Tim could not believe his eyes, three in a row, three churches with signs stating closure because of fear. Tim was a “Thus saith the Lord” believer, if the Scriptures said that no evil would befall those who trusted in the Lord, then that’s what it meant, and so after the third church, four if you count the one he went out of his way to check on before heading home, he found himself pulling into the driveway asking the Lord to forgive him for thoughts that questioned the faith of those who had determined it best to lock all those doors.
“I know sweetheart, I tried to tell you all about it last night, but you were too busy to listen.” “No, I heard you Janice, I guess maybe I just didn’t want to believe it, we both know that few if any of the news stations can be trusted to tell the truth anymore.” He was up until almost midnight, researching this new phenomenon, finding websites that he felt were reputable, verifying facts against known fiction, he had even called Pastor Dan at around eleven p.m., apologizing for the lateness of the hour.
“That’s a lot of paper Tim, still got some printer ink left?” “Yea, I know, but I didn’t want to take a chance on forgetting anything, did you know that almost ninety percent of the churches are closed in some places still.” “Yes, yes I do, and those that are beginning to reopen are imposing strict sanctions on their returning members, masks must be worn, the appropriate distance maintained, less than a third of the normal amount of people are let in. If they thought numbers were dwindling before, just watch what happens if this continues.”
It had been almost six months since the new strand of the flu, called covid-19, had appeared, and as usual, every news station gave the most dire ending possible for it, never mind the facts. Christs Place Church had met the next day, all that could attend, and after much prayer and discussion, they had decided to treat the news as they treated all of the rest of it, as mostly fact less, based on the best possible ratings outcome, and totally devoid of any of the truths concerning the providence and provision of the Lord.
“No one has ever shown up to any of our church services with a mask, not one person has gotten sick, just a sniffle or sneeze occasionally, our faith in Christ has been honored by the Lord.” “Yes, I agree Dan, what I have difficulty understanding is how all those other churches, some of them actually evangelical ones, are still being deceived, the facts are clear, even the CDC has said that only about six percent of all related covid deaths are actually from the flu. I understand how easily some of the lost are deceived, but some of the men in these churches, well, I actually used to look up to them, but now, well, I just don’t know.”
They both admitted being distraught over this fact, how could men who claimed to be men of God be walking around with masks on, how could a pastor of a flock, men and women he was responsible before God to, determine to show strength through weakness, how were they so quickly and easily beguiled.
“The real question is Tim, who is behind it all. Satan, of course, we know that for a fact, but think about this. Pick any large sporting team, American football, soccer, basketball, any of them, the men that own these teams are billionaires, several times over. They didn’t get that way by being stupid, so how do you convince nearly all of them to keep the stadiums closed, how do you tell them to keep the fans out, tens of millions of them around the world, hundreds of billions of dollars, euros, every currency imaginable, lost. These guys are not dumb, they know that six percent number also, who offered all of them what, or told them of the possible consequences if they do not obey.” “I thought on that also, but I am afraid it goes much deeper than that, the leaders of every nation fought hard to get into the positions they are in, some of them I actually still believe truly do care deeply for the people under their care, but they also know the facts, and they know and still know today that by imposing all these restrictions not only their nation’s economies will probably collapse, but every other country also. Who has the power to pull those kinds of strings?”
The two men of God sat for nearly five minutes in complete silence, waiting for the Lord to provide, contemplating the Scriptures that they both studied diligently each day. “We both know the answer Tim, and we’re both well beyond falling into the ever-prevalent trap of those brothers and sisters in Christ of ours who think every time there’s major flooding or fires, it means the Lord is coming back. Think on the parable the Lord told in Mark 12:1-12 where the good man set up a vineyard, hired people to take care of it, then when he sent servants, they beat them, he sent his son, they killed him. He has always been merciful and gracious with us. He is allowing Satan to begin his plan for a one world economic governmental system, and for that to happen, this economy, all these nations of the earth must be bankrupted, their people must be placed in dire, economic straits. Riots will ensue, much worse than what we have been seeing, I believe these are the beginnings of sorrow we read about in Matthew 24:2-31.”
“Yes, I think you are right, maybe I just didn’t want to admit it to myself, maybe I just didn’t think it would happen in my lifetime. It still saddens me greatly though how many of His children have fallen into the trap so easily, how can they not see the truth?” “If it were possible, in the last days, you know the verse well, we cannot expect every born-again believer to be as well versed in the Scriptures as some are, you know that as well as I do, you did not get voted into the eldership position you hold at Christs Place Church, God put you there.”
Almost ten minutes of heartfelt, deeply devotional prayer next to their vehicles in the parking lot of the convenience store by the highway that they had spent the last two hours in followed their discussion. Firm handshakes and smiles found them parting ways, both men drained from the revelations that the Lord had laid upon their hearts. “Well, how did it go?” “This might take a while sweetheart, how about we talk about it with some lunch, I could use something besides a gallon of coffee in my stomach.”
