(Opinion) Be not afraid!

By Festus Ndukwe
While pondering and praying over the COVID-19 that has brought the world to its knees, the Lord opened my eyes to a wonderful scene in the Bible Book of Revelations 9 on the 5th angel and the 5th Trumpet.
Bottomless Pit Opens
The angel sounds the trumpet. A star falls from heaven. The angel is given a key, and he opens the bottomless pit. Smoke rises out of the pit as that of a great furnace, and the sun and the air darken. Out of the smoke emerges an army of locusts upon the earth, and they are given power to sting like scorpions. The king that presides over the locusts is an angel, called Apollyon.
I suppose this pit has in its storage many other terrible creatures. But at this sound of trumpet, only the locusts are given the command to come out for a mission on the earth. Not to bore you with the nature of the locusts but the job description given to them is frightening.
Job Description
As I was poring through this passage certain things struck me in the job description given to the locusts:
One, the locusts are given power by God. It means God will withdraw the power when their mission is done.
Two, they are given terms of reference that will govern their operation. Certain servants of God in Revelation 7 had been sealed in their foreheads. The locusts are commanded to hurt only those that have not been sealed. They should also not kill them, but to torment them for five months. At this time, my mind goes to sinners, backsliders, worldlings and hypocrites in churches.
The locusts are also charged not to hurt the grass, green things or trees.
Three, the persons that are tormented will seek death and will not find it, they will desire death and it will flee from them. It means that Death will be under restraint. How great is our God!
Worse, it must be noted that the plague of the locusts is not the only plague!
Many Saints will be Spared but…
Now, back to COVID-19. From what we saw as we prayed, the power behind this is a terrible beast from the waters. This power is given it to kill. With Revelation 9 in view, I believe the COVID-19 onslaught is a target practice for what is about to befall the earth, which is already foretold in the Bible.
For true children of God, we have had a preview in the Book of Revelation and other Books of what is to come and should not be caught unawares.
If the lessons are missed, then each person has himself to blame. Also, those that have scoffed at or rejected the sacrifice of Jesus Christ by God will have themselves to blame when the real-life dramas catch up with them.
In the case of COVID-19, it has also been given terms of reference as it carries out its mission. It will hurt some people, while it will kill some others. Over 4000 have been killed and over 85,000 infected in America alone, far more than Italy, Spain and China. There are others that God has not given the virus the power to touch. Many true saints will escape this scourge. They have seals on their foreheads, Eze.9:4, Jn.10:14, 2Tim.2:9, Nah.1:7, Rev.7:3, 22:4. If you are a true saint, there is no need to fear. It will not touch you, and if by any means it touches you, it will not harm you. The sting has been drawn and drained out by the blood of the Lamb. But if you are a hypocrite in church, you must fear. It will not only kill, it will send you to hell.
Why the Need to Pray
Now, this is where we must pray, and be urgent in our preaching and taking the Good News of the birth, life, death, resurrection, and second coming of the Lord and Saviour of mankind, Jesus Christ, to the world.
This scourge may usher in a world order and control. We must not allow it. We must burst it through prayer. The reason is because a world order may hinder the preaching of the Gospel, if it does not stop it. As it is, many people, people groups (ethnic nationalities, tribes, and tongues) are not yet reached or engaged with the Gospel. Many are not yet saved. Many young people (even old people), though in church are not in the kingdom of Jesus Christ. Worse is that the Church is not ready, she is so much polluted with the world. It means we must pray and ask God to stay this evil scourge in His mercy, so that the world order will not take advantage of this to take over and seal up the salvation of many, and they find themselves thrust into hell. This will make a mockery of the blood of Christ shed at Calvary. We must pray that the wind that brought the scourge must take it back to where it came from.
But for the true saints, there is no cause to fear. COVID-19 has no power over them except it is given them from above, Jn.19:11. For the unsaved in Christ Jesus, they must fear. They are already tottering at a precipice. A little shove they are in hell. That is why we must pray. The time to do it is Now!
▪ Ndukwe, a minister, sent this from Lagos via WhatsApp