How Can Christians Apply Jeremiah 2: 32 Today
How should Christians view this verse in relation to the coronavirus pandemic? Christians should realize that the world is connected, and pestilence, disease, and other problems can easily spread worldwide, but love and kindness can spread faster. God can use situations to inspire individuals and groups to repent and draw close to Him. We do not know the future and should use our time wisely to share the gospel as encouraged in Ephesians 5:16 making the most of your time, because the days are evil.
Some people have labeled the virus a sin virus, but theres no correlation among the people who catch it. Indeed it reminds us more of the words of Jesus that good and bad come to all people, in Matthew 5:45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.
The greatest medical minds and world leaders are working to conquer the disease. Psalm 118:8-9 reminds us to trust in God, It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in princes. The real call to action when disaster strikes is to pray, trust God, and continue to be kind.
Many Repeat Myths About Revelation
If there was a prize for the most misunderstood source for bad predictions, it would go to the Book of Revelation. It may be the Bibles ultimate crossover no other books imagery and language has so penetrated popular culture.
Even people who have never read the Bible are familiar with its references: The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, the Red Dragon, 666 and the seven bowls of plague.
Revelation is filled with such contagious imagery that one theologian who has studied its text calls it a multimedia book whose popular images operate like an infectious disease.
They break off from the larger text and circulate like little viruses in our culture that hook on to other things and thats when they really take off and spread, says Timothy Beal, author of The Book of Revelation: A Biography.
Beal says many people quoting Revelation get the meaning and the symbolism wrong.
Almost none of the people talking about Revelation have really sat down and read it, he says. Many people, for example, believe that the Rapture when its believed that Jesus returns at the end of the age and all Christians, dead and alive, will rise up in the air to meet him is in Revelation.
Not true, says Beal.
There is no explicit mention of the Rapture in Revelation. There are references to the concept in scriptures like 1 Corinthians 15:52, which says, For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.
Nope, Beal says.
How Did Vaccines Get On The Scene
The very basic premise that began the notion of needing vaccines is called the germ theory.
In the mid-1800s, Louis Pasteur developed the germ theory, the idea that germs are the cause of all disease. He then developed pasteurization, a way to heat food and kill microbes that may cause illness or disease. But, pasteurization also kills beneficial bacteria and enzymes.
His contemporary, Antione Beauchamp, came out with an opposite theory called the terrain theory. This theory highlights that healthy food, hygiene, and lifestyle affect a persons terrain or immune system.
Interestingly, its widely accepted that Pasteur said on his deathbed that Beauchamp was right, its all about the terrain. However, the germ theory flourished and is still accepted today. It is what our modern medical system, and vaccines, are based on.
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What Is The Nature Of Human Responsibility
The prophets of Israel plunge their readers into a tension. On the one hand, human actions have a bearing on the health of creation, so that sin can have the effect of unwinding things and, for example, causing the earth to mourn . Humans carry a heavy responsibility. On the other hand, there is a persistent strain of hope that is attached especially to Mount Zion. For example, in Isaiah 11:69 and 65:25, the poetry imagines a happy concourse between lions and lambs on this holy mountain. An Edenic peace between all creatures returns, mainly through divine action, it seems.
Actually, for most of the Hebrew Bible, it is a case of both-and divine and human agency. This is captured by a key verse in the book of Isaiah: Observe justice and maintain right order, for my salvation is near, and my right order is to be revealed . Human action needs to meet with the divine action this is a partnership rather than a matter of divine imposition. We might also need to acknowledge, however, that this tension has been preserved more in Jewish than in Christian traditions. The idea of a messianic fix has historically undermined the Christian resolve to care for the earth.
What Kind Of Hope
As the discussion above makes plain, the Bible makes no effort at all to shy away from the tragic. From the story of creations genesis against the backdrop of primordial chaos to the seemingly-indiscriminate annihilation of life caused by a global flood from the promise of a nations birth out of Sarahs barren womb to Israels brutal creation from the bowels of cruel bondage in Egypt from the violence that marked Israels establishment in Canaan and their disestablishment at the time of the Babylonian exile to their life in Roman-occupied Palestine from Herods most unpoetic massacre of the innocents to the suicide of guilt-ridden Judas from the state-sanctioned murder of a blameless rabbi to the cries of faithful martyrs hiding under the altar desperate for their blood to be avenged on the inhabitants of the earth .
The Bibles narratives are inextricably and unavoidably bound up with suffering, violence and death. And its pages, rich in tragic tropes, offer no univocal attitude to such, nor consensus about their causes or purposes. Indeed, the various authors and editors of its texts betray a diversity of theologies and interpretations on this subject, as on most others.
The experience is neither one of nihilism, nor one of bland optimism. It is one in which we learn the difference between optimism and hope, in which we are only able to hope for the best by confronting the worst.
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Is Coronavirus A Biblical Plague From In The Book Of Revelation
So, is COVID-19 one of the seven plagues mentioned in Revelation 16-17? While it might be tempting to try and identify this virus with one of those plagues, I believe there are a couple of reasons not to. The first reason is that these seven plagues are identified as the completion of Gods wrath, and the plagues seem directed solely towards those who belong to the kingdom of the Antichrist. But this virus is not as discriminating. There seems to be no one who is immune to it. Saint and skeptic alike are affected by it.
A second reason to doubt that it is one of the plagues of Revelation is that we know the source of this virus. As many of the coronaviruses do, it jumped from an animal to a human and spread from there. COVID-19 is simply more contagious than most, as well as generally more deadly.
To all appearances, COVID-19 seems to be just a natural event rather than a supernatural action of God. It is an event that is not unique in history but is, apart from its severity, rather common. It is even something that our infectious disease experts have been anticipating, and warning us about, for many years.
Why Invoking Doomsday Scenarios Can Be Harmful
Invoking end-times biblical passages may actually bolster some peoples faith by giving meaning to events that seem cruel and arbitrary.
But people who invoke the terrifying imagery of Revelation in connection with COVID-19 can do more than get scripture wrong. They can damage others psychological health, Beal says.
I had one student who was reading Revelation outside on the waterfront and she fell asleep and woke up in the middle of a thunderstorm. She had an absolute panic attack because she felt like she was in the book, says Beal, a religion professor at Case Western Reserve University in Ohio.
Doomsday predictions from the Bible can also lead to another danger doing nothing, Beal says. He believes people who are seized with panic over something like Covid-19 may ignore other chronic issues threatening humanitys survival, such as climate change.
It can lead to a call to inaction, Beal says about misinterpretations of Revelation. That is to say, people will say this is all happening because of Gods plan and its going to get worse before it gets better so theres nothing we can do about it because its Gods will.
But that probably wont stop people from invoking Revelation when a pandemic hits. For centuries its been the go-to book for doomsday prophets warning about the spread of end-times plagues and bizarre weather patterns.
The book of Revelation is not a book about predictions but a book of consolation, Lehner says.
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What Does The Bible Say About Coronavirus
The coronavirus pandemic has caused great suffering and even death for many people around the world. It has also caused major disruption of our economic systems. Many people wonder why God has allowed it to happen, and is it an omen that the end of the world is near? The Bible does not really answer these questions, but it does have a lot of related information.
What Does The Bible Say About The Coronavirus
In this post, let us take a look at what the Bible says about the COVID-19 or Coronavirus. Most importantly, let us learn the lessons it teaches and how we should react to it.
Coronavirus 2019.
Wuhan Coronavirus.
COVID-19.
All these names are pointing out to one of the deadliest viral outbreaks in modern history.
Now, its spread throughout the world seems to be unstoppable.
It was in late December when a mysterious deadly flu started to make headlines.
At that time, not many people really knew how serious this new disease is.
Today, thousands of people are being infected and dying due to the virus.
With the modern transportation systems and connectivity, the virus is spreading at a neck-break pace.
What started in Wuhan, China has already reached tens of countries all over the world.
With its high virulence, millions of lives are affected both directly and indirectly.
Not only that, but the economic impact of COVID-19 is yet to be seen on the worlds second-largest economy and to the rest of the globe.
With this in mind, it is not difficult to see that a lot of people are looking for answers to where would all these head into.
Sadly, a lot of people are looking for answers in the wrong place.
If you want to find the sure and powerful answers, you need to turn to the very Word of God.
Thats why, in this blog, let us take a look at what the Bible says about the coronavirus and most importantly, how we, as Christians, should deal with it.
Read on to learn more.
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To Accomplish His Purposes
God used plagues to deliver the enslaved Jews from their Egyptian overlords. .
God will also pour out plagues during the Tribulation to bring God-rejecters to faith in Christ. The way coronavirus spreads quickly from person to person is a foreshadowing of the way God will pronounce judgment in Revelation.
Revelation 9:15-19By these three plagues a third of mankind was killed, by the fire and smoke and sulfur coming out of their mouths. The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent.
How does God accomplish His purpose in our day? Through Jesus death and resurrection. Isaiah 53 tells us Christ bore our sins and diseases on the cross. We receive grace and not judgment when we believe in Him.
The Year Of The Corona Virus
It goes without saying that the year 2020 was a really different one, especially because of the Corona Virus . Whether you believe Corona is a real threat of just a tool for controlling people, you cannot deny that it affected the whole word if not physically, at least psychologically or spiritually. In this article we will see what the Bible has to say about it.
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What Does The Bible Say About Plagues
According to Romans 8:20-21, plagues are a consequence of Adams fall from grace in the Garden of Eden:
For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.
The onset of a plague in the Bible has always been a portent for the destruction of civilization or way of life, brought about by the hands of a wrathful God in response to acts of apostasy and other acts of disobedience against Him.
One of the most significant examples of this is shown to us in Exodus 7-12 with the 10 plagues that Moses called over Egypt at Gods command. As a result, Egyptian lives, crops, and animals were destroyed, and the 400-year enslavement of the Israelites finally came to an end.
There are other scriptures in the Bible, where God declares plagues over nations as an act of divine judgment for disobedience.
One such Bible verse is Amos 4:10:
I sent plagues among you as I did to Egypt. I killed your young men with the sword, along with your captured horses. I filled your nostrils with the stench of your camps, yet you have not returned to me, declares the LORD.
In the New Testament, there is mention of plagues that will act as key signs that will herald the end times and the coming of Jesus Christ. The most well-known of these is Revelation 6:8:
What Does The Bible Say About Coronavirus And Covid
Although the coronavirus is not mentioned by name in the Bible, some Christians have claimed online there are prophetic passages and messages that can be linked to the pandemic.
A commonly mentioned passage is Matthew 24.
The scripture reads: “For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
“All these are the beginnings of sorrows.”
The passage is attributed to Jesus Christ who told his followers what to expect before his second coming.
History is replete with plagues, wars, and natural disasters
Ed Jarrett, Christianity.com
A similar account of Jesus’ teaching is found in Luke 21.
The passage reads: “Then he said unto them, Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: Abd great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.
“But before all these, they shall lay their hands on you, and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues, and into prisons, being brought before kings and rulers for my name’s sake.”
A passage in 2 Chronicles 7 also warns of plague: “If I shut up heaven that there be no rain, or if I command the locusts to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among my people
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Bible Verses About Plagues
What does the Bible say about Plagues and Pandemics?
The term “plague” is found roughly 100 times in the Bible, primarily in the Old Testament. The most commonly known biblical plagues occurred in Egypt during the time of Moses. Scripture reveals that God sent plagues as a consequence of disobedience and idolatry. Exodus 32:35 gives an example of this, saying “So the Lord plagued the people because of what they did with the calf which Aaron made.” Learn more about the 10 Plagues of Egypt Bible Story when God freed his people from slavery. And learn reasons why Why God Sends Plagues.
Plagues are also mentioned in Revelation of the New Testament when describing the end of days on Earth. Many are wondering today if the Coronavirus pandemic is a plague that is mentioned by the prophet John in Revelation. Food shortages, fear, viruses, and economic collapse all seem to be hints of foreshadowing of the End Times. To learn more, read: Is Coronavirus a Plague from End Times in Revelations?
EDITOR’S NOTE: This previously-written article has become a resource for many seeking to understand if the Coronavirus pandemic is an End Times plague. We hope it can direct you toward scriptural truths about plagues and a study of the Book of Revelation. In addition, the following articles may offer more encouragement for all to remember as we face the trials of COVID-19 together:
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Do Christians And Pastors Consider This An End Times Prophecy
You may have saw the news about Ralph Drollinger, but his opinions are not widely held in Christian circles.
MARCH 21, 2020 BY RALPH DROLLINGER Some leading evangelicals believe and teach that America is now experiencing Gods judgment. If that is the case, as a public servant who is sacrificing so much in your attempt to turn our nation around, it would stand to reasonif those Evangelical leaders are correctthat you are wasting your time. Are you laboring against a foregone conclusion? I think not. But let me qualify that: I do not believe America is experiencing the forsaking wrath of God, but yes, American is experiencing the consequential wrath of God.
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