BECAUSE HE LIVES: LIFE AMID THE PANDEMIC

• 4/29/2020

As I’ve previously shared, beginning in September 2017 I strongly sensed the Holy Spirit showing me that a serious disruption of “normal life” was coming relatively soon to the United States and the rest of the world. Significant human suffering and death would be involved, I perceived, and “life as we know it” would be fundamentally altered, at least for a time. Spiritually speaking, these jarring developments would be part of the onset of late term (last days) birth pangs that would ultimately lead to the “time of Jacob’s trouble,” better known as the Great Tribulation. As most of you know, this is the biblically-prophesied final period of history when the Man of Sin, buttressed by false signs and wonders, is forecast to rule the world for 42 months before the Lord returns to earth to crush the beast’s evil empire and begin His glorious millennial rule. Maranatha!

..I SENSED IN PRAYER that the looming global upheaval would commence with some sort of “attack” emanating from Asia. I assumed it would most likely feature a military assault, possibly an EMP blast set off by North Korea and/or China, and/or possibly a massive cyber attack from one or both of them, backed by their Iranian allies and probably also Russia. However the perceived difficult days would commence, daily life would be quickly and dramatically altered. I was shown in prayer that significant political, social, and financial ramifications would follow in the wake of whatever “attack” took place. Food and medical services would be disrupted (which prompted me to begin buying extra supplies each time I visited the grocery store). This would all unfold fairly rapidly I perceived, leading me to suspect that an attack on America’s vulnerable, under-protected power grids might be the spark that set the dominos tumbling, as I wrote about on this web site.

.IT DID OCCUR TO ME that any sort of provocation from Asia might involve a biological or chemical agent. I reported from Israel on preparations there for Saddam’s threatened chemical missile assault in the early 1990’s, and, like everyone else, donned my government-issued gas mask every time the sirens went off. Although I sensed that the coming upheaval would especially affect the United States, it would also have immediate and severe repercussions all over the planet, especially for Washington’s international allies. Indeed, governments and health systems everywhere---not to mention untold millions of workers worldwide who have lost their jobs, with many not likely to get them back anytime soon---are reeling in the wake of the intense, ongoing battle against the insidious virus that originated, as have several before, in China.

..IS THE HIGHLY CONTAGIOUS CORONAVIRUS possibly the “Christmas gift” that North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un promised the United States last December? Did he already know that a new deadly disease was rapidly spreading in neighboring China? Some Asian analysts say he was probably already aware in December of the now obvious fact that his fellow Communist officials were, at the very least, planning to allow the highly contagious plague to spread globally via mostly “Chinese New Year” visitors who were permitted to fly back to their homes all over the world---even while being banned from taking internal flights in the stricken country. We may never be able to say for sure whether the current pandemic was actually planned, or at least allowed, by atheist Chinese officials as a deliberate attack designed to greatly weaken Beiging’s perceived enemies, but the evidence that this was indeed the case is substantial, if mainly still circumstantial.

DOES IT REALLY MATTER NOW whether Chinese Communist leaders either deliberately unleashed the deadly pandemic or at least knowingly allowed it to spread? Yes, it will affect how the nations interact with the world’s largest country in the coming tense months. We know for a fact that Chinese officials, backed by Russia and Iran, have been deliberately spreading “fake news” stories about the virus, especially the absurd charge that it was knowingly brought to Wuhan by a visiting American soldier competing in a local Iron Man competition. We also know that intense cyber attacks against Western targets are currently accompanying the global Covid pandemic, including daily barrages against the American CDC government agency leading the fight against the invisible virus. In summary, there is a real and dangerous war ALREADY in progress between many nations and China and its comrades...stay tuned for more ahead on that jarring military front.



AS THE DEVASTATING ECONOMIC and social effects of the enigmatic virus (we learn new things about it everyday, most of them not good) continue to mushroom, pre-existing social strains in Western societies are becoming more pronounced. People of color are understandably unhappy with the fact that they are suffering disproportionately in many countries, which highlights the always simmering issues of poverty and racism. Caught off guard, people of all races are struggling with insufficient food and currency supplies, not to mention toilet paper! Reports of “home violence” incidents are escalating in several countries, along with drug and alcohol abuse. Wars and revolutions may well follow, as I suspect they will, and probably sooner than later.

..DIFFICULT DAYS CLEARLY LIE AHEAD. However, we also see a few silver linings in the dark storm clouds swirling fiercely over our heads, including the fact that we have the cleanest air around the world ever measured in modern times---the earth is finally getting at least a partial “sabbath rest!” And families are regularly sharing meals and doing other things together, even if more frequently than some parents and children would like! More than anything else, we know from both the Bible and personal experience that trials and tribulation usually spur on spiritual growth in those who love and serve the Lord, which is beneficial both for today and for all eternity. ..I HOPE TO WRITE more fully on the biblical implications of the current health and economic crisis in upcoming posts. As stated before, I sensed in prayer that the Lord would permit a global crisis primarily as a means of judging humaity for its increasingly weighty sins, especially for the copius innocent blood shed via millions of abortions, and the sexual misdeeds that often hide behind them. Hopefully, this will prove to be “remedial” judgment that will both wake up the often complacent Body of Messiah and bring new chastened sheep into His worldwide fold. I do believe the Coronavirus pandemic is most likely among the first of many “birth pangs” foretold to increasingly strike the earth. Of course, pre-birth pangs come with ever increasing intensity, so we probably ain’t seen nothing yet! Still, as the darkness grows thicker, so does the light---if we will only let it shine!

..FOR NOW, I want to stress again that I sensed the Lord showing me over three years ago that a major alteration to the “world order” was on the horizon, not just a temporary blip on the radar screen. This has caused me to guess that the Coronavirus crisis and its related effects will not disappear anytime soon, but will continue to seriously disrupt daily life across the world, possibly in waves, for some time to come. I hope I’m wrong about that. I understand the desire by international political, business and spiritual leaders, let alone people everywhere---including myself--to “put this behind us” as fast as possible, but I strongly suspect that won’t be an option. Obviously time will tell as we hope for the best and prepare for the worst.

..IN SUMMARY, I suspect the current international Covid crisis is merely part of “the BEGINNING of birth pangs” foretold by the Lord during His Olivet Discourse (Matthew 24:8), with much more drama up ahead. I’ll examine how the current crisis might ultimately affect Israel and her closest allies in my next post. Meantime, despite the growing struggles and sorrows, I rejoice with my brothers and sisters everywhere in the final, eternal deliverance promised by our Risen Lord, and affirmed by many other prophets in the Bible. “Because He lives, we can face tomorrow!”