Revisit of 666 and the Papal Tiara,
Plus a Bonus, the USA Dollar
What do they have in common?
Today, the light from Revelation seems to be intensifying instead of winding down. Maybe this has to do with the important role that new prophetic understanding has as a catalyst for revival as long as it sticks with the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Of course every new thing is always subject to cross-examination and questioning and that is good.
Uriah Smith first published a 666 connection with papal tiara in the late 1800s – a tiara with the Latin words, “VICARIVS FILII DEI”, the Roman numbers of which add up to 666. This was intended to provide another one of the identification points that the papacy is the first beast of Revelation 13. However, Smith’s connection was based on an informed assumption that the blasphemous 666 title of “VICARIVS FILII DEI” was inscribed in a papal tiara. He relied on second-hand information that was shared as factual but unfortunately independent confirmation was dismissed. If there was supporting documentation or photos, they have not surfaced and as a consequence the claim has been refuted.
One suggestion is that the title may have existed on a tiara (papal crown), but both the tiara and the title could well have been removed from the Vatican prior to 1800. After that year, only one tiara survived because the French revolution destroyed them when the pope was exiled in 1798.
"Vicarius Filii Dei" was definitely an important title of the Roman papacy. Recently this also was brought into disrepute because the Roman Church denies that the title was used even though it was quoted in the "Donation of Constantine" going way back to the 8th century. The fact remains that many popes took this document seriously even though hundreds of years later it was discovered to be a forgery.
If in the past, a previous tiara truly had an inscription like “Vicarius Filii Dei” from which 666 could be derived but was later lost or purged, then wouldn’t the Lord in His providence provide “plan B.”
What follows is a journey of some digging on this subject. The purpose was to identify every papal tiara in existence (or known prior existence) that had any kind of inscription. Information in this study began with a series of email exchanges with a friendly sales representative of a producer of Catholic clergy attire in Australia, Saint Bede studio. He provided excellent leads for information on tiaras along with publications and a couple of web sites.
This led to my first 'Ebay' purchase – a Vatican treasures exhibit catalog. Beyond that, the statewide Illinois Library Catalog was helpful locating a library in Batavia, Illinois where the book, “A History of the Crown Jewels of Europe” was obtained. This book featured several papal tiaras.
Today, out of twenty or so existing papal tiaras, only three are known to have inscriptions. One is with Scripture, which ruled out finding any 666 there, one was for Leo XIII in 1903, and one was for Pius IX in 1871. This pope was notorious for strong anti-christ decrees as seen at the end of this document. This was the pope who came up with the dogma of the Immaculate Conception, Pontifical Infallibility, and in the encyclical "Quanta cura," condemned ideas such as freedom of speech and religion and separation of church and state. So the choice of the likely tiara narrowed down to this one given by Belgium to Pius IX. (First Figure)
His tiara had three titles, one on each of three tiers representing the three presumed powers of the pope.
The inscriptions were Latin titles. Starting from the top tier, (as quoted to me by the Saint Bede Studio sales rep and later verified in published form), they were:
> > >"JESU CHRISTI VICARIO INFALLIBILI"
> > >(Infallible vicar of Jesus Christ)
> > >"ORBIS SUPREMO IN TERRA RECTORI"
> > >(Supreme governor of the world on earth)
> > >"PATRI REGUM ATQUE POPULORUM"
> > >(Father of kings and nations)
Here’s how the inscriptions break down: The numbers are arithmetic adding of the Roman numerals. Based on Roman numerals, here is the totaled number for each title of each of the 3 levels: "U" is equivalent to "V" and "J" is equivalent to "I".
6 + / 102 + / 107 + / 154 = / 3691 + / 1005 + / 1 + / 101 = / 1108
1060 + / 1 + / 1005 + / 5 = / 2071
The upper level is 369.
The middle level is 1108.
The lower level is 2071.
Now let's use three simple arithmetic operations.
Add the upper to the lower and then subtract the middle, 1108. This is done presumably because that title is merely secular with no religious connotations, but the other two can be considered blasphemous. So we have this result:
(2071 + 369) - 1108 = 1332.
Finally since only two of the titles are considered, divide 1332 by 2 and the result is equal to = 666. There are not one but two 666 from this tiara.
As far as proving that this tiara exists, there is proof that it used to exist with those titles. A sales rep at Saint Bede’s sent me the images. Although the words could not be made out from the emailed images, it was observed that they clearly lined up vertically on the four quarter turns of the tiara. The catalog referred to in the emails was ordered from Ebay and is still in my library – the catalog of the Australia exhibit of the Vatican museum, which quotes the titles exactly as shown above. Other images in the catalog clearly show all the Latin titles close up. The same wording is quoted in the catalog for the Denver exhibition where the pope visited in 1993 and there it is also translated to English.
Then something peculiar happened while searching for sharper images fron the Internet. The titles have been altered. On one website ( was a nice image, and although this definitely was the same Pius IX tiara, the top inscription was quite different from what the sales rep quoted to me and also quoted in the two catalogs.
Not only was the title itself different (BEATI PIETRO CHRISTI VICARIO meaning <To Blessed Peter Vicar of Christ>), but the top crown was rotated 45 degrees so that the words did not line up with the other two sub-crowns. (Second Figure)
So in this study, we have to stay with the unaltered tiara because 666 cannot be derived from the altered one.
After sharing these findings with fellow church members, someone remarked that Ellen White referred to the second beast (USA) as having the 666 number. This led a Scriptural question, of whether the first beast (papacy) or the second beast (apostate Protestantism of USA) has the 666 according to Revelation 13. Could 666 apply to both?
Ellen White’s statement is found in “Little Word to the Flock”, one of the first publications with her comments which I had a copy of (somewhere). I dug for a while before finding it and sure enough, it sounded like the intended beast was the second one (or was it really?).
“I saw all that “would not receive the mark of the Beast, and of his Image, in their foreheads or in their hands," could not buy or sell. [REV. 13:15-17.] I saw that the number (666) of the Image Beast was made up; [REV. 13:18.] and that it was the Beast that changed the Sabbath, and the Image Beast had followed on after, and kept the Pope's, and not God's Sabbath. And all we were required to do, was to give up God's Sabbath, and keep the Pope's, and then we should have the mark of the Beast, and of his image.” {WLF 19.1}
Then moving on to the passage in Revelation 13, after reading and rereading the last half of the chapter, in all honesty, it couldn't be determined which beast the 666 was being attached to.
Revelation 13:15 “And he [second beast] had power to give life unto the image of the beast [first 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.
16 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:
17 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.
18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast [which one?]: for it is the number of a man; and his number is six hundred threescore and six.”
Come to think of it, the comment from Ellen White was similarly not so unambiguous. Maybe 666 did apply to both – after all they were in cahoots in the end. Could both have been the original intent of the passage? How would 666 ever be found connected with good ol' USA? This country is a crownless country. What other symbolism is readily recognized as representing this country and also has Latin numbers incorporated in it? The flag and the presidential seal were ruled out.
What about the currency? The bill that immediately came to the front was the dollar bill. On the reverse are two seals, the right one with the eagle and one Latin phrase, "E PLURIBUS UNUM" <of many, one>, innocent enough and actually non-religious. This seal was removed from possibly being sacrilegious.
The seal on the left is a different story. This is the Great Seal of the United States of America. There are two Latin phrases and a date on the base of the pyramid. Wonder what they add up to and would they be considered blasphemous?
The Latin on the left seal with translations as provided by the US State Department are:
“ANNUIT CŒPTIS” <He (God) has favored our undertakings>
“NOVUS ORDO SECLORUM” <A new order of the ages>
“MCCCLXXVI” or 1776, the year of the declaration of independence at the base of the pyramid.
The meaning of the phrases generally point to a couple of pronouncements: that the state sees itself being set up as a new order for the ages to come and that God has favored our efforts to this end; the authority behind these ideals is supposed to be the all seeing eye over the pyramid which could hardly be a reference to our risen Lord and Savior. Revelation 13:18 says that the number is the number of a man. The eye above the pyramid is very human.
One Roman number is the year of independence and the other (1772) is the addition of all the Roman numbers from the two Latin phrases.
Then we add all the Roman numbers from theleft seal of the dollar bill.
The grandtotal from the 1871 tiara is 3548 and the grand total from the left seal of the dollar is also 3548. That's extremely interesting by itself.
Again the samedo the same simple arithmetic using 1108 which is the total from the middle title of the 1871 tiara which says, "Supreme governor of the world on earth".
3548 – (1108 + 1108) = 666 + 666.
The second beast that enforces the image of the first beast has two horns like a lamb; that’s the reason we have 2 666’s on the 1871 tiara and the left seal of the dollar.
______
Now returning to Pius IX, even his own papal name has a curious result.
‘P’ flipped vertically can be the first ‘6’; then add ‘i’ and ‘u’ for the second ‘6’; then attach the "s" to "IX" to get the third "6".
"P" "I" + "U" "S" > "IX"
6 6 6
In conclusion, these things are either statistically defiant coincidences or providence?
The following info from " shows characteristics of Pius IX that match his ‘beast’ designation.
1854 Dec 8, Pope Pius IX proclaimed the dogma of the Immaculate Conception. In an encyclical he stated that: "The Blessed Virgin Mary was, from the first moment of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege of almighty God… Preserved immune from all stain of original sin. Ineffabilis Deus." (AP, 12/8/97)(PTA, 1980, p.510)(WSJ, 6/3/99, p.A27)
The Bible says that "all have sinned and come short of the glory of God." Romans 3:23.
In 1864 Pope Pius IX issued the encyclical "Quanta cura," which included a syllabus of 70 errors in contemporary beliefs. The Syllabus of Errors included 80 negative points condemning modern ideas such as freedom of speech and religion and separation of church and state. (PTA, 1980, p.510)(SFC, 9/1/00, p.D4)
"It is, therefore, by a particular decree of Divine Providence that, at the fall of the Roman Empire and its partition into separate kingdoms, the Roman Pontiff, whom Christ made the head and center of his entire Church, acquired civil power." − Pius IX, Apostolic Letter Cum Catholica Ecclesia, March 26, 1860.
The absurd and erroneous doctrines or ravings in defense of liberty of conscience are a most pestilential error — a pest, of all others, most to be dreaded in a state.” — Pope Pius IX, Encyclical letter, August 15, 1854.
“The State has not the right to leave every man free to embrace whatever religion he should deem true.
…The [Roman Catholic] Church has the right to require that the Catholic religion shall be the religion of the State, to the exclusion of all others.
…Cursed be those who assert liberty of conscience and of worship and such that maintain that the [Roman Catholic] Church may not employ force.”
The Syllabus of Pope Pius IX (December 1864)
“The unrestrained freedom of thinking and of openly making known one’s thoughts is not inherent in the rights of citizens and is by no means worthy of favor and support."
In1870 Jul 18, Pontifical infallibility was proclaimed at the Vatican Council. It proclaimed as dogma that the Pope when speaking ex cathedra can make no mistake in solemn declarations of what must be believed in matters of faith and morals. The 20th ecumenical council, soon adjourned due to the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War. (PTA, 1980, p.510)(MC, 7/18/02)
They should have prayed before they adjourned; that was a mistake. To this day there has been no renouncing of these decrees. (Revelation 13:4,8,12,14).
Ken Davis