EDITOR: There have lately many talks about the mark of the beast as it relates to the Corona Virus Vaccine. Amongst the front liners are some church leaders. But what really is the mark of the beast?

The mark of the beast is a mark given by the beast and the number is 666. Revelation 18 speaks more of a “mark of belonging.” The mark is “a symbolic way of describing the loyalty of [the Beast’s] followers and his ownership of them.”

In 1930’s the Jews were marked and killed by the Nazi’s Hitler. They were supposed to be loyal and follow Hitler, but yet he was the anti- Christ and there were no mark of the beast.

The mark of the beast occurs at the middle of the tribulation period.

Since the tribulation is a seven year period, the mark of the beast will be required at the half way mark or 3.5 years into the tribulation. In the tribulation, two very powerful individuals will gain incredible power. Both are empowered by Satan. The first one is a political leader (2 Thessalonians 2:1-4; Revelation 13; 1-10) who is called the Antichrist. He is the leader of a future world government. The second beast is called the false prophet (Revelation 13:11-18; 19:20-21). He is a religious leader. This is the one who forces people to receive the mark “666” in order to buy or sell (Revelation 13:16-17).

The study Prophecy of the Future will provide a summary of these prophetic events. When the Antichrist does appear, his identity will be obvious. He will sit in the temple in Jerusalem (Matthew 24:15) and declare himself to be God.

The mark of the beast (Rev. 13:16-18) is a mark that is closely tied to the worship of the beast (13:12, 15; cf. 19:20; 20:4).

Thus, the mark of the beast is a mark of loyalty and devotion to the beast.

Moreover, when you compare those passages where the mark of the beast is discussed with passages like Rev.

7 and 14, it is plausible to think that the mark of the beast is most likely a sign that identifies you as something you already are—namely wicked and evil, a person of the dragon. I say this because when you read Rev.

7:1-8 and 14:1 (where the mark of the Lamb is discussed), you’ll notice it is a mark given to God’s people, God’s servants, in order to identify them as such and, of course, to protect them. They get the mark of the Lamb because they are already united with the Lamb.

What all this means is that the “mark of the beast” is most likely a spiritual, non-visible mark; it’s a mark of loyalty and worship and is not, therefore, something you could accidentally accept. So you don’t need to fear getting the beast’s mark by taking a vaccine—unless, of course, you plan to treat the vaccine as a sort of symbolic expression or “unholy sacrament” (sorry for the oxymoron!) of your wilful and public rejection of the Christian faith that you despise. If that’s you, and if that’s your plan, then it’s not the vaccine that’s the problem.

More can be written about it, but I rest my case. It is therefore a satanic lie to associate the Vaccine with the mark of the beast. Reading and understanding the bible is very important.

In closing, let me say that I don’t think that taking the vaccine should be mandatory, but rather voluntary. I thank God that I am fully vaccinated.

Kennard King