Why Is the World in Chaos?

 

Unrest, war, poverty and extreme ideological divides are multiplying around the globe. How did we get in this mess? Is there a way out?

Deep-seated divisions between Americans have taken center stage since the election of Donald J. Trump as the 45th president of the United States. While differences had been building for years, the relative calm and business-as-usual approach within the country is now seemingly forgotten as the media, citizens and international leaders try to figure out what the new administration is doing and what its effects will be upon the world.

It wasn’t like people didn’t see change coming. Stratfor analyst Rodger Baker explained: “If we step back from the politics of personality … we can see where and how Trump’s tactics fit into the evolution of U.S. policy as a whole. In Stratfor’s decade forecast for 2015-2025, we predicted two major elements in U.S. behavior moving forward: a partial disengagement from the international system, and a domestic political crisis triggered by the decline of the middle class.”

Baker also noted: “Neither of these behaviors was dependent on the outcome of any particular U.S. election; in fact, we identified them as trends that lie beneath the day-to-day vagaries of politics” (“The United States: Between Isolation and Empire,” Jan. 31, 2017).

During his campaign for office, President Trump tapped into these trends, focusing on economic prosperity, illegal immigration and national security in light of rising terrorism. His solutions for America’s problems include tightening immigration, securing the nation’s borders, renegotiating trade deals and reexamining the nation’s role abroad.

The new president’s efforts to implement his proposed remedies for these complex, divisive issues have been unsettling to many. The angst and disagreement over his efforts have led to protest rallies against the president inside and outside the country.

Unrest around the world

The turmoil in America mirrors what is happening in other parts of the world. People in the U.K. are trying to make the best of their Brexit vote to leave the European Union. Remaining EU nations face economic challenges and are being overrun with immigrants fleeing impoverished and war-torn areas. Hard-right political parties opposing immigration are gaining appeal and voice in many European countries.

In eastern Ukraine, Russian forces have continued to fight alongside separatist forces against the government. Neighboring nations wonder if anyone will assist them if Russia decides to invade their countries.

Moving to the Middle East, the civil war in Syria lingers on, and there appears to be no end to the sectarian conflict. Complicating the situation, the war is not just between the government forces and the rebels; it also includes the terrorist group ISIS, which controls large portions of the country. Russia supports the government forces of President Bashar al-Assad; the U.S. supports the rebels; and ISIS is intent on waging war against everyone who does not support it.

The Palestinian/Israeli conflict—which includes groups in Gaza that regularly launch rocket attacks into Israel and Israel, which regularly responds with retaliatory attacks—has continued since the formation of the State of Israel in 1948. While there has been reconciliation between Israel, Egypt and Jordan, no peace agreement has been reached between the Israelis and Palestinians—and none seems likely.

Many African nations are rife with political corruption and economic stagnation. North Korea threatens its neighbors and the Western world as a rogue nation with nuclear weapons. China is creating fear and distrust among nations with its economic might, currency manipulation and island building in the South China Sea.

So where are we?

Esteemed diplomat Henry Kissinger said: “The world is in chaos. Fundamental upheavals are occurring in many parts of the world simultaneously, most of which are governed by disparate principles” (Jeffrey Goldberg, “The Lessons of Henry Kissinger,” The Atlantic, December 2016, emphasis added throughout).

Yes, the world is in chaos. But where are things headed from here? Will the future be brighter or darker?

Long-term implications

The National Intelligence Council, which provides long-term strategic analysis for the U.S. Intelligence Community, publishes an unclassified report every four years on the global trends that will affect the world over the next 20 years. Its most recent report, dated January 2017, anticipates weak economic growth that will challenge wealthy countries, exacerbate conditions for those living in poverty and spur migration from poor countries whose populations are growing.

The report also predicts that governing will become more difficult over the next two decades as nations strive to provide security and prosperity for their citizens. “Growing global connectivity amid weak growth will increase tensions within and between societies. … Religious influence will be increasingly consequential and more authoritative than many governments. …

“The risk of conflict will increase due to diverging interests among major powers, an expanding terror threat, continued instability in weak states, and the spread of lethal, disruptive technologies.” Bottom line: “These trends will converge at an unprecedented pace to make governing and cooperation harder” (“Global Trends: Paradox of Progress,” p. 6).

In short, the world is messier and more dangerous than ever. Disagreements, political polarization, fighting and human suffering abound. The future will be challenging.

What many people fail to consider is that the current state of the world is the result of choices. Humans made choices that got us in this current situation, and the choices we make today will affect our tomorrows. The biblical principle has it right. We reap what we sow (Galatians 6:7). “The curse causeless shall not come” (Proverbs 26:2, King James Version).

To make sense of the present and to foresee the future, we need to understand how humans make choices and God’s plan for His creation.

Where is God?

While many people don’t see a need for God or believe that He will control mankind’s future, the best hope humanity has for survival, peace and prosperity is found in the plan its Creator has for His creation.

While many people don’t see a need for God or believe that He will control mankind’s future, the best hope humanity has for survival, peace and prosperity is found in the plan its Creator has for His creation.God is often blamed for the loss of life in catastrophic events. “Where is God?” is a natural question in the face of extreme suffering. “How could a good God allow tragedies to occur?”

The painful truth is that God is not the cause of mankind’s suffering. Most often man is. Time and chance can be the reasons for a specific person’s suffering, but overall humanity brings suffering upon itself. Humans are the ones who chose evil from the beginning and who continue to choose ways of life that bring on suffering today. God is not responsible for the chaos in our world today.

So how did mankind start down this misguided path?

The story begins long ago with the first man and first woman in a place called the Garden of Eden. It’s a short read, but one with long-lasting consequences.

Why do people choose evil?

After creating Adam and Eve, God placed them in a garden that had two special trees—one called “the tree of life” and the other “the tree of the knowledge of good and evil” (Genesis 2:9). God told them not to eat the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (verses 16-17). Disobeying God’s instruction would lead to death.

God’s command was not punitive. He loved His creation, calling it “very good” (Genesis 1:31), and as for humanity, God made us in His “own image”—an indication of the unique and special position mankind had in God’s creation (verse 26). God also offered a great reward to Adam and Eve, represented by the tree of life, if they would obey Him. Eating the fruit of this tree would bring eternal life (Genesis 3:22).

It was obvious that God loved humanity. Considering these simple facts—the first humans were living in a beautiful environment and they could enjoy this forever if they would simply obey God’s instructions—obeying God was obviously the best choice.

But then things got complicated.

The lie

The serpent, “who is the Devil and Satan” (Revelation 20:2), came along and put a different spin on God’s instructions and motive. Making his pitch to Eve, the serpent countered God’s teaching that eating of the forbidden tree would lead to death by saying, “You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:4-5).

The serpent accused God of being a liar and of trying to unnecessarily delay or prohibit mankind’s opportunity to be like God. Confused, and not knowing what to believe, Eve decided to investigate and make her own decision. “So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate” (verse 6)

So began humans’ exclusive reliance on their own reasoning and their disregard for God’s instructions. Sadly, humanity through the ages has followed and continues to follow Adam and Eve’s course of action. And history has shown God to be the One who told the truth and the serpent the one who was a liar and “murderer from the beginning” (John 8:44).

Just as God had said, Adam and Eve’s sin led to their deaths and their loss of access to the tree of life, which represented eternal life (Genesis 3:22-24). They were put out of the garden, and the consequences of their poor decision followed them for the remainder of their lives. Not only would they die, but their lives would include sorrow, pain and difficulty (verses 16-19).

What we can learn from Adam and Eve’s sin

The lessons from Adam and Eve’s tragic mistake in the garden are often repeated in the Bible. Eve’s example of being wise in her own eyes is countered by several proverbs. “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5). “Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and depart from evil” (verse 7).

The prophet Isaiah encapsulated this mistake of trusting solely one’s own reasoning apart from God’s instructions when he wrote: “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil. … Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!” (Isaiah 5:20-21).

Addressing this same proclivity, God said, “For My people are foolish, they have not known Me. They are silly children, and they have no understanding. They are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge” (Jeremiah 4:22).

Without the knowledge of the way of life that leads to peace and prosperity, the ancient peoples of Israel and Judah went into captivity. They paid a dear price for refusing to obey God’s commands.

Given the chaos, suffering and misery that inevitably accompany the rejection of God’s instructions, why haven’t humans today realized that their choices aren’t working? Why can’t they see what they are bringing upon themselves?

Blindness healed

The reason the world is reeling in chaos and will continue its downward spiral is because humans have been blinded to the root cause of the problems. The “serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan … deceives the whole world” (Revelation 12:9; compare 2 Corinthians 4:4).

Thankfully, this spiritual blindness is “taken away in Christ” (2 Corinthians 3:14). There is a relatively small number of people who are responding to God’s call now and are thus able to see the true spiritual condition of the world and prepare to assist Christ at His return. They will help bring spiritual insight, healing and peace to our chaotic world.

For further study on the cause of chaos and suffering, see the article in this issue “Why Did God Let Jessica Die?” and our booklet Why Does God Allow Evil and Suffering?

Where Are We Now in Bible Prophecy?

 

An often-voiced concern of students of the Bible is the timing of the end of this world and the return of Jesus Christ. Since the Bible is God’s communication to mankind, we must go there to find out about the events to unfold in the end times. In fact, a large portion of the Bible contains prophecy.

So where are we now in the timeline or progression of prophetic events?

What we can and can’t know about end-time prophecy

First, we can—and should—have a good, general idea of where we are in the order of prophesied events. Jesus Himself said, “Now learn this parable from the fig tree: When its branch has already become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near. So you also, when you see all these things, know that it is near—at the doors! Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place” (Matthew 24:32-34; see also Mark 13:28-31).

In other words, when we see the prophecies Jesus had just described in what is called the “Olivet Prophecy” coming to pass, we can know the end is truly near.

At the same time, Jesus made it clear we cannot pinpoint the exact timing of the end of the world and His return. “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father” (Mark 13:32, emphasis added throughout).

He said that in reply to a question the disciples had asked, “What will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?” (Matthew 24:3). Jesus had listed a number of events to unfold in the end times. Then in verse 21 He said, “For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world.”

This “great tribulation” is a major prophetic event and is mentioned in many other prophecies throughout the Bible.This “great tribulation” is a major prophetic event and is mentioned in many other prophecies throughout the Bible.

In brief, these prophecies show that this tribulation will last 3½ years and culminate with the return of Jesus Christ. Some specific events prophesied to occur during the Great Tribulation have not yet been fulfilled. So, in other words, we are not yet in the final 3½ years of this age. To learn more about this time of trouble, see the article “Great Tribulation.”

What must happen before the Great Tribulation?

Our question then is, “How near are we to the start of that Great Tribulation?” To answer, we can look at a number of specific prophecies and dynamics that will be in place in the time of the end.

Specifically, the time of the end is a time when the following prophesied circumstances will be in place. As you read the list below, consider that these dynamics were not apparent in even the first half of the 20th century. But together, they give the picture of a world on the brink of the Great Tribulation. Relatively speaking, there seem to be only a few details yet to materialize before all factors are in place for the final 3½ years of this world to commence.

• “Many shall run to and fro” (Daniel 12:4): This prophetic trend comes to mind anytime we’re on a busy highway or flying out of a busy airport. Around the world there are now over a billion cars, and millions of passengers fly rapidly through the skies every day.
• “Knowledge shall increase” (Daniel 12:4): According to sources cited by Boston Commons High Tech Network, up to around the year 1900 human knowledge doubled about every century. By the end of World War II, knowledge was doubling every 25 years. Now our information base is doubling every 12 months, on the way to doubling about every 12 hours.
• The capability exists for humanity to destroy all life: “And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved” (Matthew 24:22). The capacity for humans to destroy all life on the planet did not exist until after 1945, with the advent of the atomic era. Since then, the proliferation of nuclear weapons has made the destruction of all life possible—multiple times over.
• Increase in famines, disease epidemics and earthquakes: “And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places” (Matthew 24:7). There have been food shortages, pandemics and earthquakes at times throughout human history. But Christ’s specific mention of them in the context of end-time events shows that they will become a much more notable, frequent phenomenon.
• Ability to view an event around the world: Revelation 11:3-11 reveals that shortly before Christ returns, His “two witnesses”—who will testify to the world from Jerusalem for 42 months (3½ years)—will be killed. “Then those from the peoples, tribes, tongues and nations will see their dead bodies three-and-a-half days” (verse 9). For people all around the world to view this, the technology will need to already exist. Not only is this now possible, most of us now see images from other nations daily via satellites.
• An army of 200 million can be fielded: Revelation 9:13-19 describes another event near the end of the 3½ years, during the sixth trumpet. Verse 16 shows that an enormous army will be fielded at that time: “The number of cavalry troops was 200,000,000. I heard how many there were” (International Standard Version). Furthermore, this comes after staggering numbers of humans have already died, as revealed in chapters 6 through 9. The ability to field such an exceptionally large army was not possible until recent times, when the populations of some nations (such as China and India, for example) or groups of nations grew so dramatically.
• Sacrifices at Jerusalem to begin: Daniel 12 points specifically to events at the end of this age (verses 4, 9). Verse 1 calls it the worst time of trouble in human history, which coincides with Christ’s words in Matthew 24:21. How long until all these things are finished? Daniel 12:7 answers “for a time, times and half a time.” This expression, also mentioned in other prophecies, equates with the final 3½ years (or 1,260 days) before Christ returns.

Verse 11 gives even more details: “And from the time that the daily sacrifice is taken away, and the abomination of desolation is set up, there shall be one thousand two hundred and ninety [1,290] days.”

In order for sacrifices to be taken away just before the final 3½ years, they will first need to be started again. While there are a few Jews—a small minority at present—who are advocating and preparing for a restoration of the sacrificial system in Jerusalem, as of this writing their efforts have not been successful. This proposal to begin animal sacrifices once again seems quite radical to the majority of Jews, and there are political concerns about instituting this type of activity.

Although sacrifices could begin again with or without majority approval, it is difficult to conceive how they could be reinstituted under current conditions. Time will tell how and when animal sacrifices will resume and this prophecy regarding their being taken away will be fulfilled. Read more in our blog post “Does Bible Prophecy Require a Third Temple to Be Built?”

• Jerusalem surrounded by armies: “But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is near” (Luke 21:20). Verse 24 adds that Jerusalem will then come under gentile (non-Israelite) control. Matthew’s account adds the detail that the “abomination of desolation” (connected with the ending of sacrifices) will be part of this takeover of Jerusalem (Matthew 24:15).

In Zechariah 12:3, which also refers to Jerusalem in the end times, God says, “And it shall happen in that day that I will make Jerusalem a very heavy stone for all peoples; all who would heave it away will surely be cut in pieces, though all nations of the earth are gathered against it.”

If there’s any city on earth that’s in the news almost daily—as a focus of conflict, division, bloodshed and controversy—it’s Jerusalem. It is easy to see how military activity could quickly begin and escalate there at any time. For more about what the Bible reveals regarding Jerusalem, see our article “Jerusalem in Prophecy.”

• Final revival of the Roman Empire: Students of Bible prophecy know that God foretold the rise and fall of four great world empires. The fourth was the Roman Empire, and the Bible shows that it would have 10 revivals (depicted by 10 horns on the fourth beast in Daniel 7:7, 23-24). For a listing of the 10 revivals of the Roman Empire, see our article “What Is Babylon?”

The ninth revival has come and gone, starting with the reunification of Italy by Garibaldi in 1870 and ending with the defeat of the World War II Axis powers of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy (led by Hitler and Mussolini) in 1945. “Following [World War I], … Mussolini decided his destiny was to rule Italy as a modern Caesar and re-create the Roman Empire” (History.com, “Benito Mussolini”). 

The last revival of the Roman Empire (which has always been European-based) will be a union of 10 “kings” (or kingdoms or states), who agree to come under the authority of the “beast” spoken of in Revelation 17.Mussolini “concluded the decade [of the 1920s] on a high note: his Concordat with the Vatican in 1929 settled the historic differences between the Italian state and the Roman Catholic Church. Awed by a generosity that multiplied his annual income fourfold, Pope Pius XI confirmed to the world that Mussolini had been sent ‘by Divine Providence.’ As the 1930s opened, Mussolini, seated safely in power and enjoying wide support from the middle classes, undertook to shape his regime and fix its image. Italy, he announced, had commenced the epoch of the ‘Third Rome’” (Encyclopedia.com, “Benito Mussolini”).

The last revival of the Roman Empire (which has always been European-based) will be a union of 10 “kings” (or kingdoms or states), who agree to come under the authority of the “beast” spoken of in Revelation 17. “And the ten horns which you saw [in verse 3—a different “beast” than the one depicted in Daniel 7] are ten kings who have received no kingdom as yet, but they receive authority for one hour as kings with the beast. These are of one mind, and they will give their power and authority to the beast” (verses 12-13).

These 10 “kings” will cooperate, but they don’t mix well. This reality is pictured by the 10 toes of the image in Daniel 2:42-44. This passage refers to these toes as “kings” and places them in the time frame at the end of this age, when God will set up His Kingdom on earth. Today we see dynamics in Europe that will make unification and the rise of a strong leader attractive (for economic, military, cultural and other reasons). In fact, dialogue toward this goal is increasing daily.

What are we to do?

Besides the short list above, there are additional prophetic indicators showing that we are near the very end of this present age. Time is short! But most people pay no attention to the Bible and believe their lives will continue securely for many years. And the Great Tribulation—which Christ said will be the worst time of trouble in man’s history—will catch them completely off guard.

“For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be” (Matthew 24:38-39).

Therefore what does Jesus Christ tell us—His disciples—to do?

“But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly. For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man” (Luke 21:34-36).

Study more about end-time events and what our response should be in our article “End Times Prophecy” and the free booklet The Book of Revelation: The Storm Before the Calm.

Why the Surge in Infectious Diseases?

 

Why is the world facing epidemic after epidemic of new and reemerging infectious diseases? What are we doing wrong, and how will the ultimate healing come?

Coronavirus, West Nile virus, Zika, Ebola, H1N1 avian influenza, swine flu, Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), yellow fever, hantavirus, Nipah, Hendra, Marburg, chikungunya, dengue.

Another virus with a peculiar name always seems to be lurking around the corner, poised to become the next global health emergency.

Just in the last few years we’ve witnessed the Ebola epidemic in western Africa in 2014, MERS outbreaks in the Arabian Peninsula in 2014 and Korea in 2015, and the spread of the Zika virus throughout most of the Americas at the close of 2016. Then the novel coronavirus started spreading at the end of 2019 and was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) on March 11, 2020.

At that time 114 countries had reported that 118,000 people had contracted Covid-19 (the disease caused by the novel coronavirus), and more than 4,000 people had died. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said, “We expect to see the number of cases, the number of deaths, and the number of affected countries climb even higher.”

The novel coronavirus

BBC reported: “The bad news, as Covid-19 reminds us, is that infectious diseases haven’t vanished. In fact, there are more new ones now than ever: the number of new infectious diseases like Sars, HIV and Covid-19 has increased by nearly fourfold over the past century. Since 1980 alone, the number of outbreaks per year has more than tripled …

“As Covid-19 is painfully demonstrating, our interconnected global economy both helps spread new infectious diseases – and, with its long supply chains, is uniquely vulnerable to the disruption that they can cause. The ability to get to nearly any spot in the world in 20 hours or fewer, and pack a virus along with our carry-on luggage, allows new diseases to emerge and to grow when they might have died out in the past” (“Covid-19: The History of Pandemics”).

Sounding the alarm about infectious disease epidemics

Public health officials worldwide have been sounding the alarm for many years: Infectious disease outbreaks are increasing in frequency and severity, and the number of unique pathogens responsible for disease is growing.

One of the most urgent warnings came in 2016 from then WHO Director-General Margaret Chan: “What we are seeing now looks more and more like a dramatic resurgence of the threat from emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases,” she stated. “The world is not prepared to cope.”

But what exactly is meant by emerging and reemerging diseases? An emerging pathogen is one that is appearing in the human population for the first time and has never been recognized before. According to the WHO, at least 40 new infectious diseases have emerged since the 1980s, at a rate of one or more per year.

Examples include Ebola, HIV/AIDS and Lyme disease. Emerging viruses often have no effective treatment, cure or vaccine, and the possibility of preventing or controlling them is extremely limited.

The majority of emerging pathogens are zoonotic—meaning they are transmitted between animals and people—which makes them particularly challenging. “Zoonotic diseases cannot usually be eradicated due to the fact that it is not possible to eliminate all of the animal reservoirs or vectors that might be carrying the zoonosis,” explains David Freedman, M.D., professor of medicine and epidemiology at the University of Alabama.

A reemerging disease is caused by a virus, bacterium, parasite or fungus that has long existed and was once thought to be controlled or wiped out, but is now making a comeback. These diseases are often spreading geographically, usually in a more virulent or drug-resistant form.

Today there are antibiotic-resistant strains of tuberculosis, malaria, cholera, diphtheria, staphylococcus, streptococcus and salmonella—to name a few “superbugs” that have made their debut in recent times.

Each year, the number of infections and deaths caused by superbugs continues to rise. The Review on Antimicrobial Resistance, a 2016 report published in the U.K., predicts that by 2050, 10 million people globally will die each year from antibiotic-resistant bacteria alone, based on current trends.

Factors behind the trends

What a contrast to the optimism of 50 years ago! Then U.S. Surgeon General William Stewart famously proclaimed, “The time has come to close the book on infectious diseases. We have basically wiped out infection in the United States.”

So why are we now seeing a surge in infectious disease epidemics?

The most straightforward answer comes from the Bible. In the Olivet Prophecy, Jesus Christ predicted the signs that would precede His return, including pestilence and disease on a global scale (Matthew 24:3-8; Luke 21:11).

A parallel prophecy is found in Revelation 6, which describes the “Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.” The fourth horseman (verses 7 and 8) pictures the outbreak of pestilences (in addition to the sword and hunger) that will ravage a quarter of the earth’s population. The latter part of verse 8 refers to death resulting from the “beasts of the earth.” This could very well include the animals that transmit infectious diseases.

In addition to looking at Bible prophecies, we can observe specific factors that are helping cause the problems. Many health experts, like biotech consultant Thomas Monath, M.D., believe mankind is actually creating its own disease problems, albeit unintentionally. “We’re making changes in our environment or lifestyles to cause the emergence or spread of disease,” he says.

Some of the primary ways humans have paved the way for modern disease epidemics include:

• Encroachment on animal habitats.

The number of people on planet earth has soared from 2.5 billion in 1950 to 7.5 billion in 2016. This has prompted people to settle in wilderness areas where only animals had lived.

“Environments in the developing world used to be quite remote but are now much less so as a result of human activities like deforestation, dam projects, irrigation, road construction and extensive agriculture,” says James Hughes, M.D., professor of medicine and public health at Emory University.

When people enter these ecosystems, they often encounter new pathogens not found anywhere else. Once infected, they spread the pathogen wherever they go.

• Urbanization and overcrowding.

Increasing numbers of people, particularly in the developing world, are moving from rural areas to large urban centers, seeking work. Many end up living in overcrowded “megacities” with 10 million or more residents. According to a 2016 report from the United Nations Human Settlements Programme, there are now 29 megacities in the world (up from 14 in 1995), and 79 percent of them are in developing nations.

With high population densities, megacities are ideal breeding grounds for disease. Furthermore, the typical megacity’s infrastructure isn’t prepared to handle its swelling population.

“Water and sanitation systems are often inadequate or nonexistent, so residents must drink water that’s contaminated with bacteria and sewage,” Dr. Freedman says. “Hospitals may be in short supply, so those who are ill may not be able to get the medical care they need.”

• Eating exotic animals.

Some cultures have a long tradition of eating exotic wildlife. Africa has its bush meat trade, where monkeys, apes, aardvarks, rats and other wild animals are hunted and sold for food. The Chinese have their open-air wet markets, where exotic creatures like civets, snakes, tree shrews, bats, badgers and pangolins are sold live to consumers, who will then slaughter and consume them.

“Any viruses carried by these animals can be transmitted to people via consumption, if people handle the animals, or sometimes if they just come into the same air space,” explains Dr. Hughes.

However, the issue is more than just the transmission of an animal pathogen to a human. The ultimate concern is that close contact with infected animals or consuming them can cause a new pathogen to emerge.

Simply put, if a human infected with a virus comes in contact with an animal that has a similar type of virus, the genetic material of the two pathogens can get “mixed up” and recombine. This can result in a new virus that infects both animals and people.

This process has caused the emergence of some of the world’s deadliest diseases. For instance, HIV is a fusion of the Simian Immunodeficiency Virus (SIV) that infects monkeys and apes, and a similar type of virus that infects people. Scientists believe that HIV originated from butchering chimpanzees for bush meat.

• Changes in sexual behavior and IV drug use.

Up until the mid-20th century, having multiple sexual partners was frowned upon by most people. However, in Western society today, having multiple sexual partners before marriage is not only acceptable, but has become the norm. Additionally, intravenous drug use has become rampant, with drug users often sharing injection paraphernalia.

Both trends have fueled the spread of HIV, hepatitis C, genital herpes and other sexually transmitted diseases—all of which are transmitted through bodily fluids.

• Improper use of antibiotics.

Overuse of antibiotics has created new antibiotic-resistant bacteria. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), up to 50 percent of antibiotics used in hospitals and clinics are either unnecessary or inappropriate. Often what happens is patients insist on having antibiotics when they have a cold or the flu (which is almost always caused by a virus and won’t respond to antibiotics), and doctors give in to these demands. Or physicians might prescribe antibiotics when they can’t make a definite diagnosis, “just in case” bacteria are present.

Ultimately, disease outbreaks and pandemics are a result of mankind’s broken relationship with God.When a particular drug is prescribed too much, bacteria can build defenses against it. Dr. Hughes explains, “This drug resistance is then transferred to the next generation of that bacteria, effectively rendering that particular medication useless.”

Bacteria can develop resistance to multiple drugs, eventually becoming the virtually untreatable, so-called superbugs.

Biblical perspectives on disease and health

Several of the factors just discussed are direct violations of biblical instruction. For one, Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14 spell out which animals should and shouldn’t be eaten. Many of the diseases plaguing our modern world wouldn’t be problems if people weren’t eating “unclean,” exotic animals, which carry disease-causing organisms not present in domesticated “clean” animals. (Learn more about this in our Life, Hope & Truth article “Clean and Unclean Animals: Does God Care What Meats We Eat?”)

Deuteronomy 23:13 says that human waste should be buried away from where people live. This prevents food and water supplies from becoming contaminated. It’s no wonder that diseases like diarrhea, dysentery, hookworm, roundworms, cholera and typhoid—which all result from contact with human waste—are rampant in shantytowns that do not have sanitation systems.

In Leviticus 18 and 20 God prohibits extramarital and premarital sex and other unhealthy sexual practices. There’s no question that this kind of sexually immoral behavior has contributed greatly to the spread of AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases.

Ultimately, disease outbreaks and pandemics are a result of mankind’s broken relationship with God. When God brought the Israelites out of Egypt, He told them they could avoid the curse of disease if they obeyed His commandments and statutes (Exodus 15:26). On the other hand, there would be consequences for disobedience, which included disease epidemics (Deuteronomy 28:15, 21-22, 27-28). The Israelites—like all people before and since—disobeyed God, and mankind continues to reap the consequences of sin.

Today, humanity as a whole is cut off from God and vulnerable to the ravages of disease. This won’t always be the case though. When Jesus Christ returns to earth and the Kingdom of God is established, mankind will at last be united with our Creator and receive all the blessings of living God’s way of life—which includes good health and a world free of disease outbreaks.

For more about that coming Kingdom, see our free booklet The Mystery of the Kingdom.