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Pestilence: The White Horse from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo.

Today I want to talk about pestilence in scripture. A hot topic on the news today is the Coronavirus that is ravaging countries. While I am writing this, the cases reported have increased thirteen fold in China, and Italy has now shut down all transportation except to medical facilities and grocery stores. It has become a serious threat that is spreading around the world. The World Health Organization are calling it a pandemic, a disease that is capable of affecting entire countries, or the entire world.

What does this mean for us? Doesn’t God see what is happening? Yes. He does. One of the first things that I want to make clear is that we live in a fallen world, and if you read the Bible, you will know that the times that are coming will not be a bed of roses. As a rule, extreme sinfulness brings bad things on the Earth, things like floods, famine, plagues, pestilences, war. It’s not necessarily your sin, but quite possibly I had a hand in it. You just happen to share the planet with me. It’s ok, God is not surprised at the outbreak and He is still on the throne today.

When we examine the word “pestilence” closer, I can’t help but notice that the definition sounds exactly like the headlines today. Pestilence occurs about 44 times in the New King James translation:

Pestilence: Strongs Hebrew 1822 / Greek 3369: disease, plague, pestilence, a pandemic occurrence of sickness that causes widespread death, often with the associative meaning of judgment from God (Ex 5:3; 9:3, 15; Lev 26:25; Nu 14:12; Dt 28:21; 2Sa 24:13, 15; 1Ki 8:37; 1Ch 21:12, 14; 2Ch 6:28; 7:13; 20:9; Ps 78:50; 91:3, 6; Jer 14:12; 21:6, 7, 9; 24:10; 27:8, 13; 28:8; 29:17, 18; 32:24, 36; 34:17; 38:2; 42:17, 22; 44:13; Eze 5:12, 17; 6:11, 12; 7:15; 12:16; 14:19, 21; 28:23; 33:27; 38:22; Hos 13:14; Am 4:10; Hab 3:5+).

Sadly, pestilence is a direct result of disobedience. It is a promise from God that is not very popular today:

(Leviticus 26:14 NKJV)  ‘But if you do not obey Me, and do not observe all these commandments … (26) when you are gathered together within your cities I will send pestilence among you…

Ouch. Why would He do that? Isaiah said (Isaiah 26:9 NKJV) ….”For when Your judgments are in the earth, The inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.”

People tend to forget about God when things are going well, but when it hits the fan, they suddenly remember Him. There are so many promises made to God in the hospital that they could not possibly be counted. “Oh God please help us! If You will only…” Have you ever uttered those words? I have.

We have examined what a pestilence is, and why they come, but what do we do?

(2 Chronicles 7:13–14 NKJV)  When I shut up heaven and there is no rain, or command the locusts to devour the land, or send pestilence among My people, if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

God’s people, us, the ones who are called by His name, are to turn from our wicked ways, which means to repent, to change course. To “Humble ourselves” means to fast. Then we pray and seek His face, and He promises to forgive us and heal our land. Pestilence comes to encourage repentance, and a turning to God. We can pray for Him to take the pestilence away, but He told us what to do: repent, fast, and pray.

I am sorry to see new diseases appear on the Earth like HIV, SARS, the Coronavirus, and others emerging that have never been seen before in humans, but suffice it to say, it is going by the Book. It is written. Jesus had this to say about our future:

(Matthew 24:4–8 NKJV)  And Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows.

We should not be surprised and should brace ourselves for even more of this down the road. This is how world wide revival will come about. That is its purpose. People are far too busy to worry about knowing God today. Think of this as a tap on the shoulder, God saying “Hey I wanna talk with you a moment. Can I have your attention please? Can you put down your phone for a minute?” Pestilence is one of the four horsemen of the apocalypse mentioned in the book of Revelation (Revelation 6:8), the white horse. Jesus said that before He returned, there would be times when men’s hearts would fail them for fear (Luke 21:26).

Today people worship many gods and idols on the Earth, some worship trees. In the times coming, we will see who has the power to save. They can pray to their tree to save them, but like Joshua, me and my house will serve the Lord.

There is hope. God’s people do not have to live scared of what may happen for He is more than able to protect you through it, but you need to stay close to Him. The plagues on the Israelites started on the outskirts of the camp, those who were farthest from the Lord (Numbers 11:1). So walk close. Live your life ready to die with no regrets. Abide in the shadow of the Almighty. Today I take comfort in the words of Moses, who saw many plagues and pestilences in his time, yet he lived through them all:

(Psalm 91:1–16 NKJV)  He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust.” Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler And from the perilous pestilence.

He shall cover you with His feathers, And under His wings you shall take refuge; His truth shall be your shield and buckler. You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, Nor of the arrow that flies by day, Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, Nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday.

A thousand may fall at your side, And ten thousand at your right hand; But it shall not come near you. Only with your eyes shall you look, And see the reward of the wicked. Because you have made the LORD, who is my refuge, Even the Most High, your dwelling place, No evil shall befall you, Nor shall any plague come near your dwelling;

For He shall give His angels charge over you, To keep you in all your ways. In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone. You shall tread upon the lion and the cobra, The young lion and the serpent you shall trample underfoot. “Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him on high, because he has known My name. He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him, And show him My salvation.”

God’s people do not have to live in fear. No disease or virus outbreak will ever catch Him off guard for He sees the very end, from the very beginning. Here is the way that I view pestilence through the eyes of scripture:

* Pestilence is a pandemic, world wide occurrence of sickness that causes widespread death.

* Pestilence often comes because of disobedience.

* When the judgments of God are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.

* The cure is for those who are called by His name to repent, fast, and pray, to seek His face.

* Our hope is in the Lord and the promise of Psalm 91, though 10,000 fall it shall not come near our house, and even if it did, He is more than able to see us through it, and even if He did not, then heaven awaits. It doesn’t get much better than that.

Have faith in God while the world shakes and trembles around you. You can pray this with me if you like:

Prayer: Heavenly Father, our eyes are on You for we are Yours Lord. Please forgive our nations of their wickedness, forgive us of our sins, and change our hearts and minds. We humbly ask that You protect Your people, set us apart from the world, and let no pestilence come near us, in the name of Jesus Christ I pray. Amen.