| HIGHLIGHTS OF DAWN | July 2003 |
The Wages of Sin
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“The wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” |
FOR APPROXIMATELY SIX thousand years, man has witnessed the dying process brought upon humanity through Father Adam’s disobedience. The penalty for disobedience was death. God’s commandment was plain. “Of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” (Gen. 2:17) The Marginal Translation reads, “dying thou shalt die.” This has been the unhappy lot of the human family ever since.
THE TIME OF THE END
God has been gracious to man and as the time approaches for the establishment of his kingdom, he has permitted knowledge and learning to increase towards the end of this present evil world. This knowledge has permitted man to wage war against the killers of men through disease. In spite of this blessing, new killers have appeared that are the more difficult to apprehend and fight. In recent time AIDS appeared (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome), and in spite of millions of dollars for research, it is currently ravaging the continent of Africa. Even more recently another new killer has appeared, SARS, (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome). The U.S. News and World Report magazine for May 5, 2003 had a feature article entitled “SARS Hits Home.” In it everything that is known about this deadly disease to date was published.
In telling of how Toronto, Canada became afflicted and then listed by the World Health Organization as a city not to visit, the article said:
“Residents of Toronto were stunned last Wednesday when the World Health Organization told people to avoid traveling to Toronto because of the risk of SARS, which has spread to 26 countries since it first surfaced in China last fall. That made Canada’s largest city, the engine of one fifth of its economy, the only Western Hemisphere city on an unprecedented ‘do not visit’ list that includes parts of China and Hong Kong, which have had the bulk of the world’s SARS cases. ‘One of the most important means of spreading diseases around the globe is air travel,’ said David Heymann, director of communicable diseases for WHO, noting that travelers appeared to be carrying SARS from Toronto to other countries. ‘We still do not know whether or not we can stop this disease from becoming endemic.’
“Officials at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which earlier in the week had advised Americans to stay out of Toronto hospitals and wash their hands carefully if in town, said that the WHO action went too far. Other public-health experts suggested that WHO had listed Toronto in order to mollify China, which has come under harsh criticism for its reluctance to reveal the extent of SARS infections there. ‘Suffice to say, we didn’t find their scientific arguments convincing,’ says Colin D’Cunha, Ontario’s commissioner of public health.
PARIAH CITY
“But normally phlegmatic Torontonians were rattled to see their town branded, as one local tabloid put it, ‘Pariah City.’ ‘I find it very stressful here now,’ said Judy Cutler, public relations director for the Canadian Association of Retired Persons. ‘I think people are realizing it’s serious.’
“Indeed, the battle is far from won. The deaths continue to mount in Canada, Hong Kong, China, and Singapore, with the death rate now close to six percent. The origins of the disease remains a mystery, and scientists are struggling to devise better methods to halt its spread. There is no treatment or cure. And new research suggests that the novel coronavirus named by WHO as the cause of SARS may not be the only suspect, which could make detection and treatment difficult. ‘It’s a mean virus,’ says Donald Low, head of microbiology at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto, who was himself quarantined after being exposed. Yet by week’s end, local health officials were voicing optimism for the first time. The number of SARS cases in Toronto hospitals started to drop last week, suggesting that the city’s herculean effort to protect hospital workers and patients is paying off. Even better, no people have become infected in the general community since April 9. James Young, Ontario’s public security commissioner, said, ‘We’re hoping this is over.’”
THE KILLER IN CHINA
The largest outbreak of this new killer occurred in China, and for some strange reason the news was hidden from the people of China by their government. The article wrote about Beijing as a city masked in fear and distrust, saying:
“It was shaping up to be a mask-free spring. The sandstorms that force Beijing residents to don face masks year after year had skipped their occurrence. Warm weather lured people to parks and restaurants. Many had heard stories about a dangerous new virus, but the official media said only that there was a minor problem in Guangdong province and that it was under control. ‘I considered it all rumors, not fact,’ says Liu Wenhui, a 30-year-old accountant.
“But early last week, rumors became fact, and the masks came out in force. Under intense international pressure, officials declared 346 SARS patients in Beijing itself and all but acknowledged a coverup. By week’s end, the number had more than doubled to 877, bringing China’s total number of cases to 2,601. The national health minister and the city’s mayor—who had just declared the city safe for tourists—were fired. Like a sinner desperate to make up for past misdeeds, the government went conspicuously to work, canceling the national week-long May vacation and closing schools across Beijing for two weeks. Police officers held thousands in strict quarantine in hospitals and apartment blocks. Disinfection crews scoured the city.
“Almost overnight, Beijing’s idyllic spring has given way to a season of panic. Terrified of the virus, millions are staying home. Gridlock on the streets has vanished. Bored waiters outnumber diners at restaurants. For those who do venture out, face masks have become as essential as shoes. The only places that seem busy are supermarkets and pharmacies. Bracing for long weeks in isolation, residents have cleared grocery shelves. ‘I’m stocking up so I don’t have to go out as often,’ said one woman, dragging a 40-pound bag of rice. At one pharmacy, a sign read, ‘We are temporarily out of face masks, disinfectant, and Lysol.’
“The problem is, after early government silence, people still don’t believe they’re getting the full story. ‘This is typical government behavior,’ says a Tsinghua University graduate student named Shen. ‘But the fact they hid information about something that could make people ill, even kill them, this mistake is unforgivable.’ Worried that the situation is still worse than officials admit, thousands are fleeing the city. ‘We came to Beijing to make more money,’ says Li, a migrant worker waiting for a train home to Sichuan. ‘But there’s no point in making money if you’re going to get sick.’
“Now health officials worry that the virus could follow such workers home to the countryside, where 70 percent of China’s 1.3 billion people live and local hospitals are woefully ill-equipped. Travelers like Li may believe that they are escaping to sanctuary, but their SARS nightmare—and China’s—might just be beginning.”
WHAT CAUSES SARS?
What is causing this new fear of a deadly disease? No one knows the cause for certainty. The article said:
“SARS may not be giving up its secrets as easily as it seemed just a few weeks ago. In mid-April, the World Health Organization confidently announced that a novel human coronavirus was the killer pneumonia’s cause, and there was a global sigh of relief. That sigh may have come too soon.
“Last week, virologists with new scientific findings started backing off the coronavirus hypothesis. If their skepticism is warranted, it has huge implications. If the medical community is indeed working on the wrong virus, it would be producing mounds of faulty diagnostic tests and—even worse—chasing after vaccines that would be worthless.
“Scientists point out that Canadian SARS patients are unique, since they trace back to one grandmother and thus should have the same causative pathogen. Virologist Frank Plummer of Winnipeg’s National Microbiology Laboratory reported last week that only 40 percent of Canadian SARS patients have this coronavirus. An earlier study also found coronavirus in only five of nine victims in the first cluster of SARS cases. What’s more, Plummer found that 1 in 15 perfectly healthy Canadians who recently traveled in Asia has the virus. That raises the question whether this newly discovered coronavirus is the killer bug it’s made out to be. It also leads to the speculation that coronavirus could be a coconspirator or merely a fellow traveler with the real (as yet undiscovered) pathogen. ‘We need to go back to the drawing board,’ says Plummer. His instinct tells him that the new coronavirus could be causing the diarrhea that is seen in some SARS victims, but another agent may be doing the lung damage common to all SARS victims.
“Scientists at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention remain confident. Indeed, the CDC has proposed that the new virus be named the Urbani Sars-associated virus, after WHO scientist Carlo Urbani, who died of SARS while investigating the epidemic. The CDC is also updating its definition of SARS to include a positive lab test for the new coronavirus. CDC officials find Plummer’s data less convincing than unpublished studies from the Netherlands that claim inoculating monkeys with the virus leads to SARS-like systems.”
THE SPREAD OF SARS
Currently the worldwide statistics show the number of cases and deaths to be as follows:
| COUNTRY | CASES | DEATHS |
|---|---|---|
| China | 2,422 | 110 |
| HongKong | 1,488 | 109 |
| Singapore | 192 | 19 |
| Canada | 140 | 5 |
| Taiwan | 17 | 0 |
| United States | 37 | 0 |
| Brazil | 2 | 0 |
| Great Britain | 6 | 0 |
| Ireland | 1 | 0 |
| France | 5 | 0 |
| Spain | 1 | 0 |
| Germany | 7 | 0 |
| Sweden | 1 | 0 |
| Switzerland | 1 | 0 |
| Romania | 1 | 0 |
| Italy | 4 | 0 |
| Bulgaria | 1 | 0 |
| Kuwait | 1 | 0 |
| India | 1 | 0 |
| Thailand | 8 | 2 |
| Malaysia | 5 | 2 |
| Indonesia | 1 | 0 |
| Vietnam | 83 | 5 |
| Australia | 4 | 0 |
| Philippines | 2 | 1 |
| Japan | 2 | 0 |
These statistics were compiled several weeks ago when the U.S. News and World Report was preparing for its May 5, 2003 publication. The situation has worsened as reported in the New York Times of May 8, 2003. The Chinese statistics were reported as follows:
| COUNTRY | CASES | DEATHS |
|---|---|---|
| China | 4,560 | 219 |
| Hong Kong | 1,654 | 204 |
| Taiwan | 120 | 13 |
Also the New York Times published an article entitled WHO Doubles Its Estimate of Death Rate from SARS. The article said:
“Analyzing what it said was more complete data, the World Health Organization said yesterday that the estimated overall death rate from SARS was about 15 percent—double its previous estimate.
“The new rate is still lower than the nearly 20 percent reported Tuesday by researchers who studied the course of the epidemic of severe acute respiratory syndrome in Hong Kong. Those scientists used different statistical techniques.
“Even so, the revised death rate indicates that as new information from the evolving epidemic comes in, SARS is proving much more serious than first thought. Early estimates of the death rate had ranged down to about 2 percent.
“The health agency said its new figures were based on the latest detailed data from Canada, China, Hong Kong, Singapore and Vietnam. The death rates varied by age: more than 50 percent in people 65 and older; 15 percent in those 45 to 64; 6 percent among those 25 to 44; and 1 percent for those 24 and younger.
“The new mortality rates, like the old ones, are tentative because the epidemic is thought likely to change as more information comes in.
“‘The WHO did not report the higher figures earlier partly because it did not receive the needed data until recent days,’ said Dr. Michael J. Ryan, a medical officer at the agency. He added that the WHO also did not want to ‘panic the world’ by releasing death rates that could turn out to be significant overestimates.”
THE MEANING OF SARS
What does all this mean to us as Bible students? One thing is sure, namely, the sentence of death continues over mankind. The present evil world continues as well. Man’s battle against the deadly diseases in the world depends upon God’s special help and assistance. He cannot win the battle alone. The hope for that assistance lies in the establishment of Christ’s kingdom upon earth. That kingdom alone will remove the fear of mysterious, unknown killers.
The world is not ready to appreciate their Heavenly Father as expressed by David when he wrote the 103rd Psalm. But they eventually must, if they are to receive the benefits of eternal life. David wrote, “Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies; Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s.” (Psalm 103:1-5). We note that David recognized that the Lord alone could heal our diseases and renew our strength. He would do so by forgiving our iniquities. This is the sense of our theme text that ‘the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.’ God’s program is clear. As it is written, “This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.”—I Tim. 2:3-6
GOD’S KINGDOM BRINGS HEALING
We are now approaching the ‘due time’ for that program to begin. As David said, “The Lord executeth righteousness and judgment for all that are oppressed.” (Psalm 103:6) These are not only those in literal oppression, but also those oppressed by the Adversary, death, and sin. “He made known his ways unto Moses, his acts unto the children of Israel. The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy. He will not always chide: neither will he keep his anger for ever.” (vss. 7-9) Soon the wrath of God will be past. “He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear [reverence] him. As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us. Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him. For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust.”—vss.10-14
How well did David express our Father’s mercy and love. How fully aware is God of our fragility. Man’s experience upon earth at the present time is well described in verses 15 and 16 as a flower that blooms, fades, and is gone. But this is not to continue. And so David writes, “The mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children’s children; To such as keep his covenant, and to those that remember his commandments to do them.” Then prophetically David says, “The Lord hath prepared his throne in the heavens; and his kingdom ruleth over all.”—vss. 17-19
David then calls upon all the hosts of heaven to “Bless the Lord,” and unto us who are so privileged to do so today. Soon all mankind will respond and ‘Bless the Lord.’ What else could anyone do for such a merciful, loving, and wonderful Creator? How wonderful will it be when all creation will say, “Bless the Lord, O my soul!” Blessed be his Holy Name.—vss. 20-22