Over the last year or so, there has been a scramble within the pharmaceutical world to produce a vaccine for Covid-19. This is seen as the great hope in combatting this virus and returning to a sense of normality. However, vaccines are seen as controversial by some people – should the discerning Christian take a Covid-19 vaccine?
Why are vaccines controversial?
There have been some safety concerns over the side-effects of vaccines in recent history, the most notable example being the suggested link between the MMR vaccine and autism in the 1980s (which has never proven despite a huge number of studies).
The reality is that there are likely to be mild side-effects with a vaccine and there is the possibility of a serious reaction in some people. This is true of any form of medical intervention. However, the most important consideration is the overall risk to a group of people – balancing the risk of possible harm from taking the vaccine versus the potential harm caused by not taking the vaccine. It is easy to forget about the devastation caused by viruses such as measles or polio which have been successfully contained through the use of vaccines. They have certainly proven to play a key role in the health, longevity and quality of life within a population. However, we recognize that this will not be any consolation to the few who have suffered an adverse reaction to a vaccine.
Is the Covid-19 vaccine safe?
At this point in time, any short-term effects of the Covid-19 vaccine will become observable while any long-term effects will remain unknown for years. We are not medical experts, but we imagine the worldwide scrutiny on Covid-19 vaccines will be immense. Trials will be thorough and rigorous with no pharmaceutical company wanting to risk the financial and reputational damage of cutting corners.
Therefore, it is probably sensible for the elderly to take the vaccine initially – any possible long-term effects are likely to be mitigated by the greater potential harm of contracting Covid-19 in that age-group. However, because of the unknown long-term possible effects of a vaccine, it may be wise for the younger age-groups to wait a little longer for more research to become available.
Is there a link between the Covid-19 vaccine and the ‘mark of the beast’?
We think this is extremely unlikely. For a start, the likelihood of the government implanting a microchip in the human body through the administration of the Covid-19 vaccine is virtually zero. Furthermore, taking the vaccine is not a DNA-altering process which some have alleged – that is not how vaccines work.
However, for us, the main reason for this stance is that our understanding of the mark of the beast (outlined in Revelation 13:16-18) requires that the person taking the mark will be fully aware of the significance of taking the mark. Although the mark will be required to ‘buy or sell’, we believe people will also be consciously pledging allegiance (and worship) to the Antichrist and taking the mark will be the sign of loyalty. This would obviously not be the case if this mark was administered deviously through a vaccine without the knowledge of the person receiving it. Furthermore, this mark is identified as being taken on the ‘right hand’ or ‘forehead’, something which clearly does not apply to a vaccine.
Having said that, it is certainly possible that authorities could use the Covid-19 vaccine to tighten their grip of control over the population and we would hope that taking the vaccine remains a matter of personal choice.
So, should the discerning Christain take the Covid-19 vaccine?
We see no biblical reason not to take the Covid-19 vaccine. Vaccines are being used routinely in the western medical world with great success. Admittedly there is a degree of uncertainty with the Covid-19 vaccine at present, so this remains a judgment call for each Christian. Personally, we will probably wait a little longer before seriously considering taking the vaccine as we do not see a huge risk with Covid-19 for us – however, this is down to individual choice.
The BIG picture
However, we must point out what we see as the big picture because this is where we believe Covid-19 has been monumental. There is certainly something going on behind the scenes with the Covid-19 pandemic. Whether this is just a battle within the spiritual realm or whether this is an orchestrated scheme of those who are pulling the worldwide strings, we do not know, but this is certainly leading somewhere. There is no doubt that the Covid-19 episode will act as a key stepping-stone in setting the stage for the real ‘mark of the beast’ when the time comes.
As we have said all along, the world is fast shaping up for the end-time climax which has gathered a greater pace than ever before. The severe disruption to life that Covid-19 has brought about will lead people to accept more government control than ever before. We are quickly becoming a cashless society and are conceding more general freedom as our lives become increasingly monitored, tracked and policed. The technology has been ready for a while but now the will of people to embrace this technology has gathered huge momentum.
The economic impact of Covid-19 will be ruinous as millions will lose their jobs and thousands of businesses will go under. There will be large numbers who have suffered life-changing (or life-ending) medical issues that would have been successfully treated in normal circumstances. Furthermore, the psychological damage caused by our reaction to Covid-19 will be incalculable with an exponential increase in stress, anxiety, and loneliness leading to all kinds of mental-health related issues. We are certain that the reaction to the virus will prove to cause more damage than the actual virus itself.
All of this will cause a much larger proportion of the population to be completely dependant on the state for survival. This will play perfectly into the hands of the coming Antichrist who will have the stage set to quickly control much of the world’s population, just as anticipated in the Bible.
The Lord Jesus Christ – our blessed hope!
In the meantime, we are to fix our eyes on the Lord Jesus like never before – our hope must remain in Him alone. This world will continue to tear itself apart but nothing can take away the incredible promises for those who remain faithful to the end. Everything will happen as ordained (and outlined) by God in the Scriptures and the world is shaping up just as predicted.
The followers of Jesus Christ have nothing to fear.
He truly is our only and blessed hope – keep looking up!
‘Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings. I cling to you; your right hand upholds me.’ (Psalm 63:7-8 NIV)
‘I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.’ (Philippians 3:14 NIV)
So why are medical scientists saying the covid shot will have a tracker in it that will be needed to track the ones that have been vaccinated versus ones that have not been vaccinated. Eventually you will not be able to go anywhere. Buy or sell without the tracker in your body. Isn’t that the pre-cursor the is the mark of the beast? Once you have it, it can’t be reversed.
Hi Annie, could you let us know which medical scientists are saying the vaccine will have a tracker which will be inserted with the injection? We are sure the authorities will track who has been vaccinated and who has not, but we are not aware of a physical tracker being injected.
God bless…
I think the Big Issue for most Christians will be the use of “genetically modified human embryonic (HEK) 293 cells” used in the production of current covid vaccines. While I would agree with some of the points covered above the article does not appear to address the real problem. ie. Can a true believer ever be justified in using something which has essentially been developed using material from an aborted human life regardless of why how or when that abortion took place? I have no desire to be critical of fellow believers but as Paul foretold, we find ourselves in “perilous times”.
Hi Nigel,
Just came across this website and saw your comment. I – like you – do think that this is an issue for Christians. There seem to be at least positions on this.
Firstly, if a true believer never can justify using something that has been developed using material from an aborted human life, then a lot of medicine cannot be taken for therapeutic reasons. There are numerous cell lines that are used for a wide variety of purposes for medical checking and innovation (see e.g. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-10-fetal-cells-1970s-power-medical.html). This particular link by the way indicates that this fetal cell line from an abortion was due to a “therapeutic abortion”. I cannot verify the truth of this however. Nevertheless, if one takes this position, one needs to be consistent and then refuse treatment for ALL medines that in some way have been developed with the involvement of these cell lines.. I am wondering what decision will be made, if a person holds this position, gets a life threatening disease and then discovers that the medicine to treat him/her has been developed using one of these cell lines.
The second position is that currently, we are not responsible for the past and that somehow in God’s providence something good has come out of this and that we can safely and without a taint of conscience can use the treatment (in this case the Covide-19 vaccine). I’m sure there are many positions in between! A helpful article I found by John Wyatt (a welll respected Christian ethicist in the UK) here: https://johnwyatt.com/2021/01/04/article-coronavirus-vaccines-and-christian-ethics/ that you may find helpful.
Even the Roman Catholic Church has indicated that the use of Covid-19 vaccination is morally acceptable. See https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_20201221_nota-vaccini-anticovid_en.html.
It is indeed a big and complex issue where Christians hold different views. Let me just finish by saying that this should not divide Christians and in the end respectfully agree to disagree.