2020 came in like a whirlwind. Every day brought more news from around the world. In the US, President Trump was facing impeachment. Australia was ablaze with wildfires. Crops in Africa were devastated by huge swarms of locusts. There was talk of a new virus spreading in China. And then the world stoped. Schools, churches, and restaurants closed their doors. Life as we knew it came to a grinding halt. The whole world was in the midst of a pandemic.
Everything changed overnight. People were terrified. Reason became a thing of the past. Big box stores kept the wine and chip aisles well stocked but allowed the sections with books, crafts, clothes, and gardening supplies to become empty. The grocery store put up plastic dividers at the registers and arrows on the floors. There was no toilet paper. I was confused. I prayed, ‘’God, I don’t understand. What is happening? Nothing makes sense.” He answered by leading me to Ezekiel.
“The word of the Lord came to me, saying, son of man, when the land sinneth against me by trespassing grievously, then will I stretch out mine hand upon it, and will break the staff of the bread thereof, and will send famine upon it, and will cut off man and beast from it: Though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they should deliver but their own souls by their righteousness, saith the Lord God. If I cause noisome beasts to pass through the land, and they spoil it, so that it be desolate, that no man may pass through because of the beasts: Though these three men were in it, as I live, saith the Lord God, they shall deliver neither sons nor daughters; they only shall be delivered, but the land shall be desolate. Or if I bring a sword upon that land, and say, Sword, go through the land; so that I cut off man and beast from it: Though these three men were in it, as I live, saith the Lord God, they shall deliver neither sons nor daughters, but they only shall be delivered themselves. Or if I send a pestilence into that land, and pour out my fury upon it in blood, to cut off from it man and beast: Though Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, as I live, saith the Lord God, they shall deliver neither son nor daughter; they shall but deliver their own souls by their righteousness. For thus saith the Lord God; How much more when I send my four sore judgements upon Jerusalem, the sword, and the famine, and the noisome beast, and the pestilence, to cut off from it man and beast? Yet, behold, therein shall be left a remnant that shall be brought forth, both sons and daughters: behold, they shall come forth unto you, and ye shall see their way and their doings: and ye shall be comforted concerning the evil I have brought upon Jerusalem, even concerning all that I have brought upon it. And they shall comfort you, when ye see their ways and their doings: and ye shall know that I have not done without cause all that I have done in it, saith the Lord God.”
Ezekiel 14:12-23, KJV
Through this passage, God made four points clear to me.
- This was God. No matter how it was accomplished, whether the wildfires were caused by global warming or lit by arsonists, whether the virus occurred naturally or was created in a lab, He was in control.
- This was judgement. We have most certainly sinned against God by trespassing grievously on the land that He gave us to steward. We murder the unborn, capitalize on the poor, pollute the oceans, and poison the soil. Our entertainment is full of violence, murder, witchcraft, and sexual perversion. We make gods of our ambitions and hobbies. And not just the world. We who claim to be members of the body of Christ are almost indistinguishable from the world in our actions, pursuits, hobbies, and entertainment preferences.
- We would not be rescued by any person, no matter how righteous they might be. We are each responsible for obtaining righteousness from God through faith in our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
- The end result of this time would be a remnant who would glorify God. Though it looks bad now, God knows the end. He does not act hastily and without purpose. He has a plan.
God does not change. These scriptures do not only apply to the pre-Jesus world. They do not only apply to Israel or Judah. In fact, it is not until verse 21 that God addressees Judah specifically. These scriptures are as relevant today as they were in the days of Ezekiel. God is not an angry, controlling parent who doles out empty punishments because He is offended by our disobedience. However, there are consequences when we trespass grievously against Him. God’s judgments are just and are executed with purpose. He will restore the land and leave it to a remnant who will walk righteously.
After Ezekiel, God led me to Revelation.
“And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes, and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be anymore pain: for the former things are passed away.”
Revelation 21:4, KJV
At this point, I got a little nervous. Revelation is the end of the book, and the events that it foretells are not pleasant at the start. I started asking if this was a case where God was seeking intercessors to pray for redemption and healing. Ezekiel 22: 30-31 shows us that before God pours out His judgement, He first seeks out those who will humble themselves before Him and stand in the gap as an intercessor. If He does not find anyone, if all He receives are empty prayers of “God heal our land” from people who are not willing to repent and change, then He will pour out His judgement. So I opened my mouth to pray for revival, to pray for healing, and to pray for a delay. The words that came out surprised me, “Even so, come Lord Jesus.”
The return of our King draws closer every day. Our King, who will rule and reign with a rod of iron and who’s kingdom will endure forever. He will not allow pain, or sin, or death to exist in His kingdom. When He returns, He will collect His holy remnant from the earth, the final remnant of this age. And so, like Peter in 2 Peter 3:12 and John in Revelation 22:20, we should be hastening the return of our Savior and our prayer should ever be “Even so, come Lord Jesus.”
But first, the birth pains. As we draw closer to that day, we will see more pain, more suffering, more violence, more persecution. We will see things that confuse us even though they have been foretold. Things that modern science will unsuccessfully attempt to explain. We will see evil increase as God separates the light from the darkness. But there should be no fear. We know who wins in the end. God is our salvation. We must draw closer to Him. He knows the beginning from the end. He will reign victoriously. And we will be with Him forever!
I want to end with the passage that God gave me when I started to fear the things that are coming.
Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hears and minds through Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:4-6, NKJV
Look to the Ant 
I watched a program full of information pertinent for today. It gave 2 definitions.
Nescience – From the Latin verb nesciere: “to not know because knowledge was absent or unattainable.”
Ignorance – From the Latin verb ignorare: “to not know even though necessary information is present because that information has been willfully refused or disregarded.” It seems like people today willfully refuse information available perhaps because they fear it might be true. Keep sharing truth. There may be a day when some will choose not to be ignorant.
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