Some prophecy teachers believe that God has allowed the current Coronavirus Crisis to reveal that the Tribulation Period and New World Order (World Government, World Religion, Mark of the Beast, Rev. 13:7-8, etc.) are close (and by implication the Rapture is closer) and the need to draw near to God is urgent.
Prophecy writers have been preaching the soon return of Jesus Christ and we wonder how soon? The indicators of the soon return of our Lord are all around us, but it has been fuzzy, but grows much clearer as time passes. Much like a picture developed in a dark room, as we see the image slowly coming into view. News reports have been coming fast and furious in the last few weeks, and from this perspective, I see the puzzle of end time events growing much more into focus with each passing day.
The current coronavirus outbreak is not an event prophesied in the Bible for the seven-year Tribulation. The world simply hasn’t entered that time period yet. However, it is significant to Bible prophecy, because it sets the stage for the near-term fulfillment of many end-times Bible prophecies. This isn’t surprising. Politicians take advantage of times of turmoil, disaster, and fear to implement changes people otherwise wouldn’t accept. Here are just a few things to expect in the days ahead:
Hurricane season brings the phenomenon known as a “steering mechanism.” I’m no meteorologist, of course, but know enough to understand that, in the United States, winds aloft blowing from west to east have an effect on hurricanes approaching our mainland from the Atlantic.
There are several aspects of the China coronavirus pandemic that have prophetic underpinnings. It certainly is a type and shadow of an end time pestilence, which could result in a great famine, as prophesied by Christ in Matthew 24:7, “…and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes in diverse places.” Since this coronavirus has been on the radar, there have been some 33 earthquakes in California, Oklahoma, Tennessee, the Carolinas, New York and Maine. But when we are talking about the specifics of prophecy, it is not about America. It is about Israel. We need to remember that. Yes, prophecy affects America and vice versa, and you and I, but it is centered on Israel and the return of Christ.
China’s coronavirus is a revealer of prophetic events, perhaps a type and shadow of what is to come. We have seen just how small the world is. Humanity is globally connected in this 21st Century. What happens in China can determine what happens in Ohio, or even in a small rural community in Africa. We can see how quickly devastation, panic, economic disaster, sickness and death can occur. If it gets worse and worse, we could see how nations can rise up against nations and how famines and wars could quickly develop. The tighter food and medical supplies become, the more likely the love of many shall wax cold. Neighbor could turn against neighbor, family member against family member. This is prophetic.
The drought in Australia has caused the smallest harvest ever recorded there; the locusts are spreading from Africa to the Middle East, India, Pakistan and China; and the Coronavirus pestilence is spreading from China to So. Korea, Japan, Vietnam and Italy (notice no rain, locusts and pestilence).
In all of human history, infectious diseases have been a constant threat. The small mutation in the genome of a virus or bacterium could trigger a pandemic that could sweep over the world and kill millions of people. The last major pandemic with high levels of mortality was the 1918 Spanish flu outbreak; this pandemic was estimated to be responsible for the deaths of approximately 50-100 million people.
I am not making predictions with what follows, but rather pointing to certain 2020 events that I believe will make 2020 highly significant in regard to biblical prophecy. These things will shape what follows in years to come and will likely provide further evidence that the tribulation is fast approaching an unsuspecting world.