23. A Message for Our Times
GOD knows the future, and He has a set
“time there for every purpose and for every work.” (Acts 15:18; Ecclesiastes 3:1,
17) He has also pledged Himself to do nothing “that vitally concerns this
world” but He reveals His secret unto His servants the prophets” beforehand
(John
Before the world was destroyed by the Flood, Noah warned the people for one hundred twenty years (Genesis 6:3-13, 22; 2 Peter 2:5); before the destruction of Sodom, Lot gave the warning message to that wicked city (Genesis 19:12-14); and before Christ’s first coming, John the Baptist heralded the coming of the Messiah (Luke 1:13-17). Then why should not so important an event as Christ’s second coming be given proper notice, and a warning message be sent to prepare the world for its final destruction?
It is true that the world in general has never received favourably any of God’s warning messages in former ages, and Christ declares that His final warning mill not be heeded any more than His warnings sent through Noah and Lot. (Luke 17:26-30) Yet the message must be given though there are but few who receive it. Here is Christ’s message for our days:
“I Jesus have sent Mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches.” Revelation 22:16. “Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keeps the sayings of the prophecy of this book.” V. 7. Here we see that the message to be given just before Christ’s second coming is found in the “book” of Revelation. This is specifically given in chapter 14, verses 6-14. Here is presented “the everlasting gospel,” connected with the warning that “the hour of His judgment is come,” and an appeal for a return to the loyal worship of the Creator, combined with a warning against the worship of the “beast and his image,” and against taking “his mark.” Those who receive this message are characterised by the fact that they “keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.’” Revelation 14:6-13. The very next scene is the Son of man coming on the cloud to reap the harvest of the earth, and “the harvest is the end of the world.” Verses 14-16 and Matthew 13:39.
The people who give this message to the world must therefore know what is meant by “the beast,” “his image,” and “his mark.” This we find clearly presented in Revelation 13. Let us study this chapter.
John “saw a beast rise up out of the
sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns.”
Revelation 13:1. The fact that it had “ten horns,” the same as the fourth beast
of Daniel 7:7, 23, 24, identifies it as a Roman power (see pages 34, 35). The
next question to settle will be whether this is
The dragon with ten horns (Revelation
12:3), which represents pagan
“When the
Alexander C. Flick, Ph. D., Litt. D., says:
“The removal of the capital of the
empire from
“And meekly stepping to the throne of
Caesar, the vicar of Christ took up the sceptre to which the emperors and kings
of
But let us consider the other marks used by the Holy Spirit to point out this power. It cannot be a local government, confined to a certain country, for “all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him.” Revelation 13:8. And it must be a religious, rather than a civil, power; for it concerns itself with the “worship” of the people. v. 4, 8. “There was given unto him a mouth speaking great things,” and he was “to make war with the saints, and to overcome them” (Revelation 13:5, 7), just as the “little horn” of Daniel 7:8, 21, 25. (See pp. 34-48). All this could apply to no other power than the Papacy.
The Scripture gives us still another
earmark of this power. We read: “Here is wisdom. Let him that hath
understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and
his number is Six hundred threescore and six.” “The number of his name.”
Revelation 13:17, 18. The note below the eighteenth verse in the
In our examination of this subject we shall first consult Roman Catholic authorities to ascertain what sacred title they apply to the pope to denote his official position and authority. Any one at all familiar with authentic Catholic authors knows that their paramount and constant claim for the pope is that Christ appointed St. Peter to be His vicar, or representative on earth, and that each succeeding pope is the lawful successor of St. Peter, and is therefore the “Vicar of the Son of God” on earth. This official title in Latin (the official language of the Catholic Church) is “Vicarius Filii Dei.” We find this title used officially in Roman Catholic canon law, from medieval times down to the present. In the, earliest collection of canon law we read:
“Beatus Petrus in terris Vicarius
Filit Dei videtur esse constutus.” - “Decretum Gratiani,” prima pars, dist.
xcvi. Translated into English this
would read: “Blessed Peter is seen to have been constituted vicar of the Son of
God on the earth.” - “Decretum of Gratian,” part 1, div. 96, column 472,
first published at Bologna about 1148, and reprinted in 1555. Translation by
Christopher B. Coleman, Ph. D, in “The Treatise of Lorenzo Valla on the
Donation of
The Catholic Encyclopedia says of Gratian: “He is the true founder of the science of canon law.” - Vol. VI, art. “Gratian,” p. 730.
The same Catholic authority says: “The
‘Decretum’ of Gratian was considered in the middle of the twelfth century as a corpus
juris canonici, i.e. a code of the ecclesiastical law then in force.” -
It further states: “It must be admitted
that the work of Gratian was as near perfection as was then possible. For that
reason it was adopted at
Different popes added their own decrees to the collection of Gratian, as the following quotation will show:
“Thus by degrees the Corpus Juris
Canonici took shape. This became the official code of canon law for Western
Europe during the Middle Ages, and was composed of six books, namely, the Decretum
of Gratian (about 1150), the Decretals of Gregory IX (1234), the Sextus
of Boniface VIII (1298), the Clementines of Clement V (1313), the Extravagantes
of John XII (about 1316), and the Extravagantes Communes, which
contained laws made by succeeding popes.” - “The Papacy,” Rev. C. Lattey, S.
J., page 143.
After the Council of Trent, Pope Pius V had this “Canon Law” revised.
“Pius V appointed (1566) a commission
to prepare a new edition of the ‘Corpus Juris Canonici.’ This commission
devoted itself especially to the correction of the text of the ‘Decree’ of
Gratian and of its gloss. Gregory XIII (‘Cum pro munere,’
This is the standard text of canon law
for the whole Roman Catholic Church. Pope Gregory XIII wrote
“We have demanded care in rejecting, correcting, and expurgating. . . . The Decree itself, without the glossae, exists now entirely freed from faults and corrected. . . . as much the one without the glossae as the entire one with the glossae all recognised and approved . . . this body of canonical law firmly grounded and incorrupted according to this model printed at Rome by Catholic typographers. . . . We wishing to proceed opportunely, so that this canonical law thus expurgated, may come restored to all the faithful . . . kept perpetually integrid and incorruptible, motu proprio, and from our certain knowledge, and from the plenitude of the apostolic power to all and singly in the dominion of oursacred Roman Church.” - Preface to Corpus Juris Canonici, Gregorii XIII, Pontif. Max. Auctoritate; in editions of 1582, 1613, 1622, and 1879.
Of this corrected “Corpus,” or canon law, “published in 1582 . . . by order of Gregory XIII,” and established by his authority, we read:
“The text of this edition, revised by the Correctores Romani, a pontifical commission established for the revision of the text of the ‘Corpus Juris,’ has the force of law.” - Catholic Encyclopedia., Vol. IV, art. “Decretals, Papal,” p. 672, par. 3.
Notice that this revised edition of
canon law “has the force of law.” In this canon law, which Pope Gregory XIII
had corrected by “the plenitude of the apostolic power,” so that it is
“entirely freed from faults,” we find the same statement: “Beatus Petrus in
terris vicarius Filii Dei esse videtur constitutus.”-”Corpus Juris Canonici,
Gregorii XIII, Pontif. Max. Auctoritate,” Distinctio 96, Column 286, Canon
Constantinus 14,
Moreover, custom has even given to several apocryphal canons of the ‘Decree’ of Gratian the force of law.” - Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. IV, art. “Corpus Juris Cononici,” p. 393.
In “Corpus Juris Canonici Emendatum et Notis Illustratum Gregorii XIII. Pont. Max.,” “Lvgdvn, MDCXXII” or “the Canon Law of Pope Gregory XIII, of 1622,” with the Pope’s own “Preface,” in which he assures us of its being without flaw, we find the same: “Beatus Petrus in terris Vicarius Filii Dei esse videtur constitutus.” - Column 295.
We cannot see how any consistent Catholic can deny the authenticity of this title without denying the infallibility of the pope. What more authority can they desire?
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Before going further let us apply the rule laid |
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down in the Catholic Bible for counting the number |
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of his name. It says: “The numeral letters of his |
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name shall make up this number.” - Note under |
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Revelation 13: 18. In Bible times they did not use |
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figures. We can still see on dials of old clocks, |
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in numbers given above chapters in the Bible, |
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and in dates inscribed on cornerstones, certain |
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numerical values given to some of the letters. In |
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Latin, 1 stands for 1, V for 5, X for 10, L for 50, |
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C for 100, D for 500, and M for 1,000. Originally we |
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had no U, but V was used for U, and V is often used |
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for U today on public buildings, such as “Pvblic |
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Library,” and our W is still written as a double V, |
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not as a double U. |
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The next Catholic authority we shall quote is |
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F. Lucii Ferraris, who wrote “a veritable encyclopedia “ |
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in Latin, of which several editions have been |
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printed by the papal
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The American Catholic Encyclopedia says of Ferraris’s great work that it “will ever remain a precious mine of information.” - Vol. VI, p. 48. From this unquestionable Catholic authority we shall first quote its Latin statement, and then give the English translation:
“Ut sicut Beatus Petrus in terris
vicarius Filii Dei fuit constitutus, ita et Pontifices eius successores in
terris principatus potestatem amplius, quam terrenae imperialis nostrae
serenitatis mansuetudo habere videtur.” (“As the blessed Peter was constituted Vicar of the Son of God on
earth, so it is seen that the Pontiffs, his successors, hold from us and our
empire the power of a supremacy on the earth greater than the clemency of our
earthly imperial serenity.”) - “Prompta Bibliotheca canonica juridica
moralis theologica” etc., Vol. VI, art. “Papa,” p. 43. Printed by the Press of
the Propaganda,
Henry Edward Cardinal Manning of
“The temporal power in the hands of St. Gregory I was a fatherly and patriarchal rule over nations not as yet reduced to civil order. In the hands of St. Leo III it became a power of creating empires. In the hands of St. Gregory VII it was a scourge to chasten them. In the hands of Alexander III it was a dynasty, ruling supremely, in the name of God, over the powers of the world. . . . So that I may say there never was a time when the temporal power of the Vicar of the Son of God, though assailed as we see it, was more firmly rooted throughout the whole unity of the Catholic Church.
It was a dignified obedience to bow to
the Vicar of the Son of God, and to remit the arbitration of their griefs to
one whom all wills consented to obey.” - “The Temporal Power of the Vicar of
Jesus Christ,” pp. 231, 232, second edition.
The same year, this book was translated and published in Italian, with the sanction of the church attached to it. The title “Vicar of the Son of God” appears on pages 234 and 235 of that edition.
Philippe Labbe, “a distinguished Jesuit
writer on historical, geographical, and philological questions” (Catholic
Encyclopedia, Vol. VIII, pp. 718, 719), in his historical work “Sacrosancta
concilia ad regiam editionem exacta,” Vol. I, page 1534 (
Coming down to our own times, we shall
call to the witness stand a modern advocate of the Roman Catholic cause. Our
Sunday Visitor, of
“What are the letters supposed to be in the Pope’s crown, and what do the signify, if anything?
“The letters inscribed in the Pope’s mitre are these: Vicarius Filii Dei, which is the Latin for Vicar of the Son of God. Catholics hold that the Church which is a visible society must have a visible head. Christ, before His ascension into heaven, appointed St. Peter to act as His representative. Upon the death of Peter the man who succeeded to the office of Peter as Bishop of Rome, was recognised as the head of the Church. Hence to the Bishop of Rome, as head of the Church, wag given the title ‘Vicar of Christ.’
“Enemies of the Papacy denounce this
title as a malicious assumption. But the Bible informs us that Christ did not
only give His Church authority to teach, but also to rule. Laying claim to the
authority to rule in Christ’s spiritual kingdom, in Christ’s stead, is not a
whit more malicious than laying claim to the authority to teach in Christ’s
name. And this every Christian minister does.” - “Our Sunday Visitor,”
Later, when Roman Catholic authorities
discovered that Protestants were making use of the foregoing statements to
identify the Papacy with the antichristian power of Revelation 13: 18, they
attempted to repudiate the contents of their former article. But that article
was not written by some contributor to their paper; it appeared in the “Bureau
of Information,” for which the editorial staff was responsible. And on
page two of that paper appeared sanctions for the editor from Pope Pius X,
dated
To one versed in Catholic teaching and practice, there is nothing uncommon in such denials, where the interest of the Church is at stake. Cardinal Baudrillart’s quotation on pages 64 and 245 of this book shows that some Catholic authors “ask permission from the Church to ignore or even deny” some historical facts, which they “dare not” face; and we read in “History of the Jesuits,” by Andrew Steinmetz, Vol. 1, p. 13, that their accredited histories in common use, ‘with permission of authority,’ [are] veiling the subject with painful dexterity.” - London: 1848.
We shall here refer to one other
similar denial. In the Roman Catholic paper, Shepherd of the Valley,
there appeared an article by the editor, in which he stated: If Catholics ever
attain, which they surely will, though at a distant day, the immense numerical
majority in the
“The whole quotation should read: ‘If Catholics ever attain, which they surely will, though at a distant day, the immense numerical majority in the United States, religious liberty, m at present understood, will be at an end. So say our enemies; so say we.”‘ - Quoted in “Protestant Magazine,” October, 1913, p 474.
Why those who tried to deny their former statements should leave out the words, “so say we,” is very evident. But what can we think of those who publicly deny facts to screen their church from unfavourable public opinions, unless they act from the motive that “the end justifies the means,” and that “heretics “have no moral right to facts which they would misuse. (See also pages 64 and 65 of this book).
We shall therefore continue to believe that the editors of Our Sunday Visitor, in its issue of April 18, 1915, page three, were perfectly honest and well informed on the subject, and that the later denials are of the same class as those mentioned above.
Our Sunday Visitor in the aforementioned quotation makes use of Vicarius Filii Dei and “Vicar of Christ” as synonymous terms, and Cardinal Manning does the same in his book, “Temporal Power of the Pope.” It cannot, therefore, be maintained, as some do, that Vicarius Christi is the only mode of spelling used as the title of the pope, although the shorter rendering is used more often for brevity’s sake. In fact Vicarius Christi is composite in its origin, Vicarius being Latin, while Christi is Latinized from the Greek. It would hardly seem probable that learned Romanists would adopt such a composite title to the exclusion of the pure, dignified, Latin title, Vicarius Filii Dei, which has been in use among them for centuries.
Of late, Catholic apologists have argued that the “name of the beast “ in Revelation 13:17, 18 is a personal name of a single individual, such as Nero, and not the official title of a series of men, as that of the popes would be. But this would be entirely out of harmony with the context, for how could one man make war with God’s people, and overcome them in every country, so that he would have power “over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations?” Revelation 13:7. Then, too, that power was to continue forty and two months (v. 5), which those apologists claim to be literal. But how could one man accomplish such a world task in forty-two literal months?’
These forty-two months are twelve hundred and sixty prophetic days (Revelation 11:2, 3), and in prophecy a day stands for a year (Ezekiel 4:6). (Even Catholics acknowledge that a day in prophecy stands for a year. See note under Daniel 9:24-27 in the Douay Bible. Father Reaves says: “The prophet’s weeks are, by all interpreters of the Holy Scriptures, understood to include years for days.” - “Bible History,” p. 345) The forty-two months, or twelve hundred and sixty days, of Revelation 13:5 are therefore twelve hundred and sixty years, during which this power was to continue. But would not that period be quite a long time for one man to live? This attempt made by Roman apologists to screen the Papacy from being detected as the antichristian power of Revelation 13 appears too shallow to he seriously asserted by men who have made a thorough study of Bible prophecy.
That the title, Vicarius Filii Dei, has been employed elsewhere than in Roman Catholic canon law is also asserted by Rev. B. Hoffman:
“To Whom It May Concern:
“This is to certify that I was born in
“During the Easter service of 1845, Pope Gregory XVI wore a triple crown upon which was the inscription, in jewels, Vicarius Filii Dei. We were told that there were one hundred diamonds in the word Dei; the other words were of some other kind of precious stones of a darker colour. There was one word upon each crown, and not all on the same line. I was present at the service, and saw the crown distinctly, and noted it carefully.
“In 1850 I was converted to God and to
Protestantism. Two years later I entered the
“I have made the above statement at the request of Elder D. E. Scoles, as he states that some deny that the pope ever wore this tiara. But I know that he did, for I saw it upon his head.”
“Sincerely yours in Christian service,
(Signed) “B. Hoffman.
-
“Review and
Herald,”
The author of this book has photostats of the papal passport held by Rev. B. Hoffman, and of a signed letter from him stating the same facts as are given in the above statement. His testimony is confirmed by that of M. De Latti and others.
Statement of M. De Latti to D.
“De Latti . . . said the first word of
the sentence was on the first crown of the triple arrangement, the second word
on the second part of the crown, while the word Dei was on the lower division
of the triple crown. He also explained that the first two words were in
dark-colored jewels, while the Dei was composed of diamonds entirely.” - D.
E. Scoles, in “Review and Herald,”
Statement of Thomas Whitmore. – “‘Some time ago, an English officer happening to be at
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“Thus it will be seen, that by taking from the title Vicarivs Filii
Dei [Vicar of the Son of God], the letters which are commonly used as
numerals, they make up the number of the beast.” – “A Commentary on the
Revelation, of
Testimony of Dr. H. Grattan Guinness. - “An English officer of high rank, who in the year 1799, by a special favour, was given the opportunity, while in Rome, to get a close view of the Pope’s jewels and precious things, discovered thereby, that the papal tiara bore this inscription: ‘Vicarivs Filii Dei.’
“When you take out the Latin letters,
which have numeral value, and which still are used to represent numbers, and
which are: V, I, C, L, and D, these letters form the number given below. In
these Latinwords there are two V’s, which letter denotes 5,
six I’s denoting 1, one C, which denotes 100, one L, which denotes 50, and one
D, which denotes 500, thus: V,V= 10; I,I,I,I,I,I = 6; C = 100; L = 50; and D =
500, the sum 666.” – “Babylon and the Beast,” p. 141; quoted in “ Kyrkans
Strid och Slutliga Seger,” Professor S. F. Svensson, pp. 126, 128.
Other Protestant Witnesses
Robert Fleming, V. D. M., wrote a book
entitled “Apocalyptical. Key. An Extraordinary Discourse on the Rise and
Fall of the Papacy.” It was published in
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“It is to be observed as a singular circumstance, that the title, vicarivs filii dei (Vicar of the Son of God), which the Popes of Rome have assumed to themselves, and caused to be inscribed over the door of the Vatican, exactly makes the number of 666, when deciphered according to the numeral signification of its constituent letters, thus:
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Our Bible Chronology, Historic and Prophetic, Critically Examined and Demonstrated,” R. C. Shimeall, p. 180. New York: A. S. Barnes and Co., 1867.
“Answer to a Querist. . . .
“Sir, - In answer to your observation and queries, permit me to say - the things I have asserted are stubborn, clear facts, not mere suppositions or fancies.
“The inscription in question, was
actually written over the door of the
“With respect to the supposition you
have conjured up, that the Pope might he called Vicarius Christus, or Vicarius
Christus Filii Dei (a sort of gibberish that is neither Latin, German, nor
English), it is a matter I have nothing to do with. Mr. D. may adopt these or
any other fancies to amuse himself, and to screen the head of his holiness, but
when he has done all, this question will still remain to be answered: Have
those inscriptions ever appeared over the door of the
“As to Mr. D’s attempting to obscure
the number of the beast 666, contained in the numerals of the words VICARIVS
FILII DEI, by objecting to a V; however the Pope or his emissaries may be
obliged to him for his kind exertions on their behalf, yet I presume neither of
them will condescend to appear his humble fool in Latin, for the sake of
sheltering themselves under his ignorance of the Latin alphabet and the ancient
inscriptions.” -
Dr. S. T. Bloomfield gives us the following rule for finding the number:
“It means the number which is made up by reducing the numeral power of each of the letters of which the name is composed, and bringing it to a sum total.” - “Greek Testament with English Notes,” Note on Rev. 13:17, Vol. II, p. 175.
Samuel Hanson Cox, D. D. - “Can they
[Protestants] accord to the present dominant Gregory, the pompous titles which
he claims - VICARIUS FILII DEI, Vestra Sanctitas, Servus Servorus Domini, with
other profane and blasphemous appellations without end?” - Introduction to
Bower’s “History of the Popes,” Vol. I, p. x.
The fact that some may have seen a
crown at the
Mr. H. S. Weaver, of
“Does the inscription, ‘Vicarius Filii Dei,’ appear on the crown or mitre of the pope, or has it at any time in the past appeared on the crowns or mitres of any of the popes?”
“Yours sincerely, (Signed)
“H. S. Weaver.”
To this letter the Cardinal answered through his secretary, as follows:
“
“Mr. H. S. Weaver.
“Dear Sir:
“In reply to yours of 18th inst., I beg to say that I can not say with certainty that the words, Vicarius Filii Dei,’ are on the pope’s tiara. But the words are used by the cardinal who imposes the tiara at the coronation of a pope.
Yours truly, (Signed)
“Wm. T. Russell, Secretary.”
The New Catholic Dictionary says:
“Tiara, papal crown. . . . It is placed on his head at his Coronation by the second cardinal-deacon, with the words: ‘Receive the tiara adorned with three crowns and know that thou art Father of princes and kings, Ruler of the world, Vicar of our Saviour Jesus Christ.” - The New Catholic Dictionary, art. “Tiara,” p. 955.
We have already seen that Catholics
have several free translations into English of the Latin title, “Vicarius Filii
Dei.” Some try to find in the Greek word Lateinos, or the Latin Empire
of the Papacy, a fulfillment of Revelation
Then, too, the power represented by Revelation
13:1-10, 17, 18, must not only have the name indicated, but must also fulfill
all the other specifications in this prophecy, and the Papacy does this. M.
James Durham, Professor of Divinity in
“He that hath all the characters of
Antichrist’s doctrine, and hath a name which, in the numeral letters, makes up
666, he is Antichrist. But to the Pope both these do agree.” - “A Commentary
Upon the Book of Revelation,” Rev. 18:18, p. 491.