Chapter 2 ~ The Pandemic, "I Will Be A Shelter For My People"

THE PANDEMIC:

On January 18, 2020 I had an unusual dream.  I was helping a man (who was Chinese) sort through various items.  The man was standing in front of a large picture window.  I found a tarnished silver coin and tried to distinguish the writing on the back of the coin.  No one could do this except me.  As I squinted to read the tiny faint writing for it’s worth, I discovered it read “I AM A SIGN TO YOU!” on the back of the coin.

As I pondered the dream, the Spirit of the Lord revealed to me why the man in the dream was Chinese.  He represented the pandemic that came to our country from China a few days later.  On January 21, 2020 - officials in Washington state confirmed the first case of coronavirus on US soil.  The Chinese man stood in front of an expansive picture window, which represented a future prophetic event (wide-spread like the large window).  This dream represented the future societal lockdown.

President Donald Trump declared the coronavirus pandemic a national emergency during a White House press conference on March 13, 2020.  As I watched the weekly television news conference about the pandemic, I heard the Lord speak.  He said: “I will be a Shelter to My people”.  I knew I had heard that statement before but many years ago.  “Where was it, Lord?” I asked.  Later in the evening during a prayer time, God gave me a scripture address. Joel 3:16: “The Lord also will roar from Zion, and utter His voice from Jerusalem; the heavens and earth will shake; but the Lord will be a shelter for His people, and the strength of the children of Israel.”  Written next to the verse in my bible was a date of October 17, 1998. 

What was so significant about this date?  Or I should say this time period of my walk with the Lord.  Between the years of 1998 through 1999, I was receiving numerous prophecies from the Lord.  I explain this time period on pages 67-68 of My Sister’s Walk with God:

“In 1998, the Lord started giving scripture addresses more frequently and speaking to me of how angry He was at our country’s leadership and His backslidden church. Here is an example of what I was hearing from my prayer journal:

‘Hear My words. Incline your ear to the hearing of My words. I am the Light of the world, yet darkness is coming, darker than all the nights. There will be famine and pestilence and a great need for My Word. There are many who will fall away and be deceived. Be true at heart. There is more war to come. You do not know the day or the hour when I will call. Be prepared. The time draws near. Stay close. My judgment is close at hand. Pray for unity in the house of God. Many have their minds on programs and events they think are from Me. If the Lord doesn’t build the house, it is built in vain. Few are the programs I require.  My Word is enough—truth abounds in My Word. I am My Word.’

I was frightened and kept asking the Lord if this was Him speaking. His explanation to me concerning the angry prophecies was Amos 3:8: ‘The Lion has roared, who will not fear? The Lord God has spoken; who can but prophesy?’ As I look back, I laugh because that verse made no sense to me at the time, and I kept asking God, and He kept giving me this same verse. Finally, the Holy Spirit opened my eyes to what God was saying—God was the Lion roaring in my ear, and He was causing me to write His prophecies down on paper. I did this faithfully for the Lord between 1998 and 1999; after which, they became sporadic.”

Why do I bring this up now?  Why has the Lord revived this after 22 years?  I investigated further my prayer journal from late 1998 and found the prophecy that went along with Joel 3:16. Below are the words the Lord gave me from my prayer journal:

“Many are the days coming which will fall like rain upon My people who refuse to hear My voice, the days will be filled with darkness; there will be no light – there is no light unless they turn to Me. There is coming a time of great turmoil…Yea, the world will be in great dismay.  Yet, I will use this time to purify My church, as they see the time drawing near, they will fear and have great trepidation.  For there will be some who cannot believe their eyes and they will stumble, they will stumble.  Keep yourselves pure for the day of redemption draws near, yes, your day of salvation is nigh.   There will be no other time as this that is soon to come.” 

“That they may know from the rising of the sun to its setting that there is none besides Me.  I am the Lord, and there is no other…”  Isaiah 45:6.

A SIGN TO THIS GENERATION:

As I continued pondering the dream in January with the Chinese man, The Lord spoke again: “You are a sign even to this generation.”  I had heard that statement before from the Lord but did not know when.  I found it on a post-it note dated May 31, 2013 when I first started to travail about my mysterious weakness.   And then, it dawned on me because of my overall weakness, for the past few years I have been mostly held up at home.  It has been extremely hard to accept this as God’s will for me. But with that statement of being a sign to this generation, it started to make sense.  God opened my eyes to the interpretation of the January dream once I realized the comparison of my situation to the societal lockdown in March 2020. 

A statement I read in a book written by Rabbi Jonathan Cahn proclaims: “Prophetic acts can foretell in symbolism what is yet to come. The prophet Jeremiah smashing the clay jar, foretelling the destruction of Jerusalem…A prophetic act could even be performed by those unaware that they were performing it—like the potter in the Book of Jeremiah who mars his vessel and then reshapes it, a sign to signify the sovereignty of God over the nation of Israel…Prophetic acts occur throughout the Bible, often preceding and foretelling a day of calamity…It lies in the realm of the secret things.”  The Harbinger II: The Return (p. 265).

On March 19, 2020 the California Governor announced a ‘lock down’ of the entire state.  Now, all persons living in California were shut up and only able to go on life essential outings as I have been for the past few years.  Then, I received a scripture address: Ezekiel 21:7 “And it shall be when they say to you, ‘Why are you sighing?’ that you shall answer, ‘Because of the news; when it comes, every heart will melt, all hands will be feeble, every spirit will faint, and all knees will be weak as water. Behold, it is coming and shall be brought to pass,’ says the Lord God.” 

I prayed for confirmation to this quite unbelievable situation I have found myself in.  I received another verse: “Here am I and the children whom the Lord has given me!  We are for signs and wonders...”.  Isaiah 8:18a.  From My Sister’s Walk with God, page 138: “I know I was a sign at my church during a dark time of mourning for the head pastor (this story covered under the “Church Years” chapter), and I have been told by God Almighty that I am a sign for the end-times, the coming day of the Lord. How? Why? When? All of this is beyond my comprehension and belongs in the hands of the One who holds my future.”

I must admit that it has taken over seven years for this final understanding of me being a sign and having it revealed through this dream as the future event played out.  I knew me being a sign was more than the church prayer assignment that ended in 2014, as my signs continued.  I now understood why. 

After prayer about this incredible comparison I heard the Lord say: “There can come no revival without someone first bearing the burden.  You will give birth to the promises of God.”  Finally, I asked if He was fulfilling the prophecies that He entrusted to me years earlier in 1998-99.  The following scriptures were His answer:

“Who is this coming from Edom, from Bozrah, with His garments stained crimson?  Who is this, robed in splendor, striding forward in the greatness of His strength?  ‘It is I, proclaiming victory, mighty to save.’”  Isaiah 63:1.

“And all people will see God’s salvation.”  Luke 3:6.

I sense God is going to fulfill what He has told me over the years while I write this current book. I believe the Lord is doing just that by bringing to pass what He delivered to me 22 years prior.  I know the global pandemic will change the world to bring in the end- time revival that He has ordained.  I also sense that His church will be quenched with fire (in a good way to equip His workers, and to burn the dross from His church).  Recently, I heard the Lord speak again saying: “The world will change dramatically in your lifetime.” 

WHY THE PANDEMIC?

I have my own theory on why the pandemic came into being.  Let me tell you my hypothesis.  At the time, I was on the Board of Directors for a ministry that provided care for poverty-stricken children in China.  In December 2019, we found out that the government intended to implement some strict restrictions on non-government organizations (including ministries).  The restrictions were implemented in February 2020. 

The restrictions included: "Religious organizations must adhere to the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party…Religious organizations must spread the principles and policies of the Chinese Communist Party…supporting the socialist system, adhering to and following the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics".  But the most egregious assault was rewriting of the Bible. 

Once I found out about the proposed changes, I prayed.  I received a scripture address: Revelation 22:18 “I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this scroll: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to that person the PLAGUES described in this scroll...”

In addition, I contemplated that my first book (My Sister’s Walk with God) documents the prophecies that replicate the pestilence.  So, my book came out and the prophecies contained therein happened as the book was being launched! 

Now I’m just as unnerved about our national situation as anyone.  Nevertheless, I’ve been waiting for this since 1998 when then I thought it was imminent at that time.  It appears to me that God’s words are transpiring now.  I know the world-wide pandemic will change the world to bring in the end- time revival that He has ordained. 

One last item of interest regarding pestilence aka plagues.  There has been a plague of locusts devouring the east of Africa since 2019.  In February 2020, the locusts were seen in China according to:  Plague of Locusts Spreads Far Beyond Africa Across Middle East to China – Faithwire.  Locusts were also infesting parts of South America in the same year.

The plague continues and is spreading according to 2019–2021 locust infestation - Wikipedia: “The 2019–21 locust infestation is a pest outbreak of desert locusts which is threatening the food supply across the regions of East Africa, the Arabian Peninsula and the Indian subcontinent. The outbreak is the worst in 70 years in Kenya and the worst in 25 years in Ethiopia, Somalia and India.”

December 2021 Update to the prophecy on famine coming: Amid drought, conflict and rocketing prices, a global food crisis could be approaching, top expert warns (msn.com).