The current crisis has many people worried and anxious about the future. And with a global pandemic of this magnitude, some are wondering if what we are witnessing is a sign that the end times are coming. And if the end times are imminent, what should we do? That’s what a listener recently called in to The Patrick Madrid Show to ask.
The listener explained that our current situation has her frightened because it seems to mirror a prophecy (based on private revelation) about the end times, and she asked Patrick for his take on it.
Patrick responded, “I get the feeling that what we’re experiencing with this slow down, [where we] stay put, stay indoors, get to know your family again, that in retrospect what seems to us now to be a huge imposition, and a really difficult and irritating constraint that we’re under, we may look back on this in the not too distant future and be grateful for this as a gift. I see it as a kind of gift to us right now. A blessing in disguise.”
Regarding whether the coronavirus is a sign of the end times, Patrick pointed out that we don’t know the day when the end of the world will come and Christ will return.
“It could happen during our lifetime. Or maybe it won’t happen during our lifetime,” he acknowledged. “But if it did, I have to think that by slowing down, being with family, having time to really think about a lot of things, including prayer, preparation, thinking about eternal realities, that would be a really good prelude to a three days of darkness situation. That’s my take on it.”
But if Patrick’s take wasn’t particularly comforting to you, Patrick recommended turning to Scripture for how we should approach these worries.
“Remember what Jesus said: in this world you will have tribulations. But be of good cheer, for I have overcome the world. I cling to that statement. Or when Jesus says: The wise man is the one who hears these words of mine and does them. He is like a man who builds his house on a rock. And when the wind and the rains and the storm burst against that house, it does not fall, because it has been built solidly on rock.”
Patrick pointed out that Jesus acknowledged that storms will come. Having Jesus as the foundation of your life doesn’t mean there will not be difficulties. In fact, Jesus tells us we tribulations are inevitable. But he also said that if we hear his words and follow them we will be okay. Trials and tribulations will come. But worrying about what trials the future may hold usually doesn’t help.
“I understand, it’s easy to start worrying,” Patrick said. “And if you let your mind run away with you, you can come up with all kinds of scenarios, most of which will not even happen. This is something I’ve learned from painful experience over the years. There have been many things in my life that I’ve worried about, and worried about, and lost sleep over that never happened. It never materialized. And isn’t it true that a lot of things that do materialize you don’t even see coming? You don’t even see it before it’s upon you. So you don’t have time to worry about it. But it’s all the things that mostly don’t even happen that we spend our time worrying about.”
“So as Jesus says,” Patrick concluded, “in the world you will have tribulation. But be of good cheer, for I have overcome the world. I think that’s the key to everything.”
Listen to the full conversation below:
The Patrick Madrid Show airs weekdays from 9:00 – noon Eastern/6:00 – 9:00 a.m. Pacific on Relevant Radio® and the Relevant Radio App.
