Three Angels Messages Part 53

Thanks for joining us today, as we continue in our study of the Three Angels’ Messages found in Revelation 14. We are still looking at the message of the third angel, the first part of which reads, “Then a third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, ‘If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand, he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation.’” We must study and understand and apply the content of these messages!
We’ve seen that the beast that has the mark is the one described in the first ten verses of Revelation 13. We’ve seen that these clues point directly to the system of papal authority, the Roman Catholic Church. While there have been and are today many true believers within that community of faith, nevertheless, God has indicted her for altering the Scriptures and the Ten Commandments, and for changing, distorting or removing most of the teachings of Jesus which He entrusted to His followers. Human tradition has replaced Scriptural authority. The clues, verified by historical data, have been unmistakable.
We’ll discuss one final clue in the 13th chapter which is contained in its last verse. “Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man: his number is 666.” Revelation 13:18. Few verses of Revelation, let alone the whole Bible, contain information that has garnered so much attention and speculation. What does the mysterious number “666” signify? It’s not really that hard to figure out. We’re told that it is “the number of his name” in the previous verse.
There is, however, something that we must understand in order to make sense of this clue. In almost all languages of the world, there is one set of characters which serves a dual purpose, that of representing alphabetic sounds used to assemble words for speech, and at the same time representing numbers. English is an anomaly in that regard, in that the character “a” has no numerical significance, nor does the integer “8” have any phonic import.
On the other hand, in many other languages, Hebrew and Greek, for example, there is one set of characters, which double as letters and numbers. Having said that, we do have something in English that corresponds to this, but it is seldom used. We speak of course of “Roman Numerals.” In this system, some English letters do have numerical value. “I” is equal to one; “V” or “U” stands for five; “X” for ten, “L” for 50, “C” for 500 and so on. In former times, it was not uncommon for people to refer to the numerical value of their name as a type of nickname. There is actually a word that describes this phenomenon; the term gematria is given to this system. A young boy in school might scribble “98 loves 256” for a cryptic substitute of something like “John loves Mary.” The phrase “number of his name” refers to this practice of adding up the numeric value of the letters of ones name.
One of the titles that the pope has used is the title “Vicarius Filii Dei,” which means, “Vicar of the Son of God.” The first word comes from the word “vicar” which means “instead of,” or “in place of.” “Filii” means “Son” and refers to Jesus Christ. The last term Dei means “God.” The title therefore means “The vicar of the Son of God,” or “The one who stands in the place of the Son of God.”
Because attention was drawn to this title and its equivalent in Roman Numerals, the papacy has not displayed this title as prominently as it used to. There is no question as to the fact that it has been at one time an official title of the pope, and more than that, the concept which it conveys accurately and clearly represents the claims of the papacy today. Most certainly the pope does claim today to be the “vicar” of the Son of God, the one who is “in the place of” Jesus. A quick examination of the letters of this title reveals that the value of its letters does indeed add up to 666, the “number of his name.”

V 5              
I 1 
C 100
A
R
I1
U5
S

F
I 1
L 50
I 1
I 1

D 500
E
I 1
Total 666

Some might question why “u” and “v” are both given the value of 5. This is because they were essentially the same letter. In many towns still today you may find the inscription on an old city library “pvblic library.” By the way, the letter “w”; is it “double v” or “double u”? It really looks like two “v’s” put together.
This may be one of the most “spectacular” clues of the beast of Revelation 13, but remember that it is only one of many. Putting all the clues together the identity of the beast is unmistakable. There is only one entity on earth that fits all the descriptions of Revelation 13:1-10, and that is the historical papacy. It arose according to the prophetic timetable. Its conduct and behavior, with its arrogant claims to divine titles and prerogatives fit the Bible picture. Its intolerance of dissenters meets the specifications of prophecy. The length of its duration, lasting 1260 years during the Middle Ages, then suffering a deadly set back, foretold by Scripture, followed by a dramatic resurgence to a world-wide power and worship sufficient to evoke the claim, “Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him?” correspond to the prophetic portrayal. Finally, we see the “number of his name,” the numerical evaluation of one of the pope’s titles, Vicarious Filii Dei, adding up precisely to the number indicated by John the Revelator, 666. All of these things precisely fit the picture of Bible prophecy.
It’s important to know the identity of the beast of prophecy. It has a mark which must be avoided. Our study into the identity of the beast is indeed legitimate. But, although it’s important to know what the beast is, it’s far more important to know the Lamb! We can acquire all the information in the world, and have the keenest perception of prophetic date, but without a personal, saving relationship with Jesus, that knowledge would amount to nothing. Know the Lamb! Worship the Lamb! Follow the Lamb! He is coming back to this earth soon, and we need to be ready to meet Him!