TW: Whooping Cough in Illinois

Boy with Whooping Cough

The latest TW News & Prophecy e-zine from the Living Church of God contains the following:

Whooping cough outbreak in Illinois.

As of last Monday, the whooping cough (pertussis) outbreak in three Illinois counties included more than 500 diagnosed cases. Public health officials say the actual number of cases is much higher, but that the 500 represent solely “medically diagnosed” cases. In McHenry County alone there were 172 cases on Monday–up from just nine cases during the entirety of last year. Officials do not know the exact reason for the outbreak.

Whooping cough is a bronchial disease that claimed thousands of lives annually in the U.S. prior to the advent of the pertussis vaccine in the 1930s. For infants, the disease is lethal in more than 80% of cases. Last year, a similar outbreak caused the death of ten infants in California, and more than 9,000 cases of infection (ABCNews.com, December 6, 2011).

The Bible is full of public health directives given from the Almighty God, including recommendations for quarantining sick individuals (see Leviticus 13- 14). When followed, these lovingly-given statutes actually help prevent or lessen disease severity and duration.

Additionally, we should expect to see more disease outbreaks like the one in Illinois–and more deadly ones–as we approach the end of the age. Christ prophesied that one of the signs of the end of the age would be pestilences (Luke 21:11), and that these pestilences (plagues or diseases) would be just the “beginning of sorrows” (Matthew 24:8).

For more information on this vital topic, review our free booklet, Fourteen Signs Announcing Christ’s Return.

Infection, like pertussis, may be part of the pestilences that the Bible warned about for the end times. Jesus taught:

7…And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of sorrows. (Matthew 24:6-8)

We seem to be in the time Jesus called “the beginning of sorrows”. There have been “earthquakes in various places” this year. There are some famines and they may increase soon. Candida, other fungi, bacteria, and viruses are not the only pestilences starting to rise up either.

As Jesus said:

37 And what I say to you, I say to all: Watch! (Mark 13:36-37)

Three articles of related interest may include:

Anglo – America in Prophecy & the Lost Tribes of Israel Are the Americans, Canadians, British, Scottish, Welsh, Australians, Anglo-Southern Africans, and New Zealanders descendants of Joseph? Where are the lost ten-tribes of Israel? Who are the lost tribes of Israel? Will God punish the U.S.A., Canada, United Kingdom, and other Anglo nations? Why might God allow them to be punished first?
Can the Great Tribulation Begin in 2011, 2012, or 2013? Can the Great Tribulation begin today? When is the earliest that the Great Tribulation can begin? What happens in the “beginning of sorrows”? What is the Day of the Lord?
Fourth Horseman of the Apocalypse What is the pale horse of death and pestilence? What will it bring and when?