#CHURCHTALK 07: Is Coronavirus Outbreak a Sign of the Coming of Jesus Christ and of the End of the World?

I have heard many say and preach that Coronavirus is a sign of the End. How true is this?

Disease outbreak is not a sign that the world is about to end:
Matthew 24:7-8 [KJV] 
7. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, PESTILENCES , and earthquakes, in divers places.
8. All these are the beginning of sorrows.

THE BEGINNING OF SORROWS, not the End of the World nor the second coming of the Christ!

Matthew 24:6 [KJV] 
6. And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.

Did you see that? BUT THE END HAS NOT YET COME!

Coronavirus is not a Biblical sign of the End.

So, what is the sign of the end, you may ask?

Matthew 24:14 [KJV] 
And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall THE END COME.

You see? THEN SHALL THE END COME!

The more you hear of nations where the Gospel was previously unaccepted now accepting the Gospel, as it is with China, Egypt, lran and some other Arabian nations today, know that the end is only near. Until it reaches the whole nations, so that no one will have an excuse of not hearing the Gospel; then shall the End come!

See also: Prime Minister Boris Johnson of the UK Tests Positive to Coronavirus 

They all don't necessarily have to accept it. But, it will touch down on the soil of every nation of the world. This is already happening faster than you think. Fear to ignore the Grace in Christ Jesus than the end of the world.

A man wears a face mask amid concerns of the spreading of the coronavirus during Friday prayers in Abuja, Nigeria on 20 March 2020. © AFP - Kola Sulaimon

Is God Punishing the World with Coronavirus?
Another thing is, God is not the one using Corona virus to punish the world or to teach the world a lesson:

James 1:13
When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone. 

God does not test anyone with evil. Disease is evil. It steals one's health, it kills and destroys!

In Christ Jesus, we have been given the authority to cast out devils, to heal the sick, and have been made more than conquerors! If you follow the safety directives from the government and watch in prayers,there is nothing to be afraid of.

Jesus is the very image of the invisible God
Hebrews 1:3 [KJV] 
13. Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person... 

Colossians 1:15 [KJV] 
15. Jesus is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.

Jesus is God in human form. He went about doing good, to get people healed and saved. He was not putting diseases on them, but healing them of it. He did not tell anyone He healed that their sin had made them sick.

Schools have since been shutdown in Nigeria by the government 

Jesus said that what He sees the Father do, He does. His Father did not put disease on man so Jesus did not put disease on people. Jesus preached that we should love our enemies. So, how should one expect that He hates his enemies and put diseases on them to punish them?

Does the death of people through this Cornovirus outbreak meet up with the plan of God in His word?
Ezekiel 33:11 [KJV] 
11. Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?

God says he is not pleased at the death of Sinners. Why then will He still be the one killing the sinners with Coronavirus!

Ezekiel 18:23 [KJV] 
23. Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked? declares the Sovereign Lord. Rather, am I not pleased when they turn from their ways and live?

The Lord is pleased when sinners repent and not when they die in their sins.

1 Tim. 2:4 [KJV] 
4. God will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.

See also: COVID-19: UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres Calls for Global Ceasefire Amidst Global Pandemic 

God's aim is that everyone should be saved, no preclusion and no inclusion.

2 Peter 3:9 [KJV] 
9. The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

International flight operations have also been banned by the Nigerian government 

The patience of God towards the rapture of the saints is because He desires that all men will be saved.

We see by these scriptures both in the old testament and the new testament that God does not desire that sinners die in their sins. God does not desire the death of sinners and does not use death or infirmities or pestilence to get people saved.

What then is God's style? 
The approach of God for turning men to him is not by threat, but by preaching. In fact, He used the same method in Noah's days when he asked him to preach for 120 years, trying to convince the people towards God.

Their punishment later came as a result of rejecting the preaching. The punishment did not come so that they would come to repentance. This shows that punishment only comes when the word is rejected, which leads to the end of God's operation.

The Holy Bible

The judgement and the punishment of the world will come at the end of the world, when men would have rejected the word of God, personified as His Son, Jesus Christ. The judgement in Noah's days was not periodical. It happened once. Jesus said;

Luke 17:26 [KJV] 
26. Just as it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the days of the Son of Man.

If the coming of Christ is likened to Noahs' days, we ask, was the judgement or punishment in Noah's days periodical, or did it come at the end of preaching?

This was why Jesus said in Matthew 24:14, that the end will not come until preaching is concluded. Until it reaches the ends of the world.

God's mode of winning souls is by preaching.

1 Corinthians 1:21 [KJV] 
21. For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.

It pleases God to save man through preaching and not through outpours of pestilence, oppression or depression.

See also: What is the Church? And what are her alternatives during this crises? 

Romans 10:14 [ESV] 
14. How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?

It takes a preacher to preach the Gospel to people to get them saved.They are saved by preaching not by threats of any manner.

Men are saved by faith in Christ Jesus. It takes faith in the finished work of Christ to be saved and not by Fear.

Ephesians 2:8 [KJV] 
8. For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God.

Anyone who for fear of death, Coronavirus or hell comes to Christ, such is saved by Fear and not by Faith.

Senior Pastor, The Embassy of Zion Ministries Nigeria , Pastor Mark Desmond

Despite all that I have said herein, it is worthwhile to note that the Biblical signs of the End, as stipulated in Matthew 24:14, have been manifesting greatly, especially of late. Many non-Christian nations now have the Gospel of Christ in their nations. Thousands and thousands of people are accepting Christ daily and are becoming saved.

There are just a few nations left where the Gospel has not been preached yet. Just a few! Within the twinkling of an eye, the Gospel shall reach the ends of the world, and then shall the End come.

If you haven't accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior, the time to do that is now. Permit Him into your life and get saved with another brand new life!


Pastor Mark Desmond is the Senior Pastor of The Embassy of Zion Ministries, Nigeria. He is also the proprietor of Bismac Model Schools, Ifo, Ogun State, from where he writes. Pastor Mark can be reached via his Facebook page @Mark Desmond


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