PESTILENCES: THERE WILL BE MANY PANDEMICS LEADING UP TO THE RAPTURE

You cannot turn on the television or radio today and not hear about the Coronavirus pandemic.

I have already written a few articles about it, and have spoken about it quite a bit in my episodes of “The Signs of Our Times” YouTube series. As much as I would rather not keep talking about it, because I do not think that it is as “apocalyptic” as the media is making it out to be, I have had no choice because it has dominated the headlines – and most likely will continue to for a few more weeks.

Unfortunately, due to the media hysteria, life for all of us has dramatically changed. Most non-essential businesses have closed, schools have been shut down, the stock market has experienced extreme volatility, and many Americans and citizens of the world are either sheltering in place – or worse, have been quarantined or locked down.

Due to much of what I have just mentioned, many Americans are experiencing financial hardships. So, as much as many of you might like to read my books chronicling what GOD has to say about this pandemic and the many “signs of our times,” you may be unable to afford to buy books right now. I completely understand. That is why, as a Christian author, I want to do all that I can to make things easier on you.

I have lowered the prices of all my books to the absolute lowest prices that my distributors will allow. The paperbacks – including my NEW book – are now $7 across the board, and all of the Kindle ebooks are now all $2.99 a piece. You can get an ever deeper discount if you buy “The Trilogy,” which is all three books in one.

As far as the audiobooks are concerned, their prices are unfortunately controlled solely by Amazon, Audible, and iTunes. I have no say in their pricing. But where I do have a say, I have done my best to make it so that everyone can afford them.

On top of that, in these troubling times of uncertainty and fear, I wanted to bring you all peace and stronger faith during this international crisis. That is why I am sharing the ENTIRE CHAPTER on the subject of “Pestilences” from my second book, Even More Signs of Our Times. It will help you to live through this Coronavirus outbreak fearlessly, and will help you to better prepare for the pandemics to come in the future.

Leading up to the Rapture, we can expect more. So, this is not the last and it is most likely not the worst. Share this article with your friends and family, believers or unbelievers, because right now hysteria and panic are gripping the globe; and I truly believe that the 7 precautionary steps that I list at the close of this chapter could determine whether you live in peace or you die in fear…

PESTILENCES

“Jesus said, there shall be pestilences.” – MATTHEW 24:7 & LUKE 21:11

In recent years, health experts from numerous countries have issued warnings that the human race is at a greater risk of experiencing a global pandemic than ever before. They also warn that we are currently ill-prepared to combat a worldwide outbreak. The experts are in agreement across the board that it is not a matter of if a pandemic will strike, but a matter of when.

An infectious outbreak of SARS, cholera, bird flu, swine flu, Ebola, Zika, bioterror, or even a brand new disease altogether, could kill millions. During the 2014-2016 Ebola epidemic, nearly 30,000 people were infected and one-third of them died from the disease. As of 2018, there were about 90 countries that had reported Zika transmission.

We are at a greater risk than ever before of witnessing a worldwide plague occur due to numerous factors, such as terrorism – growing population – global travel – weather – and large-scale immigration, just to name a few.

The fact that the population of the United States grew by leaps and bounds during the Obama administration, due to an influx of refugees and immigrants, means that the possibility of a national pandemic has greatly increased. Refugees that have been pouring in from disease-prone Syria, and illegal immigrants from Mexico, are prime candidates for being the carriers who will bring the next pandemic to America.

It is believed that, within 30 years, nearly 70% of the world’s population will live in urban areas (cities) rather than in less populated rural areas. In cities, living and interacting with thousands who could possibly be infected increases the chances of contracting a disease. City-life also greatly increases the chance for a disease to spread quickly, through something as simple as a touch, a cough, a kiss, or a bite. While many of the deadly diseases most likely will not originate in the USA, the easiest way that they can arrive here is through global travel.

Countries like Africa, or Middle East war zones like Syria, are breeding grounds for deadly diseases; and any outbreak that begins on the other side of the globe will eventually make its way here. That is exactly what happened with the Ebola pandemic. The disease, which had spread rapidly in foreign nations, was undetectable for a few days; so Americans traveling home from infected areas did not know that they had contracted the disease until they were back on U.S. soil. Luckily, the infected were quarantined, and the deadly disease did not spread as much as it could have.

According to experts, infectious agents can live in humans during their incubation period – which is the time between infection and the onset of symptoms. This means that travelers can transmit an infection to another country before any onset of the appearance of sickness. Billions of travelers crisscross the globe annually. We recently learned, in 2018, that the latest outbreak of the Ebola virus in the Democratic Republic of Congo is the worst in the country’s history. Could it make its way to the States again?

The SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) pandemic of 2003 began with Dr. Liu Jianlun, who developed symptoms of the airborne virus on a trip to China and then went to visit his family in Hong Kong. It is believed that he infected people at his hotel, along with his family. In less than 4 months, nearly 4,000 cases and 550 deaths from SARS were traced to Liu’s Hong Kong visit. More than 8,000 other people became infected, in more than 30 countries worldwide, because of just one man.

Country to country infections can also be spread through insects and animals. People in airports have become infected with malaria through mosquitoes that hitched a ride on a plane. Bird flu crossed borders when Thai eagles were being traded as pets in 2004, and Guinea rats carrying monkeypox were shipped as pets into the U.S. in 2003.

Another huge threat is bioterror. A genetically engineered virus is easier to make than a suicide bomb, and could kill far more people than a bomb, guns, or even a nuclear weapon. ISIS and Al-Qaeda, both Islamic terror groups who live and breathe the desire to destroy America, have made clear their intentions to use bioterrorism against the United States. Instead of a suicide vest, or running into military complexes with guns-a-blazing, an Islamic terrorist could weaponize a disease like Ebola for a suicide bioterror attack by simply exposing himself to the virus.

All that the terrorist would have to do is enter a crowded airport, subway, sports arena, or heavily populated building, and touch any and everyone that he possibly could. This form of terrorism would kill more people than any suicide bomb attack, as the perpetrator would claim far more victims once the disease is spread. This has to be one of the most disturbing scenarios of a global pandemic spreading that I can think of. Yet, sadly, it is one of the most probable.

A U.S. Naval War College professor, Captain Al Shimkus, recently told Forbes, “If ISIS wanted to send half a dozen of its operatives into an Ebola outbreak region and intentionally expose themselves to the virus, they very well could. The idea is that once they had intentionally infected themselves, they would try to interact with as many people in their target city or country of choice.” ISIS leaders have said that their fighters would be willing to sacrifice themselves by spreading the Ebola virus in its current form, which requires contact with bodily fluids from victims.

A bipartisan Congressional report had accused the U.S. government under President George W. Bush of doing too little to address the threat of bioterrorism; and during Barack Obama’s presidency, a Congressional panel had given his government an “F” in preparedness. U.S. Border Patrol sources have revealed that their agents had detained at least a dozen ISIS fighters at the United States-Mexican border during the Obama years.

Another factor that contributes to the risk of a national or global outbreak is the weather. Flooding events, in particular, greatly increase the chances for waterborne diseases such as cholera and for disease vectors such as mosquitoes. With carriers like mosquitoes increasingly able to live in new unprotected territory, the risk of an outbreak is high.

With recent historic flooding in the U.S. from hurricanes like Harvey, Florence, and Michael, there could be many diseases spreading across the U.S. as we speak. Mosquitoes brought the Zika virus to America. In 2017, they carried the virus into over 125 cities in California. The State’s Public Health Division of Communicable Disease Control had laboratory-confirmed a total of 530 cases of Zika infections.

Experts all agree that an uncontrolled pandemic or bioterror attack could result in the deaths of about 30-million people. They also say that if another outbreak of a deadly disease like Ebola were to occur, the nations of the world are “grossly unprepared.” Now, I know this may all sound frightening and is very scary to ponder; but even if a global pandemic were to occur, there is one sure way to keep yourself and your family safe – FAITH. Even if the whole nation and world experiences a plague unrivaled in history, we believers can take heart that the LORD will keep us far from it.

Psalm 91:3 says, “Surely He shall deliver you from the noisome pestilence,” and verse 6 says that “We shall not fear the pestilence that walks in darkness.” I like to think back to the Book of Exodus, and the LORD’s promise to “pass over” His people when the plagues came upon Egypt. As we believers have been living in a modern-day Egypt/Babylon, I believe that God’s age-old promises still ring just as true for His children today as they did for the Israelites.

Instead of marking the doorposts of our homes with the blood of a lamb though, we can symbolically cover our doorposts and homes in the Blood of the Lamb of God – Christ Jesus. If God passed over His precious people when they had marked their homes in the blood of a mere animal, how much more will He now pass over us when we mark our homes in the Holiest Blood to ever be poured out on planet Earth… the Blood of His only begotten Son?

I personally mark my home in the Blood of Jesus on every annual Passover feast and, thanks be to God, He has kept His faithful promise (from Exodus) to keep the destroyer, the spoiler, disasters, plagues, and every evil far away from my home. He will do the same for you if you dedicate your home to Him, cover it in the Blood of His Son, and believe by faith.

There is no global plague or pandemic that can ever claim the life of a believer if we put our trust in God’s Word, repent of our sins daily, and diligently seek Him in times of national or personal distress. Here are Biblical verses that I take heart in –

“And the blood (of the Lamb) shall be to you for a sign upon the houses where you are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt, saith the LORD God.” – Exodus 12:13

“If you will diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD your God, and will do that which is right in His sight, and will give ear to His commandments, and keep all His statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon you, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I Am the LORD that heals you.” – Exodus 15:26

“You shall serve the LORD your God, and He shall take sickness away from the midst of you.” – Exodus 23:25

“The LORD will take away from you all sickness, and will put none of the evil diseases of Egypt, which you know, upon you; but will lay them upon all them that hate you.” – Deuteronomy 7:15

“He (Jesus Christ) was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed.” – Isaiah 53:5

“Unto you that fear My Name shall the Sun of righteousness (Jesus) arise with healing in His wings, saith the LORD.” – Malachi 4:2

“The prayer of faith shall save the sick.” – James 5:15

“He (Jesus) His own self bare our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by His stripes you were healed.” – 1st Peter 2:24

Lord Jesus told us that, in the season of His return, there would be “pestilences.” We have seen them popping up more and more over the course of the past decade, and I believe that they will only grow worse leading up to His Second Coming. Thank God that we will be raptured before the plagues of the Book of Revelation befall the heathen on Earth.

With countless other “Last Days” signs occurring all around us in this generation, I am convinced that a national pandemic or global outbreak could begin any day now in the near future. Sadly, since most people in this nation and world are falling away from the Faith, fear and panic will grip many across the globe.

While most of the secular world will be seeking out every vaccine under the sun to protect themselves from the plagues, believers need to follow the prescriptions given unto us by our Heavenly Physician. He has said that if we want to live healthy and safe in this world, and stay healthy and safe, then we need to:

Have faith

Love the LORD with all of our heart, soul, and mind

Keep His Commandments

Repent of our sins

Get washed and covered in the Blood of Jesus Christ

Pray without ceasing

Trust in the LORD

Whether physical or spiritual illness, there is no better medicine in the world for all that ails the human race than faith in God. If you don’t have it, then you would be wise to FIND IT.

“And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth (zoonotic diseases).” – REVELATION 6:8