Is the COVID-19 virus a sign of the end times? (Part 2)
In Part 1 I indicated that I did not really think COVID-19, in and of itself, was a sign that the end times were imminent. However, I also mentioned that I have observed some things that are more ominous than the disease. Consider these thoughts and how they may link to end times prophesy.
With this pandemic we saw the entire world rapidly pivot attention to one issue. Even with natural disasters or wars, attention seems to be given mostly by those directly impacted, with many if not most remaining largely oblivious to what is going on. The book of Revelation speaks of the rising of the antichrist, a strong ruler who unites many former enemies. With the constant partisan bickering that most nations deal with, not to mention the international and religious conflicts between groups, it is hard to imagine someone able to accomplish such a feat. Yet in the throes of the pandemic, people quickly put aside political affiliations, religion, or nationalities to seek anyone who had answers, illustrating the ability one may have to unite diverse groups.
There is currently much discussion about ways to mark people who have had the virus and are now immune, via a certificate, passport, or stamp of permanent Ink. There is also much talk of using technology for “contact tracing,” a perhaps necessary but still seemingly big brotherly method of seeing where you have been or who you have interacted with. Revelation 13:16-17 tells of the mark of the beast (commonly referred to as the “666”), and how people need it to be able to engage in commerce. In recent times people have theorized that this will be accomplished with a microchip implant. Microchip implant or not, COVID-19 may push the technology of doing mass marking of people forward, perhaps even implementing the infrastructure to link a marking system to commerce.
The pandemic also showed us how one disaster could cause another. First the focus was on the disease, but now the concern is the disease will lead to famine.[1] The end time prophecy speaks of multiple disasters, and if we tend to think of them in isolation, it seems unlikely that the world would have such an incredible run of bad luck. But when you realize that disasters may be due to cause and effect, it shows how a group of them is not highly unusual, but conversely to be expected.
In Matthew 24, Jesus spoke of the “birth pains” that would precede his return. These included wars, famines and earthquakes. This pandemic is not by itself of any significance as an end time sign but note the increasing frequency and intensity of events such as this to see the more dire warning. So, while the coronavirus may not be the harbinger of the end, it certainly has given a glimpse of how some prophesies we might have thought of as nearly impossible could so easily fall into place. I will conclude with Jesus’ words on the subject, “So you, too, must keep watch! For you don’t know what day your Lord is coming.”[2]
[1] David Beasley, the head of the United Nations World Food Programme told the U.N. Security council on April 21, 2020 that the pandemic could lead to famines of “biblical proportions.”
[2] Matthew 24:42 (NLT).