As the current crisis continues to capture global attention, many are turning to the Bible for answers. Some even look to the plagues described in the book of Revelation, reading them as God’s punishing judgments unleashed upon the earth. Is the current coronavirus one of these plagues?
I have thought about how God’s judgments might factor into modern plagues, especially in light of the plagues in the Old Testament. Is this virus a punishment? A warning of impending doom? Is God trying to teach us a lesson? Some have suggested that we are experiencing an end time epidemic, taken right from the pages of the apocalypse. Is this really true?
The wrath of God is a nuanced and difficult concept to understand, but as the Apostle Paul states, “All things become visible when they are exposed by the light” (Ephesians 5:13, NASB).
God’s anger is His love directed against whatever exploits and abuses people and the earth. That’s good news as far as it goes, but what about the wrath unleashed as retribution against people in the Old Testament?
Many argue that the angry God of the Bible is an irrational and cruel tyrant who is not worthy of our admiration. You may feel some apathy toward this wrathful God, thinking He’s receiving His just deserts from people. Perhaps you have lingering fears about how we will be judged for failing tests of faith, for questioning the existence of suffering and divine damnation against the reality of God’s love, for harboring a sharp dislike for the wrathful potentate in the sky?
Years ago, I attended a class at a missionary training school in the heart of Oregon. The Bible teacher wrote the Greek word “hilasterion” on the white board and asked the class what it meant. His next question was whether redemption carries a propitiatory dimension.
I’m not really into music as a form of entertainment. Though I like music, I tend to listen only when I encounter an especially good composition or a song that really touches me and makes my heart soar.
I love the story in which God comes down to Mount Sinai. As Moses ascends, entering the thick cloud at the mountain’s summit, he experiences God’s reality and comes away shining with its divine afterglow (Exodus 34:29-35). He stands at the heart of this supreme revelation, crying out for God to show him more of His glory, His life, His character.
I believe in the pursuit of health and the benefit of adopting a plant-based diet. We should continue to eat for strength rather than our gastronomical urges, but we need not go further back than the Old Testament narrative for ecological wisdom.
At a luncheon a number of years ago, I met a college student who was studying theology at a religious institution. Needless to say, my dietary practices became the center of our table discussion when I bypassed the animal flesh offered to guests.
Theological InTents 