The deadly disease has now claimed the lives of more than 1,300 people in China and is threatening to become a global pandemic, while conflict in Iran and the African locust invasion have the Middle East on high alert. But, Biblical scholar Melvin Sandelin, has urged viewers on his “Christian Life” YouTube channel not to fear, claiming it is just part of the process for the return of Jesus Christ. Mr Sandellin wildly suggested coronavirus is “just one of the examples” that the End Times prophecy is “being fulfilled” and he is not alone in his thinking.

He said last week: “We know that the end results of the Bible prophecies is that the world is going to come to an end when Jesus comes back.

“As we see these signs increase, we know that we are getting closer to that moment.

“But notice that one of the signs that Jesus gives us for the end of the world is in Matthew 23, verse six and seven.”

The Gospel passage reads: “And you will hear of wars and rumours of wars. 

"See that you are not troubled, these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.

“For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. 

“And there will be famines, pestilence and earthquakes in various places.”

Mr Sandellin added: “2,000 years ago Jesus made the prediction that in the time before he would come back the world would not be free from disease and outbreaks.

“Despite the modern efforts being made by the medical world, new diseases and outbreaks still take place.

“The Wuhan coronavirus is just one of these examples of how we see End Times prophecy like this being fulfilled in front of our very eyes.

“As the whole world is sucked into this media-furled fear for the coronavirus, Jesus said ‘don’t fear’.

“These things must happen, they are a sign of what is soon to come, Jesus is coming back soon.”

Meanwhile, a locust swarm “as big as a major city” is wreaking havoc in Africa and experts say it could grow 400 times the size by June, spreading to Uganda, South Sudan and further North, threatening the Middle East.

It is almost like a page out of the Bible's Old Testament book of Exodus.

A chapter reads: “So Moses stretched out his staff over Egypt, and the Lord made an east wind blow across the land all that day and all that night. 

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“By morning the wind had brought the locusts, they invaded all Egypt and settled down in every area of the country in great numbers. 

“Never before had there been such a plague of locusts, nor will there ever be again. 

“They covered all the ground until it was black. 

“They devoured all that was left after the hail everything growing in the fields and the fruit on the trees. 

“Nothing green remained on tree or plant in all the land of Egypt.”

A pastor in Kenya’s capital said he was asking for God’s forgiveness following the invasion earlier this month.

He said: “It is not normal that the country has been invaded by desert locusts and having rain in the month of January. 

“I am here to repent our sins and ask God for forgiveness because something is wrong somewhere and also ask God for His visitation. 

“God bless you all, call the Lord and he will hear your prayers.”

Last night, a rocket attack slammed into an Iraqi base in the province of Kirkuk, where US bases are stationed.

It was the latest saga following heightened tensions between the US and Iran which have been mounting since Donald Trump ordered the assassination of General Qassem Soleimani on January 3.

California-based prophecy writer Bill Salus told viewers on his YouTube channel “Prophecy Watchers” that “Iran is the elephant in the room in the Middle East, he’s the bully".

Mr Salus suggested that God is angry with the current Iranian leadership and that Christians should watch recent events as they are likely to fulfil biblical prophecies.

He added: “I really do believe this is going to lead to other things.

“This is number one on my radar.”

The popular Christian novelist Joel Rosenberg, who in recent years has led trips of evangelical leaders to meet with leaders in the Middle East, said that while he is cautious about saying that prophecies from the Bible are unfolding right now, he takes those forecasts from the Old and New Testaments seriously.

He interprets biblical texts such as Ezekiel 38, which describes a forthcoming war, as meaning that Iran will ally with Russia and attack Israel. 

He says that Jeremiah 49, which describes the destruction of a nation, promises God’s judgment, as well as his eventual blessing, specifically on the nation of Iran.