April 18, 2020

Biblical Prophecy and the Coronavirus:

Is the Coronavirus a Sign of Jesus’ Soon Return?

Matthew 24

Intro. The latest reports have the curve flattening and Governors now with the decision when and how to open up businesses and large gatherings. This has truly been the craziest time I have ever witnessed!

Elizabeth Dias, in a New York Times article wrote: “For people of many faiths, and even none at all, it can feel lately like the end of the world is near. Not only is there a plague, but hundreds of billions of locusts are swarming East Africa. Wildfires have ravaged Australia, killing an untold number of animals. A recent earthquake in Utah even shook the Salt Lake Temple to the top of its iconic spire, causing the golden trumpet to fall from the angel Moroni’s right hand.”

These are unusual times to say the least, but is the COVID-19 a sign that Jesus is returning imminently? 

24:3-8 “As he sat on vthe Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your ycoming and of zthe end of the age?” 4 And Jesus answered them, “See that no one leads you astray. 5 For bmany will come in my name, saying, ‘I am cthe Christ,’ and they will lead many astray. 6 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. 7 For fnation will rise against nation, and gkingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are but the beginning of ithe birth pains.” 

There are 9 marks from Matthew 24 of Christ’s return:

1. Birth pains of false christs, warfare among the nations, famines and earthquakes - Mt. 24:5-7
2. Massive Persecution will happen worldwide - 24:9-11 @ In the last five years, over one million Christians have been killed at the hands of persecutors. 
3. Lawlessness will increase and love will grow cold - 24:12
4. Believers who endure through the tribulation to the end - 24:13
5. Proclamation of the Gospel around the world - 24:14
6. The abomination of desolation prophesied in Daniel - 24:15
7. The massive events of the Great Tribulation - 24:21-22
8. The Cosmic and cataclysmic disruptions - 24:29-31
9. All the signs will be experienced in one generation - 24:32-35

You see, Jesus was teaching that another generation would come and see all of this things happen as a sign of His imminent return. These signs would be fulfilled and then Jesus would return for His earthly reign. 

We have seen, over the years, all of these signs to some extent…but never all at once. So, what does the Coronavirus mean? No one can know all of the ramifications and purposes for sure, but one thing it certainly looks like is…

• FORESHADOWING of coming events: pestilence, disease, shutdowns, loss of freedoms, government unification and worldwide unification around an event.
• DRESS REHEARSAL for how the Church may need to RESET for unconventional ministry. 

If nothing else, this virus has brought certain things to the forefront important realities.

What Has this Virus Brought to the Forefront of our Lives?

1. Life is fragile - Ps. 90:9-10 “For all our days pass away under your wrath; we bring our years to an end like a sigh (whisper). The years of our life are 70, or even by reason strength eighty; yet their span is but toil and trouble; they are soon gone, and we fly away.”
2. The Bible is the credible source for all things especially future events
3. People are gripped by uncertainty and fear (fear of sickness, fear death, fear of government takeover of freedoms, and fear of financial losses among many more)

People are searching for answers in Religion and other places

Al Mohler in a recent blogpost wrote about Kate Cohen who wrote an article for The Washington Post with the headline, “Even Those of Us Who Don’t Believe Need What Religion Can Provide Right Now.”

Cohen writes, “The first virtual gathering that anyone in my family thought to organize was Shabbat. My dad organized it. I jumped on the idea, my big sister offered to host the meeting. The thing is we are not a religious family, although we used to have a Shabbat or Sabbath dinner when I was a kid. Only one of us still does and only sometimes, but there we were on Friday across six Zoom windows from four states, nine adults, six teenagers, one four-year-old and three sets of candles.” Then, Cohen asks a very interesting question: “Did the global pandemic suddenly make believers out of us? Now would indeed be the perfect time to pledge fealty to a capricious, plague-wielding, Old Testament God, but I can’t make myself believe.”

Cohen continues her article, stating, “We don’t need religion, but as the crisis reminds us, we still need certain things that religion can provide. We need community and ritual and dates that can’t easily be deleted. I may hide the Jewish calendar so that it does not show up on my app or in my life, but I cannot change or cancel it. It will always be there.” For Cohen, Judaism functions not as a truth claim but a source of comfort during a perilous time.

People are looking for sources of comfort in religions but that is NOT the right place to look. Religion gives people functional comfort but will never give them eternal peace. Only Jesus Christ can do that!

4. The Church has been given a golden opportunity to get the Gospel to people all over the world - technology, disruption of the normality - the worse thing that could happen is to get back to normal. 

I am praying that the Lord will use this crisis to…

1. Re-Awaken the Church
2. Reorient the way we minister & disciple
3. Renew a dependence on God though prayer
4. Refine the Church of pretenders
5. Re-ignite our hearts to share the Gospel.

Quoting Elizabeth Dias again in that NYTimes article, and after siting various religious beliefs about the end of the world, she said, “For too long America has been on “spiritual life support,” trusting its own invincibility. Is it the end of the world? Maybe it is, maybe it isn’t, but we need to be ready. We need to learn to number our days because we really do not know when our last breath will be.”

Not only that, we need to be ready to share the hope we have in Jesus Christ! This is our time! Let’s take advantage of the Reset the Lord has given to His people!

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