As I sit here at my computer, fear grips the world as the death toll from the coronavirus pandemic continues to rise at fearful rates. As of today (May 8, 2020), over 75,000 have died from this scourge in the United States, out of more than 1.2 million reported cases [1]. A single month ago, on April 7, at least 431,000 cases were reported in the United States, with at least 14,000 fatalities [2]. The adjective “exponential” is hardly an exaggeration when describing the continuing impact of this disease, especially in America.
The economic impact of this crisis is nothing short of horrific. As of today, the United States has lost over 20 million jobs on account of this pandemic, raising the unemployment rate to 14.7 percent, the highest since the Great Depression [3].
We are truly living in the times foretold by Jesus, with “men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming upon the earth” (Luke 21:26). Speaking of the last days, the Lord prophesied: “There shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes in divers places” (Matt. 24:7; see also Luke 21:11). Ellen White, echoing the words of Jesus, writes as follows regarding the cataclysmic events that will precede our Lord’s return:
Even now he (Satan) is at work. In accidents and calamities by sea and by land, in great conflagrations, in fierce tornadoes and terrific hailstorms, in tempests, floods, cyclones, tidal waves, and earthquakes, in every place and in a thousand forms, Satan is exercising his power. He sweeps away the ripening harvest, and famine and distress follow. He imparts to the air a deadly taint, and thousands perish by the pestilence. These visitations are to become more and more frequent and disastrous [4].
Rising to the Task
The world has seen other disasters, other pandemics, to be sure. Many think just now of the so-called Spanish flu pandemic of 1918, which infected at least 500 million worldwide and took the lives of somewhere between 17 and 50 million people [5]. (Actually, the pandemic didn’t originate in Span, but was only given this label because censorship during the First World War minimized reports of the disease amid the warring nations [6], while reports abounded from neutral Spain, in particular noting the illness of the Spanish king Alfonso XIII [7]. Credible evidence suggests that the pandemic actually got started at Camp Funston in Fort Riley, Kansas, and from there was transported to Europe by American servicemen during the final months of World War I [8].)
But throughout the time of final prophetic fulfillment, as the end of all things has drawn ever closer, God has employed such tragedies to arouse both His people and the world. In the words of Ellen White:
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 evens 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.”
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 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 [9].
Nothing like the present coronavirus crisis should be permitted by the people of God to go to waste so far as the pursuit of our divine mission is concerned. Not only is this pandemic a clear fulfillment of our Lord’s predictions regarding the signs of His return (Matt. 24:7; Luke 2:11); it also affords Seventh-day Adventists a great opportunity to share the health message. The origin of the present outbreak is believed by reliable observers to be traceable to the eating of bats, snakes, and other foods designated in the Bible as unclean [10]. Like no other time in recent history, God’s people will see doors open for the proclamation of one of the most relevant truths committed to our charge.
Of course, let us ever remember that global calamities are not ultimately what God is waiting for so far as the timing of Jesus’ coming is concerned. First and foremost, the timing of the advent is determined by the character development or lack thereof on the part of God’s people (II Peter 3:10-14; I John 3:2-3; Rev. 7:1-3) [11]. But the more frequent and destructive such events become, the more we are enabled to arrest the attention of those within and outside of our fellowship, bringing to them God’s final call for pardon, transformation, and victory over sin.
A Dangerous Distraction
On another front, let us beware of joining the stampede of certain ones who are trying to make the present pandemic and the social restrictions it has generated into a personal rights issue. It helps to keep in mind that the rights guaranteed by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution are not absolute. Human sacrifice isn’t protected by the “free exercise of religion” clause, neither is yelling “Fire!” in a crowded theater protected by the free speech clause. By the same token, the Amendment’s guarantee of free assembly does not prevent civil authorities from imposing safeguards for the physical safety of citizens whose exposure to a significantly unknown, lethal, and injurious health hazard could cost—and has already cost—multiplied thousands of lives.
Public attacks on civil government, of the sort now proliferating even on some Adventist websites, are in most cases ill-advised and seriously distracting from the mission of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. While it is appropriate for us to be sensitive to any genuine challenge to liberty, we are wise to remember the following inspired admonition regarding antagonism toward civil authority, from the pen of our prophet:
By some of our brethren many things have been spoken and written that are interpreted as expressing antagonism to government and law. It is a mistake thus to lay ourselves open to misunderstanding. It is not wise to find fault continually with what is done by the rulers of government. It is not our work to attack individuals or institutions. We should exercise great care lest we be understood as putting ourselves in opposition to the civil authorities. . . .
The time will come when unguarded expressions of a denunciatory character, that have been carelessly spoken or written by our brethren, will be used by our enemies to condemn us. These will not be used merely to condemn those who made the statements, but will be charged upon the whole body of Adventists. Our accusers will say that upon such and such a day one of our responsible men said thus and so against the administration of the laws of this government. Many will be astonished to see how many things have been cherished and remembered that will give point to the arguments of our adversaries. Many will be surprised to hear their own words strained into a meaning that they did not intend them to have. Then let our workers be careful to speak guardedly at all times and under all circumstances. Let all beware lest by reckless expressions they bring on a time of trouble before the great crisis which is to try men’s souls [12].
Reassurance
For one who knows the Bible, reassuring passages pierce the gloom. When I was little, my dear mother helped me memorize many important chapters, but one I remember best perhaps is Psalm 91. Such verses as the following should be held at the fore of our minds in the present crisis:
Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night: nor for the arrow that flieth by day:
Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.
A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand, but it shall not come nigh thee (Psalm 91:5-7).
Even in a crisis like the present, fear is not appropriate. For those attentive to the signs of the times and the Bible that identifies them, hope will remain paramount. The words of our Lord regarding these developments will ever be kept in view by the striving faithful:
And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads, for your redemption draweth nigh (Luke 21:28).
REFERENCES
2. https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/08/health/us-coronavirus-wednesday/index.html
3. https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/08/economy/april-jobs-report-2020-coronavirus/index.html
4. Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, pp. 589-590.
5. “Spanish flu,” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_flu
6. Ibid.
7. Ibid.
8. Ben Zimmer, “Why Trump Intentionally Misnames the Coronavirus,” The Atlantic, March 12, 2020 https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2020/03/why-trump-intentionally-misnames-coronavirus/607900/
9. White, Prophets and Kings, pp. 536-537.
10. Ben Westcott and Shawn Deng, “China has made eating wild animals illegal after the coronavirus outbreak. But ending the trade won’t be easy,” CNN, March 5, 2020 https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/05/asia/china-coronavirus-wildlife-consumption-ban-intl-hnk/index.html
11. White, Christ’s Object Lessons, p. 69; The Desire of Ages, pp. 633-634; Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing, pp. 108-109; Acts of the Apostles, pp. 600-601; Selected Messages, vol. 1, pp. 67-69; Evangelism, p. 696.
12. ----Testimonies, vol. 6, pp. 394-395.
Pastor Kevin Paulson holds a Bachelor’s degree in theology from Pacific Union College, a Master of Arts in systematic theology from Loma Linda University, and a Master of Divinity from the SDA Theological Seminary at Andrews University. He served the Greater New York Conference of Seventh-day Adventists for ten years as a Bible instructor, evangelist, and local pastor. He writes regularly for Liberty magazine and does script writing for various evangelistic ministries within the denomination. He continues to hold evangelistic and revival meetings throughout the North American Division and beyond, and is a sought-after seminar speaker relative to current issues in the Seventh-day Adventist Church. He presently resides in Berrien Springs, Michigan