into one contiguous account. Wherever 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 a portion of the truth is perceived, it is like striking a rich vein in a mine; it leads along a path to greater truths.

A single thought, inspired at the right time, to the right person, and the path to present truth is made evident for all. As I considered the elements of the prophecy that numbers the 666 beast, and knowing the beast is represented by the papacy, then thinking of the fact that the popes have put numbers on their names, I embarked on a research project that would gather the data and see how the numbers of these names added up.

Since I knew of the prophecy of the 1260 years of papal domination, I considered that the year 1798 was relevant to this beast's number. I began counting the numbers of the popes from 1798 to the present. I saw that the number of names they have used is seven, and I noted that this matched the number of heads of the beast. Seeing then that the seven names they have used, appeared to fit the pattern within the prophecy as being the seven mountains. I did an estimated count of the numbers I saw. The answer was within a very close proximity of 666, so I knew then that if I could get the facts exactly right, the exact number could be counted to the present time.

I encountered an ordinal rule that an antipope has no count, as the number he would have used, is taken by the next legitimate pope who takes that same name. This is demonstrated by the papal line of Stephen. I noted also that there was no John XX. So by eliminating the two antipopes; John XVI and Benedict X, and eliminating the missing John XX, the count had now come to exactly 665 with John Paul II. This would leave only one to complete the count to 666. The antichrist is expected to have a count of one because as Jesus stated 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.

The Bible further supports this by its mention of the abomination of desolation in Daniel 12, along with Jesus' mention of it in Matthew 24, and John's mention of it in Revelation 17. Together they frame the time of this beast from 1798 when the abomination of desolation was ``set up'' to the time when he ``goeth into destruction'' at the Second Coming. It is within this span where the seven papal heads are found.

Daniel 12
11 And 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.

This prophecy of Daniel 12: 11, spans from 508 to 1798. And it is at its terminal end in 1798, where the abomination that maketh desolate is set up. This begins the seven head/mountain line-up of Revelation 17:11, whose eighth head goes into perdition, which is its destruction just before Christ comes.

Matthew 24
15 When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)
16 Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains:
17 Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house:
18 Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes.
19 And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days!
20 But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day:
21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
22 And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.
23 Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not.
24 For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.
25 Behold, I have told you before.
26 Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not.
27 For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

Revelation 17
11 And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition.

The interplay of heads and names used by the popes since 1798, display an interesting scenario;
The first head, Pius, was followed by the second head Leo, then reverting back to the first head Pius, before introducing the third, Gregory. This jostling of names occurs until John appears, then it moves in a straight procession to the sixth head, and then to the seventh head. Thus the prophecy by stating that five are fallen, it allows for the interplay of the names, but then when it comes to the sixth and seventh, it requires a straight progression without reverting to any other previously used name.

It was more than three years from the time I had first discovered this counting, that I saw how accurately the seventh head fits within this record; Revelation 17: 10 states that at the time of the `sixth' head, the `seventh' had not come yet. John Paul, as the seventh head, had come only after Paul, who was the sixth head.

For those who have always held that the ``beast'' spoken of in this prophecy, has represented the papacy, should not be surprised then, that the subsequent fit between the last 200 years of the papal record, continues to point to the truth that the papacy is this beast, and that this is the correct interpretation of these prophecies. It is within this arena that we will see the imminent end of the world.

In the original thought that spawned this research, I did not fully anticipate that the results would be as revealing as they have become. All of the elements of the prophecy in the context, have demonstrated to also fit within this same historic record. Though these results do not yield the knowledge of the time of the Second Coming, it does reveal additional information as to what must yet unfold.

It coerces the reader to concede to the heart of the Gospel. It focuses on the last great message from God before He comes; the Three Angels' Messages. It forms the impetus of the Loud Cry.

The 1290 year prophecy ends at 1798, the same time as the 1260 year prophecy with the additional 30 years placed at 508 A.D. Protestants have no problem identifying this as the time of the oppressive papal rule over the kings of the earth. This is the beast as it is described in Revelation 13.

In the 2300-year prophecy that began in 457 BC, the first horn that opposed elevating the Bishop of Rome to the position of head of ALL the churches was plucked up by the French King Clovis in 508 AD. The ascension of the papacy continued for 1290-years until the French invaded Rome on February 10, 1798 and took the pope to France.

Observing the power and influence of the papacy, and anxious to avail himself of papal support, Clovis professed conversion in 496, and his entire following united with him in adherence to Catholicism, three thousand of whom were baptized along with himself soon after his conversion.

As he expected, the Catholics rallied around him as the only Catholic prince in the West. (Newman, A Manual of Church History, V.1p. 404)

At this time various forms of Christianity had spread over Europe. Anything not in accord with Roman Catholism was usually catalogued as Arian and therefore "heretical". After his "conversion" Clovis defeated the Burgundians. His "desire" to spread his new religion and to ruin Christian kingdoms which refused to Catholic version seemed to be the aim of this "convert" ruler. He moved on to take the kingdom of the Visigoths and routed them in 507. Then Clovis pursued the Visigoths to their southern strongholds and overcame them in 508. Thereafter, in 508, Clovis was declared the "eldest son of the church".

The Frank king threw his sword into the scale against the Arian cause, and became the champion and hope of the Catholic population all over Gaul. The invaders had at length arrived, who were to remain. It was decided that the Franks, and not the Goths, were to direct the future destinies of Gaul and Germany, and that the Catholic faith, and not Arianism, was to be the religion of these great realms. (Church, The Beginning of the Middle Ages, pp. 38-39)

"With the conversion of Clovis, there was at least one barbarian leader with whom the Bishop of Rome could negotiate as with a faithful son of the Church. It is from the orthodox Gregory of Tours that most of our knowledge of Clovis and his successors is derived. In Gregory's famous History of the Franks, the cruel and unscrupulous king appears as God's chosen instrument for the extension of the Catholic faith. Certainly Clovis quickly learned to combine his own interests with those of the Church, and the alliance between the pope and the Frankish kings was destined to have a great influence upon the history of western Europe." (James Harvey Robinson, History of Western Europe, pp. 35, 36.)

With Clovis began the Merovingian dynasty which through the years was the military strong arm for Catholism. The following was from Bonifacius and shows what help the Franks were to the Catholic Church:

"Without the patronage of the Frankish ruler, I can neither govern the people nor defend the presbyters, deacons, monks or handmaidens of God; nor even could I forbid the pagan rites and sacrilegious idolatries in Germany without his mandate and the fear of his name." (Epist. 12 ad Danielem episc.)

Now did this ARMY that came with Clovis fight against the SABBATH?

It was reserved to the lawgivers of the German states to rigorously enforce upon the unmanageable, half-heathen tribes, the celebration of Sunday, the principal object of which was the cessation from labor.

Whether the civil authorities offered to see to the enforcement of the laws, or whether it was entrusted to the bishops, ...whether there should be inflicted only a money or property penalty; or whether it might be increased to depriving the free-born of liberty, and to the amputation of the right hand of the slave,--the spirit of these laws was ever the same,-- that of the Old Testament. This legislation is accompanied by a new theological doctrine of Sunday, or it is founded upon such from the beginning. That this Christian celebration of Sunday is identified with the Sabbath observance commanded of God through Moses. This was an unheard of doctrine in the ancient church. [Dr. Th.Zahn, History of Sunday (Geshichte des Sonntags, pp. 42-44) pp 484 J. N. Andrew]

What we see in history, as the Catholic Church came into possession of an army, she forced Sunday on all citizens in a progressively stricter sense. An army was given in 508 by which the Papacy could now enforce her mandates and strike fear into the people of Europe, and set up her Sunday idol. They took away the daily.

The daily represents Christ's mediatorial ministry in the holy place in the heavenly sanctuary. It represents the continual work of Christ ministering in the sanctuary not made with hands, where He entered with His own blood to make intercession for His people.

But what was the focus of this "army" that was given to the Papacy?

These lusty barbarians were not oppressed by any deep sense of sin and the consequent need of redemption. They required rather to be ruled and defended. The saints, with their particular assignments, may well have meant more to the People than Christ, the universal Redeemer. St. Anthony took care of their pigs, St. Saturninus took care of their sheep, St. Gall looked after the hens, and St. Medardus protected their vines from frost. ...St. Genevieve cured fever, and St. Blaise sore throats.. St. Aimable prevented nightmares."(Roland Bainton "Christendom" P.149)

Looking to saints as mediators and protectors, and to priests for absolution from sin, rather than searching for a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, became the norm in Catholism. The mediation of saints took the place of the continual mediation of Christ in the people's thoughts and minds.

Thus we see the 1290 years extending from 508-1798.

From the time the papacy began to use the sword of an army to forbid any worship not in line with their beliefs, in 508, forcing people to yield to her spiritual authority until 1798 when that spiritual authority was removed by the sword of Napoleon's army and by Napoleon's laws. This is exactly 1290 years.

The next papal period spans from 1798 at the ``setting up'' of the ``abomination that maketh desolate'' and goes until the end where Christ brings the final judgment upon the beast, which ends with the final eighth head that ``goeth into perdition''

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 easily demonstrated by the Scripture and supported by history.

It is important to know where we are within the timeframe 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 now 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 to present to you here, is not new information or new prophecy. It has always been written there in the Scriptures, and recorded in history. The difference is in the interpretation; in examining the record of recent history, and showing that it is exactly parallel to the prophecy.

This research has revealed an exact match between the number 666, and the count of the popes' numbers. The mathematics of this prophecy require an exactness which is met in the historic record. It also follows within the continuum of the straight line of truth and provides further knowledge along this continuum. The latter part of this prophecy is about to unfold before the whole world. 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.

We are at the terminal end of the ``short space'' which will soon begin unfolding the last day events. The prophecies of the Holy Bible have never failed. They have earmarked the beast and have exposed the deceptions of Satan.

^ Now, the short space being past, we have entered an interim time that awaits the arrival of the antichrist. Benedict XVI is he that ``withholdeth'' until he is ``taken out of the way'' (2Thess 2) An undefined length of time that designates the ``short space'' has now been followed by yet another undefined length of time before the coming of the antichrist. This will be followed by yet another undefined period of time before Christ comes to bring it to an end.

The greatest problem facing many today is that this knowledge of an imminent end of the world, as we now know it, is more of a threat to the disruption of their own ventures, their own self-created plans, everyone's hopes and aspirations. These feelings will not be held too long, as the time of trouble approaches, and usurps everything anyway. Everywhere you look, you will see trouble...from personal torments of petty interest to anyone else, to *tumultuous catastrophes, engulfing entire regions. Death, disease, and rioting everywhere. Everyone accusing another, even accusing me.
* written in 2002

Everywhere people will be forced into believing the prophecies they had heard and rejected as false. But by then, it will be too late to save their souls...then fear and rage engulfs them.

To those that do believe them, and believe the Word of God, the final events, though troublous, are tokens that declare their long-awaited hope in His Coming, is about to happen. Their victory is also imminent and their delivery certain.