Trump, Bishop Issue Powerful Decree Against COVID-19 for Good Friday, Easter

As his administration continues its war against the coronavirus and other issues of national importance, on Good Friday President Donald Trump didn’t forget the significance of the death of Jesus Christ and what it means for believers all over the world.

“On this Good Friday, Christians from all around the world remember the suffering and the death upon the cross of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,” Trump said from the Oval Office Friday. “On Easter Sunday, we will celebrate His glorious Resurrection.

“At this holy time, our nation is engaged in a battle like never before with an invisible enemy. Our brave doctors, nurses and our first responders—responders of all—are fighting to save lives. Workers are racing to deliver critical medical supplies. Scientists are working around the clock to develop life-saving therapeutics, and I think they are doing really well. Our people are making tremendous sacrifices to end this pandemic.”

With a heavy heart, Trump says he’s aware that churches will not be able to convene as normal on the most important Sunday of the year, but that believers should use this time to strengthen their communion with the Lord.

“Though we will not be able to gather together with one another as we normally would on Easter, we can use this sacred time to focus on prayer, reflection and growing in our personal relationship with God,” Trump says. “That is so important.

“I ask all Americans to pray that God will heal our nation; bring comfort to those who are grieving; give strength to the doctors, nurses and health care workers; restore health to the sick and renew the hope in every person who is suffering. Our nation will come through like never before.”

Trump’s spiritual adviser, Paula White Cain, reiterated his sentiments.

“As America battles the deadly coronavirus, there are some changes this year to the way we must honor this holy occasion,” White Cain said.

Bishop Harry Jackson, the senior pastor at Hope Christian Church in Beltsville, Maryland, who also serves as the presiding bishop of the International Communion of Evangelical Churches, also addressed the country in the Oval Office beside President Trump via the media to stress the importance of Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday, especially in the midst of this COVID-19 pandemic.

“Good Friday is one of the darkest days in the Christian faith in that Christ stood in substitution for our sin,” Jackson said. “But the Resurrection is our victory. It parallels the Passover. … We want America to be safe during this plague.

“Psalm 105 says, ‘Then he brought them out with silver and gold, and no one among his tribes stumbled.’ Verse 39 says that ‘He spread a cloud as a covering and gave a fire to light up the night.’

“Let us pray. Lord, let the death angel pass over us. Let there be a mitigation of this plague, this disease; let medical science come forth. Lord, let us come out with a thriving economy. That silver and gold spoken of in that passage, let it be our fortune. And then, God, as we face other challenges in the future, cover us with a cloud by day and a fire by night. … We come against the spirit of division. Lord, let e pluribus unum be a reality in us. Let there be a uniting of America. Heal the division between race, class and gender. … Be encouraged; hope is on the way.”