Plans for a Coronavirus Vaccine and Digital ID Spark “Mark of the Beast” Hysteria

Plans for a Coronavirus Vaccine and Digital ID Spark Mark of the Beast Hysteria, PDF format

“And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: 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.  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” (Rev. 13:16-18)

  It didn’t take long.  As soon as the talk started about working on producing a vaccine for the coronavirus, and Bill Gates et al started to call for mandatory vaccinations not only to supposedly immunise people against the virus but also to possibly implant microchips at the same time, the Futurist prophecy pundits went into overdrive, hysterically asserting for the umpteenth time, “The mark of the Beast is here!” 

  We shouldn’t be surprised.  Every time there is any hint of anything of this sort, we hear the same warnings issued.  These Chicken Littles have told us “the sky is falling” so many times we’ve lost count, and each and every time they’ve been wrong.  This vaccine/microchip/mark-of-the-Beast tale is just the latest in a long, long line of versions of the same tale, all delivered in their day with just as much certainty as this one.  Every single time it comes to nothing in the end.  But this does not stop the Futurist newsboys from calling out the same sensationalist headline again and again: “The mark of the Beast is here!  Read all about it!”  It’s a headline that sells their “end times” books, after all.

  To explain the term: Futurists are those who teach that the prophecies of the Bible pertaining to what is broadly called the end times are still to be fulfilled at some unknown point in the future, and all within the space of a very short period, usually taken to be seven years.  They proclaim what is called the “pre-tribulation rapture” of the Church, followed by seven years of “tribulation” under the tyranny of some future Antichrist.  The main aspects of this false doctrine were invented by Rome’s diabolical Jesuits – a fact about which most Protestant Futurists are completely ignorant.[1]  Not that it would make much difference to most of them if they knew it anyway, such is the abysmal ignorance that prevails about the Roman Catholic institution in general and the Jesuits in particular.

  But before dealing with this vaccine/microchip/mark-of-the-Beast theory, it must be understood that what lies behind the Futurists’ wild speculations about the mark are their equally wild speculations about the identity of the Antichrist:

The True Antichrist and the Many False Ones

  Simply put, according to Futurism the Antichrist will be a future political or religious leader with vast power and a charismatic personality, who will cause the entire world to follow him and even worship him.  This belief has led them to put forward all kinds of men as possible candidates for the Antichrist as the years have gone by.

  Yet throughout the history of the Christian Church, the Lord’s servants have held with firm conviction, based on proper exposition of the prophecies of Scripture and of how history fulfils them, that: “The Antichrist is not a single individual at the end of the world.  He is not some great religious leader who will replace the pope of Rome at the end of the world.  He is not a charismatic politician at the end of the world.  He is not an adherent of Judaism.  He is not a Muslim.  He is not a Communist (yes, various modern popes have been Communists, but the Antichrist is not an individual Communist at the end of the world).  He is the pope of Rome; he is every pope of Rome; he is only the pope of Rome.  The evidence, both biblical and historical, is rock solid and overwhelming.”[2]  “The Lord has revealed the identity of Antichrist in His Word, by setting down the signs whereby we may recognise him…. The evidence permits of no other possible interpretation of the Scriptures on this vitally important point.”[3] 

  This evidence is so overwhelming, so vast, that it would be impossible to put it all in an article such as this; but it is presented in my book, The Antichrist.  “That the Roman Papacy alone fulfils the prophetic Scriptures concerning the Antichrist has been the position of countless numbers of Christ’s servants throughout the history of the Christian Church.  It has been the united testimony of saints of all the ages.”[4]  The Waldenses believed it firmly, and they should know – they suffered at Antichrist’s hands for centuries.  The earlier Baptists firmly believed it, as did Protestants such as John Wycliffe and William Tyndale (among many others), godly ministers such as John Bunyan and William Huntington, the Puritans, the great Bible commentators such as John Gill and Matthew Henry, nineteenth-century ministers such as C.H. Spurgeon, and so many others.  Their conviction was based on sound exposition of Bible prophecy and a proper, knowledgeable and comprehensive understanding of history.  It was written into the confessions of faith of most Protestant churches.  They often differed on other matters, but not on this one.  They held it fast.  Spurgeon declared: “It is the bounden duty of every Christian to pray against Antichrist, and as to what Antichrist is no sane man ought to raise a question.  If it be not the popery in the Church of Rome there is nothing in the world that can be called by that name.”[5]

  Contrary to the testimony of the true Church throughout history, modern Futurists reject all the evidence and choose rather to follow a highly speculative Jesuit theory of prophetic interpretation which leads them to play endless guessing games about Antichrist’s identity.  And because they have rejected the biblical and historical evidence about Antichrist, they are simply unable to properly understand the mark of the Beast.

Bill Gates: Futurists’ Latest Candidate for the Antichrist

  Who is the latest candidate for the position of the Antichrist, according to Futurist prophetic pundits?  Actually, they’ve zeroed in on more than one.  But ever since the coronavirus hysteria began, billionaire Bill Gates moved to the front of the line, becoming one of the most popular candidates, if not the most popular.  He joins the long list of men who have been accused (all of them falsely as it turns out) of being the Antichrist in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries: men such as Hitler, Stalin, Kissinger, the Ayatollah of Iran, Mikhail Gorbachev, Saddam Hussein, Barack Obama, to name just a few.  The guessing-game players have been proved wrong time after time after time.  And they are wrong this time as well: Bill Gates is a very dangerous man, but he is not the Antichrist.  Not even close.

  Gates is a firm believer in reducing the world population by means of eugenics and abortion.  He is now pushing very hard for a vaccine to be developed against the coronavirus, sinking vast amounts of money into the research, and he campaigns for “vaccine certificates” to be issued to the entire population.  He also wants a tracking microchip to be inserted into everyone who takes the vaccine – a device which Microsoft, which was Gates’ company, is hard at work developing.  Therefore, voila!  Gates must be the Antichrist.  So the Futurists reason. 

  But how wrong they are.  This is where you end up when you start playing guessing games with the identity of the Antichrist and the meaning of the mark of the Beast.  It’s all just thumb-sucking codswallop.  In time Bill Gates will go the way of all the earth, just like the others through the years who have been emphatically declared to be the Antichrist by men who have rejected the evidence of God’s Word, backed up by historical facts, on this matter.  And then the Futurist prophecy pundits will latch onto the next candidate, and all the lies they spouted before will be forgotten as they whip up their followers into a froth of excitement over their latest sensational claim.

  But Bill Gates is not the only candidate for the Antichrist being pushed forward by the prophecy speculators:

Emmanuel Macron: Another Candidate for the Antichrist, According to Some Futurists

  Along comes a Futurist “ministry” called “Now the End Begins.”  At times they have some useful factual information on their site for documentation purposes, and like many others they are doubtless very sincere; but unfortunately when it comes to interpreting Bible prophecy they are utterly confused, having been misled by the lies of Futurism.  Their latest candidate for Antichrist is (wait for this)… French President Emmanuel Macron!

  Let’s see how they come to this ridiculous conclusion:

 Claiming that Macron is positioning himself to become the leader of the New World Order, with near-unanimous backing from the UN security council, the article said: “As people who study the end times scripture of truth from the Bible, we have long known that when Antichrist arises, he rises at a time when there is global chaos and uncertainty, with a plan to bring in global ‘peace and safety’.  So it’s interesting to now see Emmanuel Macron of France, who actually looks like the Central Casting idea of Antichrist, wanting to bring in an era of ‘global peace’.  And… He has the backing and support of nearly all of the United Nations Security Council.”[6]

  It is difficult to imagine anything so childishly silly, and so devoid of truth, as this Futurist conclusion:

  Firstly, many politicians want to lead the New World Order, but that does not make any one of them the Antichrist.  That just makes them self-serving, greedy, ambitious, power-hungry politicians. 

  Secondly, for “people who study the end times scripture of truth from the Bible”, the good folk at “Now the End Begins” are woefully ignorant when it comes to what Bible prophecy actually teaches.  They say, “we have long known that when Antichrist arises, he rises at a time when there is global chaos and uncertainty.”  When Antichrist arises?  Antichrist arose many centuries ago!  It is the Roman Papacy and no other, as recognised by the Lord’s people throughout all ages.  He is here, he has been here for centuries, and no one else even remotely fits the prophetic portrait.  Again, the evidence, too great for inclusion here, is laid out in my book, The Antichrist.

  Thirdly, there is this utterly ridiculous statement: “Emmanuel Macron of France, who actually looks like the Central Casting idea of Antichrist.”  Hold on just a minute: the Antichrist of the Futurists has a look?  Now where in all the Bible did they extract that little nugget of nonsense from?  And they claim to be “experts” on Bible prophecy and a future Antichrist!  Do not trust such self-appointed “experts”.  They may not mean to, but they are leading men astray by their false speculations about important biblical issues.

  Now for another absolutely ridiculous part of their theory about poor Macron.  His first name happens to be Emmanuel, and of course the Hebrew meaning of Emmanuel is “God with us” (Isa. 7:14).  This is one of the glorious names of the Lord Jesus Christ (Matt. 1:23), for He alone fulfilled the prophecy of Isa. 7:14.  But the people at “Now the End Begins” believe this is further evidence that Emmanuel Macron is possibly the Antichrist – he is a counterfeit Messiah because his parents named him Emmanuel at his birth!

  This is taking absurdity to new extremes.  If this is the kind of “biblical study” they engage in to come up with proofs of their theory, they are clutching at straws indeed.

  According to “Now The End Begins”, the Roman pope Francis gave Macron his blessing and anointed him to take the global stage as leader of the New World Order during the coronavirus period.[7]  Now I realise things may look a little different for those living in Europe, but let’s face it – Macron hasn’t exactly caused the world to swoon at his feet with any “Antichrist wannabe” performance along the lines of “Trust me as your leader and I’ll save you and the whole world”.  There are plenty of other politicians jostling for centre stage and as far as the rest of the world is concerned, Macron is just one of many globalist movers and shakers.

  No, we have disappointing news for Futurists like “Now The End Begins”: Emmanuel Macron will go the way of all the other politicians put forward over the years by Futurists as “The One”.  It’s not him.  Open your eyes! The real Antichrist sits in the city on seven hills (Rev. 17:9), opposing and exalting himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped (2 Thess. 2:4).  Macron just doesn’t cut it.

  Another Futurist prophecy pundit, Dallas Theological Seminary professor Mark Hitchcock, had to leap into the fray and give his penny’s worth as well.  According to him, the coronavirus outbreak is a precursor to “End Times prophecies”, and he warned that it is a “very serious foreshadowing” of what’s to come.  He said Scripture is clear that “there will be plagues in the End Times”, and cited Lk. 21:11 and Rev. 6:8, where the fourth horseman kills a quarter of the earth’s population with pestilence and the wild beasts of the earth.[8]

  But Hitchcock and other Futurists have a huge problem when they try to make use of such Scriptures as the two given above.  Firstly, with regards to Lk. 21:11: this verse was fulfilled by events which occurred in the first century AD already (I have written about this in my book, The Prophecy of Matthew 24, which also covers the parallel prophecies in Luke’s Gospel[9]).  Secondly, with regards to Rev. 6:8: like Lk. 21:11, this is a verse often applied by Futurist interpreters to our times, or to times soon to come, whereas in truth it was fulfilled many centuries ago.  This is a huge subject and the reader is referred to my sermon series, The Book of Revelation: Chapter Six, consisting of eight messages working verse by verse through this chapter.[10]

  The trouble with Futurism is that it is a speculative method of prophetic interpretation, which assumes that almost every prophetic verse in the New Testament refers to modern times.  It is as if all of Bible prophecy was written solely for this present generation of believers – as if we are the most important generation in all history.  This is not only naive and interpretatively dishonest, but also supremely arrogant.  Just because a disease breaks out or a war occurs somewhere, this does not entitle professing believers to frantically turn over the pages of their Bibles to the well-worn verses which speak of such things, stab down their forefingers onto any verse which remotely sounds as if it could be about our times, and say triumphantly, “There!  Do you see?  Prophecy told us these things would happen!”  This is lazy biblical interpretation.  It is arrogant, sloppy, and naive in the extreme. 

  Oh, and just by the by: take note of how many times some interviewer, or reviewer, mentions with awe that this Futurist prophecy pundit or that one is “an expert in End Times prophecy”.  One doesn’t need to be an “expert” to point to some prophecy or other and confidently assert, “This is about our times!”  No special scholarship needed.  No years (yes, I meant years!) of painstaking biblical and historical research.  Never mind all that.  Just jump in and apply everything you read to modern times.  It’s so easy.

  It tells us two things.  One, the “scholars” and “experts” are neither scholars nor experts.  Two, it speaks volumes about the sheer biblical illiteracy of the majority of churchgoers today, who just gulp down these “Just So” stories as if they are the Gospel truth. 

  Now we can examine the Futurists’ latest wild speculations about the mark of the Beast.

A Vaccine-Connected Digital ID: No, It’s Not the Mark of the Beast

  There is a massive push by globalists, not only for a vaccine against the virus but for certificates to be issued to prove that one is immune to the virus and thus able to return to work.  The UK, Germany and other places are very keen to implement these “immunity passports” or “immunity certificates”.  Essentially these would be the modern equivalent of the documents which, in East Germany or the Soviet Union, could be demanded by any policeman of anyone in the street – and they had to produce them or face jail.

  Bill Gates and his billions are at the very forefront of those working frantically to develop a vaccine against the coronavirus.  He wants “vaccine certificates” to be issued to the entire population.  He has openly come out and said, “digital certificates will be used to verify and track those who have received the coming Covid-19 vaccine, and those certificates will be used to determine who has recovered, who has been vaccinated recently, who can do business, who can travel, and can get services”!  He has said, “we cannot return to normal until we have a vaccine”.[11] 

  This is all part of a global programme called ID2020, sponsored by the UN, the WHO, the Rockefeller Foundation (a powerful Illuminati branch) and Gates’ Microsoft.  It is a massive, sinister, diabolical plan to control the entire world’s population.  It would include every person’s medical and other personal information from birth to death.  ID2020 states: “Everyone should have access to digital ID that enables them to prove who they are across institutional and international borders and across time.”  Even in 2018, ID2020 stated: “Vaccines are the perfect way to introduce digital identity to the world – especially infants.  In short, vaccinations are the perfect opportunity to introduce a digital ID that would store the medical history of each individual.  This identity would also be used to grant access to basic rights and services.”

  ID2020 is already being tested in Bangladesh: “The program will provide infants and children with portable biometrically linked digital ID either at the point of birth registration or at the point of immunization, ultimately supporting access to rights and services throughout the course of one’s life.”[12]

  All this is extremely dangerous and very, very sinister.  It is a giant leap forward for the internationalists, and the Jesuits who pull the strings.  They are creating a nightmare world of totalitarian control, with all power in the hands of the Jesuit/Illuminati internationalists.

  In addition, Gates et al are also working on a vaccine which will have a tracking, scannable tattoo and code, known as a Quantum Tattoo.  Essentially they are pushing for universal digital IDs (also known as Radio-Frequency Identification [RFID] chipping) for the human race, via mandatory vaccinations against the supposed threat of the coronavirus: “By selectively loading microparticles into microneedles, the patches deliver a pattern in the skin that is invisible to the naked eye but can be scanned with a smartphone that has the infrared filter removed.  The patch can be customized to imprint different patterns that correspond to the type of vaccine delivered.”[13]

  The research was initiated and financed by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.[14]

  All these plans about a vaccine and digital tracking devices are true enough.  They are very, very dangerous plans.  There is no denying it.  But what we are concerned with at this point is: would such a vaccine, combined with a digital ID inserted into the body, be the prophesied mark of the Beast?  And the answer to this is a resounding No!

  Again, this is a large subject and a full treatment of it is not possible here, for it needs to be seen in context, with all the proper historical evidence, etc.  The reader is referred to my sermon series entitled The Book of Revelation: Chapter 13.[15]  The followers of Antichrist have had the mark on them for centuries already, but it is nothing physical.  It is symbolical of Antichrist’s ownership of them and of their slavery to him – just as those who have God the Father’s name written on their foreheads (Rev. 14:1) do not have a physical mark in any sense.  The forehead and the right hand symbolise possession: the person so marked is owned by the one who makes the mark.  Rev. 13:17 shows that those who are marked belong to the Beast.  But it is a symbolical mark.  Those who receive it are Papists!  

  Symbolically, a mark in the right hand speaks of action.  It is the power which a Roman Catholic exerts in defence of Popery.  And symbolically, a mark in the forehead speaks of thoughts; the intellect; etc.  It means an open profession of Popery, defending and displaying one’s Roman Catholicism openly, and using the intellect, the mind, to serve the Papal Antichrist.  The servants of the Papal Beast give their allegiance to him, assent to his doctrines, and devote their intellects and their actions to serving him.

  A Futurist interpreter named Austin Miles wrote: “a Bible Prophecy was quietly fulfilled that no one expected.  The Book of Revelation tells us of a leader who will come quietly on the scene to totally control the population by using a ‘Mark of the Beast’ device to accomplish this.”[16]

  Actually, the book of Revelation says nothing about a leader (i.e. the Antichrist) who will “come quietly on the scene” to do such a thing.  What prophecy does tell us about is the rise of this leader over a long period of time (2 Thess. 2:3,4).  It does not say that this Antichrist will appear in our modern times, but it does say that he arose many centuries ago and has been with us ever since – a long succession of men in fact, the popes of Rome, each one claiming to come in Christ’s Name and each one claiming to be Christ. 

  And it does not state that Antichrist will “totally control the population by using a ‘Mark of the Beast’ device to accomplish this”, for as explained above Rev. 13:16,17 is not about a “device” at all.

  But let us see how Miles develops his theory:

  “This means a required ‘quantum dot tattoo microchip’ to be put in the bodies of every human being, by vaccination, like tagging cattle.  That chip will have every bit of information about the individual’s life, including bank accounts and medical issues.  Without this chip one cannot buy, sell or conduct any kind of business.  Plus that chip acts as your ID.  The government controls what you are allowed to do and what you are NOT allowed to do, based on your ‘vaccination’ status.  If you do not comply with this, you will become a non-person and unable to make a living or even survive.”

  This is a very good summary of the Futurist interpreter’s prophetic scenario.  Miles has encapsulated it very well in a few words.  And it is certainly correct that this is what is being considered, and what they are trying to develop.  The only flaw in what he has written here is that he calls this microchip, to be inserted by vaccination, the “mark of the Beast”.  It is not.  This is a complete fallacy and a terrible exposition of Rev. 13:16-18!

  Futurist Geoffrey Grider, in an article in “Now the End Begins”, wrote: “I can no longer say that Bill Gates’ planned global vaccinations and the ID2020 Digital Identification are not the mark of the Beast.”  He went on: “Yes, it is possible, and on many levels, highly likely that the proposed global vaccinations combined with the ID2020 digital identification being forced on us from Bill Gates could very well be the coming Mark of the Beast.”[17]  Mr Grider is destined to be disappointed.  The mark of the Beast is not something still to come, and as explained above it is also not something physical.  It never has been, and it has been around for many centuries.

  This is how his reasoning goes: “Look at how quickly and easily they have locked us down, crashed the economy, and quarantined nearly the entire world.  That’s Step One, second step will be to then force us all to take the vaccination as the ‘only way’ to stop the virus.  After everyone has taken the vaccination Bill Gates has created, then everyone will be given a digital ID.  The Mark of the Beast system come to life.  Adding ‘upgrades’ to it later, like connecting it with buying and selling will be a natural next step.. ID2020 has already done that… Microsoft, in a recent announcement regarding using blockchain technology for decentralized identification further articulated its support of this initiative stating, ‘each of us needs a digital identity we own, one which securely and privately stores all elements of our digital identity.’” Again: these things are certainly being planned.  But as evil as they are, they are not the mark of the Beast.

  Grider wrote: “It is absolutely possible that Bill Gates could be… the forerunner to Antichrist.”  “Absolutely possible”?  According to what biblical evidence?  And where in all of Scripture are we told to be concerned about any “forerunner” to a supposedly still-future Antichrist (even assuming for the sake of argument that Antichrist is still to come in future, which in truth of course he is not)?  Before the prophesied Antichrist – the Roman Papacy – arose in history, John the apostle wrote of there being “many antichrists” in his day (1 Jn. 2:18,19); but since Antichrist arose many centuries ago there are no “forerunners” today about whom we need to be concerned.

  But “Now the End Begins” tries to give another option, one also tied to their favourite “vaccine/microchip/mark-of-the-Beast” speculations.  They point out that Microsoft not only funds ID2020, but also filed a patent for a device connected to the human body that interacts with a computer network system, for buying and selling a bitcoin cryptocurrency.  At any mention of “buying and selling” Futurists’ ears prick up like antennae and start to tingle, because Rev. 13:17 says that “no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark”.

  The device apparently interacts with the pulse, temperature and brain waves of the human body in order to engage in the buying and selling of cryptocurrency.  And so “Now the End Begins” ties all this together in their minds, with Rev. 13:16-18 hanging like a dark cloud over their heads, and this is what they come up with: “According to Revelation 13, [the Mark of the Beast] is a device that goes in the human body in the back of the right hand or in the forehead, for the purpose of buying and selling.  Whatever form the final Mark takes, that’s exactly what it will do from a functional, literal perspective.  Bill Gates and Microsoft are spending billions in order to 1) inject everyone on earth with some kind of a ‘vaccination’ shot, 2) create a device for buying and selling currency that’s run on the human body as its battery, and 3) attach both those things to a digital identification from ID2020 whom they also fund.  Please note that zero amount of what is said within this paragraph is speculation of any kind, click the links, it’s happening now.”[18]

  We’re not denying that this is what Gates et al want, and they are working very hard to get it.  What we are saying with absolute conviction, based on proper exposition of Rev. 13 from the biblical Historicist perspective, is that none of this is the mark of the Beast of Bible prophecy.

When Theories Run Amok: Misidentifying Real Hornets as Symbolic Locusts

  It’s another subject entirely, but it’s worth showing what “Now the End Begins” has to say about giant Asian hornets, because it just provides further evidence of Futurists’ tendencies to jump to crazy conclusions based on distortions of the facts.  They wrote:

 “Back in 2004, China ‘accidentally released’ giant Asian hornets who look like they jumped off the pages of Revelation, and out of the bottomless pit of Hell.”[19]  Really?  Exactly which part of Revelation would that be found in?  Since hornets are not mentioned anywhere in the book of Revelation, we have to assume they mean these hornets look like the locusts mentioned in Rev. 9.  But locusts are not hornets – that’s their first mistake.  And their second is this: do their “hornets cum locusts” have the shape of horses prepared to battle, with as it were golden crowns on their heads, having faces like men and hair like women, teeth like lions’ teeth, breastplates as it were of iron, and tails like scorpions?  For this is the appearance of the “locusts” of Rev. 9:3-11!  Those Asian hornets might be ugly, but they’re not that ugly!

  It is only too evident, to anyone not prejudiced by the false Futurist theory of prophetic interpretation, that Revelation’s “locusts” are symbolical of men, and are not to be understood as literal locusts at all.  Nor as hornets!

  But this just serves to show yet again that Futurists play fast and loose with God’s Word.  If there is a plague of big, ugly, dangerous hornets, it must be the locusts of Revelation (even though the similarity between real hornets and symbolical locusts is less than remote, it is non-existent)!  If Emmanuel Macron talks to the pope of Rome by phone, has a name which means “God with us”, looks like Antichrist apparently should look (?) and has certain ambitions to be a big fish in the murky globalist pond, he might be or must be the Antichrist!  If Bill Gates is developing a vaccine connected to a digital identification device, this might be or must be the mark of the Beast and Gates himself might be or is a forerunner of the Antichrist or he might be or is the Antichrist himself!  It is all so utterly speculative, a giant guessing game based on flimsy evidence and wild imaginations.  What lunacy will they trot out next?  Maybe they will claim that because the lockdowns worldwide are causing penguins to waddle down Cape Town streets and deer to come into Chinese cities, these must be “the beasts of the earth” of Rev. 6:8?  Before you laugh, dear reader, would this be any more bizarre than calling hornets locusts, and seeing them as a possible fulfilment of the clearly symbolic prophecies in Rev. 9?

Horrible Futurist Heresy: “Take the Mark and You Will be Damned Eternally”

  Then comes what in many ways is the worst of all this Futurist drivel: their absolutely unbiblical belief that anyone who takes what they claim to be the mark of the Beast into his body – be it a digital device, a bar code on the forehead (as was seriously put forward as the “mark of the Beast” years ago by Futurist guessers!), or some other outlandish notion – can never be saved, or if he was a Christian this will cause him to lose his salvation!

  Where do they get this nonsense from?  They get it from their horrible distortion of the meaning of Rev. 14:9-11: “And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: and the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.”

  A full exposition of this passage would take far too long at this point, and the reader is referred to my sermons entitled The Book of Revelation: Chapter 14 for a detailed, exhaustive study of all these things.[20]  But the following brief points can easily be made:

  It is true that anyone who dies worshipping the Beast and his image, and with the (symbolic) mark of the Beast upon him, will go to hell – but why will he go there?  He will go there because he dies in his sins!  This is the only reason anyone goes to hell.  All Papists serve the Antichrist, and are spiritually and figuratively (not physically!) marked as his possessions.  If a man dies as a Papist, he dies outside of Christ and is therefore eternally lost. 

  However, since all Papists have the mark of the Beast upon them figuratively, the moment any Papist is regenerated by the Holy Spirit, and calls upon the Lord Jesus Christ to save him, repenting of his sins, he becomes a child of God and is no longer a Papist!  And as such he now has the Father’s name written in his forehead (Rev. 14:1) – again, not physically, but figuratively.

  Arminian Futurists, according to their false doctrine of salvation, believe a man may be saved today and lose his salvation tomorrow.  Thus in their theology it is entirely possible for a true Christian to lose his salvation if he is bar-coded on his forehead or hand or has some microchip implanted under the skin of these body parts.  But this is not the teaching of the Bible!  God’s Word plainly teaches that His elect are brought by sovereign grace to Christ for salvation, and once saved they will never again be lost.  This is the blessed doctrine of the perseverance of the saints, or eternal security in Christ. 

  To teach that a man who takes a mark, or a digital device, in this way, either forfeits his salvation or can never be saved, is surely one of the most horrible false doctrines ever invented.  It is nothing less than creating a second unpardonable sin, of which the Bible knows absolutely nothing.   

  Let us see how “Now the End Begins” propounds this hellish lie.  And remember it is not just this one Futurist “ministry” – this is the belief of pretty much all of them:

 “Listen to me people, because your eternal soul depends upon it.  If you miss the Pretribulation Rapture, and are reading this during the time of Jacob’s trouble, do not take the Mark of the Beast, or have anything to do with the image, name or number of the Antichrist.  Do not worship him in any way, shape or form.  You will be executed and beheaded for your refusal to do so, but you will spend eternity in Heaven with Jesus for your faithfulness.  But you need to know that God will not, under any circumstances, forgive you for taking the Mark of the Beast or worshipping the Antichrist, that is the one sin that God cannot and will not forgive you for.”[21]

  Let’s break this terrible heresy down:

  1. “Listen to me people, because your eternal soul depends upon it. If you miss the Pretribulation Rapture”. The true Church is not raptured before some seven-year tribulation, as Futurists believe.  There is not a verse in the entire Bible, rightly divided, which teaches such a thing.  When Christ Jesus returns at His second coming on the last day, all the Lord’s people are taken up to meet Him in the air at that moment – not years before.  A straightforward reading of 1 Thess. 4:13-18, without the complicated web of head-spinning charts and diagrams so beloved of pre-trib rapture Futurists, makes this abundantly clear.  And much more evidence is available.[22]
  2. “and are reading this during the time of Jacob’s trouble”. The reference to “Jacob’s trouble” in Jer. 30:7 has absolutely nothing to do with some future period near the end of the world. It was fulfilled centuries ago, as is clear from the entire context.
  3. “do not take the Mark of the Beast”. Again, this mark is not a barcode, a microchip, or any such thing.  It is to be understood symbolically, as meaning that the Roman Catholics, the people of the Papal Antichrist, are his possession. 
  4. “or have anything to do with the image, name or number of the Antichrist”. The mark, image, name and number are not something still future.
  5. “Do not worship him in any way, shape or form. You will be executed and beheaded for your refusal to do so”. This doesn’t happen in some imagined, brief “tribulation period” at the end of the world.  The Papal Antichrist has executed millions already through the centuries.
  6. “but you will spend eternity in Heaven with Jesus for your faithfulness”. What happened to first being converted to Christ? But let’s assume this was just a slip: Futurists teach that during their supposed seven-year tribulation the true Church has been raptured, the Holy Spirit has left the earth – so how exactly will those who refuse the mark of the Beast during this time be converted to Christ?  Conversion is the work of the Holy Spirit, not man’s supposed “free will” to choose to follow Christ whenever he likes!
  7. “But you need to know that God will not, under any circumstances, forgive you for taking the Mark of the Beast or worshipping the Antichrist, that is the one sin that God cannot and will not forgive you for.” God cannot forgive? That in itself is a most serious heresy, as is making this “sin” the second unpardonable sin, without any biblical justification whatsoever! And so is making salvation dependent on not taking a physical mark, instead of faith alone in the Lord Jesus Christ! 

  Pay no attention to “teachers” such as these.  They know not what they say. 

A Coronavirus Vaccine: Good or Bad?

  Receiving a vaccine, therefore, is not the mark of the Beast, and is in no way connected with the mark of the Beast. 

  So then: would a vaccine against the coronavirus be a good thing?

Let me make myself clear.  No Christian needs to be against vaccines in principle.  They were an amazing medical breakthrough and have saved countless lives all over the world.  The purpose of a vaccine (as originally intended) is to help the immune system develop protection from a disease.  The vaccine contains the virus, but in a weakened, live or killed state.  This stimulates the body’s adaptive immunity, thereby helping to prevent sickness from an infectious disease.  Vaccines have been around for a very long time and they have worked very, very well.  It is thanks to vaccines that dreaded and deadly diseases such as smallpox, polio, tetanus, etc., were virtually eradicated worldwide.  To oppose vaccines per se just makes believers look foolish and anti-science, which is not a good testimony given that the evidence does not support such a position.

  The Lord gave the wisdom to certain scientists to invent an amazing method of eliminating some of the worst diseases mankind has ever experienced.  Thanks be to the Lord for that!

  However, today there is a problem with mass vaccination programmes, and it is a very real one.  Mass vaccination programmes in recent decades have at times been hijacked by powerful globalists as a method of actually infecting innocent people with life-threatening illnesses!  Again, let me be clear: this is not occurring universally.  Millions are vaccinated every year for the usual things and suffer no ill effects, and there is no sinister motive behind it.  But no longer can mass vaccination programmes be automatically trusted to do good.  There is solid evidence that they have been hijacked and used for the sinister and utterly evil purpose of infecting people with diseases under the pretext of vaccinating them against others!  Especially in Third World countries.

  And as Bill Gates et al forge ahead with their plans to supposedly develop and then rush through a vaccine against the coronavirus, the Lord’s people must be extremely cautious.  Firstly, because the one-worlders have the technology and the power to use mass vaccination programmes to harm, not to help; to make people ill, not to prevent them from falling ill.  And secondly, because (as has been expressed by these men in no uncertain terms) they hope to use the excuse of mass vaccination programmes to insert a chip into the human body, which could store all the personal information of those who receive it!

  It is not the mark of the Beast.  But it is still extremely sinister and dangerous, a massive invasion of privacy and a giant leap forward for the plans of those building the New World Order.  If it comes to pass, it will be the greatest means of people-control ever developed in human history.  All true freedom will be gone.  At any given time the powers that be will know your whereabouts, your work history, your present occupation, your income, what you do with your money, your religious affiliation, everything.  Never before in human history has the world been so close to this kind of awesome tyrannical power over almost all human beings on the face of the planet.  The information in the hands of governments, the United Nations, and the Vatican will be mind-boggling.

Should Christians Take the Vaccine? (Shattering Myth No. 1)

  So then, the question naturally arises: should a Christian accept the vaccine against the coronavirus (or any other similar virus at a later stage)?

  The answer is: not if you can help it!  

  It is unnecessary to your health.  The coronavirus, as I have written about repeatedly, is not a deadly plague; it is not even remotely dangerous to the vast majority of the world’s population; and most people who get it either recover without even knowing they had it, or experience only mild symptoms.  A vaccine is thus as utterly unnecessary as an annual flu vaccine.  The coronavirus is not smallpox.  It is not polio.  There is simply no need for a vaccine.  And what could make it even worse is that there is a rush to develop this vaccine, which means proper tests and procedures, conducted over a long period of time to be absolutely certain of its safety, will almost certainly be dispensed with.  The first pharmaceutical company to come up with a vaccine stands to make millions, even billions of dollars.

  Therefore, since it is unnecessary, Christians should avoid having it as far as possible. 

  But there may be occasions when, for many believers, it is simply not possible to avoid it being forced upon them.  For example, in certain professions it may be mandatory for people to accept the vaccine in order to continue working.  It is even likely that at least in some countries, and perhaps many, it will be a government-legislated vaccine for the entire population.  What then should the believer do?

  As bad as any enforced vaccine would be, since it would be contrary to liberty and individual choice, and even though one disagrees with the entire concept of a mandatory vaccine for something that is not even life-threatening to the vast majority of the world’s population, one does not sin against God if one is forced to be vaccinated.  We are to obey the authorities in everything except that which causes us to sin against the Lord, and since a vaccine is not in itself sinful, for Christians to be dragged off to prison for refusing a vaccine would be to go to prison for entirely the wrong thing.  This would not be suffering for righteousness’ sake (1 Pet. 4:14).  Since it is not the mark of the Beast, taking a vaccine, no matter how unnecessary it may be, is not sinning against the Lord.

  Bottom line: if it is possible to refuse such a foolish vaccine, then the Christian should do so!  For health reasons, privacy reasons, etc.  It is just unnecessary.  But if it is impossible to refuse, the believer does not sin against the Lord if it is made mandatory for him to take it.

Should Christians Permit the Insertion of a Microchip? (Shattering Myth No. 2)

  We do not know how close the world is to this as yet.  It may be very close, or it may yet be some time off.  Certainly it is being planned, and some very powerful and influential men and organisations are campaigning for it to be made mandatory worldwide.  Will the Lord permit this stage to actually be reached?  We do not know.  It is very possible.

  So the question is: should a Christian accept this or any other device being inserted into him, implanted into him, or in any other way being affixed to him? 

  And again the answer is: not if you can help it!

  It would be a monstrous invasion of your privacy.  It would mean you would be a virtual slave of the State.  And you should definitely avoid having it if at all possible!

  But having said that, there are a few salient points to be made here:

  One, it is not the mark of the Beast.

  Two, no Christian will lose his salvation, nor would any unbeliever shut himself off from ever being regenerated and converted, if he had it.

  Three, many times in the long history of the Christian Church, believers have had to carry identification documents, work permits, and other papers demanded by the State; and as dictatorial as such laws were, they have complied, for to rebel against such laws would have no biblical support and thus would not have the Lord’s blessing.  There have even been terrible times in history when Christians were physically branded on their bodies or faces.  A microchip or some other device would merely be the modern equivalent of those dreaded words heard in the Soviet Union and elsewhere: “Your papers, please.”  It is shocking; it is tyrannical; it places vast power in the hands of the authorities; but what Futurists are claiming is nonsensical and heretical, serious false doctrine indeed.

  Four, throughout history untold numbers of Christians have been slaves!  Modern westerners have become used to demanding their “rights” – but these are a rather modern invention.  Slaves, including Christian slaves, in earlier times had no rights, no liberties, they were the property of their owners or of the ruler.  Well, this would be the state of all Christians in modern times if they were forced to take such an ID device.  Yet what does the Word of God say?  Never once does it command slaves (“servants”, as the word is rendered) to rise up and rebel, overthrowing their rulers.  Instead it says, “Let every man abide in the same calling wherein he was called.  Art thou called being a servant [slave]? care not for it: but if thou mayest be made free, use it rather” (1 Cor. 7:20,21).  The Christian who is a slave is to be content to serve God as such.  Yes, if there is a legitimate way for him to gain his freedom, he may use that; but if not, he is not to care for the fact that he is a slave, but serve the Lord in that position.

  Again, the bottom line: if it is possible to refuse it, then the Christian should do so!  But if this is impossible, the believer does not sin against the Lord if it is forced upon him.  It would be nothing but an identification device.  A very powerful, very far-reaching, very intrusive identification device, certainly; a blatant abuse of power on the part of the authorities; but still just the modern digital equivalent of carrying ID documents.

Conclusion

  May the Lord enable every true Christian to view these things biblically, and not be swayed emotionally by the silly fantasies of Futurist interpreters of prophecy.  The very idea that a child of God could lose his salvation, or shut himself off from the grace of God in salvation, by taking a microchip into his physical body, is surely one of the most awful false doctrines there could be, for it is a denial of some of the greatest and most fundamental doctrines of the faith, pertaining to the eternal covenant of grace, the love of God for His elect, the true nature of sin, the salvation which Christ secured for the elect, the mighty work of the Holy Spirit in the elect, the eternal security of the elect, and salvation by grace alone through faith in Christ alone. 

  And all this is even apart from the terrible misinterpretation of what the mark of the Beast is, and who the biblical Antichrist is!

May 2020

Shaun Willcock is a minister, author and researcher.  He runs Bible Based Ministries.  For other articles (which may be downloaded and printed), as well as details about his books, audio messages, pamphlets, etc., please visit the Bible Based Ministries website; or write to the address below.  If you would like to be on Bible Based Ministries’ email list, to receive all future articles, please send your details.

ENDNOTES:

[1]. See Trappings of Popery, by Shaun Willcock, chapter fourteen.  Bible Based Ministries, 2007.  Available from Bible Based Ministries: www.biblebasedministries.co.uk.

[2]. The Antichrist, by Shaun Willcock, pg. 7.  Bible Based Ministries, 2019.  Available from Bible Based Ministries.

[3]The Antichrist, pg. 100. 

[4]. The Antichrist, pg. 6. 

[5]. Quoted in The Papacy is the Antichrist, by David Blunt, pg.6.  Christian Watch, Leamington Spa, England.  Undated.

[6]. Quoted in Faith and Freedom, May 2020, pg. 2.  www.faithandfreedom.com.au.

[7]. Quoted in Faith and Freedom, June-July 2020, pg. 2. 

[8]. End Times Scholar Answers: Is COVID-19 Part of Biblical Prophecy? May 6, 2020.  The Christian Post, www.christianpost.com.

[9]. The Prophecy of Matthew 24, by Shaun Willcock, chapter 4.  Bible Based Ministries, 2017.  Available from Bible Based Ministries.

[10]. The Book of Revelation: Chapter Six, by Shaun Willcock.  Available from Bible Based Ministries as free MP3s, or in CD format.

[11]. The McAlvany Intelligence Advisor, May 2020, pg. 10.  www.MIAtoday.com.

[12]. The McAlvany Intelligence Advisor, May 2020, pg. 10. 

[13]. Quantum Tattoo and a Digital Scannable Vaccine, April 18, 2020.  NewsWithViews.com.

[14]. The McAlvany Intelligence Advisor, May 2020, pg. 10. 

[15]. The Book of Revelation: Chapter 13 (twelve sermons available in MP3 or CD format), by Shaun WillcockAvailable from Bible Based Ministries.

[16]. 666 is Here as Bible Predicted! – For Real!  April 14, 2020.  NewsWithViews.com.

[17]. Quoted in Faith and Freedom, June-July 2020, pg. 3. 

[18]. Quoted in Faith and Freedom, June-July 2020, pg. 9. 

[19]. Quoted in Faith and Freedom, June-July 2020, pg.11. 

[20]. The Book of Revelation: Chapter 14, by Shaun WillcockAvailable from Bible Based Ministries.

[21]. Quoted in Faith and Freedom, June-July 2020, pg.12. 

[22]. See Trappings of Popery, chapter fourteen.

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