“IS THE POPE THE BEAST (666) OF REVELATION

13:16?”

I. DERIVATIVES:

Latin - BESTIA
Spanish - BESTIA, meaning “beast,” or “animal.”

II. DEFINITION of BEAST

a) An animal distinguished from domesticated animal and capable of destroying life (cf.
Lev 26:22; Mk 1:13).
b) A mammal (Latin MAMMA, “beast”) distinguished from birds, fishes, and sometimes
from reptiles (cf. Gen 1:29-30).
c) An apocalyptic symbol of brute, forcible, sensually lawless, and God opposing (cf.
Rev 13:1; Dan 7:3-25).

III. BLASPHEMOUS ATTACKS AGAINST THE POPE OF ROME

ATTACK I The Bishop of Rome is the representative of Satan.

“To secure worldly gains and honors, the Church was led to seek the favor and support of
the great men of earth; having thus rejected Christ, she was induced to yield allegiance to the
representative of Satan – the Bishop of Rome”1
ANSWERS
A. It’s not true that the Bishop of Rome is the representative of Satan. St. Paul says
that the people of Rome is of God and of Jesus Christ consecrated to the Holy Spirit
not to the devil.

Rom 1:7-8 “To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be Saints; grace to
you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ. First I thank, my
God through Jesus Christ for you all that your faith is spoken of throughout the
whole world” (KJV2).

Acts 23:11 “The Lord stood by him and said, ‘be of good cheer, Paul; for as they
hast testified of me in Jerusalem, so must do bear witness also at Rome.’”

Acts 20:28 “Take heed to yourselves, and to the whole flock, wherein the Holy
Ghost hath placed you Bishops, to rule the Church of God, which He has purchased
with His own blood.”

1
White Ellen Gould. The Great Controversy Between Christ and Satan. Review and Herald Publishing Association,
Takoma Park Washington 12, DC., 1907, p. 56.
2
King James Version.
 B. Blasphemous words against the servants of Jesus have been predicted by Him
during His time on earth.

Mt 10: 25 “If the head of the family (the Church: 1Tim 3:15) is called Beelzebub,
the members of the family will be called even worse names!”

C. The Priests of God are not after worldly gains, honors, favors and support of great
men on earth for that is not their mission. They are to teach, govern, sanctify and let
the love of Jesus and saving power rule the earth to start from Jerusalem, to Rome
and to the whole world through the kingdom of priest where Christ remains the
invisible head and the king of kings (Heb 3:11; Rev 19:13, 19).

Lk 24:47 “And in His name the message about repentance and forgiveness of sins
must be preached to all nations, beginning in Jerusalem.”

Rom 1:7-8 “And so I write to all of you in Rome whom God loves and has called
to be His own people” (Mt 28:12-20; GNB3).

Rev 5:10 “You have made them a kingdom of priests to serve our God, and they
shall rule on earth” (GNB).

A. If ever they received favors, respect and support, and enjoy the wealth of nation and
they become famous, that is not for their personal gain and glory but for the glory of
God and His Church. When we work in God’s ministry, God promises His disciples that
He is their great provider.

Mt 6:33 “Instead be concerned about everything else with the kingdom of God and
with what He requires of you, and He will provide you with all these other things”
(GNB).

Rev 1:5-6 “And from Jerusalem… He has freed us from our sins and made us a
kingdom of priests to serve His God and Father (GNB).

Isa 61: 6-9 “And you will be known as priest of the Lord, the servants of our God.
You will enjoy the wealth of the nations and proud that it is yours. Your shame and
disgrace are ended. You will live in your own land and your wealth will be doubled
and, and joy will last forever” (GNB).

Jn 17:10 “And my glory is shown through them.”

B. Nowhere in the Bible have that Christ and the Apostles taught that the Bishop of Rome
is the representative of Satan (see Acts 23:11; Rom 1:7-8). Christ prayed for St. Peter
that his faith may not fail including the whole Church.

Lk 22:31-32 “Simon, Simon! Listen! Satan has received permission to test all of
you, to separate the good from the bad, as a farmer separates the wheat from the

3
Good News Bible.
 chaff”. But I prayed for you Simon, that your faith will not fail, and when you turn
back to me, you must strengthen your brothers” (GNB).

Jn 17:9, 15, 20 “ I pray for them, I do not pray for the world but for these you gave
me, for they belong to you… I ask you to keep them safe from the evil one…I pray
not only for them, but also for those who believe in Me because of their message.”

C. The power of Satan and Satan himself cannot prevail against the Church”.

Mt 16: 18 “Even the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” (Eph 5:23; 4:14-15;
Mt 28:20; Jn 14:16, 26, 16:13, GNB).

D. It’s a lie that the Catholic rejected Christ. In fact Holy Mass is a proof that we worship
and adore Christ daily (cf. Acts 2:41-47).

ATTACK II The Pope has been given the very titles of deity. He has been styled “Lord God or
Deity.”4
ANSWERS

A. Ellen G. White, founder of the Seventh day Adventist5 is a big liar and presumptuous,
inventing doctrines which the Catholic Church does not have. There is no official
doctrine in any Catechetical books and official pronouncement of the Church that the
Pope is our “Lord and God of the Roman Catholic Church.” Moreover, what the Church
teaches is that Pope is the successor of St. Peter the Vicar of Christ and this fact is
attested by historical evidence.

Wis 8:8 “Do you want to have experience? Wisdom knows the lesson of History and
can anticipate the future. She knows how to interpret what people say and how to solve
problems. She knows the miracles that God will perform and how the movements of
History will develop” (GNB).
History: The Holy Catholic Apostolic Roman Church, commonly known as the Catholic
Church, recognizes the Bishop of Rome as Pope, the Vicar of Jesus Christ on earth, and the
visible head of the Church. It dates its origin from the selection by Jesus Christ of the Apostle
Peter as chief of the Apostles and it traces history through the successors in the bishopric of
Rome.6

B. Biblically, the teaching of Ellen Gould White is of no effect and unauthorized because
women are prohibited to teach and use authority over men because it was not the man
who has been deceived by the devil but the woman.

4
White, Ellen Gould. The Great Controversy between Christ and Satan, p. 56-57. Ellen is the Seventh Day
Adventist Founder.
5
Grolier Universal Encyclopedia. Vol. 1 p. 35, vol. IX, p. 212.
6
Jones, Jessie. Religious Bodies 1936, Denominations K to Z, Statistics, History, Doctrine, Organization, and Work,
Vol. II, part 2, US Government Printing Office, Washington, 1941.
 1Tim 2:10-14 “As it is proper for a woman who claims to be religious. Woman should
learn in silence and all humility. I do not allow them to teach or to have an authority
over men; they must keep quiet. For Adam was created first, and then Eve. And it was
the woman who was deceived and broke God’s law” (cf. 1Cor 14:34-35; 2Cor 11:3-4,
GNB).

ATTACK III Satan works according to his will. Prophecy had declared that Papacy was to
think to change times and laws according to Dan 7:25 (The Sabbath Laws).7
ANSWER

The teaching of Ellen G. White regarding Daniel 7:25 is mere speculation and a product
of hatred; a way of brainwashing to pollute the mind of the readers. She used the term
“prophecy had declared.” There is no single passage in Daniel that says anything that the
papacy caused changes of times and laws on the Sabbath. The Saturday Sabbath belongs to
the Jews as their Liberation day from the bondage of slavery in Egypt (cf. Dt 5:1-3, 15). To
break the law of the Sabbath is not the will of the papacy but God’s prerogative. The Pope
only follows what has been laid by God. Only God can change times and laws (cf. Hos 2:11;
Lev 23:39; Jn 5:18; Mt 12:1-5; Col 2:15-17; Heb 4:8).

Note: Sometimes the Devil uses the power of prophesy and his favorite instrument is a woman (cf. Acts 16:15-
18; 2Cor 11:3-4).

ATTACK IV The beast has a number–the number of man’s name. The man would naturally be
the head of the papacy or the pope. A leading title for the pope is “Vicar of the Son of God.”
In Latin this runs as “VICARIUS FILII DEI” Adding up the numerical letter in this title we
have the following according to our detractors: 8
V 5 F 0 D 500
I 1 I 1 E 0
C 100 L 50 I 1
A 0 I 1
R 0 I 1
I 1
U 5
S 0
_________ _______ _______
112 + 53 + 501 = 666
ANSWERS

A. VICARIUS FILII DEI is not the spiritual title of the Pope neither it is one of the
spiritual titles. Therefore, the attack against the Pope as bearer of the number 666 of Rev
13:16 has no effect. The Pope’s spiritual titles are:9
7
White, Ellen G. The Story of Redemption. p. 328.
8
God Speak to Modern Man, The Mysterius Number 666. p. 544-546. Pasugo, 1914, January, 1969, p. 3. Pasugo is
the official magazine of Iglesia ni Cristo 1914.
9
Hoffman, Mark S. (ed.). The World Almanac Book of Facts. 1992, p. 526.
 1. BISHOP OF ROME
2. VICAR OF JESUS CHRIST
3. SUCCESSOR OF ST. PETER
4. PRINCE OF THE APOSTLE
5. SUPREME PONTIFF OF THE UNIVERSAL CHURCH
6. PATRIARCH OF THE WEST
7. PRIMATE OF ITALY
8. ARCHBISHOP AND METROPOLITAN OF THE ROMAN PROVINCE
9. SERVUS SERVORUM

Note: Ellen Gould White is committing material fallacy. Abuse of language and faulty or
defecting evidence

B. According to Rev 13:16-18, the beast is a man and the number of the beast’s name is
666. There is none among the list of Popes that their names is counted will bear the
number 666.
C. Granting without admitting that “VICARIUS FILLI DEI” is a name of person which
really is not. In Roman numerals, there are rules to be followed in counting. If a bigger
is followed by a smaller number the rule to be applied is addition. Example: VI = 6, but
if a smaller number is proceeded by a bigger number, the rule is subtraction Example:
IV = 4. If we follow the rule of the Roman counting, then Ellen Gould White could not
arrived the mysterious number of 666 which is the number of the Anti-Christ of Rev
13:16-18. Let me show you the picture:
V- F- 0 D- 500
I- 6 I- 1 E- 0
C-100 L-50 49 I- 1
A- 0 I- 1
R- 0 I- 1
I- 1
U- 0
S- 0
_______ ________ ________
95 + 51 + 501 = 647

Note: In Roman counting only letter V has the number of 5 but letter U has no value. If we will
apply the formula used by Ellen G. White in counting her own name without following the rules
of subtraction and addition, accidentally, although she is a woman, her name will coincide with
the number of 666 of Revelation 13:16-18, to wit:

E- 0 G- 0 W- 10
L- 50 O- 0 H- 0
L- 50 U- 5 I- 1
E- 0 L- 50 T- 0
N- 0 D- 500 E- 0
_______ _________ __________
100 + 555 + 11 = 666
Note: V is used to replace U in Latin inscription; W is double U or V, thus, 5+5 makes 10.

ATTACK V An illustration of the Pope’s TIARA or Triple showing his recognized title Vicarius
Filli Dei (Vicar of the Son of God) which signifies his being a king or a beast
according to Rev 13:18.10

ANSWER
A. Again, the title given is not Vicarius Filii Dei but Vicarius Jesu Christi. The Iglesia ni
Cristo 1914 is committing fallacious reasoning in their presentation. Their material
fallacious arguments are as follows:

1. Error in content
2. No factual content
3. Faulty or defective evidence
4. Abuse of language

Let us try to show the Number equivalent of the title VICARIUS JESU CHRISTI: Ellen G.
White’s formula:
V- 5 J- 0
I- 6 E- 0
C -100 S- 0
A- 0 U- 0
R- 0 C -100
I - 1 H- 0
U- 5 R- 0
S - 0 I- 1
S- 0
T- 0
I - 1
______ ________
117 + 102 = 119

Or Following the rule of subtraction and addition:

V- J- 0 C- 100
I- 6 E- 0 H- 0
C- 100 S- 0 R- 0
A- 0 U- 0 I- 1
R- 0 S- 0
I- 1 T- 0
U- 0 I- 1
S- 0
_______ ________ ________
95 + 0 + 112 = 207

10
Pasugo Magazine, January 1969, p. 3.
 The foolishness of Felix Manalo in his malicious blasphemous attacks that the pope is the
devil, the beast of Revelation Rev 13:16-18, will go home to his person. Rev. 13:16-18 says: “the
beast’s name or the number that stands for the name. This calls for wisdom. Whoever is
intelligent can figure out the meaning of the number of the beast, because the number stands for
a man’s name. Its number is 666. The Bible is giving us the formula and information. The
information is clear that the one bearing the number of the beast is a man’s name. And the secret
formula is to use or wisdom or intelligence. Now, using our wisdom the name of Felix is of
different language derivation;

Felix - Spanish word

Manalo - Filipino word, in Spanish is VENCEDOR
Spanish - FELIX VENCEDOR
English - FELIX VICTORIOUS
Filipino - PELIKS MANALO

If you have the wisdom, one of these three is bearing the mysterious number of the beast,
take note of the Spanish counterpart “Felix Vencedor and you will get the number.

F- 0 V- 5 another formula:
E- 0 E- 0
L- 50 N- 0 P I M E G M
I- 1 C - 100 E S A R U A
X- 10 E- 0 L A N A Z N
D - 500 I G A N M A
O- 0 K O L Y A L
R- 0 S N O O N O
61 + 605 = 666 6 6 6 6 6 6

Anywhere you count it, it is the same devil that comes out of it.

B. Anti-Christ is not only biblical but historical. So let us treat the biblical and historical
Anti-Christ so that we will not be mislead by false information with malicious intention
to discredit the Pope and the Catholic Church as a whole.

Greek - ANTICHRISTOS = against/instead of Christ/enemy of Christ.

1Jn 2:18-19 “Ye have heart that antichrist shall come, even now are many antichrist; whereby
we know that it is the last time. They went out from us, but they were not for us,
for if they had been for us, they would no doubt have continued with us” (KJV).
1Jn 4:2-3 “Hereby know ye the Spirit of God; every Spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is
come in the flesh of God; and every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is
come in the flesh is not of God; and this is the spirit of the antichrist.”
2Thess 2:3-4 “Let no man deceive you by any means; for that day shall not come, except there
come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
who oppresseth and exalteth himself above all that is called God or That is
 worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that
he is God.”

Rev 13:6-7 “and he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God. To blaspheme his name, his
tabernacle, and in them that dwell in heaven, and it was given unto him to make
war with the saints.”
Antichrists are not only those who are bearing the number of the beast but also those who
claim to be God, those who depart from the true Church, blaspheme God’s name, God’s
Tabernacle, and those who make war with the saints.

Historical Antichrist

The letters of Nehru’s name plus the title of Caesar given their numerical meaning in
Hebrew, also Emperor Domitian called himself “Dominus et Deus”, “Lord and God”.11
Full name of Nehru = Claudius Caesar Grasus Hermanicos (Latin), fifth emperor of Rome
54-68 AD, born Dec. 15, 37 AD and died June 9, 68 AD. His name historically bears the
number of beast.

N - 50 G - 60
R - 200 S - 100
W- 6 R - 200
N - 50
306 + 360 = 666

Nero in Latin Equivalent12

N - 50
E- 6
R - 500
O - 60
N - 50
666

11
LAUX, John. Church History, p. 48.
12
BARCLAY, William. “Revelation of John,” Bible Study Guide, Vol. II, p. 128,129,133.
 By using the formula of Dr. Kepler, it will appear that Hitler of Germany of the Second
World War is also bearing the number of the beast mention in Rev 13:16-18. The formula is
this:13

Letter A=100, B=101, C=103, D=103, E=104, F=105, G=106 and so on…

H - 107
I - 108
T - 119
L - 111
E - 104
R - 117
666

Conclusion

William Barclay is a Protestant Bible Theologian. But he studied Rev 13:16-18

objectively without malice of the Church who made the Bible. The Catholic has the answer to
those who faithfully search the truth. Inspite of the blasphemous attack against the Pope, the
Church of Rome always welcome those attackers, with open and loving arms to those who
wish to return back to the Holy Mother Church. For us Catholics, let us always stand firm and
ready to answer and defend the faith entrusted to us by Christ with the faith of the Saints (Jude
1:3 KJV).

13
BARCLAY, William. Revelation of John, Vol. II, p. 128,129.