Behind the Cloak of COVID-19

For the last few months, the novel coronavirus pandemic has seemed at times like a cosmic black hole: It has relentlessly consumed everyone’s attention—especially in the media. Turn on the television or radio, scan headlines on the web, or swipe through the news on your phone, and COVID-19 often dominates the headlines and discussion. However, behind the ominous, ever-present cloak of the virus, the world is suffering from numerous other calamities.

Recent super-typhoons have devastated islands in the Pacific (Nature, May 15, 2020). In East Africa, locusts have devoured whatever they can eat, and severe flooding has destroyed what crops are left. An unusually severe hurricane season is forecast for the Gulf of Mexico. In the United States, floodwaters are surging over the Midwest, while drought and wildfires are hitting the Southwest. Eastern Europe and central Russia are also struggling with wildfires. Efforts to suppress the fires are expected to be greatly hampered this year due to measures taken to stem the COVID-19 pandemic. Severe drought in Zimbabwe has resulted in power cuts and a lack of clean water. While the recent unrest, protests, and riots in the U.S. have been able to break the COVID-19 veil and reach the headlines, the larger picture is that many governments around the world appear to be in crisis—further fracturing international relations and disrupting global trade and supply lines. Then there is the ongoing economic impact of the pandemic restrictions themselves—damage that will change the world in ways that can now only be guessed at.

Bible prophecies have long warned that signs of the approaching end of the age will include wars and rumors of wars (note the current “war of words” the U.S. is waging against both China and Iran), earthquakes in diverse places, famines, pestilences (COVID-19, Ebola, AIDS, etc.), and more (Matthew 24:3–8). As the return of Jesus Christ draws near, we will see more such events—only more severe. For greater insight into what to expect in the future, be sure to read “A Vital ‘Key’ to End-Time Prophecy.”