EVEN DEADLY PLAGUES TURNED INTO GOD’S SALVIFIC PURPOSES
There are some amazing reports of supernatural divine healing and revival in the midst of this coronavirus outbreak, where God is moving in mighty ways. ...
Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labour on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and you will delight in the richest of fare. Give ear and come to me; listen, that you may live. I will make an everlasting covenant with you, my faithful love promised to David. See, I have made him a witness to the peoples, a ruler and commander of the peoples. Surely you will summon nations you know not, and nations you do not know will come running to you, because of the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, for he has endowed you with splendour.’
Seek the LORD while he may be found; call on him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake their ways and the unrighteous their thoughts. Let them turn to the LORD, and he will have mercy on them, and to our God, for he will freely pardon.
‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,’ declares the LORD. ‘As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: it will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands. Instead of the thorn-bush will grow the juniper, and instead of briers the myrtle will grow. This will be for the LORD’s renown, for an everlasting sign, that will endure for ever. ISAIAH 55.
Isaiah Chapter 55 is linked to ch.53, where Christ’s sacrificial death on the cross is precisely prophesied. It is only through Christ’s redemptive work that what is written in the passage quoted at the beginning was made available. God promised His people an unending dynasty of David, which would culminate in the Messiah, Jesus Christ. The gates of the city of God stand open now that rich fare for His kingdom was paid for in full by Christ. Now is the time for man (whether Jew or Gentile) to respond to God’s invitation because it will not be extended indefinitely. Having opened the way of eternal life in His kingdom through Christ, God is ready to finalise man’s salvation through unfathomable ways even with disasters. Thus, He accomplishes what He desires.
The recent accelerating global crisis and chaos with natural and man-made disasters clearly point to the fulfilment of this prophecy being very near. Above all, the surge in the number of cases of coronavirus has been amazingly fast across the world. Just eleven days after the government of China reported on the first cases of the coronavirus (which seems to have suddenly emerged in Wuhan, Hubei Province), there were deaths. Within ten days, the virus had spread to other Asian countries, followed by the U.S. One month after the first cases were reported, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a global health emergency and travel restrictions were set in place. The epicentre of the epidemic, Wuhan city and the surrounding areas were placed under quarantine.
An internationally acclaimed Israeli mystic rabbi Yosef Pinto, who had a vision in the beginning of January, stated in Febuary that his vision had been about the coronavirus. and he declared:
What is happening in China is developing into a global catastrophe and the consequences will reach almost all corners of the world. This will soon become clear to all. …Since the outbreak, tens of thousands have died in China, millions are being held in quarantine, for several weeks. Those who don’t die from the disease are dying of hunger. Soon, the supply of food will run out and the security forces will realize that they are also in quarantine and they will try to save themselves. …Very soon, people will begin to realize that so much information is being hidden from the public about how the government is locking people in their houses. We are entering the hardest period the world has experienced in several centuries. …The economy of the world is balanced on China but China is on the verge of total collapse. …there will be even more plagues, more epidemics. China will be entirely quarantined.
However, while the majority of the media report is from a worldly perspective, it is exciting and encouraging to know that there are some amazing reports of supernatural divine healing and revival in the midst of this coronavirus outbreak, where God is moving in mighty ways.
Missionary Dennis Balcombe reports on what's behind the deadly coronavirus, COVID-19 and how the church is responding to this virus and what impact it is having on believers. In his recent interview with Charisma-podcast-network, he reports on amazing healing through prayer. CPN also provides us with another eye-opening interview with Pastor Frank Amedia.
He puts it:
We've had reports of Christians being healed of this virus by the power of God and the healing of God. …the coronavirus is the third plague to hit China in the span of this generation. …when the people can't rely on their government, they look for help elsewhere—and that's when the church has the opportunity to shine brightly with the gospel. …We're being told that people are coming in swarms to churches, house churches, that there's gospel and evangelism going out in the streets, person to person, that there's supernatural healing.
According to his sources, the numbers of deaths and infections are much higher than media outlets are reporting, and the number of deaths is allegedly in the tens of thousands, although this fact was being kept suppressed by the government of China.
He continues:
Neither is the virus restricted to Wuhan, as some may report. Instead, it's spread to the four corners of China, and there are actually quarantines in many areas. …this isn't just something Christian sources are telling, but also industrial sources such as businessmen. The doctor who discovered the virus was a Christian, brought his concerns about the coronavirus to the attention of the government in late December. In response, the government arrested him and seven other scientists and forced them to sign documents stating that they were wrong. That doctor has since died from the virus.
As for the source of the virus, Amedia says that it did not come from a marketplace as was previously thought. Instead, he believes it came from a P4 laboratory, which is located about 20 miles from the marketplace that was originally believed to be the starting point for the virus. He also shares the fact that the Chinese ambassador is not denying that it could have come out of this lab and it surprised the White House. Amedia intensifies that when the infected and confused people in desperation turn to the church for help, they are divinely healed.
For the present nobody knows what really caused the coronavirus and how long it will continue to spread but what is certain is that God is moving mightily through the hopeless plight. If Christians earnestly pray for God’s final redemption, by appealing to His never failing Word of promise:
Give ear and come to me; listen, that you may live. I will make an everlasting covenant with you, my faithful love promised to David,
it would not be a dream to see a revival in China, followed by all other countries.