The Papal Title Theory - Vicarius Filii Dei

Some people believe that the number 666 is derived from such things as words, names or titles associated with either the Papacy or Rome. The method they often use is a mathematical technique called Gematria, which is based on the letters in the titles, words, or names of the Papacy or associated with it or with Rome. From this method the number 666 is calculated.

The word in Revelation 13:18 which is typically translated as "count" in the King James Version of the Bible primarily means to literally count things, though it can secondarily mean to calculate. Thus, it is most likely that God meant for us to count to arrive at the number 666 rather than merely calculate the number. If so, then any method that does not involve an underlying count is likely incorrect. How do we know the answer to this question? There is a way to know, but it is not direct. More on this later.

Gematria is a technique in which a name or title is written out and then each of the letters in that name is converted to numbers using a table which has a list of numbers traditionally associated with each letter. For a given table, not all the letters will necessarily have numeric equivalents, but usually most will. This depends upon the language from which the name comes, of course. The numbers are then added together to find the sum. People in ancient times commonly practiced Gematria and believed that the sum represented the person's name, which you could think of as a symbol of that person.

One source for the number 666 is believed by some to be one of the titles of the pope, which is Vicarius Filii Dei. There are many titles for the pope, of course, but this one does seem to work when Gematria is applied to it. In this instance, Roman Numerals are substituted for the letters in the title instead of the numbers normally used with the Latin Alphabet.

There are other things about the Papacy besides the title Vicarius Filii Dei that add up to 666 using the Gematria method or using the Roman Numerals.

Below is a table showing the numeric equivalents of the Greek letters that are used in the Gematria system for Greek words:

Α

α

alpha

1

Ι

ι

iota

10

Ρ

ρ

rho

100

Β

β

beta

2

Κ

κ

kappa

20

Σ

σ

sigma

200

Γ

γ

g-/yi-amma

3

Λ

λ

lambda

30

Τ

τ

tau

300

Δ

δ

delta

4

Μ

μ

mu

40

Υ

υ

upsilon

400

Ε

ε

epsilon

5

Ν

ν

nu

50

Φ

φ

phi

500

Σ

σ

stigma

6

Ξ

ξ

xi/ksi

60

Χ

χ

khi

600

Ζ

ζ

zeta

7

Ο

ο

omicron

70

Ψ

ψ

psi

700

Η

η

eta/ita

8

Π

π

pi

80

Ω

ω

omega

800

Θ

θ

theta

9

K

n/a

koppa

90

Σ

n/a

sampi

900

Here is an example of a word associated with the Papacy written in Greek which adds to 666:

The ancient Greek word for Italian Church is ITALIKA EKKLESIA, which written in Greek is ΙΤΑΛΙΚΑ ΕΚΚΛΕΣΙΑ. The calculation of 666 using Gematria and the table above is as follows:

Latin Letter Equivalent	Greek Letter	Name of Greek Letter	Value
I	I	iota	10
T	T	tau	300
A	A	alpha	1
L	Λ	lambda	30
I	I	iota	10
K	K	kappa	20
A	A	alpha	1
E	E	epsilon	5
K	K	kappa	20
K	K	kappa	20
L	Λ	lambda	30
E	E	eta	8
S	Σ	sigma	200
I	I	iota	10
A	A	alpha	1
Total:			666

This is just one of many words associated with the Catholic Church which add to 666.

There are also numeric equivalents for the Latin alphabet, though these are not used to decode the Papal title Vicarius Filii Dei. Below is a table showing the numeric equivalents of the Latin letters typically used with the Latin script.

A	1	I	9	R	80
B	2	K	10	S	90
C	3	L	20	T	100
D	4	M	30	V	200
E	5	N	40	X	300
F	6	O	50	Y	400
G	7	P	60	Z	500
H	8	Q	70

 

Shown below is the mathematics used to derive the number 666 from the title Vicarius Filii Dei, a title sometimes applied to the popes. Note that instead of using the letter to number correspondence of the table above, the Roman Numeral equivalents are used instead:

Vicarius Filii Dei Math - Gematria Method using Roman Numeral Substitution for the Letters of the Title

V I C A R I U S	5 1 100 0 0 1 5 0	F I L I I	0 1 50 1 1	D E I	500 0 1
Column Totals	112		53		501
Grand Total: 112 + 53 + 501 = 666

 

 

Some people object to this on the grounds that there are names and titles of many people which add to 666 (including, possibly, even your own name). While their objection is true on the surface of it, they typically do not realize that other characteristics of the sea beast of Revelation 13 point towards the Papacy, so this method, if correct, must be derived from some aspect of a Papal name or title and cannot apply to anyone else. Therefore, the fact that a person's name might add up to 666 is irrelevant because they don't qualify to be the beast.

The real question is whether or not applying Roman Numerals to the Papal title Vicarius Filii Dei is the ultimate method God intended us to use to decipher the meaning of 666. The only way to know is to determine whether the Bible supports such an interpretation.

Before continuing, the authory believes that it is important for the reader to understand that knowledge and understanding of Bible prophecy through history has been progressive. The prophecies have not always been understood correctly and even today, there are prophecies in the Bible that are not understood correctly by many. Mistakes of interpretation have been made, of course, but these have usually been corrected eventually. Sometimes the mistakes have led to an even greater understanding of the Bible.

An example of progressive knowledge of Bible prophecy is the interpretation of the four beasts of Daniel 7. When these were first given to Daniel, he did not understand some aspects of them and even said so in his writing. But as time went on, the identity of the four beasts was understood even before the time of Christ. However, while the talking horn on the fourth dreadful looking beast of Daniel 7 was not yet understood by the time of Jesus, later it was understood because it appeared on the world's stage for all to see. Thus, experience with history revealed the interpretation of the prophecies. It seems probable that there were those who tried to predict ahead of time who the fourth beast was and it is possible that some of those predictions turned out right, while most others were wrong. Of course, the nearer to the fulfillment of the prophecy, the more likely it would be that they predicted correctly.

God gave the prophecies to us for several purposes. One was to help his people prepare for what is coming in their future. Another was to show that He (God) actually is real and he knows the future. So, because of that, he can be trusted to get us through the dangerous days that lie ahead and he will get us home to live with him someday.

Now, consider that there were those in the past who did not fully understand some of the Bible prophecies, but taught them as best they understood them. Do you think that God accepted their efforts and worked with them in spite of their failure to understand some of the Bible prophecies and consequent failure to teach those prophecies correctly? The author believes that god did accept their efforts and worked with them to help the work progress. God knows our limitations.

The Bible actually tells us that prophetic knowledge will grow, especially at the end of time. Here is what it says about this:

Dan 12:4 But you, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.

While many believe that this verse applies to the great increase in scientific and technical knowledge, a belief that is certainly true, they fail to perceive that this primarily applies to the prophecies. The angel specifically instructed Daniel to shut up the words and seal the book, even until the time of the end. This specifically means to seal shut the 1260 days prophecy discussed in Daniel 12 so that it would not be understood until after the fact. Then the angel said that many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased. This clearly refers to a vast increase in the prophetic knowledge of the Bible that shall occur at the end of time. That time is now. This means that what your grandparents were taught was truth, but there has been additional truth discovered since their day that is now available to those of us living today.

The important point about all this is that the author firmly believes, with good reason, that God has used the work of those who have used the Gematria system with words, titles and names associated with the Papacy to explain the number 666 to help accomplish the purpose God has for his gospel message. The author believes that God has made sure that the beast is marked with a number of things that loudly proclaim "beast within - beware!" But the author also has very good reasons to believe that the Gematria system is not the ultimate meaning or intended source of the number 666 that God had in mind. God has used the Gematria system to accomplish his purpose in the past, but now, with growth in knowledge of Bible prophecy and history, there is an even better way open for exploration and use to help accomplish God's intended purpose for his gospel message. This meaning will become especially relevant as the clock counts to 666 because its fulfillment will lead many to God.

Ever since the tower of Babel, as recorded in the Bible, there have always been two classes of people in this world. Those who worship God and those who do not worship God. All along the way God has given markers of the wrong side so that others may know what to avoid. Prior to the time of Jesus, it was usually rather plain which side a person belonged to. However, after the death, resurrection, and ascencion of Jesus into heaven, the lines between them have often been deliberately blurred. Truth has been mixed with error in order to make the false appear true and it makes it extraordinarily difficult for a person to distinguish which is which. But all along God has given us markers by which we may know the difference and know which side to stay away from.

Prior to the death of Jesus, the markers were rather plain and simple. It was to stay away from the pagan god worship prevelant in those days. After the death of Jesus, when truth was mixed with error in the church, and the church with that mix of truth and error combined its resources and power with the state, then God had to give a different set of markers to tell us what to stay away from. That has changed along the way as time has progressed. Each era of history since the time of Jesus has had different markers that God has given us. Thus, in each of these times, God will reveal more so that those people in those times would know what to stay away from.

Now, in these end times, the end of the world is about to happen and the beast that existed prior to 1798 is about to return. God has again given a marker to let you know when the beast is about to return and to let you know that this is the last time the beast will exist. The old markers were good and are still good, but there is a specific need for a new one so that you will understand what is about to happen. If you choose to hang on to only the old markers, you will miss the events that are about to happen and as a result, it may be too late for you. You don't want that to happen do you?

The first question we can ask to determine whether there is Biblical support for deriving the number 666 from a title is whether there is any example of such a method being used in the Bible. The clear answer to this is no, we have no example of Roman Numerals (or any others) being used to derive a number from a name in the Bible. Gematria was never mentioned in the Bible and mention of the number 666 in Revelation (Revealtion 13:18) along with the word name in the previous verse (Revelation 13:17) is not proof of its existence.  Lack of such is not fatal, but does weaken it considerably. Those who believe in it say that it is justified through Revelation 13:17. Revelation 13:17 says:

Revelation 13:17 And that no man might buy or sell, except he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.

Those defending the use of this title and method of calculation reason this way:

• the name of the beast = Vicarius Filii Dei
• the number of his name = 666, derived from the title using the Gematria method as shown above

This appears logical on the surface of it, but deeper analysis reveals that it is badly flawed because it is unbiblical. The reason it is unbiblical is that the Bible has its own definition of the name of the beast and the number of his name, and most of the proponents of the Papal Title theory substitute their own definition for that given in the Bible. In other words, they either ignore the definition that the Bible gives in favor of their own interpretation or they are unaware of the definition that the Bible shows us. It can be clearly shown that using this verse to justify the use of the Papal title Vicarius Filii Dei twists the intended meaning of Revelation 13:17.

The proper understanding of Revelation 13:17, using the definitions given in the Bible for the phrases "name of the beast" and "number of his name", shows that Revelation 13:17 has absolutely nothing to do with any Papal title. This simple fact undermines the Biblical justification for the Vicarius Filii Dei theory, which the author refers to as the Papal Title Theory.

Here is the Biblical way to understand Revelation 13:17. To begin, please read Revelation 13:16 - 17 and Revelation 14:1, 5:

Revelation 13:15 And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.
Revelation 13:16 And he causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:
Revelation 13:17 And that no man might buy or sell, except he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
Revelation 14:1 And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on mount Zion, and with him a hundred and forty-four thousand, having his Father's name written in their foreheads.
Revelation 14:5 And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God.

The central issue in Revelation 13:16-17, and Revelation 14:1 is that of character. As the author will explain in a moment, there are three kinds of character described in these verses, which are:

• Those with the character of the beast
• Those with the character of God
• Those who don't have either the character of the beast or God's character, but because they don't have God's character and therefore cannot go to heaven, they are assigned the character of the beast

Revelation 13:15 tells us that those who refuse to worship the image of the beast may be punished by death. But conversely, it also directly implies that there are those who do worship the image of the beast, which in most instances they will do because they don't want to be killed. The Bible tells us that we are to worship God and nobody else (Matthew 4:10), so those who worship the image of the beast are disobeying God's commandments. Therefore, those who worship the image of the beast do not have God's character because the ten commandments are a description of the character of God.

All who do not have God's character will receive the mark either in the forehead or in the right hand. Those who receive the mark in the forehead are settled in their opposition to God's revealed will and therefore they fully agree with the program set up by the image beast and willingly receive the mark of the beast. Such people can only be described as having the character of the beast because they are in full agreement with its program and purposes. The mark being in the forehead indicates that these people think like the beast. As a result, over time, this becomes their pattern of thinking and behaving, which we call character. Therefore, in Revelation 13:16, character is the central issue for those who receive the mark in the forehead.

Those described in Revelation 14:1 as having the name of the Father on their foreheads are in full agreement with the program of God and think and act as Jesus did on earth as a human (they obey God's laws and are in harmony with it), which ultimately means they have the character of God. That they have the character of God is shown in Revelation 14:5, for it describes the 144,000 as being "without fault before the throne of God.". In other words, there is no sin found in them, they obey God's commandments, and therefore they behave like God. In short, they have the character of God.. Therefore, the word "name" in Revelation 14:1 symbolizes "character".

This should be obvious because nobody is going to be in heaven who does not have the character of God. If God allows someone into heaven who does not have his character, that person will be extremely unhappy - eternally - because they would realize that Jesus died for them and they would find his presence torture. In addition, such persons will tend to continue sinning simply because they don't have the character of God, which will make them even more unhappy. Therefore, having the character of God is absolutely essential for entry to heaven. We must be like Jesus to enter heaven. We must have the character of God because as Jesus said, "he that hath seen me hath seen the Father." They are alike in character. As a result, if you are like Jesus in character, then you will be like the Father.

But, how does the author know that the word name stands for character in Revelation 14:1? The verse says that the people John saw had the Father's name written in their foreheads. It is seriously doubtful that this is literal, especially because Revelation is a book that communicates with us primarily in symbolism. So, how do we understand this symbol? The forehead is in front of the brain, where thinking takes place. As a result, the presence of the Father's name on the forehead is strongly suggestive of the idea that the thinking of this group of people is like that of God. Of course, if one thinks like God, one will behave like God because the actions procede from the thoughts of the mind. Over time, this pattern of thinking and behaving becomes ingrained, something we call character. It should be clear that to have the Father's name in the forehead is symbolic of having the character of God in the life. Therefore, the word name written on the forehead symbolizes the character of the life.  Of course, we also are told that these people have no fault before God, so they must think and act as Jesus did on earth, so have God's character.

There is one other reason for considering that the word name symbolizes character. The word name occurs in Revelation 13:6 and is used to symbolize character in that verse. Revelation 13:6 says that the beast blasphemes the name of God. This is symbolic of speaking against the character of God. It certainly is not literal. This can be understood by considering Exodus 34:4-8 in which God appeared to Moses so that Moses could see him as he had requested (but Moses apparently decided that he would not look). In the story, God said that he would proclaim his name, which he certainly did, but then he continued on to also proclaim his character. This associates name with character. Therefore, in Revelation 13:6, the word name stands for character because it deals with the name of God just as was proclaimed in Exodus 34:4-8 and in which the word name is directly associated with character. This puts the character issue in the forefront in Revelation 13 wherever the word name occurs.

There is a third group, a class of people who have neither the character of the beast nor God's character. Who are these people? They are those who receive the mark in the right hand. Receiving the mark in the right hand indicates that these people are forced to go along with the program of the image beast. We say their hand is forced. They do not agree with it but are unable to go against the program of the image beast. After all, they know they cannot survive without the ability to buy and sell. They need health care, they need food, they need a place to stay, and they need safety just like all other human beings. So, in order to obtain these things, they go along with the image beast's program. They are not in agreement with it, but go along to get along with everyone.

The understanding of this third group is true because the other two groups are about character, so this group should also be about character. Those in this third group do not have the character of God so cannot go to heaven and they do not have the character of the beast, so technically do not belong there either. Therefore, they belong to a third category that fits between the other two categories.

Let us summarize Revelation 13:16 and 14:1 with the table below.

Character Summary Table 1

Verse	Phrase	Interpretation
Revelation 13:16	mark in the forehead	These people have the character of the beast, so they go along with the image beast's program because they fully agree with it. Their minds are fully against doing God's will.
Revelation 13:16	mark in the right hand	These people do not agree with the program of the image beast, but have their hand forced, as we say, because they believe they have no choice but to obey the law. They go along to get along with everyone. These people have neither the character of the beast nor the character of God. Many of them will likely be church going people who will appear to be good people. They will feel that they are forced and have no choice. As has been said, for evil to triumph, it is only necessary for good people to do nothing to stop it.
Revelation 14:1	Father's name in the forehead (God's mark?)	These people have God's character, so they are the complete opposite of those who have the beast's character. Here name symbolizes character. These people will refuse to go along with the image beast's program regardless of the cost and consequently will not receive the mark of the beast.

 

Because Revelation 14:1 defines the symbolic meaning of the word name, this definition should be used in Revelation 13:17 to help us understand it. Let us determine what Revelation 13:17 means when the word character is substituted for the word name:

Revelation 13:17 And that no man might buy or sell, except he that had the mark, or the character of the beast, or the number of his character.

The meaning of the phrase "character of the beast" should be very obvious. Such people agree with the program of the image beast. They want the image beast's program implemented because they have the type of thinking and behavior which is like that of the beast. So, it is not difficult to understand what it means by "the character of the beast".

But what does it mean to have "the number of his character"? At first glance, that seems to be a puzzle without resolution. However, several clues are around this phrase which should help us elucidate this puzzle. The clues are as follows:

• Comparison of Revelation 13:16 to Revelation 14:1 show that there are three types of character found at the end of this world's history, two of which show up in Revelation 13:16, which are those with the mark in the forehead and those with the mark in the hand. Neither group will not go to heaven because neither has the character of God, a requirement for entry to heaven. Those in Revelation 14:1 have the character of God so will be in heaven.
• Daniel 5 associates measurement of character with judgment of its worth. Whenever one measures something, such as its length or weight, a relative value is obtained that can correlate with a number. In Daniel 5, God somehow measured Belshazzar's character and declared that it was deficient. Belshazzar died that night because the Medes and Persians took over his kingdom. One could say that God somehow measured Belshazzar's character and perhaps obtained something that one could say translates to a numeric value. The beast has a character such that if one could measure it, the resulting number would probably translate to a numeric value of zero (worthless in comparison to the character of God). The character of the beast is deficient because it is totally contrary to God and his law. God considers his own character to be of the highest value and therefore translates to the highest number for its measurement. God would have compared Belshazzar's character to his own. Without Christ's character on Belshazzar's side, naturally he came up deficient.

Using this idea of a numeric assignment for the value of a person's character, one can say that a person's character could be measured by God and he might find that the person's character matches up with God's character. The numeric value of the character would then be the highest possible. Or, one could be measured and found to have a character value equal to that of the beast, maybe a zero. But, most of the world is not like the beast and most of the world does not follow God either. Therefore, most of the world will be measured and found to have a character value somewhere between that of the beast and that of God.

What does God do with these people? Because they don't have the character of God, they cannot go to heaven. God will find it necessary to send them to hell for destruction just as surely as those who have the character of the beast. As a result, God assigns the value of the beast's character to them. It represents an assigned destiny. It is an assigned value of the beast's character that is applied to those in this group because of their shared destiny with the beast. This is what is meant by the phrase "the number of his character". It is an assignment of destiny based on character, character that neither matches that of the beast nor that of God, but for which they can only be sent to the same place as the beast for final destruction.

It appears that those who have the "number of his character" are probably reasonably good people. You might even find them in church and they will be respected as "good" Christian people. So, why is it that they will not be in heaven? The reason is that they don't have the character of God. They don't have the beast's character either, but rather have something in between the two polar opposites. They may be very respectable people, but somehow God's Spirit has been unable to work with them to change their lives.

Now, having said that those with the "number of his name" will not be in heaven, not all is yet lost for these people. Until the day comes in which God formally declares that all will remain as they are from that day forward ( Revelation 22:11), there is still hope for these people to overcome their defects of character and gain the character of God. If they do this, they will eventually end up in heaven and will no longer be counted among those who have the "number of his name", but instead will be counted among those who have the Father's name written in their foreheads. At the present time, their destiny is not yet fixed, unless they die, at which point it is forever fixed. How does the author know that there is still hope for these people? The Bible says so. Here is evidence. Read the following verse, please:

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.

Those standing on the sea of glass with harps of God have gained the victory over:

• the beast
• his image
• his mark
• the number of his name

It is not difficult to understand what it means to overcome the beast. The beast, after all, is going to demand that a person obey it even though to do so means a person must disobey God. Some will make the right choice and will choose to obey God without regard to the demands of the beast, and it is this right choice that constitutes overcoming the beast. This is a matter of character because it will take the character of God to be able to stand in opposition to the beast's demands, which will have the force of law and the threat of death if one does not submit.

To overcome the image of the beast is essentially identical with overcoming the beast because a virtually identical situation will face those who will live where the image to the beast will have power. It too will demand that everyone obey it, but to do so means that a person will have to disobey God. Only those with the character of God will have the ability to refuse the demands of the image beast, though they will face the threat of legal action and death if they refuse to submit. Therefore, overcoming the image beast is also a matter of character, just as it is with overcoming the beast.

In either instance, refusal to obey either the beast or the image beast will be refusal to accept the mark of the beast. So, what is the mark and how does one overcome it?

To overcome the mark means that a person refuses to obey either the beast or the image beast when the time comes that these powers demand that a person disobey God. This demand will be that a person keep Sunday as a holy day of rest and not keep the seventh day Sabbath as a holy day of rest (which is what God requires of us, see Exodus 20:8-11). The seventh day Sabbath commandment has never been changed in spite of the claims of many Christians that the day has been changed. Man changed it, not God. God never authorized such a change.

The mark of the beast is acceptance of keeping Sunday as a holy day of rest. How is this so? Papal Rome itself says that Sunday keeping is a sign of its authority. Here is evidence of that from statements of their own officials:

"Is not yet too late for Protestants to redeem themselves. Will they do it?... will they indeed take the written word only, the Scripture alone, as their sole authority and their sole standard? Or will they still hold the indefensible, self contradictory, and suicidal doctrine and practice of following the authority of the Catholic church and wear the SIGN of her authority? Will they keep the Sabbath of the Lord, the seventh day, according to Scripture? Or will they keep the Sunday according to the tradition of the Catholic church, - Rome's Challenge, p. 31

 "It is well to remind the Presbyterians, Baptists, Methodists, and all other Christians that the Bible does not support them anywhere in their observance of Sunday. Sunday is an institution of the Roman Catholic Church, and those who observe the day observe a commandment of the Catholic Church."-Priest Brady, in an address, reported in the Elizabeth, N.J. News of March 18, 1903.

"Of course the Catholic Church claims that the change (Saturday Sabbath to Sunday) was her act... And the act is a MARK of her ecclesiastical authority in religious things." H.F. Thomas, Chancellor of Cardinal Gibbons. Nov. 11, 1895

"Sunday is our MARK or authority. . .the church is above the Bible, and this transference of Sabbath observance is proof of that fact" Catholic Record of London, Ontario Sept 1,1923.

Because the beast of Revelation 13 is primarily Papal, it will do as it has done in the past, which is enforce Sunday as a day of holy rest. It will do so because that is the mark of its authority. The image beast will do the same thing because it is an image of the original beast, so thinks like it, acts like it, and has laws like it, so therefore its sign of allegience will be keeping Sunday as a holy day of rest to God. Remember that this will be under the power of the legal authorities. That time has not yet arrived when this sentence is being written.

Therefore, to overcome the mark of the beast is to refuse to submit to keeping Sunday as a holy day of rest. Again, this will only be possible for those who have the character of God. All others will give in eventually and disobey God.

Finally, how does one overcome the number of his name? Assume, for a moment, that the name of the beast is Vicarius Filii Dei and the number of his name symbolizes the number 666. If this is true, then how do you overcome the number of his name? In other words, how do you overcome the number 666? How is it possible to overcome a number? What does that mean? Does it even make any sense to you to have to overcome a number? What does that have in common with overcoming the beast, the image beast, and the mark of the beast? What does it have to do with character?

To the author, the idea of overcoming a number does not make sense. Some believers in Vicarius Filii Dei have argued with the author over this and claimed that the number of his name is 666 in Revelation 13:17, but not 666 in Revelation 15:2. That is totally inconsistent and unacceptable. It is clear that it must be the same thing in both places because context does not permit the symbolism to change for the simple reason that the subject matter is identical. Therefore, the logical conclusion is that there is a very serious problem with the interpretation that Vicarius Filii Dei is the source of the number 666 and its use in explaining Revelation 13:17.

Consequently, the author believes that the true solution lies in understanding that the word name symbolizes character. Such a solution harmonizes both Revelation 13:17 and 15:2 for the phrase "number of his name".

If the word name symbolizes character, then what does it mean to overcome the number of his name? To overcome the number of his name means to overcome defects of character so that the character is made to be like that of God. Those who overcome the number of his name don't have the beast's character and they don't have God's character either when they start out to overcome the number of his name. Yet, a change occurs in their life and they do overcome the number of his name. Consequently, before they are changed, they have some defects of character that can keep them out of heaven, but a change does occur and they will become like God in character. Consequently, they will be in heaven. Thus, there is hope for these people because it is predicted that some of these people will overcome the number of his name, meaning that they will overcome the defects of character that can keep them out of heaven.  

Do bear mind that those who have the beast's character (those who have the "name of the beast") will be set in their mind, set like concrete that has hardened (and strengthened with steel rebar), and they are extremely unlikely to change their character at the time of the mark of the beast, for which reason they are not listed as among those who overcome. They will not overcome because they do not want to.

Such an approach as this really makes sense of the phrase "gotten the victory . . . over the number of his name".  The reason is very simple.  They will have overcome the character defects that will keep them out ouf heaven and will be ready when Jesus comes again.  This is clearly a better understanding of the phrase "number of his name". That phrase in Revelation 15:2 is all about character, not about the title Vicarius Filii Dei.  And those who in Revelation 13:17 have the "number of his name" will be those who may or may not overcome and be in heaven.  Those who do not will be listed among those to be sent to hell for destruction.

What this all boils down to is that the "number of his name" from Revelation 13:17 has absolutely nothing to do with the number 666 from the Papal title Vicarius Filii Dei. The number of his name has everything to do with character and what it says about those who receive the mark of the beast through the power of the image beast.

Revelation 13:16 describes two types of character present in people who will receive the mark of the beast which will be given out by the image beast. All who have either of these two types of character will receive the mark of the beast. Revelation 13:17 describes two types of character present in people who will be able to buy and sell and tells you that these are people who will have received the mark of the beast. Therefore, Revelation 13:16 and Revelation 13:17 tell you virtually the same thing, but from slightly different viewpoints. All who have either of the two types of character described in either verse will be able to buy and sell and will receive the mark of the beast. Here is a table that compares the two types of characters found in both verses:

Character Summary Table 2

Verse and Phrase	Verse and Phrase	Interpretation
Revelation. 13:16 have the mark in the forehead	Revelation. 13:17 have the name of the beast	These people have the character of the beast, so they go along with the image beast's program because they fully agree with it. Their minds are fully against doing God's will.
Revelation. 13:16 have the mark in the right hand	Revelation. 13:17 have the number of his name	These people do not agree with the program of the image beast, but have their hand forced, as we say, because they believe they have no choice but to obey the law. They go along to get along with everyone. These people have neither the character of the beast nor the character of God. Many of them will likely be church going people who will appear to be good people. As has been said, for evil to triumph, it is only necessary for good people to do nothing to stop it.  Some, however, will overcome their defects of character and will become numbered among those who have God's character and will do so before God declares that the character and destiny of all is fixed (Revelation 22:11) forever.

 

 

For a nation to prohibit certain people from buying or selling requires a secure identification system so that the merchants may know to refuse service to disqualified individuals. Revelation 13:17 clearly is talking about such an identification system but exactly how it will be implemented remains unknown to date (March of 2006). Some people think it will be the Social Security Number from the retirement system administered by the United States Government, while others now think it might be a microchip embedded in the hand or forehead. However, unfortunately, the Bible does not tell us the exact means by which this will be enforced. So, in truth, we really do not yet know how this will happen. But, it will happen, of that much we may be certain.

The authors in no way wish to condemn those who have believed in the pope's title as the source of the number 666. There are other things about the Papacy that certainly do add up to 666, so it probably is something that God has permitted to happen so as to point us in the right direction. But let's have honesty about it: There is no justification for Vicarius Filii Dei in Revelation 13:17. It points to an issue completely different than the title of the pope. And this simple fact shows that there is no biblical justification for the title being the ultimate source of the number 666.

The title Vicarius Filii Dei is one of many titles the popes have claimed for their use, though this one is little used anymore. This title, or a form of it, was first stated in a document called the Donation of Constantine which was written between 750 and 800 AD. This document was later determined to have been a fraud by a Papal scholar, Lorenzo Valla, in the year 1440. He based his discovery on the fact that some of the language present in the Donation of Constantine was not in use during the time the document was supposedly written, which was supposed to have been during the lifetime of Constantine the Great in the early 300s. The discovery that Valla made is very simple. Nobody in the early 300s could have thought of words that were not used until about the year 800, so the document could not have been written in the early 300s. Of course, this caused considerable controversy until about the end of the 18th century. For several centuries, the Catholic Church blacklisted the book Valla wrote concerning his discovery, but eventually removed it from the list of books that were forbidden to be read.

If you search the Internet for the title Vicarius Filii Dei, you will find Catholic web sites that dispute the use of this title. Some of their arguments are valid and some are not. However, the Bible provides enough information by other means to show that the number 666 does indeed apply to the Catholic Church as the leader of the beast, so there really is no need to use a title that is in dispute.

The Bible says that the number 666 is to be counted or calculated, with the basic idea of counting the primary meaning. There are those who argue that adding up the numbers of the letters of the title Vicarius Filii Dei is the same as counting because mathematicians tell you that adding is the same as counting. That is true, but only up to a point. It is true only if there is an actual count that underlies the numbers to be added. Lets make that easier to understand. For example, if you were an accountant working for a company and your boss asked you to add up all the money in the various bank accounts of the company you worked for, you would be adding up numbers that represent a count of the amount of money in each bank account. Then, by adding up the amounts from each bank account, you are in a real sense, counting all of the money.

But, on the other hand, if someone has a list of numbers that have no actual count underlying them, then you are not really counting anything by adding the numbers. How could you be counting if there is nothing to actually count? Lets make that practical. Consider again this table of letter to number conversions that are used to calculate Vicarius Filii Dei:

Vicarius Filii Dei Math - Gematria Method using Roman Numeral Substitution for the Letters of the Title

V I C A R I U S	5 1 100 0 0 1 5 0	F I L I I	0 1 50 1 1	D E I	500 0 1
Column Totals	112		53		501
Grand Total: 112 + 53 + 501 = 666

Note that these are based on Roman Numeral equivalents of the letters of the Latin alphabet. Now, consider this carefully. Look at the letter "A" in the word Vicarius. What value does it have?

If you answered 0, you are correct.

Look at the letter "C" in the word Vicarius. What value does it have?

If you answered 100, you are correct.

Now, look at the letter "E". What value does it have?

If you answered 0, you are correct.

Now, look at the letter "D". What value does it have?

If you answered 500, you are correct.

Now, look at the letters above in sequence and see if there is any counting being done:

A = 0

C = 100

D = 500

E = 0

Is there any counting being done with these letters? The answer to that is no, there is no underlying count. The numbers assigned to the letters are entirely arbitrary. They worked and that is what was important for the Romans.  Some mathematicians argue that there was a count underlying the letters, and at one time early in Roman history that may have been true, but as time went on, the counting underlying the letters was a concept tha twas lost.  The assignments became entirely arbitrary. Consequently, as a practical matter, adding up the numbers of the Roman Alphabet of the word Vicarius Filii Dei is not counting. It may be calculating, but is not counting in any practical sense of the word at all. The word translated as "count" in Revelation 13:18 primarily means to count, but secondarily can mean to calculate.

Given that the gods were counted in Babylon to reach the number 666 and it is obvious that the number must come from Babylon, which do you think is correct?