Who Let The Hogs Out? (Pandemic in Unfolding Prophecy)
Who Let The Hogs Out? (Pandemic in Unfolding Prophecy)
And as He [Jesus] was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, Tell us when these things will be? And, what is the sign of Your coming and of the end of the age? And answering Jesus said to them, See that not any leads you astray. For many will come in My name, saying, I am the Christ. And they will cause many to err. But you are going to hear of wars and rumors of wars. See, do not be disturbed. For all things must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will be raised against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; and there will be famines and plagues and earthquakes against many places. But all these are the beginnings of Sorrows.
Matthew 24:3-8 (Green's Literal Interlinear Translation of the Bible NKJVII)
The above passage is a portion of what many theologians call the Olivet Discourse. It is no secret that this section of Scripture is one of the most taught and most dissected areas of Scripture. It is also no surprise that pastors have preached from this passage for centuries trying to reconcile world events with the Bible.
I remember growing up hearing teachings on biblical eschatology (end times teachings) any time there was a potential crisis brewing around the world. Every time there was an earthquake, every time a famine erupted in a foreign nation, every time a war broke out, someone was preaching that Christ was coming back before the stoke of the clock at midnight. Undoubtedly, these men had great intentions. Many preached this passage as a fear tactic to get the world to submit to the Lord. These "sinners" of the world were led to believe that they had better accept Christ as Lord before any divine retribution might befall them in the not so distant future. But sadly, this only added more concrete to a higher barrier between "us" and "them". The "world" eventually grew even more callous to the things of God. As information became more readily available people could research things on there own and discover that earthquakes had been happening as long as history had been recorded-and so were famines, wars and plagues. The church was caught up in a tactic that was devoid of love, and centered entirely upon the motivator of fear. Unfortunately, because there was no balance to many of these teachings, this left many with a sour taste in their mouth toward church and the Gospel. This led to the attitude of what Peter said would happen in the last days: ...scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, and saying, "Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation." (II Pet. 3:3-4 NKJV) Just try to talk to someone on the street using biblical last day prophecy as an evangelism tool. They will probably tell you that they left the "Fire and Brimstone" teachings in Sunday school when they were a child. Quite frankly, like the tenth season of a drab reality show, the world became worn out on this method of evangelistic persuasion. They became, shall we say, wise to the tactics. They understood that these part-time theologians were preaching these things because it was so general, and revelatory passages were so vague and allegorical, that anyone could have an opinion. That led people to trust in their own opinion, carried away and walking according to their own lusts... Everyone had an opinion. Truth was trampled.
But with that said, I think we need to revisit this passage. Yes, I do know the danger of becoming a fear monger myself. But Christ must have wanted us to know some of the signs that preceded His coming, right? Otherwise, they wouldn't be in the Bible in the first place.
The other day I was listening to the most recent rating-driven rant perpetuated by the media. Here it was: A brand new reason to get scared out of our minds. Hey, I thought we had gotten wise to being moved by fear mongers? I guess not. Listening to the hype and voice strain put on by overzealous reporters put me right into the set of one of my favorite movies where a killer virus breaks out across the world in a menacing pandemic of devastating proportions.
I could only think on one thing:
Who let the hogs out? Who, who, who, who, who?
Swine fluenza.
First it was Mad Cow.
Then Asian Bird Flu.
Then we had the peanut butter scare.
And we've had all these mini-outbreaks all across the world.
Now, apparently, someone let the hogs out with the flu.
And people are freaking out.
Other countries are posting doctors and nurses in airports to screen for the Swine Flu.
Others are placing infrared scanning devices in specific areas to help find those who are infected. Borders are in the process of being closed. Even our local big box store has run out of bacteria masks (shhhhh! Don't tell anyone that they still had some masks in the weed-eater® section; oh, yeah, and in the paint isle too. If you want to live, you have to be smart people! You can actually make a homemade mask by printing out this email and attaching a rubber band as a head strap. But don't tell the green earth people that you are printing an email because according to them Global Warming might kill us all before the Swine become a real threat.)
But in all seriousness, there is no need to fear this disease if you are in Christ.
You see, we have a Savior that has a name that is above all names-even the Swine Flu (Phil. 2:5-11). Remember, it is just a name made up by some person. Christ is more powerful than this name. He bore every sickness and disease on the cross (Matt. 8:16-17). We don't need to frantically run out trying to find a store that still has a mask that is really only designed to filter out dust and allergens. We have the antidote Himself. His name is Jesus. Remember that if you are tempted to put your trust in the media and try and conquer this thing yourself in your power.
The Swine doesn't have me concerned. But I am concerned about something else. I am concerned with those who do not know the Lord. I am concerned because the signs are getting closer and closer together.
Matthew 24: 8 says that: all these things (wars, diseases, famines, earthquakes, etc.) are the beginning of sorrows. "Sorrows" is an old English term that described a woman who was in travail, or who was in labor about to give birth to a baby. As any person knows, labor pains start out minimal and gradually increase in strength and frequency. The same is true with what Christ has said would be the signs of His coming in chapter 24. Yes, it is true that there have always been wars, and famines, diseases and earthquakes. And some have been so devastating that millions have died because of them. But something hit me when I heard the news the other day. The news said that several scientists in Mexico were trying to delve into the complexity of the Swine flu when a severe earthquake rocked Central Mexico. Do you see the correlation? Never before, and I googled it, has there been a massive disease outbreak and earthquake in the same region in the same week. Matthew 24:7 in the Literal Greek reads as such:
For ethnic group shall rise against ethnic group, kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, diseases, and earthquakes in certain places.
This week that "certain place" is Mexico. I don't know the why this is affecting Mexico at this time. I have prayed about it and I know there is some type of spiritual connection but have not received the answer as of yet. All I know is that this is an exciting time to be a Christian. It is not a time to be fearful, unless, of course, you have a reason to be afraid.
Check out how the secular news reported this event:
The quake rattled nerves in a city already nervous about a swine flu outbreak suspected of killing as many as 149 people nationwide.
People in Mexico City head outside after a 6.0 magnitude earthquake struck near Chilpancingo, about 130 miles southwest of the capital city.
"I'm scared," said Sarai Luna Pajas, a 22-year-old social services worker standing outside her office building moments after it hit. "We Mexicans are not used to living with so much fear, but all that is happening - the economic crisis, the illnesses and now this - it feels like the Apocalypse."
Look up, for our redemption draws ever nearer.