Is the COVID vaccine the mark of the beast

SERMON TOPIC: Is the COVID vaccine the mark of the beast

Speaker: Gavin Paynter

Language: ENGLISH

Date: 15 August 2021

Topic Groups: COVID 19, PROPHECY, ANTICHRIST

Sermon synopsis: According to the Washington Post (16 Feb 2021):
Some churches and Christian ministries with large online followings — as well as Christian influencers on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube — are making false claims that vaccines contain fetal tissue or microchips, or are construing associations between vaccine ingredients and the devil. Others talk about how coronavirus vaccines and masks contain or herald the “mark of the beast” …
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The COVID-19 vaccine

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by a newly discovered coronavirus. Most people who fall sick with COVID-19 will experience mild to moderate symptoms and recover without special treatment. *

HOW IT SPREADS

The virus that causes COVID-19 is mainly transmitted through droplets generated when an infected person coughs, sneezes, or exhales. These droplets are too heavy to hang in the air, and quickly fall on floors or surfaces. You can be infected by breathing in the virus if you are within close proximity of someone who has COVID-19, or by touching a contaminated surface and then your eyes, nose or mouth. *

* https:// www.who.int/ emergencies/ diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019

COVID-19

As of 15 August 2021, the reported worldwide statistics are:

207 million infections

4,35 million deaths *

The reported South African statistics are:

2,58 million infections

76,631 deaths *

* https:// en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/ Template:COVID-19_pandemic_data

COVID-19 STATISTICS

COVID-19 VACCINES

According to the Washington Post (16 Feb 2021):

Some churches and Christian ministries with large online followings — as well as Christian influencers on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube — are making false claims that vaccines contain fetal tissue or microchips, or are construing associations between vaccine ingredients and the devil. Others talk about how coronavirus vaccines and masks contain or herald the “mark of the beast” … *

* https:// www.washingtonpost.com/ technology/ 2021/ 02/ 16/ covid-vaccine-misinformation-evangelical-mark-beast/

Do COVID-19 vaccines contain microchips?

PATENT “WORLD ORDER 666”?

Claim: Microsoft owns patent “World Order 666,” which involves inserting microchips into people. Former Microsoft CEO, Bill Gates, started the COVID-19 pandemic so that he could insert microchips into people around the world under the guise of providing vaccinations.

Microsoft did publish a patent for a “cryptocurrency system using body activity data.” This patent is filed under the number WO2020060606A1 which contains three “6’s” but is not the same as “666.”

The “WO” does not stand for “World Order” but for World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) the organization that grants the patents.

This patent focuses on tracking body activity via wearable technology, such as a smart watch, and makes no mention of implanted microchips, 5G or vaccines.

A video on TikTok shows people being implanted with a tracking microchip. It features a poor-quality screengrab from a news broadcast with an overlaid text reading “The R.F.I.D CHIP coming in all corona vaccine shots in next 18 months (MARK OF THE BEAST).”

The original footage has been cropped and taken out of context. The video actually shows a 2017 report from NBC News’ Today show about a Wisconsin company which offered its employees the chance to have a microchip implant in their finger that they could use to buy snacks, log in to computers or activate the copy machine. *

* https:// www.reuters.com/ article/ uk-factcheck-video-microchip-coronavirus-idUSKBN22R2GS

TRACKING MICROCHIPS IN VACCINES?

A video shared over 27,100 times on Facebook implies that the COVID-19 vaccine will contain a tracking microchip that will be injected in the individuals that receive the COVID-19 vaccine once it is ready. This is false. *

The video is a compilation of out of context or manipulated footage, including news reports and commentary from Bill and Melinda Gates that have been selectively combined. It includes portions of a May 2020 CBN interview with Jay Walker, executive chairman of pre-filled syringe maker Apiject, which got a contract to produce injectors for the COVID-19 vaccine in the US. Walker is asked about how an optional RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) microchip would work.

* https:// www.reuters.com/ article/ uk-factcheck-vaccine-microchip-gates-ma-idUSKBN28E286

TRACKING MICROCHIPS IN VACCINES?

In his full response, Walker compared the technology to a “bar code” and assures that it doesn’t carry any personal information. Steve Hofman, a spokesman of Apiject confirmed to Reuters via phone that this “optional” microchip will not be injected into the individual who receives the vaccine. *

The chip would be part of the syringe’s label, not the injectable substance itself.

The microchip, Hofman explained, is designed for 2 purposes: “to allow the healthcare provider to confirm that the actual injectable and the vaccine in it has not expired and that it is not counterfeit.” It would also confirm that “that particular injection has been used”. The health provider, Hofman added, would use a cellphone app to capture and revise this information. *

* Ibid.

TRACKING MICROCHIPS IN VACCINES?

Do COVID vaccines contain fetal tissue?

FETAL TISSUE IN VACCINES?

“Do the COVID-19 vaccines contain aborted fetal cells?” The response from infectious diseases expert James Lawler, MD, is “No, the COVID-19 vaccines do not contain any aborted fetal cells.”

However, he points out that, depending on the vaccine, fetal cell lines are used at different stages of the product development.

* https:// www.nebraskamed.com/ COVID/ you-asked-we-answered-do-the-covid-19-vaccines-contain-aborted-fetal-cells

FETAL CELL LINES

Lawler does qualify :

But it's important to have the full context: Fetal cell lines are not the same as fetal tissue. Fetal cell lines are cells that grow in a laboratory. They descend from cells taken from elective abortions in the 1970s and 1980s. *

Those individual cells from the 1970s and 1980s have since multiplied into many new cells over the past four or five decades, creating fetal cell lines. *

Current fetal cell lines are thousands of generations removed from the original fetal tissue. They do not contain any tissue from a fetus. *

* Ibid.

USE OF FETAL CELL LINES

Vaccine makers may use these fetal cell lines in any of the following three stages of vaccine development:

Development: Identifying what works

Confirmation: Making sure it works

Production: Manufacturing the formula that works

Neither the Pfizer nor Moderna vaccines used fetal cell lines during the development or production phases but both companies used the fetal cell line HEK 293 in the confirmation phase. All HEK 293 cells are descended from tissue taken from a 1973 elective abortion that took place in the Netherlands. *

Johnson & Johnson uses fetal cell lines in all 3 stages.

* Ibid.

To make their virus vector vaccine, Johnson & Johnson infects PER.C6 fetal cell line cells with adenovirus. All PER.C6 cells used to manufacture the vaccine are descended from tissue taken from a 1985 elective abortion that also took place in the Netherlands. They use this cell line because it is a well-studied industry standard for safe and reliable production of viral vector vaccines. *

None of the COVID-19 vaccines in development use fetal cells taken from recent abortions. * However, some people would have ethical issues with this as well and its important that you can make a fully informed decision.

* Ibid.

JOHNSON & JOHNSON

Cells derived from elective abortions have been used by some companies “since the 1960s to manufacture vaccines, including current vaccines against rubella, chickenpox, hepatitis A, and shingles. *

They have also been used to make approved drugs against diseases including hemophilia, rheumatoid arthritis, and cystic fibrosis.” *

The Vatican’s Pontifical Academy for Life declared in 2005 and reaffirmed in 2017 that in the absence of alternatives, Catholics could, in good conscience, receive vaccines made using historical human fetal cell lines. *

* https:// www.sciencemag.org/ news/ 2020/ 06/ abortion-opponents-protest-covid-19-vaccines-use-fetal-cells

OTHER VACCINES

Do COVID vaccines alter your DNA?

DNA

Some claim that the COVID shots will somehow alter your genes or manipulate the DNA of your cells.

The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines do slip a single strand of genetic material called messenger RNA (mRNA) into our cells.

“Injecting RNA into someone does nothing to human cell DNA,” says Professor Jeffrey Alond of Oxford University. “It works by instructing the body to produce a protein found on the surface of the corona virus. The immune system then learns how to recognize and produce antibodies against that protein.” *

* https:// www.webmd.com/ lung/ news/ 20210719/ covid-19-vaccines-not-gene-therapy

The Johnson & Johnson vaccine is a bit different. It is an adenovirus vector vaccine. (Adenovirus is the virus that causes the common cold. The virus in this vaccine has been changed so that it does NOT cause illness.) *

With this type of vaccine, a carrier, in this case adenovirus, acts as a delivery vehicle. The adenovirus has had the coronavirus spike protein added to its DNA. The adenovirus carries that genetic material into your body, delivering its modified DNA to your cells. Your cells will then make the spike protein, activating your immune system. Once activated, your immune system creates antibodies to fight off the spike protein. *

* https:// www.nebraskamed.com/ COVID/ you-asked-we-answered-do-the-covid-19-vaccines-contain-aborted-fetal-cells .

JOHNSON & JOHNSON

JOHNSON & JOHNSON

How are they different from traditional vaccines? And do they contain the real virus?

Our cells read this mRNA and use them to assemble the spikes. The spikes migrate to the outside of our cells where they are recognized and remembered by our immune system. *

These spikes, by themselves, are not dangerous. They can't make anyone sick. They are essentially mug shots that help the body recognize and fight off the real perpetrator when it comes along. *

The mRNA chains from the vaccines only last for a couple of days before they break down and the pieces are swept away by the body's normal waste disposal system. *

* https:// www.webmd.com/ lung/ news/ 20210719/ covid-19-vaccines-not-gene-therapy

DNA ALTERED BY VACCINE?

Some people worry that their DNA will be altered by the COVID-19 vaccine.

Paul Offit (an American pediatrician specializing in infectious diseases, vaccines, immunology and virology) responds, “For the vaccines to alter a person's genes, the mRNA instructions would have to enter the cell's control center, the nucleus. The nucleus is walled off from the rest of the cell by its own membrane. To get past that membrane, the mRNA would have to have an enzyme called a nuclear access signal, which it doesn't have.” *

Even if it could get into the nucleus, the single strand of mRNA would have to be translated back into a double stranded DNA. HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, can do this. It uses an enzyme like reverse transcriptase to insert itself into our chromosomes. The mRNA in the vaccines lacks this enzyme, so it can't turn back into DNA. *

The DNA adenovirus used in the Johnson & Johnson vaccine does enter the nucleus of our cells, but it never integrates into our chromosomes. Even after those two steps, there's a third firewall between the vaccines and our genes: Another enzyme, called an integrase, would be needed to stitch the new DNA into the DNA of our cells. That's also not in the vaccines. “So the chances are zero that that can happen,” Offit says.

* Ibid.

CAN THE VACCINE ALTER MY DNA?

GOD GENE

One of the more bizarre claims made by some is that the vaccine will destroy your “God gene”.

The God Gene theory is based on only one unproven idea proposed in 2004 by geneticist Dean Hamer where he claims that “human spirituality is influenced by heredity and that a specific gene, called vesicular monoamine transporter 2 (VMAT2), predisposes humans towards spiritual or mystic experiences.” *

Hamer also made the similar controversial, unscientific claim that there is a “gay gene” which predisposes certain men to being homosexual. **

* https:// en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/ God_gene ** https:// www.sciencemag.org/news/ 2014/ 11/ study-gay-brothers-may-confirm-x-chromosome-link-homosexuality

GOD GENE

Believing in a “God gene” is a form of determinism or fatalism and contrary to the Bible’s teaching that man has free will.

Joshua 24:15 (NIV) “… choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve…”

God desires all people to be saved (so why not give them all the “God gene”?)

2 Peter 3:9 (NIV) The Lord … is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

Hence we choose (using our free will) and with the saving faith that God freely gives us (Eph 2:8-9) to serve God. It’s not based on a “God gene” which can somehow be inadvertently affected by a vaccine.

Are there harmful side-effects with COVID vaccines?

NEW TECHNOLOGY

It is true that the COVID-19 vaccines are using new technology and are some of the first vaccines to work this way.

The technology was years in the making. The science was given a final push by billions in funding that was made available through Operation Warp Speed * (a public–private partnership initiated by the US government to facilitate and accelerate the development, manufacturing, and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnostics.)

The vaccines have now been given to millions of people. They are some of the most effective in the world at preventing severe outcomes from COVID infections. So far, they are holding up well against all the viral variants. *

* https:// www.webmd.com/ lung/ news/ 20210719/ covid-19-vaccines-not-gene-therapy

SIDE EFFECTS

Side-effects differ according to the specific COVID-19 vaccine and have mostly been mild to moderate and short-lasting.

According to the WHO (World Health Organization), reported side effects to COVID-19 vaccines include:

fever

fatigue

headache

muscle pain

* https:// www.who.int/ news-room/ q-a-detail/ coronavirus-disease-(covid-19)-vaccines-safety.

chills

diarrhea

pain at the injection site. *

More serious or long-lasting side effects to vaccines are possible but extremely rare. *

MYOCARDITIS

One of the serious side effects is that Pfizer and BioNTech vaccines appear to put young men at elevated risk of developing a heart muscle inflammation called myocarditis.

In April 2021 Israeli health officials reported more than 60 cases, mostly in young men who had received their second dose of vaccine a few days earlier.

Around the same time, the US Department of Defense began to track 14 such cases. *

Officials at the European Medicines Agency said on 28 May they had received 107 reports of myocarditis following the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, or about one in 175,000 doses administered. *

* https:// www.sciencemag.org/ news/ 2021/ 06/ israel-reports-link-between-rare-cases-heart-inflammation-and-covid-19-vaccination…

BLOOD CLOTS & TTS

According to the Johns Hopkins Medicine website:

A small number of people have developed a serious blood clot condition after they received the J&J vaccine. Nearly all reports of this problem have been in adult women younger than age 50. A review of all available data at this time shows that the J&J vaccine’s known and potential benefits outweigh its known and potential risks. However, women younger than age 50 should be aware of this rare adverse event and should know that other COVID-19 vaccines are available. For 3 weeks after receiving the J&J vaccine, you should watch for possible symptoms of a blood clot with low platelets called thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome, or TTS. Although very rare and treatable when diagnosed in time, TTS is serious. Get medical help immediately if you have any of these symptoms… *

* https:// www.hopkinsmedicine.org/ health/ conditions-and-diseases/ coronavirus/ is-the-covid19-vaccine-safe

Is the COVID vaccine the mark of the beast?

THE ANTICHRIST

In Revelation 13, the first beast (from the sea) is a political leader we call the Antichrist. He gets his authority from the dragon (Satan).

Revelation 13:1-2 (NIV) … And I saw a beast coming out of the sea. It had ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns on its horns… The beast I saw resembled a leopard, but had feet like those of a bear and a mouth like that of a lion. The dragon gave the beast his power and his throne and great authority.

THE FALSE PROPHET

The second beast (from the earth) is a religious leader and sidekick of the Antichrist, who we call the False Prophet.

Revelation 13:11-13 (NIV) Then I saw a second beast, coming out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb, but it spoke like a dragon. It exercised all the authority of the first beast on its behalf, and made the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose fatal wound had been healed. And it performed great signs…

WHO FORCES PEOPLE TO TAKE THE MARK?

It is actually the False Prophet (not the Antichrist) who forces people to receive the mark.

Revelation 13:16-18 (NIV) It also forced all people, great and small, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hands or on their foreheads, so that they could not buy or sell unless they had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of its 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.

TIMING OF PROPHECY

The 3 views regarding the timing of prophecy are:

Preterism - holds that most or all of the biblical prophecies concerning the End Times refer to events which actually happened in the 1st century AD.

Historicism - treats the prophecies of Daniel and Revelation as finding literal earthly fulfillment through the history of the church age.

Futurism - places the fulfillment of the prophecies of Daniel and Revelation mostly in the future as literal, physical, apocalyptic and global.

3 MAIN VIEWS ON TIMING OF PROPHECY

Preterism

Fulfilled before 70 AD

70 AD

PRESENT

Historicism

70 AD

PRESENT

Fulfilled across history

Futurism

70 AD

PRESENT

To be fulfilled

PRETERIST, HISTORICIST & FUTURIST

How do proponents of the 3 main prophetic viewpoints interpret this mark of the beast?

Preterist:

the emperor’s image on Roman coins

the certificate of sacrifice to the emperor

Historicist:

the practice of making the sign of the cross

SDA: an international Sunday law

Futurist:

Mark of commerce – most likely a credit facility in the form of a microchip implant or RFID tag.

PRETERIST MARK

Preterists believe all prophecies in Revelation happened in the past (the 1st century AD). Their idea that the mark is the emperor’s image on Roman coins at least acknowledges that a mark of commerce is being referred to. (“No one could buy or sell unless he had the mark…”)

But by identifying the mark with coins (a form of cash) - what kind of a prophetic sign is that? Throughout most of human history, you couldn’t buy or sell unless you had money.

PRETERIST MARK

Identifying the mark with the certificate of sacrifice to the emperor is slightly more sensible. At one stage in history Christians were compelled to obtain a certificate proving that they had participated in Emperor worship.

But this happened long after 70 AD, certainly not in Nero’s time, when most Preterists say Jesus came again!

To be exact – it occurred in the persecution by Decius in 250 AD, when he issued an edict requiring all citizens to sacrifice to the emperor in the presence of a Roman official and obtain a certificate (libellus) proving they had done so.

Libellus from the Decian persecution, found in Oxyrhynchus in Egypt.

In Jehovah’s Witness eschatology the beast represents human government and the mark “is a symbol that identifies its bearer as one who gives worshipful support to the beastlike political systems of the world.” *

In SDA (Seventh Day Adventist) eschatology the ‘mark of the beast’ refers to a future universal Sunday law legally enforcing Sunday-worship. Just how likely is that? As in their system the second beast is the USA and it is the second beast that enforces the mark – they effectively teach that the predominantly Protestant USA will pass a Sunday Law to force Protestants to worship on the ‘Catholic Sunday’ (despite the fact that most Protestants already do, without any enforcement).

* https:// wol.jw.org/ en/ wol/ d/ r1/ lp-e/ 2004241

HISTORICIST MARK

HISTORICIST MARK

Some Historicists (who are generally extremely anti-Catholic) believe that the mark of the beast refers to the practice of making the sign of the cross, common to many branches of Christianity including Roman Catholicism.

But when were people unable to buy or sell without making the sign of the cross?

THE Futurist “MARK OF THE BEAST”

FUTURIST MARK

The predominant view among Evangelicals is Futurism - which holds that Revelation 13 refers to events in the future.

They believe the mark will be enforced by the end-time world ruler. “Buying and selling” literally refers to a form of commerce. Without this mark, people will not be able to engage in any commercial activity. This is possibly a credit facility in the form of a microchip implant or RFID tag.

Small RFID chip, here compared to a grain of rice

BIOMETRIC RFID

This technology is already used for identifying lost pets.

In November 2018 the Guardian reported on the concerns of the Trades Union Congress regarding a proposed rollout by some British companies wanting to implant staff with microchips to improve security.

UK firm BioTeq, which offers the implants to businesses and individuals, has already fitted 150 implants in the UK. The tiny chips, implanted in the flesh between the thumb and forefinger, are similar to those for pets. They enable people to open their front door, access their office or start their car with a wave of their hand, and can also store medical data. *

* https:// www.theguardian.com/ technology/ 2018/ nov/ 11/ alarm-over-talks-to-implant-uk-employees-with-microchips?fbclid=IwAR1cEE5fH9OGOlc-J0AuAmqCJK-ihgF9vuSI4vx08RSLbAtrOH1PHo9rG14

CASHLESS SOCIETY

Futurists maintain that the Antichrist will expedite the creation of a single world currency and a cashless society. After all, how could you enforce a system, whereby nobody can buy and sell without the mark, if you still have the option to use cash? But it will most likely be implemented in the name of:

Combating cash-based crime (e.g., illegal drug and arms trade, bank robberies) and money laundering

Counterterrorism - to restrict terrorism funding

Preventing the evasion of international sanctions

Increasing the tax base by preventing cash-sales tax evasion and failure to declare cash income

CASHLESS SOCIETY

Money isn’t just physical anymore. It is also digital – zeros and ones stored in a computer.

Some economists are predicting that the US dollar may soon be a thing of the past. Economist Robert Reich says, “There will be a time – I don’t know when, I can’t give you a date – when physical money is just going to cease to exist.” *

* cbsnews.com/ news/ why-cash-is-losing-its-currency-20-04-2012

CASHLESS SOCIETY

Many countries are actively pursuing policies for a global cashless society. Doing business without physical currency is not only entirely feasible, but probable.

95% of all retail sales in Sweden are cashless. *

The government of Denmark has a stated goal of “eradicating cash” by the year 2030. *

A MasterCard study revealed that approximately 80% of all consumer transactions in the US are now cashless. **

A web article (May 2014) reported that a committee chaired by Netanyahu’s chief of staff had come up with a 3-phase plan to “all but do away with cash transactions in Israel”. **

* https:// talkmarkets.com/ content/ global-markets/ the-cashless-society-cometh-european-nations-such-as-sweden-and-denmark-are-eradicating-cash?post=81365 ** http:// endoftheamericandream.com/ archives/ government-plan-would-transform-israel-into-the-worlds-first-cashless-society

‘ON’ OR ‘IN’

Revelation 13:16–17 (NIV) … to be given marks on [epi] their right hands, or on [epi] their foreheads…

Modern English versions translate the Greek preposition ‘epi’ as ‘on’.

However, the KJV and all early English Bible versions from 1380 to 1833 render ‘epi’ in Revelation 13:16 as ‘in’. *

Revelation 13:16-17 (KJV) … to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads…

* Wycliffe's Bible (1380), Tyndale New Testament (1525), Coverdale Bible (1535) , Matthew Bible (1537), the Great Bible (1539), The Bishops’ Bible (1568), The Geneva Bible (1587), KJV (1611), Wesley’s New Testament (1755), Webster’s Revision (1883).

The primary use of ‘epi’ is ‘on’ or ‘upon’, but it can legitimately be translated as ‘in’. It depends on the context.

Interestingly in the Vulgate, which includes a 5th century Latin translation of the Greek New Testament, Jerome rendered it as “in their right hand or on their foreheads”.

So it’s not possible to make a categorical case for either ‘in’ or ‘on’ the hand, but while ‘on’ is the preference for modern English versions, the older English versions and the Vulgate opted in favour of ‘in’ and the Greek seems to allow for both usages. If it is indeed “in the hand” this could be an indication that it is some type of RFID implant.

‘ON’ OR ‘IN’

‘ON’ OR ‘IN’

Doesn’t the mark have to be visible?

Some feel that the mark has to be ‘on’ the hand or forehead in order to make it visible so that dissenters in the final one world government can be easily spotted. But with modern technology clearly this is not an issue, as a scanner linked to a computer can easily ‘see’ an invisible chip implant.

In the Book of Ezekiel God instructs an angel to place a mark on the foreheads of the righteous people in Jerusalem, so that they are not destroyed in the judgement on the city that followed. (Ezekiel 9:3-4)

‘ON’ OR ‘IN’

No one believes that this angelic seal in Ezekiel was visible to humans. Then again, in Revelation 7 an angel puts a seal on the foreheads of the 144,000 elect Israelites and it is not likely that this will be visible either.

Revelation 7:3-4 (NIV) … “Do not harm the land or the sea or the trees until we put a seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God.” Then I heard the number of those who were sealed: 144,000 from all the tribes of Israel.

Paul speaks of the Holy Spirit being God’s “seal of ownership on us”, once again a metaphor in no way seen as a visible seal. (1 Corinthians 1:21-22)

BIOMETRIC RFID

Even in a cashless society, when using debit or credit cards there is still an issue with identity theft. *

A chip implant solves this issue. The technology exists today to take a chip similar to those used in smart cards and place it under your skin. *

Once the chip is implanted it could be read by an inexpensive scanner, much like the one that reads bar codes in your local grocery store. You would then become your own smart card — and the very expensive problem of making sure the owner of the card is who he says he is, has been solved! *

* The Profile of the Antichrist – Part 1 – Gavin Paynter

CANNOT BUY OR SELL

There is a possibility that the mark might not be used for commercial activity but that if it is not taken – that commercial activity is prohibited.

This is similar to what we are seeing in some countries where people who don’t take a COVID-19 vaccine are prohibited from certain activities.

Many people are rightfully concerned about the heavy-handed approach some governments are taking to COVID-19 vaccines.

But that is where the similarity ends. There is no outright prohibition on commercial activity.

According to EuroNews (9 Aug 2021) a COVID-19 certificate (available in both paper and digital formats) will now be mandatory in Italy's public spaces.

The Green Pass, will be compulsory to enter any restaurants or other closed spaces, including gyms, cinemas and theatres. *

Long distance travel will also require proof of vaccination or a negative test. People who don't respect the rules will face heavy fines from €400 up to €1000. Only Italian students and teachers who have the pass will be allowed in schools and universities. *

* https:// www.euronews.com/ 2021/ 08/ 06/ italy-makes-covid-green-pass-mandatory-for-public-venue-access

CANNOT BUY OR SELL

When does the mark get enforced?

The Book of Revelation covers a period of approximately 7 years (2 periods of 1260 days) known as the Tribulation. In the first 3½ years the Gentiles trample on the holy city (Jerusalem) and the two witness preach.

Revelation 11:2-3 (NIV) “But exclude the outer court; do not measure it, because it has been given to the Gentiles. They will trample on the holy city for 42 months. And I will appoint my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth.”

TIMING

In the second 3½ years the woman (who represents Israel) flees to the wilderness to escape being persecuted and killed by the dragon (Satan) using his representative on earth – the Antichrist..

Revelation 12:6 (NIV) The woman fled into the wilderness to a place prepared for her by God, where she might be taken care of for 1,260 days…

Thus Revelation 13, when the mark of the beast is enforced, takes place in the second half of the 7-year Tribulation.

So the COVID vaccine cannot be the mark of the beast because it happens after the two witnesses have preached in Jerusalem for 3 ½ years, which hasn’t happened yet.

TIMING

Middle of Tribulation

7-YEAR TRIBULATION

1000-YEAR Millennium

Present age

Abomination of desolation in Jerusalem Temple

3½ years (1260 days)

Christians removed at Rapture

2nd Advent – Jesus returns to judge

Mark of the Beast is enforced

2 witnesses preach in Jerusalem

2 witnesses killed by Antichrist in Jerusalem

Christ rules on earth from Jerusalem

Furthermore, Christians are not present when the mark of the beast is enforced. They are caught up to be with Christ before the start of the Tribulation in an event known as the Rapture.

3½ years (1260 days)

MORE THAN CREDIT

People will not take the mark of the beast unknowingly e.g., by taking a vaccine they think is to prevent a disease.

Not only is the mark linked to some form or commercial control (inability to buy or sell without it), but taking the mark seems to extend beyond simply using a more modern form of credit. Surely God wouldn’t condemn someone simply for using an alternative to a credit card?

It is clear that taking the mark seems to include some sort of “oath of allegiance” to this new world ruler, or perhaps even some ceremony which entails refuting the ideals of a Judeo-Christian heritage.

The judgement is not just for receiving the mark, but for the worship of the false messiah.

Revelation 16:2 (NIV) The first angel went and poured out his bowl on the land, and ugly and painful sores broke out on the people who had the mark of the beast and worshiped his image.

Taking the mark is always linked to the worship of the beast (Antichrist) and ultimate eternal damnation.

Revelation 14:9-11 (NIV) … “If anyone worships the beast and his image and receives his mark on the forehead or on the hand, he, too, will drink of the wine of God’s fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath… And the smoke of their torment rises for ever and ever. There is no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and his image, or for anyone who receives the mark of his name.”

Those who refuse to take the mark are beheaded by the Antichrist. This is seemingly harsh, even for the Antichrist, if they are simply refusing to endorse the latest version of a credit card or to take a COVID-19 vaccine. The implication is that by refusing to take it or worship his image, they are rejecting his claims to be God.

Revelation 20:4 (NIV) … And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony about Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands…

CONCLUSION

So what do we know about the mark of the beast?

The false prophet forces people to take the mark.

It’s in (or on) the right hand or forehead.

The mark is linked to the number of the Antichrist’s name.

It’s linked to commercial activity.

It’s linked to the worship of the Antichrist. People will not take it accidentally.

It will happen in the middle of the future 7-year Tribulation, some 3 ½ years after Christians have been raptured.

Those who refuse to take it are executed by the Antichrist.

Those who take it will be eternally damned by God.

Unless otherwise stated, Scripture quotations are taken from the NIV: THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Scripture quotations taken from the NASB: New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation Used by permission. ( Lockman.org)

Scripture quotations are taken from the ESV: Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.




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