This month we re-launch the New Bus. As a reminder, this section of Elisha’s Riddle is a monthly dose of prophetic, hope-filled commentary on some of the events happening throughout the world. Moving forward, we want to welcome feedback from you, our subscribers. Feel free to also send in news events that we may have missed.

Covid & Sovereignty

We only managed to publish one edition of Elisha’s Riddle in 2020 before taking an extended break. In that January edition of the New Bus we looked at the news of Iranian conflict and global concerns about WW3. This was well before anybody knew what a coronavirus was. The world has since shifted drastically (and we’re all professional epidemiologists)! Now even though we have Covid news coming out of the ears, we thought it would be appropriate to come back in this newest edition with some fresh perspective on the matter . . .

When the curtain of time peels back and eternity fully breaks into creation — and Jesus is revealed in all His glory — it will be very interesting to look back with hindsight on 2020 (pun not originally intended) and understand more of the reasons why things unfolded the way they did. I’m sure the people in the days of Babel looked at their sudden breakdown in communication with dread and frustration, and yet missed the fact that unimaginable destruction would have come to the human race if their tower had been completed.

This is not to insinuate that God “sent” the virus. Abba God does not need viruses to accomplish His will. Nonetheless, anything that gets churned out of the mouth of a broken world – which includes broken DNA – is something God can turn around for glorious purposes. Some of those “glorious purposes” we won’t fully know until the Day of Christ . . . but we want to declare that there will be some incredible **hindsight** before 2020 is over. Spiritual clarity on what’s been really going on will accelerate starting mid-Fall. Be watchful in the weeks ahead, keeping your eyes on the indwelling Spirit of Christ.

Covid & Habakkuk

On the morning I (Nick) was going to prepare this edition of the New Bus, I felt drawn to the book of Habakkuk. Habakkuk is the guy who complained about all the chaos happening in the world and asked God why He was letting so much injustice fly. He’s the one who got this answer (which the apostle Paul made famous centuries later): The righteous will live by faith!

I was particularly drawn to Habakkuk’s surrendered prayer in the final chapter of his book. He is holding onto the prophetic promises of God–which do not seem to be manifesting. But he says that even if the field doesn’t produce fruit and the promises don’t appear in the natural, He will still live by faith–and still worship the living God. And then he says some more lines that were made famous many lifetimes after he wrote down the words: He will make my feet like hind’s feet treading upon my high places!

This holds so much encouragement for us in these days. And yet there was something else in that prayer that really got my attention. There, the prophet declares that “pestilence goes before the Lord” (Hab. 3:5). Now from a legalistic perspective, this could sound like God sends disease before He’s about to do something big. But because of the New Testament we know better. The enemy is the one who steals, kills, and destroys. So when God is about to move, there is a MASSIVE shake-up in the spiritual realm, and this manifests in increased geological activity and even pestilence starts to pop up more. Indeed, the Black Death in Europe is said to have been one of the key signals of the Reformation and Renaissance, which were two instances when the Spirit of God did something incredible in the world.

The same is happening today. There is a shake-up going down that is making way for undeniable change . . . a change that will be for humanity’s ultimate good.

Covid & The Crown

Finally, for those who are unaware, the name “coronavirus” means crown-virus. This is because the virus itself exudes little spikes around it that resemble a crown. These spikes are what attach to cells and rip them apart. This happens especially in the lungs, which is why those with respiratory issues are most vulnerable.

Upon the initial news of Covid’s breakout, I was in the middle of preparing curriculum centered around the third chapter of the Song of Songs. There, King Solomon is crowned by his mother “on the day of His wedding, and on the day of his gladness of heart.” King Solomon is a picture of Jesus, and the “mother” is a picture of Israel. Indeed, Jesus was coronated at the cross, when His mother (Israel) crowned Him with a crown of thorns and sent Him off to a form of execution that particularly destroyed the lungs (“asphyxiation” is considered the main way people died during the crucifixion process). But of course, the great mystery was that this horrible day of Calvary was actually the day of God’s great gladness! For the joy set before Him, Jesus endured the cross, because this was also the moment of redeeming His Bride from the shackles of sin. It was, in fact, Jesus’s wedding day!

I could not help but feel that out of the crucifying pressure being put on the world right now through this “crown-virus,” that there is a similar joy ahead.

Though many have been crowned with a thorny virus, there is a resurrection of glory coming out of this. This will coincide with the emergence of the True Bride, shining like never seen before. Just like what followed the Black Death in the Dark Ages, be prepared for a wave of reformation and renaissance to come on the heels of this thing.