Vaccine = Mark of the Beast?

I am sure you have heard well-meaning people say that the COVID-19 vaccine is the mark of the beast. I know that if you are like me, vaccinated, and happy that you were, you are tired of the lies that the far right keep making up to hold people in bondage.  First let me start off by saying "The vaccine is NOT the mark of the beast" A very simple study of the scripture, especially Revelation will assist folks in knowing this. 

Meme that is being shared on Facebook

I have spent years learning about God, and studying His Word, even earning a Master's degree in Biblical studies; and I don't know it all, and don't claim to know it all. I do, however, note that many that share the following meme on Facebook have been relatively new Christians who are just babies in the faith. And that they are falling for a lie straight from the pits of hell, because a pastor said so is devastating to me. I also find it amazing that people lose their minds over being told to wear a mask otherwise they won't get service, but they are completely find with no shoes no service or no shirt no service; literally that could be considered conditioning...

I know a lot of people will not read Revelation. It's a book that is hard to understand, it can be scary if you don't completely understand the Apocalyptic language. In fact, as many scholars will agree, the language of Revelation was better understood by the early church than it ever will be by modern minds. 

Revelation 13:16-17 states 16 Also it causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be marked on the right hand or the forehead, 17 so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark, that is, the name of the beast or the number of its name. (English Standard Version). 

Dr. Pate's Blog states the following: The beginning of the “End Times” is signaled by the rebirth of Israel as a nation, which occurred in 1948. This is the fulfillment of the dry bones prophecy in Ezekiel 37, which is interpreted in Ezekiel 37:21: “I will take the Israelites out of the nations where they have gone. I will gather them from all around and bring them back into their own land.” This sets the stage for the Tribulation period. Thus, we are living in the end times.

Now, while God through John does not give us a strict chronology of events and complete clarity as to what all those events are, He does provide some important facts and timelines. As mentioned above, the Bible provides us with an event that signals the beginning of “end times.” Because of that, we know that we are living in those end times. But, the Tribulation comes later (we are in end times, but we have not yet gone through Tribulation) and we know that the antichrist (the beast) is not revealed and does not rise to prominence until the Tribulation period. Thus, no one can be taking the mark of the beast until they are in the Tribulation period and the beast has been revealed. This is how we can be confident that the COVID vaccine does not involve taking the mark of the beast.

Let's read that again, "No one can take the mark of the beast until they are in the tribulation period and the beast has been revealed." You can't take the mark of something that according to Scripture hasn't been revealed yet. 

Not to mention that the person who will be indwellt by Satan (the beast) will demand worship of himself, he will have a false prophet, he will broker peace between Israel and the world. The Tribulation referred to in the book of Revelation is the Great Tribulation – a seven-year period where the Holy Spirit, the “great restrainer” is removed, allowing Satan to have free reign. It will be a period of false peace, world-wide disasters and tremendous loss of life. In a mockery of the triune God – the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, Satan will have his own trinity – Satan (also referred to as the Dragon – a counterfeit God), the Antichrist (also referred to as the Beast – a counterfeit Christ), and the False Prophet (a counterfeit Holy Spirit). Paul warned of a “man of lawlessness” in 2 Thessalonians 2:3,8-9 in a reference to the antichrist. It is John who refers to the antichrist as “the beast” in Revelation 13:1-10.

Personally, I subscribe to the pre-tribulation rapture theory. The teaching of pre-tribulation is thus: the church will not be here, they say, when the man of lawlessness is revealed. The Thessalonian Christians will not see the appearance of the man of lawlessness according to pre-tribulation teaching.

But who is this so called man of lawlessness and how can you know him? Can you know him? According to the website Desiring God there are many things that can do or know in order to know the man of lawlessness; and I encourage you to read about the man of lawlessness. 

Book Review: The Parables: Jesus' Friendly Subversive Speech

This book, what can I say? Unless you are really familiar with the Jewish sages you probably wouldn't realize that Jesus' style of teaching was the same as the Rabbis that taught in the temple. To say that I enjoyed this book would be an understatement. From explaining that the parables were Jesus' way of revealing deeper meaning to challenging my own understanding of the parables this book kept me intrigued. 

This book is truly a treasure for the layman and the pastor alike. Whether it is learning persistence from the widow, to the joy of salvation that God the father must feel when one comes home to Him. This treasury is straight-forward and doesn't shy away from telling others what they need to be looking for in the parables. 

I received the copy of this book from Kregel Publishers in exchange for an unbiased opinion of the book.