As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to escalate around the world, with new cases being reported all the time, spreading even faster like wildfire is the apocalypse of conspiracy theories about the virus. Several misguided and unfounded rumors about the virus are rife on the internet and social media.
One of the most prominent ones was that the virus could be a bioweapon and that there's a connection between 5G mobile technology and COVID-19. The weirdest one that I find laughable and at the same time disturbing is the claim that the whole coronavirus outbreak is a grand plan to fast track the agenda of the new world order. It postulates that everyone would eventually be infected and then be compulsorily implanted with a microchip vaccine, which is a cover-up for the mark of the beast (666).
It is laughable because the narratives around this particular theory do not appeal to reason or the authenticity of scriptures at all. It is disturbing, because pastors and Christian leaders, who should know better, are the protagonists of this rumor.
I am glad that some leaders of thought within and outside the purview of the church have been debunking some of these hollow claims. I am equally compelled to share some insights, especially with regard to how it affects the body of Christ.
First, it should be clear that none of these conspiracy theories have been substantiated scientifically or biblically. Second, COVID-19 is not the first pandemic that the earth has experienced neither will it be the last. And every pandemic has had its share of conspiracy theories. Those who are making apocalyptic speculations should, therefore, do a proper check with history, before ranting out reckless prognostications.
The greatest pandemic in history was the black death or bubonic plague in the 1300s, precisely 1347. It lasted four years, killing hundreds of millions of lives and wiping out about 60% of Europe’s population. There wasn't even a zero G mobile technology then, neither did the world come to an end.
Next was the 1918 Spanish flu, which raged for two years, with confirmed infections of over 500 million, a quarter of the world's population then, and 50 million deaths. The world didn't also end, in spite of raging speculations of the end of the age.
Third, the scaremongers peddling the rumor of the mark of the beast vaccine, should sit with their Bibles and do a proper study on eschatology. In view of the current trends in world politics, it doesn't seem we are anywhere near the time of the mark of the beast on the prophetic timetable. This is not denying that there are implicit signs of the end time, as there have been since the events leading to A.D 70.
What is curious is why should Christians be apprehensive or panic-stricken because of digital developments, whether or not they are symptomatic of the end of the age? Paul writes, [we] are not in the dark about that day, so that it sneaks up on [us] like a thief (1Thess 5:4). We are children of light. We walk in the light. We don't need a pandemic or a global upheaval to jerk us into hysteria about our eternal destiny. We shouldn't be ignorant like the unsaved world. If anything, the unfolding events should inspire hope in us, with the realization that our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed ( Rom 13:11).
Fourth, technology is not a bad omen. We should stop behaving as if we are haunted by every technological breakthrough. We seem to get agitated by every digitized innovation, with the eerie assumption that it's a preparation for the coming of the antichrist. Technology is a creative tool, a product of God's common grace that should be used to the advantage of the church and for the expansion of the Kingdom.
Finally, the church as the pillar and ground of the truth should not be a rumor mill. Christians should be truth-seekers and truth-tellers. That's why we should not be identified with peddling fake news, or unsubstantiated reports. We should learn to filter information. We should test everything that is said [online or offline] and hold on to what is good (1 Thess 5:21).
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