Weekly message: Pandemic 2020 The Lord plagues the nations with a consumption
and with fever. (Deut28:22) By Rev.Katherine
Liu Bruce Christian Arts Ministries: Biblical precepts &Gospel Music Date: March17,2020
Introduction
When
the Lord judge the earth, He strikes the nations with wasting disease, with
fever and inflammation, with scorching heat and drought, with blight and
mildew, which will plague people until they perish. (Deuteronomy28:21-22).
Today we call global disaster Coronavirus (COVID-19) as plagues to rebuke the
nations on earth, because of the evil that people have done in forsaking the
Lord.
God’s
covenant with His people is conditional. For there are the promise of blessings
and curses, if people fully obey the Lord their God and carefully follow all
His commands, and if people keep His commands and decrees that are written in
the book of the law, turn to the Lord their God with all their heart and with all
their soul. The blessings of the Lord will overflow of their life.
(Deuteronomy28:1,12; 30:10) When the
Lord's judgments come upon the earth, the people of the world learn
righteousness.(Isa.26:9) The path of the righteous is level; the Lord makes the
way of the righteous smooth. (Isa.26:1). The Lord
brings prosperity and creates disaster to affirm who He was, is, and is to
come. He is the Lord, and there is no other.
God
created mankind for His own glory; God formed people in order to proclaim His
praise, for His name sake. He strengthens people to reconcile to Himself, and redeemed
mankind through His only begotten Son Jesus bloodshed on the cross at Calvary
as ransom to pardon mankind’s sins even people have not acknowledged Him. In
God’s righteousness, sinners may be righteous in God’s eyesight and be
reconciled to heavenly Father. He waits patiently for mankind to know Him,
acknowledge Him and turn to Him, for the Lord is God, and there is no other. As
He said, “I am the Lord, and there is no other; apart
from me there is no God. I will strengthen you, though you have not
acknowledged me.” (Isaiah 45:5) It is the Lord form the
light and creates darkness, it is the Lord brings prosperity and creates
disaster as Isaiah 45:7 said, “I, the Lord, do all these things”. “Does the clay say to the potter,
“what are you making?” (Isa.45:9).
The
promise of blessing and curses of disobedient in Deuteronomy 28
When the Lord judges the earth, He strikes the
nations with wasting disease, with a fever and inflammation, with scorching heat
and drought, with blight and mildew, which will plague people until they
perish. (Deuteronomy28:21-22). Today we call global disaster Coronavirus (COVID-19)
as plagues to rebuke the nations on earth, because of the evil that people have
done in forsaking the Lord.
According
to Deuteronomy 28, God’s covenant with His people, there are the promise of
blessings and promise of curses. If people fully obey the Lord their God and
carefully follow all His commands; If people obey the Lord their God and keep
His commands and decrees that are written in the Book of the Law and turn to the
Lord their God with all their heart and with all their soul, (Deuteronomy28:1; 30:10)
then there are the blessings as follows,
“The
Lord will establish you as His holy people, as he promised you on oath, if you keep the
commands of the Lord your God and walk in His ways. Then all the peoples on
earth will see that you are called by the name of the Lord, and they will fear
you. The Lord will grant you abundant prosperity in the fruit of your womb, the young of your
livestock and the crops of your ground in the land he swore to your forefathers
to give you. The
Lord will open the heavens, the storehouse of His bounty, to send
rain on your land in season and to bless all the work of your hands. You will lend to
many nations but will borrow from none. The Lord will make you the head, not the tail.
If you pay attention to the commands of the Lord your God that I give you this
day and carefully follow them, you will always be at the top, never at the
bottom. Do not turn aside from any of the commands I give you today, to the
right or to the left, following other gods and serving them.”
(Deuteronomy28:9-14).
On contrary, if
people do not obey the Lord their God and do not carefully follow all His commands
and decrees, all the curses will come upon them and overtake them. The curses
as follows,
“The
Lord will send on you curses, confusion and rebuke in everything you put your
hand to, until you are destroyed and come to sudden ruin because of the evil you have done in forsaking
Him. (v.20) The Lord will plague you with diseases until He has destroyed you from the land you are entering to
possess.(v.21) The
Lord will strike you with wasting disease, with fever and inflammation,
with scorching heat and drought, with blight, and mildew, which will plague you
until you perish.(v.22) The sky over your head will be bronze, the ground
beneath you iron. The Lord will turn the rain of your country into dust and
powder; it will come down from the skies until you are destroyed (v.23) The Lord will
afflict you with madness, blindness and confusion of mind. At mid day you will
grope about like a blind man in the dark. You will be unsuccessful in everything you do;
day after day you will be oppressed and robbed, with no one to rescue
you.(Deuteronomy28:20-24; 28-29)
In
King James Version states the curses for disobedience in Deuteronomy 28:22, “the Lord shall smite thee with a consumption, and with a fever and with
an inflammation…”. “Consumption” in English literary
translated as “a wasting disease, especially pulmonary tuberculosis”. Today,
there are 144 countries faced the threats of pandemic disease- Coronavirus (COVID-19),
the symptoms are exactly as a wasting disease especially pulmonary tuberculosis, with fever, dry coughing and short breath. According to the
Florida Department of Health confirmed on March 24, there were 1412 people infected
and 18 died from the COVID-19. The COVID-19 has extended to the global crisis, so
many people reacted hysterically. China–Wuhan was the initiate province that people
contracted Coronavirus (COVID-19) during January 2020. The virus has been spreading
over to Italy, Egypt, Israel and many countries in Asia. Some people returned
to U.S.A. from these countries where they had already contracted COVID-19. It
affected great amount of local people. Florida Governor requested Floridians to
practice social distance and avoided joining the crowds. Fourteen days
self-quarantine to those who have shown symptoms such as fever, dry coughing, sneezing
and short breath. The groceries in Walmart Super Market were empty on the shelves
such as water, bread, meat, toilet paper, and hand sanitizer during March 2020.
I’ve been living in Orlando Florida since Apr. 2004 as citizen of U.S.A. I’ve
never seen such panic sceneries. This is my first time to hear that Courthouse,
Disney World, Universal Studio, and Sea world all subject to be closed. University,
College, and Public school changed curriculum to study online at home. Library,
Restaurants, Gym, and Fitness center all requested to be closed. Orange County
mayor implemented curfew in order to prevent COVID 19 spreading in Florida. The
Dow Jones Industry closed down-fall to the lowest about -1990 during March,
2020.
Many
Christians, ministers, and disciples humbly bowed down to seek God, and prayed
that the Lord will subside the pandemic diseases. For “the Son of Men is not
come to destroy men’s life, but save them” (Luke9:56). The Lord urged people, “go, my people, enter your rooms and shut
the doors behind you; hide yourselves for a little while until His wrath has
passed by. See, the Lord is coming out of His dwelling to punish the people of
the earth for their sins.”(Isaiah 26: 20-21). According to the Old
Testament, this pandemic disease virus as the plague in Moses’ time that the Lord sent
to Egypt, demonstrated His supreme power, authority, and mighty deeds in order
to affirm who He is, “I am who I am” released His people from slavery, and softened
Pharos’ harden heart, and let Moses led His people to Canon. When the Lord
judgments come upon the earth, the people of the world learn
righteousness.(Isa.26:9) The path of the righteous is level; the Lord makes the
way of the righteous smooth. (Isa.26:1).
God’s
promise of blessing and covenant of peace is conditional. When the Lord made a
decree and a law for His people, He said, “if you listen
carefully to the voice of the Lord your God and do what is right in His eyes,
if you pay attention to His commands and keep all His decrees, I will not bring
on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord, who heals you.”
(Exodus15:26)
Today,
what kind of sins God deals with mankind in this era? In Isaiah 45:1-25 and
Revelation 2:18-29 unveil the reason, God’s plan, and purpose. When the Lord
acts and judges the earth no one can question His sovereignty. The Lord wants
people turn to Him with all their hearts and with all their soul. Without a
consumption as pandemic, people may not acknowledge God and receive salvation. In
Isaiah 45:1-13 states,
“This
is what the Lord says to His anointed. To Cyrus, whose right hand I take hold
of, to subdue nations before him and to strip kings of their armor, to open
doors before him so that gates will not be shut: I will go before you and will
level the mountains; I will break down gates of bronze and cur through bars of
iron. I will give you the treasures of darkness, riches stored in secret
places, so that you may know that I am the Lord, the God of Israel, who summons
you by name. For the sake of Jacob my servant, of Israel my chosen, I summon you by name and bestow on you a title of honor, though
you do not acknowledge me. I am the Lord, and there is no other; apart from me
there is no God. I will strengthen you, though you have not acknowledged me, so
that from the rising of the sun to the place of its setting men may know there
is non besides me. I am the Lord, and there is no other. I form the light and
create darkness, I bring prosperity and create disaster; I, the Lord, do all
these things. (Isaiah45:1-5).
The anointed, Cyrus, which portrays as
Messiah- Christ and “Cyrus as a temporal deliverer of God’s people, serves as
an illustration of Jesus Christ, the eternal Redeemer and because vassal rulers
were anointed by their superior rulers. Cyrus’ designation as shepherd in
Isaiah 44:28. Cyrus as one who carried out God’s purposes, though used to carry
out God’s plan, Cyrus did not personally know God, as evidenced in his
ascribing his victories to “the great gods” and his defeat of the Babylonians
especially to Marduk, head god of the Babylonian pantheon.”[1]
When
the Lord judges the earth no one can question about God’s supreme power and
authority. We, mankind, are clay in potter’s hand. God predestined and elected people
and nation as Cyrus to deliver God’s people. And Cyrus portrays as Messiah
–Christ Jesus, God unveils Himself to the nations and people who don’t even
know the Lord; the purpose is to spring up the salvation to
them. It is the Lord brings prosperity and creates disaster in
order to affirm He is Lord, beside Him there is no other gods. As Isaiah
45:8-13 says,
You
heavens above, rain down righteousness; let the clouds shower it down. Let the
earth open wide, let salvation spring up, let
righteousness grow with it;
I, the Lord, have created it. Woe to him who
quarrels with his Maker, to him who is but a potsherd among the potsherds on
the ground. Does the clay say to the potter, ‘What are you making?’ Does your
work say, ‘He has no hands?’ Woe to
him who says to his father, ‘what have you begotten?’ or to his mother, ‘what
have you brought to birth?’ This is what the Lord says-
The Holy One of Israel and its Maker. Concerning things to come, do you
question me about my children, or give me orders about the work of my hands? It
is I who made the earth and created mankind upon it. My own hands stretched out
the heavens; I marshaled their starry host. I will raise up Cyrus in my
righteousness: I will make all his ways straight. He will rebuild my city and set
my exiles free but not for a price or reward, says the Lord Almighty.
(Isaiah45:8-13)
Ø What kind of sins the Lord dealt with
mankind according to Isaiah 45:16?
God
created everyone for His glory, so that mankind may proclaim His praise. As
Lord said, “Everyone
who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made…the
people I formed for myself that they may proclaim my praise.”
(Isa.43:7,21). The Lord explicitly states the purpose of creating mankind is to
proclaim His praise and for His glory. However, mankind went astray, unfaithful,
and betrayed God. They ran to other gods, and bowed down to worship the image
of idols made by gold, silver, and wood.
The Lord strongly urged people not to worship idols, for “All the makers of
idols will be put to shame and disgraced; they will go off into disgrace
together…ignorant are those who carry about idols of wood, who pray to gods
that cannot save.”(Isa.45:16,
20).
Today,
God strikes nations with coronavirus (COVID-19) to humble the people in order
to spring up His salvation. Many Chinese in China held No-God
theory, and reject to acknowledge the Lord Jesus Christ our God. Some people seek
God, however, they worship wrong gods, they pray to gods that cannot save, and worship
idols made by stone and wood. The Lord urged people, “turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the
earth; for I am God, and there is no other.”(Isa.45:22). “He who created the
heavens, He is God; He who fashioned and made the earth, He founded it; He did
not create it to be empty, but formed it to be inhabited.”(Isa.45:18).
“By myself I have sworn, my mouth has uttered in all integrity a word that will
not be revoked; before Me every knee will bow, by Me every tongue will swear.
They will say of Me, In the Lord alone is righteousness and strength.”
(Isa.45:16-24). The Lord is compassionate and gracious, He loved the people He
formed and forgave their sins. Israel has burdened Lord with their sins and
wearied Him with their offenses. (Isa.43:24) Yet, the Lord still pardoned their
sins and stated, “I, even I am He who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and
remembers your sins no more.” (Isa.43:25). And affirmed His love is
unfailing love to His people, “But Israel will be saved by the Lord with an everlasting
salvation; you will never be put to shame or disgraced, to ages everlasting.” (Isa.45:17).
Ø In Christ Jesus, we have redeemed
and the forgiveness of sin.
In this era, salvation spring
up to Gentiles through Jesus Christ, everyone who believes in Christ Jesus as
Lord Savior, he or she will receive the forgiveness of sins, and the Holy Spirit. God
chose us in Him before the creation of the world and predestined mankind to be
adopted as His sons through Jesus Christ in accordance with His pleasure and
will to the praise of His glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the
One He loves. In Him we have redemption through His blood the forgiveness of
sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace. That He lavished on us with
all wisdom and understanding and He made known to us the mystery of His will according
to His good pleasure, which He purposed in Christ. To be put into effect when
the times will have reached their fulfillment- to bring
all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.
In Him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of
Him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of His will, in
order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of
His glory.” (Ephesians 1:4-12).
Ø What kind of sins God deals with
church according to Revelation 2:20? Fornication and eat idols sacrifices
According
to the Revelation2:18-29 the Lord knows Thyatira church’s works, love, faith, service
and endurance, however, the Lord against Thyatira church because the church tolerates
the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess ad teaches and leads His
slaves astray to commit fornication and to eat idol sacrifices (Rev.2:20).
“Jezebel”, was the pagan wife of Ahab, indicating that the apostate Roman
Catholic Church is a self-appointed prophetess, one who presumes to be
authorized by God to speak for God. Roman Catholic Church strongly emphasizes
Christ as the son of Mary. Catholic church herself teaches, causing her people
to listen to her rather than to the holy Word of God and do not care for Christ
as their life and life supply which indicated by the tree of life and the
hidden manna. Which the Lord promised to the churches in Ephesus and Pergamos
(Rev.2:7,17). The apostate Roman Catholic Church filled with all manner of fornication
and idolatry both spiritual and physical. As Rev.2:20 said, “ But
I have something against you, that you tolerate the woman Jezebel, she who
calls herself a prophetess and teaches and leads My slaves astray to commit fornication and to eat idol sacrifices.” The
Lord urged, “ he who overcomes and he who keeps My works until the end, to him
I will give authority over the nations; and he will shepherd them with an iron
rod as vessels of pottery are broken in pieces, as I also have received from My
father. To him, I will give the morning star.” (Rev.2:26-28). To reign with
Christ over the nations in the millennial kingdom is a prize to the overcomers
(Rev.20:4,6) This promise of the Lord strongly implies that those who do not
answer His call to overcome degraded Christianity will not participate in the
reign of the millennial kingdom. God gave Christ the authority to rule over the
nations; here Christ gives the same authority to His overcomes. At Christ’s
first appearing the magi, not the Jewish religionists, saw Christ’s star
(Matt.2:2,9-10). At His second appearing Christ will be the morning star to His
overcomers who watch for His coming. To all the other He will appear only as
the sun. (Mal.4:2).
Ø How
to receive salvation and into the kingdom of heaven?
How to
receive salvation? My friends, turn to God and forsake idols worship and
baptize into Christ Jesus. Cyrus in Isaiah 45 portrays as Messiah, Christ Jesus
who died for all mankind’s sins; redemption had done before we were born.
Believe in Jesus Christ, call upon the name of Lord Jesus, you and your family
will be saved. For those who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His
death, and buried with Him through baptism into death in order that, just as
Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may
live a new life.
Apostle Paul stated, “If we have been united with Him like this in His death we
will certainly also be united with Him in His resurrection. For we know that
our old self was crucified with Him so that the body of sin might be done away
with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin- because anyone who has died
has been freed from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will
also live with Him. For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, He
cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over Him. The death He died, He
died to sin once for all; but the life He lives, He lives to God.”(Roman6:5-10)
Ø Stop
sin, confess your sin, sin shall not be your master rules over your life.
Therefore, do not let sin reign in your
mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer the parts of your
body to sin as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God,
as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your
body to Him as instruments of righteousness. For sin shall not be your master,
because you are not under law, but under grace. Count yourselves dead to sin
but alive to God in Christ Jesus, for the wages of sin is death, but the gift
of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans6:12-14,23).
Ø Spirit
of Christ set you free from sins and fear
If the Spirit of Christ is in you, your body
is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. And
if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, He who
raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through
His Spirit, who lives in you. If you live according to the sinful nature, you
will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body you
will live, because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For
you did not receive a Spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you
receive “the Spirit of sonship”. And by Him we cry “Abba, Father.” The Spirit
himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are
children, then we are heirs-heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we
share in His sufferings in order
that we may also share in His glory. (Roman8:10,13-17) For all of you who were baptized into Christ
have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor
free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to
Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.
(Galatians3:27).
Conclusion
The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the
Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your
strength. And be careful to do what the Lord your God has commanded you; do not
turn aside to the right or to the left. Walk in all the way that the Lord your
God has commanded you, so that you may live and prosper and prolong your days.
Fear the Lord your God, serve Him only and take your oaths in His name. Do not
follow other gods. The gods of the people around you; for the Lord your God,
who is among you, is a jealous God and His anger will burn against you, and He
will destroy you from the face of the land. Do not test the Lord your God. Be
sure to keep the commands of the Lord your God and the stipulations and decrees
He has given you.(Deuteronomy5:32-33;6:4-5,13-17). The Lord plagues the nations on earth with a consumption, a wasting
disease, especially pulmonary tuberculosis, and with a fever (Deuteronomy 28:22) because
the people on earth have done evil in forsaking the Lord, turn to follow other
gods, do not obey the Lord nor carefully follow all His commands, and
decrees. Therefore, turn to God and forsake idols worship
and baptize into Christ Jesus. Cyrus in Isaiah 45 portrays as Messiah, Christ
Jesus who died for all mankind’s sins; redemption had done before we were born.
Believe in Jesus Christ, call upon the name of Jesus, you and your family will
be saved. For those who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His
death, and buried with Him through baptism into death in order that, just as
Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may
live a new life.
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