If you want to watch the video, use the link below as it is from the church's own YouTube channel (thus no fear of editing) and the time signatures will match up with my comments {bold bracketed in italics}. Note: I have no prior knowledge of this minister, am making no comments about his ministry as a whole or that of his church. The matter at hand is the techniques, focus, and conclusions of this particular sermon.
Is this Coronavirus a Sign of the End of the World? - by Rev. Danny Jones, Northlake Baptist Church (GA)
24:30 - The sermon begins with a reading of 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12 with only a few comments
28:30 - Matthew 24 is referenced
29:30 - Daniel 2 is mentioned
30:24 - The interpretation of Daniel 2 is that no world empire is possible after Rome. {Daniel makes no mention of other empires beyond the 5 in his dream interpretation. The Babylonians were certainly not a global empire, only a regional power. Knowing that something will happen in the future does not preclude other things from happening. This interpretation is adding to the limited point that the prophecy is making; perhaps not egregious, but a sign of things to come.}
30:30 - Daniel's 4th empire is connected explicitly with Western Civilization {Another eisegetical leap, while Daniel makes a connection between the empire of iron (typically thought of as Rome) and its follow-up, that of iron mixed with clay, to say that this must be something derived from Western Culture is not from the text itself. Western Christians have always assumed that the Antichrist will be one of their own. Is this a weird form of pride, as if our culture is the only one important enough for Satan to work through against God?}
30:44 - The terms "final world empire" and "One World Government" are first utilized in connection with Daniel 2. {Daniel's prophecy says nothing about the prophesied empire being one that spans the world (the previous ones in the vision did not), thus is makes no claim that the empire of iron/clay will rule the whole world under one government. This conclusion from Rev. Jones likely is drawn from other texts, such as Revelation, but not from Daniel 2. Note the exact text of Daniel 2:39-43 below}
30:47 - "It will be weaker than the other empires, because they're going to try to build their New World Government by mixing and mingling the various ethnic groups around the world is what Daniel tells us." {If this isn't a not very subtle critique of mixed-race marriages and other forms of integration, I'm not sure what to make of it. Daniel is saying nothing of the sort; his text makes no mention of ethnic groups, and certainly isn't saying that an empire of mixed ethnic groups is weaker. What kind of mixture will the people be, what will keep them from being united? The assumption that this is about race/ethnicity is from Rev. Jones. This is certainly eisegesis, hopefully it isn't racism too.}
Daniel 2:39-43 New International Version (NIV)
39 “After you, another kingdom will arise, inferior to yours. Next, a third kingdom, one of bronze, will rule over the whole earth. 40 Finally, there will be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron—for iron breaks and smashes everything—and as iron breaks things to pieces, so it will crush and break all the others. 41 Just as you saw that the feet and toes were partly of baked clay and partly of iron, so this will be a divided kingdom; yet it will have some of the strength of iron in it, even as you saw iron mixed with clay. 42 As the toes were partly iron and partly clay, so this kingdom will be partly strong and partly brittle. 43 And just as you saw the iron mixed with baked clay, so the people will be a mixture and will not remain united, any more than iron mixes with clay.
31:30 - Daniel 7 mentioned
32:10 - Daniel 8 mentioned
32:40 - "This Antichrist will be a diplomat, a politician." {The text of Daniel 8 calls him, "a master of intrigue...He will become very strong but not by his own power." (Daniel 8:23-24). This is a minor point, but part of the pattern of making assumptions and taking the prophetic texts further than what the authors are actually saying.}
32:55 - Daniel 11 mentioned
34:02 - Revelation 13 mentioned with respect to a "world government"
34:35 - Daniel 12, "transportation and information will increase, we've witnessed that during our lifetime." {Was Daniel talking about cars, planes, and the internet? The text of Daniel says, "Many will go here and there to increase knowledge." (Daniel 12:4) To state that Daniel was talking about the 20th century's technological increases is once again reading into the text what isn't there. Why not the invention of the printing press, public education, steam trains and ships; why right here and right now? Because it fits the overall narrative, not because it fits a proper exegetical interpretation of Daniel. FYI, transportation and information have been increasing significantly for a thousand years, and have been on the rise since the time of Daniel. Was Marco Polo a sign of the End Times? He went 'here and there to increase knowledge'? The point is simple: Making Daniel's words about "our lifetime" is entirely arbitrary.}
34:55 - "We've watched this Mystery of Iniquity in our time, for at least the last 100 years, billionaire bankers and businessmen have been trying to sell the world on a One World Government." {A reference back to 2 Thessalonians 2, but once again one that makes huge assumptions. #1 That Paul is talking about businessmen (and super rich ones at that) rather than any other type of influential person, #2 that Paul is talking about human beings at all, what prevents the 'secret power of lawlessness' from being from the spiritual realm? #3 and that the Apostle Paul was talking in this text about a OWG. Where in the text are the billionaire bankers trying to set up a OWG? They are there in his interpretation because he needs them to be here to fit the narrative, not because Paul wrote anything to imply it. Again, why now, why in our generation as opposed to a previous or future one? Paul's words are no help in answering that question.}
2 Thessalonians 2:7 New International Version (NIV)
7 For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way.
Here ends the interaction with Scripture, roughly 1/3 of the way through the sermon, 8 texts have been mentioned in 11 minutes, none have been examined in detail. What the listener is left with is an impression of a broad Scriptural foundation for the next 2/3 of the message, but is in reality only a cherry-picked collection of references that are not nearly as connected, nor as clear, as the specific interpretation offered by Rev. Jones is claiming. Significant questions are not touched upon: Are the texts of Matthew, Daniel, 2 Thessalonians, and Revelation all talking about the same time period? The same person? If previous generations of Christians saw these passages differently (and they did, some equally applying the interpretation to their own times, also using eisegesis), what makes this interpretation better than theirs? (given that they were wrong, Napoleon wasn't the AntiChrist, the Reformation wasn't the start of the Millenial Kingdom, etc.) Daniel's prophecies are 2,500 years old, those of the NT are 2,000 years old; on what basis is the conclusion made that they are being fulfilled right now, and that this is the only interpretation of that fulfillment? Context matters, authorial intent matters, original audience interpretation matters; none of which have been examined here. The perspective is us, here, now. If we don't start our interpretation with them and there before considering its implications for us, here, our conclusions will reflect our circumstances and our priorities, not those of the Word of God.
From 35:44 to 1:02:37, Rev. Jones issues a string of conspiracy theory culprits, workers in the vast web of the OWG that he is weaving together to call into question everything about the COVID-19 pandemic.
35:44 - Marxism and the Hegelian Dialectic are posited as the lens through which the conspirators are operating. It is insinuated that 'globalists' are the cause of terrorism, the global warming 'hoax', and various pandemics, all to be able to offer 'pre-packaged' solutions of more government control.
36:50 - Trump's presidential election {See 100:00:05 for the conclusion that no politician can stop the OWG. That being the case, why would the globalists try to impeach Trump if he is powerless against their plotting?}
37:33 - When impeachment fails, the globalists next move is COVID-19 {Just one problem with the timeline, COVID-19 was already spreading BEFORE the impeachment process began. Later, Rev. Jones states that COVID-19 was in the works even earlier as part of the globalist plot. The 'globalists' are portrayed as nearly all powerful, able to shape the world, yet unable to remove one politician standing in their way? Consistency is lacking, that's not a good sign.}
37:40 - Rockefeller, George Soros, Bill Gates, and Henry Kissinger listed as part of the conspiracy {Two Jews in the list of headliners, I don't know if this is a coincidence for Rev. Jones, but it isn't for many who agree with him.}
39:10 - Warren Buffet, Oprah Winfrey, and Ted Turner added to the list; along with the start of an anti-vaccine stance that will grow toward the end.
39:45 - The Davos meeting mentioned, will be repeated, as the cabal where billionaires plot to take over the world
40:20 - The US Army is involved (through DARPA)
40:40 - Bill Gates' Netflix movie, Pandemic (2017), "Is Bill Gates a prophet or is it a plan?" {The idea that Bill Gates planned and put into motion a global pandemic is hinted here, not with subtlety.}
41:15 - Johns Hopkins work with a Chinese doctor is mentioned, "interesting to note" {More guilt by association, more inferences for the true believers to nod at and say, "Oh, I see."}
42:00 - World Military Games in Wuhan in 2019 {Why mention this if not to imply that the US Military is part of the conspiracy?}
42:50 - Dr. Anthony Fauci mentioned, primarily as a dupe of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
45:01 - "Novel means Corona didn't come crawling out of the woods, makes you wonder where it did come from?" {It takes 30 seconds and Google to show how much nonsense this sentence is. Novel actually means: not previously identified. It says nothing about the origin of the virus, simply that we have not previously experienced it.}
45:50 - "I was planning on being a doctor, I was a pre-med major" {Less excuse for the last statement then.}
47:45 - "Something is going on there..." {Conspiracy theories, insinuations, these are not fitting for a preacher of the Word of God.}
48:10 - Bill Gates calls for a shutdown
48:45 - Where did it come from? Either man-made by China or U.S. {Clearly a false dichotomy, one that dismisses the natural cause for a nefarious one, without proof.}
49:15 - "Bottom Line: This novel coronavirus, COVID-19, is a manufactured crisis, designed to deceive people to accept a radically different world" {First question: What has any of this to do with the text of 2 Thessalonians? Second question: How does he KNOW, not suspect, not think, know?}
49:35 - Not saying people don't get sick or die from COVID-19 {Something, at least.}
49:45 - Flu comparison {Debunked over and over by real doctors, real professionals.}
50:25 - 30k deaths compared to a "low flu year" {The problem, of course, is that this sermon aired on April 19th, the number in the US has doubled since then, and is only going higher. The flu comparison was wrong when he made it, is getting worse each day.}
50:35 - "Why are we being deceived and where are we going with this?" According to Daniel and Paul: The Mystery of Iniquity to prepare for the Antichrist. {Daniel and Paul said nothing of the sort, that's your conclusion being paraded as the fulfillment of their prophecy; this sermon doesn't serve the text of Scripture, it uses it as a prop.}
51:15 - Former President Obama thrown in for good measure
54:45 - With sermons now given online, "All of our words are being saved and stored in the NSA's new and huge data center in Utah, which as long as we have a government that's ok with Christianity is ok, but what if our New World Government is more like China? Then our very words will be used against us in a criminal trial." {Where to begin, evidently Big Brother is coming for us all too; and soon. My sermons are public, always have been, I'm happy to have anyone hear them, including the NSA, if they're listening, which they are not.}
100:35 - Will you take the vaccine when it comes out? The vacccine for COVID-19 is connected to biometric tattoos, Bill Gates, MIT, Davos, etc.
101:10 - Revelation 13, no longer about the vaccine, now about the Mark of the Beast with the U.N. named as the One World Government. {The anti-vax movement is growing, and it will cost lives worldwide from preventable diseases. If millions refuse to get the COVID-19 vaccine because of conspiracy theories like this, people will die. The 'this is the Mark of the Beast' false cries have been repeated endlessly; terrifying to know that now they will be used to scare people about life saving medicine. This is entirely irresponsible, and morally repugnant.}
101:40 - Roman Emperor Domitian's persecution cited as a parallel, those who get the vaccine (it is implied) are one step closer to denying Christ. {If that isn't the implication, why bring up that moment in Church History when Christians were given a choice between obeying the government and holding to their profession of faith? Those who believe Rev. Jones would be fools if they accept the COVID-19 vaccine if/when it is a reality; if they believe him and refuse, some of them will die of COVID-19.}
1:02:37 - Is COVID-19 a sign of the End? Don't know {A surprising conclusion given the past 45 minutes, but actually the correct answer.}
In the end, the interpretation of the Biblical passages is both brisk and faulty (eisegesis), 2/3 of the message has nothing to do with Scripture and everything to do with politics and conspiracy theories. This message is dangerous, and there are many more like it. Why? Because it has real world implication for people's health and well being, AND it portrays to the Lost that followers of Jesus are anti-government, anti-vaccine, and not to be trusted regarding facts and truth. COVID-19 is a controversial topic, but handing the Word of God this way in response is helping no one, and potentially harming many.
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