The leaves of the church age are changing colour; the world’s longest winter is near. This is terrifying if you aren’t saved; comforting if you are. I am part of the Christian congress that believes Christ’s return is imminent. An ominous aura surrounding 2030, the introduction of vaccine passports, indefinite lockdowns, and the Jews migrating home, make me confident we are the generation Jesus promised wouldn’t pass away.*
1.The Imitation
The teacher of Ecclesiastes tells us that the human heart hungers for eternity (Ecc 3:11). Nothing will give rest to our wearied souls except for God who is simultaneously Alpha and Omega. Once we accept this, we’re able to appreciate the teacher’s first oracle, “Everything is vanity.” Because the heart craves the never-ending to the point of anguish, all things temporal are vain. We will never find satisfaction with the offerings of this finite because we were created for another world. Our [vain] efforts to rebel against this wisdom seem to reinforce the point. Hedonists die sad; the one who gratifies the flesh dies alone.
We must never underestimate Satan. His skill in the art of imitation is unchallenged. He knows that God created us to serve the Divine, so he feigns the appearance of divination to try and woo us to his kingdom. That’s why Paul says, “…Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds.” (2 Corinthians 11:14-15). I think it’s evident why Satan portrays such a form: people are not lured into danger, in this case, an eternity in Hell, with something they fear.
The true mastery of Satan’s deception is that he imitates Christ how we think Christ should be. But is that not why we rejected Christ when He came? If I were to conduct an experiment questioning 100 random people on the street, “What do you think God is like?” and then compose a being based on their replies, I would not create Christ, but AntiChrist! If man decided to make a god, he would make a monster.
Our speculation of impending rapture obligates us to talk about the events of the end. Is the vaccine passport the Mark of the Beast? No. But it is an appetizer for the main course that’s coming.
2. The Consequences
The Bible tells us that believers are sealed with the Name of the Lord (John 6:27, 2 Timothy 2:19, Revelation 6:9, 7:2, 9:4). In the history of antiquity, a seal denoted ownership like a signature today. When we are rescued from sin and guaranteed eternal life by Christ, that promise is displayed with a spiritual seal upon our person. It encompasses our return and perfect reconciliation to a loving Father who calls us His own.
It’s no surprise that Satan imitates this seal with his Mark of the Beast. It’s a physical mark, a symbol our society fears no longer, that denotes a man’s allegiance to the kingdom below. Unlike the spiritual seal the believer receives, the unsaved are unspiritual, and therefore receive an unspiritual [physical] mark, represented by the number 666.
2. The Consequences
There is no such thing as a believer who's not sealed by God. If a man is not washed clean of sin by the blood of the resurrected Christ, he doesn’t have the mark of God. And if he doesn’t have the mark of God (that is, if he’s unsaved), he cannot enter and enjoy eternal life in Heaven.
In a perverted and cruel way, the Mark of the Beast aims to emulate that. When it comes (bear in mind Christians of this age will already be in Heaven), those that refuse to take it will be subject to heavy and harsh persecutions. Without the mark, it will be illegal to, if one escapes the executions:
-Swim at the pool
-Buy groceries
-Pay electrical bills
-Visit the park
-Buy fuel
-Go to school
-Get a job
Sound familiar?
3. The Vaccine Passport
But let us be clear. The vaccine passport is not the Mark of the Beast because we are not in Tribulation. Christians needn’t worry about “taking the mark or not” because we won’t be here to experience it. Nonetheless, I am confident these passports are a precursor, a taste of what’s to come. It’s evil. This scheme is Satan acting as he really is—demonic; a twisted, demented, horrible creature, heir to the hottest lake of fire in Hell, whose august glory was voluntarily traded for hideous evil. And his patients, men and women who will endure Tribulation because they refuse to accept Christ today, are right now being prepped so that when the time comes, being branded with 666 won’t sting so bad.
*I am not a prophet and do not claim to know the date regarding the moment of Christ's return. I don't know when or what hour he's coming (Matthew 24:36). My observation is merely that everything is in place for the Rapture and subsequent Tribulation to commence.
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