Michael L. Brown - When the World Stops: Words of Hope, Faith, and Wisdom in the Midst of Crisis

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WHEN THE WORLD STOPS BY MICHAEL L. BROWN

Published by Charisma House

Charisma Media/Charisma House Book Group

600 Rinehart Road, Lake Mary, Florida 32746

Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com. The NIV and New International Version are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.

Scripture quotations marked CSB have been taken from the Christian Standard Bible, Copyright 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible and CSB are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.

Scripture quotations marked ESV are from the Holy Bible, English Standard Version. Copyright 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission.

Scripture quotations marked KJV are from the King James Version of the Bible.

Scripture quotations marked NASB are from the New American Standard Bible, copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. www.Lockman.org

Scripture quotations marked NET are from the NET Bible copyright 1996-2016 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked NJV are from the New Jewish Version, copyright 1985 by The Jewish Publication Society. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced without written permission from the publisher.

Scripture quotations marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked NLT are from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004, 2007. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, IL 60189. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked TLV are taken from the Tree of Life Translation of the Bible. Copyright 2015 by The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.

Copyright 2020 by Michael L. Brown. All rights reserved.

Visit the authors website at askdrbrown.org/, www.booksbydrbrown.com.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data: An application to register this book for cataloging has been submitted to the Library of Congress.

International Standard Book Number: 978-1-62999-898-5

E-book ISBN: 978-1-62999-899-2

TABLE OF CONTENTS

W HEN I FIRST heard about a new virus strain in Wuhan, China, I paid little attention to it. What was the big deal? Very quickly, however, it became clear that this was a big deal. It also became clear very quickly that the reports of a potential pandemic sent waves of fear around the world, including within the church. There was panic. There was dread. And there were questions, lots of questions.

Was this virus man-made? Was it a bioweapon? Was it part of a one-world government takeover? Was it sent by the devil to destroy? Was it judgment from God? Was it one of the plagues in the Book of Revelation, signaling the end of the world?

I felt the need to begin addressing some of the biblically based questions and to respond to the fears of Gods people, writing my first relevant article on March 2, 2020, titled Is the Coronavirus an End-Time Biblical Plague? In the days that followed, I preached on related themes, devoted radio broadcasts to similar themes (including one show where I went through Psalm 91 in Hebrew), and did livestreams on social media.

Then, on Wednesday, March 18, I sent an email to Steve Strang, Marcos Perez, and Kyle Duncan, my colleagues at Charisma Media, titled Crazy Idea? and suggested I put together a short book for immediate release in the midst of the crisis. Marcos wrote back immediately, saying, Your email confirms a prompting I sensed yesterday while on vacation. Kyle wrote, I want to just echo what Marcos has said, Dr. Brown. I think this is a fantastic idea. Eight days later, on March 26, with Gods grace and help, I finished the manuscriptbasically completing the book in one week.

My appreciation goes to the entire team at Charisma for grabbing hold of this vision and turning it around so quickly for the general public. (How often have you heard of a book being written and published in less than a month, from beginning to end?) And my appreciation goes to the many friends and prayer warriors who intercede for me and my ministry. Without them none of this would take place.

It is my prayer that as you read this book, Gods peace and strength and wisdom will flood your heart, giving you courage and faith to stand strong, shining like a beacon of light and hope in dark and dangerous times. And while this book has been written against the backdrop of the coronavirus, it will be relevant in all times of crisis. One day the whole world will be shakenbut the righteous will never be shaken. May it be so!

One quick request: If this book is a blessing to you, tell a friend, and then post a short review on Amazon. And if you dont receive regular updates and important news from our ministry, please connect with us at AskDrBrown.org. We would love to stay in touch and be an ongoing blessing in your life.

MICHAEL L. BROWN

MARCH 27, 2020

W E ARE LIVING in unprecedented times, and its easy to give way to fear. After all, the news reports are daunting, and the scientific predictions, terrifying. As I write this, whole countries are in lockdown and counties across America are telling people not to leave their homes. Schools have closed, businesses are shutting down, and the media is shouting through the airwaves, Danger! The virus is coming your way!

In a single day in Italy almost one thousand people died of COVID-19. A single extended family in New Jersey lost four family members to the virus, with three more hospitalized. From a single wedding party in Australia thirty-seven people tested positive. In a single nursing home in New Jersey, all ninety-four people were presumed to have the virus. And weve been told it will get worse before it gets better. How can we not be afraid?

One report offers what it calls the grimmest version of life a year from now,meaning the worst prediction of where we could find ourselves one year from now. According to this worst-case scenario, in a year things could look like this:

More than two million Americans have died from the new coronavirus, almost all mourned without funerals. Countless others have died because hospitals are too overwhelmed to deal adequately with heart attacks, asthma and diabetic crises. The economy has cratered into a depression, for fiscal and monetary policy are ineffective when people fear going out, businesses are closed and tens of millions of people are unemployed. A vaccine still seems far off, immunity among those who have recovered proves fleeting and the coronavirus has joined the seasonal flu as a recurring peril.

Dr. Brian Monahan, the attending physician of Congress and the US Supreme Court, thinks matters could be even worsemuch worse. He believes that as much as 50 percent of all Americans could get infected, and if one in one hundred die, then