THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC AND OTHER DISEASES IN THE WORLD
Sakkie Parsons
Translated from Afrikaans: Die ‘coronavirus’ pandemie en ander siektes in die wêreld
Someone asked me the following question:
May I ask your opinion on the Coronavirus? Do you think it's the end of the world?
Actually, in this writing, I want to share with you just about illness and, in particular, about pandemic disease and how we as Christians should deal with it, but because part of the question was whether I think it's the end of the world – I just want to very briefly answer that part of the question too.
No, I don't think this is the end of the world, but I look at all the things that are happening around me and I remember Jesus, our Lord and Saviour's words, and I take it to heart as I read what He said:
MAT 24:6-14 (NKJV)
6 And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.
7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places.
8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.
9 “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake.
10 And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another.
11 Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many.
12 And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.
13 But he who endures to the end shall be saved.
14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.
Back to the real reason for this letter, namely whether or not our Lord allows or even uses pandemic diseases?
Now I want to say right away, that I could have used many examples from the Word to support what I say, but I try to limit myself to two examples to support what I say.
First, there is this fulfilled fact – that nothing, but absolutely nothing, can happen in this world if God in His sovereign Almighty will not allow it – and this is again a subject on its own.
Then –
Certainly our Lord sometimes uses pandemic diseases – for example, the Corona virus – to bring mankind to a standstill in his crazy mad fatal chase after satan on their way to hell.
As an example, I read the following in the Word:
2 CRON 7:13-14
13 When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command the locust to devour the land, or send pestilence among my people,
14 if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.LEV 26:21-26
21"Then if you walk contrary to me and will not listen to me, I will continue striking you, sevenfold for your sins. 22 And I will let loose the wild beasts against you, which shall bereave you of your children and destroy your livestock and make you few in number, so that your roads shall be deserted. 23 "And if by this discipline you are not turned to me but walk contrary to me, 24 then I also will walk contrary to you, and I myself will strike you sevenfold for your sins. 25 And I will bring a sword upon you, that shall execute vengeance for the covenant. And if you gather within your cities, I will send pestilence among you, and you shall be delivered into the hand of the enemy. 26 When I break your supply of bread, ten women shall bake your bread in a single oven and shall dole out your bread again by weight, and you shall eat and not be satisfied.
Our Lord does not want to bring these things upon us, but like the disobedient children that man is, we bring them upon ourselves.
Sometimes when I look at people's wrong ways, it is almost as if they are begging God to punish them severely – but as I said, our Lord wants indeed to cure us of sickness:
MAT 4:23-24
23 And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people.
24 So his fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought him all the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and pains, those oppressed by demons, epileptics, and paralytics, and he healed them.
Sometimes our Lord even uses someone's defect, which came into the world as a result of the Fall, (Adam and Eve’s sin that caused a broken world) to honour and glorify His Name:
JOH 9:1-7
1 As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth.
2 And his disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?"
3 Jesus answered, "It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him.
4 We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work.
5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world."
6 Having said these things, he spat on the ground and made mud with the saliva. Then he anointed the man's eyes with the mud
7 and said to him, "Go, wash in the pool of Siloam" (which means Sent). So he went and washed and came back seeing.
I certainly do not have the answer to all the questions that may be asked, but I know: You and I can in whatever circumstances we may be – whether it is a disease, whether it is a defect, or whatever other circumstances – We can be sure of this great truth:
ROM 8:28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
How wonderful then to have this certain knowledge as a child of our Lord:
I can glorify and serve my God through my illness, lack or whatever circumstances – and one day I will be with him forever!
Also, no illness or defect or circumstance in my life can be as bad as the eternal Hell that awaits those who do not accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour.
For sure – no circumstance on earth, which you would even call "hell on earth", can even begin to be compared to the Hell waiting for those who arrive without Jesus on the other side of the grave!
JOH 3:17-21
17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.
18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.
19 And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil.
20 For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.
21 But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his deeds have been carried out in God."MAT 8:11-12
11 I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven,
12 while the sons of the kingdom (and after the price Jesus paid for all mankind on Golgotha, everyone that refuse to accept Jesus Christ as his/her personal Lord and Saviour) will be thrown into the outer darkness.(for eternity) In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." (For all eternity)
JOH 1:12 But to all who did receive him,(Jesus Christ) who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,
For now, you and I must let our light shine in these difficult times and in all extremely hard circumstances:
MAT 5:14-16
14 "You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.
15 Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house.
16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
How do you and I do it in the world in our personal lives where we live and move?
MAT 3:8 Bear fruit in keeping with repentance. (You must prove your repentance by a changed life)
MAT 7:17-21
17 So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit.
18 A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit.
19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
20 Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.
21 "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
You and I don't have to be anxious about what will happen to us in the end times. Let us just make sure that we are ready to enter Heaven when our time on earth comes to an end.
Come, let you and I live in the midst of the Corona and the other things around us, as hygienic and healthy as possible – also in the same way spiritually – and further proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ through the fruits of our repentance:
What 'fruits'?
GAL 5:22-23
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
Greetings,
Sakkie