Does God self-quarantine in such epidemics?
Are we in the End-Time? Is this the outpouring of the Lord’s judgment?
The worst of the worst is here. The beginning of 2020 greeted us with the “tension” between the US -Iran and now it’s the Coronavirus and by the month of April, another asteroid will be passing nearer to Earth(rumors have it that it’ll kill mankind but don’t worry it won’t hit the Earth ). People fearing over the epidemic, uncertainty is at its peak, and the rumors surrounding the virus have affected more than the virus itself. The mortality is less than 3% but that doesn’t mean we should take it less seriously. At the same time, many atheists have become smart enough and are mocking God teasing his absentees at the present hour. If God is, why are innocent people dying of Corona? How do we make sense of this event in the light of Christianity? Where is God in the midst of all these? But first, let’s deal with another question. Is this one of the four horsemen of the apocalypse? Is the End-time near? Are we in the last days?
New Testament is very clear about one point. We are living in the last days. The last day spoken by the New Testament is not a single day but a period of time that started after the Resurrection of Jesus and will continue until his second coming. That means even apostles were in the last days, St Augustine, Luther, Spurgeon too were living in the last days and so are we. In Acts of the Apostle Chapter 2, Apostle Peter explained the miraculous phenomena of everyone speaking in tongues as a fulfillment of the prophecy spoken by Prophet Joel(Joel 2). But that doesn’t mean every word spoken by Joel was fulfilled at that very instance. Sun wasn’t turned into darkness and the moon into blood not even to this day. (Acts of the Apostle 2:20). An honest conclusion would be the last days spoken by him(verse 2:17) refer time frame from his preaching to the end of days(when Jesus returns). Even, the writer of Hebrew was clear that he was living in the last days. (Hebrew 1.2a)
[God]has in these last days spoken to us by His Son,
Hebrew 1:2a
Lord Jesus talked about the End-Time in Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21. The texts are the answer to three questions asked to Jesus by disciples (James, John, Peter see Luke 21) regarding the destruction of the temple, a sign of the end time, day of his coming. False Christ and prophets were even at the time of apostle until this day. ( Matthew 24,5). The persecution started back in the apostolic age and even to this day( verse 9). Luke talks about the army surrounding Jerusalem(Luke 21:20) is about the destruction of the temple and Jerusalem that occurred in 70 AD. Therefore, one has to be very careful while engaging with these texts, since not every verse of Matthew, Mark, and Luke talks about the “end-time”.
But, is the present epidemic one of the four horsemen of the apocalypse?
When He opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, “Come and see.” So I looked, and behold, a pale horse. And the name of him who sat on it was Death, and Hades followed with him. And power was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword, with hunger, with death, and by the beasts of the earth.
Revelation 6:8
I don’t know. There’s no certainty to prove that the new Covid-19 is what John saw in the book of Revelation. John wrote down the things that he has seen, things which are, and things that will take place(Revelation 1:19). Thus, it’s clear that every event described in the book of Revelation doesn’t speak for the future. (For example, Revelation 12 is a description of Christian persecution.) I must say, we have to be very careful while analyzing them. Let me give you an example.
The sky vanished like a scroll that is being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place.
Revelation 6:14
We Christians take this passage very literally and talk as if the sky we see will be rolled off. Granted that it’s a true interpretation, every mountain and island will be taken away, let’s read the next verse after that.
[The people….]hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains calling to the mountains and rocks,
Revelation 6:15,16
Are these people insane to talk with mountains and rocks? But doesn’t verse 14 talk about the mountain being removed, so where are these people hiding then? And If the sky is removed in verse 14, how are people still alive? How is it then Revelation 8:12 talks about the darkness of the sun, moon, and stars if there were no sky? Are the events in the book of Revelation chronological? I don’t think so. That is why the literal interpretation of such passages leads to an incorrect conclusion. No wonder, Paul tells us to study and rightly divide the word of God so that we can gain the correct understanding of the text. (2 Timothy 2:15 Paraphrase). So, is the present calamity the CoVid-19? We don’t know. We can’t be certain.
Is this the judgment of God on the sinner? Many preachers have become so self-righteous that they believe this is the outpouring of the judgment of God on the world because people have been sinners.
There were some present at that very time who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.And he answered them, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way?No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.
Luke 13:1,2,3
Are we smarter than Jesus? The passage in Luke 13 is a perfect response for the self-righteous preacher. Couldn’t Jesus have said these guys are the worst sinners and judgment of God fell on them and so they died? Why is it that we claim to know more than Jesus? Why can we never observe this? Aren’t we all sinners in the face of God saved by the blood of Jesus? There’s the day God will judge every sinner according to their deeds. (Ref Romans 2:6). But you’ll say didn’t God judge the nation at the time of the Old Testament? Yes. God wiped out the entire city of Sodom and Gomorrah. God wiped out all the flesh in the days of Noah. Are we to expect similar phenomena at the present? New Testament calls out for the repentance of every tribe and nation to save under the grace of Jesus that every who believes may be saved and flee from the wrath to come(Ref Matthew 3:7). Now, God deals with each individual and everyone is responsible for the sin he committed.
So, where does God hides in the midst of suffering? The reason I like Bible so much is that it never hides the suffering before the face of the Almighty, unlike Buddhism. Didn’t Jesus ask the same question when he was on the cross?
And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
Matthew 27:46
The Eternal Son of God questioned his Father at the moment of his death with a “loud voice”. I imagine that when he asked this thing, he really meant it. If we observe the word of Jesus in the gospels, we find that Jesus always calls God his father. But the suffering of Christ was so severe that made him question his very relationship with his Father. Notice that he repeated the phrase twice. Can you visualize the suffering that the beloved of heaven, the prince of Peace went through for us? Can you feel the tears of Immanuel? Can you listen to his groaning, his anxiety, his pain? Does Bible hide the suffering? Not at all. In fact, Christ was called the suffering servant, the disciple was called to suffer for his namesake because this world is not our world. We have a kingdom, a new world, better expectations. The present world is fallen. Do you know the Climax of the book of Revelation?
And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling placeof God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people,and God himself will be with them as their God.He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”
Revelation 21:3,4
There’s no denying it. As long as we have this body we’ll suffer. Everyone dies. A crisis like this makes us remember that we’re just mere mortals in the face of the Earth. But take heart, Christ has overcome the world. ( John 16:33) Let us go to the bosom of Father in the time of suffering and cry out to him as the saints at the altar of God cried out in heaven( Revelation 6:10).
Maranatha.