End times anxiety and the coronavirus
A feeling of irritation and fear came over me. I thought it was ridiculous but there was this worry that it might be true.
The message was very clear, something bad was going to happen later on in the year and we needed to be ready. This wasn’t the first time we were warned about something happening. For the last few years, the Pastor would remind us of Revelation 6:6 almost in every service. He would say that since the price of food was going up we were living in Revelation 6:6, there also was talk of World War III starting soon and how many of us would be getting arrested because we were Christians. There were days when I would leave the church filled with anxiety because I was scared of the tribulation was going to start soon and I would be getting arrested for believing in Jesus. That all changed when I discovered Preterism.
I discovered it before I knew it was a thing. Around Easter time I read through the gospel of Matthew and came across something quite shocking that messed with the end times narrative that my church (and many others) preached. In Matthew 10:22–23 Jesus is talking about how the ‘son of man’ would come in the disciples lifetime. In this context, he talks about how the disciplines will be handed over to councils, flogged in synagogues, and them being dragged before governors and kings. That never happens in the gospels but it does happen in the book of Acts, so it seemed and still seems that here he is talking about the second coming, and the second coming taking place in the disciplines lifetime. Soon after reading through Matthew I came across podcasts about Preterism and realised there were a great number of Christians who thought that the second coming of Christ was something that happened centuries ago. I would also go on to find out that some people believe that Nero was the antichrist and that the mark of the beast was Roman coinage.
In the end, I mentioned some of these things to one of the Pastors and in response, the following Sunday, he mentioned in his sermon that Preterism was not true. There was no explanation as to why this was the case. No willingness to explain why scriptures like Matthew 10:22–23 did not prove Preterism to be true. All I got was it was not true because he said it was not true. There were many reasons why I left that church and their handling of Preterism was one reason. I just hated how they insisted their futuristic interpterion was the truth when they were other viewpoints they would not even mention. Really what they taught about the last days was traumatising and since leaving that church talk of the rapture, the tribulation. the mark of the beast, the Antichrist, or knowing the truth does my head in. More often than not I feel angry because such talk reminds me I spent most of my life being afraid of something that might not be true. It is frustrating that the preterist theory was never presented alongside futuristic theories like millennialism and premillennialism in church and the Christians I talked to only focused on the rapture, the tribulation, the Antichrist, and the end of the world. The cynical side of me thinks the whole reason that they approached the subject this way was that they wanted me and anyone else listening to be afraid. An idea that is presented as a theory is not as powerful as an idea presented as truth. It takes great restraint for me to not allow my anger, frustration, and cynicism to come out whenever the subject of the end times or anything related to it comes up. Since the start of the pandemic my anger, frustration, and cynicism have come out and grown due to the increasing belief in the coronavirus conspiracy theories.
When the pandemic first began affecting my life I thought of it as humanity versus the virus. I was happy to hear reports of progress being made in the fight against it no matter what country it was. I thought we were all together taking on the virus but eventually, I realised that was not the case. Some say the wealth gap is what stops Coronavirus from being all of us together and I do agree with such views, however, I also think that another thing that stops us from being all together in our fight against it is that some have a belief in the conspiracy theories surrounding it. When I first heard of the conspiracy theories I thought it was just a few crazy people on the internet, people who I would never meet in real life, people I did not care about. I ended up discovering there were people who I knew and/or cared about who believed in some of the theories about this disease.
My interactions with people who believe in these conspiracy theories have been mixed. Some have resorted to threats and name-calling while others have been respectful yet honest about what they think. I think it is important to acknowledge that people are cynical about COVID-19 for different reasons. While I struggle with anyone who seems to go in a conspiracy theory direction, I have a real problem with people who seem to think they have to attack people who have a different point of view about the virus.
One of the ways some have attack others who follow the coronavirus rules is by calling them sheep. Not only is it shaming, but it also illogical. It is illogical because it is human nature to follow. If someone is a sheep for following these rules, then someone who does not abide by the rules is also a sheep because they are following those who say the rules should not be followed. But it is not just those who are against the rules that partake in shaming behaviour. There is this idea that those who think differently about coronavirus are stupid. Just because someone has different views on this does not mean they are stupid. They might be wrong but that does not mean they are stupid because being wrong about something does not make someone stupid. Calling someone a sheep or stupid is a form of shaming.
The nastiness does not stop with calling people sheep or stupid. Judging and/or verbally attacking someone for not wearing masks without knowing their reasons for doing is not okay. Someone is not an anti-masker if they happen to not wear one, they might have physical and mental health issues that prevent them from wearing one. Having said that I do not have much sympathy if someone does not wear one because they believe wearing one means the government is controlling them. I remember talking to a woman on Facebook who said she believed in the conspiracy theories around coronavirus but she still wore a mask because at the end of the day it was just a theory and the theory could be wrong. I think that is a sensible and considerate way to approach masks and lockdowns. Someone might believe that COVID-19 is not real but what if they are wrong? The woman I interacted with on Facebook was in the minority, she is the only person I have encountered who believes in these conspiracy theories but also accepts they could be wrong. What damage are they doing by not wearing a mask and not sticking to lockdown rules if people are dying from it?
This is what I hate about many who believe in conspiracy theories. There is this certainty that they are right and anyone else who thinks differently to them is wrong. They reject what the ‘mainstream’ media says because apparently, they are in league with the elites. They believe the government is up to no good and cannot be trusted. It seems to me the goal of many people who believe in this is to spread fear. This is where I see a commonality with conspiracy theorists and end time believers. It is very rare for someone who believes in such things to be open to being wrong. They dismiss any preterist ideas and proclaim that it is a fact that Christ return is a future event. They terrify those who are listening to them with stories about the tribulation, the Antichrist, and the mark of the beast. The ‘mainstream’ media cannot be trusted because it is ‘worldly’ and governments are evil. They proclaim this is the truth when at the end of the day it is just a theory.
I should acknowledge that fear is playing a part in these beliefs. I was talking to someone who believed in some of the COVID-19 conspiracies and they said they wished they didn’t believe in the conspiracies. This was when many countries around the world were going into lockdown and I sense I lot of fear of what would happen next. Such people may not be wanting to spread fear or anxiety. Maybe they feel the same amount of anxiety as I do and maybe I should feel more compassion towards them but it’s hard to have any compassion for someone who is bringing about your own anxiety. I guess I’m less angry with them but more frustrated that could believe such things. I have anger for those who are the leaders in these conspiracy theories and end times teachings. The men and women who have YouTube channels, podcasts, and/or church that enables them to spread their message of fear and intimidation.
I don’t support the vaccine being forced upon people if they don’t want it. I hope that enough people will take it willingly that the spread will be stopped. I’ll take the vaccine when I’m offered it. The concerns of some people about it being safe due to how quick it was produced is valid. I think it’s safe despite how quick they were produced. In my view, it makes sense that it would be produced so quickly since everyone with the expertise in making vaccines was trying to make it. Also with the technology, we have today I say it’s about time the record for producing vaccines was broken. But my main reason for taking the vaccine is that it’s my way of sticking two fingers up to those who traumatized me with conspiracy theories, the end time prophecies, and name-calling. This is me saying you may have traumatized me and hurt me with your words but it didn’t stop me.
