The Beginning of Sorrows

“Therefore I said, Look away from me;
I will weep bitterly, labor not to comfort me,
because of the spoiling of the daughter of my people”

Isaiah 22:4

After describing the ravages of war that mankind would bring upon himself in the last days, Jesus spoke of other catastrophic events that would define the world at that time. He indicated that the world would experience famine and disease, and even natural disasters (earthquakes), and that these events, coupled with religious deception and war, would constitute the catalyst for unprecedented devastation to come upon the earth. Jesus called them “the beginning of sorrows” (Mt. 24:8).

A Pale Horse

When the Messiah warned of religious deception, war, famine, and disease, His words were reflecting what the apostle John would later record when writing the book of Revelation or the Apocalypse. In this book seven seals are introduced. The first four of these seals are described as horsemen each riding a specific colored horse. The fourth horse and rider are very interesting. Notice the words John records:

And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see. And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth. (Rev. 6:7-8)

The Greek word for “pale” used by John when describing this horse is chloros. It is where the English word chloroform originates. It is a greenish, pale color and reflects a physical condition that is in the throws of death. With this in mind, consider what Jesus said about the last days. In the Olivet Prophecy He indicated that the ravages of pestilence are connected to war (Mt.24:7). This being the case, is it possible Jesus was describing biological or chemical warfare?

Bioterrorism: the New War

The threat of bioterrorism is very real in the world today. In the weeks following the September 11 attack on America, numerous cases were reported in which letters laced with Anthrax were sent through the mail resulting in several deaths.

Bioterrorism poses a very credible threat to human survival. In a very real sense it has changed the face of war. In part because biospores are relatively easy to make and much less expensive to produce than nuclear weapons. To illustrate this point, consider the following: recently researchers from the University of New York at Stony Brook created a manmade version of the polio virus. This was accomplished simply by following a recipe found on the Internet and using gene sequences obtained from a mail order supply house. According to Dr. Eckard Wimmer, the leader of the biomedical research team, the experiment was conducted to prove that it was possible to do. “The reason we did it was to prove it could be done, and it is now a reality.” Dr. Wimmer went on to say, “This approach has been talked about but people didn’t take it seriously. Now people have to take it seriously.”

The experiment headed up by Dr. Wimmer proves that eradicating a virus such as polio doesn’t mean the virus is gone forever. Biochemists can now reconstruct old viruses from blueprints easily accessible in scientific archives and from biological supplies purchased through the mail. Additionally, although the polio virus assembled in their laboratory was one of the simplest of human plagues, more complex and lethal strains such as smallpox could be created in the very near future. So serious is this threat that shortly after September 11, the United States began arranging for the production of enough smallpox vaccine to protect the entire U.S. population.

The potential destructive power of biological agents cannot be overstated. Dr. Barry Commoner, the former Director of Washington University’s Center for the Biology of Natural Systems warned that chemical and biological agents make nuclear weapons “look like a child’s toy.”

In 1968, Seymore Hersh reported in New York Times Magazine that “to initiate the use of plague or anthrax diseases that can kill more than 90 percent of their victims, would be to set in motion a DOOMSDAY MACHINE on the planet.” Today that machine is very close to being fully operational. Now imagine that power in the hands of a fanatic bent on destruction. Such people are not the slightest bit interested in the Geneva Convention. They do not care about the humane treatment of their adversaries. Many see themselves as agents of God on a holy mission to eradicate all who do not embrace their faith. These “warriors” will resort to any means to accomplish their end. Biological weapons are such a means.

When Jesus spoke of pestilence at the end time, he was not pondering its possibility. He was warning of its reality.