We reserve a few minutes Sunday morning to suggest news, or trends, that seem to be predicted by a literal, futurist reading of the Bible.
We are careful to use recognized, reliable sources for news. There is a lot of sensationalism surrounding unfulfilled Bible prophecy, and we don’t want to add to it.
We’re not saying the things we report are the fulfillment of prophecy – only that they are the things you’d expect by holding a Bible in one hand, and a newspaper in the other.
COVID19 is not one of the end times pestilences. Those occur during the seven year Great Tribulation. We are not in the Great Tribulation, nor will the church ever be in it. God has promised to keep us from that day.
What COVID19 is doing is catapulting us forward to a “new normal,” global society that will depend upon biometric technologies to identify, and in many ways control citizens.
Here are a few quotes I came across that indicate we are accelerating towards the “new normal”:
Quote: “The pace of digital transformation has been dramatically accelerated – it’s not a conversation starter now, it’s a basic business requirement.”
Louise Pentland, chief business affairs and legal officer at PayPal, said, “Everybody is going to have to embrace a digital economy.”
CNN reported that, “COVID19 will leave a lasting imprint on the world economy, causing permanent changes.”
Quote: “Virus screening is likely to become part of our life, just like security measures became ubiquitous after 9/11.”
Politico speculated, “The comfort of being in the presence of others might be replaced by a greater comfort with absence, especially with those we don’t know intimately. Instead of asking, “Is there a reason to do this online?” we’ll be asking, “Is there any good reason to do this in person?”
Security Magazine said, “Expect the COVID19 coronavirus pandemic to bring lasting changes to our lives, from the way we authenticate identity to how we open doors – and even use public restrooms. If there’s a theme among these changes, it’s that they will favor contactless solutions.”
Quote: “Though the science behind the effectiveness of masks is far from exact, living through the pandemic will undeniably alter Western attitudes about them, as well as government policy. And as the memory of COVID19 becomes permanently enmeshed with the national psyche, masks are likely to become a fixture of our post-pandemic world.”
A September 16 article was titled, Doors Won’t Open at Some Fresno Businesses Until Device Screens You for COVID.
Excerpts
Coming to a wall near you – a new digital device ensuring you answer all COVID19 health survey questions before you’re allowed in. Several local businesses and a school have already jumped on board.
Northwest Fresno company OnDisplay went live Wednesday with their new digital health survey. It is a large QR code placed on a wall near an entryway. Scan the code with your phone and you’re directed to a series of health related questions screening for COVID19.From there, you may also have to get your face scanned by a digital scanner. The machine will tell if you have a fever, or if you need to put on a mask. If you need a mask, a digital voice will even tell you, “Please wear a mask.”
Harris Ranch, U.S. Cold Storage, No Surrender Laser Tag, and Edison Bethune Charter Academy in southwest Fresno are all using the system.
The new QR code health-survey works in conjunction with the company’s facial scan technology they started rolling out a few months ago. The face scanner is mounted right next to the QR code on the wall so a person is able to walk up to it, get their temperature checked, at the same time the machine makes sure they’re wearing a mask.
https://gvwire.com/2020/09/16/doors-wont-open-at-some-fresno-businesses-until-device-screens-you-for-covid/
One commentator noted, ominously, that “The longer the global effort to stymie the pandemic through lockdown continues, the less likely we’ll reemerge into a world we recognize.“
How long will it last? Respected medical historian Howard Markel estimates until 2024.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s leading health expert and one of the world’s most trusted voices on all things COVID-19 related, is more optimistic.
He said, “If you get a vaccine into 2021, throughout the year, I believe by the end of the year 2021, we will be as good as back to normal as we possibly can.”
He further qualified his prediction. Besides the vaccine, Fauci said, there must be, “Uniform and universal wearing of masks. Physical, social distancing. Avoiding crowds. Outdoor things always better than indoor things. Washing hands as often as you possibly can. Staying away from bars.”
https://bgr.com/2020/08/16/coronavirus-return-to-normal-fauci/
Here in the Golden State, our governor noted that his new re-opening guidelines have no return to normal.
“We don’t put a green (tier) because we don’t believe that there’s a green light that says go back to the way things were or back to a pre-pandemic mindset,” Newsom said.
The “new normal” is a global society and economy, with much less autonomy, much less freedom, much less privacy, in which everyone is identified using biometrics.
The apostle John wrote about it 2000+ years ago. Futurists like ourselves have been predicting it.
We believe the resurrection and rapture of the church is imminent. It could happen any moment; nothing needs to happen before it. It will definitely happen before the Tribulation.
Jesus will come, in the clouds, and raise the dead believers of the Church Age. He will transform the bodies of living believers to glorified, resurrection bodies. We will join Him in Heaven while the earth endures one final seven-year campaign of severe evangelism.
Are you ready for the rapture? If not, Get ready; Stay ready; Keep looking up. Ready or not, Jesus is coming!