Pandemic Diseases and Plagues
With the recent outbreak of a new influenza (an infectious viral disease noted for its symptoms of respiratory tract inflammation, fever, muscle pain, etc., and believed to be spread mainly on a person-to-person level through the infected person’s cough or sneeze) called the Swine Flu in North America and Mexico, there has been some concern over the health risk that this new pandemic poses to people both regionally and globally.
Although not a fatal disease per se to an ordinary healthy individual, this virus can pose some serious health complications to people who are vulnerable or have various health issues, including infants, the elderly and nursing mothers, and can often result in death as reports from both Mexico and the United States have already proven.
The interesting thing about this new strain of virus is its very unique combination of genes, being comprised of genes from a flu virus that is normally found in pigs (thus the name, Swine Flu) here in the United States, as well as Europe and Asia, and including genes found only in birds (avian), as well as human. I’m not sure if there is any prophetic significance in this particular combination of species, nor do I intend to search for one; but it does prove that the global community, and Kingdom citizens especially, needs to prepare itself for a new season where various new strains and mutated forms of viruses emerge on the earth with some developing into epidemics and plagues.
These kinds of occurrences should be no surprise to God’s Corporate Kingdom Community, for Jesus Himself declared:
For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places (Matt 24:7).
In echoing this prophetic pronouncement from Jesus regarding end-time events, John saw by revelation the following vision:
When He opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, “Come and see.” So I looked, and behold, a pale horse. And the name of him who sat on it was Death, and Hades followed with him. And power was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword, with hunger, with death, and by the beasts of the earth(Rev 6:7, 8).
This vision that John saw of the pale horse unmistakably represents disease and death. But notice the last part of that text; it describes a deadly disease or plague that originates from the beasts of the earth. God has decreed that even the beasts of the earth will be instruments of His divine judgments, and you can expect to see new strains of viruses and mutant diseases emerge as a result of the curse upon the whole earth. We’ve seen and heard the effects of the Bird Flu that originated in Asia, and the Swine Flu that originated somewhere in Central or North America, but there are brand new strains that are set to emerge from various and diverse beasts or creatures of the earth that will have a fatal consequence upon a huge number of people.
God did not make the future known to us in order to scare us, but in order to prepare us. It doesn’t matter what your present eschatological (end-time) position is regarding the second coming of Jesus and the “rapture” of the Church; we must be a prepared people so that we can become an answer and a solution when these global crises occur. We can’t afford to be caught sleeping or without any oil in our lamps. How will we respond? How can we help to bring peace and stability during a time of desperation and panic, when world leaders and health agencies or officials are at their wits end trying to come up with a solution? We must have a strong faith and Kingdom foundation established, as well as the wisdom of God available, if we are to be a city set upon a hill during this time.
God has seen it fit to give us a great head start on these issues by revealing unto us way ahead of time what is to come. The future is for a prepared people, and a good leader sees a problem before it becomes an emergency. Let us prepare ourselves both individually and corporately for what is to come.
I encourage you to visit the link below for more information from the CDC regarding this new influenza. Do your part to stay alert and informed, but be aware that the global population at large, including agencies such as the CDC and others, is severely limited and handicapped by their human limitations. They will often not be able to provide any answers or any solutions, and by the time they are able to figure anything out, it will be far too late for many people. Don’t depend on the CDC; trust in God and His wisdom, but at the same time, don’t neglect to stay informed.
I don’t see the present strain of the Swine Flu as becoming anything like a dangerous global epidemic, but I do know that it is preparing the way for others more fatal and deadly in the near future. The time to act and to prepare is now. Let this be a wake-up call to the global Kingdom Community we call the Church.
For more information regarding the Swine Flu (H1N1 Flu) as well as practical tips on what you can do to help protect yourself and others from infection, please click the following link:
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