dh449100

There is actually, a lot of evidence to support these claims. There are two beasts (empires) discussed in chapter 13 of the Book of Revelation. The first is Rome and the second is the church which came out of Rome (earth). The mark upon the foreheads (ash Friday, etc.) and held in the hand (rosary) is a reference to the cross (see Rev. 17 also). Incidentally, if Christ had been killed by a gun, would churches today bow beneath guns, somehow giving them a sacred status instead?

The cross is clearly the mark of the beast in Revelation. It was the tortuous method of death for the poor throughout Rome and adopted somewhere around the 5th century as an icon of worship. The cross isn't the problem, it's the giving of powers, veneration and worship to it which goes beyond the "mark". The problem is that the cross has become more important than the "living Christ", wherein people give powers to it over the actual Savior. This is why Mormonism doesn't use it. IF the temple in Rome has a cross on the door, it would be "accidental". Undoubtedly, this will be changed before the dedication. In the Old Testament, the Nehushtan (serpent on the staff), became a source of worship after it's use. It had to be destroyed as people gave it more power than God Himself (see Numbers 21-22; 2 Kings 18:4).