There has been much speculation about the mark of the anti-Christ. Revelation 13:16 tells of a mark that each person on earth must receive in order to buy or sell. Elsewhere in the Revelation, 144,000 people will be sealed with the mark of God. What is this seal?

Dr. Gary Stearman has written an article about the mark of God in the October, 2000 issue of Prophecy in the News. Brother Stearman, who reads Hebrew, wrote about the mark of God that was used in Ezekiel 9:2-6. In this passage seven men (angels) were seen coming into the Temple. One of the men had a writing kit. He was instructed to place a mark on the forehead of all those who grieve and lament over what was going on in Jerusalem. The other six men were instructed to kill all those who do not have the mark of God.

In Hebrew the word “mark” is “Tav”. The Tav is a Hebrew letter which was written as an “X” or a cross before the time of Jesus. So the angel was instructed to place a cross on the forehead of those who loved the Lord and lamented the fact that He was not being honored. Today, Christians are sealed, or marked, by the Lord. See Ephesians 1:13-14. Do we have an invisible cross on our foreheads?

In Genesis, after Cain killed Abel, the Lord placed a mark on Cain to identify him. The Lord did not want Cain killed and promised vengeance on any man who did so. For this reason, He placed a mark on Cain. According to Brother Stearman, in Hebrew this mark is written the opposite of the mark in Ezekiel chapter 9. He speculates that the mark of Cain was the opposite of the cross placed on the foreheads in Ezekiel. Brother Stearman thinks the sign was a broken cross.

Various forms of the broken cross have been used by pagan and occultic worshipers down through the ages. It has been used from Scandinavia to Persia to India. It has been found in pre-historic burial mounds here in the United States. We are familiar with the broken cross. One form was the “peace” symbol of the 1960s. Another form of the broken cross is the swastika, used by Adolf Hitler and the Nazis. If you have a “peace” symbol, you may wish to dispose of it.

Second Corinthians 1:22 tells Christians that they are sealed, or marked, by the Holy Spirit. Apparently that mark is a cross. The Lord has marked those who belong to Him. Some day He is sending Jesus to gather up all those who belong to Him. This gathering is known as the Rapture. Even so, come Lord Jesus! (Revelation 22:20, King James Version).