Coronavirus and the
Bible
It’s an easy
mark, isn’t it? With the current pandemic sweeping the globe, it almost seems
like a cheap shot to suddenly start reminding people that the Bible predicts a
time in history when such events will occur. There is often an understandable
response which dismisses these reminders or warnings as the inevitable and
tiresome prattling of ‘doomsday merchants’ or ‘Bible bashers’.
But I think that
the epic scale of this present crisis warrants comparison with Biblical
prophesies in several ways.
For example:
in the book of Luke (chapter 21:5-36), Jesus while in Jerusalem and approaching
the end of His ministry before His crucifixion takes the time to give a detailed description of what we now call ‘The End Times’ and the ‘Return of the
Lord.’
Luke was a
doctor, ‘beloved physician’ Paul calls him. He writes in elegant, fluent and
authoritative Greek. He has been called the greatest of the ancient historians
because of his ‘gospel account’ and the Book of Acts. He clearly doesn’t deal in exaggeration but
records Christ’s commentary on ‘things to come’ with a terrifying list of
details. He talks about ‘famines, and pestilences and fearful sights’, and
about ‘distress of nations with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring.’ The
certainty with which Christ speaks is recorded explicitly by Luke, and His
prophetic words are echoed in the parallel books written by Matthew and Mark.
Now it can
be argued that there have always been famines, pestilences, earthquakes etc, so
anyone predicting them would be on fairly safe ground as a would-be prophet.
But that is hardly going to persuade people to ‘get ready’, to ‘watch
therefore’, and to ‘lookup’. No, what is described is a remarkable, noteworthy
and intense period of social upheaval, widespread plague, and frequent warfare
set against a background of natural disasters and unusual and violent weather
patterns.
We are in
such a period today. It just gets worse. Despite all the valiant, sincere and
well-thought-through efforts of the collective nations and their leaders, it
just gets worse.
When you
read the Bible accounts of Matthew, Luke and Mark, and certain sections of the letters
by Paul and Peter; as well as key chapters of Revelation, Daniel, and Isaiah,
it all hangs together in a convincing way. It does indeed seem to shine a light
on the times we now live in.
Of course,
it is hardly surprising that every generation since the Book of Acts has looked
for signs in the scriptures and their own society that might persuade them that
their generation was the one to see ‘The Return of the Lord’. Expectation is
the first cousin to hope, and it can lead to a false dawn, but at least it
keeps you looking. The Church has been waiting, expecting and hoping for Jesus' return for two thousand years. That’s a long time for us. In the Bible, it says
that that is only two days for God.
And the
scriptures teach patience. Jesus pleads for us to stay awake, be alert, look
up. He will come ‘like a thief in the night,’ and ‘like lightning from east to
west’, but the signs preceding His coming will be clear.
Perhaps we
are wrong about the exact timing – ‘no man knows the day nor the hour’ – but it
is hard to identify a period in history that so closely fulfils Christ’s
warnings and prophecy than what we see around us today.
We are right
or we are wrong. There is nothing in between. Don’t get caught on the wrong
side of the prophecy.
More verses
on prophecy in the last days:
·
Luke
21:5-36
·
Mark
13: 1-37
·
Matthew
24: 1-51
·
2
Timothy 3: 1-15
·
2
Peter 3:1-14
·
Revelation
18: 1-24
·
Daniel
11, 12 et al
·
Isaiah
24:1-23
If you would
like to know more about the ‘signs of the times’ or, more importantly, what you
must do to avail yourself of the Lord’s salvation – before He returns – please
get in touch: NLrevivalfellowship@gmail.com
