22. Pestilence

What is Pestilence?

A pestilence of flies surrounding an Egyptian woman and child. The definition of a pestilence is any infectious, fatal disease that is widespread or an evil influence or deliverer. An example of a pestilence is the bubonic plague. 

An example of a pestilence is a swarm of mosquitoes carrying disease. 

 Pestilence dictionary definition | pestilence defined - YourDictionary • www.yourdictionary.com › pestilence 

Biblical View of Pestilence

Lev. 26:23 And if ye will not be reformed by me by these things, but will walk contrary unto me;  

26:24 Then will I also walk contrary unto you, and will punish you yet seven times for your sins. 

26:25 And I will bring a sword upon you, that shall avenge the quarrel of [my] covenant: and when ye are gathered together within your cities, I will send the pestilence among you; and ye shall be delivered into the hand of the enemy. 

1 CHRON. 21:14 So the LORD sent pestilence upon Israel: and there fell of Israel seventy thousand men. 

2 Sam. 24:15 So the LORD sent a pestilence upon Israel from the morning even to the time appointed: and there died of the people from Dan even to Beersheba seventy thousand men. 

 24:16 And when the angel stretched out his hand upon Jerusalem to destroy it, the LORD repented him of the evil, and said to the angel that destroyed the people, It is enough: stay now thine hand. And the angel of the LORD was by the threshingplace of Araunah the Jebusite. 

How God's People will be Protected from these natural Calamities?

• Psalms 91:1He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. 

• 91:2 I will say of the LORD, [He is] my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust. • 91:3 Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, [and] from the noisome pestilence. 

• 91:4 He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth [shall be thy] shield and buckler. 

• 91:5 Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; [nor] for the arrow [that] flieth by day; 

• 91:6 [Nor] for the pestilence [that] walketh in darkness; [nor] for the destruction [that] wasteth at noonday. 

Matt. 24:4 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. 

• 24:5 For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. 

• 24:6 And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all [these things] must come to pass, but the end is not yet. 

• 24:7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. 

• 24:8 All these [are] the beginning of sorrows. 

From the Pen of Inspiration

John Witnessed Terrors of the Last Days.

John . . . was a witness of the terrible scenes that will take place as signs of Christ's coming. He saw armies mustering for battle, and men's hearts failing them for fear. He saw the earth moved out of its place, the mountains carried into the midst of the sea, the waves thereof roaring and troubled, and the mountains shaking with the swelling thereof. He saw the vials of God's wrath opened, and pestilence, famine, and death come upon the inhabitants of the earth (RH Jan. 11, 1887). 

We are amid the perils of the last days, and trying times are before us. Everything that can be shaken will be shaken, that those things that cannot be shaken may remain. Drought, famine, pestilence, earthquakes, casualties by sea and land, will multiply. Life will be unsafe anywhere, only as the life is hid with Christ in God. Now, while the angels are holding the four winds, is our opportunity to seek the Lord most earnestly. {20MR 285.3} 

• You do not realize your peril. Nations and people have in different ages separated from God and lost faith in truth, in duty, so that they could not discern man's eternal responsibility to his God. You are passing over the same ground. You have clung to your idols, and are becoming spiritually benumbed. Whatever it may cost you to recover your faith, you would better deny self and make any sacrifice than live without the presence and favor of God. There is something more to be dreaded by individuals who have had light and knowledge of the truth than drought, famine, or temporal inconveniences. It is a worse thing to lose faith in God, in truth, in duty. It is far worse to choose your own way, to love money, to love those things that minister to selfish gratification and indulgence. It is a terrible thing to imperil the soul's highest interest for any temporal gain or worldly advantage. {20MR 285.4} 

• We are amid the perils of the last days, and trying times are before us. Everything that can be shaken will be shaken, that those things that cannot be shaken may remain. Drought, famine, pestilence, earthquakes, casualties by sea and land, will multiply. Life will be unsafe anywhere, only as the life is hid with Christ in God. Now, while the angels are holding the four winds, is our opportunity to seek the Lord most earnestly. {20MR 285.3} 

• You do not realize your peril. Nations and people have in different ages separated from God and lost faith in truth, in duty, so that they could not discern man's eternal responsibility to his God. You are passing over the same ground. You have clung to your idols, and are becoming spiritually benumbed. Whatever it may cost you to recover your faith, you would better deny self and make any sacrifice than live without the presence and favor of God. There is something more to be dreaded by individuals who have had light and knowledge of the truth than drought, famine, or temporal inconveniences. It is a worse thing to lose faith in God, in truth, in duty. It is far worse to choose your own way, to love money, to love those things that minister to selfish gratification and indulgence. It is a terrible thing to imperil the soul's highest interest for any temporal gain or worldly advantage. {20MR 285.4}