Not hooey.
For a believer, whether you think the mark is literal or figurative does not affect their salvation.
If you TAKE the mark, then yes, but no believer is not going to take the mark.
Even believers do not see clearly because Paul’s comment in 1 Corinthians 13 is written to believers.
So how can one avoid taking the mark, as a believer, if they don’t even know what it is, literal or otherwise and how do you, personally, determine who is listening to god correctly?
And, if possible, try to do it without sounding like a sermon I’ve heard a thousand times.