Understanding the signs of the times in the context of the coronavirus pandemic.
Examining the potential for the novel coronavirus to become a global threat.
Discussing the role of China in controlling the outbreak and its implications for the world.
Exploring the connection between the pandemic and Bible prophecy, particularly in relation to a world government.
One of our teens wrote this week noting that over a very short period of time, there were headline references to rumors of war, the Iran-Trump confrontation, earthquakes near Jamaica, and pestilences, the new coronavirus. All of these are listed in a prophecy from Jesus in Matthew 24. In particular, the novel coronavirus seems to have the biggest potential for growing into something of biblical proportions. A quick check of the six biggest earthquakes in history, ranging from 8.8 to 9.5 on the Richter scale, shows that three of them happened in the seven years between 2004 and 2011, while the other three happened over little more than 11 years, from 1952 to 1964. By comparison, the quake in Jamaica, a 7.7, is pretty small. So the number and intensity of earthquakes is growing, but it's still not a global threat. Tension between Trump and Iran, while a matter of deep concern, does seem to fit into a pattern of Trump beating his chest a lot, but so far there has been very little actual war. And even if war did break out, the prophecy from Jesus himself just says that it will only be the beginning of sorrows that will face the world in the last days. He specifically tells us not to panic. What Bible prophecy dwells on the most has to do with a world government which appears to assume power immediately after these predicted sorrows. And that is where the new coronavirus may be of greater significance than either Iran or the earthquake near Jamaica. If you've ever watched any of the movies that have been made on the subject of pandemics, Contagion, The Stand, Outbreak and 28 Days Later, you would probably be aware that there is some serious discussion going on behind the scenes in countries all over the world. Even if they believed the situation was hopeless was hopeless It may be better to say especially if they believed the situation was hopeless They would have a good case for hiding the truth in order to avoid panic and the harm that such panic could cause So, the potential for panic would be a major concern around the world at the moment. If infections continue to increase at the present rate, I believe there will be growing unease over the next few weeks when the exponential growth of novel coronavirus starts measuring in the millions. I'm talking as soon as mid-February 2020, by which time this video may still not have been released. Because this pandemic has the potential to circle the globe in a matter of months, you can be sure that governments and medical experts from around the world are working around the clock in a search for a solution. I personally believe that a solution will be found, mainly because I feel that the whole concept of the beginning of sorrows that Jesus mentioned seems to fit into a bigger scenario, where a popular world leader is going to be able to gain virtually limitless control of the world because he offers solutions to the problems that face the world at this point in history. I go into more detail on this in a three-part video series on climate change and its relationship to Bible prophecy. As I record this video, I have to say that the climate change series is also still in the pipeline. That series and this video should both be ready for release sometime in February 2020. What the two productions have in common is a belief that China is going to convince the world that it has the answers to both problems. Ironically, China appears to be both the most likely source of pandemics and the biggest contributor to climate change. So my prediction is not something which the average citizen would assume. It is, in fact, quite contrary to present assumptions. It would be so much easier to get people to believe that the novel coronavirus is going to mark the end of the world. But anyone who knows me well would know that I've always been opposed to interpretations of Bible prophecy which build too heavily on newspaper headlines. We need to be prepared to look behind the headlines and to weigh that up in relation to what the Bible actually does predict And this is where I want you to consider quite a different scenario coming out of the present panic over the new coronavirus Here it is, in as few words as possible. China is doing everything right with regard to controlling this outbreak. China is showing itself to be far more responsible in handling this crisis than any other government in the world. Take the lockdown of 50 million people, for example. Countries like Australia have made it a top priority to get our citizens out of there as though they are being mistreated. Why? Well, because they are our citizens. There seems to be little thought about how well China has been containing the outbreak. Instead, it's all about us doing something to supposedly free our citizens. A report from an Australian who chose to stay on there explained that authorities in Wuhan are checking the temperature for virtually everyone on a daily basis. Anyone with a fever is whisked away to a hospital, so as to minimize contact with others. A 1,000 bed hospital has been thrown together in record time, built entirely from prefabricated bits and pieces. And apparently, plans for other hospitals are also going ahead, in an attempt to keep pace. If anything, we should be looking for ways to help China with such treatment. If the infection rate continues at its present rate, however, even those precautions may not be enough to bring it under control, but at least China can be seen as doing all that it can to maintain control. Everywhere else, it's all about economics. We in Australia live on an island. It would have been as easy as locking Australia down to pretty much guarantee immunity. But what government has the courage to do something so inconvenient as that? Even those airlines which have decided to stop making flights to and from China did not do it in an attempt to isolate the virus. They did it because passengers themselves could see the risk and stopped booking flights. In other words, the West is primarily concerned with making money, and with not upsetting the status quo. The government in my state in Australia more or less ordered kids to go to school as long as they did not have the new coronavirus symptoms or known contact with a person suffering from coronavirus Why Well because we don want to upset parents teachers shopkeepers and everyone else who is part of the whole, overall economy. Be calm and pretend nothing is happening. That's more or less the rule of the day. Just like we did with HIV, and are doing now with climate change. We stick our heads in the sand and hope that someone else will come up with a solution that doesn't upset the economy. Thousands of Australians died while waiting for a solution for AIDS, and it could easily be the same with the new coronavirus. So, what I am saying is that, whether or not the pandemic ever comes under control it is China who has shown the world what is needed to stop such an outbreak, if it is going to be stopped at all. In the worst possible scenario, China has at least bought us more time. They were also quick to locate the source of the outbreak, and to inform governments all over the world of the genome and DNA data that would be necessary if we are to find a successful vaccine. All of this flies in the face of past actions from China, where they have hidden information in order to escape responsibility. All China needs to do now is to find a solution for climate change, and it is quite likely that the masses of the world would be happy to turn away from their indecisive, democratically elected leaders in favor of an apparently benevolent dictatorship that has the courage to make hard decisions that provide the greatest possible protection for the greatest number of people. Such a change in our attitude towards China is when the deeper message of Bible prophecy will kick in. Please do watch the three-part series on climate change and Bible prophecy to get a fuller picture of what I'm talking about. There is a link at the end of this video. But please subscribe to this channel and give this video a thumbs up if you can before you check out those other three videos. and do everything you can to recommend this video and this channel to your friends. Thank you.
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