Covid-19 Exposed an Infection in our Theology
by JRP Ministry Staff on 05/08/20
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The horror movie titled Covid-19 is only made worse when many prominent Church leaders refuse to admit or do not understand that the pandemic is judgment from the Lord. Playing their old songs in the earth’s music parlor while it sinks, reeks of denial normally reserved for the alcoholic and drug addict.
The blind are leading the blind and both have fallen into the ditch. On one hand, Church leaders claim that Covid-19 is not judgment from the Lord. Many are submitting arguments based upon half-truths worthy of a block of Swiss cheese, crying, “Peace, peace!”, when there is no piece. They preach as if they were proclaiming the entire Bible when what they have actually done is extract what they and their congregations want to hear. They believe in judgment, just not for their congregations or themselves; and it is certainly not for today.
First, some expound upon the Biblical judgments that the Lord brought upon Egypt and their congregations say, “Hallelujah!” They marvel at the power and justice of the Lord poured out upon a heathen nation and a stubborn Pharaoh, never once blaming the devil. Far from denying that judgment was released upon Egypt, they preach with pride that the Lord is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords and that He rules over the earth.
Second, they shout for joy over how the Lord gave Joshua victory at Jericho, where there were no survivors other than Rahab and her family. Some may even recount that there were 31 kings who were defeated by the Israelites as listed in Joshua 12; the Lord’s judgments are powerful and He will wield them without restraint against His enemies! Another great example of this came in the battle against Amorites, where Joshua prayed that the sun would stand still and that the moon would stop, “…until the nation avenged themselves of their enemies.” (Joshua 12:12-13). Again, the devil is nowhere in sight.
Third, they remember that the Lord will separate the sheep from the goats at the Judgment seat. They acknowledge that judgment is an end-time threat designed to warn the sinner that a life of wickedness brings a wage of eternal death and separation from our Heavenly Father. Those that will sentenced to Hell may claim, “The devil made me do it!”, only to find their pleas falling on deaf ears.
The Church celebrate these and other stories of victories that include judgment poured out from the Lord, preaching that judgment for our sin was placed upon Jesus Christ for our salvation. The writer of Hebrews states it clearly –
“Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered. And having been made perfect, He became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation, being designated by God as a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek. Concerning him we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing.” (Hebrews 5:8–11, NASB95)
I venture to say that we have
become so dull of hearing we are spiritually tone deaf. We read and teach the Bible as if it were a
scroll for a player piano, picking and choosing the tune we like best! Yes, we want the musical notes of Pharaoh’s guilt
as well as the musical structure of the passages of the 31 kingdoms that were
destroyed by the Israelites, because it was the Lord who gave them the victory,
etc. as we have outlined above. There
will be a final judgment where the Lord Himself sets up His kingdom and the
wicked are thrown into a lake of fire.
This trifecta of doctrine, though true, is only part of what the Bible
teaches regarding the power and authority of Jesus Christ.
But when the truth of the Church’s guilt and its role in the Lord deciding to release this judgment of pestilence labeled Covid-19, Church leaders melt away having loved the praise of men rather than that of God. They lie to the Church telling them that the plague is from the devil, forgetting that they believe and teach that it was the Lord who released the plagues against Egypt. What a profound misstep of glaring ignorance that reveals the depth of an infection in their theology!
The same Church leaders would preach from Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28, both texts outlining the Lord’s promises concerning obedience and disobedience, the latter promising plagues, pestilence along with a host of additional and profound judgments. But they prefer to look the other way rather than admit that the source of Covid-19, a plague of Biblical proportions, has been released from the Lord. But the Bible proves otherwise.
The Bible sets forth evidence concerning the Lord being the originator of Covid-19 based upon the above chapters, but there is far more evidence. We can agree that if the accused in a court of law had written and signed a confession that they planned on doing something and followed through, which was then confirmed by witnesses who were present, and then the accused spoke about the event afterwards confirming his premeditation and his presence at the event, there isn’t a jury this side of Heaven that wouldn’t convict such a person. Ah, but our infectious theology won’t allow us to give credit where credit is due to the Lord.
Instead, we refuse to acknowledge that it is the Lord Himself who is speaking in Leviticus 26 what He will do when we refuse to follow Him. For obedience, the Lord makes a number of promises in first person (Lev 26:4,6,9,11-13), whereas He tells Moses what He will do in Deuteronomy 28:1-14. But for disobedience, the Lord makes it very clear what He will do, not what Satan will do or what He will allow him to do, again speaking in first person in Leviticus 26:16-39, and through Moses in Deuteronomy 28:15-68.
So, is the Lord guilty regarding releasing plagues in the earth? No, the Lord is never guilty and His judgments are altogether righteous (Ps 119:75; Rev 19:2). The Lord is not guilty anymore than a judge is guilty when distributing justice upon those who are found guilty by an impartial jury of peers. The judge enforces the law and in like manner we are guilty and judgment has been released against the Church because of our ongoing sin of defying the Holy Spirit. We are the proud, defiant, rebellious, and guilty ones. The Lord, in His righteousness, has followed through with His promises.
If we can find a way to blame Satan for Covid-19, then we don’t have to take responsibility for our sin; we can simply attempt, in our complete and utter foolishness, to take authority over him. How little discernment we have when we accept this outrageous position being spewed from prominent Church leaders across America and around the world! We have become Biblically illiterate by our own choices and refusal to look truth in the eye. Jesus said that He is the way, the truth and the life and no man comes to the Father except through Him. But we refuse to look Jesus in the eye and do not recognize that it is the Spirit of Jesus, the Holy Spirit, who has brought the judgment we are experiencing. We must take Jesus for who He is. If we don’t, we are guilty of attempting to form Him into our own likeness which is nothing short of idolatry. The truth is that we are guilty of idolatry worthy of judgment.
But the Lord doesn’t end with proof of Him being the source of plagues, famine, destruction, war and sickness with Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28. He reveals His intent to bring judgment not only on the nations, but on His people through Genesis, Exodus, Numbers, Joshua, I & 2 Samuel, I & 2 Kings, I & 2 Chronicles, Psalms, Proverbs, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, I Corinthians, Romans, Galatians, 1 & 2 Timothy, Hebrews, I Peter and Revelation – indeed the entirety of the Scripture testifies that the Lord will bring judgment upon the world and His people when He believes it is necessary. But if we choose not to believe these books, then we have chosen to believe a lie about what the Lord will do, but more importantly, who He is. Why not just throw the Bible away and be done with it! Our misconceptions based upon the erroneous teachings from prominent leaders and our own Biblical ignorance has brought us to where we are; we are face to face with the truth in the Bible and the Lord but we refuse to believe. Rightfully the Lord says,
“These things you have done and I kept
silence; You thought that I was just like you; I will reprove you
and state the case in order before your eyes. “Now consider this, you who
forget God, Or I will tear you in pieces, and there will be none to
deliver. “He who offers a sacrifice of thanksgiving honors Me; And to
him who orders his way aright I shall show the salvation of God.”” (Psalm 50:21–23,
NASB95)
The Bible isn’t written to exalt Satan. The Bible was written by men inspired by the Holy Spirit to reveal and exalt the Lord, yet we have relegated power and authority to Satan the Lord never gave him. What kind of ignorant and/or idolatrous people have we become to believe that all power and authority has been relegated to Satan?! No, David recognized that judgment came from the Lord, not Satan, writing, “…or I [the Lord] will tear you in pieces, and there will be none to deliver.” (Ps 50:22b, NASB95; emphasis added for clarity).
We have chosen the Biblical notes we want to hear and those are the only ones we will permit to be played. We may admit that judgment from the Lord is for those in the past and in the future, but we cannot admit that it is for us now. Why would we believe we would be the exception? But judgment has come, regardless of whether we believe it or not and regardless whether we accept it or not. We cannot lay the blame for the masked Covid-19 cavalry that is marching through the earth on Satan because it is clear he does not have that level of authority; judgment is unequivocally reserved for the Lord. In the blink of an eye, the mask of Covid-19 circumvented the globe which is a demonstration of the power of the Lord He is ready to dispense. More will come if we do not repent in accordance with Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28 which we have already discussed.
The infectious corruption in our theology has turned to gangrene. Our position that judgment is for yesterday has become nothing but one of denial; it is for the Pharaoh’s of the world; it is reserved for wicked rulers; it is reserved for the wicked kings and people of Israel and Judah – but it cannot be for us. No! It is reserved for the wicked at the end of the age, not us because we live somewhere similar to a spiritual land of Goshen, where the Hebrews lived in the midst of Egypt. “Judgment is not for us,” we proclaim. “It is for the world!” But we have forgotten the terrible judgments the Lord released against the Israelites after they left Egypt, to say nothing of the prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and others who declared the Lord’s wrath, expressed in judgment, would come if His people did not repent. Covid-19 has not only exposed our pride and arrogance but of how little we know the Bible, to say nothing of how little we know of the Lord.
This position of pride and error naturally flows into preaching that we have nothing to fear. Paul undoubtedly taught that the Lord has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind (2 Tim 1:7). But, this is only a very small part of the symphony that Heaven is playing!
We are called to fear the Lord (Deut 10:12; Pr 1:7, 8:13; Ecc 12:13) , but this is the essential spiritual quality that we have lost because we deny the truth of Biblical judgment for the righteous. We have lost our fear of Him who is able to destroy both the soul and body in hell (Matt 10:28b). To add to our sin, we no longer remember let alone preach Peter’s words where he clearly teaches, “IT IS TIME FOR JUDGMENT TO BEGIN WITH THE HOUSEHOLD OF GOD.” (I Pet 4:17; emphasis added) No, this doesn’t play well in the Church where both the minister and the congregation have grown complacent, wanting only half the tune and better yet, only half the sermon because we must have more time to contemplate our self-righteousness! Peter appears to suggest that judgment in the Lord’s house is a testimony to the sinners that unless they turn there is no hope for them without Jesus (I Pet 4:18).
What a wicked and perverse generation we have become in America. Those who have a form of godliness now deny both the power of God and the judgment of God, or they play one note without the other, not realizing they are not playing in harmony. The Scripture was composed to be played in its entirety. Think of how appalled those in the music halls of the past and present would be if the orchestra only played part of Beethoven’s 5th symphony and then had the audacity to say they played it all. Wouldn’t the conductor be laughed to scorn? And yet Church leaders who proclaim that there is no judgment today are welcomed and embraced. What a deluded and childish people we have become, where the writer of Hebrews would rightfully testify about us –
“For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is an infant. But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil.” (Hebrews 5:12–14, NASB95)
It is appalling to see the over-exposed wolves in
sheep’s clothing in the pulpit today, preaching half a tune that leads to
destruction. They are those likened to Amaziah
who opposed Amos and Ahab, Zedekiah and Shemaiah who stood against Jeremiah who
prophesied the truth; they have boldly declared that judgment has not come to
America.
The counsel of the Lord stands today as it did in the days of Jeremiah –
“For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, ‘Do not let your prophets who are in your midst and your diviners deceive you, and do not listen to the dreams which they dream. ‘For they prophesy falsely to you in My name; I have not sent them,’ declares the Lord.” (Jeremiah 29:8–9, NASB95)
Didn’t Jeremiah prophesy, “Thus says the Lord of
hosts, ‘Behold, evil is going forth from nation to nation, and a great storm is
being stirred up from the remotest parts of the earth”? (Jer 25:32)
Covid-19 is an evil and a great storm and if we, as the Church, do not acknowledge
our guilt and do not repent the Scripture declares that more judgment is sure
to come. The Lord will not relent until
He receives the response that His judgment was sent forth to bring - repentance! I say this by the Holy Spirit.
To better understand the overall picture, we can
see four sources of pain and suffering in the earth: (1) the original fall of
man that brought sin, sickness and death as well as the ongoing sin of man in
the earth, (2) judgment from the Lord, (3) the devil, and (4) the sanctifying
work of the Lord, through His Holy Spirit, that brings forth the character of
Christ, the fruit of the Spirit. It requires
discernment that only comes by the Spirit and the word of God to determine what
particular or combinations of sources are in play for a particular
situation. Some Christians claim that
all sickness comes from the devil, pointing to New Testament stories where sickness
is connected to the presence of the demonic (Matt 9:32-33, 12:22, 17:18 ? Mk 9:20-22).
However, what they do not see is the discrimination set forth in Matthew
4:23-24, 9:2, Mark 1:32-34, 2:3-5, Luke 4:40, John 9 (certainly not exhaustive)
that demonstrate that not all sickness is caused by the devil. The Church
ascribes far too much power and authority to the devil. The truth is that the enemy takes territory
when it is surrendered (Eph 4:27), but this again is only one possible source
of suffering.
No doubt our “pick & choose” theology that
props up our position that Covid-19 is from Satan relies heavily upon the story
of Job, where Satan accuses him before the Lord. The Lord tells Satan that Job is placed in
his power (Job 2:1-6). Our conclusion is
misguided if we then conclude that all sickness is from the devil. It is far easier to blame the devil than it
is to acknowledge our guilt for wandering outside of the boundaries of blessings
where judgment is promised in Leviticus 26:14-39 or Deuteronomy 28:15-68, which
is not to say that all sickness is judgment.
That, again, would be misguided and far from the truth. We must allow the Lord to be who He is, while
being mindful that there are four areas that can be the source of sickness, but
judgment is reserved for the Lord.
Having said all of this, we cannot discount the
fact that the Lord will remove His protection from a nation, a people and His
Church thereby allowing the enemy free reign to bring destruction and
death. He will and does whistle for the
wicked to bring His righteous judgment.
He did it with King Nebuchadnezzar when His intent was to destroy
Jerusalem because of their rebellion (Book of Jeremiah & Ezekiel). He spoke of raising up the king of Assyria
and his army that would sweep over Judah, Damascus and Samaria (Is 8:4-8,
10:5-6).
The Lord can and will do what is right in bringing judgment to those who will not turn from their sin and their apostasy – including turning them over to Satan for correction (I Sam 16:14-16, 23, 18:10, 19:9; I Cor 5:1-5; I Tim 1:18-20). But in these instances, one cannot casually or fervently rebuke demons to bring relief. There must be deep understanding and confession of the sin, coupled with true repentance. Even if the turn does come, it may take years for the Lord to bring complete healing and deliverance as can be seen with Israel and Judah. The Lord isn’t casual with judgment and once it is released the Lord may bring relief but it may not be swift.
However, in the current crisis, not only is the
Holy Spirit not being silent, He is sounding His trumpet! The release of Covid-19 in the earth has not
only brought sickness and death, causing nations to close their border while
restricting movement of their citizens, but it has brought economic devastation
the nations have no answer for. Freedoms
we in America took for granted vanished over night, because there is no freedom
without Jesus Christ, and we the Church have operated without the Spirit of
Jesus deliberately and habitually for so long that we have forgotten Him. The time to acknowledge our guilt is long overdue. He has surely torn us already, but if we will
acknowledge our sin, He will heal us (Hosea 6:1-3). Then, and only then, can we rely on II
Chronicles 7:14 which requires our acknowledgment that the Lord of 7:13 has
released the judgment. This is the only
way out of this disaster and those that will follow!
The Lord is speaking to us today through Jeremiah –
“Go and proclaim these words toward the north and say, ‘Return, faithless Israel,’ declares the Lord; ‘I will not look upon you in anger. For I am gracious,’ declares the Lord; ‘I will not be angry forever. ‘Only acknowledge your iniquity, That you have transgressed against the Lord your God And have scattered your favors to the strangers under every green tree, And you have not obeyed My voice,’ declares the Lord.” (Jeremiah 3:12–13, NASB95)
The Bible teaches that judgment is certain when people refuse to hear the Lord’s voice. Leaders who will not preach the truth about the judgment that is Covid-19 are those who are hindering the truth and are responsible not only for leading the flock of Jesus Christ into a ditch but for leading them into more judgment. When we hinder the truth by not speaking it, we have taken our stand against the Lord who is holy. Woe to those who take their stand against the Lord in the day of His wrath, especially leaders who should know better! This is a day of God’s wrath. He declared to me that He would change the landscape in a moment, and so He has. His winnowing fork has never left His hand (Lk 3:17); every mountain will be brought low and every ravine will be filled up and the crooked will be made straight (Lk 3:5).
We will do well to realize that the Lord doesn’t play games like the Church. Leaders, who are hindering the work of the Holy Spirit, who are not listening to the Holy Spirit, who is calling His Church to repentance, are in grave danger from the Lord who crafted the indictment and is the head of the Church, the King of Kings and Lord of Lord, the ruler and judge of Heaven and Earth.
Mark Biteler
