Why Africa will not be badly hit by Covid-19 – Nigerian US based medical doctor

Pandemic why Africa will not be badly hit

 

 

Sunday Olusola Faluyi is a physician by profession based in New York City, United States of America. He was a worker at Redeemed Christian Church of God Praise Court Parish, Far Rockaway New York, for 14 years, under the leadership of Pastor Gbolahan Bamgbopa, but now a presbyter in the ministry of Methodist Church Nigeria.

 A native of Ekiti State, Nigeria,  Faluyi is married with three children. He was born into a Christian family and became born again in May 1987. He told Church Times that the Lord Jesus Christ called him into the ministry “to blow the trumpet that the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ is at hand.” He said his call to ministry began when he was a student at the Obafemi Awolowo University between 1986 and 1993,

 Then he was a member of Methodist Campus Fellowship where he was given the opportunity to hold several leadership positions. The Holy Spirit used the spiritual training he got in Methodist Campus Fellowship to prepare him for the ministry.

 He had always desired to be a medical doctor. But before he finished his undergraduate training, he received God’s call into full time ministry. He shares his ministry experience and his perspective on the present global phenomenon with Church Times in this interview

 

 

Specifically, how did you get the call to ministry?

 

 

When I was about 8years old, I dreamt about Jesus Christ and He told me things that I had not forgotten till this day. So when I became born again in 1987, I began to grow in His grace and in the Word of God. The Lord also gave me a desire to know His will so that I can do it. I enjoyed always staying in His presence. That went on for a while until one day I was moved like Isaiah to say “Here, I am, send me.” In 1999, I was commissioned a deacon by Methodist Church Nigeria. Since then, I have been pressing forward into the fullness of God’s call upon my life.

 

 

Your book “The Last Generation, The Rapture and The Wrath” seems to be quite relevant to what is going on presently in the world. What informed the book at the time you wrote it?

 

The Holy Spirit stirred up my heart to write the book in 2010. The book is available on Amazon.com. I drew my inspiration from the Bible especially the book of revelation, Jesus Christ predicted a movement for global peace in the first seal and a horse ride that will take away peace from the earth in the second seal. He predicted global economic crisis in the third seal and World War III in the fourth seal.

 

In the fifth seal, he revealed the severe persecution that is coming upon his followers and the great tribulation that is coming upon the Jews. Jesus also predicted the resurrection of the saints and a terrible war that will be fought in the Middle East in a place known as Armageddon.

 

In the seventh vial of judgment, he warned of an earthquake that will be the greatest in the history of humanity. While many seers have predicted future events, none can be compared with the authority and finality with which Jesus prophesied about the events that are happening and that will continue to happen within the next three decades. Wisdom demands that we pay attention to the Word of our Lord Jesus Christ. The book was written to highlight this truth

 

There are all kinds of conflicting positions on the End Time that sometimes put the world in a quagmire. What do you think should be the appropriate Christian response?

 

As Christians, our appropriate response to the conflicting positions on the endtime is “Watch and pray.”

 

You’re in New York in the heart of saving lives as a result of Covid-19. What has been the experience?

 

As a health worker, taking care of people with COVID – 19 is an experience I will never forget in my life. Today, the patient is alive and tomorrow he/she is gone. It is a humbling experience for me. Moreover, I am being reminded daily of the faithfulness of God as promised in Psalm 91. I believe that my being well and strong in the midst of COVID – 19 is a testimony to the goodness of God.

 

Do you subscribe to the conspiracy theories that are flying around about covid-19? What do you think is the origin of the virus?

 

Most of the conspiracy theories that are flying around about COVID – 19 are designed to stir up fear. As children of God our focus should be on God, His Word, His promises and not on sensational news that causes fear. The truth is that COVID – 19 is part of the pestilences mentioned by our Lord Jesus Christ in Matthew 24:7. The implication is that these are the beginning of sorrows – Matthew 24:8. This virus is related to bio terrorism causing a fatal flu – like syndrome that will kill millions of people in a short time. This bio terrorism is still in our future. I wrote about it on Page 112 and 143 in the book, The Last Generation The Rapture and The Wrath.

 

In view of the fact that the world had experienced similar pandemic in the past which were in fact more deadly, what makes this present pandemic different from others?

 

What makes it different is that fact that it is happening in spite of great advances in the field of science, technology and medicine.

 

There are three different schools on tribulation as it relates to rapture: the pre-tribulation, post tribulation and mid-tribulation. Why do we have different leanings despite the fact that we have one Bible?

 

The reason why there are different schools on tribulation in spite of the fact that we are all using the same Bible is that some Christians have not been able to make a distinction between tribulation and the wrath of God. Both refer to great trouble but the sources are different. Tribulation is the anger of the devil against the children of God while the wrath of God is the anger of God against the children of disobedience.

 

It is unfortunate to note that, through much biblical literature, a clear distinction has not been made between these two end-time events. The result is confusion among many Christians. I want to declare without ambiguity or equivocation that tribulation should not and must not be confused with the wrath of God.

 

One way to make a distinction between tribulation and the wrath of God is to look for the source of the trouble, crisis or punishment. When the trouble is from the devil, we call it tribulation. When it is from God, we call it the wrath of God. This is important because many times tribulation is directed toward the saints. Hence Jesus Christ comforted the disciples with this message: “These things I have spoken to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). Conversely, the wrath of God is always directed towards the disobedient. For instance, Jonah (Jonah 1:4, 17) and David (1 Chron. 21:7–15) experienced the wrath of God because of disobedience. To reject Jesus Christ is disobedience; therefore, the end-time wrath of God is directed towards a Christ-rejecting world.

 

Tribulation can be referred to as the murderous intent, wrath, unrighteous anger or persecution of the people of the living God by Satan, the devil. For instance, the oppression of the children of Israel in Egypt by Pharaoh was a form of tribulation. Another example of tribulation is the experience of the three Hebrew boys in Babylon when they refused to worship the idol set up by King Nebuchadnezzar. (Daniel 3: 8 – 30). The anger of the devil against the people of God is what tribulation is all about. Although these three Hebrew boys went through tribulation, the presence of Jesus, the fourth man in the fiery furnace, gave them victory. In the same vein, as Christians, we also will have to endure tribulation that will test our faith as we press towards the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Like the Hebrew children, we have this blessed assurance: Victory is certain in Jesus’ name.

 

On the day of Pentecost, in May 33 A.D., the church of the living God was born. She came into manifestation with the power and glory of the Holy Spirit. On that day, Peter stood up and preached a power-packed message to his audience. The result? Three thousand people accepted Christ. But afterwards, Satan stirred up trouble against the newly founded church; and disciples such as Stephen, the first Christian martyr, and James, the brother of John, lost their lives. The Church of Christ was born in tribulation.

 

In the first century A.D., especially during the reign of Emperor Nero, many Christians were severely tortured, jailed, and killed for their witness to the resurrection of Jesus Christ, yet the church continued to grow. That is why Tertullian, a second-century theologian, declared that “the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church.”

 

At the end of the third and the beginning of fourth centuries A.D., the persecution of Christians within the Roman Empire was so fierce that church worship was banned and Christian clergies were imprisoned. The persecution intensified until Christians living within the empire were commanded to sacrifice to the gods or face immediate execution. Over twenty thousand Christians were thought to have died during Diocletian’s reign. Yet the church grew until she dominated the empire. The Church of Christ grew in tribulation.

 

The last century witnessed the severe persecution of Christians on a large scale. For instance, the young Turks government of the collapsing Ottoman Empire in 1915 persecuted Christians and killed more than 2 million. After the Revolution of 1917, the Bolsheviks undertook a massive program to remove the influence of the Russian Orthodox Church from the government and Russian society and create an atheist state. Tens of thousands of churches were destroyed or converted to other uses. Many members of the clergy were imprisoned for “anti-government” activities. An extensive education and propaganda campaign was undertaken to convince people, especially children and youth, to abandon their religious beliefs. This persecution resulted in the martyrdom of millions of Russian Orthodox Church members

 

However, we need to watch and pray because another great tribulation is coming. This is going to be evidenced within the next two decades. This great tribulation is the final attempt by Satan to annihilate the Jews and the followers of Christ. It is going to be the physical manifestation of a spiritual war in which Satan, the adversary and accuser of the children of God, will be defeated. The great tribulation will be an intense period in which the bride of Christ will be purged, prepared, cleansed, and made ready for the bridegroom.

 

Though this period will be characterized by wickedness of mind-numbing proportions, it will also be a period of the greatest demonstration of the awesome power, glory, and faithfulness of God in the lives of those who trust in Him. The outpouring of the Holy Spirit during this period will be unparalleled in the history of the church. Signs and wonders will be common in the church of Christ. This fire of tribulation will separate the wheat from the tares as the Lord of Harvest prepares to establish his kingdom.

 

Finally, let us pay attention to the word of our Lord Jesus Christ in Matthew 24: 29 – 31. “Immediately after the tribulation of those days, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heaven will be shaken. Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of the heaven to the other. This is the rapture. After the rapture the wrath of God will be poured upon the earth. Surely, as written in the book of revelation, the children of the Living God will not partake in the wrath of God.

 

Many have said all kinds of things and made postulations about the end of age in time past. Some have gone as far as giving dates. But those days came and nothing happened. Don’t you think what we are experiencing today is just another hysteria that will soon fizzle out?

 

After the end of COVID – 19, some people will attempt to go back to their old ways of life but very soon, there will be global economic meltdown. So, the Lord Jesus Christ will continue to wake us up to the reality that we are in the endtimes. Events upon events will occur within the next two decades until we have a New World Order characterized by One World Government, Global digital currency (666) and World Religion. The leaders of this One World Government are the Beast and False prophet of Revelation 13: 1- 18

 

As long as I can remember, people have been linking the Pope with the Anti-Christ. Is there any justification for this?

 

There will be a form of world religion in the future. This is another wave of persecution to be resisted by the followers of Jesus Christ. Some denominational leaders in conjunction with renowned theologians will espouse the idea that Christians, Muslims, and Jews have one common denominator, worshipping the same God.

 

The only theological precept dividing adherents of the three religions is Christ. Therefore, Christ will be relegated to the background. Then, prayers will no longer end with the name of Jesus Christ but with the name of God, Creator, Jehovah, Lord of Heaven, or Our Father. This is a pseudo-Christian church, not the one redeemed by Jesus Christ. This world religion will focus on taking care of the poor and the environment.

 

Repentance from sin and redemption by the blood of Jesus Christ will be intentionally avoided by the members of this religion. This strange ecumenical religion will be propagated in the name of peace and being politically correct. Many Christian denominations will be tempted to participate in the conference for world religion in the name of peace. Be warned! This world religion is not from God but the fulfillment of the falling away from the faith. The pope who champions the cause of this world religion is going to be known in the future as one of the Anti-Christs.

 

Technology is helping the spread of the gospel. But today, technology is being demonized. People are saying the 5g technology is the reason of the present pandemic. What do you think?

 

5G technology is not the reason for the present pandemic. 5G technology has come to stay with us. This technology will bring about great benefits in science, technology, medicine, communication, banking, defense etc. It will be used in manufacturing driverless autonomous cars. It will enhance the creation of One World Government and Global Digital Currency (666).

 

How best should the believer then relate with technology?

 

While Christians should continue to use technology to propagate the gospel, microchip implants in any form must not be accepted by the children of God. The coming microchip implants is the biblical 666 (Revelation 13: 16 – 18). So, we need to continue to watch and pray.

 

By the way sir, do you see God behind this pandemic as some church leaders are suggesting?

 

This pandemic is one of the physical manifestations of a great spiritual warfare. According to Revelation 12: 7 – 12: And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer.

 

So, the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, “Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.

 

Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time.” This pandemic is backed up by evil forces but the will of God will prevail. The Lord allows it as a warning sign that we are in the endtime.

 

We are told the WHO is working on a vaccine that will be used to tackle covid-19. Some are saying the vaccine will come with a chip. What is your reading of this? Should believers take this vaccine when it is out?

 

As a scientist and a physician, I don’t think that the vaccine will come with a chip. Microchip is not now, but very close in our future. My advice is this, if this vaccine comes with a chip, then DO NOT TAKE IT. If the vaccine comes like the regular vaccines, PLEASE, TAKE THE VACCINE.

 

If covid-19 can be curtailed through washing of hands and social distancing. One would have thought that Africa will be badly hit by the virus given the way people live in Africa. Why is this not so?

 

Coronavirus pandemic is a strain of corona virus that causes flu. Viral flu has always being a seasonal health problem in countries with winter seasons. African countries that do not have winter seasons are likely to be less impacted than countries of the world with winter seasons.

 

What should be the attitude of the believer in all these?

 

Believers should use this season of stay at home to draw closer to God. Before we had no time for prayers and Bible studies. Now we have all the time. We should not use all the time watching movies and unprofitable news. It is time to wait upon God and receive strength for tomorrow.

 

Why is the endtime subject rare in our churches? Is it because it is such a difficult subject?

 

Many pastors have not focused on the subject of endtime in time past, but with what is happening in the world today, more Christians will pay attention to passages of the Scripture that deals with the endtime. From this time onward until the day of rapture, endtime messages will continue to grow.

 

What is your advice for people who want to have proper understanding of eschatology?

 

Such people and indeed all believers need the Holy Spirit to lead us and guide us into all truth (John 16:13).