“How good and pleasant it is when brethren dwell together in unity…” (Psalm 133:1) How vital, life-giving, essential and valuable it is.
I don’t have statistics, but I’d hazard a guess that the church body of believers have not been as divided throughout the Church Age until now, as they are over the issue of vaccines and Covid-19. Yes, perhaps the Protestant Reformation was as divisive, or the Puritans v the established Protestant Church. But these divisions help to accent my point: We are not united as a body, and we need to be as an effective witness to the world in these monstrously chaotic times.
“What does it matter what you eat or what you put on…” Yes, our Father in heaven looks out for our welfare. But sadly, folks are drawing battle lines over whether or not to wear a mask, whether or not to take a vaccine. Some in each camp even insinuate that those in the other camp are losing their salvation! Some shout ‘the vaccine contains 666’!
GOD will surely give us clear insight
From my point of view, we are not all prophets. In very recent memory, many established prophets “got it wrong” about the US presidential election. So, it is far easier to prophecy or point a finger at someone and say, “GOD told me you should….” than it is to be accurate. I celebrate the gifts of the Holy Spirit and encourage others to express themselves. But in this current climate, I’d like to look at the fruit from the exercise of these gifts as regards issues surrounding the pandemic.
The fruit of the Spirit is: love, joy peace, goodness, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness, long-suffering, self control, against which there is no law… (Galatians 5:22-23). In the hostility aroused over the pandemic issues, I see little love, joy or peace…
We are known by our fruits. What sort of fruit is being grown through this wrangle over whether or not to vaccinate? The fruit I’m concerned about is not fruit at all but hard-heartedness.
Let’s not be hard-hearted
Jesus said regarding divorce, Moses only allowed it because of their hardness of the heart. (Matthew 19:8) Of such hardness Jesus was grieved (Mark 3:5) and Paul wrote of it in Romans 2:5 “But in accordance with your hard and impenitent heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of GOD.”
Dear friends, to whom did Jesus refer when he spoke of self-righteousness and hardness of heart? The pharisees. Are we not in jeopardy of behaving as pharisees over this issue of the pandemic. Are we unequally yoking ourselves with unbelievers when we protest and rebel.*
Instead, I want to take us to a peaceful place, a place of rightness with others and with GOD as we say like Joshua, “As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”
What may really be going on
One reason for protest against the actions and decisions of governments is triggered by a sense we are not being told the truth. That is quite possible… or at least not the entire truth.
Once we are in a place of harmony with our brothers and sisters in Christ, I wish to raise a topic — risking to open a can of worms, seeking to raise an issue that runs to a deeper level than the issue of the pandemic or the vaccine, though inextricably linked to these issues.
Another possibility or back story to the pandemic entered my own mind recently, as I took time out to relax. When I allowed my thoughts to rest, gradually, an idea came to me and took root: that we are in the midst of, not so much a pandemic, but of biological warfare.
This is pure speculation on my part, though born out of some contemplation after hearing a testimony of an American to some German medics about patent requests going back to 2003 for corona viruses and their vaccines:
https://www.datascienceassn.org/content/dr-david-e-martin-testimony-july-9th-2021
My thinking trail
How did Anthony Fauci and others know to attempt to patent for corona viruses and their vaccines? How did they know so far in advance of SARS and Covid-19? (Fauci failed to secure the patents he sought at that time, take note.)
What if the virus is purely man-made and it’s release is not an accident? What if SARS was a deliberate attack during the GW Bush administration, against China? What if Covid-19 is a deliberate response? If we are engaged in biological warfare aka germ warfare, then is it no wonder we sense Western governments concealing something from us? It would be too undiplomatic politically, and too scary for citizens, to hear these truths, wouldn’t it?
And so, we just don’t know… what these viruses and vaccines are. And we perhaps don’t know the full story — Perhaps, if our governments know far more than they are telling us, maybe it is because telling us would be like putting petrol on a smouldering fire!
What if, I ponder, what if the enemy of my enemy is my friend? Thinking about Bill Gates, what if he’s actually trying to combat the Chinese and we, though caught in the cross-fire, are actually people he is trying to protect (contrary to what many think: that he’s one carrying the match!) What if?! We just don’t know.
In the big scheme of things
On the grand scale, we cannot know everything. Even Jesus didn’t know the date of his return, but only the Father (Matthew 24:36), so how can we possibly have the details of the Last Days, the machinations of Western and Foreign governments today, the intrigue and efforts of big pharma and big business?
What is relevant to us
Though we don’t know the day or hour of Jesus’ return, and though we don’t know if his return is concurrent or consecutive with many other aspects of End Time prophecy, we do know more and more of his words of the End Times are coming to fruition.** In the big scheme of things, there is a remnant of followers of Jesus, a remnant in relation to the restoration of Israel with Yehovah GOD.
What we can do
We can draw close to GOD. We can be sure we are right with our Father, the Creator of the Universe. We can love Him and love one another has Jesus commanded (John 13:34) and dwell, abide, rest in Him.
We are citizens of earth and citizens of heaven, together. We can live together in love, joy and peace, that the world will know us by our love.
As to wars and rumours of wars, whether they be biological or otherwise, these are not the end. Just as GOD forgives time and again (Matthew 18:21-22), we too must forgive our enemies and our friends. We do not war against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers. (Ephesians 6:12) And so we do not look at man nor blame man, but we look to GOD and His son, our Saviour Jesus, and follow — by the power of the Holy Spirit — to the ends of the earth, even unto the end of this earth.
We prepare, prepare, prepare: we prepare ourselves through the study of GOD’s Word, we prepare our loved ones through the gospel message, we prepare the world through our love of one another, that Israel and the World might know us by our love, and Yeshua Jesus as reflected through that love.
Hallelujah! Jesus is alive, and so are we. Fear not! Jesus has overcome the World.
What to do with our nervous energy
Never before in my lifetime, and perhaps never in modern time, has society stood still as it did during the lockdowns around the world. What was beneficial in this time?
It has gaven us time to consider GOD. Have we done it? We who claim our Saviour and Messiah as Jesus/Yeshua, when we have had extra time to be with Yehovah GOD like never before, have we used this time and opportunity wisely?
We can dig into His person, His Word, His love, His embrace and His holiness. If we have not yet, we can do so now.
We can come close together (as things open up), sharing our time, our food, with one another as they did in Acts 4:32-35, “Now the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul; neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common. And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them all. Nor was there anyone among them who lacked; for all who were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the proceeds of the things that were sold, and laid them at the apostles’ feet; and they distributed to each as anyone had need.”
And we can love one another as he first loved us.
This my friends, I do believe, is the best way through the fiery times we are in and the fiery times ahead.
Again I say, Hallelujah! Jesus is alive, and so are we. Fear not! Jesus has overcome the World.
- Some have said they attended protests as an opportunity to evangelise the gospel of Jesus, rather than to actually participate or endorse the protesting. Wonderful!
** Ezekiel 39-44: the third temple – Is it true that the altar already exists as does the Levitical priesthood?
Also: Hosea 14:2; Micah 7:18020; Joel 2:15-17