Who is the
antichrist?
666 and the connection to Rome
The term “antichrist” is
found 5 times the Bible, all written by John. When most people hear the term
“antichrist” they think of a dark sinister dictator such as Hitler. But that is
not how the Bible portrays the antichrist. In fact, when John wrote his
letters, he said that “even now many antichrists have come.” (1John 2:18, 1John 4:3) And that was 2,000 years ago. We are also told that
the antichrist will still be here when Christ returns (2 Thessalonians 2:8). The Bible warns us that the antichrist will deceive
us (2John 1:7). Remember, Satan does not come with a pitchfork and
pointy horns. That’s not how he works best. He comes as an “angel of light”
deceiving, and teaching false doctrine and false Christianity:
2 Corinthians 11:13-15
For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen,
masquerading as apostles of Christ.
And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an
angel of light. It is not surprising,
then, if his servants masquerade as servants of
righteousness. Their end will be what
their actions deserve.
What are some false
teachings? What is the biggest one out there? If you were Satan, and you were
going to lead astray large numbers of people, the most effective way to do this
would be to come as an imposter. What is the largest body of
people that are presented as “Christians”?
“VICARIVS FILII DEI” --the Latin words for the pope’s official title—said
to once have even been found inscribed upon the pope’s crown. *See footnote
The
ancient Latin alphabet had 23 letters—not 26, and does not contain the letter
“U” but uses the letter “V” instead
▲
Notice the use
of “V” for “U” in this ancient Roman inscription which reads, “IMP(erati) CAESA RI AUGUSTO”
(Meaning Emperor Caesar Augustus) “AUGUSTO” is spelled “AVGVSTO” in
Latin
Latin English numerical
equivalents
VICARIVS vicar 5+1+100+1+5 = 112
FILII of
the son 1+50+1+1 =
53
DEI of
God 500+1 = 501
+_____
666
Roman numerals:
I=1
V=5
C=100
L=50
D=500
“antichrist” simply
means “in the place of Christ” - “anti” = “in the place of”
The Word of God says JESUS is the head of the church
(Colossians 1:18, Ephesians 5:23).
“Vicar” is
defined as one acting as a substitute for, or in the place of, instead of - See Vicar in the Catholic
Encyclopedia
The pope is the head of the
Roman Catholic Church.
Thus, by very
definition, the pope IS the antichrist. As head
of the church, the pope sits in
the place of Christ!
The antichrist is not
a single person; The antichrist is an office of authority.
Mark 13:5-6
Jesus said to them: “Watch out that no one deceives
you. Many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am he,’ and will deceive
many.
In the Bible, the
Revelation 19:7
Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come,
and his bride has made herself ready.
The Bible commonly refers to
the relationship between husband and wife as equivalent to the relationship
between Christ and the church. See Ephesians 5:28-32.
Jesus Christ is the Lamb of
God. See John 1:29, Revelation 7:17, etc.
Revelation 21:2
I saw the
as a bride beautifully dressed for her
husband.
Revelation 21:9
One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came
and said to me, “Come, I will show you the bride,
the wife of the Lamb.”
See also Matthew 25:1-13, Mark 2:19, Matthew 22:1-14 where Christ typifies Himself as the bridegroom.
Now, if the church is the
bride, or wife of Christ, then what would a whore—a perverted
bride be? Would not a whore be a perverted church? Would it
not be a “church” that is unfaithful to God’s Word?
Read Revelation 17 and notice the great whore is drunk with the blood
of the saints. Then read Fox’s Book of Martyrs and notice throughout the
ages, how much blood
The Bible even warns us
where the antichrist will be found. He will be found in a church.
2 Thessalonians 2:4
He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped,
so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God.
“God’s temple” represents the
church. We are warned that the antichrist will be found in a church!
The one that will stand “in the place of Christ” is not a political
leader, but the head of a false church!
The
temple at
When the Bible uses
prophetic language, a beast represents a kingdom, and a kingdom
can also represent a church. Perhaps the beast here represents false
Christianity. Notice in Revelation chapter 13
that the beast (kingdom/church) had been
wounded by a sword (verses 3,12, and 14). And God uses the sword to illustrate His
Word—the Scriptures. See Ephesians 6:17 and Hebrews 4:12. As with all apocalyptic language in the Bible, it
is difficult to know with certainty, but there is a very strong case to be made
that this passage (Revelation 13:3,12,14) represents the great blow that was
made to the Roman Catholic Church during the Reformation when the Word of
God (the Bible) became widely known, and did great damage to Rome. Yet, it
recovered and healed and is still here today.
Matthew 23:9
And do not call anyone on earth ‘father,’ for you
have one Father, and he is in heaven.
Outrageous Claims Made For The
Pope!
Not only are outlandish claims, such as those
above, made regarding the authority of the pope, but he is addressed by various
terms (Supreme Pontiff, Holy Father, etc.) which belong only to God. No such
terms were given to a mere man in the holy Scriptures. The term “Holy Father”
is used only once in God’s word. It is used by Jesus in John 17:11 as He prayed
to God the Father. For a mere man to assume the authority and titles which
belong only to God, is surely the height of arrogance and blasphemy. If not,
why not?
- The New York Catholic
Catechism, under: Pope, says, “The Pope takes the place of Jesus Christ on
earth...by divine right the pope has supreme and full power in faith and
morals over each and every pastor and his flock. He is the true Vicar of
Christ, the head of the entire church, the father and teacher of all
Christians He is the infallible ruler, the founder of dogmas, the author
of and the judge of councils; the universal ruler of truth, the arbiter of
the world, the supreme judge of heaven and earth, the judge of all, being
judged by one, God himself on earth.”
- In his encyclical, “The
Reunion of Christendom” (1885), Pope Leo XIII stated that the pope holds
“upon this earth the place of God Almighty.”
- The Council of Trent
declared: “Sitting in that chair in which Peter, the Prince of the
Apostles, sat to the close of life, the Catholic Church recognizes in his
person the most exalted degree of dignity, and the full jurisdiction not
based on constitutions, but emanating from no less authority than from God
Himself. As the Successor of St. Peter and the true and legitimate Vicar
of Jesus Christ, he therefore, presides over the
- The Catholic book, “My
Catholic Faith” which is based on the Baltimore Catechism, on page 251,
says, “The Pope can make and unmake laws for the entire Church; his
authority is supreme and unquestioned. Every bishop, every priest, every
member of the Church is subject to him.”
In his encyclical, “The Reunion of Christendom” (1885),
Pope Leo XIII said that the pope holds “upon this earth the place of God
Almighty.”
More claims of the pope:
Pope Innocent III put in
writing, ‘We may according to the ullness of our power, dispose of the law
and dispense above the law. Those whom the Pope of
The Lateran Council, addressing
Pope Julius II in an address delivered by Marcellus states, ‘Take care that
we lose not that salvation, that life and breath which thou hast given us, for
thou art our shepherd, tou art physician, thou art governor, thou are
husbandman, thou finally ART ANOTHER GOD ON EARTH’ Council Edit. Colm.
Agrip. 1618.
Pope Nicholas claimed the title
of God. His words are:—‘I am all in all and above all, so that God Himself,
and I, the Vicar of God, hath both one consistory, and I am able to do almost
all that God can do . . . Wherefore, if those things that I do be said not to
be done of man, but of God. WHAT CAN YOU MAKE ME BUT GOD? Again, if prelates of
the Church be called and counted of
‘I
alone despite my unworthiness, am the successor of the Apostles, the Vicar
of Jesus Christ: I alone have the mission to guide and direct the barque
of Peter; I AM THE WAY, THE TRUTH AND THE LIFE.’ — Pope Pius IX.
The leaders of the Catholic Church understand
very clearly that the Word of God—the Bible, opposes their man-made
institution and their false teachings. Yet, they persist in their evil and
refuse to repent!
Following is an excerpt from an address given
by the Cardinals to Pope Pius III, and is preserved in the National Library of
Paris, Folio No. 1068, Vol. 2, pp. 650 651:
“Of all the advice that we can offer your
holiness we must open your eyes well and use all possible force in the matter,
namely to permit the reading of the gospel as little as possible in all
the countries under your jurisdiction. Let the very little part of the gospel
suffice which is usually read in mass, and let no one be permitted to read
more. So long as people will be content with the small amount, your interest
will prosper; but as soon as the people want to read more, your interest will
fail. The Bible is a book, which more than any other, has raised against us the
tumults and tempests by which we have almost perished. In fact, if one compares
the teaching of the Bible with what takes place in our churches, he will soon
find discord, and will realize that our teachings are often different from the
Bible, and oftener still, contrary to it.”
If
you are in the Roman Catholic Church, God says to you:
“Come out of her, my people,
so that you will not share in her
sins,
so that you will not receive any of
her plagues;
-Revelation 18:4
Get out now while you
still can!
Revelation 19:19-21
Then I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and
their armies gathered together to
make war against the rider on the horse and his
army. But the beast was captured, and
with him the false prophet who had performed the
miraculous signs on his behalf. With
these signs he had deluded those who had received
the mark of the beast and worshiped
his image. The two of them were thrown alive into
the fiery lake of burning sulfur. The
rest of them were killed with the sword that
came out of the mouth of the rider on the horse,
and all the birds gorged themselves on their flesh.
Revelation 20:10
And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
The pope’s coronation (below)
Art used by permission by Pat Marvenko Smith,
copyright 1992.
Click here to visit
“Revelation Illustrated” site.
The woman was dressed in purple
and scarlet, and was glittering with gold, precious
stones and pearls. She
held a golden cup in her hand, filled with abominable things and
the filth of her
adulteries. This title was written on her forehead: MYSTERY
THE GREAT THE MOTHER OF
PROSTITUTES AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.
I saw that the woman was
drunk with the blood of the saints, the blood of those who
bore testimony to Jesus.
--Revelation
17:4-6
Men worshiped the
dragon because he had given authority to the beast, and they also worshiped the
beast and asked,
“Who is like the
beast? Who can make war against him?”…
All inhabitants of the earth will worship the
beast—all whose names have not been written
in the book of life belonging to the Lamb that was slain
from the creation of the world.
--Revelation
13:4,8
With her the kings of the earth committed adultery
and the inhabitants of the earth were intoxicated with the wine of her
adulteries.”
-Revelation 17:2
Pope addressing United
Nations session of the General Assembly
“For all the nations have drunk
the maddening wine of her adulteries.
The kings of the earth committed adultery with her…”
-Revelation 18:3
“Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers, nor the desire of women, nor regard
any god: for he shall magnify himself above all.”
The sex problems in the Catholic Church stem from
forbidding their leaders to marry. See 1Timothy 2:1-5.
‘Woe! Woe, O great city, dressed in fine linen,
purple and scarlet, and glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls!
-Revelation 18:6
What is the
“mark of the beast”?
*Footnote: Much controversy exists about the
existence of such a crown. But whether or not such a crown with this
inscription still exists does not matter. Where the title is
inscribed is of no importance whatsoever. What matters is the Latin title, VICARIVS
FILII DEI (Vicar of the Son of
God), is a title which
describes the position, or office of the pope, and has even been used to refer
to his position by leaders of the Catholic Church itself:
“A small number
of Catholic figures referred to the supposed existence of the title in books.
In The Temporal Power of the Vicar of Jesus Christ, a book by British
Cardinal Archbishop of
Much smokescreen is thrown up in an effort to divert
attention away from the real issue. The Catholic Church will take issue as to
the existence of any such crown with the inscription in question, but the fact
remains, the title, VICARIVS FILII DEI exists and is used to refer to the pope
even by their own leaders!
1.) See pp. 141, 231, 232 of the second edition published
in 1862 in
2.) This letter is catalogued as document FRS #35, and is
on file at the James White Library of Andrews University.
3.) Dr. Quasten's signed statement is catalogued as
document FRS #12, and is also on file at the James White Library. Click here to see
it now.
“Vicar of Christ” - a slightly
altered, yet equivalent title for the pope used by the Catholic Church today.
They are afraid to use the words “Vicar of the Son of God” these days since its
exposure as the number of the beast.
** From Wikipedia