Covid-19 and the Mark of the Beast in the Book of Revelation

Abstract

Is the coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine the mark of the beast? This is one of the frequently asked questions that this writer has met many times. The reason for this question is that there are claims on social media platforms that indeed the COVID-19 vaccine does fulfill the prophecy of John in the Book of Revelation concerning the ‘mark of the beast’ introduced in Rev 13:16-18. However, such interpretations tend to flow from conspiracy theories rather than from biblical text or tradition. Therefore, this article seeks to provide a meaningful exegetical interpretation of the ‘mark of the beast’ relating to the time of the first century A.D. itself when
the Book of Revelation was written. The intention is to help the Christian reader to have a better grasp of what John intended to communicate to his primary audience so as to set aside some out-of-context speculations of the 21st-century readers of the book.