To understand the mark of the beast more clearly we have to understand the Old Testament term of the word “mark”. In Genesis 4:15, Cain kills his brother Abel because; Abel had a more excellent sacrifice than Cain. Abel brought the firstlings of his flocks of sheep to God, as a tradition of what God did for Adam and Eve in the previous chapter. Gen.3:21 says “Unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord make coats of skins, and clothed them” Abel tries to do what God does when he kills the animal as a sacrifice in God’s presence. The Bible says God was pleased with his offering; the reason being was because it was a shadow of what Christ would do for the sin of the world. Jesus also was the firstborn of many: Col.1:18 says “And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.” So Abel offered the firstlings of his flock in keeping with what he thought would be pleasing to God. Cain’s offering on the other hand was rejected because it was cursed in God’s sight, for God had cursed the ground, Gen.3:17 says “And unto Adam he said, because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee saying, thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;” God latter removes the curse so people in Old Testament times could offer gifts from the ground as well as animal sacrifices: Gen.8:21 says “…and the Lord said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground anymore for mans sake: for the imagination of mans heart is evil from his youth;…” So Cain’s offering was rejected, but Abel’s was received. Cain becomes jealous of the favor of God that was placed on Abel’s offering and kills his brother. God banishes Cain from his presence and places a mark on him: Genesis 4:15 says “And the Lord said unto him, therefore whosoever slayeth Cain vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And the Lord set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him.” The word “mark” in this verse means an appearing signal, as a flag, a beacon, a monument, an omen, a prodigy, evidence, a mark, a miracle, sign, or a token. This mark had to be on a prominent place upon Cain so people could see it. This sign was given to Cain as a display of God’s mercy, but some would become confused and use it, and Cain’s crime as a mark of justification for sin: Gen.4:23-24 says “And Lamech said unto his wives, Adah and Zillah, hear my voice; ye wives of Lamech, hearken unto my speech: for I have slain a man to my wounding, and a young man to my hurt. If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold truly Lamech seventy and sevenfold.”
God tells the children of Israel to place a mark, or sign on themselves as a symbol of their deliverance from Egypt. Exodus 13:6-9, 16 says “Seven days thou shalt eat unleavened bread, and in the seventh day shall be a feast to the Lord. Unleavened bread shall be eaten seven days; and there shall no leavened bread be seen with thee, neither shall there be leaven seen with thee in all thy quarters. And thou shalt show thy son in that day, saying this is done because of that which the Lord did unto me when I came forth out of Egypt. And it shall be for a SIGN unto thee upon thine hand, and for a memorial between thine eyes, that the Lord’s law may be in thy mouth: for with a strong hand hath the Lord brought thee out of Egypt…and it shall be for a TOKEN upon thine hand, and for FRONTLETS between thine eyes: for by strength of hand the Lord brought us forth out of Egypt.” The word frontlet means to bind on the forehead. The Children of Israel were to place a mark or sign on their hand and forehead. Ezekiel 9:4 says that God placed a signature mark of protection on faithful Jews that were sick of disgusting things being done in Jerusalem. “And the Lord said unto him, go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof.” This was also a shadow of the Signature mark God places on all believers in Christ, as well as the 144,000, Jews (Rev.3:12, 14:1, 22:4).
In much the same way Hitler used the swastika as a sign that he was chosen by providence to lead the German people to their destiny. Hitler and the swastika became synonymous the one with the other. The mark that God placed on Cain was a warning to people when they would see him that they wouldn’t kill him. This mark was NOT A HOLY MARK, but when people would saw him they would respect him and not do him harm. Cain used this mark for his advantage: Gen.4:16, says “And Cain went out from the presence of the Lord, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden.” the land of Nod was a place of wandering. Eden was a large land mass in history called the Fertile Crescent because of the rivers in that area. Eden means plain, and it was comprised of the whole Arabian Desert which at this time was filled with grass. This is the Eden where God placed a garden, which was on the western extremity of the land mass. The garden faced east, or the entrance was facing the east. It was also the same area where Syria, and the land of Israel is today. There were four rivers that came out of Eden to water the garden that was in the west, but the land of Nod was east of these rivers in what is known as Persia (Iran), the Indus Valley, and western India. During the late Nineteenth and early Twentieth centuries, excavations were made in the Indus Valley region where it is said that swastikas were found. Of course other civilizations lived there after the early populations of the world, but history tells us that the swastika is thousands of years old. The Bible says Cain built a city and called it Enoch after the name of his son (Gen.4:17). This mark drew people to Cain to help him build his city. Hitler raised the swastika as a beacon to be admired by millions of Germans. This ultimately became their destruction. Rev.13:17, basically explains that every aspect of German life would be controlled by this mark and the number of the beast. Understanding this process we can see and understand it more accurately. When a nation glorifies its laws as that which can become frontlets between their eyes and on their hands what their saying is, it is ever before them and they honor it above everyone and everything.
-Anthony D. Booker
The GATHERING Place 