The Coronavirus

Below is but a small measure of revelation that my father had received from the Lord. I hope this will be a blessing to you. All that is written below are the words of my father.

April 6, 2020 

In loving memory of my father
Robert Louis (Bob) Padgett
July 28, 1931-May 22, 2023

In this message, which is primarily for Christians, I want to share with you my understanding of the truth about the coronavirus and all other natural disasters that we will face in the future. As I stated in a previous message, Crisis always reveals character. Let me say that once more. Crisis always reveals character. It is easy to live a morally good church life when everything in our life is going smoothly.

But before sharing with you about the coronavirus, let us look at a highly related 'scenario' within the world and the church in America, namely the relationship of the number 10 with the coronavirus pandemic.

In the Bible, the number 10 and the word "tenth" occur more than 300 times and in several different contexts. Ten is viewed as a complete and perfect number. Ten is 5 + 5, or 2 times 5, where 5 is the Biblical number of grace. In some contexts the number 10 signifies law, testimony, government, restoration, and the completeness of divine order. In Genesis 1 the phrase "God said" occurs 10 times, which is a testimony of His creative power. God gave the 10 Commandments to man. Ten therefore represents man's responsibility to keep the word of God.

In other contexts, the number 10 speaks of trial and testing. Ten generations of man lived on the earth before the flood came. Noah was the 10th generation. 10 plagues were poured out on Egypt in the time of the captivity and bondage of the Jews. The verses in Revelation 2:8 and 10 clearly speak of a time of trial and tribulation.

8 And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write; These things saith the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive;
10 Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.

It is important to note that those verses are addressed to the "angel of the church in Smyrna," where the word "angel" implies a pastor, an elder, or whoever is considered the dominant spiritual leader of a local church. But the message also applies to each believer in the local church. When we all stand at the judgment seat of Christ, no one can excuse his behavior on earth by saying that my pastor never told me that. What is the significance of the word "ten" in this context? We believe that the Lord, in His grace and mercy, gives a local church 10 years to decide and determine their destiny. After 10 years one possible destiny is for a local church to continue to go around the same mountain forever or to continue to dwell in the vast sea of religious mediocrity. That has been the end product of the vast majority of denominational churches, but it also applies to charismatic churches and house churches. The only other alternative is to walk with the Lord, to live and walk in the Spirit. No one can walk with one foot in the world and one foot in the kingdom of God.

The Apostle Paul first visited the Church at Ephesus in 54 A.D. Ten years later, in 64 A.D, Paul wrote the Epistle to the Church at Ephesus. In Ephesians 1:17-18 Paul prayed,

17 That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him:
18 The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of His calling, and what the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,

Although the saints at Ephesus had received all the counsel of God through Paul and an abundance of revelation concerning the Word of God, they had not yet received the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of the Lord God. We do not pray for that which we already have. Only God, not Paul, can give us the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him. It is one thing to know the written word of God; it is quite another thing to know the Author of the Word of God. Paul himself, after 30 years of ministry, prayed, "That I may know Him" (Philippians 3:10). But 32 years later, in 96 A.D., the Church at Ephesus had left their first love and was in danger of having their candlestick removed unless they repented (Revelation 2:4-5). That is proof enough that even Spirit-filled Christians need to repent! They did not lose their first love, so they did go to heaven after leaving this earth; but unless they repented they forfeited their opportunity to rule and reign with Christ for 1000 years.

I have always said that I have never seen a local church like the New Testament house church we were part of from 1968 through May of 1980. We never had a paid minister, never had anyone who had been through a seminary or bible school, had many good teachers from time to time, never had a church building, no written programs, never passed a collection plate, never used a podium, never knew who was going to start singing a song or when, and in general never knew who was going to say what or when. There were about 70 adults in that local church. We had an abundant supply of gifts of the Spirit in operation and a good community spirit of helping one another in daily activities, but no one man was in charge of the various church operations. However, it all started going downhill after 10 years. My wife and I saw the handwriting on the wall in 1978 and the Lord made it clear that we would have to leave that church or the ministry the Lord put us into could never be fulfilled. But we still had to wait on the timing of the Lord, which came on May 30, 1980. That church totally disintegrated in 1981.

For 10 years (or more) you may have heard some wonderful teaching and preaching through your pastor and other teachers. Do you think that you are more spiritual than those Christians at Ephesus who were taught by Paul? Therefore is it possible that you could face the same end as the church at Ephesus? Human nature has never changed and God is no respecter of persons.

Hebrews 3:13 admonishes us to "exhort one another daily while it is called today, lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin." Colossians 1:28 says that warning every man takes priority over teaching every man in all wisdom. The Church today rarely hears words of exhortation or warning.

Now back to what is on the minds of men today ... the coronavirus. We are seeing a worldwide pandemic break forth on the earth. Even medical experts say this pandemic will not go away soon. Who knows whether it may ever go away? It has resulted in widespread social, economic, and religious repercussions, such as a volatile bear stock market. It has also caused all sports events, theater and artistic events, schools and colleges, mega-churches, and most churches to cancel or suspend their activities. Most colleges and churches now continue to promote their services "on-line" or else they will soon be forced to go out of business for lack of funds. The economy is faltering; many small businesses will likely fall. The unemployment rate is staggering. The government really has no answers except to apply a band-aid of trillions of dollars, to be paid for by all tax-payers. The coronavirus is like cancer, which first started about 1500 B.C. The American Cancer Society has been soliciting untold millions of dollars for more than 100 years in an effort to find a cure for cancer. But man has no solution for cancer and man has no solution for coronavirus. It is like putting water in a bucket that has holes. Of course the Lord has His solution for every problem. We do well to tune in to the Lord's solutions.

On a positive note, with mandates to stay at home, this pandemic is forcing the re-establishment of the family unit, which for Christians is the foundational cell or unit of the body of Christ. If we cannot maintain the unity of the Spirit in our families, how can we expect to have unity in the local church? When the Lord rained down manna from heaven for forty years as His chosen people wandered in the wilderness, the Lord's instructions were that each man (male) was to gather the manna every morning, except on the Sabbath day, for himself and his family (Exodus 16:16-31). Also if any man left the manna until the next morning, it bred worms and stank. Now consider Deuteronomy 6:4-16.

4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:

5 And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.

6 And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:

7 And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.

For many long years before the coronavirus pandemic emerged, many of God's chosen people have not taught the ways of the Lord to their own children. Instead, we have said, "We are too busy. Let the Church teach them." Further, for the most part, we Christians have become spectators in our gatherings of large numbers of other Christians. Continuing in Deuteronomy 6, Verse 8. 

8 And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.

9 And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.

10 And it shall be, when the LORD thy God shall have brought thee into the land which He sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give thee great and goodly cities, which thou buildedst not,

11 And houses full of all good things, which thou filledst not, and wells digged, which thou diggedst not, vineyards and olive trees, which thou plantedst not; when thou shalt have eaten and be full;

12 Then beware lest thou forget the LORD, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage. 

13 Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God, and serve him, and shalt swear by His name.

Verse 13 says that we should fear the Lord. Jesus said, in Matthew 10:28, 

"And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear Him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell." 

One of the characteristics of the early church after the day of Pentecost was that fear came upon every soul ... not the fear of man and not the fear of the devil but the fear of the Lord. For many years now the Church has lost the fear of the Lord.

14 Ye shall not go after other gods, of the gods of the people which are round about you;

15 (For the LORD thy God is a jealous God among you) lest the anger of the LORD thy God be kindled against thee, and destroy thee from off the face of the earth.

Who is able to destroy His chosen people from off the face of the earth? not man and not the devil ... only the Lord can do that.

16 Ye shall not tempt the LORD your God, as ye tempted him in Massah.

I would encourage everyone to read Deuteronomy, Chapters 28-30, which speak of the blessings of obedience and the curses of not obeying the Lord. Those verses speak of the plagues that the Lord will bring on His people as a result of disobedience. I believe we are now living in the time of one such plague ... the coronavirus.

Now for another what I consider to be a positive note. Before the emergence of the coronavirus, in churches which have large numbers of people, those who attend are basically spectators. Now with many churches streaming on-line, the same people are still spectators. Christianity was never intended to be a spectator religion. That is why, in Acts 8, the Lord scattered ALL of the church at Jerusalem abroad. Now Christian families are sequestered in their own homes, and, Jesus said that where 2 or three are gathered together in His Name, there He would be also (Matthew 18:20). As for me and my house, we prefer the presence of the Lord over any type of socialization.

Dr. Birx, the coronavirus response coordinator in the White House, recently predicted we will have up to 200,000 coronavirus deaths in the United States "if we do things almost perfectly." I believe all of the medical experts are agreed that this current pandemic will get worse in the United States before it gets better. But what does the Lord say? 

Jeremiah 12:5, "If thou hast run with the footmen, and they have wearied thee, then how canst thou contend with horses? and if in the land of peace, wherein thou trustedst, they wearied thee, then how wilt thou do in the swelling of Jordan?"

The important questions are: "Where did this virus come from?" and "Why?" More importantly, "How do we Christians respond?" Unless we know for a certainty the source of the virus and why it has come, then we are unable to respond correctly. Some Christian "leaders" have told us to pray and ask the Lord to remove this coronavirus. Other Christian "leaders" have probably "rebuked the devil," invoking the Name of Jesus. Some church pastors seem to think that they are immune to this coronavirus, because of a misunderstanding of the promises of God. Some churches think that it is more important to continue their normal routine than to obey the laws and decrees of a worldly government. Therefore they disobey and defy the civil authority guidelines on distancing, not more than 10 people at a time in a given location, etc., and continue to have their "worship services" as always. As we will see shortly, that is rebellion, pure and simple. Several evangelical ministers have already been arrested for continuing their regular services in defiance of the state mandates, but there Will be more. In one reported case the pastor said he could not even pray for people unless he touched them. My, my, my! How far have we fallen?

Paul, six times in Scripture said that he would not that we should be ignorant of the Lord's ways. Peter said the same thing once. I personally believe that those pastors who continue their regular services with hundreds of people will see some of their flock come down with coronavirus.

This past Thursday night I listened to two Christian songs on the internet. In the process, four unrelated blogs came up which were comments by four different Christian ministers concerning the coronavirus. Three of the speakers were by well-known "big names" in the Christian community. The fourth was by a relatively unknown believer with no other person around. So I listened to three of them and about 1/3 of the fourth one. The reason I only listened to 1/3 of one of the messages was because of what the "big-name" pastor said. He kept his hundreds of members laughing. Indeed, he would be a better comedian than a pastor. He also said that "this is good stuff I am preaching; I think I will buy a copy of my own sermon." Two of the messages were from Dr. ABC and Dr. XYZ (names withheld). In two of the blogs, the pastors defied the civil guidelines and orders concerning social distancing and had their regular packed meetings. I thought it was significant that not one of the four preachers ever used the word "repent." But John the Baptist, Jesus, and the early apostles all preached, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." The only blog that was close to the truth was by an unknown young man in his thirties. Unfortunately hundreds of thousands of Christians swallow all of that type of humanism. Why? a lack of discernment, a lack of knowledge, a lack of understanding.

Jonah 4:11, "And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle?" 

Why did God spare Nineveh? because they repented.

Unfortunately, contrary to some evangelical beliefs, the promises of God are not automatic for Christians. In just a few minutes we hope to substantiate that statement using many scriptures.

Because of the sharp rise in coronavirus symptoms and deaths in the United States, another good question is, are "church services," as we know them today, considered "essential services" in the eyes of the Lord? The key operative phrase in that question is "as we know them today." About 25 years ago a good brother in Christ who had much spiritual understanding started a charismatic church in another state. He and I saw almost everything "eye to eye" concerning the ways of the Lord. That church did not follow the typical pattern of the church at Jerusalem, where the pastor made all of the decisions. That church instead was patterned after the church at Antioch, where a plurality of elders governed. (I believe, without any doubt, that the scriptural pattern of church government must be where a plurality of elders govern.) After that church had an initial growth spurt for a few years, he shared a word with me privately. I remember exactly his words. He said "the best thing that could happen to this church would be to totally disband and start all over again on a more sure foundation." I completely agreed with him.

Also, about 45 years ago another brother in Christ started a mid-week meeting in his home to augment the regular Sunday services. After about two or three years he stated to all of the elders that he was discontinuing that meeting. He said that the same people came every week, they sat in the same chairs, sang the same songs, went through the same routine, and nothing was happening. So why have the meeting? Again, I totally agreed with him. Does that have any application for us today?

Now our first question is: Where did the coronavirus come from? And by that I mean did it come from man, from the devil, or from the Lord? I believe very strongly that this coronavirus came from the Lord. I believe that for two reasons ... first, because the great predominance from Scripture states that very clearly as we will see shortly. The second reason I believe the coronavirus came from the Lord is because of the witness of the Spirit within me; and, as Paul said, I believe also that I have the Spirit of God. Although the following Verse is in another context, the same principle applies to our topic at hand.

Acts 5:39, "But if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it; lest haply ye be found even to fight against God." 

If anything comes from God, no man can overthrow it. Isaiah 45:7 says, 

"I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things." 

When Lucifer rebelled, he became Satan, the prince of the power of the air. He is the personification of evil. Who created Lucifer, knowing beforehand of that rebellion?

A good principle to help us to rightly divide the written word of God is to see how many times the same event is recorded in the Bible. We should not look at scriptures in isolation to try to justify our doctrine. For example, we know from the Book of Job that Satan could not touch Job except by the permissive will or decree from God Himself. I am not aware of any other such example in the Bible. Does that mean that all what men call "bad" things come to believers from Satan but only after the Lord allows them? I believe that the Bible answers that question. The answer is NO. God is sovereign. He can do anything that He wills and at any time. Just because we have been saved does not guarantee that we will always be saved, no matter what we do. That gets us into the heresy of "once saved, always saved." That heresy has been taught by some very big, well-known evangelical ministers. There are many scriptures which refute that heresy. In addition, that heresy implies that we Christians no longer have a free will.

The God who protects and blesses is also the God who sends disaster and pestilence through which He intends to accomplish His righteous purposes on earth. For example, we read in Amos 4,

6 And I also have given you cleanness of teeth in all your cities, and want of bread in all your places: yet have ye not returned unto Me, saith the LORD.

7 And also I have withholden the rain from you, when there were yet three months to the harvest: and I caused it to rain upon one city, and caused it not to rain upon another city: one piece was rained upon, and the piece whereupon it rained not withered.

8 So two or three cities wandered unto one city, to drink water; but they were not satisfied: yet have ye not returned unto Me, saith the LORD.

9 I have smitten you with blasting and mildew: when your gardens and your vineyards and your fig trees and your olive trees increased, the palmerworm devoured them: yet have ye not returned unto Me, saith the LORD.

10 I have sent among you the pestilence after the manner of Egypt: your young men have I slain with the sword, and have taken away your horses; and I have made the stink of your camps to come up unto your nostrils: yet have ye not returned unto Me, saith the LORD.

11 I have overthrown some of you, as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and ye were as a firebrand plucked out of the burning: yet have ye not returned unto Me, saith the LORD.

12 Therefore thus will I do unto thee, O Israel: and because I will do this unto thee, prepare to meet thy God, O Israel.

13 For, lo, He that formeth the mountains, and createth the wind, and declareth unto man what is His thought, that maketh the morning darkness, and treadeth upon the high places of the earth, The LORD, The God of hosts, is His name.

We see the same warning from the Lord in Exodus 5, Exodus 9, Leviticus 26, Deuteronomy 28, 2 Samuel 24, 1 Chronicles 21, 2 Chronicles 7, and throughout Jeremiah and Ezekiel, to name just a few. We have seen earlier, from Deuteronomy 6:15, that the Lord is able to destroy His people from off the face of the earth. Now let us consider a number of similar verses.

Jude 1:5, "I will therefore put you in remembrance, though ye once knew this, how that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not." 

What does it mean that the people "believed not"? They certainly believed that the Lord had saved and delivered them out of the captivity of the enemy. They experienced that with their natural senses. 

Who destroyed all of His chosen people except two adults, Joshua and Caleb, after He had delivered them out of bondage from Egypt? the Lord Himself.

Who said that He will once more shake heaven and earth (Haggai 2:6-7, 21; Hebrews 12:26-27)? the Lord Himself.

Who broke up the "let us get together and build a tower that will reach unto heaven" at Babel in Genesis 11? the Lord Himself.

Estimates of the population of the world in Noah's time range from 27 million to 750 million.

Who sent the flood in Noah's day that destroyed all but 8 souls? the Lord Himself.

Who rained down fire and brimstone on Sodom and Gomorrah? the Lord Himself.

Who was ready to destroy almost all of the folks who came out of Egypt, except that Moses interceded? the Lord Himself.

Then we see the destruction in the Book of Joel, where the Lord says the destroyers were "His great army." 

Joel 2:25, "And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpiller, and the palmerworm, My great army which I sent among you."

Who sent hurricane Katrina to New Orleans in August of 2005 that resulted in more than 1800 deaths and more than 1.25 billion dollars of damage? I believe the Lord Himself. 

A few years ago I started listening to some good Christian music on the internet. One such song was "I Sing Praises to your Name, Oh Lord" by Terry Macalmon at a Benny Hinn crusade in Shreveport, Louisiana in 2001 before 15,000 Christians, a choir of 100 and a full orchestra. The video clip showed many Christians, all of whom seemed to be intent on worshipping the Lord. Indeed it is a very stirring event, emotionally. But what I heard the Lord saying as I watched and listened was that if all 15,000 of those Christians were walking with the Lord, hurricane Katrina would never have hit New Orleans or Louisiana in 2005.

Who sent the Plague of Athens between the years 430-426 BC, which caused the death of one in every three people in Athens? the Lord Himself.

Who sent the Black Plague from 1347-1351 in Europe and Asia that killed one-third of the population? the Lord Himself.

We know there will be one final pandemic or natural disaster on earth. Revelation 9:15-18 describes the coming event in the world when one-third of the men on earth will be destroyed. Who will instigate that event? the Lord Himself! 

The U.S. Census Bureau estimates that there are now almost 253 million adults (age 18 and over) in the U.S. The Federal Government now has an educated guess that as many as 2 million folks in the U.S. could die from coronavirus. That is less than one percent of the population. Therefore I must believe this is not the last disaster of this age.

I believe Scripture is clear that the world will soon experience a world-wide economic collapse, with hyper-inflation of food prices ten times their normal level (Revelation 6:6 and Revelation 14). It is possible that coronavirus may become the start of that economic collapse.

The next and more important question is: why has the Lord sent those natural disasters? Why has the Lord ordered the coronavirus? because of His great love for His people. He stops at no length to help us to repent and return unto Him and His ways. What a Wonderful, Marvelous God we serve! What amazing love the Lord has showered upon us, yes, even with this coronavirus, to help all Christians to repent of our selfish ways and return unto Him. 

Probably a large number of worldly people will cry out to God because of the coronavirus, but few will repent and turn to the Lord. The great harvest of souls will come later. A few Christians will repent and become overcomers. The traditions of men are very difficult, nearly impossible to overcome. Most folks just want relief so they can continue to do their own thing. That fact, which illustrates the great pull of our old man, human nature, is illustrated by the account in Luke 17:11-19 when Jesus healed 10 lepers. Does that event also tell us that only one out of 10 Christians will repent to the degree that Isaiah in Isaiah 6:5 and Job in Job 42:5-6 repented?

And now, the final question: What are our responsibilities as Christians? For His people who do repent and return to Him, they will experience a repeat of Acts 2:42-47, 

"And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine [not the pastors' doctrine] and fellowship [not socialization], and in breaking of bread [eating a meal], and in prayers. And fear came upon every soul [the fear of God, not the fear of any virus]: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles. And all that believed were together [spiritually, in one accord], and had all things common; And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need [not based on function or ministry]. And they, continuing daily [not weekly] with one accord in the temple [no longer a brick and stone structure], and breaking bread [eating a meal] from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved." [no longer any need to beat the bushes to try to make one convert].

Coronavirus is a test for Christians at all levels, particularly pastors (Jeremiah 50:6), to reveal our character and to see if we will repent from our humanistic ways and submit ourselves to God because Jesus Christ has already authored faith for this test. 

Hebrews 12:2, "Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God." 

We all know that Jesus spoke about the signs of the end of this age in both Matthew 24 and Luke 21. But perhaps the greatest sign of the end of this age is the word "deceived," which appears four times in Matthew 24. Jesus said, in Matthew 24:24, 

"For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect." 

What should we learn from that? We will need great discernment when we see great signs and wonders through men.

Unfortunately, many Christians, including some pastors, will say in these lasts days, "Repent? Repent of what? That does not apply to me." That is the deception that Jesus warned us about. Why do you think the Word of God has the parable of the 10 virgins in Matthew 25? All 10 took their lamps and went forward to meet the bridegroom. So their motivation was good. But five were wise and five were foolish. That is why Paul prayed that God would give us the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him. All ten were virgins, which does not speak of the natural realm. It means, "separated, as a woman living apart; i.e., "in her father's house" and hence a "virgin"." Why did Jesus tell his disciples twice (in Luke 22:39-46) to pray that they enter not into temptation? Why did Jesus, in Matthew 6:13, tell us to pray "lead us not into temptation"? What kind of temptation was Jesus talking about? the temptation to have an affair? the temptation to try to kill someone or rob a bank? No. He was talking about the temptation not to be ready when He returns ... the temptation to deny the Lord in the end times in order to save self.

Christians should not oppose human government in natural matters, even though the administrators of that government may be men of the most unrighteous type. This is a hard saying for some of us, I know, but if any are in doubt, please listen carefully to the following verses, all of which speak of our responsibility in these trying times.

Romans 13:1-6, "Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same: For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil. Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake. For for this cause pay ye tribute also: for they are God's ministers, attending continually upon this very thing." 

Jesus said, in 

Matthew 22:21, "Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and unto God the things that are God's." 

Now let us read Psalm 91.

1 He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

This verse does not speak of being born again. It speaks of dwelling or abiding in Christ. I have heard too many pastors tell their flock that the Lord protects us. That, of course, is a conditional promise ... conditional on our walk with the Lord after He saves us by His grace ... conditional on our dwelling in the secret place of the most High.

2 I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in Him will I trust.

3 Surely He shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence.

4 He shall cover thee with His feathers, and under His wings shalt thou trust: His truth shall be thy shield and buckler.

5 Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day;

6 Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.

7 A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee.

8 Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked.

9 Because thou hast made the LORD, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation;

Aah! Here is the condition again! because we have made the LORD our habitation. 

10 There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.

11 For he shall give His angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.

12 They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.

13 Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder; the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet.

14 Because He hath set His love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name.

One more time ... the condition ... because we have known His name. 

15 He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him.

16 With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him My salvation.

In Matthew 22:37-40, "Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets."

Paul continues this commandment in Galatians 5:13-14, 

"For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another. For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself."

1 John 4:18 "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love." 

Perfect agape Love casts out fear.

If we look at all of the great Old Testament saints and the great New Testament saints, they all had several things in common ... they loved and feared the Lord, they did not fear what man might do to them, and they loved God's chosen people. Those are not characteristics we are born with ... they must be worked within us by the power of the Holy Ghost.

In addition, Scripture tells servants to obey our masters.

Titus 3:1, "Put them in mind to be subject to principalities and powers, to obey magistrates, to be ready to every good work,"

Hebrews 13:17, "Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you."

1 Timothy 2:1-2, "I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty."

1 Peter 2:13-15, " Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme; Or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well. For so is the will of God, that with well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men:"

A precious sister in Christ who used to come to our house frequently a number of years ago for fellowship called me a few weeks ago. She has a lot of spiritual understanding. She said that very recently she has heard the same word, twice. The word that she heard is "Eternity is at the door." Eternity is always knocking at the door because Eternity is another characteristic of the Lord Himself. The following verses are addressed to Christians AFTER we are born again!

14 And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;

20 Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me.

21 To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with Me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with My Father in His throne.

22 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

Revelation 3:14, 20-22

In addition, we must exercise wisdom and not tempt the Lord. One of my wife's favorite sayings is: "As a Christian, when I cross a street or road, I still look both ways before crossing." In other words we cannot simply say that the Lord will always protect us and therefore we have no responsibility ourselves. We have much responsibility as unto the Lord, particularly in these trying times.

In summary, let us clearly understand that the world's answer to the various plagues is reactive. But as Christians, we must be proactive. The earth has always been a mirror image of the state of the Church. The Lord will always show Himself to us in the same manner that we show our self to Him.

Psalm 18:25-26, "With the merciful thou wilt shew thyself merciful; with an upright man thou wilt shew thyself upright; With the pure thou wilt shew thyself pure; and with the froward thou wilt shew thyself froward."

In Verse 26, the two occurrences of "froward" are two entirely different Hebrew words. The KJV loses some of the significance. However, the NIV translation is much worse. Check it out for yourself. We could better translate Psalm 18:26b as, with the perverse or crooked, the Lord will wrestle. That brings to mind when the Lord wrestled with Jacob.

Genesis 32:24, "And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day."

The "man" who wrestled with Jacob was the Lord Himself. That was no physical wrestling match. It was a wrestling of the mind and will of God with the mind and will of Jacob.

When I read those verses in Psalm 18 many years ago, the Holy Spirit quickened to me this truth: With the intense (for the Lord) the Lord will show Himself intensely, Paul was a very intense man for the Lord. That is one reason why the Lord gave Paul so much revelation.

In conclusion, consider 2 Chronicles 7:14, 

"If My people, which are called by My name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land."

The United States is in dire need of the healing hand of the Lord. The phrase, "My people," speaks of born-again Christians. Who will humble self, and pray (intensely), and seek His face, and turn from our wicked ways? Who wants our land to be healed, not for our sake, but for the glory of God?