Monroe Dispatch - No Struggle, No Progress

We have been hearing a lot lately about the "Mark of the Beast", as more concerted efforts are being made to bring COVID-19 under control. Even though there has been an uptick in vaccination rates, still there are not enough people that have been vaccinated for the nation to reach the so-called "herd immunity" status. We are also seeing a growing number of police, firefighters and nurses begin to take legal action against their employers after they have been mandated to get vaccinated or subject themselves to weekly testing. They use the same argument that their "freedom" to refuse the vaccines, are their constitutional rights and that the government is overreaching in their lives. If they don't win in the courts, they are prepared to elicit religious exemptions from those religious leaders who, (not all will) will sign them. If that doesn't work, then those opposed to vaccine mandates, can always go to the conspiracy card, knowing that there of millions of people out there who will listen. One of the conspiracy theories making the rounds (and waves), is that the vaccine, is the "Mark of the Beast" that we know of from the New Testament in the bible. It seems that if one can't explain away the science of how the vaccine protects us, there is "the Devil in the details". And that is why we are hearing about The Mark because there are those who will reject science and use biblical references to bring one over to their ideas. The "Mark" is relevant because the world is moving ever so close to the time when an individual will make it his mission on Earth, to see that those willingly receive the Mark and do his bidding. They are using vaccines as the scapegoat, knowing that anything that they can use against the government, especially one that they don't trust, their conspiracy theories take root. The best example of what can happen when enough people distrust their government, is what occurred on January 6. Nonetheless the thing that is missing, as conspiracy theorists concerning the Mark, is that no one knows EXACTLY what the Mark of the Beast will be. We know that is will be "on the hand or forehead and the number "666" denotes a person, but EXACTLY who, no one knows. Who the Antichrist really is, won't be revealed until the appointed time for him to step foot on the earth. There was time when conservatives tried to portray former president Barack Obama as the antichrist because they didn't like him as the first Black president or his policies. By putting the Mark in the headlines, conspiracy theorists continue to sow the seeds of misinformation that many people will accept as the truth. This reporter believes that as each day brings us closer to Jesus' return, more teaching should be about the Second Coming along with basic teaching, as the days of "buying/selling" and "hearing from false prophets", are among us. There are even darker days ahead for those who will be alive when the Antichrist arrives and this pandemic will be a thing of the past. For those who peddle into conspiracy theories that only further divide people whether they are "Christian" or not, simply because they won't accept science, will have to answer. If we practice those two commandments Jesus spoke of in the Book of Matthews, that is to "love God with all of our heart and mind and also our neighbor", the bible teaches that God will deliver us from the enemy. In the meantime, continue to practice good safety habits, pray that God will "open more hearts" to the truth. Remember, the world is watching. So is God.