Coronavirus and the Birth Pangs

This COVID-19 pandemic calls to my mind what Jesus said about the “birth pangs” that would precede the last days.

As Jesus sat on Jerusalem’s Mount of Olives, the disciples Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked him, “What will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?” (Matthew 24:3, Mark 13:3-4) In Matthew’s and Mark’s gospels Jesus mentions three signs that would be “the beginning of birth pangs” that would precede the “great tribulation” (Matthew 24:21): wars and rumors of wars, famines, and earthquakes.

But Luke’s gospel adds a fourth sign: plagues—that is, diseases, epidemics, pandemics. (Luke 21:10-11)

Are we experiencing the “birth pangs” now? I don’t know. But I do know that three of these four signs—wars, famines, and plagues—are what scientists predict will one day happen if climate change continues to grow out of control.

For more on climate change and how it may be fulfilling biblical prophecy, see chapter 11 of my book, Beyond Blind Faith, which you can read here.