Important Clarification
Back to 1The Bible’s Greatest Prophecies Unlocked!
It is necessary and helpful to summarize what we have learned so far. Some believe the Revelation 13:1-18 Beast is the woman who rode the Revelation 17:1-18 Beast. This cannot be because the woman is a church and the beast is the government. Others believe Napoleon’s abuse of the pope in 1798 was the “deadly wound.” While this is on the surface ridiculous, it is also impossible that the Roman church would last another 1,260 years until AD 3058.
Now review and understand these points. The accompanying graphics and charts complement and expand them:
- The Beast of Revelation 13:1-18 equals the fourth beast of Daniel 7:1-28 and is the Roman Empire.
- The (healed) Beast of Revelation 17:1-18 is the Holy Roman Empire, from 554 to 1814, and continues to Christ’s Return.
- The woman of Revelation 17:1-18, which rides the Holy Roman Empire, equals the little horn of Daniel 7:1-28 and the two-horned beast of Revelation 13:1-18—the great false Christian church and her little kingdom.
- The last seven horns of the Daniel 7:1-28 fourth beast equal the last seven horns of the Revelation 13:1-18 Beast’s seventh head, ridden by the woman.
- These seven horns equal the seven heads of the Revelation 17:1-18 Beast ridden by the woman. (This “horns equals heads” is where many go astray.)
- The 10 horns of the seventh head of the Revelation 17 Beast equal the 10 kings or governments united in the final future revival under the woman of the Holy Roman Empire, which Christ destroys at His Coming.
- The 10 toes of the Daniel 2:1-49 giant image equal the same 10 kings or governments (10 horns) of the seventh head of Revelation 17:1-18, and are on the “feet” that Christ (as the Daniel 2:34, 44-45“stone”) “breaks to pieces” at His Return. (The graphic just ahead harmonizes these statements.)
Identifying the Beast’s Number—666
There are endless opinions and theories about the number 666 and how it relates to the Beast. Seemingly, new ones arrive every day. But, like other aspects of the beasts, we must let God reveal the answer to this mystery.
In Revelation 13, the apostle John describes a beast with seven heads, ten horns and ten crowns.
Source: RCG illustration/Paula Rondeau
In Revelation 17, a woman “arrayed in purple and scarlet” rides a seven-headed, ten-horned beast.
Source: RCG illustration/Paula Rondeau
In Daniel 2, the “great image” symbolizes four world-ruling governments.
Head of fine gold: The Chaldean (Babylonian) Empire. Breast and arms of silver: The Medo-Persian Empire. Belly and thighs of brass: The Greco-Macedonian Empire. Legs of iron; feet partly iron, partly clay: The Roman Empire.
Source: RCG illustration/Paula Rondeau
First read the only five references to the “number” and then we shall discuss them. They are all in just two passages.
Revelation 13:17-18: “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. Here is wisdom. Let him that has understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is six hundred threescore and six.” Now Revelation 15:2: “And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God.”
These basic points emerge: (1) All who will are told to “count [add up] the number,” (2) the number is 666, (3) the Beast has this number and this is what identifies it, if we exercise “wisdom” in properly counting it, (4) 666 is the number of a kingdom, government or empire, or of the king who establishes or leads it (Dan. 7:18, 22-24, 27), and (5) the terms—“the name of the beast”—“or the number of his name”—“it is the number of a man”—directly identify the number as both the name of the kingdom, government or empire and the king or ruler that leads it.
If God says to count the number, He obviously intends that we know how to do this!
Counting Names
There are a number of important and famous names that are linked to the Roman Empire, and Rome itself.
The name Rome, and thus the Roman Empire, is derived from its legendary first king and founder—Romulus. Quite literally, this name is stamped on every man, woman and child within the kingdom, as well as on all of its kings and the kingdom itself.
Many have recognized this much but have failed to recognize that they should not count the number in Latin, but rather in Greek—the language in which God inspired the New Testament to be written. Remember, John wrote Revelation in Greek.
Ignoring this point has caused many to apply 666 to the pope, by claiming that the phrase “ Vicarius Filii Dei” is written on the pope’s triple crown. First, while the pope has such a crown, these words are not on it. Besides, these are Latin words, which do not apply to a kingdom or empire, but would only apply to a man—the pope. Also, these words are a title, not a name!
In the second century AD, it was recognized that Romulus’ name was originally spelled Lateinos, meaning “the name of Latium” or “Latin man.” The Romans took their language and origin from this region.
Like the value of Roman numerals, the Greeks assigned values to letters. In the Greek, L counts for 30, A is 1, T is 300, E is 5, I is 10, N is 50, O is 70, S is 200—totaling precisely 666! It is not then strange, or incorrect, to conclude that every citizen, king and the kingdom itself, adds up to or “counts” to 666.
Now consider Benito Mussolini. He called himself “Il Duce,” which means the leader or the chief. Everywhere he went, people proclaimed, “Viva Il Duce,” meaning long live the chief. The Italians abbreviated this on signs throughout Italy as “vv il duce.”
This time, let’s count the name in Latin, recognizing that the letter U was commonly replaced with a V: V is 5 (twice), I is 1, L is 50, D is 500, V is 5, C is 100, E has no number. The total—precisely 666!
The Beast and Roman Empire—and a system—have been identified!