PLAI
Uilt
VOL. III. No.4
1l 7 -/?IKe, Al
W
th~t
num~er
mysterious
~ ~ -
666?
S~~~t.l
" · , '6\ 6 ·l "".';;'; .~~_. ,r. ·.;.....;.. ,~r
Does the pope 'Wear it· on his orown, identifying him as the BFAST of Revelation 131 Or must we look for it olsewhere? Here are all the Soriptures 3peaking directly at this number; "And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name o£ the beast, or the n~Der of hi~aMe. Here wisdom. Let hi;;;that hat'h";"n~and. ing count t.he number of ~ £!!.!!: for it is the ~ ~.!. ~i and llillnull\ber is Six hundred threescore and six. (Rev. 13: 17-18). -"And I saw as it were a sea of ,lass min,led with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and ove~ the number of his name, stand on the sea of 1I ,lass, havin~ the ha.rps of God. (Rev. 15: 2) •
rs-
NOTE THESE POINTS
From these Scriptures, we have the followin~
definite points:
1. The beast has ~ NUMBER, and may be identified, if ..... have wisdom, by i:his
nwnber.
2. The number is 6'6. 3. We are told to COUNT ~his number..-that is, add it up. The sa:me Greek word
is used e13ewhere only in Luke 14:28: "COUNT the cost. II 4. This number, 666, is the number ot the BEAST. The only BIBLE interpretation of this symbol t "beast", is .. ki n~dom or the kin, who rules it, and therefore, re.Uy IS the kin@;dom. (Dan. 7:17,18,22, 23,2~,27).
TheretoYs 666 must be ~he numKINGDOM, or GOVERNMeN1, or EMPIRE, as well as that of 'the. king who £o~nds or rules it. 5. The expre"don "the name of the heart, 0(" 1:.he number ot hi~ name II makes plain that the number 666 is ~he number of ~~e NAM~ OP THE K!NGnoM or EMPIRE, her of
~h.
o,-JP ijI
~."':;;;~.~ ~~1 EE9 ~~ :m.a.'· 'i~ bf, ~
~ ~ ~
tlte
HERE SHALL We find
---_--.;A;..J, ri 1 t 1938
f...--
;~f.
16."itTheis the expre••ion, number or a
; . .:.. ~
..
';~:, .~'::. «: ,~.'"
man" shows we must allo oount this number in
the name of the king, or ruler. over the kingdom identified a, the "BEAS'l'."
@
The BEAST is not THE WOMAN In the 17th chapter of Revelation we find a "beast," and a ''woman"---a great,
wealthy woman called "a whore"---who was riding the beast. The Bible desoribes the symbol '~oman" to mean a CHURCH. See II Cor. 11:2; Rev. 19:7; Eph. 5:23-27, On the other hand, "be8.5t" is a symbol of a. KINGDOM, oX' EMPIRE. not of a CHURCH. The "woman" of the 17th chapter is described beyond possibility Qt doubt as the Roman Catho1io Churoh, who did reign over the kin~dom5 of the Holy Roman Empire. Let us be consistent. The "beast" of Revelation 13 is not th.e WOMAN who 1"04. the beast---the b$ast is the GOVERNMENt, and the woman is the CHURCH. The "beast" of Revelation 13 had 7 heads and 10 horns. It was like a leopard, with the feet of a bear, the mouth of a lion. This does not describe the Church, bu;t the Roman GOVERNMENT, or EMPIRE. In "the 7t.h oha~)'t..JO of Daniel we fine! 'the urun1s-eakable identifioation. The 110ft symbolized the Chaldean Empire. Tha bear
is the Persian Empire, the leopard wa• the Grecia-Macedonian lMpiJOe with its four divisions, pietured by the four head., and the other beast, mightier and stron,er than all, was the ROMAN EMPIRE. And by the time events o~ history pro~re8s.d ~Q Ro~e, we had the seven heads and ten horns. The "beast II of Rev. 13 had all 7 of the heads and ten horns. It included the strongest aspects or the beer---i~s fee~, and o£ the lion---its mouth, ~nd was like a leopard---even as the ROMAN EMPIRE ineluded the st~ongeBt characteyistics of the preoeding kingdoms. And so the beast of Revelation 13 is posi~lvely identified
as THE ROMAN EMPIRE.
(Cont. on page 2)
Page 2.
'1' h
P LA I
e
A MAGAZINE Of UNDERSTANDING Edited by R£~8ERX
W. ARMSTRONG
VOL. III.
No.2.
Published in conjunction with RADIO CHURCH OF GOD
the
KWJJ, Por-l:.land
l<ORE. Bugen8
1040 kilocycles.
1420 kilocycles 10:A.M. , Sundays
4:P.M., Sundays.
Sent FREE to all who request it, a~ the Lord provides. Address communications to the editor, Box 111,Eu,en~
NOTICE: Be sure to notiry us immediately of any cha~of address.
... ... *
't'
The PLAIN TRUTH is purely a work of FAITH. The RADIO CHURCH OF GOD is a work of FAITH. We are not connected with any
denomination or or~anization, and have no means whatsoever tor financinr; this great work, except to trust our heavenly Father to impress His people to send in tithes and liberal offerings, that the Gospel may be given, without charge, to all who will listen or read. ,~
* ......
The NUMBER of the BEAST --- 666t (Continued from page 1) This "beasb" had a DEADLl wound. (Rev. 13:3). That means the "beast II DIED---it eeased altogether to exist or function. Yet its deadly wound was later healed, after which, (verse 5), it contin~ed to exist another 1260 years~ Those who believe the Catholic Church is the "beast" say this deadly wound came in 1798, when the pope was forced into exile. But the pope was not kill.d. The Catholic Church did not die, nor for one day did it cease to function. The popes continued to live in VOLUNTARY exile, as a protest a~ainst the Ital~an government, until the recent agreement with Mussolini. But that could in no aense ba called a wound TO DEATH. And those who teach this do not expect the Catholic Church to oontinue on another 1260 years. Sut in 476 A.D., the Roman Empire, which is the "BlUST", was wo~nded unto DEATH. The Roman Empire OlEO. It ceased altogether to exist. The next three kingdoms to T~le from Rome---the Merull, ehe Vandals, and the Ostl"'o(;'oths---were barbarian, not Roman kingdoms. But in 554 Justinian, a t~U8 Roman, r~p.ror of the east, re-established the ~oman Empire at Rome. History calls this the "IMPERIAL RESTORATION" of the Roma.n Empire. The deadly wo~nd was healed. And it continued oxactly 1260 y~ar8---to 181', when N~poleBn was defea~.d ~~ Water-
N
TRUTH.
Apri.l, 1938
100. "So elosed," 5t.at.~. West'. Modern History, "an Empire 'that had e'lCisted from Augustus Caesar." But this time the Empire did not alto,ether die. The ,erm o£ it remained in 12 little ~talian .ta~•• , united in 1870 by Garibaldi into the present nation of Italy. Ifhe EMPIRE went int.o "tho bottomlell pit"---a virtual nen-exi~tence, trom whioh now it is once more emer,ing (Rev. 17:8).
THE FOUNDER OF ROME
The fOUnder, and first king ot Rom. The Roman Empire wu nUtacl after hi~. His name, the name of a MAN,
was ROMULUS.
also is the na.milt ot the KINGDOM. And every
eitir.en in tha.t ldn,dOlft bears tne same name---a ROMAN. When John wrote this Revelation, telling us to COUNT the number ot ~h. Beast, he wrot.e in the GREEK lan~a,e. The Old Testament is written in the language of God's chosen people---the HEBREW. Consequently, we should look tor this name, and the number 666, in the •• languages r.co~ni~ed in the BIBLE, not in the Lati n, We are all tLmi1iar with the Roman num~erals, where letters are used for numbers. All understand that I is 1, V is 5, X is 10, etc. But many do not know that both the Hebrew and the Gre.k languages also use letters for numbers. In the Hebrew, the n~e of Romulus is ROMIITH. And, counting the numeriCAl value of these letters in the Hebr.w, we have exactly 6S6~ In the Greek, the langua,e in which Revelation was written., 'this name is "LATEINOS. II It si~ni.ties IILatin Man ll or "the name of Latium" from which ci'ty 1;ll, Romans derived their ori,in and their language. This word, too, si~nifies "ROMAN." In the Greek, L is 30, A is 1, T is 300, E is 5, ! is 10, N is 50, 0 is 70, S 1s 200. Count these fi~ures. They count to exactly 666~ It is indeed a remarkable coinciaenoe ---or IS it a coincidence?---that in BOTH Bible languages---the only two lancua,es w. co~ld look in for this number---that t. he name of the KINGDOM, its founder and. first KING, and of every man in the kinEdom, counts to exactly 666~ And more remarkable---oatch this--Ute ot.her two worda oan be found in two l.anguages, meaning the same thing-, and c~llxactly counting, in the numerical value blf those languages. to 666~ Certainly THE BEAST stands identified~
NUSSOLINI AND THE POPE But the same number---666---is brandon the man who is now bringing the Roman ~mpire out of i'ts bottomless pit, and alsa ~d
on thea pape.
I
MUS'lSolini calls himself' \IIL DUCI.' ~t.alians shou't "Viva 11 Duoet" Which mean. "tONG L1V E TRli: CHIEF.II £"ierywhere in Itdy. you wi. 11 tind. the printed. sicn. "W !L DVCE." T h. "vv" is the abbr.viation used for "Viv all. A "'V" is used inat.ead of (Cont. en page 3).
Par;.
April, 1938
3
COULl> ALL THESE BIG pop. ULAR CHURCHES BE WR.ONG? you ~o along with them. But IF HY 1s it, II asked the you truly FOLLOW JESUS, k.lpminister of a popular denomination~l church, IIlf all the bi, ing all or His Father's Commandments, al HE kept them, instead of the traditions of ohuroh or,anizaticns are not ritht. that MEN (read Mark 7:6-9,13), you will be perso FEW seem to know about it? All these secuted---and that BY those most sanatimonbig churches, including the majority of i pus in BABYLON t.Dd her HARLOT DAUGHTERS! all proressin~ Christians, oould not be Jesus said., "It they have peNlicutecl wrong. 1I me, they will perseoute you." (John 15:20), A ,reat ci,arette manufaoturer used and again, "ALL'that will live ,od1)" ift the same slogan. His advertisements asChrist Jesus SHALL SUFFER PERSECUTION! If sured us "Millions oan't be wrong.11 One asked Jesus, "Lord, are there (II T~. 3:12). Do ~ suffer p.rseeu~ion? m tha.t be saved? 11 Je sus replied.: ''Wide Jesus repeatedly warned us ot FALSE PROPHETS, showing they would be the popis the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and MANY there be ular leaders of THE MAJ'f!, not. the few. He said it was THE MANY they would deoeive. that go in thereat: because strait (hard, difficult) is the gate, and narrow is the In the 17th of Revelation is revealed way, which leadeth unto LIFE, and a GREAT ohurch---a FALSE church, called a there be that find it." (Mat. 7:13,14). ''whore. II All nations have been DECEIVED The REAL Christian walks the strait by her false teachings (Rev. l7:Zj 18:3). and na.rrow---the way of the FEW. It is She perseouted, martyred, the saints who popular, today, to "belong to a church. 11 form the TRUE chureh (Rev. 17:6). Many unsorupulous business men are members And dauchte~ churohes have come out ot popular ohurohes, merely as & cloak of her---even tho in protest again.t and shield of respectability. some of her false doctrines, calling theMAs in Jesus' day, the majority "love ";;iVes IlpRO'1ESTANT, II GodI & Word plainly the praise of men. more than the pr~ise of ealls them, the daughters, HARLOTS (v.S)! God.lI (John 12:43). So they jain a popuIt is thru Rome and her dau,ht.r lar dencmination where men have 1Ia. FORM denominations, together called IIBABYLOll lI of godliness, denting the POWER thereof. II meaninc II conf usion , II that the devil per.e(11 Tim. 3: 1-5). 'From suoh TURN AWAylll cut.as true Christian.--..thc ISmall "remnant" The Bible distinctly foretells that who "keep ih!. Com.mandments of God"(Rev. 12: the MAJORITY of churche s would TURN AWAY 17). Are YOU in one of the popular denomtrom the TRUTH, "and inations? Are yOU pershall be turned unto secuted? Perhaps you FABLES. " (II Tim. 4: NOTICE: To save time and behave been honestly de3-4). It is POPULAR oause of laok of funds, this ceived, But God now sayss to belong to a denomissue of The PLAIN TRUTH is "Come OUT of her, that inational ohuroh. You a very small mimeo,raphed I1lmye reoeive not ot her never will be persecutbert The May number will be ~laguee~" (Rev. 18 :4). ed, but respeoted, if a full-5i~ed printed edition. 'Fear not, .lliY:!. tloclc." * * ... ... lie lie * lie ... lie
W
m.
*
(CON'l'. from pa~e 2) I the "u" as is very commonly done. While this is a ~reeting, or title, Mussol1ni actua.lly employs "11 Duce" as a NAME. It is in ROMAN. Count it: V is 5. V is 5, I is 1, L 16 50, D is
500, V i8 5, C is 100, E has no number. Now oount them, and you have exaotly S66~ The nQJ7\e of Nero Caesar, Emperor of the R6man Empire at its height, in the He..
brew langua~e, i~ 6S6~ Thus this number 666 is indelibly BRANDED upon THE ROMAN IMPlRE~ But, some will ask, does not this number apply to the POPE? Some teach "the
orown containing these words. Furthermore,these words are in the LATIN. not a BIBLE languate. This is not a NAME, but a tITLE, and it is THE NAME of the BEAST, and the number of the name of the MAN of the beast we are told to oount. Furthe~. this title does not apply to the kingdom, or Empire, but alone to a MAN.
However, While "VICARIUS FILlt DEI" is not among the acknowled,ed titles 01 the pope (See Cath. Sneyc1.), he does claim 'to be VlCAR OF CHRIST on earth. Also. for 1260 lone years the pope. did we~d. 'VICARIUS FILII DEll are on the reitn and rule over tha BEAST. They Wire, Pope I. triple orown. 11 And thou Latin wenb, in ef'ÂŁeot., the actual heads of the Empire, in the ~am,n n~eral., Qount to 666~ ruling over the emperor~, as well as over The pope does, on Some bcoasions, the Church. And 8e it is indeed sicniti.. wear .. triple e ..own, BUT 'J'RESE WORDS ARE. oan~ that this title l too, eounts 666~ lfE! ON .!I! We should be careful to PRCVE And so thi~ number is brand.d~ the all thin~s. The denomination which ~eaches ROMAN EMPIRE. on ROMULUS. the founder and this sent Prof. C. T. tver~on to Rome, first kint of Rome. on Nera Oaesar, ane 01 wheTe he gained aCQ65S to. and m~de dil1its great Emperors, on ttl. name ROMi, on ,tnt sea.rch in the Vatican arohives. but every ROMAN. on MU5S0LtNI, and the POPE~ he c~uld lind no orawn or reoord or suo~ Co~ld anythin~ be More conclusive?