MYTH: The COVID-19 vaccine can affect women's fertility. In May, Feaman wrote on his blog of Gov. Three times, Revelation makes reference to the beast and the false prophet (16:13; 19:20; 20:10). The COVID-19 vaccine has been scientifically proved to save lives,but for a selectgroup of people in the religious realm, a more important matter is at stake eternal salvation. Share your feedback here. However, Jesus made it clear that we cannot know when the end will come But they can Sixth, if dozens of names can be calculated from 666, how effective is this means of communication? The bubonic plague in the 1300's A.D. killed about a quarter Some people are at higher risk of more severe disease or outcomes from COVID-19 infection than others. The Shincheonji Word Seminar held in August attracted 1,700 pastors and 28,000 people globally. In the US, COVID-19 vaccination is completely free for everyone, both In the first century, this meant that your refusal to worship Caesar (to be spiritually identified with the beast) could mean persecution or discrimination or alienation. For that reason, we need not fear a wrathful God, rather we can rejoice in a God of grace and mercy, who forgives us for our sins and transgressions. Sign up for our newsletter: It exercises all the authority of the first beast in its presence, and makes the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose mortal wound was healed (v. 12). With a current world population of approximately 7.8 billion, the death rate for COVID-19 would have to reach approximately 1.95 billion people, in purely mathematical terms for this prophecy to come to pass. (Matthew 24:27, 24:36-39, 24:44). (flu, mumps, measles, chickenpox, tetanus, diphtheria, shingles, pneumonia, etc.).3. infection is much greater than any theoretical risk from the vaccine. "People read erroneous comments and believe they are true," he said. All of these solutions are calculated by a process known as gematria. Until the question came again. David's Census Brings Pestilence. ): 666 is not meant to be a riddle hiding the name of the beast; 666 is simply the name and number of the beast. Theapocalyptic biblical term comes from Revelation 13: 16-18. departments and many drugstores. There are also a number of treatments available. "Anyone who is telling you not to get the vaccine is either lying to you or an idiotor a combination of the two. The pandemicand now this surveyhave shown that when relational church engagement goes up, so does Scripture engagement, but when it goes down, Scripture engagement drops with it.. Now we see him as a false Elijah. Peter Feaman, a top Republican National Committee official in Florida, said last month that vaccines are"the mark of the beast" and comparable to a "false god." The ONS Covid infection survey estimates an average of 219,600 people were infected . Some people didnt lose their jobs and saved money by staying home, putting them in a better relative financial position, while others suffered greatly from the economic shutdown. website: Why Does God Allow Evil and Suffering? The vaccines have proven COVID-19 is the most devastating plague to ravage humankind this century. COVID-19 in Canada February 27, 2023, 9:57 a.m. EST Total cases 4,591,149 Deaths 51,249 Provincial and territorial case numbers Due to changes in testing policies across Canada, case counts shown may be lower than actual numbers. Daily engagement had already been declining, but worsened during the pandemic, according to the annual State of the Bible report. COVID misinformation: FDA warns about ivermectin as COVID treatment. 2 US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), How to But the evidence shows that Americans who actively engage with the Bible and in corporate worship score higher on every measure of human flourishing, including better mental and physical health and a deeper sense of character and virtue. might get very sick or die from COVID-19.1,2, Jesus taught that one of the most important of all commandments is, "Love COVID-19 vaccination coverage As of January 29, 2023 Received at least one dose "In Revelation 14,we learn thatthose who take the mark are doomed," he said. This highly infectious virus was first contracted in November 2019 in Wuhan, the capital city of Chinas Hubei province, through animal to human contact at the Huananseafood market. They gathered information from more than 1,000 people and started to process that information, as they had in previous years. Madeline Kalu is a Christian writer and the co-founder ofJacobs Ladder Blog. "(Former President) Donald Trump tapped into American populism, and with that comes the disbelief of experts," Evans told USA TODAY. Coronavirus was caused by human actions, or lack thereof, he argues. of the world's population. There is something hard-wired in all humans that compels us to search after the divine or find something spiritual. She said the latest surge of COVID-19 cases has been "hell,"and a lot of younger people have died. (March 2): China's number of working people has fallen by more than 41 million in the past three years, reflecting both the coronavirus pandemic's toll on the economy and a decline in the working age population.Some 733.5 million Chinese people were employed in 2022, according to the country's statistics bureau. What do health care workers say? She believes that God can take lifes adversities and work them out for His good; hence, she uses her writing voice to raise awareness of mental illness, as well as to spread the light of Gods love to those who are mentally trapped in the dark, and provide them with hope and encouragement. We shouldnt expect false religion to appear immediately and obviously false. The onset of a plague in the Bible has always been a portent for the destruction of civilization or way of life, brought about by the hands of a wrathful God in response to acts of apostasy and other acts of disobedience against Him. About half (49%) of Americans with a family member living in their household who died of coronavirus said they increased their use of the Bible2.3 times more than average. Many people wonder why God has allowed it to happen, and is it an omen 40 370: 110 : Uzbekistan 251,071 1637 241486 0.7%: 23 7,948 7,302 231 48: 111 : . Misinterpretations ofRevelation13:16-18 can stem from social media where people can spread unreliable information, according to Laurie. The Devil is perfectly happy to have everyone searching for God. I once came across these three tongue-in-cheek rules for calculating the number of the beast: if the proper name doesnt work, add a title; if Greek doesnt work try Hebrew or Latin; if that doesnt work try a different spelling. We all want to touch transcendence. The number of people in China aged between 16 and 59 has been gradually declining since 2012. 1. To counter a pandemic-prompted morass in Bible engagement, Hall said, learn to read the Bible in a new way. That could include using a Bible app that plays music as a person reads or a Bible app that reads a selected passage aloud over and over. If, however, doctors or politicians or members of the media or anyone else, for that matter, elevates himself to a position of Godlike authority and knowledge, then that is what Revelation warns Christians against. spread of diseases if a high percentage of people are vaccinated.6. You have to leave out a yodh, which some claim was an acceptable spelling, but it was certainly not the normal usage. Before they finished, COVID-19 cases started skyrocketing. In both case we are talking about a spiritual mark, an invisible stamp of approval. that could make them very sick or even kill them? Statistics on COVID-19. In January, women were slightly more Bible engaged than men (19.1% vs. 18.8%) and 2 percent more likely than men to be Bible centered (a Barna and ABS designation for individuals with the highest level of influence from Scripture in their daily lives). From a Christian perspective, one often has growth through suffering.. It cold be an allusion to slaves branding, or soldiers tattoo, or some practice of compulsory idol worship developing in the first century. Adding up some subsets of its divisors (e.g., 1, 4, 5, 10, and 20) gives 40; hence, 40 is a semiperfect number. By the end of September, 56% ofpeople in the USAare projected to be fully vaccinated and 59% by Jan. 1, 2022, according to data from the, wrote anop-ed in August for the Midland Reporter-Telegram, Ivermectin is not a proven treatment for COVID-19, Pregnant unvaccinated nurse and her unborn 'sweet baby girl' die of COVID, What we know about the mu variant and why Fauci is 'keeping a very close eye on it', Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. 2 Chronicles 7:13-14 - If I shut up heaven that there be no rain, or if I command the . The psalmist talks about God's protection, likening him to a mother hen with its chicks - 'He will cover you . And yet, what is so beautiful about Gods Word is His promise to love us and provide for us, regardless of how dire our situation is: Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed, says the LORD, who has compassion on you(Isaiah 54:10). Measuring the pandemics affect on American spirituality was a major reason ABS supplemented its January survey of 2,010 people, conducted alongside Barna, with a June poll of 3,020 Americans. Within just a few short months, COVID-19 has spread like a wildfire to almost every corner of the globe, infecting a confirmed 3,870,865 of the worlds population in its wake and tallying a death toll of 267,771, as of May 7, 2020. (since 30 January 2023)@. There were priests and sacred rituals and officials insisting on the deity of the emperor. It performs great signs, even making fire come down from heaven to earth in front of people, and by the signs that it is allowed to work in the presence of the beast it deceives those who dwell on earth, telling them to make an image for the beast that was wounded by the sword and yet lived (. But putting a quick end to the Prolonged stress also could have affected Christians ability to digest and live out Scripture, he said. vaccinated as soon as possible. Whatever or whomever appears as true Christianity in order to draw us away to some human counterfeit, that is the work of the beast, and his number is 666. If they do, their symptoms can range from mild to severe. Since Jesus spoke those words 2000 years ago, there have been many plagues Retrieved from In a recent sermon, Trump-supporting pastor Jack Hibbs said that the COVID-19 vaccine is "conditioning" people for the Mark of the Beast, a Biblical prophecy of a bodily mark that will be forced . One of the most significant examples of this is shown to us inExodus 7-12 with the 10 plagues that Moses called over Egypt at Gods command. Harvest Christian Fellowship Pastor Greg Laurie said COVID-19vaccines are not "the mark of the beast,"but many Christians may believe they are, thinking the world isin what the Bible calls"the last days. Third, none of the early church fathers calculated Neron Kaisar from 666. Cumulative number of positive nucleic acid test laboratory detections. Then I saw another beast rising out of the earth. I started this series when the whole world was talking about COVID-19, and some people were wondering if the signs of Revelation were unfoldingor would soon unfoldbefore our eyes. In mathematics. This is, in part, due to a change from agrarian to urban lifestyles over time, ease of travel between countries and exposure to diverse people, and increased interactions between people and animals. Although the coronavirus is the most disastrous plague that has impacted humanity this century, there is no evidence in the Bible to suggest that COVID-19 is one of the plagues prophesied in Scripture. Positive nucleic acid test laboratory detections newly recorded on 1/3/2023. Hotline: (314) 657-1499 Mondays-Fridays 8am-5pm More emergency resources and contacts COVID-19 Data New Cases 52.4 /100k 7-day total of new PCR positive cases per 100k people New Hospital Admissions 10.9 /100k 7-day total of new hospital admissions for COVID-19 per 100k people % Staffed Inpatient Beds 4.1% In the New Testament, there is mention of plagues that will act as key signs that will herald the end times and the coming of Jesus Christ. He was given power to give breath to the image of the first beast. In other words, the second beast persuades the world that the image of the first beast is truly God. Let the person who has insight calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man. Forty is a composite number, a refactorable number, an octagonal number, andas the sum of the first four pentagonal numbers: + + + = it is a pentagonal pyramidal number. https://health.clevelandclinic.org/how-much-of-the-population-will-need-to-be-vaccinated-until-the-pandemic-is-over. Some of the names in the list are absurd. See something we missed? Idolatry will boast of great accomplishments, even miracles. We must have them. people are more hopeful when they read Scripture more frequently, National Well-Being Measures Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Online Samples, With Gossip of the Gospel, the Church Grows in Nepal, A Christian Approach to Social Justice Is Slow, Careful, and Self-Reflective, Our Attraction to Idols Remains the Same, Even When the Names Change, Turkish Christians Plead: Dont Distribute Bibles After Earthquake, After Pushing for UMC Unity, Former Bishop Joins New Denomination, Everything Everywhere All at Once and the Beautiful Mystery of Gods Silence, Complete access to articles on ChristianityToday.com, Over 120 years of magazine archives plus full access to all of CTs online archives. "Sometimes these statements arepackaged to look like Bible Prophecy," he said, "but they arefalse andmisapplied because many people do not understand what the Bible actually says about these things.".