Sunday, July 14, 2013

Mark of Beast and Mark of Cain

After Cain killed his brother Abel, God declared to Cain, "Now you are under a curse and driven from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand. When you work the ground, it will no longer yield its crops for you. You will be a restless wanderer on the earth" (Genesis 4:11-12). In response, Cain lamented, "My punishment is more than I can bear. Today you are driving me from the land, and I will be hidden from your presence; I will be a restless wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me" (Genesis 4:13-14). God responded, "Not so; if anyone kills Cain, he will suffer vengeance seven times over." Then the Lord put a mark on Cain so that no one who found him would kill him" (Genesis 4:15-16). The nature of the mark on Cain has been the subject of much debate and speculation. The Hebrew word for mark "'Owth," could mean a sign, omen, warning, or remembrance.[12] Elsewhere in the Hebrew Scriptures, 'owth is used 79 times and is most frequently translated as "sign." The mark of Cain is God's promise to Cain for divine protection from premature death with the stated purpose to prevent anyone from killing him. It is not known what the mark is, but it is assumed that the mark is visible.[13] Some have speculated that the mark is a Hebrew letter placed on either the face or the arm. According t to my Jewish Rabbi an opinion  was that Hashem engraved a letter into his forehead, it is not mentioned which letter[14] The Septuagint translates the mark as a "sign". Thus, it is speculated that the mark served as a sign/warning to others to not commit the same offense.

In Revelation God commands His angels to seal His servants so they can be saved from harm (Revelation 7:2-3). These servants are later contrasted against those who are not sealed, those who like Cain desire to die, those who carry the Mark of the Beast.

Revelation 9:4-6

4 And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads.
5 And to them it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months: and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man.
6 And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them.

We can safely assume that those who are not sealed by God are the same that receive The Mark of the Beast. It's interesting that both the Mark of Cain and the Mark of the Beast prevent an immediate death but also allow for a prolonged punishment. The Mark of the Beast will be accepted by many to avoid death but ultimately it will lead to an eternal torment.

Revelation 14:9-12

 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,
10 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:
11 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.
12 Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.


There's another important reference to a physical mark in the Old Testament. Like the seal in Revelation, this mark is commanded by God and protects its recipients from destruction.

Ezekiel 9

The Wicked Are Slain

9 Then He called out in my hearing with a loud voice, saying, “Let those who have charge over the city draw near, each with a deadly weapon in his hand.” 2 And suddenly six men came from the direction of the upper gate, which faces north, each with his battle-ax in his hand. One man among them was clothed with linen and had a writer’s inkhorn at his side. They went in and stood beside the bronze altar.
3 Now the glory of the God of Israel had gone up from the cherub, where it had been, to the threshold of the temple.[a] And He called to the man clothed with linen, who had the writer’s inkhorn at his side; 4 and the Lord said to him, “Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and cry over all the abominations that are done within it.”
5 To the others He said in my hearing, “Go after him through the city and kill; do not let your eye spare, nor have any pity. 6 Utterly slay old and young men, maidens and little children and women; but do not come near anyone on whom is the mark; and begin at My sanctuary.” So they began with the elders who were before the temple. 7 Then He said to them, “Defile the temple, and fill the courts with the slain. Go out!” And they went out and killed in the city.
8 So it was, that while they were killing them, I was left alone; and I fell on my face and cried out, and said, “Ah, Lord God! Will You destroy all the remnant of Israel in pouring out Your fury on Jerusalem?”
9 Then He said to me, “The iniquity of the house of Israel and Judah is exceedingly great, and the land is full of bloodshed, and the city full of perversity; for they say, ‘The Lord has forsaken the land, and the Lord does not see!’ 10 And as for Me also, My eye will neither spare, nor will I have pity, but I will recompense their deeds on their own head.”
11 Just then, the man clothed with linen, who had the inkhorn at his side, reported back and said, “I have done as You commanded me.”

There are some interesting correlations between the writer's inkhorn in Ezekiel and particular verses in Revelation. The Hebrew words translated as writer's inkhorn are caphar and qeceth respectively.

In addition to "writer", Strong's Concordance defines caphar as "to score with a mark as a tally or record... to inscribe, and also to enumerate... count... number..." [1] The parallels with numbers and counting in Revelation 13:18 are obvious. Old Testament translations of caphar also include "tell," "declare," "speak," and "talk," which makes one think of Revelation 13:15.

Revelation 13:15

15 And he had power to give life unto the image of the 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.

Another notable translation of caphar specific to the KJV is "penknife." Comparing this definition to the Verichip's syringe (called a cannula) doesn't require a far stretch of the imagination.  Remember back then, they had no idea what a syringe was. Not surprisingly Caphar is also very close to the Hebrew Cphar which is defined as "a census" and "numbering." These definitions allude to King David's numbering of the Israelites.

And David's heart smote him after that he had numbered the people. And David said unto the LORD, I have sinned greatly in that I have done: and now, I beseech thee, O LORD, take away the iniquity of thy servant; for I have done very foolishly. 2 Samuel 24:10  It's clear that King David was punished for numbering his people, but why was God so angry? It's simple really; when a man ceases to be a living soul and instead becomes a nameless, faceless number, he is no longer valued as a human being but is treated like a disposable commodity. He will be looked at as something to be bought, sold, experimented on, and eliminated at will.

We can assume that those who are not sealed by God are the same that receive The Mark of the Beast. It's interesting that both the Mark of Cain and the Mark of the Beast prevent an immediate death but also allow for a prolonged punishment. The Mark of the Beast will be accepted by many to avoid death but ultimately it will lead to an eternal torment.

If one studies the technology surrounding the Holocaust they'll find that a census and numbering system played a pivotal role in a massive genocide. IBM's Hollerith machines were used by The Nazis to sort census data for the identification and systematic extermination of millions . This is exactly what a mass numbering system like the Verichip can be used for.

The IBM Hollerith machines used by Nazi Germany were built using punch card technology. Punch cards are an early form of computing that consists of a grid of numbers printed on a paper card which is physically punched through using a sharp tool to form a machine readable pattern...The punch tool bears a striking resemblance to the special syringe used to implant the Verichip.  What's also interesting is that IBM was a major financial contributor to Applied Digital Solutions and the Verichip  Another numbering system that IBM is responsible for is the barcode. The barcode is most definitely a contributor along the road to RFID, and yes, all barcodes contain a very prominent 6,6,6 then other numbers.

It is unwise to ignore the signs around us. Prophecy is being fulfilled at lightning speed before our eyes  Just like cancer, something benign can become deadly if left to run its course. The Bible and history both show us examples of physical marks used for identification. Why would the Mark of the Beast be any different?  Thee question is will you take that mark?