A pestilence is a fatal epidemic disease. Even during a time when there is little epidemic disease raging on humankind, diseases of some sort typically account for the top ten or more means of death of humans in most years.
The one that stands out in European history is the Bubonic Plague. That epidemic disease was eventually managed by universal improvements in hygiene, but it still exists and is still not curable today. Interestingly, that plague did not become (in the dark ages or any time yet) a pandemic. A pandemic is an infectious disease that is spread from one area of the world to other areas by hosts (animals, including humans).
Yesterday, November 26, 2021, mankind reacted to the disappointing news of a new, and potentially deadly variant of the COVID-19 (Corona virus Disease # 19), which gained recognition in early 2020, but likely had been active in an earlier year. The new variant, referred to as “The South African Variant,” then as “Omicron,” by the World Health Organization, appears to have acquired more resilience, a greater capacity to infect hosts, and it may have defenses against the current COVID-19 vaccine and the follow-on “Delta Variant” booster.
It appears that the original COVID-19 virus will mutate (evolve into variants) without regard to a season, which seems to distinguish it from influenza viruses, which tend to be most active in Winter months (wherever there is Winter in the world). Influenzas have become pandemics in the past, but have abated as winter ends. Worldwide, in the Fall, pharmacies provide an influenza vaccine that is a cocktail of substance designed to stimulate human antibodies against the top 3 predicted types of flu. The effectiveness of the annual vaccine depends on the prediction and on other factors specific to each human who gets the vaccine.
The hope is that COVID-19 variants can be managed the same way, but as silly as this sounds, “the virus has a vote,” so to speak. So far, mankind reacts to the variants, although, no variant yet has disrupted humanity worldwide to the same degree that original COVID-19 did in 2020/early 2021. Web search “Dots of Red,” a poem about disease written by Poet Gabepal. Find a line in his poem: “Neither prayers or demonstrations halted the advance.”
Web search Matthew 24: 7. This is a quotation from Jesus, the Christ. Pestilence is mentioned as one of the universal plagues that we must suffer. He says these things will come and go, and will not be the end of mankind. He does not say why, but come on, you know why don’t you? In our time, so many people think they should live only to get something for themselves, to do the most heartbreaking things to others in order to elevate themselves, to murder children in their mother’s womb by the multi-millions, and now they have the audacity to tell God himself to step aside while we save the planet. I think that we should make changes in our lives that go far beyond protecting ourselves from COVID-19 variants, before God withholds his grace from us, and begins the long march to wrath so painful that we beg him to end mankind.