Is the Covid-19 Vaccine the Mark of the Beast?

Let me begin by laying my cards on the table when it comes to the Covid-19 vaccines. I was among the first in line to receive mine – I actually participated in the Moderna vaccine study. I did that because I believed it was the best way to do my part to end this pandemic. It was a small part, but it felt like something I could do. 

 

My purpose though is not to convince you about the effectiveness of the vaccine, or the merits for or against requiring it. I’ll let the medical experts and politicians work those out. My purpose is to help you understand what the Bible says about – or actually what it does not say about – the vaccine itself. This is a hugely important question. Where God's Word speaks, we must listen. We can't come up with our conclusions before we study it for ourselves. As Christians, we must take God's Word so seriously that we wouldn't dare believe something contrary to what it says.

I’ve had a couple of people ask me lately whether or not the vaccine was the Mark of the Beast. They asked that question because of talk of employers and perhaps even governments mandating the vaccine and hearing that some stores will not allow people to shop there unless they can show proof that they’ve been vaccinated. Again, the truth of those statements, and the wisdom of those kinds of actions, can be debated. That’s not my point here. My point is only to answer the question – is this vaccine the Mark of the Beast?

 

Let me begin by definitively saying this: the Covid-19 vaccine is not the Mark of the Beast. But I want to show you why that is true from scripture. You don’t need my opinions. You need God’s Word. And though we don’t know everything about what this mark will look like, we certainly know enough to know what we are seeing now is not what the Bible talks about.

 

It's also important to recognize that this debate is not new. Some people believed social security numbers were the mark. Others believed UPC codes were the mark. The idea that something the government requires is the Mark of the Beast has been around for a long time.

 

Let's take a look at the scripture that refer to the Mark of the Beast, found in Revelation 13. In this chapter, which takes place around the mid-point of the Tribulation, John sees two beasts - one coming from the sea, symbolizing the antichrist. The antichrist is allowed to exercise authority, he speaks blasphemy for 3 ½ years, and he persecutes Christians in a way they’ve never been persecuted before. The second beast is from the earth, symbolizing his assistant, who acts as a religious leader for the antichrist. This second beast forces the whole world to worship the antichrist, while performing miraculous signs and killing those who don’t worship him. Then, verse 16 says this:

 

“Also, it causes all, both great and small, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be marked on the right hand or forehead, so that no one can buy or sell unless he has that mark, that is, the name of the beast or the number of its name.”

 

John goes on to say that the one who understands should calculate the number of the beast, that it is the number of a man, and that number is 666. Then, in verse 1 of chapter 14, John contrasts those who have taken the mark with believers in Jesus, whom he says have the Father’s name written on their foreheads. The choice is clear – receive the Father through Jesus, and get his mark, or bow to the antichrist and receive his.

 

From these verses, there are several things that have to be true for the vaccine to be the Mark of the Beast:

 

1.     We must be in the tribulation period. Now, I believe the tribulation happens after the church has been raptured (taken up to Heaven). I recognize that there are a lot of different beliefs on that issue, but you don't have to believe exactly what I believe to understand we are not in the period the context of chapter 13 talks about. Though worshiping Jesus may mean a death sentence in some countries, that is certainly not the case in most of the world. The kind of persecution that chapter 13 talks about is not happening at this moment.

2.     The antichrist must be ruling the earth, and his false prophet must be doing miracles, proclaiming him as God, and requiring that people worship him. We've seen some truly evil leaders in our world, but no one like those two have arisen yet.

3.     The mark itself must be on the hand or on the forehead. The Covid vaccine is injected into the upper arm.

4.     It must be required worldwide. Because the world is ruled by one person, then he has the ability to require the mark. Nothing about our current system allows that to happen. One of the reasons that this kind of thinking becomes prominent is because we are too America-centric. This passage is not talking about something that happens in America, any other single country, or even multiple countries. This is happening worldwide, in a world ruled by one person.

5.     The mark itself must be required for buying and selling. This is where many people get caught up on the question of the vaccine. Some employers already are requiring it, and others may decide to require it. There may come a time when federal or state laws require it for everyone (though I would be very surprised if that happens). There may be businesses that require it for you to be their customer or enter their establishment. That still doesn’t meet the requirements of what the Bible says about the mark. There will still be plenty of ways for unvaccinated people to buy and sell, even if the vaccine is required for entrance to many, or even all businesses. Amazon anyone?

6.     The mark must be a conscious sign of the rejection of Jesus. This is most important. No one will accidently take the mark. Each person who takes it will be saying, "The beast is Lord" instead of "Jesus is Lord" and they will know what they are doing. They will not only worship the beast, but they will consciously worship him, and in doing so, consciously reject Jesus.

 

Let me make this clear: for the vaccine to be the mark, all of these six statements must be true. None of them are true of the vaccine. There are certainly other questions that you will need to answer before deciding whether or not to take the vaccine. Those are questions for your medical provider to answer. But this question - whether it is the actual Mark of the Beast - has an easy answer. If anyone tries to tell you otherwise, one of two things is true: they do not understand the Bible, or they are intentionally trying to deceive you so they can make you afraid.

The Temptations (and Dangers) of the Secret Knowledge Club

Not long after Jesus' death, resurrection, and ascension, one of the first "Christian" conspiracy theories began to blossom. You can see the roots of it 1st Corinthians 15, watch it develop in 1st John, and then see how it really blossomed in the early church. It came to be known as Gnosticism, and it was a big problem that hasn't completely gone away even now. 

 

A group of people in the Corinthian church began to say that they had been blessed with "secret knowledge," about "the truth" of Jesus, that no one else could see. That truth was that there really wasn't really going to be a physical resurrection of the dead. They believed the body was evil, so there was no need for a physical resurrection. Paul powerfully refutes these ideas in 1st Corinthians 15:12-19:

 Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?  But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. For if the dead   are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in Christ we have hope n this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.

Paul tells the church at Corinth that their "secret knowledge" is going to send them to Hell. If there is no resurrection, they are without hope, with Christ, without forgiveness, to be most pitied. But this little heresy continues to grow in the church, until a few decades later when it has developed even further - and some are now saying that Jesus never came in the flesh in the first place! See the progression - first, the body is evil. Because the body is evil, there is no physical resurrection. And because the body is evil - then Jesus could have never actually had a physical body! So, the Secret Knowledge Club has now rejected the humanity of Jesus! This is why John wrote in 1 John 4:2-3:

By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already."

Two things are happening here: the "Secret Knowledge Club" was not satisfied to simply deny the resurrection of the dead. The longer they talked, the more secret knowledge they seemed to obtain. Now, they denied the humanity of Jesus. And not only are they hell-bound - John now identifies them with the anti-Christ himself.

 

Now, the Secret Knowledge Club did not end there. They continued to push and grow over the years and decades, and their heretical beliefs continued to grow. What might have been a mistaken understanding of the resurrection turned into a full-blown movement in complete contradiction to Christianity. The Gnostics twisted the sayings and teaching of Jesus in such a way that the apostles wouldn't have recognized them, all the while saying that only they had the secret and special understanding of the way the world worked. The Gnostics are still around today - read a Dan Brown novel to see it. They were convinced that there was a conspiracy to cover up the truth of the world - and only they had the real answers! 

Unfortunately, the "Secret Knowledge Club," is still around, and you don't have to read Dan Brown to find them. There are unfortunately far too many professing believers in Christ who invest far too much of their time into the latest conspiracy theories, all the while believing that they have found the truth! They find some web site in a back alley of the internet that uses a little bit of scripture, a few current events, a heaping dose of suspicion toward "the powers that be," and a sprinkle of out of context facts to create conspiracies that sound like they might just be true. And as outlandish as they are, they seem to make more sense of the world than what you're being told. 

 

It feels good to have that secret knowledge, to understand things when no one else seems to understand them. It is so tempting and alluring, and it especially so right now, when the world just seems to be upside down. If everyone else would just "get it." If they'd just stop being "sheeple." If only they could see what you could see. If only they would do their research the way you have done your research. Here's the problem. It never satisfied. There's always another conspiracy. There is always more secret knowledge to gain. And the longer you invest yourself in gaining it, the further and further you move away from God's truth.

 

Don't join the Secret Knowledge Club. Get into God's Word instead. It will help you navigate every situation in life. It will give you all of the knowledge that you need, and it is not for a special few. It's for everyone. God has not hidden the truth. It is not a riddle that needs deciphering. It's not a code that needs cracking. It's not a secret that needs researching. It's right there, in black and white, just like it has been for 2,000 years. The knowledge you need is "built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the chief cornerstone" (Ephesians 4:20). And it is enough. It will satisfy you. 

The Church Needs "Vulnerable Populations"

Ms. Mary with her hands raised in the bottom right hand corner

Ms. Mary sits on the front row at Northcrest. Though she is not a member of the worship team, she is in many ways our “lead worshipper.” She is always the first to stand, the first to raise her hands in praise, the first to clap along with the songs. But Ms. Mary, like many people in our church, is in a high-risk health group. She spends three days a week on a dialysis machine, breathes through a tracheotomy tube, and gets around with the aid of a walker. That has never stopped her from worshipping, teaching children in Sunday School, and bringing a carload of guests to church with her many Sundays.

But the coronavirus pandemic has forced her to stay at home for the last five months. She knows it is not wise for her to be out, so she basically goes to dialysis and goes home now. And she’s not alone. There are hundreds of them in our church – people who, because of their age or their health or both, are not attending church services right now. They are among the most loyal members of our church, and they faithfully worship online each Sunday, while they wait for the day when they can come back.

Our church is certainly not alone. Almost every church in America is dealing with many people in similar situations right now. Most churches are trying their best to help and stay connected to these folks, because we know that they are hurting right now. It is not easy to not be able to go to a place that means so much to you. 

But if we’re not careful, we’ll miss something important. These “missing members” are hurting, but they’re not the only ones hurting. Our churches are hurting by not having them. I don’t simply mean that the numbers are down. I mean that when a church is without “vulnerable populations,” it is less than it ought to be. A church without senior adults, without people suffering from chronic illness, without the weak and the infirmed, that is not a church that anyone should want to be a part of. When they are weak, God is strong! God can accomplish more through the weak than the strong can ever accomplish on their own. It’s not just that people like this need the church – the church needs them!

It wasn’t the strongest and the youngest and the smartest and the healthiest and the richest that found Jesus most attractive. It was those who were hurting, those who had problems, those who were sick, those who were dying! And Jesus took that group of unlikely people and built his church! He’s still doing that today! And until these people can fully return to the church, the church will never be what it supposed to be. 

In the meantime, we’ll worship without people like Ms. Mary. It’s not the same, but it’s still important that we do it. But I can tell you that everyone in my church longs for the day that she and others like her will be able to walk through those doors again. We won’t be the same until they can!

Is There Anything Out There?

One of my favorite podcasts is “This American Life,” a National Public Radio show that examines different stories happening in our nation. This week’s episode was on Fermi’s Paradox, a scientific conundrum for those trying to understand whether or not there is alien life. Fermi’s Paradox asks a simple question – if there is alien life, then where is it? Why haven’t we found it? The paradox suggests that the fact that we haven’t found extraterrestrial life already might simply mean that there is none out there.

Now, I don’t care about debating whether or not there is alien life. It is not a problem for Christians if there are aliens – the Bible doesn’t offer us information one way or another about it. But for non-believers, the problem could be enormous. The scientists discussing the paradox put it this way in the episode:

David Kestenbaum: “What if advanced life like us is just a mathematical
improbability, a total fluke?”Melissa Franklin: “And then you would say, OK, if that's the case, I have
to believe in God. So that's what you're saying.”Kestenbaum: “How many physicists do you know who believe in God?”
Franklin: “Six.”

This exchange is telling. These two people are willing to consider any evidence, any theory, any possibility, except the possibility that a transcendent God actually created human beings in his own image. But Kestenbaum was troubled – he didn’t have a good answer for Fermi’s Paradox, and without actually saying it, he seemed very worried that God might be a possibility. He said that the idea that no one else was out there made him sad.

And understandably so. For the person who lives as if God doesn’t exist, to have that possibility thrust upon his life is a real problem. Because this God is someone who is above them, who transcends them, and who ultimately will make demands on their lives. 

What is the point? Even among the most skeptical among us are haunted by the idea of God. There is someone else out there. There is a God who made us in his image, and he shown himself to us time and time again. Ultimately, he has fully revealed himself in his son, Jesus – the image of the invisible God. And no matter how many times we shoo that idea away, no matter how far we push it down, it will continue to bubble back up to the surface. 

 Perhaps Fermi’s Paradox can be resolved. Perhaps we’ll discover alien life at some point. Perhaps E.T. is out there. But the questions about God won’t go away. Because Heis the answer to the questions that we all are asking.

---

Source: National Public Radio. This American Life: Episode 617: Fermi’s Paradox. May 19, 2019.

What I Don't Know, and What I Do Know, About What is Happening Right Now

I will freely admit that I'm lacking in wisdom when it comes to dealing with the cultural moment that we find ourselves in - that we found ourselves in over the weekend. I honestly do not know what it will take to put the divisions that we see in our nation back together. It began Friday when President Trump called football players who kneeled during the national anthem SOB's and said they should be fired. It continued when more of those players responding by kneeling during the national anthem. And then it really got bad as people were all over social media on both sides yesterday - ramping up the rhetoric even more. I don't know how this is fixed - it's a microcosm of what we are as a nation right now. We're divided along so many different lines that it's hard to keep count.

So, I said I don't know how that will be fixed - but let me walk that back a little bit. I don't know exactly how it will be fixed, but I do know that this moment calls for Christians to act like Christians. There are a lot of different ways people will read that statement, so let me be clear. Some see Christianity as a political movement - and that our primary purpose in the culture is to win elections or get laws passed. Though that's not unimportant, it's not what Christianity is. Others see Christianity as a social movement - designed to get people to act right. Though that's not unimportant either, it's not what Christianity is. When I speak of Christianity, I'm talking about a group of people who are dedicated to living out the gospel in their lives and in their cultures, because of what Jesus has done for them, and what he has commanded them to do. They live it out through their witness and through their actions. Jesus and Jesus alone has the power to fix what ails us as a nation, but he will not do it through political or social channels. He will do it the way he always does it - by using the radical love found only through the gospel. So though I don't know exactly what this will look like, I think we can find some guideposts that will show us a way forward.

Divisions are healed when Christians choose to listen more than they speak. We have an awful lot of talk in our culture today, but very little listening. Most people don't listen so they can understand - they listen so they can respond. But Christians must be different. The apostle James said this: "Let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak." Now, we don't have to be told to listen more and speak less when we're talking to people we agree with. This specifically comes into play when we're talking to someone we disagree with. Christian, have you really listened to people you disagree with? Have you tried to understand why they think the way they think, why they believe the way they believe, why they're acting the way they act? Have you put yourself in their shoes? Even after you listen, you may not agree with them. But you may find you have more common ground than you originally thought. And most certainly, you will be better able to empathize with them. Here's a good practice - every day, read an article or talk to someone with whom you profoundly disagree. And as you do it - look for common ground. You might be surprised.

Divisions are healed when Christians admit they were wrong. It's funny - for a faith that says that every single person on the planet is deeply affected by sin, and even believers still battle a sin nature, we sure have a hard time saying we messed up. But all of us have flaws in our thinking. Some of that is sin, some of it is ignorance, and some of it is a lack of wisdom. But a big first step to peace is admitting that you're not sure about everything - that you might be wrong on issues that are not of first importance. A little humility goes a long way.

Divisions are healed when Christians choose to love their enemies. It constantly amazes me how this clear command from Jesus, repeated numerous times through the New Testament, is consistently ignored by people who profess to be believers. But it's there over and over again: "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you." (Matthew 5:44) "Bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you." (Luke 6:28) "But love your enemies, and do good." (Luke 6:35) "Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse." (Romans 12:14) "If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat; And if he is thirsty, give him water to drink." (Proverbs 25:21). The witness of scripture is that we should love, pray, and do good for those with whom we disagree with. Can you imagine the difference that could made in our culture right now if Christians chose to listen to and then pray for and then love those with whom we consider our enemies? I mean, instead of going onto social media and putting them on blast.

Divisions are healed when the gospel is taught and lived by Christians. You see, the reason that we are called to all of this is because this is what Jesus did. "While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8) If you are a believer in Christ, you are a reformed enemy of God. You were once his enemy, and he loved you enough to do what you could not do for yourself - he sent his son to die for you. Jesus loved his enemies so much that he was willing to go through the hellish torture of crucifixion - but more than that, he loved his enemies so much that he was willing to endure separation from his father. And in doing so, he reconciled those enemies to himself. I pray that includes you. If it does, he has now called you to a ministry of reconciliation - helping others be reconciled to God. And when people are reconciled to God, then they will be reconciled to one another. The gospel is the only thing that has the power to bring people with such profound disagreements together. But when it is preached right and lived right, you will see people who otherwise couldn't be in the same room together living as brothers and sisters. So, the question for you is this - do you love your enemies enough to try to make them your friends, the way Jesus did it? 

What would happen if Christians in this country decided to live out these truths - putting them before every other competing truth claim? We say that the reason we believe the gospel is because it is the way the world actually works. Maybe the reason the world is not actually working right now is because we are refusing to live out the gospel the way it was meant to be lived. I do not have all the answers - but I know where the answers are found. Will you be an agent of peace, and pray that God will show us those answers?

Christian, Don't Join a Facebook Posse

About two years ago, when I was working at WTOK, we missed a story that a lot people thought we should have covered. It happens. No one is perfect. Someone posted something on our Facebook page complaining, and I owned up to it. I apologized and told them we would do better in the future, and were taking some specific steps to do better. In the past, that more than likely would have been the end of it. But not in the era of social media. The post was shared hundreds of times by people who were angry we hadn’t covered the story. I was blasted from every conceivable angle. And at that moment, I discovered what it was like to have a Facebook posse come after you. Let me tell you – it makes for a rough few days. I hope my mom didn’t see some of the things I was called.

Since that time, I’ve watched again and again and people have taken part in what looks a lot like what the guys in the picture above used to do – frontier justice on a digital scale. One person is upset about something. They don’t like the way they were treated at a business. They are frustrated by a person they see in a news story. They’re angry at a politician. They hear a rumor that a mother whose child died might have been involved in the death. They see someone taking pictures at a park and assume he’s a pervert. And they want the whole world to know about it – whether it is true or not. There are real world consequences for digital justice like this. Reputations are destroyed. Real people are hurt. It’s like squeezing toothpaste out of the tube – there’s no way to get it back in once it’s out.

Christian, don’t join a Facebook posse. And certainly, don’t start a Facebook posse. No good can come from this. Today I want to give you four reasons you shouldn’t take part in digital justice like this.

1 – You usually don’t know for sure whether it is true or not. The vast majority of the time that you come upon a post that has been shared numerous times about some kind of injustice, or about some person who has wronged another, you only have one side of the story, and you have no idea whether or not that side is true. “The one who states his case first seems right, until the other comes and examines him.” (Proverbs 18:17) In a worst case scenario, you are simply slandering someone by telling lies about them – whether you realize they are lies or not.

2 – It is usually nothing more than gossip. This is extremely important. The apostle Paul includes gossip among a long list of sins that prove the absolute depravity of man:

“They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, ³⁰ slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, ³¹ foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. ³² Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.

We don’t treat gossip that way – we treat it like something we know we shouldn’t do, but is simply a guilty pleasure. But notice that last part – “they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.” When you participate in a Facebook posse like this, very often you are participating in gossip – spreading rumors for no other reason than the rush you get from talking about it. And by participating with others, you are giving approval to the others who take part in it also.

3 – It shows a lack of grace in your life. Many times, situations like this include people competing to think of what the worst punishment for the person involved can be. “Throw him in jail!” one says. “No, throw him under the jail!” says another. “He doesn’t deserve a trial! Forget jail! Someone needs to take care of him right now!” screams another. Christian, this is no way to live. Even if the person is guilty, it shows a lack of grace to scream for this kind of justice. “But he who is forgiven little, loves little.” (Luke 7:47) Those without grace need to check their hearts to see if they have received it.

4 – It will hurt your witness for Jesus. Think of the last time you went off on Facebook about someone. If you come face-to-face with them today, will you be able to tell them about Jesus, with a clean conscious? Even more so, would they be willing to listen to you if they knew what you said about them? Paul said, “From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh.” (2^nd Corinthians 5:16) What does he mean? God wants us to first see people not simply as who they are – but as who they will be for eternity. He wants us to mainly see them as people who are going to live forever, and desperately need the grace of God. If you think of someone this way, it will be very hard to go off on them on social media.

So here is what I’m asking. Before you post, think: do I know this is true? Is this right? Is it slanderous or libelous? Will it hurt someone? Am I showing grace? Am I trying to dispense my own kind of justice? Am I only writing what I am writing for the cathartic release? (And yes, I’m asking myself these same things as I write this.) Your witness, your soul, and the souls of those who are being hurt are all at stake. I beg you – don’t join a Facebook posse.