The Global Pandemic of Deadly Diseases in the Last Days
“For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; and there shall be famines, and [diseases], and earthquakes, in [different] places. All these are the beginning of sorrows.” – Matthew 24:7-8
By Mike Wingfield
In recent months, the world community has become alarmingly aware of the threat of a global outbreak of Ebola. The transmission of this deadly disease from Western Africa to the United States has sent the medical world scrambling for answers to stop its spread before it spirals out of control. If unchecked, this disease has the potential to kill tens of millions of people around the world.
About six decades ago, most people thought the world would never again be faced with a serious plague of deadly diseases. Many concluded that modern medicine had a silver bullet to deal with any type of disease that mankind would encounter. Since the discovery and use of antibiotics and medical innovations through the advancement of technology, many people thought humanity was now medically invincible.
However, in the last few decades, the world has gradually been reminded that the wonderful medical achievements that seemed to have made us think we are invincible, have in reality made us more vulnerable than ever before to the inevitable global spread of deadly diseases.
Now, medical researchers are more concerned than ever with what they have discovered. They know that there are thousands of known viruses and have identified hundreds of thousands of strains of bacteria. Whenever these viruses and bacteria enter into a living organism, they have the potential to mutate, producing new diseases for which, in some cases, there are no immediate cures. These newly mutated microscopic germs are clever and dangerous. They can cause cancer, or chemically manipulate the human immune system to their advantage, and hide for years inside human DNA.
About 15 years ago, while I was studying the Scriptures and the medical research available on this subject, the Lord brought into my path a medical doctor. Dr. Matthew Patrick had been hired by the federal government to lecture to EMTs and doctors across America. His lectures centered on the threat of deadly diseases and their potential sudden transmission to millions of Americans due to the use of a biological weapon. Dr. Patrick was the brother of a man who pastored a church near Pittsburgh. I was scheduled to speak at this church, and when the pastor picked me up at the airport; Dr. Patrick had just happened to be accompanying him. Once we were together inside the car, Dr. Patrick introduced himself to me and began to ask me about my ministry. He was very knowledgeable about the prophetic Scriptures and began to question me about certain prophetic subjects. Then, he passionately fired a question to me: “Have you ever considered what the Bible has to say about the pandemic of deadly diseases in the last days?” I was stunned! This was the very area I was researching at the time, but was somewhat at a loss to know where to begin my investigation. I wanted to know what medical analysts were saying about this whole subject. For about 30 minutes, Dr. Patrick gave me a thorough overview of his own personal research. He also detailed his assignment from the federal government to teach medical professionals in the United States about infectious diseases. He then suddenly reached inside his brief case and handed me his personal copy of Laurie Garrett’s award winning book, The Coming Plague, Newly Emerging Diseases in a World out of Balance. This book, published a few years earlier in 1994, was well worn and marked. He told me that he wanted me to have his personal copy to assist me in my research. After church the next morning, Dr. Patrick left. I began to pour over the book he had given me and it has amazed me since how the Lord perfectly timed Dr. Patrick’s assistance in understanding this complex issue and helping me develop the very message I am sharing with you in this newsletter.
Although Garrett’s book was published 18 years ago, it is still considered to be an invaluable tool in understanding the threat of emerging global diseases. In the opening page of the book, Garrett writes: “The history of our time will be marked by recurrent eruptions of newly discovered diseases,… epidemics of diseases migrating to new areas, … and diseases which spring from insects and animals to humans, through man-made disruption to local habitats.
“[There exists] the increased potential that at least some of these diseases will generate large-scale, even worldwide epidemics. The global epidemic of [Aids] is the most powerful and recent example. Yet AIDS does not stand alone; it may well be the first of the modern, large-scale epidemics of infectious diseases.
“The world has rapidly become much more vulnerable to the eruption and, most critically, to the widespread and even global spread of both new and old infectious diseases.” (Laurie Garrett, The Coming Plague, p. xv)
According to the prophetic Scriptures, our world needs to heed the warning of Garrett and others in the medical field. The Bible is filled with warnings that the last days will be marked by global plagues of deadly diseases. In Matthew 24:7 and Luke 21:11, Jesus taught that there would be “pestilences” at the end of this age. This word refers to a plague of deadly diseases. According to Revelation 6:8, one-fourth of the world’s population will die in the opening months of the Tribulation Period, due in part to diseases. They will be killed “with the sword, and with hunger, with death and with the beasts of the earth.” (Revelation 6:8) Within the context of Revelation 6, I believe we are being told that this massive death toll will be the result of global Islamic jihad (described in Revelation 6:2-4), famine (mentioned in Revelation 6:5-6), and the transmission of diseases that will be carried by animals (“with death, and with the beasts of the earth,” Revelation 6:8).
For years, Bible students have puzzled over the statement in Revelation 6:8 that people will be killed “with death, and with the beasts of the earth.” To say that people are killed “with death,” very well could be a reference to diseases that erupt due to the massive numbers of rotting corpses that have been left behind by Islamic jihad warriors around the world. In light of the horrific jihadist activities by the Islamic State warriors in Syria and Iraq, we are currently witnessing a small-scale example of what is coming to earth during the Tribulation Period. It has been the practice of Islamic jihadist warriors for centuries to leave corpses of those they have tortured and brutally murdered to rot for days to terrorize those left behind. Everyone recognizes the potential that this carries for widespread diseases to those who come in contact with these dead bodies. For another example of God’s judgment upon Islamic warriors who invade Israel in the last days and are killed by diseases, read Ezekiel 38:18-22; 39:11-16 and Joel 2:20. The possibility of this interpretation seems to fit the context of Revelation 6.
Furthermore, when Revelation 6:8 states that people will be killed “with the beasts of the earth,” this could mean one of two things. First, this could be a symbolic reference to the savage brutality of these Islamic warriors who kill people without any remorse, acting like wild animals that indiscriminately kill other animals and devour them. Please notice that God gave Daniel a vision of the murderous kingdoms of history. They were depicted as savage beasts that devour human beings. (Read Daniel 7.) In the book of Revelation, the Antichrist and the False Prophet are continually referred to as beasts. (Read Revelation 13.)
Several sources have reported that some Islamic jihadists in Syria and Iraq have been collecting blood from Christians they have beheaded. They then sell a vial of this blood for as much as $100,000 to wealthy Muslims in Saudi Arabia. Some radical Muslims believe that if they wash their hands in the blood of a beheaded Christian they will have their sins forgiven and be guaranteed entrance into heaven upon their death. This chilling activity certainly suggests that these savage terrorists are acting as if they have no conscience. They are acting like wild beasts.
A possible second interpretation of the reference to people being killed “with the beasts of the earth,” could be the contraction of deadly diseases that have come from people being in close contact to animals that carry deadly diseases. In recent decades, there have been some cases of human beings contracting diseases from animals. Known examples are: swine flu, bird flu, and mad-cow disease. With the mass production of animals for human consumption and the increase of pork and beef in the daily diets of affluent societies, such as the U.S., the threat of these kinds of diseases are always lurking in the background. “Of the roughly 400 emerging infectious diseases that have been identified since 1940, more than 60% are zoonotic [they came from animals].” (The Guardian, November 9, 2013)
Humans can contract these diseases from infected animals by eating their flesh. For example, meat tainted by mad-cows disease, when consumed by humans, can affect the human brain at a later time. “… the symptoms it produces are neurological. It may start out subtly with insomnia, depression, confusion, personality and behavioral changes, and problems with memory, coordination, and sight. As it progresses, the person rapidly develops dementia and involuntary, irregular jerking movements called myoclonus. … In the final stage of the disease, the patient loses all mental and physical functions, lapses into a coma, and eventually dies.” (www.rarediseases.about.com/od/rare diseases1/a/vcjd.htm){article no longer available at this address, sending you to the front page} Since its discovery, only 164 people in the world have been diagnosed with mad cow-disease.
God’s people can take great joy in the fact that the Bible repeatedly testifies that our Creator has complete control over the body of every person. The health, sickness, and death of everyone are fully under His control! However, this does not mean that we do not bear some human responsibility in this matter. The Lord has created our bodies to naturally respond to His holy standards – mentally, physically, and spiritually. Our wellness or sickness can be impacted by our mental, physical and/or spiritual disobedience.
The Scriptures give many testimonies to these truths. God demonstrated to Moses His power over the dreaded disease of leprosy. (Exodus 4:6-7) When King Uzziah of Judah defiantly went into the temple to burn incense, God suddenly struck him with leprosy. (2 Chronicles 26:1621) When Jesus came to the earth 2,000 years ago, He came to display the power of God to man. (John 1:18) Jesus repeatedly demonstrated that God has total power over all of His creation, including diseases. During His earthly ministry, Jesus healed all that came unto Him. (Mark 1:29-34)
In some cases, the Lord has used diseases as a form of divine judgment of man due to sin. God has struck individuals with a disease because of their personal sin. For example, read about Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar. (Daniel 4:28-37) When King David disobeyed the Lord by numbering his people, the Lord sent diseases among the people. In three days 70,000 men died. (2 Samuel 24:13-15) The wicked Roman King Herod died suddenly due to a divine judgment of a disease in Acts 12:21-23. The Lord also uses diseases to judge an entire nation that is in rebellion against Him. God used Moses to warn Pharaoh that He would use diseases and other horrific judgments against the Egyptians if he would not free God’s people and let them leave Egypt. He warned: “For I will at this time send all my plagues upon thine heart, and upon thy servants, and upon they people: that thou mayest know that there is none like me in all the earth.” (Exodus 9:14) The Lord repeatedly warned Israel that if they departed from Him, He would visit the nation with incurable diseases. Read Deuteronomy 28:21-22, 27-28, 35, 58-61.
However, we must be very careful to not conclude that all diseases and health-related difficulties are the result of God’s divine judgment due to personal sin. God in His sovereignty has ordained the path of our lives. The Scriptures testify that many times He has chosen that some of His most godly saints suffer and endure some of the most difficult diseases and trials, even unto death. We must remember that God’s work on this earth is not about our good, but His glory. Jesus, the perfect, sinless Son of God, suffered while He walked this earth. Who do we think we are to expect or demand that God not allow us to suffer? It is a hard thing for the depraved mind to grasp, but sometimes it is the perfect will of God for people to suffer and die for His glory. (1 Peter 4:12-19; Revelation 6:9-11) Remember the story of the man who was born blind from his birth in John 9. Jesus disciples asked: “Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?” (John 9:2) Notice Jesus’ answer to them: “Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.” (John 9:3) In essence, Jesus told His disciples that this man had suffered with totally physical blindness from the time of his birth so that Jesus could heal him for the glory of God.
The modern lifestyles of our ever expanding global population are at the core of the increase of deadly diseases in the last days. More people live on earth than any other time in human history. World population is now estimated to be 7.27 billion. We are growing at the rate of 1.5 million people per week. For comparison, the global population at the time of Christ was only 500 million. Obviously, this means that when a contagious disease appears, there are more people to transmit it. Consequently, there is a greater potential for many more to contract that diseases, threatening a greater number of people.
During the last century, when world population went from 1 billion to 6 billion, with the majority of people moving from rural areas into big cities. In 1900, only 15 percent of the global population lived in urban areas. Today, 54 percent of the world lives in cities. In our affluent nation, 81 percent of Americans live in urban areas. This problem has culminated in the creation of mega cities – cities with a population that exceeds 10 million. In 1952 there were only two mega cities in the world. Today, there are 30 mega cities, and 12 of these have a population that exceeds 20 million! It is obvious that these mega cities have the greatest potential for massive contraction and transmission of diseases. Laurie Garrett states that cities are
“microbe heavens, or graveyards of mankind.” (Laurie Garrett, The Coming Plague, p. 235) In light of this, it is interesting to note that the Lord gave the following warning to Israel: “And if ye walk contrary unto me, and will not hearken unto me: I will bring seven times more [diseases] upon you according to your sins. … and when ye are gathered together within your cities, I will send the [diseases] among you.” (Leviticus 26:21, 25)
Many of our diseases are related to sexual immorality. Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) have become a mega problem for the healthcare industry since the sexual revolution in the 1960s. Here in the U.S., it is reported that there are 20 million new cases of STDs among young adults (15-24 years old) each year! It is estimated that 40 percent of sexually active teen-age girls in America have a STD. Hundreds of millions of people around the globe are suffering and dying from STDs. We must warn these people that their Creator has designed their bodies for sex only within the marriage between one man and one woman. To transgress this law is to invite the natural consequences of divine judgment, which are STDs. (Read Romans 1:27.) People are forced to accept the idea that God has designed our bodies with safety limits. Our bodies were not created to jump off of a three story-building, stay under water for hours, or have sex with multiple people. Deadly consequences remain in effect for those who refuse to accept God’s laws within His creation and in His book – the Bible.
The abuse of illegal drugs is also causing a marked increase in certain diseases, such as AIDS, the hepatitis B virus, sexually transmitted diseases, and tuberculosis. When a person takes illegal drugs and is involved in immorality, it greatly increases his potential to contract and transmit diseases among his drug buddies and multiple sex partners. According to the Bible, this will be a major problem during the final days man will be on this earth. Revelation 9:21 reports: “Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries [this word could be translated ‘drugs’], nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.”
There are other factors to consider concerning our modern lifestyles and the increased risk of a global outbreak of infectious diseases. As a result of our population explosion in the 20th century, new agricultural inventions and techniques for massive food production had to be invented to keep pace with the growing population. Several generations now have known nothing about raising their own food. Less than 2 percent of the population is providing any food for themselves.
Research demonstrates that the agricultural products that are being mass-produced today do not have the necessary nutritional value that is necessary for maintaining the health that our bodies need. The overuse of fertilizers and pesticides has yielded fresh fruits and vegetables that have been raped of their nutrients. In many cases the remaining nutrients in these food products are destroyed with radiation before they are shipped to our supermarkets. We may have more food that looks great, is larger, and tastes good, but is void of nutritional value. This problem is being magnified by the use of genetically modified foods. Once again, Laurie Garrett helps us understand how serious this situation has become. She writes: “Among the cells of the body most dependent upon a steady source of nutrients are those of the immune system, most of which live, even under ideal conditions, for only days at a time. As nutritional input declines, these vital cells literally run out of fuel, or, in worst cases, die off. The body may also lack nutritional resources to make replacement cells, and eventually immune deficiency can become so acute that virtually any pathogenic microbe can cause lethal disease.” (Garrett, p. 199) In addition, there is concern that antibiotics are being used in animals that we consume. It is a proven fact that these antibiotics may protect the farmer’s livestock, but their use has led to the spread of more dangerous microbes that invade our bodies.
Please keep in mind that in relationship to history, these are new lifestyles. Just a little over 150 years ago, almost everyone raised their own food. They knew what they were eating. All of this is further complicated by the increasing trend to eat out more often. Several generations ago, eating out was a very rare occasion. Now, it is not uncommon for the average couple or family to go out to eat several times a week. When people eat out they have no control over the quality of the food they consume, food preparation, food handling, or eating conditions. Therefore, this increases their risk of dangerous food contamination or excessive amounts of harmful foods that lead to poor health, making the body even more vulnerable to diseases.
Since the 1940s, the medical profession has attempted to aid our fight against infectious diseases with the use of antibiotics. However, it is now apparent that we are in grave danger due to the overuse of these antibiotics. When a patient fails to take the entire prescribed antibiotic, the surviving bacteria mutates, strengthening itself against the next round of antibiotics. Consequently, when the next infection comes we need to use a more powerful or different antibiotic. Concerning this problem, Laurie Garrett explains: “We’re running out of bullets for dealing with a number of these infections. [Like MRSA.] … Patients are dying because we no longer in many cases have antibiotics that work. … Bugs are always figuring out ways to get around the antibiotics we throw at them. … They adapt, they come roaring back.” (Garrett, p. 431) Later, she quotes from another medical research scientist that sounds this most alarming warning: “Unfortunately, we played a trick on the natural world by seizing control of these [natural] chemicals, making them more perfect in a way that has changed the whole microbial constitution of the developing countries. We have organisms that probably caused a tenth of a percent of human disease in the past that now cause twenty, thirty percent of the disease we are seeing. We have changed the whole face of the earth by the use of antibiotics.” (Garrett, p. 437)
Another aspect of our modern lifestyles in recent decades has been the marked increase in the movement of goods and people due to increased global air travel. Obviously, this magnifies the potential for the global transmission of deadly diseases. We consume products that are shipped to our communities from around the world. Each year, over 800 million people travel in and out of the U.S. in international air travel. Over 2,500 years ago the prophet Daniel predicted that in the “time of the end many shall run to and fro.” (Daniel 12:4) In recent weeks we have learned that the potential threat of an Ebola outbreak in the United States has increased due to the return of some Americans who have traveled to parts of Western Africa where over 4,900 have died due to an Ebola epidemic.
The potential for the pandemic of deadly diseases is also related to our changing environment. Some are debating the reality and cause of climate change or global warming. However, according to the prophetic Word of God, it will become a great problem during the Tribulation Period. (Malachi 4:1; Revelation 16:8-9) A true consideration of the factors that contribute to global warming, both scientifically and biblically, indicate that climate change is not due to man-made emissions or burping cows! True climate change comes from radical increases of radiation from the sun and gases released from volcanic eruptions. I would like to point out that the Bible indicates that both of these will play a major role in the increase of global warming during the Tribulation Period. As the global climate heats up, it will produce ripe conditions that will cause the multiplication of insects and rodents that transmit dangerous diseases. The man-made pollution of our water, land, and air will also magnify the increase in deadly diseases. Please notice that during the Tribulation Period, the Lord will “destroy them which destroy the earth.” (Revelation 11:18) While evangelical Christians do not agree with those who worship “mother earth,” we do need to recognize that we should be good managers of the creation the Lord has entrusted to us. (Genesis 2:15) For far too long man has raped the land, abused and altered the vegetation, polluted the water, poisoned the air, and wasted our resources. God’s payday is coming. It appears that He will allow mankind to suffer the consequences of his own abuse and neglect as stewards of His creation He allows us to enjoy.
Aside from all of these considerations that make us more vulnerable to the creation, mutation, and transmission of deadly diseases, there is one more concern that is even more frightening. We are living at a time when evil regimes possess weapons of mass destruction (WMD). While we often think about the dangerous threat of nuclear or chemical WMDs, it is a known fact that biological weapons are the easiest to make, maintain, transport, release, and in some ways are the most lethal WMD. “Biological weapons contain natural toxins or infectious agents such as bacteria, viruses, or fungi; sprayed or burst over populated areas, they might cause limited but severe outbreaks of … deadly diseases.”(www.britannica.com) Nine nations of great concern possess these WMDs: Algeria, China, Iran, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, and Syria. Israeli news sources have reported that several Islamic terrorist groups, including the Islamic State, are trying to acquire biological weapons. “Plans to develop biological weapons and instructions on how to weaponize the bubonic plague from infected animals were found on a laptop belonging to a Tunisian Islamic State jihadist, by a Syrian rebel commander from a moderate group in northern Syria.” (www.timesofisrael. com, August 30, 2014)
Should these terrorist groups successfully release a biological weapon in Europe, Canada, or the United States, we cannot begin to image how this would change our lives in an instant. This makes me think of the warning in 1 Thessalonians 5:3: “For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.”
We are living at a time when mankind is more vulnerable to events that threaten our lives than ever before! On the surface it all appears good and glorious. However, when you examine the Word of God and conservative secular research, we are in deep trouble. Our Lord spoke of the alarming death rate that will characterize the final period of this age. In Matthew 24:21-22, He warned: “For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened.”
My friend, if you do not know the Lord, you need to surrender your life to Him today. Only those who have repented of their sins and called out to the Lord for salvation will escape the time “which shall come upon all the world to try them that dwell upon the earth.” (Revelation 3:10) Those who believe and trust in Him, and demonstrate that by abiding in Christ and keeping His Word, will be kept from the “hour of temptation” (Revelation 3:10), and be delivered “from the wrath to come.” (1 Thessalonians 1:10)
May our Lord give us great wisdom for living in this fallen world until He takes us home to be with Him. Keep looking up! Be listening for the shout that will take us out!