Over the last several weeks, I have heard and seen discussions take place that attempt to relate the COVID-19 pandemic to the Bible. On one hand, some have suggested this is similar to the plagues of Egypt, and God has taken away the things we worship: Hollywood, athletes, money, etc. On the other, some are outright saying this is a sign of the end of time. While the first idea has more credibility than the second, neither are true. First of all, this virus is attacking the entire world, not just one small section. The entire world is not consumed with the things mentioned earlier. It is one thing to say that we can reflect on what has been taken away and re-prioritize now that distractions have been removed, but it is entirely different to matter-of-factly say that we are being punished. Second, people really need to stop trying to predict the end of the world: this is about the 10th end-time prediction in my lifetime alone. After discussing the fall of Jerusalem and the Temple, Jesus said no man would know the day or the hour (Matthew 24:36) when the world would end. God can and does still act in our world today, but let us tread carefully when we speak of God’s actions and always support it with book, chapter and verse from God’s Holy Word.
[Editor’s Note: Only indirectly, as far as man can know today, is God in any way responsible for any disease or catastrophe in our time. The world in which we live is much different from the world God initially created. Following the sin of Adam and Eve (Genesis 3) as well as a consequence of sin in the days of Noah (Genesis 6-8), God made changes to His created world that transformed the face of the planet and altered man’s relationship to creation. Though no one living today bears the sins of forefathers (Ezekiel 18:20), the consequences of their sins resulted in natural calamities, disease and death. ~ Louis Rushmore, Editor]
