Science will not save your soul

At present, significant time is being devoted to a vaccine rollout throughout the world. In our country, we are focused on using the Pfizer and AstraZeneca treatments, whereas other nations are also adopting the Moderna treatment. But not all vaccines are equal - the Pfizer and Moderna treatments utilise what is known as mRNA technology.

The “m” in mRNA simply stands for “messenger”. mRNA technology has been studied and experimented with for decades in different forms, but has never been used in a commercial “vaccine”. The so-called “messenger” is designed to deliver genetic information to parts of your body, usually in order to overwrite or erase the genetic information that’s already there. Essentially, synthetic mRNA is used to trick your body into manufacturing an immune response to COVID-19.

Most concerning is a statement made by the President of Moderna who claimed that in utilising mRNA technology, “essentially the entire kingdom of life is available for you to play with”. I don’t believe I am alone when I say that God would not take too kindly to scientists “playing with” His creation.

In Revelation 9:20-21 we read this, But the rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, that they should not worship demons, and idols of gold, silver, brass, stone, and wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk. And they did not repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts.

The English word “sorcery” in the Revelation passage is “pharmakeia” in the Greek. Traditionally, the belief was that unrepentant mankind would, in the Tribulation Period increase their intake of illicit substances. This is easily foreseeable for three reasons. Firstly, law enforcement will be largely non-existent due to the ongoing calamities, thereby leading to a reduced police presence for drug crimes. Secondly, many people will take drugs as a form of escapism from the horrific things they must endure as a result of the judgements. Finally, this will be a period of lawlessness led by “the lawless one” and it will certainly be a case of “anything goes”.

Although we don’t like to think we have a drug problem in our country, the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare reported that 43% (9 million) of Australians aged 14 and over had used an illicit drug in their lifetime. 16% (3.4 million) had used one in the last 12 months. Most alarmingly, illicit drug use skyrocketed between 2001 and 2019, rising from 12% to 16% for people in the 40’s and going from 6.7% to 13% for people in their 50’s!

In addition to illicit substances, Moderna’s statement also leads me to believe it is not just illegal drugs that may be a significant problem in the Tribulation Period – pharmaceutical companies may also continue to push their mRNA technology, particularly if unrepentant mankind are desperate for ways to survive plagues, diseases etc which inhabit the Earth during those terrible days.

It never ceases to amaze me how much time and money is wasted by scientists who are looking for technologies and treatments to defeat death. Death is an implacable enemy of the sinner and a radical treatment is required. To receive eternal life in the kingdom of God, one must be born again. But man cannot accomplish this through science. The process of being born again is only accomplished through faith in Jesus Christ. How ironic that science will spend trillions of dollars trying to find a way to defeat death, only to realise in the end that “mercy there was great and grace was free”. The answer is Calvary, not sorcery.