Watchman: Daily Devotional, In the Gospels, the Lord Jesus Christ Warns His Disciples That “Pestilences” Will Be One of the Signs of the “Last Days” of Human History, a Time of Shaking the World to Wake Up and Realize That Christ’s Return to Judge and Reign Over the Earth Is Increasingly Imminent

Consider several Old Testament examples:

Ezekiel 38-39 – In the prophecies known to Bible scholars as the eschatological “War of Gog and Magog,” a coalition of nations will form against Israel in the
“last days” of history (38:16). Among these nations: Russia, Iran, Turkey, Libya, and Sudan. The coalition will come against the nation of Israel “like a storm”
(38:9) and try to consume, loot and destroy Israel. Speaking through the ancient Hebrew prophet Ezekiel, the Lord God warns that when that attack against Israel
comes, He will defend Israel and defeat her enemies using a range of destructive measures, including terrible diseases. God says he will do so to execute judgment
and draw people to Himself. (NASB)

Judgment – “With pestilence and with blood I will enter into judgment with him; and I will rain on him and on his troops, and on the many peoples who are with him, a torrential rain, with hailstones, fire and brimstone. I will magnify Myself, sanctify Myself, and make Myself known in the sight of many nations; and they will know that I am the Lord.”

(Ezekiel 38:22-23, NASB)  Judgment – “I will set My glory among the nations; and all the nations will see My judgment which I have executed and My hand which I have laid on them.”

(Ezekiel 38:21, NASB)  Mercy – “Therefore, thus says the Lord God, ‘Now [after the judgment unfolds] I will restore the fortunes of Jacob and have mercy on the whole house of Israel; and I will be jealous for My holy name.’”

(Ezekiel 39:25, NASB) Mercy – “Then they will know that I am the Lord their God because I made them go into exile among the nations, and then gathered them again to their land; and I will leave none of them there any longer. I will not hide My face from them any longer, for I will have poured out My Spirit on the house of Israel,’ declares the Lord God.”

(Ezekiel 39:28-29, NASB) • Jeremiah 49 – Through the ancient Hebrew prophet Jeremiah, the Lord God warned the nation we know today as the Kingdom of Jordan that it would face plagues in the last days as a matter of judgment. “Also, Edom shall be a desolation: everyone that goeth by it shall be astonished and shall hiss at all the plagues thereof. As in the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighbour cities thereof, saith the LORD, no man shall abide there, neither shall a son of man dwell in it.”

The Book of Revelation – No fewer than 12 times in the Book of Revelation, the Lord God warns that terrible pestilence and plagues will come to the nations of the earth as part of His judgment of sin, prior to the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. This period is known by Bible scholars as the “Great Tribulation” (Revelation 7:14), and it will involve the most devastating period of divine judgment for unrepentant sin in all of human history. “I looked, and behold, an ashen horse; and he who sat on it had the name Death; and Hades was following with him. Authority was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with
pestilence and by the wild beasts of the earth.”

(Revelation 6:8, NASB)  “By these three plagues a third of mankind was killed—by the fire and the smoke and the brimstone which came out of their mouths.” (Revelation
9:18, KJV)  “But the rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, that they should not worship demons, and idols of gold, silver, brass, stone, and wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk.” (Revelation 9:20, KJV)

Evil will persist until Christ returns, but we can rest assured that God allows no more evil than will ultimately play into His good and perfect purposes. He restrains evil (Job 1—2; 2 Thessalonians 2:6–12). Though God never authors or applauds evil, He is able to use it to His good ends (Romans 8:28–30; James 1:2–4; 1 Peter 1:6–9).

Though the evil in our world can seem overwhelming, it has by no means overcome the goodness of God. God’s children—those who have put their faith in Jesus Christ (John 1:12)—live in this world as ambassadors and lights (2 Corinthians 5:20–21: Matthew 5:13–16). We are tasked with sharing the good news about Jesus with the world (Matthew 28:18–20; Acts 1:8) and demonstrating His character through actively loving others (John 13:34–35; Galatians 6:9–10; 1 John 4:7–12). The Holy Spirit resides in us (Ephesians 1:13–14; 1 John 4:13). Nothing will separate us from God’s love, not even the darkest evil (Romans 8:28–39).