Is The Coronavirus A Judgment From God? – Part 2

Hi, I'm Robert Jeffress, and I'm glad to serve as your Bible teacher every day on this great radio station.

On today's edition of Pathway to Victory. A plague is a natural disaster that is supernaturally timed as a manifestation of God's judgment. The question that we're looking at today is, is the coronavirus one of those plagues that is talked about in the Bible?

Is it God's judgment against the earth? Welcome to Pathway to Victory with author and pastor, Dr. Robert Jeffress. You know, when COVID-19 first emerged as a worldwide pandemic, a lot of folks started to wonder, could this be the beginning of the end? Today on Pathway to Victory, Dr. Robert Jeffress explains that while the coronavirus is certainly devastating, the actual end times judgments described in Revelation will be much, much worse. Now, here's our Bible teacher to introduce today's message.

Dr. Jeffress. Thanks, David, and welcome again to Pathway to Victory. Amy and I have learned that taking a restful vacation is vitally important to our spiritual, physical, and emotional health. Well, along those lines, I'm pleased to tell you that you're invited to join us on the luxurious Pathway to Victory Cruise to Alaska, June 15th through 22nd this coming summer. I guarantee that you'll come home with a renewed sense of purpose and energy as a result of spending time in the majestic beauty of Alaska. Our special guests include comedian Dennis Swanberg, Christian music artist Rebecca St. James and Michael O'Brien, and I'll be teaching from God's Word.

So go to ptv.org to look at the itinerary and to book your place on the Alaska cruise, June 15th through 22nd. Well, you're likely listening to our program today because you are fascinated with the Book of Revelation and the glimpse God has provided in John's Revelation about the final unveiling of Jesus Christ to the world. Just after today's message, we'll explain how you can request a number of Bible study tools that will enhance your understanding of Revelation. For example, I've written a brand new book that's called Mysteries of the End Times. Plus, I've also written a helpful booklet about the major characters of the end times. This booklet is about 50 pages in length, so it won't take long to read, but it will help you understand 15 of the major figures in God's future timeline. Both resources are yours when you give a generous gift to support the growing ministry of Pathway to Victory. But more about these resources later. Right now, let's turn in our Bibles to Revelation chapter 15.

I'm tackling a controversial topic today. I titled today's message, Is the Coronavirus a Judgment from God? We know in the past, if we believe the Bible, that God used sickness as judgment. We know that in the future, God is going to use sickness as a judgment from him.

So it's not an unreasonable question to ask, is the coronavirus a judgment from God? And that leads to a statement, and that is we dare not speak what God has not spoken. We dare not speak what God has not spoken. I can say God hates abortion.

I can say God judges a nation that permits and celebrates the killing of children. But what I cannot say is the coronavirus is God's judgment against America for the sin of abortion. That is being presumptuous. And that's what we've got to be careful of when we get to something like the coronavirus. The final truth is we can say with confidence that the coronavirus is not one of the plagues in Revelation. It's not one of the plagues we're looking at in chapters 6 through 19.

How can I say that with confidence? That's easy. Because we're not yet in the tribulation. There is no antichrist ruling over the world.

There is no ten-nation confederacy. There is no temple that which he is going to defile. And most importantly, there has been no rapture of the church yet.

We're still here. So this coronavirus, whatever it is, is not one of the plagues mentioned in the book of Revelation. Well, pastor, how should we respond to this plague? How do we avoid what I call the pandemic panic? You know, the Bible, I think, gives us two ways to handle a crisis like this.

One way, the first way, is through prayer. The second thing I would add is precaution. You need to think and act sensibly. Take common sense precautions.

That's not a lack of faith. That's just right thinking. I mean, look, here's a good way to think about this as we're facing this coronavirus. And that is pray. Pray as if your safety completely depends upon God. And secondly, take precaution as if your safety completely depends upon you. And if you'll do those two things, you'll probably make it through this just fine. But the overriding truth is we are not to be overcome with worry and panic. But think as so as to have a sound mind.

That's a great rule of thumb. Now look back at verse one. One reason I said that I know the coronavirus is not one of these judgments is we're not in this time yet. But these seven plagues, verse one says, which are the last.

That word is eschatos. We get our word eschatology, the study of the last things. These plagues are the last because of in them, in these final plagues, the wrath of God is finished. This judgment, these final seven plagues are God's final expression of his wrath, phimos in Greek, his anger against the earth. Again, people, you've heard them say, oh, I don't believe in a God of anger. I believe in a God of love. Again, you're worshiping an imaginary God. God is love.

Make no mistake about it. God loves mankind. He's not willing that any should perish. That doesn't mean none will perish, but he doesn't want that.

He wants all to come to a knowledge of the truth. But God is also a God of wrath, a God of anger. The Bible says God cannot allow the guilty to go unpunished. His holy nature demands that there be a payment for sin. And either you can pay for your sin yourself for all eternity or you can allow Christ to have paid for your sin when he died on the cross for you.

But God's holy nature demands that his wrath be poured out on someone for sin. Now, this is what John saw. He saw these seven plagues. Notice the second thing he saw in verses two to four, two songs of praise. The song of Moses and the song of the Lamb.

Look at verse two. He said, and I also saw something like a sea of glass mixed with fire and those who have been victorious over the beast and his image and the number of his name. They were standing on the sea of glass holding harps of God. We saw a sea of glass in Revelation four. Remember the sea of glass before the throne of God.

And we sang holy, holy, holy. That sea of glass represented the holiness of God. This appears to represent something else. The people, the tribulation saints are standing on the sea of glass that is mixed with fire.

I think this is a picture of those who are going to be slaughtered during the tribulation who were believers, but they refused to take the number of the beast. And now they have come out of this world and its judgments, its fiery judgments, and they are standing, saved and delivered by God. And notice the song that they sang, verse three, and they sang the song of Moses, the bondservant of God. You may say, well, I didn't know Moses sang. Well, did you know the very first hymn in the Bible was composed by Moses? It's found in Exodus chapter 15.

After the children of Israel passed through the Red Sea, they were delivered from Pharaoh. When they got to the other side, Exodus 15 says Moses composed a hymn. It's called the song of Moses, the very first hymn of the Bible recording God's power to deliver from Pharaoh, who was a type of the antichrist. After these tribulation saints are delivered into God's presence, they will sing the song of Moses, and secondly, they will sing the song of the Lamb.

That's a new song, and we have a portion of it recorded here. Great and marvelous are your works, O Lord God the Almighty, righteous and true are your ways, king of the nations. Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify your name? For you alone are holy, for all the nations will come and worship before you, for your righteous acts have been revealed. All of the nations are going to worship before the Lamb. Perhaps John, in hearing this song, was thinking about Paul's words in Philippians 2 when he said, For at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow in heaven, on earth and under the earth, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. One commentator, John Phillips, has compared the song of Moses with the song of the Lamb this way. The song of Moses was sung at the Red Sea.

The song of the Lamb is sung at the Crystal Sea. The song of Moses was a song of triumph over Egypt. The song of the Lamb will be a song of triumph over Babylon. The song of Moses told how God brought his people out, out of Egypt. The song of the Lamb tells how God brings his people into heaven. The song of Moses was the first song in Scripture, and the song of the Lamb is the last. This is the last recorded song in the Bible. There's a third thing John saw, the final thing, verses 5 through 8, and this is the heart of the chapter.

Again, he says, after these things. I looked, and the temple of the tabernacle of testimony in heaven was opened. Remember when John wrote these words, the earthly temple had already been destroyed in 70 AD, but that was just a replica of what's in heaven.

He said, I looked up and I saw heaven open, and there was the temple. You'll remember that the holiest part of the temple was the Holy of Holies, where the high priest went in once a year to make atonement for the sins of the people. Of the things in that Holy of Holies, the most interesting was the tabernacle of testimony. That's just a phrase that describes the Ark of the Covenant. Remember the Ark of the Covenant?

There was a box that had inside of it several things, but it included the Ten Commandments, the stone tablets. On top of that ark was the mercy seat, golden lid on the Ark of the Covenant, and the cherubim, the replica of the angel stood on either side, symbolizing the presence of God. Once a year, the high priest would come in and he would sprinkle blood, cover that mercy seat, that lid, cover it with blood, and the picture was God looked down on the law which his people had broken, but instead of seeing the broken law, he saw the blood of an innocent animal, all pretending of the death of Christ, the Lamb of God, for our sins. Well, John looked up into heaven and he saw that Ark of the Covenant, symbolizing the law of God. And notice that the angels were coming out of that Holy of Holies. That symbolizes that these judgments that they are about to pour out upon the earth are related to the law. The law had been so rebelled against that God's judgment is certain.

Look at this. And the seven angels who had the seven plagues came out of the temple. They already had the plagues in hand.

They were clothed in linen, clean and bright, and they were girded around their chest with golden sashes. And then one of the four living creatures, that's one of the angels symbolizing earth's creation, gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God who lives forever and ever. The angels had already been given the plagues, but then each angel was given a bowl. Now, this bowl, this word bowl, isn't like the cereal bowl I used this morning for my bran flakes, you know, that is deep and you can put a lot of stuff in there.

The word bowl literally means a saucer, very thin. The angels are coming out with the plagues of God, and then they had these saucers with the wrath of God in it, God's anger again towards sin. And apparently the plagues are mixed with the wrath of God, and as we're going to see next time, they're going to be dumped out on the earth very quickly.

The idea of a saucer is it doesn't take long to empty its contents. These are the seven bowls full of the wrath of God who lives forever and ever. And the temple, this is so interesting, the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from his power, and no one was able to enter the temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels were finished. In other words, these judgments are now so inevitable. The countdown clock has started that nothing can prevent these judgments from being accomplished on the earth.

This is a prelude to those bowl judgments we'll see next time in Revelation 16. What does all of this mean to us today? Let me close today briefly with three timeless truths from Revelation 15 and how they apply to you.

Write them down. Number one, no one can approach God in his own righteousness. Nobody can approach God in his own righteousness. Regardless of what you hear today, you're not free to come to God anytime you want, any way you want. That picture of the temple in heaven is a reminder that you have to approach God in his way, in his way. You see, the Bible says the only people who can stand in the presence of God now and throughout eternity are righteous people.

Again, the Old Testament says God's eyes are too pure to look upon sin. A holy God cannot have fellowship with sinful man. Only the righteous, that word means to be in a right standing with God.

Only the righteous can stand in God's presence. And who is it that is righteous? No one. No one. Remember in Romans chapter three, Paul quotes from Psalm 14, there is none righteous, no, not even one, there is none who understands, there is no one who seeks for God, for all have turned aside.

Together they have become useless. There is none who does good, there is not even one. Oh, pastor, I don't believe that. I mean, what about somebody who puts up a home for Habitat for Humanity or all the people who are working in India right now to bring relief?

I mean, they're good people. Not in God's eyes. There is not one righteous person. There is no one who does good in and of his own. In fact, to go one step further, Isaiah the prophet records the word of God who says, for your righteousness, the best you can do before God is like a filthy rag in the presence of God.

Not to be offensive, but you've heard me say before that Hebrew word for filthy rag is a word associated with menstruation of a woman. That's how he evaluates it. There is no one righteous enough to stand in the presence of God. The only way we can stand in God's presence is when we come to him not in our righteousness, but on the basis of Christ's righteousness. You see, when you trust in Jesus to be your savior, when you trust in Jesus for the forgiveness of your sins, God takes your sin and he nails it to the cross of Jesus Christ where it's paid for. God takes the righteousness of Jesus Christ and wraps it around you so that when God looks at you, he no longer sees your filthy sin. He sees the perfection, the righteousness of his own son, Jesus Christ. That's why Paul prayed in Philippians 3, verse 9. He said, my prayer is that one day I might be found in him, Jesus, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the law, but having the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith.

That's truth number one. Nobody can approach God in his own righteousness. Truth number two, God's purposes are sometimes hidden from us. When these plagues begin, smoke, the presence of God fills the temple so that nobody can see God. They won't be able to see God, but they'll see the manifestation of God on earth.

Some of you right now, maybe you're going through an experience in your life, calamity, unexpected circumstances. It may not have anything to do with your sin or disobedience. It could be part of God's plan.

You can't see the outcome of that plan yet. When you try to look into heaven, you see nothing. God seems blocked from you. You don't understand what's happening in your life, but here's something you can always remember. Even when you can't see God's hand, you can always trust God's heart.

If you're a child of God, you can claim the promise that God is causing all things in your life to come together for good to those who love God and are called according to his purpose. The final truth in this passage is, and this is going to seem strange to some of you, but stay with me. There is a time when it is too late to pray.

There is a time when it's too late to pray. That's the most direct application of this passage. Again, look at verse eight. And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from his power so that no one was able to enter the temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels were finished.

Why is it that people went into the temple or had the priest go into the temple for them? In order to receive God's forgiveness, in order to receive God's help. But once these plagues are starting to be poured out, the Bible says there is no more forgiveness.

There is no more help. The time for praying and repentance is over. There will be that time in this world's history.

There will be that time in your life as well. When we search through the Bible, we see, for example, in the days of Noah, God preached through Noah repentance, forgiveness that was available to anyone. Noah preached that message for decades. But then came the day when the Bible says God shut the door to the ark and no one was allowed in. Or in the days of Amos the prophet. Amos the prophet warned the northern kingdom Israel that an invasion was coming, but they could repent. But then came the time when there was no more time for repentance. And Assyria came and took the north captive. What is true in biblical history is true in your life as well.

There comes a time when it's too late to go to the throne of grace to refine mercy and help in your time of need. I was rereading the story this week of Carl Wallenda. You may know that name. He was the founder of the Flying Wallendas, the greatest tightrope walkers in the world. On March 22, 1978, Carl Wallenda was in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and he was going to do one of his favorite stunts.

It was a relatively easy one. A wire was strung between two buildings on the 10th floor, 120 feet above the ground. And Carl Wallenda walked out on that narrow wire and walked across and did a few tricks on the wire. Got to the halfway point, went a little bit past the halfway point, and he noticed the wind started to pick up. He had passed the point on that wire of no return. He couldn't go back. All he could do was go forward.

And a few steps more, the wind knocked him off of the wire, and he fell to his death. Ladies and gentlemen, listen to me. There is a point of no return in your life, in your relationship with God. There comes a time, and I don't know where it is in your life, when you have so often said no to God's grace. You have so often neglected God that you have lost the opportunity for repentance and forgiveness. And all that awaits you is the terrifying expectation of God's judgment. That's the message of Revelation 15.

There's no reason that anyone should risk their life on a tightrope and walk beyond the point of no return. At Pathway to Victory, we're praying that God would use this study in Revelation 15 to bring men and women to Himself. Thankfully, we're hearing from thousands of people around the world who are telling us that this study in Revelation has opened their eyes to the truth about Jesus Christ. Listen to this encouraging word from Wesley, who wrote, Pastor Jeffress, I pastor a small church in Northern Ireland. My wife and I are truly blessed to watch your Revelation series on television.

Sadly, in our country today, the powers that be are heading towards secularism and anti-Christian attitudes. Thank you for your forthright exposition of the word of God. Well, thank you, Wesley. And thanks to anyone who gives generously to Pathway to Victory. You're making it possible for us to pierce the darkness with the light of God's word all around the globe.

And right now, I'm going to say thanks for your support in a tangible way. When you give a generous gift to support the ministry of Pathway to Victory, you're invited to request my brand new book called Mysteries of the End Times, five little known truths about God's plan for the future. And in fact, if you respond today, I'll make sure to include a booklet I've written called The Major Characters of the End Times. Written in a style that's clear and practical, my new booklet describes 15 of the major figures in God's future timeline. Both my book and the booklet will be sent immediately to you as my thanks for your much needed partnership with Pathway to Victory. Now here's David to tell you more.

Thanks, Dr. Jeffress. To request your copy of the brand new book Mysteries of the End Times, along with the booklet titled The Major Characters of the End Times, simply contact Pathway to Victory with a generous gift. Here's the phone number, 866-999-2965, or go online to ptv.org. Now when you give $100 or more, we'll also include the complete CD and DVD teaching sets for this month's series on the book of Revelation.

Plus, you'll get a copy of the bestselling book by Dr. Jeffress titled Final Conquest. Again, call 866-999-2965 or go to ptv.org. You could also write to us, here's that address, P.O. Box 223609, Dallas, Texas, 75222. Again, that's P.O. Box 223609, Dallas, Texas, 75222.

I'm David J. Mullins. With all the chaos and unrest in our world today, it certainly feels as if we're living in the end times. But the trials we're facing right now are nothing compared to what will take place during the Great Tribulation. Join us for a message titled The Road to Armageddon. That's Wednesday on Pathway to Victory. Pathway to Victory with Dr. Robert Jeffress comes from the pulpit of the First Baptist Church of Dallas, Texas.