Reverend Father John Chinenye Oluoma, addressing the issues world's wide disease coronavirus (covid-19) pandemic

The conspiracy theorists and you 

In Exo 12:1-14 we read the story of the death of every firstborn male of man and animals in Egypt. Only a group of people survived it, the Israelites who were slaves. They were spared because they followed instructions. When a global phenomenon occurs, no human being is exempt because of race, colour, tribe, religion, region, ideology or any other derived identity tags we give ourselves. 

Coronavirus will not discriminate between Christians and Muslims, Catholics and non Catholics, believers and unbelievers. Nature understands only humanity. It will take a special revelation or knowledge to escape it. Such revelation or knowledge will work for anyone irrespective of identity tags. If any Egyptian family had knowledge of the Passover meal and the sprinkling of the blood on door posts, it would have been spared the visit of the death angel. The death angel didn't know who was Israelite or not, couldn't tell the houses of Israelites apart from those of the Egyptians. This angel just couldn't access any house with the blood on the lintel. It was a special revelation and those who followed the instructions survived.

Another angel of death is here again. The revelation or instructions have been given: stay indoors, avoid crowd, wash your hands always etc. Yes, yes, I know they don't sound religious at all, they sound too ordinary and medical to pass for revelation. To make matters worse they didn't come from our powerful tongue talking and prophecy dishing men of God. Those who gave us this revelation didn't say "God told me" or "as I was praying the Spirit of the Lord started talking". I bet you that Moses's passover instructions to the Israelites didn't sound very religious then. Well, God doesn't seem to reserve revelations or knowledge of the things that help human beings escape mortal dangers like coronavirus to 'pulpit church owning men of God" only. Some come through doctors, some through engineers, some through teachers and others.

They sprinkled the blood of lambs on their door post. Take note that they weren't told to gather in any special house or mountain to pray. They were told to stay put in their houses. Isa 26:20 says "go my people, go to your private room and shut yourselves in. Hide yourselves a little while until the retribution has passed". There were synagogues and the Temple then, God didn't tell them to gather there, rather they were to go into their homes. 

This is for those who fear that God will not hear prayers said outside our church buildings or large gatherings. I love church gatherings, I long for the assembly of believers, I miss that atmosphere of convivial piety when we meet together, I can't wait for it's resumption. Yet I still know that God isn't confined there. So, don't let anyone make you feel less of God's presence in your house because of the absence of church gathering. Church hasn't stopped, you are the church, the building maybe empty but you are not empty of God.

Globalisation 

Some men of God spreading this gospel of conspiracy theories also said that covid-19 is a deliberate attempt by globalists to start a new world order with one religion and government. Oh please, give me a break. Globalization is not singularity or uniformity of cultures, economies and governments, it means the interconnection and interaction of human societies across the globe. The outbreak of the coronavirus isn't a cause of globalization, rather it's spread is the effect of globalization. Coronavirus met globalization and will leave it.
Our Lord Jesus Christ was born into globalization, lived in it and left it. Rome was the super power, it introduced single currency for taxation. Remember how the Pharisees tried to use it to ensnare Jesus in Mt 22:15-22. They asked him if it were lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not. Globalization didn't start today, in fact it's an irreversible trajectory of history, it ain't gonna stop and it won't erase heterogeneity either. Economic activities seem to be the single strongest forces of globalization. In the time of Christ Jesus on earth it was Roman Empire. Jesus didn't cry wolf.

Christianity started in Palestine and has spread to all corners of the earth, it has a mutual relationship with globalization. Same men of God crying wolf are beneficiaries of globalization. You are a Nigerian but have churches in Europe, America and African countries that make huge monetary returns in coveted foreign currencies but have never complained of globalization until now. You tour the world to minister with pomp and pageantry, globalization wasn't a problem. Your private jets, exotic cars, media platforms and equipments, designer clothes are imported, now even announcers in your television are foreigners o, you didn't see globalization as satanic. You will call foreign powers to intervene in Nigeria when threatened and don't know that's globalization. 

Suddenly globalization is satanic and end time because you are told to stop church gathering for a while. I no know wetin I go tell you yet. Globalization has suddenly metamorphosed into a new world order with one government and one religion, and I guess Pope Francis will be the General Overseer as a reward for sacrificing Italy. Who do us this thing sef? Worse still is that thousands of gullible followers have been infected with this viral ignorance and idiocy.

Punishment and consequence

Some religious people have also said with absolute certitude that this outbreak is a punishment from God. Well, I know God speaks through events and happenings, but I don't know if coronavirus is a punishment for our sins. I personally don't believe it is, why? Psalm 130 says if God marked our guilt no one would survive. In other words, no one can stand God's punishment. 

Punishment comes across as a deliberate and planned action imposed by one on another. I Reverend Father John Chinenye Oluoma don't think that God just woke up one day and manufactured viruses to afflict the world. I rather interpret this event with the term consequence. The virus outbreak maybe the consequence of failed human experimentation, it could be the effect of human wickedness, it could be the consequence of human carelessness with nature, the infection and the death can also be the consequence of our vulnerability as flesh and blood. It's like eating an apple with maggots in it and having stomach problems. The stomach problems won't be a punishment but rather a consequence. The best we can do is learn some important lessons from this crisis.

Once more, stay safe, wash hands, follow the health tips and instructions, pray fervently in your homes and stop listening to conspiracy theorists who put fear and premature rapture fear into you. Remember, this is not the first universal epidermcs the world is seeing, it may not be the last or the worst. I Reverend Father John Chinenye Oluoma pray Col 3:3 upon you: May you remain hidden in Christ Jesus.