2020 has started with
widespread panic over the outbreak of the Coronavirus. Experts believe that the
contagious virus originated from the Chinese city of Wuhan. As of the writing
of this article the disease has spread to over four continents, with over 40,000
confirmed cases and 900 deaths. Flights into and out of China have been cancelled
and international researchers are racing to try and develop a vaccine. Whether the
Coronavirus develops into a global epidemic or is contained remains to be seen.
In a conversation with a friend,
this outbreak was brought up and if it had any connection to prophecy. Indeed,
the Bible does predict that unprecedented plagues lay ahead in the last days.
In His Olivet Discourse,
Jesus predicted that just prior to His return there would be, “great
earthquakes, and in various places famines and pestilences” (Luke 21:11).
In Revelation 6, we read about
the “seven seals” of God’s judgment that lead up to the return of Christ. The
fourth seal judgment unleashes the last of the “Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.”
Revelation 6:8 says, “And I looked, and behold, a pale horse! And its rider's
name was Death, and Hades followed him. And they were given authority over a
fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence
and by wild beasts of the earth.”
The last rider—Death—will
be able to swing his sickle over fourth of the earth’s population. If this
happened today, the current world population is 7.6 billion, ¼ of that would be
1.9 billion people dead. Notice that the pale rider is also armed with
“pestilence” and “the beasts of the earth.”
The greatest killer of all
time has not been bullets and bombs, but bacteria and viruses. Each year, approximately
1 million people die of an AIDS related illness and in 2016 an estimated 36.7
million people were living with HIV (1.8 million children).[1]
30 million people died during the great influenza outbreak of 1918-1919, more
than 3x as many as the estimated 8.5 million soldiers who died in WWI.[2]
When you read, “beasts of
the earth” you might first think of a fierce animal. But, David Jeremiah has an
interesting interpretation on this. He wrote, “The most destructive creature on
earth is the rat. He is a menace to human health and food supplies. The nasty
creature comes in more than 100 species. Rats are extremely prolific, producing
five or more litters of eight to ten babies each year. It has been estimated
that rats are responsible for the loss of more than one billion dollars with of
food each year in the U.S. alone. Their fleas carry all manner of disease, and
in the 14th century the fleas from rats killed 1/3 of Europe’s
population with bubonic plague.”[3]
It’s interesting that the Coronavirus
also has a connection to “beasts of the earth.” Experts think that the virus
originated from a Chinese “wet market” where animals that ordinarily wouldn’t
interact with each other—snakes, bats, peacocks, chickens, salamanders and
dozens more—live in terribly cramped and unhygienic quarters as they wait to be
slaughtered and sold as food for people. The authorities say circumstances at
these markets gave rise to trans-species mutations of pathogens that were
eventually able to leap from animals to humans. (This is why the Lord gave the Jewish people
such strict dietary laws in Leviticus 11 about clean and unclean animals.)
Before we get carried away,
it’s important to note that the above Scripture passages describe the
Tribulation period. Since, we are not living in that terrible time, then we can
say confidently that those Scriptures have yet to be fulfilled. In fact, I think
that the pestilence that Revelation and Jesus spoke about will be much worse in
global impact than anything we’ve ever seen. The plagues of today are a mere preview of what is coming to this world, thus for the unsaved the time to repent and trust in Christ is now.
One question that usually
surfaces when studying sobering passages like this is, “Why would God do this?”
I think there is a clue in Deuteronomy 28. In this chapter Moses is telling the
nation of Israel what will happen to them when they enter the Promised Land and
disobey God’s word. The chapter is a long list of blessings and cursings from
God. Among the many consequences for sin is that God would send pestilence to
plague the people:
59 then the Lord will
bring on you and your offspring extraordinary afflictions, afflictions severe
and lasting, and sicknesses grievous and lasting. 60 And he will bring upon you
again all the diseases of Egypt, of which you were afraid, and they shall cling
to you. 61 Every sickness also and every affliction that is not recorded in the
book of this law, the Lord will bring upon you, until you are destroyed. (Deut.
28:59-61)
Like clockwork, when
Israel turned away from God they experienced plagues, disasters, illnesses and
famines. The Lord used plagues to bring His people back to Him, and He still
works that way today. God allows disasters to come upon people so that they will
wake up and say, “Hey, maybe God is trying to get our attention. We need to repent
and turn to Christ.” During the end times, the unparalleled suffering of the
planet will lead many to repentance, while at the same time causing millions
more to harden their hearts (Rev. 11:13; 9:20-21; 16:9, 11).
Of course, infectious disease
like AIDS, Ebola, and Coronavirus are the result of sin. We live on a fallen,
groaning planet (Rom. 8:20-21) and humanity’s greatest problem is the death sentence
of sin (Rom. 5:12). There’s only one cure and that’s the cleansing touch of the
Lord Jesus, “the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:7). Don’t
keep the only cure to the sin disease to yourself! Refer the sinner to Jesus,
the Great Physician, He’s still accepting new patients!
-DM
[1]
<https://www.avert.org/global-hiv-and-aids-statistics>
[2]
John MacArthur, The MacArthur New
Testament Commentary: Revelation 1-11 (Chicago: Moody, 1999), 184.
[3]
David Jeremiah, Escape the Coming Night
(Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2018), 118.
I like this and it is so true
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