ON BEARING THE MARK OF CHRIST (WHETHER RECEIVING A VACCINE OR NOT)
This is not a post about convincing you to take or not take a vaccine. I have no reason to write such a post, nor could anything I say be helpful to that discussion. Rather, this is a post to plead with Christians not to theologize a COVID-19 vaccine* by linking it to the mark of the beast.
As a theologian I can speak to that, and as a cross-cultural missionary this issue will likely affect me directly. I am no wizard and cannot predict the future, but it seems likely that many cross-cultural missionaries will be required to take a COVID-19 vaccine in order to maintain their visas and/or work permits in various countries. Likewise, countless Christians worldwide who work in health care and other fields may be required to vaccinate to maintain their employment.
It is possible that God is about to recall hundreds of missionaries from the field to return home because it is their Christian honor and duty to serve him by refusing to take a COVID-19 vaccine. Or perhaps Christians should quit their jobs if they are asked to take a vaccine. To be sure, we call only Jesus our master, so I can appreciate the weightiness of such a decision.
But how do I know what God is saying? I have no choice but to look at the Holy Scriptures through which he speaks. And looking there, I see no theological reason to avoid receiving this or any other vaccination. Of course, there might be other reasons that persuade Christians in their decisions. That is fine by me. I am not about to persuade anyone to take or not take this or any other vaccine. I just want to dissuade you from bringing theology into it, and here’s why.
The Mark of the Beast
The theological argument I often hear from Christians against taking a COVID-19 vaccine is that it is the fulfillment of what Revelation 13 refers to as the mark of the beast.
Here is the passage that speaks about the mark. John, the author of Revelation, is the one here describing what he sees in a vision:
“And I saw a beast coming out of the sea. It had ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns on its horns, and on each head a blasphemous name. 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. One of the heads of the beast seemed to have had a fatal wound, but the fatal wound had been healed. The whole world was filled with wonder and followed the beast. People worshiped the dragon because he had given authority to the beast, and they also worshiped the beast and asked, “Who is like the beast? Who can wage war against it?”
The beast was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies and to exercise its authority for forty-two months. It opened its mouth to blaspheme God, and to slander his name and his dwelling place and those who live in heaven. It was given power to wage war against God’s holy people and to conquer them. And it was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation. All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written in the Lamb’s book of life, the Lamb who was slain from the creation of the world.
Whoever has ears, let them hear.
“If anyone is to go into captivity,
into captivity they will go.
If anyone is to be killed with the sword,
with the sword they will be killed.”This calls for patient endurance and faithfulness on the part of God’s people.
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, even causing fire to come down from heaven to the earth in full view of the people. Because of the signs it was given power to perform on behalf of the first beast, it deceived the inhabitants of the earth. It ordered them to set up an image in honor of the beast who was wounded by the sword and yet lived. The second beast was given power to give breath to the image of the first beast, so that the image could speak and cause all who refused to worship the image to be killed. 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” – Revelation 13:1b-18, emphasis mine.
The language about the mark comes at the end. We can see that the one who gives this mark, the second beast, deceives the inhabitants of the earth. It orders them to setup an image in honor of the first beast mentioned and gives that image powers to speak and kill anyone who refuses to worship it. On top of this, the empowered image forces all people to receive a mark on their right heads or on their foreheads, so that they could not buy or sell unless they had the mark.
This last statement, about buying and selling, is the part that receives the most attention. In recent decades some Christians have speculated about credit cards, cell phones, and implanted chips being the mark. The link with a COVID-19 vaccine may be that it will have such a chip snuck into it, but not necessarily. The sheer fact that we can foresee a world where participating in the economy without the vaccine might be difficult, is enough in the eyes of some interpreters to link this vaccine with the mark of the beast. As the interpretation goes, people will sadly be deceived by their own governments, who act as agents of the beast, pushing this vaccine and forcing everyone to receive it.
The Lamb’s Book of Life
The other part of the above passage that I put in bold is when John says all the inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast, but then he qualifies it by noting that all of these people are not found in the Lamb’s Book of Life.
In Revelation the lamb is introduced much earlier in the book, way back in chapter five in the vision of the heavenly throne room as he, Jesus, is declared worthy to judge the earth.
The Lamb’s Book of Life shows up one more time in Revelation in chapter 21, when John describes the New Jerusalem and its purity by saying that only those whose names are found in the Lamb’s book of life will be in that city.
And so we see that the Lamb is Jesus and the people in his book are those who are saved by him. Therefore, if someone is saved by Jesus they will not worship the beast nor receive his mark, even unwittingly by deception.
Typically, interpreters who talk about the mark of the beast being fulfilled in today’s events imagine that there will first be a secret taking up of Christians, known as the rapture, which will occur before the events of Revelation 13 take place, so true Christians will never have to worry about even being deceived or forced to take the mark of the beast.
But there are others who view refusing the mark as a test or trial for Christians, such that those who receive the mark will lose their salvation or by taking the mark they will reveal that all along they were never true believers or Christians.
After all, Revelation 20 talks about those who were beheaded because they refused to worship the beast or receive his mark, and so they are saved through their faithfulness. Moreover, Revelation 14, right after introducing us to the mark of the beast in the previous chapter, talks about the blessings of those who die without receiving the mark. If this interpretation is true, then taking the mark, or in this interpretation a COVID-19 vaccine, would have the highest stakes imaginable.
But is it true?
The Mark of Christ
On top of the Lamb’s Book of Life and the Mark of the Beast, John also refers to people who receive then Seal of the Living God and the Mark of Christ in Revelation.
In Revelation chapter seven, before judgment comes, angels must mark God’s people with his seal, including members representing each tribe of Israel and a great multitude of people from every tribe, tongue, and nation of the world. This passage alludes to Ezekiel chapter nine, where before there is judgment on Jerusalem a mark is put on the foreheads of those who have lamented and grieved over the sinful and unjust things happening in the city.
Again in Revelation chapter 14 this seal is mentioned, introducing people from Israel’s tribes who have not been defiled. They are a sort of first fruit set of people who have offered themselves to God.
Some Christian traditions imagine that this set of people who are marked and sealed in these passages are special people that make up a subset of all Christians. But the majority reading of the church has been to link this mark and seal to that which Paul talks about in Ephesians 1:13-14: “And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.” The “you” being addressed in this passage are ordinary believers in the church, who, as chapter two notes, are saved by grace through faith in Christ.
God’s seal is himself, the Holy Spirit, given to us as a surety that God will keep his promises. Or as Paul puts it in Philippians 1:6, “being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus”
Revelation 13 makes it clear that those already found in the Lamb’s book of life will not worship the beast, so you cannot say that what will happen here is people losing their salvation if they receive the mark. You have to conclude that such people were never saved at all.
Admittedly, Revelation chapters 14 and 20 describe that some will refuse to worship the beast or receive his mark and thereby will find salvation for their faithfulness. But, once again this group of people are those who were not Christians at the time when the beast appeared.
And so if one is trying to convince Christians not to take a vaccine in order to refuse the mark of the beast, they should also evangelize them with the gospel of Jesus, because these people were never in the Lamb’s Book of Life and never marked as belonging to God with the seal of the Holy Spirit. Moreover, they must have borne zero spiritual fruit in their lives before their fateful decision to receive a vaccine. What these people need more urgently than a warning against taking a vaccine is the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ. They have not truly believed it yet and so are not saved. And, despite however many years of worship, giving, obedience, or spiritual fruit they have appeared to show in their lives, they must need to be told that by taking this vaccine they will reveal that they were never saved to begin with. That is, if it is taking the mark of the beast.
Like I said above. Those are rather high stakes if it is true. And so here is the main problem. Is there anything in the text of Revelation 13 that would clearly tie the mark of the beast to receiving a vaccine?
Marks From Antiquity Do Not Need Futuristic Technology
Revelation quotes and alludes to more Old Testament material than any other book in the New Testament. Although its symbolism can be difficult to interpret, our best tool is to look at the context of the passage and any clues in the Old Testament that might help us.
There is one Old Testament passage that describes a sign on one’s hand and a symbol on one’s forehead in the context of worship. It is Exodus 13:1-16:
“The Lord said to Moses, “Consecrate to me every firstborn male. The first offspring of every womb among the Israelites belongs to me, whether human or animal.”
Then Moses said to the people, “Commemorate this day, the day you came out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery, because the Lord brought you out of it with a mighty hand. Eat nothing containing yeast. Today, in the month of Aviv, you are leaving. When the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Hivites and Jebusites—the land he swore to your ancestors to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey—you are to observe this ceremony in this month: For seven days eat bread made without yeast and on the seventh day hold a festival to the Lord. Eat unleavened bread during those seven days; nothing with yeast in it is to be seen among you, nor shall any yeast be seen anywhere within your borders. On that day tell your son, ‘I do this because of what the Lord did for me when I came out of Egypt.’ This observance will be for you like a sign on your hand and a reminder on your forehead that this law of the Lord is to be on your lips. For the Lord brought you out of Egypt with his mighty hand. You must keep this ordinance at the appointed time year after year.
“After the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites and gives it to you, as he promised on oath to you and your ancestors, you are to give over to the Lord the first offspring of every womb. All the firstborn males of your livestock belong to the Lord. Redeem with a lamb every firstborn donkey, but if you do not redeem it, break its neck. Redeem every firstborn among your sons.
“In days to come, when your son asks you, ‘What does this mean?’ say to him, ‘With a mighty hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. When Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the Lord killed the firstborn of both people and animals in Egypt. This is why I sacrifice to the Lord the first male offspring of every womb and redeem each of my firstborn sons.’ And it will be like a sign on your hand and a symbol on your forehead that the Lord brought us out of Egypt with his mighty hand” (emphasis mine).
In the context of worshiping the Lord, Israel is to consecrate their firstborn to him. And they do so by observing a ceremony that is like a sign and symbol on their foreheads and hands. Why are these two things mentioned: forehead and hand? They represent our whole being. We devote ourselves fully to the Lord, all our minds and all our strength, just as the first and greatest command tells us to do.
And the beast of Revelation 13, setting himself up as a rival god, also wants the people to symbolize their whole selves to him by giving him their minds and their strength, and so the language used is like the ceremonies in Exodus 13. No technology needed; just an act of worship and commitment to serve a deity. In other words, the mark might not even be a “thing” at all, but an outward gesture that confirms a prior inward decision, kind of like baptism.
Considering that the first generations of Christians expected Jesus to return soon, maybe even before they died, it is hard to imagine that far-off technologies such as microchips or vaccines would be needed to fulfill any prophecy of the Old or New Testament. Throughout church history there has been an imminent expectation that Jesus might return at any time. That’s the theme of a lot of Jesus’ parables in Matthew when he talks about the end times.
Conclusion
James tells us that teachers will be judged more strictly. As a teacher I strive only to say things that are true. And so I have core beliefs that I can say are clearly true, and other ideas that I can defend, but admit that it is only my interpretation, and it is possible I am wrong.
In general, there are two helpful rules for interpreting the Bible: First, the rule of faith says that the Bible belongs to God’s people the church, so we read and interpret it together. I need to check what I am saying about it with others, both alive with me now and from the past. Second, use clear passages to shine light on obscure passages.
And this is one area where I think we need to reconsider how quickly we want to label things in our world today as the mark of the beast to the point that we say it with surety and try to shame people from being vaccinated because it would reveal that they were never saved at all.
What is clear in Scripture is that the object of our faith is the gospel of Christ. It is what God has done in Christ that is the basis of my salvation. I rely on his promises. I can point to countless Scriptures that are clear that tell me that my sins are forgiven and my hope is secure in him.
However, I can point to few, if any Scriptures, that tell me with certainty what the mark of the beast will be. Therefore, I hesitate wanting to convince fellow Christians to do or not to do something based on such scant evidence in the Bible.
Like I said, there may be other reasons that motivate you in the coming months for or against vaccination. But there is no good reason to isolate this vaccine as something theologically special or unique that separates it from other vaccines on the market today.
And it is hurtful to tell Christians like me that we were not really saved to begin with once we take this vaccine, especially if we believe God has called us to a vocation in which our legal ability to work in our field may require us to take it. I can easily point to the Great Commission in the Bible, which has led me from America to Brazil. But I have never seen a biblical passage that talks clearly about vaccines.
*There is no singular COVID-19 vaccine. There are a handful of different ones being developed worldwide, including ones with different mechanisms. For example, the mRNA one that seems to be the first one available in the UK and perhaps the USA will likely never arrive where I live. Brazil, and likely many other developing countries, will probably receive one of the more traditional vaccines being developed that have a higher-temperature storage capacity.