This past month has been one of the most surreal times of my life. What would have been considered Alex Jones tier conspiratard talk six months ago, has now become real life. On top of that, Keynesianism/Socialism has become a tenant of the Republican Party. The Coronavirus has undoubtedly turned the world upside down. While some still find the situation overblown, most will admit that it’s worse than we initially thought. What’s not surprising is that this pandemic is likely part of God’s judgement on humanity, namely for our unfaithfulness and abundant depravity.
Some people may see this pandemic as a fulfillment of biblical prophecy and the beginning of the End Times. While I don’t deny the seriousness of the situation, I really don’t think this is the start of the Apocalypse. Humanity has experienced much worse throughout history; we have just had it so easy for so long that people can’t imagine the slightest discomfort. Just look at the martyrdom of the Early Church, the depravity of the Roman Empire, and the deadliness of the bubonic plague, as well as, the Holodomor and the persecution of Christians within our own time. The Gospel of Matthew says it well,
And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places.
Matthew 24:6-7
Ultimately, I think the Coronavirus is simply one of the many “tribulations” that will continue to be felt by humanity until Christ’s Second Coming.
So, while I don’t think it’s currently “The End of The World as We Know It,” I do think the Coronavirus is likely God’s judgement of sinful humanity. Most of the liberal denominations will deny this, but if we believe in the authority of Scripture, one cannot deny God’s judgment is a recurring theme throughout the Old and New Testament. Furthermore, plague and pestilence are common in the Scripture,
But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee…Then the Lord will make thy plagues wonderful, and the plagues of thy seed, even great plagues, and of long continuance, and sore sicknesses, and of long continuance.
Deuteronomy 28:15, 59
I have sent among you the pestilence after the manner of Egypt: your young men have I slain with the sword, and have taken away your horses; and I have made the stink of your camps to come up unto your nostrils: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the Lord.
Amos 4:10
This theme continues in the New Testament,
And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.
Luke 21:11
This time is really a wake-up call for all people who haven’t put their trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. One doesn’t know when the day of his departure will be, and it could be sooner for some due to the Coronavirus. For we are all mortal and our bodies will all return to the dust, while our spirits will return to the Lord. Then at the end of time, the Last Judgment will occur. There, the Resurrection of the “just and the unjust” shall take place and as the Apostles Creed says, “And He shall judge the quick and the dead.” It’s also quite providential that this Coronavirus pandemic has taken place during the penitential season of Lent. For repentance and our own mortality are great themes of the Lenten season.
Furthermore, this time is also a call for all Christians to draw closer to the Lord through fasting, prayer, bible study, and repentance. This especially applies to those who have been lax in their faith, fallen into sin, or who have neglected the things of God in favor of the cares and pleasures of the world. The so-called “cultural” or “nominal” Christians should heed this advise and examine their hearts. For we are saved by grace alone and faith alone, not of our works. Yet, we should not delude ourselves into thinking we are of God’s Elect, if we feel no remorse for our sin and live a life of unrepentant sin – by their fruits shall ye know them.
Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.
1 Corinthians 6:9-10
Fortunately, if we are in Christ, we need not fear, for the Lord will protect us. And, He will have mercy upon those who trust in Him. We should strive to have faith like Stonewall Jackson, who feared not death and trusted in God even when he faced death. We must remain faithful and remember eternity. In addition, we should continue to pray that God may heal the suffering, and that He may spare us from the virus, if it be His will. For the Psalmist says,
Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases.
Psalm 103:2,3
To conclude, we must continue to be a light to our fellow Dixians and remain faithful to the Lord. We must also use this time to share the Gospel with those of our people who are lost and in spiritual death. As the situation continues to worsen, we must remember that God is a just, yet loving and merciful as well. And no matter what political solutions we think of, it will all be in vain if we abandon our creator.
God bless.
-By Rob
O I’m a good old rebel, now that’s just what I am. For this “fair land of freedom” I do not care at all. I’m glad I fit against it, I only wish we’d won, And I don’t want no pardon for anything I done.
Hello, Rob. May I offer a slightly contrarian anecdote? In anticipation that your answer is “yes,” here goes:
I have and run (“own and operate”) a small home remodel business. My wife and I have homeschooled all of our (8) kids since the eldest of them (now 33) was old enough to begin his education. Geography is the central, or core, subject in our curriculum; has been for years, by my own direction. Bear with me; the preceding is relevant information you’ll need to know for understanding the anecdote forthcoming. Without further ado:
Some years back (15 years or so, if memory serves) our eldest son and I started a little kitchen remodel job for a couple who were, at the time, probably in their mid-60s. The man was very active; the woman, however, was an extreme recluse who stayed in her house 24/7. She had a window she looked out of on a daily basis. This was, by this time, her only contact with the outside world, other than of course what her husband told her from day to day of what was going on ‘out there.’ This little remodel thing lasted about two weeks, if memory serves; during which time I had opportunity to converse with this woman quite a bit.
I noted early on that she had a library chock full of ‘end times’ Christian books, which were very popular at the time. Books by authors such as Hal Lindsay, Jack VanImpe, the guys at “Prophesy in the News” (can’t remember their names off the top of my head) and others. These were books and authors I was very familiar with, given that ‘end times prophesy’ had been one of my big interests as a young man. So the library provided a very good, very natural as it were, ‘conversation piece’ if you will between me and her.
Anyway, long story short, the job itself was done in November in Eastern Oklahoma, near McAlester. The better part of which was done on days when the temperature midday was in the low-to-mid 70s.
At some point along the way in our conversations (and this could have been as much my fault as it was hers, but I don’t rightly recollect), the woman pronounced to me that she “couldn’t tell the difference anymore” between the seasons, and that this fact was indication enough to her that we were in point of fact, ‘living in the last times’ spoken of in the scriptures. I can’t say why, but my reaction to that little missive of hers was immediate and straight to the point. To wit:
“You may not be able to tell the difference, but I can, and anyone else who ventures outside her kitchen can too. Take a gander outside that window again; you see the discoloration on the leaves on the trees off in the distance? That in itself is enough to tell you we are in late Fall, about to hit winter. In a week or two they’ll be gone. When they grow back green again, be advised we’re in the Spring. Moreover, we live in Eastern Oklahoma. That fact might not mean much to you, but it means a whole lot to me; namely that, for starters, the elevation [above sea level] here is between 700 and 800 ft. Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, we are at or around the 34th parallel as to latitude. Add to that that we are ‘land locked’ in the ‘central plains’ and that our winters here are almost always mild with an exception or two here and there, and all of this “I can’t tell the difference between the seasons anymore” stuff seems like the overwrought nonsensical thinking of someone who, well, just doesn’t get out much and doesn’t know much about geographical principles if she did, and who spends way too much time reading the likes of Hal Lindsay, et al.”
Now, I don’t recall how she reacted for sure, but my recollection is that she more or less just remained silent during that little lesson and afterward. I don’t think it angered her so much as it shocked her that I would correct her that way, but I’ve never really been the type who minces words or opinions when I know my interlocutor is talking way outside his or her area of expertise. In this particular case she simply sounded like a typical ‘Bible-thumping’ nutjob (they do exist), and that really offended me because I’m a believer in the truest sense of the term. I also happen to understand that there are two kinds of revelation the Lord provides us with – general and special. Lots of Christians put an undo emphasis on the special kind, while utterly ignoring the general kind. That is to say, nature and the eternal laws that govern it.
Bottom line (at least from my perspective): the last month may well be “the most surreal” of your lifetime, but if it is, you ain’t lived much, best I can tell. That said, I’m definitely not opposed to your calls for a general repentance, and, as I’ve said here and elsewhere, if this little Corona cold scare genuinely accomplishes that much and nothing more, I’ll take it and then some.
Now if you will pardon me, I think I had best girt up my loins again and hear the Lord out s’more, before I get back into the realm of darkening counsel by words. (Job 38)