Is Coronavirus a Sign of The End Times? - I

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Many Americans are beginning to wonder if Cauvin, 19, is not a sign of the times.

It's been a wakeup call for you. Pastor Greg Laurie addresses one of the compelling questions of our time. Is there a last days aspect to the pandemic? Today, he provides good encouragement for us all.

You can freak out or you can look up. Jesus says when you see these things begin to happen, look up for your redemption is drawing near the.

And glad you're joining us today here on a new beginning with Pastor Greg Laurie and Pastor Greg. We'll begin today's message in just a moment.

Our life is like a movie and where the star evangelist Craig Lord, we have questions about this movie we're in. Is it a love story?

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Russia called the world's first online cinematic harvest crusade on your favorite social media platform. Labor Day weekend, September 4th, through September seven, invite a friend to tune in for a message of hope from evangelist Greg Laurie and exclusive performances by Jeremy Camp Disaster.

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Not in our lifetimes has a single event caused such worldwide upheaval. 20/20 will always be known as the year of Cauvin 19. Was it just a naturally occurring phenomenon or are there connections to the eternal realm and God's plan for the last days? Well, today I'm a new beginning. Pastor Greg Laurie helps us dig into scripture to see how current events coincide with God's word. It's the kickoff message in a short series called In Times. Living Like Jesus will return any moment.

Hey, Bible students. We're going to turn to a number of verses today.

And the first one is going to be Matthew's 16. So turn there with me, if you will. Matthew, 16. And the title of my message is, is Corona Virus a sign of the N Times? I went on a Harley ride with a friend on the coast of Southern California on what is called Pacific Coast Highway.

Some of you may know about it. And. And it just so happens that the day before the governor of California had close all the beaches down. So we get our bikes and we're cruising along and and everywhere. You saw a beach opening or an entrance to a beach. There was a sign. Beach closed. Beach closed by order of the governor. And also, there were even rangers in front of the entrances, so you couldn't go in. And so we went through Newport Beach and we went to Laguna Beach and then went in Dana Point Beach close, beach closed. And then I also saw a bunch of signs that said Soun limits and force style. That's a problem because I have very loud pipes on my Harley. You know, loud pipes save lives. And they also irritate people. So I was trying to not rub it too high. And I'm thinking there's signs and warnings everywhere. And finally, we get to San Clemente. And for some reason, they open their beaches up. So we're sitting there in front of a coffee shop and some guy starts talking to me. And as it turns out, he's a Christian. And I ask him what he does for a living. And he says, I'm a firefighter. Well, that turned out to be a good thing because my Harley caught on fire. I'm not making this up. All of a sudden, there's a fire on my engine. They said there's a fire on my engine. And right above the engine, there's a gas tank. Not a good thing. And then it doubled in size. And it's the oil. Whoa. The firefighters sprung into action, ran and grabbed a fire extinguisher from the coffee place or sprayed everything down. Everyone standing there with their coffee. What's happening? And so we're talking about should I have this thing, take him back to my house, put it on some kind of a trailer. I said, I'm riding it. So I said to my friend, just watch it. Make sure the fire doesn't start again. So we're cruising along and I'm thinking about my bike, my kids fire. And then I saw another sign. It said Sunny's Pizza. And I loved Sunny's pizza. And I saw people were inside eating one that they were actually ordering. So we went in and they actually let us eat in their outside patio and a takeout box. And so I thought, oh, I'm going to post about this. And I took a photo, put it on my Instagram page. Here I am having Sunny's Pizza. And I also mentioned that my bike caught on fire. Meanwhile, my wife is flipping through her social feeds and she sees this post. I haven't told her any of this yet. I told her, yeah. The bike caught on fire. But, man, I found a great pizza. Crazy, but it's good to read the signs, right?

Yeah. You know, there's a lot of signs out there, a lot of warnings out there that are saying one thing and that one thing is get ready because Jesus Christ is coming back again. I mean, just look at our world at this present moment. You can feel the fear in the air, the anxiety, the stress we're talking about covered 19 of practically every news story in a new words have entered our vocabulary pandemic sheltering in place, self isolation, social distancing, community spread, herd immunity, flatten the curve and tiger king. Well, that one's not really a part of it. Don't waste your time watching that, by the way. But here's another word we're hearing more often. Plagues, plagues. When I thought that was like an ancient history, like in Bible times, we've all heard the story of the plagues that came upon Egypt.

But no, we have had plagues thru out history, of course. But the Bible tells us in the last days there will be an increase of plagues. Here's a headline from a newspaper, a quote. Apocalypse Now. Here's how Americans think it will end. And this headline from The Jerusalem Post. Quote, Why? Some Christians believe Corona virus is an apocalyptic prophecy. Well, let me answer that. We believe it could be an apocalyptic prophecy to use their verbiage because the Bible says we would see this sort of thing in the last days. We would see an increase of wars. We would see the emergence ultimately of a one world government. We would also see the increase of plagues and earthquakes. There's a lot of things the Bible tells us to look for. The Bible compares the end times events to the labor pains of a woman who is ready to give birth. Now, you ladies know you moms know, of course, that as you get closer to the day of delivery, the your labor pains get closer and closer together.

So the Bible says effectively when you see these things not just happen, but happen with more intensity and they're increasing. That's a sign the end is near. You can almost take the main events of the end times and compare them to dominoes.

Once the first domino falls, all of the other dominoes will also fall in rapid succession. So let's talk about some signs of the times. And here's what Jesus himself said about it. I'm going to Matthew Chapter 16 and I'm going to read verses one to three one day. The Bible says the Pharisees and Sadducees came to test Jesus, demanding that he showed them a miraculous sign from heaven. And to prove his authority. And he replied, You know, the same red sky at night means fair weather tomorrow. Red sky in the morning means foul weather all day. You know how to interpret the weather signs in the sky. But you don't know, says our Lord, how to interpret the signs of the times. Only an evil, an adulterous generation demands a miraculous sign. And the only sign I will give them is that of the Prophet Jonah. That is Jonah with three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish. So will the son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. Now, you don't have to be a weatherman to necessarily predict that it's going to rain if the sky is filled with dark clouds. That guy developed a foolproof way to make it rain. I wanted to rain. I just washed my car and it rains. But, you know, sometimes I think I know as much as some of these weatherman know by just looking out the window and sort of figuring out what the day's going to look like. And by the way, bald men always know when it's raining first. Sometimes I'm walking with my wife and I'll say it's raining. You'll see notice. And that's all it is. And she can't. Since the rain has so much hair, I say, oh, no, bald man, always snowing. And it's true. But look, we can look around us and see effectively signs of the times telling us the coming of the Lord is near. Many Americans are beginning to wonder if Koven, 19, is not a sign of the end times. A poll was recently done by the nationally recognized McGlaughlin and Associates that revealed, quote, A stunning 43 percent of poll respondents said they believed the corona virus and resulting economic meltdown is a wakeup call for us to turn back to faith in God and quote, I think that's true. I think it is a wakeup call. Has it been a wakeup call for you? We read the letter a little bit earlier about a couple that was living in gloom and despair, and they said God used the Corona virus to wake them up spiritually and now they made a recommitment to the Lord. Are you paying attention to this wakeup call? My friend in Bible prophecy expert Mark Hitchcock, wrote these words in his new book, Korona Crisis, and I quote, I believe that the corona virus is part of the stage setting for the end times. In that sense, it's a sign that points beyond itself to future events. For example, Corona Virus is revealing the interconnectedness of the modern world as well as accelerating it. Covered 19 is speeding the rise of globalism and quote. And that's very true. As Bible students, we know the Bible tells us there's coming a world leader on the scene. He's called the Beast. He's better known as the Antichrist. He'll be initially a man of peace with global solutions, with economic solutions. But then he will require that no one can buy or sell without this special mark that he will give to them. So is that happening before our eyes? Let me put it this way. I think we are seeing things that will ultimately lead to that moment.

But I don't think it's happening quite yet. But I do believe we're getting close.

Pastor Greg Laurie will have the second half of his message in just a moment.

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Hello, Pastor Greg. I just want to let you know that a former work colleague turned me on to you and harvest Christian Fellowship and was driving in my car listening to your a new beginning radio. I repeated your prayer word for word. Towards the end of the broadcast and accepted Christ as my lord, savior and friend. Right. Heard my car after I. And it's a prayer.

The moment was so Mosul and powerful, I actually had to stop driving and pull into a parking lot. Now, for the first time in my life, I'm a member of a church, have joined two groups that my church family and I start every day with the Lord to pray, think and worship him and complete his day before going to bed because word in Scripture.

My life is done in a mazing 360 and it's full of God's blessings in so many ways. I never miss a day listening to a new beginning radio and your daily devotional. I just want to thank you and bless you, Pastor Gray, for your life of evangelism and for your hardworking, committed team at Harvest. Thank you.

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Well, today, Pastor Gregg is exploring the connections between the current pandemic and God's plan for the end times. And to hear this full message again, just go to harvest dot org.

Let's turn to another passage of scripture together. Luke Chapter 21. Luke, Chapter 21. And I want to read versus eight to eleven as Jesus talks about what will happen in the end times.

And he mentions Antichrist in a different way. He says this is in response to the question of the disciples what will be the signs of the end? And Jesus says, don't let anyone mislead you. Many will come in my name saying I am the Messiah, saying the time has come. Don't believe them. So according to Christ, one of the signs of the end times is there will come a world leader and other false prophets who will say I am the Messiah. By the way, the prefix and tie doesn't just mean against. It also means instead of Antichrist, the Beast is an alternate version of the Messiah. He is a fake messiah. Many will come saying I am the Messiah. But when you see these wars and interactions. Don't panic. Yes, these things must take place first. But the end won't follow immediately. Then Christ adds, nation will go to war against nation, kingdom against kingdom. There'll be great earthquakes and famines and plagues in many lands and terrifying things and great miraculous signs from heaven. Now, look, we've always had plagues throughout history. I mentioned the plagues that came against Egypt when he refused to release the people of Israel.

There was also the Black Death and the 13 hundreds, also known as the bubonic plague, that took the lives of two hundred million people. The Spanish flu in 1918 took the lives of 40 to 50 million people. So basically, the Bible says when you see these things happen with greater frequency, you should look up in the span of 40 years. We've had HIV AIDS, swine flu, Ebola and now corona virus. One expert said Cobh, the number of new infectious diseases like Saar's HIV and covered 19 has increased by nearly fourfold in the past century. Since 1980 alone, the number of outbreaks per year is more than triple. Okay, so these things are coming closer together with greater intensity.

So you have two choices at a moment like this in human history. You can look up or you can freak out. You can look up or you can freak out.

Jesus speaking on how people will react in the end, Times says this and Luke, 21 people will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world. Is that not an accurate description of the way that many people are feeling right now? They are apprehensive.

Some are fainting from terror, drinking, partying, drugging, anything to distract them from the reality they're facing. Sales of anxiety medications are way up. So you can freak out or you can look up. Jesus says when you see these things begin to happen, look up. Look up for your redemption is drawing near. Now, some wonder if this KOVA 19 vaccination program that is coming could possibly be the mark of the beast. Short answer. No, I don't think so. But it is interesting. And I'll talk about that more. And my message next time as we gather together as idea with Antichrist, Armageddon and the second coming. But we should not be looking for any tie. Christ, folks. We should be looking for Jesus Christ. That's where our focus should be right now.

So let me give to you sort of a flyover of the entire event, because I think this is where people get confused. If he gives this guy Antichrist. Is this it? No. Again, remember, there like a stack of dominoes close together and when the first one falls, they'll all fall. Antichrist is not here yet. And when we talk about the increase of plagues and and the wars and all those things, those are a description of what is called in the Bible, the great tribulation period that lasts for seven years. So let me give to you what I believe is the accurate order of events of the end times. Next up on the prophetic calendar is the Rapture. That's where believers are cut up to meet the lord in the air. I'll have more to say about that in a few moments after the rapture. Some time after that. This coming world leader emerges on the scene. He. He's debonair. He'll probably be on the cover of Time magazine and GQ at the same time. Think The Devil Wears Prada. He won't be dressed head to toe in black. He'll be a very persuasive, charismatic individual. A powerful world leader. And to show this, he brings about a global peace plan that works and works for three and a half years. In fact, he even comes the Jewish people to rebuild their temple. And some are so excited, they hailed him as the very messiah. But at the midway point of this seven year period called the tribulation period, Antichrist shows his true colors and he forces people to take his mark. And a series of plagues and God's judgment comes upon the world and it builds and builds and builds till the final battles of humanity known as the battles of Armageddon. And as the world is at war, the second coming takes place in Christ returns to the earth, and he establishes his kingdom. Following that, we have what is called the millennium. Millennium is a word that just means a thousand. It's a thousand year reign of Christ. And after that, heaven and earth become one. As the new Jerusalem descends, as a bride adorned for her husband out of heaven to the earth. And this is a fulfillment of the statement of Jesus are really the prayer. He taught us to pray when we pray. Our father, who art in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. So coming back to Antichrist, he cannot even be revealed. He cannot even burst on the scene until true believers are cut up to meet the Lord in the air. Second, Thessalonians, two, says this mystery of lawlessness is already at work.

Only he who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way. Then the lawless one that's the Antichrist will be revealed whom the Lord will consume with the breadth of Isma'il and destroy with the brightness of his coming.

So the constraining force in the world today is the Holy Spirit working through the church. Once the church is caught up to meet the Lord in heaven. Now, how can basically break loose and then a Christ can, to use 60s vernacular, do his thing and that's not going to be a good thing.

So if we see signs that would indicate to us that Antichrist is close, that would also be a reminder that Jesus Christ is even closer. You know, as we approach Christmas, ultimately there are the reminders that Christmas is coming and you usually start seeing the decorations and the stores and the ads in the papers and all of the commercials on television. What is it? August now. But seriously, it starts pretty early.

So all of those signs say Christmas is coming. Oh, no. You come by our tree, OK? You better get your presents. Christmas is coming. But listen, we often forget about Thanksgiving and I love Thanksgiving because they haven't completely commercialized it as they have Christmas and even Halloween. Thanksgiving is a day where we give thanks, hopefully, and enjoy a wonderful meal with their family. So here's my point. If I'm seeing all of those reminders out there that Christmas is coming. That means Thanksgiving is even sooner. So if I seen signs out there in our world seeing any.

Christ is coming, then really what those signs are saying is the coming of Jesus for his people. It's even closer.

Pastor Greg Laurie with good insight on what our current situation is telling us about the soon return of Christ. And there's more to come from this message here on a new beginning. It's a study called Is Corona Virus A Sign of the End Times. If you'd like to hear any portion of this insight again, you can go to harvest dot org for a replay. And again, the title to look for is is Corona Virus a sign of the end times or for a permanent copy on c.D dial one 800 eight to one thirty three hundred. That's one 800 A2 one three three zero zero. Well, Pastor Gray, here's a here's a question out of left field. Are you good with equations?

If that involves math, the answer is no.

Oh, well. Well, here's an easy one. OK. You take the true story of an American hero with lots of suspense and danger. You add the fact that many men's lives were at stake. You can kind of feel the tension already, can't you? Add the fact that a world war was hanging in the balance. Give that story to a gifted storyteller who also happens to be a gifted movie director, who also happens to be the real life grandson of the hero of the story.

And I'm already smelling popcorn and a box of junior mints. As I what you have together, popcorn and junior mints. I don't know if I agree with that. I talk about equations. It's popcorn in Milk Duds thing. LTA Snot Junior Mints are kind of their own thing. But yes, you're talking about a brand new book that has just been written by my friend John Irwin.

And the title of the book is Beyond Valor. Subtitle A World War Two Story of Extraordinary Heroism, Sacrificial Love in a Race Against Time. And John, of course, is a director along with his brother, Andy. They run Kingdom Studios, which is under the umbrella of Lionsgate Studios. And they did the film, I can only imagine more recently. I still believe and now John has taken his skills because really, when it's all said and done, John is not just the director. He's a storyteller. And he's telling us a powerful, true story about his own grandfather.

Read Irwin on a routine mission to carry on Japan. A bomb erupted in his face on board between Super Fortress. Smoke is now filling the plane.

The pilot has lost control. He's now going into a dark toward the Pacific. And it looks curtains for everybody.

My grandfather in that split second moment had a choice to make. His buddies lives were at stake. He knew if he didn't do something, everybody was going to die. His answer to that call and the choice that he would make would define his life and generations of lives and lead to the fastest presentation of the Congressional Medal of Honor.

We know up in our nation's history.

This has always been the story that has been the inspiration to Andy Nice Brand and our film career in movies like I Can Only Imagine and I still believe in Woodlawn, our grandfather's story is sort of the one that inspires them all. Yeah. And so it's it's a wonderful opportunity to share this story with the world in book form.

Well, it's really a story of heroism. And, you know, I think we throw the word or the term hero around rather loosely. If a guy knows, you know, five chords and a guitar, he's a good Targ hero. If he can drop a ball in a basket or kids who pass, he's a sports hero. But though those are impressive acts, they're not really heroism. A hero is someone that sacrifices some of the puts the needs of others above himself. And your grandfather was a real hero. Tell us what he did, this act of heroism that caused him to be awarded this incredible Medal of Honor by the president of the United States, William, in the Medal of Honor, as is our nation's highest military honor.

And it's given for acts of extraordinary heroism beyond the call of duty. And my grandfather's, from what we know is is the fastest presentation, the Medal of Honor in history. And he was a radio operator on board to be 29 Super Fortress. They called him Retter when it scraped red hair, looked a lot like Matt Damon before, went off to war. Basically, they were the lead plane on these missions. So you can imagine six or eight hundred of these massive bombers. And one of his jobs as the radio operator. Was to drop a phosphorus flare when they approached the target and signal all the other planes into formation on this particular raid, April 20th, 1945, a radio in Korea and Japan. They had an air pocket. And instead of the bomb deploying, it shot back up into the plane, exploded in his face and filled the plane with toxic smoke. And the plane went into an immediate dove and they were only fifteen hundred feet. And it was really just a question of whether they were gonna crash into the ocean and die or whether it was going to erupt. The six tons of bombs on the plane. And, you know, explode all the planes around them. And in some sort of a superhuman shouldn't have been able to do it act. He just felt it. A piece in a presence with him, felt God with him on the plane. And he went for the bomb instead of away from it. And he found it, clutched it like a football and began about a 20 foot march to the front of the plane and just erupted like a human fireball and moved at a moving navigator's table. Let's here his handprint and the navigator's table and got to the front of the plane. And there was a colonel on board. Colonel Strauss was sitting in the copilot seat very calmly said, excuse me, sir. And over his shoulder, he got the bomb out of the plane through the window. Smoke cleared the plane and they pulled up at 300 feet just seconds from disaster.

If you're moved by this story, and I'm sure you are of a John Ermines grandfather, Henry Irwin, known as Red, because he had a thick mane of red hair. If you want to read a powerful, inspiring story, a real page turner, as they say, but not a fictional work. A true historical story, but told in a powerful way by expert storyteller John Irwin. Then he went to order a copy of this brand new book, Beyond Valor, that we will make available to you for your gift of any size. They help us continue to bring the gospel to people and teach the word of God to people all around the world.

Yeah, that's our mission. And we hope you might partner with us so we can reach even further if you would like to partner with us. Ask about becoming a harvest partner and with your first gift as a harvest partner. We'd be glad to send you this brand new book called Beyond Valor by John Irwin Asport. When you write a new beginning box 4000 Riverside, California, nine two five one four or call one 800 eight to one thirty three hundred. That's one 800 eight two one three three zero zero. Or go online to harvest dot org.

Our life is like a movie where the star evangelist Craig Lord. We have questions about this movie we're in. Is it a love story? Is this movie a tragedy?

What is the meaning of my life? An online event is coming that can change your life. We can all use a rush of hope.

Russia called the world's first online cinematic harvest crusade on your favorite social media platform, Labor Day weekend, September 4th, through September seven. Invite a friend to tune in for a message of hope from evangelist Greg Laurie and exclusive performances by Jeremy Carp. Disaster of Mercy Me.

And for King and country.

Rush of Holt coming to a screen near you. Labor Day weekend details at harvest doors.

Well, next time, as Pastor Greg's new end time series continues, strong hope for our future.

For those who are believers in Jesus Christ. Good encouragement coming your way next time you're on a new beginning.

The preceding message from Greg Laurie was made possible by harvest partners helping people everywhere, no God sign up for Pastor Gregs free daily email devotions at Harvest StarTalk.