When global tragedy strikes, we usually hear two questions:
“Are these signs of the last days?” and “Is this God’s judgment?”
Without going into too much detail, the answer to both questions is, “No.”
The Bible is clear that disease, famine, pestilence, earthquakes, and war have been and will be with us until Jesus returns. But these are not the signs of the end. After Jesus refers to them, He says, “But the end is not yet.” So it isn’t. Check out Matthew 24 for the full story.
The Bible is just as clear that when God does judge the world, it will be so apparent and so immediately widespread that everyone will know it is His direct intervention. See Revelation 1:4-8; 6:15-17; 16:7-11.
On the other hand, COVID-19, SARS, EBOLA, MERS, The Black Plague, Scarlet Fever, cancer and the common cold all are symptoms of “death” as a result of Sin. We live in the fallen world of Genesis 3, and one of the many implications is that everything in our world is subject to death and decay, as God warned Adam in Genesis 2, before he and Eve ate the forbidden fruit.
The Apostle Paul (in Romans 8) calls this the “groaning” of Creation under “The Curse,” not God’s judgment for any one sin or group of sinners. Jesus Himself warned against assuming that when tragedy strikes, someone must be to blame and is being judged. See Luke 13:1-5 and John 9:1-3.
So let’s be careful about how we think about these things.When Jesus returns, every eye will see Him. And when He judges the world, all will know it. In the mean time, let’s pray for the infected and their caregivers, and do all we can not to become infected. With those tasks we will have our hands full.
What about the four horsemen?