17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. 18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.
Revelation 13:17
ESV - 17 So that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark, that is, the name of the beast or the number of its name.
For follow-up discussion and general commentary on the topic. Comments are sorted chronologically.
No Covid-19 is not the mark of the beast. Covid is a pestilence sent by GOD to show this world that the end is near and punish un-repentant people.
COVID-19 is not a pestilence sent by God. This is not God's world. Jesus said it plainly. John 18:36 Any evil in this world is of man's doing and not by God's hand. Just as AIDS, wars, plagues, tsunamis, earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, etc., are not sent by God to punish anyone.
Divine retribution and punishment on this Earth ended with Jesus. The Word has already been compiled and completed. I know of no "divine" or "holy" retribution other than what is contained in scripture.
Any punishment doled out by God is done after one dies. At least that is what my Bible says. And that is sufficient for me.
CoVid is not a pestilence sent by God, it is man-made, just like many cases of the flu. This was not God's plan. Yes he allowed it, just as if a man ran in front of a car: If he got hit and died, it is not God's will; it's just the consequence of an action taken freely. Evil men planning to kill humanity are at the bottom of this. His word says in Matt. 24:22 "If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened". Praying his return is soon.
Absolutely agree, Sharon and John. God's permissive will is still in action.
If you give a man enough rope he will hang himself.
Rope can be....????
This is not good.
The vaccine for the Corona virus doesn't have to be the mark of the beast; the question of whether it's the mark of the beast is enough.
When Senator Obama campaigned to be President of the United States and won, it was eventually asked on this site whether he was the antichrist. He won for the first time in 2008. (the earliest date I've seen answers for this site is 2013). He was reelected in 2012. I believe he was the first president for which that question was asked online. Then it was expanded and asked in retrospect about others and his successor.
The question is enough. It's like asking whether a woman was sexually active before she got married. Or asking a celebrity whether he's gay or not. All it takes is a question for damage to be done to a reputation.
Is the vaccine for the Coronavirus the mark of the beast? To sensible people who are standing on a solid rock, this question does nothing to shake them. To some others who are conspiracy-theory-shaky already, it's enough to cause them to pause. Many of them have now been buried for 3 years.
This is not good.
The scriptures about the mark of the beast and the antichrist were not given to us for political reasons, but that's how they're often discussed by the church community. It's as if they're not being taken seriously.
There have always been at least two versions of the church. Now, it's the kind of church I belong to, the vaccine church; and also the vaccine conspiracy theory church.