The Mark “on”

 

“He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.” - Revelation 13:16-17

 

 

There's been a lot of talk about whether or not the vaccine is the mark of the beast (I.e. Antichrist). Well is it? It is probably instrumental in paving the way by preparing people to obey government mandates or calls for vaccination, boosters, or masking. But I don't believe the vaccine is the mark for a simple grammatical reason.

 

Jesus said, “For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.”  (Matthew 5:18). A “ jot or one tittle,” would be the equivalent of a coma, period, crossing a letter tee or dotting the letter “i.” So, I mention this to prepare our perspective when looking at Revelation 13:16 and the importance of even the smallest detail. We need to value, like Jesus did, even the smallest details of the text of God’s word.

 

In Revelation 13:16 when speaking of,  “a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads,” the preposition used in this phrase, “on” is the Greek epi. The preposition epi is the same preposition used to describe the baptism with the Holy Spirit in Acts. It is a preposition used to describe overflowing with an emphasis on the overflow. But the most basic meaning of epi is “on,” or something on the surface. Which is relevant to the nature of the mark of the beast.

 

The vaccination is an injection “in” or “into” the body. it breaks the surface skin to inject into the body. If it were the mark, Revelation 13:16 would have to have used the Greek prepositions eis (pronounced “ice”) or en (pronounced “in”), both of which mean “into” and “in.” But the mark phrase uses the preposition epi which conveys something done on the surface externally. 

 

Those familiar with Greek may view this as an oversimplification, but I believe it is valid grammatical evidence to disqualify the vaccine as being “a mark” or the mark mentioned in Revelation. That's my jot and title on the issue.