Vertical News: First Ebola Case from the U.S.

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First Ebola Case from the U.S.

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A case of Ebola hemorrhagic fever has been diagnosed in a patient at a hospital near Dallas, Texas. The individual struck with the disease had recently traveled from Liberia, one of several African nations where the Ebola outbreak has taken at least 3,000 lives. Recent reports suggest that there is another potential case of Ebola in a family member of the original patient and others, including children, may have been exposed.

Authorities are working on narrowing the field of any others who may have been previously exposed. According to their warnings, Ebola is not spreadable until symptoms begin to appear in a victim (“Ebola Crisis: Texas Children ‘Monitored for Symptoms,’ ” BBC at BBC.com, October 1, 2014).

Is panic the answer?

So, how do we look at this first case of Ebola originating in the U.S.? Is this the early arrival of one of the four horsemen of end-time events in the book of Revelation? A potential pandemic, if not caught early, could certainly appear to fit with some of the events described in chapter 6 of Revelation.

But perhaps we would be getting ahead of ourselves if we jumped to such a conclusion. An important couple of verses in the book of Matthew give us a bench mark from which to process some of the frightening happenings in the world right now, “For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows” (Matthew 24:7-8, NKJV, emphasis added).

Wars, nations fighting, disease outbreaks (like Ebola), and earthquakes are definitely signs of the end of this age. Yet, human history has experienced such patterns of upheaval before, so it’s important to take note of the general increase of these events, and not be caught off guard. As Christ admonished, “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 21:36). God’s people are watchers, workers, and faithfully patient in analyzing the prophetic implications of current events.

Like any disease, Ebola has the ability to turn into a pandemic, but so do many others. Taking reasonable precautions with our personal sanitation, eating nutrient dense foods and generally taking care of our health as much as possible is all part of our personal responsibility for the bodies God has given us. But when it comes to disease, God gives us the added blessing of being able to call on Him for protection and healing, specifically through the scourging that His Son, Jesus Christ took on our behalf (1 Peter 2:24).

Never be afraid to ask God to provide for you! His protection is our best defense.