In the 24th chapter of Matthew’s gospel we find Jesus and the disciples coming out of the Temple in Jerusalem. The disciples were remarking about the beautiful stone formations associated with the nation’s primary place of worship. Jesus then quelled their revelry by telling them that there would come a day when not one Temple stone would be left upon another. Upon hearing this the disciples asked Him when this would take place. Jesus answered by giving several signs that would be seen as the end of the age approached. The “last days” would begin within a few days with His Death and the establishment of the New Testament Church. The signs: false religion, wars, pestilences, famines and earthquakes would begin upon His death and would continue with ever-destructive results until His return.

Since that conversation took place the world has produced a wide variety of false religions, been involved in hundreds of wars, experienced a number of diseases and survived numerous so-called “acts of nature.”  God had prophesied in Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28 that if man did not obey His Word He would curse him with a wide variety of curses.  God plainly said that HE would curse the ungodly for their rebellion against Him. Since then the world has progressively become more ungodly. The result has been one catastrophe after another, each more devastating than the previous one. The “four horsemen of the apocalypse” (Rev. 6) continue to ride, gathering speed and increasing in destructive power as they thunder across the world’s landscape. The current horse spreading chaos throughout the world is pictured as “pale” (sickly).  In Revelation 6 his rider is called “death” who has hell following him. God has given this rider power to kill one fourth of mankind.

Over the centuries since the Lord’s Matthew 24/ Revelation 6 warnings the world has suffered through a number of epidemics (diseases limited to a particular region) and a few pandemics (diseases that become world-wide in scope) such as the one the world is facing today. Since Christ’s warnings the world has gradually become more wicked.  As a result God’s curses have become more deadly.  The current curse from God came out of China and with  stealth and rapidity spread its terror around the world.

As Jesus promised in Matthew 24:21, the final outpouring of His wrath will amount to “… great tribulation such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this (that) time, nor ever shall be.” The curse that is coming will be more devastating and deadly than all of His previous curses combined.

Why is God doing this to mankind? Sin. Man has turned his collective back on the Almighty. His anger has been on display of late and will continue to increase in severity until His Son returns to set everything in order. What we are experiencing today is merely “… the beginning of sorrows.” L.J.