In Jesus’s day, the Roman government ruled. Herod was a king over Jerusalem and Judaea. If you recall, Herod was so evil that he married his brother’s wife, Herodias. He also had John the Baptist’s head chopped off and brought to his birthday party on a platter. Herod sounds worse than our current rulers.

The Caesars were the emperors of Rome. They were idolaters, practiced immoral sexual acts, and killed Christians. Yet, the apostles never told Christians to disobey or overthrow a government. When the despicable Emperor Nero reigned, Paul taught, “First of all, then, I urge that petitions, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone, for kings and all those who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity.” 1 Timothy 2:1-2 (CSB)

The type of prayer Paul was exhorting was that “we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty,” always adding, “if it is Your will, Father.” We are thankful for freedom of assembly. We are thankful for periods of peace in order to study the Bible, grow in grace, and preach the word. But as the end of this present evil world approaches, we know trouble will increase. Thus, if God so wills peace in our lives, we thankfully use each day of peace to serve God.

We disobey authority if a law directly forbids us to obey God. Remember Acts 5:27-29 (NIV), “The apostles were brought in and made to appear before the Sanhedrin to be questioned by the high priest. ‘We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name,’ he said. ‘Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us guilty of this man’s blood.’ Peter and the other apostles replied: ‘We must obey God rather than human beings!’” In this case, the apostles had to preach the gospel to obey God. 

There are no scriptures forbidding a vaccination. A vaccine to help protect people from a terrible disease is not the Mark of the Beast. The beast is a church-state system. It will be a “Christian” system designed to keep the old order (the unrighteous societies and governments) from destruction. The mark in the hand or the forehead would indicate cooperation (in the hand) or mental agreement (in the forehead) with church-state doctrines. True Christians will oppose doctrinal compromise. They will be martyred because of it. (Revelation 13:15) Don’t worry about missing this horrific time. It will not be subtle.

Additional Resources:

For children, parents and Bible class teachers, please watch this short, animated video:
Christian Questions CQ Kids Video: “Did God send the Coronavirus?”

Christian Questions Podcast Episode #1145: “Is Your COVID-19 Christianity Still Being Tested?”
Action steps to prevent COVID-19 from compromising our Christianity
Preview Video
CQ Rewind Show Notes