We might see the pandemic at least begin to wind down as greater number of people gain immunity to Coronavirus causing Covid-19 either through developing antibodies in the course of illness or through vaccinations if they are found safe and successful.
The good news is that from the beginning of the pandemic the death rate has not increased. It remains around 2% even in the countries with the greatest numbers of infections. Nearly one year into it the death toll is not nearly as big as that of the Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918, which killed more than 50 million people in 1- 2 years while the world population was much smaller than it is now. As of today, globally, out of more than 83 million people infected, only 1.8 million have died. In addition in many of these deaths, Covid-19 was only one factor that led to their deaths and not always its main cause.
This by no means does lessen the loss of these lives, but it is important to put them into a larger perspective. Covid-19 could be dangerous to people with serious health issues and those with low immune systems and should be treated seriously. Our individual efforts to slow its spread are very important, but this crisis is not as big as many seem to paint it. We need to be responsible, but we should not live in fear. The lockdowns will have to end soon as there is not much evidence that they make that much difference. The country of Sweden was initially criticized for refusing to institute a full lockdown. Instead they asked their citizens to observe physical distancing and to avoid any large gatherings. The schools and businesses remained open, but their death rate and number of infections is not that much higher and in fact lower than in many other countries. Perhaps there is a lesson to be learned here.
On the political front, the division sharpened by the most recent elections in the United States will continue to cause upheaval in that country. The political bias of the media and tech giants must end if the public in the U.S. and around the world is to have any confidence in them and the fairness of political process. We must pray that this problem will continue to be confronted and that it will be dealt with one way or another. The Islamic Republic Regime in Iran is in crisis with its leader about to die, so it is desperate to start a new war in hopes of staying in power, we must pray for our persecuted brothers and sisters inside Iran, that God will deal justice on their behalf.
There are also rumors that Pope Francis is about to step down, which was in fact predicted by Tom Horn during the online Defender Conference in November. Tom Horn has correctly predicted the stepping down of Pope Benedict well before it happened and now he is saying that Pope Francis will either step down or "be removed" from office. Tom Horn speculates that whoever will replace him might be the last Pope. I guess we will see if he is correct or not sometime in 2021.
Whatever is in store in 2021, as believers in Jesus, we can be sure of one thing. He will be with us in it, both good and bad, and He will be working everything for our good, so we don't need to be anxious. Despite its challenges, I have many things to be thankful for this year and so are many of you. May we all be blessed in 2021 and draw even nearer to our Lord and Savior in these tumultuous times.
