I wrote a couple of weeks ago that the Covid vaccine cannot be the mark of the Beast, as some Christians are being led to believe it is. But what’s going on in regard to mandates? I here offer some augmentation, explication, and perhaps a few other “ations”…
THE FREEDOM ISSUE
While there really is a threatening disease affecting a lot of people-I’ve had it myself- the hype is not commensurate with the reality. Too many people who watch too much TV and social media are far too fearful: that’s no way to live life. The disease is likely to be around permanently, just as flu, cancer and numerous other illnesses are. Is our government so determined to regulate our behavior over one of these diseases, when the others are all considered a natural risk of being alive ? We want to live our lives to the full; not to be locked up in our houses; not to be treated like children who can’t make our own choices and who can’t take precautions or be responsible. Do I really have to have a strip of cloth over my face for the rest of my life? Do I have to be separated from the faces of other humans in this way?
KEEP CALM
However, despite all the fearmongering and threats to personal freedoms, we need to keep a clear head. Avoid perturbation (I had to fit in another ation). The Bible is clear as to what the mark of the beast is, as I noted last time. Don’t be misled by those with over-active wallet-glands and super-spiritual mania, who make a good living with sensational talk and unchecked imaginations. Here’s the Biblical definition:
He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
This calls for wisdom. Let the person who has insight calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man. That number is 666 (Revelation 13:16-18).
ALLEGIANCE, NOT MISTAKE
Covid vaccine doesn’t yet fit the bill as defined in Revelation, without the use of some considerable extrapolation and deformation of the facts (I told you there would be more ations). However, it is possible that it is the “thin edge of the wedge”. That is, it could possibly be the beginning of governments around the world making unreasonable demands on us all in return for the “right” to buy and sell and take part in society, and so a model for the coming mark and its enforcement. On the other hand, it may not be.
The central demand, according to Scripture, would have to be that we ally ourselves and swear allegiance, obedience and devotion to the man who we currently call “antichrist”. It’s interesting that some around the world, including Biden’s administration and their supporters, are wanting to make the vaccine mandatory, for which we would have to have some sort of evidence on-or in-our person. It almost seems like a warm-up for the mark and its enforcement. No, I don’t think for a minute that Biden is the antichrist.
CONDITIONING
There’s a good chance we’re being both weighed up and conditioned by those who think they’re our masters, in preparation for the “fundamental transformation” or the “great reset” that they want to bring on the world, starting with the United States. Our “masters” (they wish) are the super-rich who have already involved themselves and their money in politics and in elections without most people knowing it, and also those who are in their pockets or in agreement with them, in media and politics.
The Bible uses imagery in many ways, but not when it comes to warning and informing: then it gets unmistakably to the point. It doesn’t make sense to me that the God of mercy and faithfulness would allow many people-millions of them-to accidentally receive their own damnation, via a vaccine, when they’ve already trusted Jesus Christ for salvation.
CALLED TO SALVATION, NOT DECEPTION
The description of the mark in Revelation (above) is quite specific, and although it does mention the right hand, and so could be imagined to be a vaccine shot, it’s clear that as yet no-one is receiving the Covid vaccine via their forehead. On top of that, Revelation chapter fifteen tells us that those who take the mark will be “tormented” endlessly. There is no logic in Christ dying for people, bringing them to faith and salvation, and then allowing them make a simple, innocent mistake, falling into a trap which will lead to their eternal torment. Jesus Christ is faithful-and that’s one thing we must remember daily, whether in end times or not. When the mark comes, you will know for sure what it stands for, and you will know clearly what the choice is.
THE MAN-BEAST
The beast of Revelation is first of all a man:
Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God (2 Thessalonians 2:3-4).
The man will suddenly be thrust into the front of our world’s consciousness, and there will be no mistake about who he is-at least, not in the minds of true believers. He is not here yet, and therefore he cannot be followed. You can’t devote yourself and swear allegiance to someone you do not yet know.
BEAST FIRST, MARK SECOND
The mark, according to Revelation, will not precede the beast-it will be in response to his appearance, his power and his charisma. Read chapter 13 of Revelation to see this principle.
THE KINGDOM-BEAST
The beast is also a history-long system empowered by the devil himself. We could perhaps also see the last manifestation of the beast as the kingdom which the man-beast will rule, since earlier manifestations of the beast were rulers of their own kingdoms, and the word translated “king” can also be translated “kingdom”:
The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits. There are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, and the other has not yet come. And when he comes, he must continue a short time. The beast that was, and is not, is himself also the eighth, and is of the seven, and is going to perdition (Revelation 17:9-11).
SUMMARY
In the end times there will be a choice for you to make, not a mistake. You can’t be fooled or tricked into following antichrist. The choice is about whether you will worship the God of heaven, or take the broad road to destruction with everyone else, and devote yourself to a man-a man plainly in direct opposition to the God of heaven and everything He stands for.
However, when we consider what’s going on with the virus and the threat of vaccine passports-around the world-and when we take into account that the United States is now in the grip of those determined to make a very radical change to the United States, by any means necessary, we do need to be aware, alert, and spiritually prepared for what may be coming.
Fuel for Faith 