Did God send this virus into the world

[JacksBratt]

God works all things after the counsel of his own will according to Paul. And all things work for good to those who love the Lord.

Yep... and... Your point?

 

[JacksBratt]

Why pray if God isn't behind everything, good or bad?

That's a whole new thread..

How about this? God said that He wants us to pray.. but.. at the same time He knows what we are going to say before we even think it...

SO.... why pray at all if He already knows?

 

[JacksBratt]

Why do you say it is "bad". If this causes people to repent and receive the Lord as savior it works out for good.

God will use it for good...

A lot of suffering will come from it.

The military and governments will learn the actions and reactions of civilians in regards to restrictions placed on them etc...

People will be more open to government controls.

People will be more open to mandatory vaccines.

 

[JacksBratt]

In the story of Joseph we learn that what his brothers intended towards evil against Joseph, God intended for good. In the end, God turned things around whereby Joseph and his brothers reconciled with each other. God turned a bad situation into a good one.

Good post

 

[ZNP]

God will use it for good...

A lot of suffering will come from it.

The military and governments will learn the actions and reactions of civilians in regards to restrictions placed on them etc...

People will be more open to government controls.

People will be more open to mandatory vaccines.

The point of this age is that regardless of our scientific achievement our human government is either a vulture or a dead carcass. This is laying the groundwork for the Lord to come in and set up His kingdom on Earth.

 

[JacksBratt]

Your bible sounds like it makes Jesus out to be a loser, He seems to have failed in His mission to save sinners. So He has to cast the majority into hell.
The God of my Bible, doesn't love the whole world. He only loves His Son and by default, those who are in Him. There's nothing to love about us sinners, our best works are as filthy rags in his sight.
Don't forget, He killed every man woman and child on the planet save 8 before. Do you think that He would kill billions of His beloved?

God still loves us sinners.. us filthy rags of bones.. He loved us so much that He sent His son to die for us even before we had accepted Him.


God does love the whole world.. He killed all but 8 because they had rejected Him. Noah preached for 100 years as he built the ark... nobody listened... All flesh was corrupt.. all thoughts were evil all the time.

That's why He killed them all off.

God set it up so that every single human soul has the chance to be redeemed and get pardoned through His Son and have eternal life...

It is simply the choice people make that determines their eternal placement... It's of no fault of God.

God isn't saying that He doesn't want you in heaven..People are saying that they don't want to be in heaven and God is granting them their desire.

What kind of God would put a soul in heaven if it didn't want to be there?

 

[Archivist]

Why pray if God isn't behind everything, good or bad?

Because God is there for us when bad things, like a virus, happen. That doesn’t mean that God causes the bad things to happen. Do you think that God placed an iceberg directly in front of RMS Titanic? Of course not. That disaster was the fault of a captain who ignored ice warnings and didn’t slow his ship down.

 

[JacksBratt]

Please correct me if I'm mistaken, but doesn't the Bible teach that a harsh providence such as a plague is a two edged sword. It serves as a judgement on the unbelieving world but it forges and strengthens the faith of believers.
Christians seem to fall asleep at the wheel, when everything is hunky dory. We can get too comfortable in the world, and let our guard down and give the enemy an advantage.

It does wake up the sleepy Christian..

However, so does a tragic car crash, loss of a loved one... sickness.. loss of a job.. many things will turn ones thoughts to their savior.

Some, on the other hand.. feel anger and bitterness.. that's their choice.

 

[JacksBratt]

I personally don't share your view, as I believe that God is sovereign over all things. I can't emphasis the term "all things" strongly enough.

so I believe that God actually predetermined everything, including this virus. I will never attempt to workout, why God does what He does. That's His personal business, He reveals what He wants us to know at this time so we should be glad He hasn't left us in the dark.

Our minds are puny, but His is infinitely greater so we would blow our motherboards, hard drives and CPU's if we attempted to work out His divine will.

I respect your view.. However, we have different views of this.

I think God was well aware that the virus would arise.. I don't think He caused it... I don't think He made it and released it..

I think it is His will that it runs it's course... He allowed it..

 

[JacksBratt]

The point of this age is that regardless of our scientific achievement our human government is either a vulture or a dead carcass. This is laying the groundwork for the Lord to come in and set up His kingdom on Earth.

I agree 100%

 

[renniks]

Why pray if God isn't behind everything, good or bad?

Why pray if God is behind everything... good and bad?
Is your prayer doing anything if God is behind all evil? You might as well be praying to the enemy.
God says he hated lying, but if he's evil, that would make him the liar.

 

[Marumorose]

How do we answer unbelievers who ask Christians, why our loving God would (allow or send) this microscopic enemy to reek such devastating havoc on the world.

There's a lot of disagreement among professing Christians on, whether God sent this virus or whether it was manufactured in a lab and sent out to be used as a weapon of war. Or whether it's neither of those and it's just a random quirk of nature.

I'm not claiming to know the exact origin, but I do believe that God is sovereign over all of His creation. And nothing happens apart from His predetermined will.

So even if it was created by someone will evil intentions, God still uses evil to accomplish His good purpose. I found this very hard to accept, until I realized that I was trying to conform God to my own image.

I can't think of the Bible passages right now, which say that God has only revealed a very limited amount about Himself to us at this time. But He will reveal a lot more in eternity so as hard as it is, we just have to keep trusting in Him.

God did send the virus to the world. HE could have used someone to manufacture it in a lab. The bible keeps telling us about what will happen to us if we do not obey GOD. If we read the books of the prophets( like Jeremiah, Isaiah, Ezekiel), they talk about the punishments we will receive for not obeying our God.
Deutoronomy 28:22 says "The Lord will strike you with wasting disease, with fever and inflammation, with scorching heat and drought, with blight and mildew, which will plague you until you perish.
We need to go back to God and stop worshipping the devil and false gods
May God Bless You

 

[Dave L]

Why pray if God is behind everything... good and bad?
Is your prayer doing anything if God is behind all evil? You might as well be praying to the enemy.
God says he hated lying, but if he's evil, that would make him the liar.

How many sicknesses are healed by having sins forgiven and repentance granted?

 

[Dave L]

Because God is there for us when bad things, like a virus, happen. That doesn’t mean that God causes the bad things to happen. Do you think that God placed an iceberg directly in front of RMS Titanic? Of course not. That disaster was the fault of a captain who ignored ice warnings and didn’t slow his ship down.

The bible says God sends 4 sore judgments. War, famine disease and wild animals like the Chinese eat.

 

[JacksBratt]

How many sicknesses are healed by having sins forgiven and repentance granted?

None.

You're not sick because you sinned. You're sick because this world has illnesses..

If people who sinned got sick.. everyone would be sick all the time.

 

[JacksBratt]

The bible says God sends 4 sore judgments. War, famine disease and wild animals like the Chinese eat.

What?

 

[Dave L]

What?

How well do you know your bible? It's found many times in the OT and all through the judgements in Revelation if you look for it.

 

[Dave L]

None.

You're not sick because you sinned. You're sick because this world has illnesses..

If people who sinned got sick.. everyone would be sick all the time.

Who is perfectly healthy? Never been to a Doctor? no medicine?

 

[Dave L]

That's a whole new thread..

How about this? God said that He wants us to pray.. but.. at the same time He knows what we are going to say before we even think it...

SO.... why pray at all if He already knows?

Prayer moves us into a position to receive from God.

 

[Dave L]

Yep... and... Your point?

He doesn't work some only things you take a fancy for.