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Mark of the Beast: Part 2 - The Beast

Updated on March 20, 2021

Mark of the Beast: Part 2 - The Beast

Welcome back, friends. As mentioned in Part 1 of this study into the 'Mark of the Beast', it is crucial for us to first identify the Beast if we are to recognize its mark. Who, or what is this "Beast?" A computer? Past, current or yet to come world leader? Politician or movie star? Is this Beast power of the Bible some sort of sinister Individual or an evil alliance?

Some believe the Antichrist will make his appearance in the future. Others believe he is a relic from the ancient days of Rome. We will see that the Bible teaches that he is alive today! Bible prophecy indicates that this antichrist power will play a key role in the world’s final events. Thusly, we will not be able to understand end-time events until we understand this evil power.

Daniel 7:7
After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns

As Daniel 7 opens, Daniel sees four beasts coming up out of the sea. Daniel 7:23 makes it clear that these symbolic ‘beasts’ represent kingdoms or nations. Revelation 17:15 tells us that water (here, the ‘sea’) in Bible prophecy, represents multitudes of people or large populations.

Scholars identify the fourth beast (the fourth world kingdom) of Daniel 7 as Rome. History confirms and agrees with the Bible account of the four world kingdoms of Daniel 7 as Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece and Rome. The 10 horns represent the 10 tribes into which pagan Rome was eventually split (Dan. 7:24).

Daniel 7:8
I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things.

History again confirms that seven of the 10 tribes (Visigoths--Spain, Anglo-Saxons—England, Franks—France, Alemani—Germany, Burgundians—Switzerland, Lombards—Italy, Suevi—Portugal) developed into the countries of modern Western Europe, while three were uprooted and destroyed (Heruli, Ostrogoths and Vandals).

After pagan Rome, the “little horn” power comes up next. It is no coincidence that God uses more text describing it than the other four kingdoms combined. That is because the biblical characteristics identify it as the Antichrist of prophecy and history. Consider our parallel passage from Revelation 13:15-17...

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. And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.

Friends, there must be no guessing or speculation in identifying this “little-horn” power and because our God is not the author of confusion, He has given us 9 clear points of identification in Daniel 7. As we take a close look at these points, though we may find some of these truths painful, let us be honest enough to accept them as the revealed will of God.

9 More Clues

We know that 666 is used to help us identify this power. But because there are many that are associated with this number (be careful, your name or my name may add up to 666 as well), our Heavenly Father has left us clues that make it absolutely clear who this power really is.

Daniel 7:8
I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things.

1. The little-horn kingdom came up ‘amongst’ the 10 horns which were the kingdoms of Western Europe. So it would be a little kingdom somewhere in Western Europe

2. It would have a man at its head who could speak for it

3. It would pluck up or uproot three kingdoms

4. It would emerge from the pagan Rome Empire, the fourth world kingdom (Cf. vs.7).

Daniel 7:21
I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them;

5. It would make war with the saints (Cf. vs.25)

Daniel 7:24
And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.

6. It would be “diverse” or different from the other 10 kingdoms

Daniel 7:25
And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.

7. God’s people (the saints) would be “given into his hand” for “a time and times and the dividing of time

8. It would “think to change times and laws”

9. It would “speak great words against” or blaspheme God. In our parallel chapter, Revelation 13, verse 5, the Bible tells us the same power speaks “great things and blasphemies.”

 Friends, please remember that all these identification points come from the Bible. They are not my opinion or speculation. Anyone familiar with history could tell you, without a doubt what power is being described here. These points can only fit one – the papacy.

Again, I remind you that I am not referring to the Catholic denomination or catholic people in general. This prophecy is pointing to an Antichrist ‘system.’ Please prayerfully consider the 9 points above.

1. The geographical location of the papal power was in Rome, Italy. The very center of Western Europe.

2. The papacy has one man at the head (the pope) who speaks for it.

3. Of the 10 tribes, three Arian tribes did not support the papacy. So “The Catholic emperor Zeno (474-491) arranged a treaty with the Ostrogoths in 487 which resulted in the eradication of the kingdom of the Arian Heruls in 493. And the Catholic emperor Justinian (527-565) exterminated the Arian Vandals in 534 and significantly broke the power of the Arian Ostrogoths in 538. Thus were Daniel's three horns --the Heruls, the Vandals, and the Ostrogoths--'plucked up by the roots.'” Dr. Mervyn Maxwell, theologian and historian, “God Cares”, Vol. 1, pg. 129.

4. That the papacy emerged out of pagan Rome again is solidly documented in secular history. "The mighty Catholic Church was little more than the Roman Empire baptised ... The very capital of the old Roman Empire became the capital of the Christian empire. The office of Pontifex Maximus was continued in that of the pope." Alexander Clarence Flick, The Rise of the Medieval Church, pp. 148, 149
"Whatever Roman elements the barbarians and Arians left ... [came] under the protection of the Bishop of Rome, who was the chief person there after the emperor's disappearance. The Roman Church in this way privily pushed itself into the place of the Roman World-Empire, of which it is the actual continuation." Adolf Harnack, What is Christianity? (New York: Putnam, second edition, revised, 1901), pp. 269, 270.
Thus we see how pagan Rome became papal Rome

5. It is a well-known fact that the church did persecute. The papacy clearly admits doing so and much evidence exists to support this.

6. The papacy was ‘diverse’ from the other kingdoms in that it was a ‘religious’ power combining church and state.

7. There are several things that need clarification in order to see the fulfillment of “the time, times and half a time” point.

  • a. A ‘time’ is a year, ‘times’ is two years, and ‘the dividing of time’ is a half of a year. This is commonly accepted amongst scholars and the Amplified Bible translates it as “three and one-half years.”

    b. This same time period is mentioned seven times (Dan. 7:25; 12:7; Rev. 11:2, 3; 12:6, 14; 13:5) in the books of Daniel and Revelation: three times as a time, times and half a time; twice as 42 months; and twice as 1,260 days. Based on the 30-day calendar used by the Jews, these time periods are all the same amount of time: 3 ½ years = 42 months = 1,260 days

    c. As we saw in a previous Hub, one ‘prophetic’ day equals one literal year (Cf. Ezekiel 4:6; Numbers 14:34).

    d. Thus, the little horn (Antichrist) was to have power over the saints for 1,260 prophetic days or 1,260 literal years

    e. The rule of the papacy began in A.D. 538, when the last of the three opposing Arian kingdoms was uprooted. Its rule continued until 1798 when Napoleon's general, Berthier, took the pope captive with hopes of destroying both Pope Pius VI and the political, secular power of the papacy. This period of time is an exact fulfillment of the 1,260-year prophecy. The blow was a deadly wound for the papacy, but that wound began to heal and continues healing today.

    f. This same period of persecution is mentioned in Matthew 24:21 as the worst period of persecution God's people will ever experience. Verse 22 tells us it was so devastating that not one soul would have survived if God had not shortened it. But God did shorten it. The persecution ended long before the pope was taken captive in 1798.

Understand these facts and it is plain to see that this point, likewise, fits the papacy.

8. Did the papacy “think to change times and laws?” In part three of this Hub we will deal with the “times” of this point. It is a fantastic topic and requires separate consideration. As for the “laws”, the Amplified Bible translates “laws” as “the law”, meaning the law of God – the Ten Commandments. Of course, no one can change the Ten Commandments, but in its catechisms, the papacy has omitted the second commandment against the worshipping of images and has shortened the fourth commandment from 94 words to just eight and divided the tenth commandment into two commandments! You can check this for yourself. Compare the Ten Commandments in any catholic catechism with God’s list of the commandments in Exodus 20:3-17.

Unsuspecting youth sinfully worship graven image of Pope John Paul II
Unsuspecting youth sinfully worship graven image of Pope John Paul II
Forgiving Sins
Forgiving Sins

9. The Bible has two definitions of blasphemy: claiming to forgive sins (Lk. 5:21), and claiming to be God (Jn. 10:33). When asked if the Priest truly forgives sins, or does he only declare that they are remitted, the papacy responds “The Priest does really and truly forgive the sins in virtue of the power given to him by Christ." Joseph Deharbe, S.J., A Complete Catechism of the Catholic Religion (New York: Schwartz, Kirwin & Fauss, 1924), p. 279.
The papacy further undermines Jesus by setting up a system of confession to an earthly priest, thus bypassing Jesus, our High Priest (Hebrews 3:1; 8:1, 2) and only Mediator (1 Timothy 2:5).
Next consider the evidence for the papacy claiming to be God: "We [the popes] hold upon this earth the place of God Almighty." Pope Leo XIII, Encyclical Letter "The Reunion of Christendom" (dated June 20, 1894) trans. in the Great Encyclical Letters of Pope Leo XIII (New York: Benziger, 1903), p. 304.
Here is another: "The pope is not only the representative of Jesus Christ, but he is Jesus Christ, Himself, hidden under the veil of flesh." Catholic National, July 1895.

What about 666?

Does this point of identification have any relation to the papacy? Indeed it does. As we noted earlier, the ‘number of the beast’ does not have to apply solely to a man’s name, but it may also refer to a title.

Vicarius Filii Dei (Latin: Vicar or Representative of the Son of God) is a phrase first used in the forged medieval Donation of Constantine to refer to Saint Peter, a leader of the Early Christian Church and regarded as the first Pope by the Catholic Church. http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=5358

Like many ancient languages, such as Greek and Hebrew, some Latin letters are also used for numbers and yes the letters of this title, using gematria, do add-up to 666

There is no doubt that the little horn power of Daniel chapter 7 (the Antichrist power of Bible prophecy) is the papacy. No other organization could possibly fit these nine points. And incidentally, this is no new teaching. “Every Reformer, without exception, spoke of the papacy as Antichrist.” R. Allen Anderson, Unfolding the Revelation, p. 137.

In fact, this information was common-knowledge! John Henry (Cardinal) Newman, an Anglican churchman who converted to Roman Catholicism in 1845, was compelled to write the following in defense of his adopted church:

“All of the offices, names, honours, powers which it [the Church] claims depend upon the determination of the simple question- Has Christ or has He not left a representative behind Him?
Now if He has, then all is easy and intelligible; this is what churchmen maintain; they welcome the news; and they recognize in the Church’s acts but the fulfillment of the high trust committed to her. But let us suppose for a moment the other side of the alternative to be true; - supposing Christ has left no representative behind Him. Well then, here is a society which professes to take His place without warrant. It comes forward instead of Christ and for Him; it speaks for Him, it developes [sic] His words; it suspends His appointments, it grants dispensation in matters of positive duty; it professes to dispense grace, it absolves from sin; - and all this of its own authority. Is it not forthwith according to the very force of the word “Antichrist?” He who speaks for Christ must be either His true servant or Antichrist; and nothing but Antichrist can he be, if appointed servant there is none. Let his acts be the same in both cases, according as he has authority or not, so is he most holy or most guilty. It is not the acts that make the difference, it is the authority for those acts. The very same acts are Christ’s acts or Antichrist’s, according to the doer: They are Christ’s if Christ does them; they are Antichrist’s if Christ does them not. There is no medium [middle ground] between a Vice-Christ and Antichrist.”
John Henry (Cardinal) Newman, “The Protestant Idea of Antichrist,” The British Critic and Quarterly Theological Review, no. 28 (October 1840), 431, 432. Quoted in Bible Students’ Source Book, 36. Emphasis Newman’s

Henry Edward (Cardinal) Manning was another Anglican churchman who also converted to Catholicism and who also wrote the following in regards to the Catholic Church:

“Now a system like this [the Roman Catholic Church] is so unlike anything human, it has upon it notes, tokens, marks so altogether supernatural, that men now acknowledge it to be either Christ or Antichrist. There is nothing between these extremes. Most true is this alternative. The Catholic Church is either the masterpiece of Satan or the kingdom of the Son of God.” Henry Edward (Cardinal) Manning, The Fourfold Sovereignty of God (London: Burns, Oates, and Company, 1871), 170, 171. Author identified in the British Museum Catalog. Quoted by Froom in Prophetic Faith, 3:737, 774

History Loses to Tradition

Friends, the two quotes above reveal the extremely vulnerable position the prophecies of Daniel 7 and Revelation 13 place the Roman Catholic Church, as well as the necessity of the papacy to find a way out. Enter the Council of Trent, which met off and on for eighteen years (1545-1563) with the main purpose to search for ways to dodge the Reformers’ accusation that the papal system was the little Antichristian horn of Daniel 7.

Shortly afterward, two Jesuit priests contrived diametrically opposed systems of interpretation which attempted to turn the prophecy away from the papacy. One system pushed the three-and-a-half times of little horn dominance back into the past, before the popes ruled Rome. The other system propelled the three-and-a-half years forward into the future. Either interpretation would release the papacy from the accusation that it was the little horn power of Daniel 7 – a charge that interpreters of the prophecies, both Catholic and Protestant, had expressed in earlier times.

George S Hitchcock (Catholic writer) bluntly tells us who devised these conflicting systems. He says:

“The Futuristic School, founded by the Jesuit [Francisco] Ribera in 1591, looks for Antichrist, Babylon, and rebuilt temple in Jerusalem, at the end of the Christian Dispensation.
The Praeterist School, founded by the Jesuit [Luis de] Alcasar in 1614, explains the Revelation by the fall of Jerusalem, or by the fall of Pagan Rome in 410 A.D.”
[sic]. George S Hitchcock, The Beasts and the Little Horn (London: Catholic Truth Society Publications, 1911), 7. Quoted by Froom in Prophetic Faith, 3:737, 774

This is confirmed by Joseph Tanner, a nineteenth century Protestant writer who also explains why the papacy did what it did:

“Towards the close of the century of the Reformation, two of her [the Catholic Church’s] most learned doctors set themselves to the task [of reinterpreting prophecy], each endeavouring… to [divert] men’s minds from perceiving the fulfillment of the prophecies of the antichrist in the papal system. The Jesuit Alcasar devoted himself to bring into prominence the Preterist method of interpretation… [by endeavoring to show] that the prophecies of antichrist were fulfilled before the popes ever ruled at Rome, and therefore could not apply to the papacy. On the other hand the Jesuit Ribera tried to set aside the application of these prophecies to the papal power by bringing out the Futurist system, which asserts that these prophecies refer properly not to the career of the papacy, but to that of some future supernatural individual, who is yet to appear to continue in power for three and a half years. Thus, as [Dean Henry] Alford [the noted British scholar] says, the Jesuit Ribera, about 1580, may be regarded as the founder of the Futurist system in modern times.” Joseph Tanner, Daniel and the Revelation (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1898), 16, 17. Quoted by J.H. Meier, What Catholics and Protestants Should Know (Nampa, Idaho: Pacific Press Publishing Association, 1953), 159.

Tanner then laments:

“It is a matter for deep regret that those who hold and advocate the Futurist system at the present day, Protestants as they are for the most part, are thus really playing into the hands of Rome, and helping to screen the papacy from detection as the antichrist.” Ibid

It is obvious that the message contained in the book of Daniel is crucial. In Daniel 12:4, he was told to seal parts of the book until "the time of the end." In verse 6 an angel asks, "How long shall it be to the end of these wonders?” Verse 7 says, "It shall be for a time, times, and an half." The angel assures Daniel that the section of the book dealing with end-time prophecies would be opened after the end of the 1260-year period of papal control which was, as we saw earlier, 1798. So the time of the end began in the year 1798. This message is for us today. It is imperative that we understand it.

Friends, what this Hub has been discussing is no new theology or radical ideology. The information provided herein is what has been taught since the Reformation. A big part of the problem is that most Protestants have forgotten what it is they were protesting, and as a result many Christians today have been terribly misled in regards to the Antichrist. As is clear, to be deceived about the Antichrist would cause someone to be betrayed and oblivious. But the information is out there. We have access to more information today than ever before. We are blessed to still be able to open a Bible and study to see if these things are in harmony with God’s Word. It is the only safe course of action when a new Bible teaching is encountered.

Acts 17:11
"These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so."

I cannot stress enough how important it is for us to remember that the prophecy of Daniel chapter 7 is not saying that popes are evil and that Catholics are not Christians. I believe that there are sincere, God-loving people, seeking the truth, in all denominations and that there are many warm, loving Catholic Christians. The system, however, is called Antichrist because it has usurped Jesus' authority and attempted to change His law.

God has given us these prophecies to make known earth’s final events. He wants us to be able to identify the ‘players’ in the last stage of the war between Jesus and Satan. Through these prophecies, God reveals Satan’s evil plans to trap and annihilate us all. Yet, it’s not all doom and gloom. These prophecies also reaffirm the security and love of the judgement; God’s saints will be vindicated.

Please study this material prayerfully. It is of the essence to our understanding of the Mark of the Beast. As we continue to study these prophecies, significant players in the final battle between Jesus and Satan will come into focus again and again. These include Satan, Jesus, the United States, the Papacy, Protestantism and spiritualism. The reason they appear repeatedly is because Jesus repeats and expands His messages to make certain His warnings of love and protection are understood with clarity and certainty.

Please prayerfully consider this study. Thank-you for taking the time to read.

Continue on to... Mark of the Beast: Part 3 - The Mark

For more fascinating truths that have been forgotten and lost through the history of tradition, please be sure to read “Open Secrets of the Antichrist” by Donald Earnest Mansell.


Many thanks to Amazing Facts Ministry and Bible Universe for the incredible supply of resources, and Donald Earnest Mansell.

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