Introduction

There have been many conspiracies and rumors surrounding the COVID-19 vaccine, and one has people thinking the vaccine is the Mark of the Beast.

The phrase “Mark of the Beast” can be found in Revelation 13. Some Christians believe if they get the vaccine, they will be marked for hell. This is written in the hope of stopping those rumors.

“He [False Prophet] 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” (Revelation 13:16-17).

1. The biblical mark of the beast is external, not in the bloodstream, and must be visibly worn on the outside of the forehead or right hand. The mark is a literal, visible branding of sorts like the Nazi swastika or ISIS headband. It must be displayed and easily seen to function as a passport for commerce.
2. The mark-of-the-beast does not begin until the middle of the 7-year Tribulation. The context of Revelation 13 shows the marking campaign is enforced by the False Prophet, who doesn’t begin his evil campaign until the second half of the Tribulation.

“The beast was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies and to exercise its authority for forty-two months” (Revelation 13:5).

3. The mark of the beast is only authorized by one person, which Revelation 13 identifies as the False Prophet. Neither Dr. Fauci, Bill Gates, nor anyone else qualifies as the False Prophet who carries out the monstrous plans of Antichrist. Nor does wearing the logos of the World Health Organization or the Centers for Disease Control qualify as the mark. Only the False Prophet has the authority to implement such a devious program.

“He [False Prophet] 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” (Revelation 13:12).

4. According to Revelation 13:17-18, it is mandatory for the mark to brandish at least one of two required statements:

“They could not buy or sell unless they had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of its name” (Revelation 13:17).

Here we see that the mark can either display the name of the beast, or it can simply exhibit the number associated with the beast, which equates to 666. The COVID vaccination does not contain either of these required statements.

5. The purpose of the mark of the beast is to pledge allegiance and to outwardly show one’s full submission to the beast. The “beast” is a symbolic term for the empire of Antichrist. Wearing the mark has absolutely nothing to do with any kind of medical treatment for a pandemic or disease.
6. The beast in this context refers to the final 10-king empire, which is ruled over by Antichrist in the Tribulation. Beginning in Daniel 2 through Revelation 17, the 10-king empire (beast) is mentioned or alluded to some 20 times, showing it is a crucial sign of the last days. But neither the empire nor the Tribulation period has arrived yet, making it impossible for the vaccination to be the “mark of the beast”!

Daniel 7:23 further tells us that the empire (the beast) will rise up in the last days BEFORE Antichrist makes his first appearance in the world. Since the empire hasn’t arrived yet, neither has Antichrist or the False Prophet. All three must be in place as prerequisites to the start of any kind of marking campaign.

7. Everyone will know precisely when they are taking the mark. The life and death conditions and dangerous atmosphere surrounding the campaign are public, not secret. The death penalty for not taking the mark makes it impossible to take it accidentally, like some are trying to infer is happening by taking the vaccination.

To ensure everyone gets the message, the Bible says God sends out an angel who flies through the heavens with a loud voice saying, “DON’T TAKE THE MARK OF THE BEAST.” So if you take the mark, there will be no excuse since one is choosing to worship Antichrist and not Jesus Christ.

“A third angel followed them and said in a loud voice: ‘If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives its mark on their forehead or on their hand, they, too, will drink the wine of God’s fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath. They will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment will rise for ever and ever. There will be no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and its image, or for anyone who receives the mark of its name” (Revelation 14:9-11).

Lastly, it helps to remember that, according to 2 Thessalonians 2:6-8, Christians will not see Antichrist. The One who “holds back” Antichrist is none other than the Holy Spirit. When the restraining influence of the Spirit is removed from this world—along with the church that the Spirit indwells—then Antichrist will be revealed and will have free rein.

Regardless of how bad things seem to be deteriorating today, evil is still being hindered by the powerful presence of the Holy Spirit in the life of believers all over the world. But once the church age ends, the obstruction of the indwelling Holy Spirit will be removed, allowing the man of sin to come forth.

Without Antichrist here yet, the mark cannot be here yet. The special promise to the church is that Antichrist will not be revealed until Jesus returns for the church and catches us up to heaven!

Maranatha… Even so, come, Lord Jesus!

The days are rough and broken; we can see that across the world. Evil grows, and nature continues to become more extreme and intense as each day passes. Lies and deceit are continuing with no end. For those who follow the Lord Jesus Christ, it is difficult and sometimes unbearable. The words of the Lord thy God come to mind when hard times fall on us:

“I am with you always, even unto the end of the world” (Mathew 28:20).

But I wish to speak of another verse that many may have forgotten when adversity arises. I will speak about something the Lord told us through his intervention with Elijah in 1st Kings. We are all facing problems today, but let us not forget that so too did the heroes and apostles of old face problems that tested their resolve. Elijah was one such person. Even after witnessing God’s Power with his own eyes, fear took him when Jezebel sought to end his life for the works he had accomplished.

“Now Ahab told Jezebel everything Elijah had done and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. So Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah to say, ‘May the gods deal with me, be it ever so severely, if by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like that of one of them.’ Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, while he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness. He came to a broom bush, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. ‘I have had enough, Lord,’ he said. ‘Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.’ Then he lay down under the bush and fell asleep” (1st Kings 19:1-5a).

We can all relate to Elijah and what happened. How many of us want to sleep and forget the world around us, to finally leave the world we are in and never come back. I have had that thought many times more than I can count.

Yet, the Lord had not abandoned Elijah and sent an angel to tend to him.

“All at once an angel touched him and said, ‘Get up and eat.’ He looked around, and there by his head was some bread baked over hot coals, and a jar of water. He ate and drank and then lay down again. The angel of the Lord came back a second time and touched him and said, ‘Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you.’ So he got up and ate and drank. Strengthened by that food, he traveled forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God. There he went into a cave and spent the night” (1st Kings 19:5b-9a).

The Lord has not abandoned us. Let me say this: while the world rages all around us and it seems that God is far away in the madness and noise, he is there.

As much as Elijah doubted and wanted it all to end, and as much as I or you or anyone else wants this to end, the Lord still has a plan for us and for us to learn something from it.

The Lord spoke to Elijah to move him.

“And the word of the Lord came to him: ‘What are you doing here, Elijah?’ He replied, ‘I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.’ The Lord said, ‘Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by'” (1st Kings 19:9b-11a).

He is speaking to us in this dark time. Let me focus on this one important piece that the Lord thy God has shared with us in his holy book, the Bible, about the wind, the earthquake, and the fire that He showed Elijah.

“Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper” (1st Kings 19:11b-12).

The world rages, evil is all around us, and our circumstances are at times unbearable. The noise is all around, the madness continues loudly, destruction is ever-present, our minds are lost and tormented, our roads are broken, and the path obscured. And we cannot hear the Lord or see him in the madness…

But let me say this:

• Let not your mind focus on the raging of the world, the destruction, and the raging of evil.
• Ask the Lord thy God for help, and look not for a big, brilliant answer, a crescendo of thunder and lightning, a big voice, or a dream to tell you everything will be alright.
• Just listen for a gentle whisper, remember his promise from his word, and everything will be alright.

Let me leave you with what happened next in Elijah’s story and what the Lord thy God did to comfort him.

“When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. Then a voice said to him, ‘What are you doing here, Elijah?’ He replied, ‘I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.’

^“The Lord said to him, ‘Go back the way you came, and go to the Desert of Damascus. When you get there, anoint Hazael king over Aram. Also, anoint Jehu son of Nimshi king over Israel, and anoint Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel Meholah to succeed you as prophet. Jehu will put to death any who escape the sword of Hazael, and Elisha will put to death any who escape the sword of Jehu. Yet I reserve seven thousand in Israel—all whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and whose mouths have not kissed him'” (1st Kings 19:13-18)

The Lord will comfort you no matter the circumstances; just listen for the gentle whisper of the Holy Spirit to direct you and your path.

We are almost there… just a little bit more, and we will be home. Just believe in the Lord… believe in the death, burial, and resurrection of his one and only son Jesus Christ, and you will find peace.

God Bless You All,

Zachary Everett