Keeping with the theme of I don’t normally write about the End Times, let me share my latest bit of inspiration. First, I do not believe we are any nearer to the End than we were last Christmas. God made it clear the End, or the beginning of the End, would come without warning. We had plenty of warning that something awful, horrific really, was just over the horizon for decades. Even the current crisis was foreshadowed by past events.
For instance, one of the charges leveled against President Trump is he did not take the steps needed to avoid or mitigate the crisis. He was criticized for not taking steps based on past events, even though others had ignored the similar signs in the past.
First, the president’s job requirements do not include the gift of prophecy. Even if they did, he, like some prophets in the past, would find himself in trouble. Even hinting we needed to spend billions, even trillions of dollars to prepare for a possible unknown or “novel virus,” would have caused an uproar. He might have been ridden out of town on a rail if he claimed the virus might sweep the world in the unknown future.
Yes! The same people calling for his scalp now would have gotten out the pitchforks and torches. They would have decried the president if he called for manufacturers to begin producing thousands, if not tens of thousands of ventilators, for people who might be sickened in the future. Still, this is not about the president or politics. It is about the reality of the Bible, the history it teaches, and the prophesies it makes.
The people, you and me, have always turned against their leaders eventually. Whether one is speaking of Moses, Jesus, Churchill, or anyone else, the people they lead can turn on them if things do not go as the people would like. How could one expect anything else from people who turn against God in the face of the smallest challenge at times?
Yes, challenges do sometimes bring people together, seeking God’s blessing. Unfortunately, by the time that happens, they have usually endured much pain and suffering. This has been true since the beginning, and it has not changed today. Well, one thing has changed. God no longer sends the plagues or disasters as he did in the past. Instead, He sent Jesus to give us a way to be righteous since we are unable to live righteously. He sent Jesus to provide us with a way out of this mess we’ve made of His creation, but He is not punishing us.
He is not using this virus or any disaster as a way to bring us together, as some believe. He just allowed sin and evil to roam. They do everything they can to beat us down and push us away from Him. Sadly, that is ridiculously easy at times. Which brings me back to signs.
No, the virus is not a sign the end times are nigh. Neither is the number of earthquakes experienced in the United States over the last few years. Neither were the other virus scares or concerns in years past. Still, they are part of His plan in some way. Perhaps they are a way to show mankind, or should I say humankind, we’re not as powerful as we think. Maybe they are a way to warn us we need to do a better job of spreading His word and being a light unto the world. Then again, maybe they are just the way things go as a planet slowly ages and settles.
Whatever the truth, there are things to be learned from this mess in which we find ourselves. As a society, culture, and individual, we are being tested. We are not being tested by a god sitting at the celestial version of a gaming computer, putting us through hoops for its amusement. Instead, God set us in a place and on a course that will test us until the End Times do come.
How well we do on this test has nothing to do with our government, our false idols such as sports stars, personalities, or expensive toys. What matters here is if we believe, we love, and we do the best we can to do what is right in His eyes. Otherwise, we are no better than those who worship at the altar of power, money, sex, and control.
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