No. God sent the plagues because Pharaoh would not release Israel from slavery. God demanded Israel’s freedom and clearly stated the consequences of refusal. God had covenanted with Abram to protect, bless and guide the Jewish nation.
God has not made a covenant with any other nation, including the United States. Since Jesus’s first advent, mankind has experienced many evils. “…the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows” Matthew 24:6-8. None of these events were sent from God.
Is the coronavirus part of the seven last plagues of Revelation 16? No. Revelation is a book of symbols. For example, in Revelation 19:11, 14, Jesus does not return riding a literal white horse; His heavenly army is not clothed in literal linen. In the same way, the description of the plagues is not literal.
Now, mankind is suffering as the inevitable consequence of their evilness. God’s law is “…a person will reap what he sows,” Galatians 6:7 (NET). Trouble will intensify because sinfulness intensifies. “In the last days, grievous times will come. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God” 2 Timothy 3:1-5. Trouble intensifies as sin increases.
Our current situation is part of “earth nations will be in distress, anxious over the roaring of the sea (a symbol of restless masses) and the surging waves (demands of justice, rights, freedom, etc.)…People will be fainting from fear and from the expectation of what is coming on the world, for the powers of the heavens (ecclesiastical powers) will be shaken.” Luke 21:25-26 (NET)
God has determined to end this present evil world (Galatians 1:4) through Armageddon. Zechariah 14:2-3, 8-9, “For I will gather all the nations to battle against Jerusalem; the city shall be taken…Then the LORD will go forth and fight against those nations, as He fights in the day of battle…And in that day it shall be that living waters shall flow from Jerusalem,…In both summer and winter it shall occur. And the LORD shall be King over all the earth.”
Additional Resources:
Christian Questions Podcast
Episode #1145: “Is Your COVID-19 Christianity Still Being Tested?”
Action steps to prevent COVID-19 from compromising our Christianity
Preview Video
CQ Rewind Show Notes
For children, parents and Bible class teachers:
Animated Video: “Did God send the Coronavirus?”
For a more in-depth study of the end times, download the free PDF: “What is This World Coming To?”
