this is rich - it's long too, so just skim it you lazy fucks
http://www.triumphpro.com/the_mark_of_cain.htm
The Mysterious "Mark of Cain"
When Cain was banished from the sight of God, to the land of "Nod," or wandering and unrest, God placed a "mark" upon him so that all would know who he was, and would not destroy him lest they suffer seven-fold vengeance.
The Hebrew word for "mark" is simply owth and means "a signal, as a flag, beacon, monument, omen, prodigy, evidence -- mark, miracle, ensign, token."
It was something that identified Cain, and set him apart from other men. It marked him as not being one of God's own people, but an outcast, a renegade, a man who had been banished from the society of God's people. This mark came to stand for Cain and his way. Could it have been the pagan "cross" or "X" which was a sign commonly used in pagan societies and among the heathens religions? The "cross" or "X" or "Tau" symbol stood for the pagan Messiah Tammuz, who was the illegitimate son of Semiramis, wife of Nimrod.
Alexander Hislop tells us:
"There is yet one more symbol of the Romish worship to be noticed, and that is the sign of the CROSS. In the Papal system, as is well known, the sign of the cross and the image of the cross are all in all. No prayer can be said, no worship engaged in, no step almost can be taken, without the frequent use of the sign of the cross. The cross was looked upon as the GRAND CHARM [rememeber Cain? The "mark" was his symbol of divine protection! No wonder its use would become commonplace among his followers!], as the GREAT REFUGE IN EVERY SEASON OF DANGER, in every hour of temptation as the INFALLIBLE PRESERVATIVE from all the powers of darkness. The cross is adored with all the homage due only to the Most High; and for any one to call it, in the hearing of a genuine Romanist, by the Scriptural term, 'the accursed tree' is a MORTAL OFFENCE. To say that such superstitious feeling for the sign of the cross, such worship as Rome pays to a wooden or a metal cross, ever grew out of the saying of Paul, 'God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ' -- that is, in the doctrine of Christ crucified -- is a mere absurdity, a shallow subterfuge and pretence. The magic virtue attributed to the so-called sign of the cross, the worship bestowed on it, never came from such a source. The SAME SIGN OF THE CROSS THAT ROME NOW WORSHIPS WAS USED IN THE BABYLONIAN MYSTERIES, was applied by Paganism to the same magic purposes, was honoured with the same honours. That which is now called the Christian cross was ORIGINALLY NO CHRISTIAN EMBLEM AT ALL, BUT WAS THE MYSTIC TAU OF THE CHALDEANS AND EGYPTIANS -- the true original form of the letter T -- the initial of the name of Tammuz -- which, in Hebrew, radically the same as ancient Chaldee . . . . That mystic Tau was MARKED IN BAPTISM ON THE FOREHEADS OF THOSE INITIATED IN THE MYSTERIES, and was used in every variety of way as a most sacred symbol. To identify Tammuz with the son it was joined sometimes to the circle of the sun. . ." (The Two Babylons, p. 197-198).
A clear understanding of the pagan use of the cross can only inspire one to wonder as to its original source. And nothing would suit the purpose better than the "mark," the "sign of protection" which God Himself used to mark the forehead of Cain!
The pagan "cross" sign or symbol is the MARK OF CAIN!
Those who go about using this sign identify themselves as followers of the "WAY OF CAIN," and the RELIGION BEGUN BY CAIN!
Hislop continues: ". . . there seems no reason to doubt that that Maltese cross is an express symbol of the sun; for Layard found it as a sacred symbol in Nineveh in such a connection as led him to identify it with the sun. The mystic Tau, as the symbol of the great divinity, was called 'the sign of life;' it was used as an AMULET OVER THE HEART; it was marked on the official garments of the priests of Rome; it was borne by kings in their hand, as a token of their dignity or divinely-conferred authority" (ibid., p.198).
The Vestal virgins of Pagan Rome used it suspended from their necklaces, even as Catholic nuns do now. The ancient Egyptians did the same, as Egyptian monuments show. Says Wilkinson in his work on the Egyptians, "it was already in use as early as the fifteenth century before the Christian era" (vol.1, p. 376).
Says Hislop:
"There is hardly a Pagan tribe where the cross has not been found. The cross was worshipped by the Pagan Celts, long before the incarnation and death of Christ. . . . It was wor- shipped in Mexico for ages before the Roman Catholic missionaries set foot there, large stone crosses being erected, probably to the 'god of rain.' The cross thus widely worshipped, or regarded as a sacred emblem, was the unequivocal symbol of Bacchus, the Babylonian Messiah, for he was represented with a head-band covered with crosses. This symbol of the Babylonian god is reverenced at this day in all the wild wastes of Tartary, where Buddhism prevails, and the way in which it is represented among them forms a striking commentary on the language applied by Rome to the Cross" (p.199).
How did the cross get into the visible "Christian" church? Hislop relates, "Now this Pagan symbol seems first to have crept into the Christian Church in EGYPT, and generally into Africa. A statement of Tertullian, about the middle of the third century, shows how much, by that time, the Church of Carthage was infected with the old leaven. Egypt, especially, which was never thoroughly evangelized, appears to have taken the lead in bringing in this Pagan symbol" (p.201).
Says Ralph Woodrow, in Babylon Mystery Religion, "It was not until Christianity began to be paganized that the cross came to be thought of as a Christian symbol. It was in 431 A.D. that crosses in churches and chambers were introduced, while the use of crosses on steeples did not come until about 586 A.D. In the sixth century, the crucifix image was introduced and its worship sanctioned by the church of Rome. It was not until the second council at Ephesus that private homes were required topossess a cross" (p.50).
Woodrow points out the long before Christ, the cross was a widely used religious symbol not only in Babylon and Egypt, but also in China, where it was used on pagodas, in northern and southern India, among both Buddhists and Hindus, in Ethiopia, and in Mexico, among the Aztecs.
The ancient Mexicans worshipped the cross as "Tota," or "Our Father." But the Word of God condemns calling a stock of wood "My father" (see Jer.2:27).
The cross, as an instrument of death and crucifixion, is also of remote antiquity, and pagan. The cross was used in this way by the ancient Assyrians, Egyptians, Persians, in Palestine, Carthage, Greece, and by the Romans. Tradition says the originator of this form of execution was none other than Semiramis, the apostate-prostitute wife of Nimrod, shortly after the Flood!
Doesn't it make sense, then, that the "cross" was the literal "mark of Cain"? It was his own personal "amulet" of protection; he began to view with with superstitious regard and reverence. And it became the symbol of his way -- his religious institution -- his mystery religious system.
This the first "mark of Cain" or "mark of the Beast" was the cross! But prophecy speaks of another "mark of the Beast" which is coming soon!,/P>
The Mark of the BEAST
In the book of Revelation we read: "Then I saw another beast coming out of the earth. He had two horns like a lamb, but he spoke like a dragon" (Rev.13:11). This "beast" represents a great false Church going the way of Cain! It pretends to be Christian (looks like a lamb), but is really of Satan the devil (speaks like Satan who is the great dragon -- see Rev.12:9).
The great religious empire, sprawling over the whole earth like a great whore (Rev.17:1-6), will even martyr the true saints of God (Rev.17:6). This second "beast" -- patterned after the "first beast," which represents the Roman Empire and its various European resurrections down through history, and the future resurrection which is to come shortly -- will receive power and authority from the first beast to enforce its religious belief system, and the sign of the cross, on the entire world! All the practices and beliefs of the "way of Cain" will be ENFORCED on people, on pain of death!
John states: "He also forced everyone, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a MARK on his right hand or on his forehead, so that no one could BUY OR SELL unless he had the mark, which is the NAME of the beast or the number of his name. This calls for wisdom. If anyone has insight, let him calculate the number of the beast, for it is MAN'S number. His number is 666" (Rev.13:16-18).
John writes, later, "A third angel followed them and said in a loud voice: 'If anyone worships the beast and his image and RECEIVES HIS MARK on the forehead or on the hand,, he, too, will drink of the wine of God's fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath. He will be tormented with burning sulphur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment rises for ever and ever. There is no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and his image, or for anyone who receives the mark of his name. This calls for patient endurance on the part of the saints who obey God's commandments and remain faithful to Jesus" (Rev.14:9-12).
The wrath of God begins to be poured out in seven vials during the coming "Day of the Lord" (Rev.16). The first angel pours out his vial or bowl of God's fury on the land of the Beast, "and ugly and painful sores broke out on the people who had the MARK of the beast and worshiped his image" (Rev.16:2). Those people will indeed suffer the wrath of God!
But what is this mysterious "mark"?
The Greek word for "mark" here is charagma and means, "a scratch or etching, stamp (as a badge of servitude), sculptured figure (statue) -- graven, mark."
Some believe this "mark" will be some sort of universal identity card or credit card, issued by the rising "European Roman Empire," or "European Union." None will be able to buy or sell without it. It will identify those who are "part of" the Beast system, a commercial-religious-political system rising up in Europe.
However, although that may indeed be a form of the "mark" of the Beast, this particular "mark" is engraved in a person's hand or forehead. This indicates it will also involve how the person works (uses his hands), and thinks (uses his forehead, or brain, to make decisions). It will involve acceptance of a system of religious BELIEFS, and religious PRACTICES. This "mark" could also refer to a sculptured figure or figurine -- such as a CROSS, or a small crucifix! In other words, it IDENTIFIES ONE AS BELONG TO CAIN and his modern representatives -- the ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH! In the future, all who do not embrace Catholicism and accept the doctrines of the Catholic Church, which stem from ancient Babylon, and the Way of CAIN -- such as Sunday worship, and all the pagan practices and beliefs and idolatrous images -- will be hunted down, imprisoned, and tortured, and many will be martyred!
Thus the "mark of the Beast" is far more than just some kind of "credit card." God would not be furious with people merely because they possessed some kind of credit card. But it will involve an entire RELIGIOUS BELIEF SYSTEM! It could well be the very CROSS itself -- the SIGN of Cain, and the SIGN of his Church, which he founded, in Babylon, before the Flood!
Will you join up with this end-time apostasy? Will you submit to the "mark of the beast" in order to save your life? Will you give up the truth of God, and accept fables and myths, and rituals of paganism in place of the commandments of God?
Will you worship on Cain's day -- Sunday -- one of the "marks" which mark his followers? Will you worship idols, and images of the beast, and the cross itself - the sign or mark of Cain?
What about it?
John writes, "Then I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies gathered together to make war against the rider on the horse and his army. But the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who had performed the miraculous signs on his behalf. With these signs he had DELUDED those who had RECEIVED THE MARK OF THE BEAST, and worshiped his image. The two of them were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulphur. The rest of them were killed with the sword that came out of the mouth of the rider on the horse, and all the birds gorged themselves on their flesh" (Rev.19:19-21).
Consider! Many of those who have the "mark of the Beast" will actually follow the beast and false prophet, the Pope, and FIGHT AGAINST CHRIST when He returns at the head of His angelic army from heaven!
Could you actually someday find yourself fighting against Christ?
If you have the "mark of the Beast," and imbibe of his errors and false doctrines, and you could be one of his followers, one of his soldiers, conscripted to join his army, someday, and literally find yourself in the midst of an army destined for destruction and doom!
But on the other hand, God has a special reward for those who refuse the "mark o the Beast," even at the cost of their lives, if necessary. John writes:
"I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony for Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or his image and had not received his MARK on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and REIGNED WITH CHRIST a thousand years. (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy are those who have part in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years" (Rev.20:4-6).
The mark of the Beast is the mark of Cain! May God help you to be faithful to Him, and not receive this dreadful "mark," so you will not be among those who suffer the wrath of Almighty God, but live and reign with Christ when He comes!
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