Do I think this coronavirus pandemic and all its terrible effects are signaling that now comes the end of the world?
I doubt it. (I'm not that smart, but I've heard Jesus say "No one knows the day or the hour.")
But do I think that this coronavirus pandemic and all its terrible effects are a clear signal and warning that the end of the world and the great judgment day IS COMING? Yes, I do. The judgment day is coming, and you can't stop it. It may come this week. It may come a thousand years from now. You and I can't stop it.
Now the world is being shaken in a way that, at least, my generation has never seen. And it resonates with a passage in the Bible I have been looking at recently – Revelation 17 and 18. I have been reading articles and commentaries that reference old Presbyterian and reformed thinkers who suggest that plagues and pandemics and economic crises and unusual times of death and mourning should be seen as warnings which foreshadow the end of times judgment of the great city of “Babylon” - "Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great!" - and therefore sends out a warning to the ends of the earth that we should repent of our sins and turn to the Lord.
Sobering stuff.
Revelation 18:8 goes on to describe things like this: plagues suddenly come and death and mourning will cover the world.
Then in verse 14 it describes the collapse of the world economy. “Alas, alas, for the great city that was clothed in fine linen, in purple and scarlet, adorned with gold, with jewels, and with pearls! For in a single hour all this wealth has been laid waste.”
Then in verse 22 the activities of the world – musical performances, artistic craftsmanship, small businesses, weddings and celebrations of joyful crowds – will be shut down.
Will you stop and think with me about this for a moment?
Hasn’t the current shutdown of everything given us a small foretaste of Revelation 18? Think about what is reported on the news 24 hours a day over these past weeks. The economy is grinding to a halt. 33 million people are out of work. You can't go to Lincoln Center to hear the New York Philharmonic play. I have friends who want to get married but they can't have the large celebration they want. Churches have been barred from congregating – not just in New York, but all over the world. A plague has come with virulent force and death follows it.
Is this the great judgment day? Again, I doubt it. But I would say that the things that are happening now are a small picture, a providential warning, of what is promised to unfold in Revelation 18.
You know, The church shouldn’t be afraid of recognizing God’s providence at moments like this and calling all people to repentance and faith in Christ. And we should do this because, unlike in Revelation 18, "the lamp" has not been extinguished. Our light still shines in the modern day "Babylon." And “the light,” the call from Jesus still goes out: "If any man thirsts, let him come to me and drink, and from his innermost being will flow rivers of living water." "Repent, for the kingdom of Heaven is at hand." "Come to me you who carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest."
Good news: All who are in Christ have passed through the judgment because he has been judged in our place on the cross. The Bible says of those who have “come out of Babylon,” “For you have died and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. And when Christ, who is our life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.“
Hear the good news of His summons: "Come to me." Come, before the end of the world.
Musings from Pastor John, May 10