ONLY GOD BRINGS THE DESTRUCTION OF THE PANDEMIC OF THE COVID-19
Today, many Torah-believing Jews and Bible-believing Christians believe that the final series of events which would culminate in the arrival of the Messiah has already begun. I believe that the current coronavirus pandemic is one of these events. ...
‘Son of man, this is what the Sovereign LORD says: call out to every kind of bird and all the wild animals…At my table you will eat your fill of horses and riders, mighty men and soldiers of every kind,” declares the Sovereign Lord.
‘I will display my glory among the nations, and all the nations will see the punishment I inflict and the hand I lay on them. From that day forward the people of Israel will know that I am the LORD their God. And the nations will know that the people of Israel went into exile for their sin, because they were unfaithful to me. So I hid my face from them and handed them over to their enemies, and they all fell by the sword. I dealt with them according to their uncleanness and their offences, and I hid my face from them.
‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I will now restore the fortunes of Jacob and will have compassion on all the people of Israel, and I will be zealous for my holy name. They will forget their shame and all the unfaithfulness they showed towards me when they lived in safety in their land with no one to make them afraid. When I have brought them back from the nations and have gathered them from the countries of their enemies, I will be proved holy through them in the sight of many nations. Then they will know that I am the LORD their God, for though I sent them into exile among the nations, I will gather them to their own land, not leaving any behind. I will no longer hide my face from them, for I will pour out my Spirit on the people of Israel, declares the Sovereign LORD.’ EZEKIEL39:17-29.
The Prophet Ezekiel illustrates the destruction of Gog in Chapter 38 and repeats it in 39:1-16. Here his emphasis is on the nature of the terrible destruction of Gog and its allies. He depicts it as God’s sacrificial feast in verses 17-24.
In Re.19:17-21 Apostle John linked this sacrificial feast with the aftermath of the battle of Armageddon and so, what is illustrated in both passages is God’s judgment and irrevocable doom for those who have campaigned against God.
Thus, the whole world including Israel will see God’s glory through the execution of His judgment. The nations would know that Israel’s long suffering had been directed by her God ‘Yahweh’ Himself because of her sin and unfaithfulness to Him.
However, in the following verses 25-29 Ezekiel declares that a time of restoration will come. ‘God has wounded and He will heal’ is a biblical principle. Ezekiel concludes as follows.
First, God will bring back the captives of Jacob and restore them. (This promise was partially fulfilled in their return from Babylon under Ezra, Zerubbabel and Nehemiah.)
Secondly, Israel will humble herself and repent of all her shame and disobedience. She will establish a firm and never-failing relationship with Him.
Thirdly, God will never hide His face from Israel, which means that He will have compassion on her with everlasting kindness as declared:
God’s promise is not only total but also permanent to each individual.
I will gather them to their own land, not leaving any behind.
God’s promise is not only total but also permanent to each individual.
Lastly, God’s Spirit, i.e., the Holy Spirit will be poured out upon Israel. Israel’s relationship with God would be based solely upon the merits of the Messiah and not her own work. In other words, Israel will be blessed and prosper only when she will firmly abide in Him. Here Ezekiel puts it in a prophetic perfect tense as
as if God had already accomplished it, which conveys the future assurance of His spoken word.
I have poured out my spirit upon the house of Israel (RSV),
as if God had already accomplished it, which conveys the future assurance of His spoken word.
What Ezekiel depicted in the passage quoted at the beginning is the Jewish Messiah, Christ’s future rule over the world. Today, many Torah-believing Jews and Bible-believing Christians believe that the final series of events which would culminate in the arrival of the Messiah has already begun. I believe that the current coronavirus pandemic is one of these events.
A shaking up of the world governments and leadership is happening, in which politics, economics, finance, society and medical care are being threatened. Everyone, poor or rich, famous or not, is affected.
However, the Book of Exodus clearly tells us that when God caused these plagues, there were people who were completely protected from them. They were the Israelites who had been divinely guided by their godly leader, “God-anointed deliverer” Moses. I believe that the quality of leadership in a country is one of the most important keys in a crisis.
I would like to take up two countries, Israel and the US., whose current leaders are God-chosen.
The following articles show how Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu has lately been inclined to the Bible and openly demonstrating it. He has been seen to recite Psalm 147 by heart: ‘Netanyahu Began Donning Tefillin Everyday to Rid Israel of Coronavirus’, ‘Netanyahu: I Will Listen to Rabbis to Help Israel Fight Against Corona-Virus’, ‘Netanyahu: Reading Torah Gives me Strength’ and ‘Israelis Look to Bible Over Coronavirus Concerns’ among many.
Having faced several difficulties in light of the coronavirus pandemic and disunity in his government in order to effectively tackle the outbreak, the Prime Minister Netanyahu first turned to God and asked the advice of rabbis to know God’s will, just as Moses accepted his father-in-law Jethro’s advice when he was overwhelmed by the people’s demands. Netanyahu also determined to engage himself in everyday prayer by wrapping in Tefillin (phylacteries) until Israel will rid herself from coronavirus.
In Israel, its citizens have been urged to “revering God with a hundred blessings a day and praying” according to Deuteronomy10:12, to fight the plague (New Campaign in Israel to Fight Coronavirus: 100 Blessings a Day).
President Donald Trump declared 15th of March as a “National Day of Prayer” due to the events of the COVID-19 outbreak and he referred to how the faith of America’s Founders called upon God for protection. He took the initiative to lead the nation to join in praying for themselves and the world on line so that Christ would bring swift healing for those ill and that He would allow the plague to be eradicated. Meanwhile, Jews worldwide were also called to join in prayer by reciting Psalms.
Seeking God with repentance for past sins and failure and also disobedience to Him would be profound and when leaders of the country take the initiative to lead the whole nation to collective repentance, God would accept their heart attitudes and cause swift and infinite healing and also continual blessings upon the nation.
The Bible testifies everywhere how important leadership is to direct the nation to divine protection from any natural and unnatural disasters, plagues, famines etc.