Don’t Look Too Hard

It’s time to stop waiting for the mark of the beast.

It’s already here. Actually, it’s always been around, it’s only begun to rear a few of its ugly heads. While we’ve been looking for a tattooed wrist to slip out from under a shirtsleeve, the reality of the apostle John’s Revelation from the Lord’s messenger has been unfolding before us.

And what’s happening today has convinced me that Biblical prophesy is just as much a process as an event.

For example, I’d be foolish to declare that the global push for Covid 19 vaccinations is a direct fulfillment of prophesy. Nor do I intend to address the logic of any personal decision regarding health care. I’d only point out that the mindset behind trying to force Jesus Christ’s people to do something against their will is identical to that described in Rev. 13:16 and 20:4.

If you think that’s a stretch, consider first that, in both of these passages, the Greek noun χάραγμα [kárâgmâ], translated as “mark,” is defined as a mark, stamp, image or representation.

But here’s where it gets interesting.

In the Acts of the Apostles, the apostle Paul used the same noun in a speech to the pagans in Athens:

“Being then the children of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image [χάραγμα] formed by the art and thought of man.” [Acts 17:29]

Imagine that.

The mark of the beast described in the apostle John’s Revelation could also very well be an image–or any number of images “formed by the art and thought of man.” The mark that’s currently being shoved down my throat is one that I’m told I can’t live without. If I accept it, I’d no doubt wear that image on my “forehead” by reflecting it in my heart, or on my “hand” by reflecting it through my actions.

I’m not sure I’d be able to pull that off.

It seems to me that the mark has revealed itself as a series of decisions.

I wonder what’s next?