Bible Facts: 666 Mark of The Beast - CD Brooks Sermon Transcript

This is a transcript of a CD Brooks sermon titled, Bible Facts: 666 THE MARK OF THE BEAST (from the Breath of Life Series by C. D. Brooks) transcribed and edited by Derek Morris

CD Brooks Sermon Transcript: 666 The Mark of the Beast

Our topic tonight is “The Mark of the Beast.” I’m asking you to pray while I preach tonight, and beloved, you need to. This message is a solemn one.

When Jesus comes there are going to be two kinds of people on earth: those who are ready and those who are not. He’s not going to be concerned with who went to school and who didn’t. He’s not going to be concerned with what color you are, with which side of the tracks you were born on.

There are two kinds of people when Jesus comes: those who are ready and those who are not.

Those who are ready when Jesus comes will have the seal of God in their foreheads. Those who will be destroyed with the brightness of His coming, 2 Thessalonians. 2:8, will have the mark of the beast on their foreheads or in their hands.

I want you to notice that. (1) You can only get the seal of God here (forehead). (2)You can get the mark of the beast here (forehead) or here (hand). That’s significant, and I want you to remember it.

I’m reading from Revelation 13, beginning with verse 15. It says: And he had power to give power unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should 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 forehead, 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.

Six, six, six. It is the number of a man. This power will have such power and influence in the world that an image will be formed to him and will bring about coercion of men’s consciences. Not only through persecution, but by prohibiting those who decide to be faithful to God from buying and selling.

CD Brooks sermon: Mark of the Beast — CD Brooks preaching

Before I go any further I should read to you the companion text in the next chapter, in the very next chapter, Revelation 14:9: And the third angel followed them saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image and receive his mark in his forehead or in his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God which is poured out without mixture into the cup of His indignation and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb.

Verse 11 says, “And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.”

We’ve just talked about a group that’s going to be burned up. The next verse tells us about those who are going through. “Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.”

Now friends, I want to make that point very clear. Those who obey God and not man cannot receive the mark of the beast. Would you way Amen? They are left.

You remember last night when we talked about the prophecy of Daniel 7 we introduced you to some symbolic beasts. We also looked at the little horn power that was to rise up out of the midst of the ten horns. We clearly identified this power growing out of the ruins of Pagan Rome as none other than Papal Rome. Would you say Amen?

Now, Daniel chapter 7 said that there were three things that this religious-political power would do that would identify it. One, it would speak blasphemy against God. Two, it would make war with the saints and kill those who opposed it. Three, it would think to change times and laws. That is clearly recorded in Daniel 7:25, and just so it’s settled in your mind, I’m going to read it to you before we go on.

We know which power that is. We have read together who claims to change God’s law, haven’t we? We’ve seen that the Papacy made war against those who wanted to read the Bible, and who wanted to follow the commandments of God rather than the commandments and traditions of men.

We have also seen that this power claimed for itself the prerogatives of God, the titles of God on earth, and the power to forgive sins, and to change the word of God. But tonight we are going to see that hundreds of years later, some fifty years after the death of Christ, God gave John the Revelator a vision concerning this same power.

Revelation 13:1: The Bible says, “And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.”

Verse 2: “And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.”

What in the world is John seeing? All those other world powers had passed off the scene, and this kingdom has in it parts of all those that went before. You remember that the first was a lion, the second was a bear, the third was a leopard. John sees parts of these in this one power.

Only Rome ruled the world when John wrote the book of Revelation. He says that this beast was a composite of all the others. “And the dragon”–who’s he? Revelation 12:9 tells us. It says, “And the great dragon was cast out that old serpent called the Devil and Satan.” Amen?

Revelation 13:2 tells us that “the dragon gave him his power and his seat and great authority.” This beast power comes up out of the sea, as did the four beasts of Daniel 7. It comes up among the people of the earth.

History records that out of the ruins of pagan Rome arose the great power of Papal Rome. And so, where pagan Rome once held sway, the power and the seat was turned over to the church. The city of Rome was turned over to the bishop of Rome by the Emperor and the church proceeded to build a vast political empire known as the Holy Roman Empire.

In Revelation 13:5 we read, “And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies against God, to blaspheme His name, and His tabernacle and them that dwell therein.” Beloved, didn’t we read just last night in Daniel 7:25 that this power would speak great words against the Most High?

What is blasphemy? Well, the Pharisees accuse Jesus of it. In Luke 5:21 the Bible says, “Who is this which speaketh blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone?” What they didn’t believe was that Christ was God. Would you say Amen?

God alone can forgive sins. When men claim that power to forgive sins, that is blasphemy. And yet I read in a book called The Catholic Priest by Michael Muller, “There is a man on earth that can forgive sins, and that is the Catholic priest.”

I read recently from the book Faith of Millions by Father John O’Brien, page 256, “The priest pardons the sinner with the power of Christ, he offers up the same sacrifice of adoration and atonement which Christ offered on Calvary. No wonder,” he says, “that the name which spiritual writers are especially fond of applying to the priest is that of ‘alter Christus.’ For the priest is and should be another Christ” (p.256).

This is supported by the use of the term Vicar of Christ, or Vicar of the Son of God. The word vicar means substitute. But the Bible says, and Jesus is speaking, John 14:16-17: “I will pray the Father and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you forever; even the Spirit of Truth.” Jesus said the Holy Spirit is His substitute.

The Holy Spirit is One who will continue His work, not a man. Would you say Amen? I want this to be clear tonight. I want you to know that I’m praying while I preach tonight. You don’t have any idea how difficult it is for me to preach this message. But I’m praying that the Holy Spirit will bring the truth gently to your hearts, and that I will share the truth with you in love. I know it’s solemn, and I know it’s new to some of you, but it’s the truth.

Here’s another definition of blasphemy in the Bible. John 10:33. The Jews were ready to stone Jesus, and they said, “For a good work we stone Thee not but for blasphemy and because Thou being a man makest Thyself God.” There again is another definition of blasphemy. Now, Christ is God. Would you say Amen?

But they didn’t believe. So they wanted to kill Him. Cardinal Bellamine says, “All names which are in the Scripture are applied to Christ by virtue of which it is established that he is over the church, all the same names are applied to the Pope.”

Now, that shouldn’t surprise you. The Pope is commonly referred to as the Holy Father. In fact, I was reading that a bishop standing at the airport, watching the Pope’s jet take-off said, “Now we can truly say ‘Our Father which art in heaven.’”

Now beloved, I have nothing against a man. And I believe that we should pray that the light of truth should come, but that is blasphemy.

Let’s go back to Revelation 13. There is much more that could be said on the topic of blasphemy but I don’t want to discourage anyone. I just want the truth to be clear. Would you say Amen? The Bible goes on to say in Revelation 13:7, “And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them.”

We talked about that last night. Forty thousand Christians were put to death for every year that this religious-political power held sway. Now, I don’t want to recount the gruesome details. It’s a tragedy.

John 23rd said, “There are some dark chapters in our history we all wish we could forget.” All you have to do is read Foxe’s Book of Martyrs. Read about the Spanish inquisition. Read about the Waldenseans who were thrown off cliffs simply for having a small portion of the Bible in their possession.

Unspeakable atrocities perpetrated by the church in the name of religion. Surely the Papacy did make war on the saints. Revelation 12:5 says that power was given unto him to continue forty-two months, which is twelve hundred and sixty days.

Revelation 12:6. Applying the year-day principle of Bible prophetic interpretation, we noticed last night that this prophecy was fulfilled with mathematical accuracy. From the decree of the Emperor Justinian in 538 A.D., twelve hundred and sixty years takes us to 1798 A.D.

What happened in 1798 A.D.? The temporal dominion of the Papacy was taken and its grip on Europe was broken. Napoleon Bonaparte’s general, Berthier marched into the Vatican, took the Pope captive, and he died in exile a year later.

And though a new pope was elected in 1800 A.D., he had no temporal kingdom and could no longer make war on those who opposed the Papacy. This was the deadly wound spoken of in Revelation 13:3.

But then the text goes on to say that the deadly wound was healed. “And all the world wondered after the beast.” When was the deadly wound healed? Let’s read some history. Mussolini, Cardinal Pacelli, and Gaspari signed a historic pact in Rome, February 11, 1929 A.D.

From 1798 A.D. until then the Pope had just been a figurehead in Rome, but in 1929 A.D., it became a kingdom again. The church once more had temporal power. And the Bible said, “All the world would wonder after the beast.”

Tonight, beloved, it is so. The President of the United States keeps in constant touch. Most nations on the face of the earth have ambassadors there–a nation whose territory is no larger than a couple of football fields. The world wonders after the beast, whose deadly wound was healed. Are you listening?

Revelation 13:8. Let’s go on. “And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him.” That is, except for a certain group. “All will worship him whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb, slain from the foundation of the world.”

Only those who are true to God, only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life will not worship the beast. Everybody else will.

Let’s go over to verse 18. “Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast.”–Let him that hath wisdom do what? Count. Remember that. Count the number of the beast, “for it is the number of a man, and his number is ‘666.’”

What is The Meaning of Vicarius Filii Dei?

Most of the popes at the time of coronation would wear the triple-tiered crown. It has upon it these words in Latin. VICARIUS FILII DEI. I have read with my own eyes a Catholic admission in the Sunday Visitor that these words are truly written there and that their numerical value is “666.”

But I’ll come back to that shortly. Albert Barnes, a great commentator and theologian, not of my church, said this in commenting on Revelation 13:18: “The plain meaning is that the number ‘666’ would be so connected with his name, that it could be determined who was meant by finding that number in his name, or in his proper designation, by some well-understood method of computation.”

Let us use our understanding and count the number of the name. VICARIUS FILII DEI. When you went to school, you had to learn your Roman numerals, isn’t that right? I know I did! I’m going to spell out the name. I want you all to write it down, one letter beneath the other.

VICARIUS FILII DEI. Okay. “V” equals five, “I” equals one, “C” equals one hundred, “A” equals zero, “R” equals zero, “I” equals one, “U” and “V” are the same in Roman so that equals five, and “S” equals zero. One hundred and twelve. Now the second word is FILII: “F” equals zero, “I” equals one, “L” equals fifty, “I” equals one, “I” equals one. Fifty-three. And then the last word is DEI: “D” equals five hundred, “E” equals zero, “I” equals one. That’s five hundred and one. Now, you take those and add then up. Five hundred one plus fifty-three plus one hundred twelve equals six hundred and sixty-six.

The number of his name; the number of a man. If that’s clear, would you say Amen? And this is just one additional clue that lets us know who this power is. There’s no need to guess. Everything fits. Would you say Amen?

Now, folks, I’ve shown you that as kindly as possible. I only want you to see the truth, that’s all. I want you to see why this is so important. Revelation 15:2. The Bible says, “And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire; and them that had gotten the victory over the beast and over his image and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God.”

Those who go to heaven are those who do not receive the mark of the beast. Would you say Amen?

Now, I want to say again, the truth is not against people. It is against false systems and against error. God has his people in the Catholic church. But they are in great danger. Their only safety is in coming out of her at once. God’s call to all who accept the authority and the teachings of this power is “come out of her My people, that ye be not partakers of her sins and that ye receive not of her plagues.” Revelation 18:4.

And that’s not just talking to those within the Catholic church. It’s talking to all in churches that still cling to traditions and commandments of men rather than the Word of God. Would you say Amen?

It’s talking to all those who are in churches that dishonor God and keep the Papal holy day rather than God’s holy Sabbath day. It’s talking to all in churches where the Word of God is not preached in all its fullness. The Bible says, “Come out of her MY people.” Would you say Amen?

That’s the gathering call of God. His judgments are soon to fall. I’ve got to tell you the clear warning of God. Now, the Bible says that you get the mark of the beast in your forehead or in your hand. But you can only get the seal of God in your forehead.

What’s the difference? Up here, the mind is where you believe, it’s where you make a commitment. And there are some people who believe error. They say, “Listen, I was born in this. I’m going to die in it.” They don’t care what the Bible says. You can show it to them as clearly as the sun in the sky, and they’ll still stay the same. They believe error, committed to it.

There are others who don’t believe it, but just to keep their jobs, just for the sake of convenience, just so they won’t be ostracized from their circle of friends, they hold on to error, and they get it in their hands. In the heads, because they’re committed to error, they believe it. In the hands, because they do it, for convenience; they compromise whether they believe it or not.

But when it comes to the seal of God you can only get that one place. In the forehead. You’ve got to believe! You’ve got to make a commitment to God and to His truth. Would you say Amen?

And beloved, we’ve got to make that commitment before it’s eternally too late. God says I’m going to judge this world. I’m going to pour out My plagues upon the wicked. But before I do I’m going to let Brooks and thousands of preachers around the world preach the truth.

God wants to give you a clear choice. If you’re going to receive the mark of the beast and be lost, you at least ought to know why. And so, Brooks, go tell them. It’s going to be hard preaching some of those sermons but preach them anyhow. Try not to hurt anybody’s feelings, but show them the truth.

Show them that time is running out, and show them what’s coming to those who worship Me in vain, teaching for doctrine the commandments of men. And if they want to do right, tell them there’s going to be a baptism. Tell them to come out of Babylon that they receive not of her plagues.

Friends, we’ve studied the Bible together from night tonight. I’ve not read to you out of a pamphlet. I’ve not read you a single text, closed the Bible, and then give you my opinion. I have gone from text to text to text. You have seen with your own eyes from God’s word that the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord.

You can’t even find a hint that Christ or his disciples changed the Sabbath. But we have seen that the Church in apostasy tampered with God’s law. We have seen that it declared Sunday as a substitute for the Bible Sabbath as a mark of its authority. We’ve seen that.

But friends, a judgment is coming, and God is going to pour out His anger on those who have willfully rejected Him. On that day there are only two kinds of people, only two groups.

One group has received the mark of the beast’s power. By believing and doing the commandments of men, they have taken their stand against God and His truth, and they’re going to run to the rocks and cry, “Fall on us and hide us from Him that sitteth on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb.”

The other group is those who have received the seal of God, those who have decided to keep the commandments of God and not the commandments of men. They give their allegiance to the true God and not to any earthly power. The sign of allegiance to God is the Sabbath. The Bible says that it is a sign between us and God. That’s why God said, “Remember…” Would you say Amen?

For the day is going to come when those who stand true to God and keep His commandments, including the fourth, are going to be sealed with the seal of the living God, even though a law will be passed forcing them to keep man’s substitute rather than God’s day, a law which carries a penalty of death. Just like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, just like Daniel, they are standing true to God. Let’s say Amen out there!

And at that time Christ is going to stand up and say, “He that is unjust, let him be unjust still; and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still; and he that is holy, let him be holy still.” And the Bible says, “Behold, I come quickly.” While many are running to the rocks, being destroyed by the brightness of His coming, there are going to be some who are glad to see Jesus come. Would you say Amen?

They’ve made up their minds they’re going to serve the Lord. They’ve made up their minds they’re going to do God’s will even if they lose their jobs. They made up their minds they’re going to do God’s will even if folks oppose them. They’ve made up their minds they’re going all the way with Jesus, no matter what the cost. There’s going to be a group that’s glad to see Jesus come, and by God’s grace I want to be in that number, how about you?

Friends, I know that this has been new. I know that you’ve never heard this before. But you cannot say, you dare not deceive yourself by saying it’s just somebody’s opinion. We’ve seen it in our Bibles. We’ve heard the record of history. Now you are without excuse.

I challenge you tonight: you have heard the truth; I challenge you to decide whom you will serve, whether man or God. I ask you to pray about it, and make the commitment that you’re going all the way with Jesus.

I want to pray tonight for those who want to be a part of God’s commandment-keeping people. Are you one of those who say, Lord, I want to do Your will? I want to be in that great number that’s going to be baptized.

I want to be with Your commandment-keeping people who are looking forward to Your soon return. I want to be with people who honor Your Sabbath. I want to receive the seal of God, not the mark of the beast.”

If that’s your desire, I want you to check that decision on your pink slip. Do it now. If you’re going to make your decision that you’re going to be ready when Jesus comes, do it now. Would you say Amen? And while you hold that slip in your hand, I want all of you to stand up with me while we pray. I want to pray for each one of you tonight.

Blessed Lord, I’m praying for Your people here tonight. There are folks here, Lord, who are going to do Your will. Thank You, Lord. Help us to see Jesus tonight lifted up on the cross dying that we might be saved.

Help us to love Jesus more than we love man. Help us to love Him and obey Him rather than man. Help us to respond to His great love by loving Him back. And then help us to see Jesus as the answer to our needs. Help us to know that through Jesus there is power to overcome habits and sins. Let’s say Amen.

If You saved Mary Magdalene, You can save anybody here. If You saved the prodigal son, You can save anybody here. I’m praying tonight that You won’t even give these people rest until they thought this through. What good is sleep if we’re going to be lost? O Lord, speak to our hearts tonight.

O dear friends, I want you to see Jesus in your minds’ eye tonight, and I want you to hear Him calling you to follow Him all the way. I want you to sense the Holy Spirit near. Have you checked on that pink slip, the decision that Jesus wants you to make? If you haven’t done that yet, do it right now. Don’t leave here without a full surrender. I want you to lift that decision up before God. It’s the commitment of your heart tonight.

O Lord, bless these Your people. Bless their commitments tonight. There’s going to be a big baptism this weekend, Lord. Folks are going to take their stand for You. Help us all to take our stand for You. We humbly pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.