Vol.4 No.2

Q. I have been reading the book of Daniel. It is like Greek to me. Will I ever understand it?

A. The book of Daniel is named after its author. It was written during the prophet's exile in Babylon in the sixth century B.C. The book is said to be historical--chapter 6-and prophetic, chapters 7-12. While the story of Daniel in the lion's den (B.C. 538) may inspire the believer with faith and hope in the omnipotent God, the perusal of the latter part of the book (7-12) leaves one in utter helplessness, incapable of deciphering its meaning. In Matthew 24:15 Jesus said to his disciples, "When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)."

The event referred to is undoubtedly the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in AD 70. Pagan symbols were erected in the temple area. This prophecy was fulfilled to the letter (Daniel 9:27).

Notice carefully the latter part of the verse, 44 whoso readeth, let him understand." This statement testifies to the fact that the book of Daniel is no longer sealed (Daniel 12:8). Dear reader, Jesus has unsealed the book to you. You can understand it. All that you need is His Holy Spirit. Please write to Last Generation for a list of additional books.

Vol.8 No.6

Q. What does the number 666 stand for? I’ve heard that Antichrist will use this number on computer chip implants to control citizens of the New World Order.

A. First, let us quote the only passage in the Bible that uses the term 666:

"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. 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." (Revelation 13:17, 18).

The Bible describes 666 as the number of “the beast.” Several beasts are mentioned in Revelation 13: the beast, the dragon, and the lamblike beast. From context, the number 666 is associated with the first beast.

So who is this first beast? Excellent clues to its identity are scattered all through Revelation 13. Let’s list some of them:

1. It rose up out of the sea, or from out of a nation of people. (Compare verse 1 with Revelation 17:15.)
2. It had seven heads and ten crowned horns (verse 1).
3. It was a blasphemous beast (verses 1, 5, 6).
4. It did not possess power of itself. It was given its power by the dragon, or the devil. (Compare verse 2 with Revelation 12:9.)
5. One of its seven heads received a deadly wound that miraculously healed (verse 3).
6. It received world-wide spiritual adoration (verses 3, 4, 8).
7. It persecuted God’s people for a time period of 42 prophetic months.

The Protestant reformers—men like Luther, Wycliffe, Calvin, Zwingli and Knox—studied this prophecy independently and came to the same conclusions. This beast described papal Rome.

Do the clues fit?

In Bible prophecy, beasts represent kingdoms or nations (see Daniel 7:17). Throughout history, papal Rome functioned as a religio-political power with armies and a system of taxation. Today, Vatican City—headquarters of the Roman Catholic church and home of the pope—is considered an independent nation which receives diplomats and ambassadors from many nations, including the U.S.

The Bible predicted that papal Rome would rise out of a populous place. Historically, papal Rome arose out of well-populated pagan Rome. Three of the ten tribes of pagan Rome were destroyed by papal armies. Their territories were incorporated into the remaining seven tribes—leaving seven heads with ten crowned horns.

The Bible defines blasphemy as claiming the power and authority of God. The papacy grants priests the power to forgive sins and to release souls from purgatory. The pope claims divine authority to change and establish doctrine as he sees fit.

The prophecy describes the papacy receiving a deadly wound. In 1798, the pope was captured and exiled by Napoleon’s general, Berthier. The papacy was at an all time low in political power and many predicted its demise. But just as the Bible predicted, the deadly wound was healed. Over time, the papacy rebounded and is again considered a major global player.

During the Dark Ages, the pope was largely an unchallenged religious despot who deposed kings, excommunicated whole nations, and persecuted heretics. The then known world was subject to his dominion and dogma for 42 prophetic months (3 1/2 prophetic years; 1260 prophetic days). This period corresponds with the 1260 years the papacy was in power: 538-1798. (A prophetic day=a literal year in Bible prophecy. See Numbers 14:34 and Ezekiel 4:6.)

One of the pope’s titles is Vicar of the Son of God, or in Latin, the official language of the Catholic church, Vicarius Filii Dei. The letters of this title have the numerical value 666:

The Bible predicts that the papacy will once more seek to control the religious conscience of the world and will deny dissenters their economic rights. Giving Rome the authority to tell you what is truth instead of basing your understanding of truth on God’s Word will lead you to receive the mark or number of the beast.