OPINION

A Quick, Compelling Bible Study Vol. 7 – 'Bat Cave Virus’ Edition

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Author’s Note: Interested readers can find all previous volumes of this series here.

On Easter weekend I was profoundly impacted by a Drudge Report linked headline from the U.K. Daily Mail:

“REVEALED: U.S. government gave $3.7million grant to Wuhan lab at center of coronavirus leak scrutiny that was performing experiments on bats from the caves where the disease is believed to have originated.”

Followed by bullet point subheads related to what you will read below:

-- The institute experimented on bats from the source of the coronavirus 

-- They were captured more than 1,000 miles away in Yunnan

-- Sequencing of the Covid-19 genome has traced it to bats to Yunnan's caves

(For the record, on Friday, a Drudge-linked U.K. DailyStar headline, while downplaying the Wuhan lab, said bats remain the virus originators.) 

When first mentioning how “profoundly impacted” I was by the U.K. Daily Mail report, it was an understatement. Upon reading (which “coincidentally” was on Easter Sunday) I was immediately struck by a thought, so I linked the report and tweeted:

“The Virus came from the dark bat cave. Darkness vs. Light. Think about that: Jesus is the Light of the World. Light always wins in the end. But it will be dark until a candle is lit in our collective hearts.”

Since last Sunday, I cannot stop thinking about the source of the virus because on earth, there is nothing darker than a bat cave, and darkness represents evil.

Currently, this evil virus is decimating our nation and the world. It is blanketing the planet with a dual, never before seen health and financial crisis — disrupting lives, perpetrating loss, pain, suffering, and death.

Amazingly, our nation is on tap to spend more than $6 trillion fighting the Great Virus War, equal to or even exceeding what the U.S. government spent fighting the Second World War. 

And the evil bat-cave virus has caused the light in our houses of worship to go dark. 

Now to rephrase my tweet as a question: Is this Great Virus War a battle between Darkness and Light? (And like Satan, the virus is an unseen enemy.)

To shed some “light” on the issue here are relevant Old Testament Bible passages that are often interpreted as Messianic prophecies contrasting darkness and light:

“The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned” (Isaiah 9:2).

“Who among you fears the Lord and obeys the word of his servant? Let the one who walks in the dark, who has no light, trust in the name of the Lord and rely on their God” (Isaiah 50:10).

“Do not gloat over me, my enemy! Though I have fallen, I will rise. Though I sit in darkness, the Lord will be my light.” (Micah 7:8)

Here are some New Testament passages referring to Jesus as “the light of the world”:

“…the people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death, a light has dawned" (Matthew 4:16).

“…to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace" (Luke 1:79).

“…a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel" (Luke 2:32).
 
 “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light..” (Ephesians 5:8).
 
 “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light” (1 Peter 2:9).

Earlier this week, when I told a learned, devout friend about how I could not extinguish thinking that the virus crisis was a battle between Darkness vs. Light, he wrote:

“You are on to something about the origins of the virus. Bats live in total darkness. They are the product of darkness. Light extinguishes darkness.”

Given the continued devasting toll that this virus is having on our lives, health, and finances, I am more convinced now than when I tweeted on Easter: “Light always wins in the end. But it will be dark until a candle is lit in our collective hearts.”

Dedicate your candle to faith in the Risen Lord Jesus Christ. After all, He is — to repeat the Gospel of Luke — “a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel."

And to that, I say, “Amen!”