Hello John and Doves,
There are
some people who believe that this global pandemic will
bring a revival and millions will turn to the
Lord. Or because our
administration supports Israel, this plague will pass
from us and we will be spared.
The Lord had sent
prophet after prophet to the nations of Israel and Judah -
each telling them to repent of their evil ways and return
to the Lord - the people would repent but eventually turn
back to their evil ways. After years of this, the
Lord tired of their turning from him and gave them one
last warning - repent and turn to God - or you will be
driven from the land, many killed, and many taken into
captivity. Still they did not repent. And they
were attacked, their cities destroyed, and they were taken
captive - off to Babylon.
A point was reached when God had ended the
warnings. Judgment was next.
Ten
plagues were brought upon Egypt for not letting the
Israelites leave Egyptian slavery.
God sent
Jonah to Nineveh because this cities evil had "come up"
before Him. Nineveh was the capital of the
Assyrian Empire - it was a huge city and took 3 days to
walk across. The inhabitants of this city were
violent and evil. Jonah was to warn them to turn away "from the
violence that is in their hands." Jonah 3:8 - the city
had 40 days to repent or else.
The Assyrian nation was
already being dealt with - there was a great earthquake,
there was a famine, they were being defeated in battles
and loosing territory. There were domestic
riots. And there was an eclipse - a total solar
eclipse. The Assyrians believed a solar eclipse was
a bad omen - it meant that "Nineveh would be
overthrown."
It is believed that
Jonah showed up during or shortly after this eclipse - so
the Ninevites were ripe for Jonah's message.
"And the Ninevites
believed God. They proclaimed a fast and dressed in
sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least.
When word reached the King of Nineveh, he got up from his
throne, took off his roayl robe, covered himself with
sackcloth and sat in ashed. Then he issued a
proclamation in Nineveh: "By the decree of the king
and his nobles: Let no man or beast, herd or flock,
taste anything at all. They must not eat or
drink. Furthermore, let both man and beast be
covered with sackcloth, and have everyone call out
earnestly to God. Let each one turn from his evil
ways and from the violence in his hands. Who
knows? God may turn and relent; He may turn from His
fierce anger, so that we will not perish." When God
saw their actions - that they had turned from their evil
ways - He relented from the disaster He had threatened to
bring upon them." Jonah 3 5-10
The Assyrian King
believed God - and he was hopeful that God would see their
repentance and not destroy them. What the king did
and commanded paid off. Nineveh was spared...this
time.
Now here the world is,
full of violence and wickedness - abortions,
homosexuality, gay marriage, corruption, fornication,
pornography, illicit drugs, human trafficking, the sex
trade, violence, etc. and a global pandemic.
And it's not just one
plague - this global pandemic is crashing economies,
destroying businesses, leaving millions jobless and
hungry, on top of making people ill and taking lives.
Will the world see this
is a judgment from God or just a natural occurrence having
nothing to do with punishment for evils?
When Billy Graham died
in 2018, his son Franklin said that his father's death
will unleash all the demons of Hell.
I believe that Billy
Graham was the last world evangelical minister - the time
for revival is over, the time of judgment is starting.
I've been thinking about
the Ten Plagues of Egypt - and how our 'one' plague is
actually becoming a whole series of plagues!
The virus brought
illness, death starting in China; it started spreading
around the world; then WHO declared a global health
emergency; followed by travel restrictions to and from
China; a cruise ship was quarantined with over 3,600
passengers off the coast of Japan; then 24 countries had
confirmed cases; then a church in South Korea became an
epicenter. Supply chains from China were
interrupted. Auto manufacturers closed
factories. Apple couldn't get it's cell
phones. Community spreading had become apparent.
Then Iran started
reporting deaths from 'unknown sources'; Italy started
reporting cases as it got hit hard; followed by travel
warnings and more restrictions; nations closing borders
with neighboring nations; then governments started
responding with billions in aid.
And there was a
catastrophic drop in the stock markets around the world;
Iran became yet another epicenter as cases spread
throughout the Middle East; South America reported cases;
the virus continued it's spread throughout Europe; then
Africa had it's first infections; the U.S. reported it's
first death adding more travel restrictions; the CDC's
test kits were a miserable failure - for a month there was
very little testing in the U.S.
Then the U.S. blocked
travelers from European countries; the WHO declared the
coronavirus a global pandemic; stock markets plunged
further; President Trump declared a National Emergency;
then the CDC started with their banning gatherings of more
than 50 people, then 10 people, public school systems and
universities started closing. Churches were
closed. Social distancing became the rule.
Stay at least 6 feet away from other people.
Countries around the
world started reporting nationwide quarantines and some
implemented countrywide lockdowns; then the EU banned most
travelers from outside the EU for 30 days - closing off
some 26 countries to all visitors; U.S. states started
mandatory 14-day quarantine for visitors; various
countries closed all nonessential shops and required
people to stay home except for trips for food/health care;
India announced a 21-day lockdown (1.3 billion people).
President Trump signed a
$2T coronavirus stimulus bill - other countries started
adding trillions to their public health/economic crisis;
more and more stay-at-home directives became
statewide/nationwide; in a few weeks nearly 10 million
Americans were out of work; Russia started reporting
cases, closing borders.
Dairy farms are dumping
milk, the beef and pork industries have closed plants due
to illness in employees. Cheese plants have been forced to
shut down due to a decrease in demand. Farmers are
looking at labor shortages - a short supply of people to
help with planting/harvesting. And they are facing a
volatile market for their goods and financial
issues. Fluctuations in supply and demand affect
farming decisions. People are eating at home, school
meals aren't being served, restaurants are mostly
closed. Freezers are full...for now.
Followed by decimation
of the fuel/oil industries. Saudi Arabia flooded the
oil market. Starting a price war with Russia.
And on top of this, the demand for oil/gas the world over
has had a steep drop due to 'quarantine', travel
restrictions...supply far exceeds the demand - further
forcing down prices. The world requires 35% less oil
than it did before the pandemic.
The U.S. supports
regimes like Saudi Arabia in exchange for the
oil-producing countries accepting only dollars for
oil. The dollar has been the dominant currency
because of this tie to oil. Dollars are backed by
oil...now the oil prices have plummeted and the U.S. is
printing money like there is no tomorrow - one coronavirus
bailout after the other. Barrel prices may take
years to decades to reach $40 a barrel again.
Economies around the world are tied to each other -
through the dollar, through banks.
"See WTI June crude at
$5/bbl if Saudi Arabia continues to flood market"...WTI
prices went negative - meaning that anyone trying to sell
a barrel would have to pay a buyer $39. Blame the
Coronavirus related slowdown and Saudi Arabia flooding the
markets with over production....producing yet another
'perfect storm' for US oil in about 10 days'
time...Traders were keen to offload those holdings to
avoid having to take delivery of the oil and incur storage
costs."
"Refineries are
unwilling to turn oil into gasoline, diesel and other
products because so few people are commuting or taking
airline flights, and international travel has slowed
sharply. Lockdowns across the world and not least in
the US had let to record levels of gasoline stocks and
record low gasoline consumption in the US. Oil is
already being stored on barges and in any nook and cranny
companies can find. Giant oil tankers are being used
to hold record amounts of crude at sea due to a global
oversupply that threatens to overwhelm the world's storage
facilities."
With businesses closed,
unemployment on the rise, foodbank lines increasing by the
day, protests breaking out across states and countries -
people demanding the lockdown/strict rules cease and
people be allowed to go back to work; ....WTI prices can
touch levels of $5 for June contract if flooding by Saudi
Arabia is not regulated or even lower...the world is
running out of storage."
Businesses have been
lost, nest eggs depleted, 401Ks hit hard, credit cards
charged to the max, mortgages not being paid, rent not
being paid, school loans not being paid, credit card bills
not being paid, auto loans not being paid, utilities not
being paid, suicide rates are up; people are stressed out;
people are hungry; many governors are imposing too strict
quarantine rules that are sparking protests.
Bankruptcies will sky rocket. Unemployment claims
are off the charts and will probably be found to be
unsustainable. 22 million Americans are now jobless.
Protests are spreading
through the states and around the world. People want
to go back to their lives. They want to go back to
work. Now there is talk of keeping quarantines into
June! Food production will halt to cope with
oversupply and will eventually result in short
supply. Gas production will halt and will eventually
result in short supply.
This one
plague has caused all of this! Seems more
like a whole series of plagues spreading around the world
- one after the other, feeding off of each other.
Like falling dominoes. And this isn't even close to
over!
I am afraid to ask 'so
what else can happen'? War with China?
Asteroid hit? Yellowstone blow?
Oh, and to finish the
story about Nineveh - about a hundred years after Jonah,
the city was eventually destroyed in 612 B.C. - the
inhabitants had become worse than ever. The
population was slaughtered or enslaved; the palace was
sacked and destroyed. Nahum prophesied the city
would be exiled and carried away and plundered. "She
is emptied, Yes, she is desolate and laid waste.
Hearts melt, knees knock, bodies tremble, and every face
grows pale! ...Behold I am against you," declares the Lord
of Hosts. "I will send your chariots up in smoke,
and the sword will devour your young lions. I will
cut off your prey from the earth, and the voices of your
messengers will no longer be heard." Nahum 2:10-13
No matter what happens,
God is still on the throne! If this is His judgment,
so be it. We know what is coming because His
prophets have told us. We know how this all ends.
Pray for the peace of
Jerusalem!
Maranatha!
Chance