Dark clouds portend an approaching storm. What does this current viral outbreak warn us
about? Is the world coming to an end? How do we make sense of this viral
pandemic?
Relentlessly sweeping across the globe, this viral outbreak is leaving
many in fear and desperation, causing panic and tremendous stress. Fearful that
their lives may be in danger; desperate that they may lose their jobs; panicky
as they see empty supermarket shelves; stressed that they can no longer go out
freely as before and have to get used to a new normal.
As a 'doomsday like' scenario is being played out before us just like in the movies (such
as Contagion), we are left
bewildered. Is the world coming to an end? How do we make sense of this viral
pandemic?
Jesus chided the people why they were unable to interpret the times and seasons though
they were experts in making weather forecasts:
“When
you see a cloud rising in the west, you say at once, ‘A shower is coming.’ And
so it happens. And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, ‘There will be
scorching heat,’ and it happens. You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the
appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the
present time?” (Luke 12:54-56).
As
a Christian, these recent events do shake me as well but they do not leave me confused.
For the Bible is as current and relevant as our daily newspaper concerning end-time
events.
The
viral pandemic is part of the end-time
cluster of earth-shaking calamities
and trends * which include pestilences,
famines, earthquakes, wars, persecution, false prophets, deception, moral
decadence, apostasy and man’s love of self, pleasure and money ... all of which are recorded in the Bible. And all this
SHAKING is meant to wake us up spiritually.
Jesus
instructed us to observe the fig tree and take heed. As soon as its branch becomes
tender and puts out leaves, we know that summer is near. So when we witness all
these end- time earth-shaking events, we know that His coming is near (Matthew
24: 32-33).
Covid-19 is a warning … A WAKE-UP CALL. It is as if God is shaking the heavens and earth and saying, “Wake up, sinful world! Jesus is coming again, repent, be vigilant get ready, otherwise you will face judgment.”
Before
Christ returns and ushers in God’s judgment and a new kingdom, there are
end-time “birth pangs” which will
increase in severity and frequency as the Day of The Lord draws nearer. These
birth pangs (including wars, earthquakes, famines, pestilences and lawlessness)
are akin to severe labour pains of a mother about to give birth to a baby where
the frequency and severity of uterine contractions progressively increases
until the baby is pushed out from the birth canal.
Many are living in sin as in the
days of Noah without any regard for God. Life on earth is business as usual right to the day
when Christ returns. Many are unprepared
and will be caught flat-footed by the coming judgment just as in the days
of Noah. “For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of
Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking,
marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and
they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the
coming of the Son of Man” (Matthew 24:37-39).
Only
God knows all about us—the good the bad and the ugly. The basic unresolved problem
of man is SIN. And the only solution is REPENTANCE. To escape the coming judgment,
each individual has to repent.
God
loves every man but He hates sin. His attribute of justice requires that sin be
punished. We can choose to pay the penalty of sin ourselves or trust in Christ
who took the punishment in our place when He died on the cross.
When
we acknowledge our sins, believe in Christ to save us, and confess our sins, we
become children of God.
It
takes three steps: A. Acknowledge our sins
B. Believe
in Christ
C. Confess
our sins
But the above ABC is just the beginning. One
would need to seek help from a believer to move on into another phase where one
begins to know Jesus not only as Savior but Lord. It is a package—one cannot
accept Jesus as Savior but refuse to accept Him as Lord.
“For
God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him
should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).
“But
to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to
become children of God” (John 1:12).
“If
you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God
raised him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9).
“Jesus
said, ‘If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his
cross daily and follow me’” (Luke 9:23).
“Whoever
believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not
see life, but the wrath of God remains on him” (John 3:36).
To
reiterate, Covid-19 is a warning … A WAKE-UP CALL. It is as if God is shaking
the heavens and earth and saying, “Wake up, sinful world! Jesus is coming
again, repent, be vigilant get ready, otherwise you will face judgment.”
JUDGMENT OF BELIEVERS
How about us who claim to be believers? Will we be judged? Certainly.
Yes, they will be called to account concerning what they have been entrusted with. Let's choose to be faithful servants whom the master has set over his household (Matthew 24: 45-51). Let's be the faithful stewards who utilise and multiply the talents given to us (Matthew 25: 14-30).
RELATED
POSTS
PESTILENCE
How about us who claim to be believers? Will we be judged? Certainly.
“For
it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with
us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? And “If
the righteous is scarcely saved, what will become of the ungodly and the
sinner?” (1 Peter 4:17-18).
“For
we must all appear before the judgment
seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has
done in the body, whether good or evil” (2
Corinthians 5:10).
Yes, they will be called to account concerning what they have been entrusted with. Let's choose to be faithful servants whom the master has set over his household (Matthew 24: 45-51). Let's be the faithful stewards who utilise and multiply the talents given to us (Matthew 25: 14-30).
We
must be watchful like the wise virgins,
not complacent like the foolish virgins (Matthew
25: 1-13). http://bit.ly/1MA1h8F
CORONAVIRUS: JUDGMENT
FROM GOD?
Is
the Covid-19 pandemic a sign of God’s judgment?
WATCHFUL AND READY
An
end-time reflection on being prepared for Christ’s return
What
will earth be like when Christ returns? Why did Jesus mention Noah and Lot when
referring to the end times? Notice that not many were saved in the days of Noah
and Lot. Only eight persons got saved in Noah’s ark and only three escaped the
destruction of Sodom. The majority perished because they lived as if God did
not exist or willfully lived in sin.
PESTILENCE
Defined
as a contagious epidemic disease that is virulent and fatal.
Examples
of pestilences are the current coronavirus pandemic, Ebola, MERS, SARS.
A
portent is a sign or warning that a momentous or calamitous event is likely to
happen. Just as thunder is a portent of an approaching storm, the present viral
pandemic is a portent of Christ’s imminent return to judge the world.
* END-TIME CLUSTER OF
CALAMITIES & TRENDS (“BIRTH PANGS”)
“Nation
will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be great
earthquakes, and in various places famines and pestilences. And there will be
terrors and great signs from heaven.
(Luke
21:10-11)
“Then
they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be
hated by all nations for my name’s sake. And then many will fall away and
betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and
lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many
will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.
(Matthew
24:9-13)
“In
the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of
self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents,
ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control,
brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of
pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but
denying its power. Avoid such people."
(2 Timothy 3: 1-5)
(2 Timothy 3: 1-5)
