“The letters inscribed in the Pope’s mitre are these: Vicarius Filii Dei, which is the Latin for Vicar of the Son of God. Catholics hold that the Church which is a visible society must have a visible head.
Before His ascension into heaven, Christ appointed Peter to act as His representative. Upon the death of Peter the man who succeeded to the office of Peter as Bishop of Rome, was recognized as the head of the Church. Hence to the Bishop of Rome, as head of the Church, was given the title ‘Vicar of Christ’. A Catholic Weekly, Our Sunday Visitor, "Bureau of information," Huntington, Indiana, U.S., April 18, 1915.
In addition, the November 15, 1914 of Our Sunday Visitor states that the title of the pope of Rome is Vicarius Filii Dei.
It was not until the eighth century that the Roman Church proclaimed authority over all of God's churches through the succession of Peter's bishoprice. This was done with a forged document called “Donation of Constantine.” It first appeared around the year 752 AD, four centuries after Constantine's death (337 AD). Bearing the forged name of the fourth century emperor, Constantine the Great, it originated the doctrine of apostolic succession and first coined the name Vicarius Filii Dei.
This title adds to the number 666 in Latin Identifying the Beast and for this reason it has been repeatedly denied as the official title of the pope by many Catholics, but such claims directly contradict the above statements cited from Our Sunday Visotir which is an eminent Catholic weekly newspaper.
In addition, it is one of nine points found in Revelation 13 that help us identify who the beast is, so before denying its truth, one who would attempt to do so must also provide historical information that would disprove all nine points together, which can not be done for they are too clear to be distorted in anyway. Two or three of the identifying points mentioned in Revelation 13 might apply to different entities, but all nine together point only to one.
