As COVID-19 continues to circulate around the world, it becomes increasingly clear it poses a threat to more than just global health. Governments all over the world have used the crisis to expand their power and trample individual liberty. As 2021 nears its end, governments are increasingly dividing the world into two camps – the vaccinated and the unvaccinated.
For example, on September 9th, President Biden held a press conference in which he announced a series of new vaccine mandates potentially impacting more than 100 million Americans. Biden is authoring rules to require all employers with 100 or more employees to ensure their workforces are fully vaccinated or show a negative test at least once a week.
Whereas private sector employees are forced to choose between the jab or their job, our military heroes face losing their freedom and even their future.Military members are being told that if they refuse to take the shots, they will be sent to prison and dishonorably discharged. Many have served multiple tours of duty in foreign battlefields and have earned high honors. Yet, these heroes are bullied, shamed and threatened with solitary confinement! The ink hasn’t even dried yet on those executive orders, and already The Hill reports he’s mulling the idea of implementing vaccine requirements for all air travel.
Recently, Australian MP Daniel Andrews vowed to “lock out” the unvaccinated when it comes to medical care and conducting commerce. Israel, France, and countless other nations have set up “vaccine passport” systems. Under these systems, the unvaccinated are denied access to gyms, concerts, restaurants, and sporting events. In the United States, similar measures have been put in place in New York City, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. Universities make the vaccine a requirement for enrollment, and in some cases, the unvaccinated are denied medical care. For example, one Florida doctor sent a letter to her patients telling them she will no longer treat the unvaccinated. Throughout the world, society is singling out the unvaccinated for punishment. They seek to apply maximum pressure to force the unvaccinated into compliance.
Does any of this sound eerily familiar? It should. The Book of Revelation describes a similar system whereby the people of the world are forced to receive a mark on their right hand or forehead. Those who refuse to comply will be unable to buy or sell. They’ll effectively be cut off from society.
Are COVID vaccines the mark of the beast written about in the Book of Revelation? No. The mark of the beast will involve a conscious decision to give one’s allegiance to the Antichrist. No one will accept it by mistake.
Nevertheless, vaccine mandates and passports create a social system enabling the mark of the beast. If they are allowed to stand, they will create a mark of the beast system indistinguishable in impact from the true mark of the beast. In doing so, they’ll pave the way for the rise of the Antichrist and the mark of the beast as outlined in the Book of Revelation.
What does the Bible actually say about the mark of the beast? It says the mark will be an outward expression of a person’s allegiance to the Antichrist and he’ll require everyone on earth to accept the mark (Revelation 13:16). Society will blacklist anyone who refuses the mark. Every buy/sell transaction will be linked to it. As a result, those without it will be unable to buy or sell anything (Revelation 13:17). This will put enormous social pressure on people to accept the mark.
Think about it. Imagine if you couldn’t buy or sell anything. How would you get food to survive? How would you get shelter, clothes, and the basic necessities of life? The pressure for most people will be too much to bear. They’ll give in and accept the mark. It’s likely only committed Christians or devoted members of a religion condemning such a practice will refuse the mark. In some cases, the consequences will be worse than economic. Some people will be martyred for their refusal to accept the mark (Revelation 20:4).
To be clear – the current COVID vaccines are NOT the mark of the beast. If you’re vaccinated, there’s nothing wrong with that. If you’re unvaccinated, there’s nothing wrong with that either. Whether or not you’re vaccinated or unvaccinated does nothing to establish the mark of the beast system. However, vaccine mandates and vaccine passports do. They create the very foundation for the mark of the beast system.
Every Christian should oppose vaccine mandates and vaccine passports, because supporting them is the same as supporting the mark of the beast system. In practice, they’re one and the same. If you accept the idea the government has the rightful power to inject a substance into someone against their will (or pressure them to submit), then government power has no limit.
This is yet another sign of the times in which we live. Israel is back in the land (Jeremiah 23:7-8). The Jewish people are back in Jerusalem (Luke 21:24-28). The Gospel is being preached throughout the world (Matthew 24:14). And now we see the mark of the beast system embraced by much of the world. Jesus said when you see all these events take place, look up, because He’s coming soon (Luke 21:28). So use what little time we have left to spread the Gospel, because Jesus is coming!