Dear Brothers and Sisters:
Various members have been asking about whether COVID-19 might be a plague, comparable to some of the ten plagues that befell Egypt, the last seven falling on the Egyptians while God’s people are sheltered. Since this contagion is effecting both the commandment keeping people and those who dishonor God, it seems reasonable to compare this plague to one of the first three that befell Egypt. We know that the seven last plagues of the Book of Revelation will fall only on those who have the mark of the beast. So we must be experiencing one of the plagues that precede the seven last plagues.
In the first portion of Deuteronomy 28, the Lord promises all kinds of blessings if His children will be faithful in obeying Him but then a very lengthy list of curses follows if they rebelliously disobey. Among these we are told, “The LORD shall send upon thee cursing, vexation, and rebuke, in all that thou settest thine hand unto for to do, until thou be destroyed, and until thou perish quickly; because of the wickedness of thy doings, whereby thou hast forsaken me. The LORD shall make the pestilence cleave unto thee, until he have consumed thee from off the land, whither thou goest to possess it.” (Deuteronomy 28:20-21 KJV)
“Y Jehová enviará contra ti la maldición, quebranto y asombro en todo cuanto pusieres mano é hicieres, hasta que seas destruído, y perezcas presto á causa de la maldad de tus obras, por las cuales me habrás dejado. Jehová hará que se te pegue mortandad, hasta que te consuma de la tierra á la cual entras para poseerla.” (Deuteronomio 28:20-21 SRV)
In Matthew 24:7 and Luke 21:11 Jesus speaks of pestilences as being a sign indicating that His return is nearing.
Medical dictionaries define “pestilence” this way, “a virulent contagious epidemic or infectious epidemic disease.” Miller-Keane Encyclopedia and Dictionary of Medicine, Nursing, and Allied Health, Seventh Edition. © 2003 by Saunders. “Synonym(s): plague A virulent outbreak of any disease.” Farlex Partner Medical Dictionary © Farlex 2012. “A usually fatal epidemic disease, especially bubonic plague.” The American Heritage® Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2007, 2004 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. “pestilence noun An obsolete, non-specific term for an epidemic with high mortality.” Segen's Medical Dictionary. © 2012 Farlex, Inc.
“The time is at hand when there will be sorrow in the world that no human balm can heal. The Spirit of God is being withdrawn. Disasters by sea and by land follow one another in quick succession. How frequently we hear of earthquakes and tornadoes, of destruction by fire and flood, with great loss of life and property! Apparently these calamities are capricious outbreaks of disorganized, unregulated forces of nature, wholly beyond the control of man; but in them all, God's purpose may be read. They are among the agencies by which He seeks to arouse men and women to a sense of their danger.” Prophets and Kings, 277.
“When the angel was about to unfold to Daniel the intensely interesting prophecies to be recorded for us who are to witness their fulfillment, the angel said, "Be strong, yea, be strong" (Daniel 10:19). We are to receive the very same glory that was revealed to Daniel, because it is for God's people in these last days, that they may give the trumpet a certain sound.--Manuscript 18, 1888.
When Christ shall come the second time, the whole world will be represented by two classes, the just and the unjust, the righteous and the unrighteous. Preceding the great sign of the coming of the Son of man, there will be signs and wonders in the heavens. . . .
Already sprinklings from the vials of God's wrath have been let fall upon land and sea, affecting the elements of the air. The causes of these unusual conditions are being searched for, but in vain.
God has not restrained the powers of darkness from carrying forward their deadly work of vitiating the air, one of the sources of life and nutrition, with a deadly miasma. Not only is vegetable life affected, but man suffers from pestilence. . . .
Physical and Religious World to Be Shaken.-- These things are the result of drops from the vials of God's wrath being sprinkled on the earth, and are but faint representations of what will be in the near future.
Earthquakes in various places have been felt, but these disturbances have been very limited. . . . Terrible shocks will come upon the earth, and the lordly palaces erected at great expense will certainly become heaps of ruins.
The earth's crust will be rent by the outbursts of the elements concealed in the bowels of the earth. These elements, once broken loose, will sweep away the treasures of those who for years have been adding to their wealth by securing large possessions at starvation prices from those in their employ.
And the religious world too, is to be terribly shaken, for the end of all things is at hand. . . . All society is ranging into two great classes, the obedient and the disobedient. . . .” {Selected Messages, 3:390-392}
“That time is at hand. Today the signs of the times declare that we are standing on the threshold of great and solemn events. Everything in our world is in agitation. Before our eyes is fulfilling the Saviour's prophecy of the events to precede His coming: "Ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars. . . . Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places." Matthew 24:6, 7.
The present is a time of overwhelming interest to all living. Rulers and statesmen, men who occupy positions of trust and authority, thinking men and women of all classes, have their attention fixed upon the events taking place about us. They are watching the strained, restless relations that exist among the nations. They observe the intensity that is taking possession of every earthly element, and they recognize that something great and decisive is about to take place--that the world is on the verge of a stupendous crisis.
Angels are now restraining the winds of strife, that they may not blow until the world shall be warned of its coming doom; but a storm is gathering, ready to burst upon the earth; and when God shall bid His angels loose the winds, there will be such a scene of strife as no pen can picture.
The Bible, and the Bible only, gives a correct view of these things. Here are revealed the great final scenes in the history of our world, events that already are casting their shadows before, the sound of their approach causing the earth to tremble and men's hearts to fail them for fear.
"Behold, the Lord maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste, and turneth it upside down, and scattereth abroad the inhabitants thereof. . . . They have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant. Therefore hath the curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are desolate. . . . The mirth of tabrets ceaseth, the noise of them that rejoice endeth, the joy of the harp ceaseth." Isaiah 24:1-18.” {Education, 179, 180}
“Famines will increase. Pestilences will sweep away thousands. Dangers are all around us from the powers without and satanic workings within, but the restraining power of God is now being exercised.--19MR 382 (1897).
I have been shown that the Spirit of the Lord is being withdrawn from the earth. God's keeping power will soon be refused to all who continue to disregard His commandments. The reports of fraudulent transactions, murders, and crimes of every kind are coming to us daily. Iniquity is becoming so common a thing that it no longer shocks the senses as it once did.--Letter 258, 1907.” {Last Day Events, 27}
“We are standing on the threshold of great and solemn events. Prophecy is fast fulfilling. The Lord is at the door. There is soon to open before us a period of overwhelming interest to all living. The controversies of the past are to be revived; new controversies will arise. The scenes to be enacted in our world are not yet even dreamed of. Satan is at work through human agencies. Those who are making an effort to change the Constitution and secure a law enforcing Sunday observance little realize what will be the result. A crisis is just upon us. {5T 753.2}
But God's servants are not to trust to themselves in this great emergency. In the visions given to Isaiah, to Ezekiel, and to John we see how closely heaven is connected with the events taking place upon the earth and how great is the care of God for those who are loyal to Him. The world is not without a ruler. The program of coming events is in the hands of the Lord. The Majesty of heaven has the destiny of nations, as well as the concerns of His church, in His own charge. {5T 753.3}
We permit ourselves to feel altogether too much care, trouble, and perplexity in the Lord's work. Finite men are not left to carry the burden of responsibility. We need to trust in God, believe in Him, and go forward. The tireless vigilance of the heavenly messengers, and their unceasing employment in their ministry in connection with the beings of earth, show us how God's hand is guiding the wheel within a wheel. The divine Instructor is saying to every actor in His work, as He said to Cyrus of old: "I girded thee, though thou hast not known Me."
In Ezekiel's vision God had His hand beneath the wings of the cherubim. This is to teach His servants that it is divine power that gives them success. He will work with them if they will put away iniquity and become pure in heart and life.” {Testimonies for the Church, 5:753, 754}
“Already the restraining Spirit of God is being withdrawn from the world. Hurricanes, storms, tempests, fire and flood, disasters by sea and land, follow each other in quick succession. Science seeks to explain all these. The signs thickening around us, telling of the near approach of the Son of God, are attributed to any other than the true cause. Men cannot discern the sentinel angels restraining the four winds that they may not blow until the servants of God are sealed; but when God shall bid his angels loose the winds, there will be such a scene of strife as no pen can picture.
The important future is before us. To meet its trials and temptations, and to perform its duties, will require great faith and perseverance. But we may triumph gloriously; for all Heaven is interested in our welfare, and awaits our demand upon its wisdom and strength.
In the time of trial just before us, God's pledge of security will be placed upon those who have kept the word of his patience. If you have complied with the conditions of God's word, Christ will be to you a refuge from the storm. He will say to his faithful ones: "Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee; hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast." The Lion of Judah, so terrible to the rejecters of his grace, will be the Lamb of God to the obedient and faithful. The pillar of cloud will speak terror and wrath to the transgressor of God's law, but light and mercy and deliverance to those who have kept his commandments. The Arm, strong to smite the rebellious, will be strong to deliver the loyal. Every faithful one will surely be gathered. "He shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together the elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other."
Brethren, you to whom the truths of God's word have been opened, what part will you act in this momentous time of the closing scenes of earth's history? Are you awake to these solemn realities? Do you realize the grand work of preparation that is going on in heaven and earth? Let all who have received the light, who have had the opportunity of reading and hearing the prophecy, take heed to keep those things that are written therein, "for the time is at hand." Let none now venture to tamper with sin, the source of every misery that has come upon our world. No longer remain in a state of lethargy and stupid indifference. Let not the destiny of your soul hang upon an uncertainty. Know for yourselves that you are fully on the Lord's side. Let the inquiry go forth from sincere hearts and trembling lips, Who shall be able to stand? Have you, in the precious hours of probation mercifully granted you, been putting the best material into your character building? Have you been purifying your souls from every stain? Have you followed the light? Have your works corresponded to your profession of faith?” {The Home Missionary, November 1, 1893}
May the Lord help us to count our days, and in recognition of His steadfast love, determine to cleave to Him till our Master returns.
Pastor Richard Parent