I posit for you a possible scenario for the Mark of the Beast and supposed Christians being duped into it somehow. <br> I think of the parable of the Bridesmaids awaiting with the bride for the time when the betrothed groom would come in the night and steal away the bride to the marriage supper.
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They required oil in their lamps for the dangerous journey following the bride and bridegroom to the wedding. But half of the women did not take care to keep themselves supplied and ready for the journey when it finally came. So they were not vigilant even though they recognized and believed the groom would come. You could say they were lulled into the false belief that this upcoming night would not be the time of the groom coming to take the bride with him.
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Outwardly until that night, it was not discernable the difference between the women who had prepared for the journey with oil in their lamps and those who had not. Only at the appointed time did the difference become clear. The women lacking oil demanded the 5 prepared bridesmaids give them half but they were rebuked and told to go to the market and purchase the oil needed. By the time this was accomplished, the bridegroom had already arrived and taken the bride and the 5 bridesmaids to the wedding party. The doors were shut and the late arriving bridesmaids were rebuffed and advised that the bridegroom did not know them. <br> <br> Unfortunately, this is how I see much of the Christian church in America today. We have been lazy and generally Laodicea is the closest match to our churches behaviors. I saw a post yesterday to a alpha and omega video on youtube talking about what salt meant to the people of Jesus day. It is quite different from any sermon I have ever heard preached and it makes substantially more sense on a deeper level than what is usually fed to the congregation. <br> Overall I approach Christianity agreeing with the line of thinking called Calvinism. I can't help but see what is going on in the world and the near complete lack of appropriate response from the American church to these event (not to mention the general lack of interest or concern for Christians in other nations suffering persecution and death even now for their belief). I see all this and I am reminded of the parable above.
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I believe there will be many Christians who profess faith in Jesus whom will take the mark believing or convincing themselves it is not The Mark. I don't believe these people will have been the saved. Also I find it interesting that the Bible mentions in Revelations that he will limit the duration partly because the Elect (truly saved) on earth would be deceived otherwise. This suggests to me that deception which has been ever present when considering Satan's presence and interactions in this world will absolutely be part of the events leading to The Mark. <br> <br> I would point out that deception can and has in the Bible lead to Godly people (even prophets) disobeying God's directives. Eve was first deceived in Genesis by Satan's lies. In 1 Kings 13 a prophet was deceived by another prophet of God into disobeying God's command to him. He died for this disobedience.
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What will the professing believers of the church do when their elders and leadership tell them although this situation is bad, it's not The Mark? <br> <br> Is the vaccine The Mark? I lean toward no, but as time goes on and the authoritarian draconian responses become closer to occurring and line up more with what scripture mentions about the penalties for not taking The Mark, it makes me very uneasy in my spirit about what is going on. I'm to the point where taking this vaccine is a Hell No proposition now for that and many other reasons.