Muslim and Jewish leaders from Israel to Iran believe the coronavirus may be a sign that the Messiah is coming soon.
“The Jewish people live, we are waking up, opening our eyes, stopping all the nonsense we do, and really drawing closer to Shabbat,” said Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu in a YouTube video, CBN News reports. “Maybe the Muslims will tell us to build the Temple.” Many Christians and Jews believe this event would bring the Messiah.
A Muslim Iranian cleric, Ali Reza Banahyan also believes that the worldwide pandemic will bring the Shiite messiah named “Mahdi” or “The Twelfth Imam.” Muslim prophecy predicts he would come during a great upheaval of the earth.
Saudi Sheikh Saleh Al-Maghamsi also vocalized a similar belief that the Judgment Day is near in a television program.
Other leaders believe the coronavirus outbreak is God’s judgment on the earth in order to bring the wayward back to Him.
“In our days, man thinks he is God, that he is the master and can decide what is good and bad, something which is called moral relativism or postmodernism,” said Orthodox rabbit Shlomo Aviner. “If this is the case, that mankind is proud, mankind knows everything, understands everything, let us see you fight the smallest of God’s creations. This creation is called corona, a crown.”
The coronavirus is so named because of the fatty outer layer that looks like a crown under a microscope.
“We must restore the crown to God,” he said.
Messianic pastors in Israel have also called on followers to pray on Wednesday from 1 pm – 2 pm ET to petition God for protection.
“Our prayers are like incense that rises before God and beckons Him to intervene in what is going on around us,” they said in a statement. “We believe that during this pandemic, God is calling on mankind to call out to Him.”
So far, over 400 Israelis have been diagnosed with the virus but there have been no reported deaths.
Photo courtesy: ©GettyImages/Simon Lehmann
Mikaela Mathews is a freelance writer and editor based in Dallas, TX. She was the editor of a local magazine and a contributing writer for the Galveston Daily News and Spirit Magazine.
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