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Viewpoint from Izabela Clarry 05/06/2020
 Izabela Clarry
Seventh-day Adventist Church, Gorleston
As the news reports have been dominated by one subject, Covid-19, one can’t help but wonder, what has been happening to this world and what kind of future awaits us?
We read in the Gospel of Matthew:
The disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?” And Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ’, and will deceive many. And you will hear of wars and rumours of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet(...) And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows”
Matthew 24:3-8 (NKJV)
 The Amplified Bible translates verse 8 this way: “But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs”
Apostle Paul writes:
“We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time” Romans 8:22 (NIVUK)
Perhaps this comparison to birth pangs resonates with me, as I recently gave birth to our second child. As the contractions are getting stronger and closer together, these are sure signs that the birth is imminent
 So Jesus foretold that pestilences (pandemics) are one of the conditions our world would be in just before He returns. We’ve been witnessing these signs for many years now, and they have been increasing in frequency and intensity
However, do we have to be worried and anxious as we are listening to the news reports? Not as long as our lives are hidden in Christ Jesus. As we trust in Him, we can have peace that whatever happens to us in this life, a glorious future awaits us. As Jesus promised:
“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am” John 14:1-3 (NIVUK)
also published in the Great Yarmouth Mercury
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